There are several ways of defining a
leader. The one who leads others is a sim-
ple and complete definition. But, then,
what are the tasks of a leader? Leadership
is a much sought after quality and every
organisation needs good and effective
leaders to lead the organisation to success
and for achievement of its goals. Some
persons are born leaders, for others leader-
ship gets thrust upon. In a given organisa-
tion, the Head of the Organisation or the
Chief Executive Officer is accepted as a
leader irrespective of his or her possessing
the quality of leadership.
Management Gurus, more or less,
agree on the following tasks for the leader
of any organisation, irrespective of its
nature and goals:
A leader must be able to: (1) impart
vision and direction to her/his organisa-
tion (2) affirm and articulate values that
she/he cherishes for her/his organization
(3) set high standards of performance and
raise the level of expectations (4) she/he
must make herself/himself accountable
(5) must be able to motivate others within
the organisation (6) achieve unity in the
organisation (7) involve others in decision-
making.
The leader’s most important task is to
clarify the overall goals of the organisation.
This is what transforms a mere crowd into
a community, a directionless mob into a
group with a purpose. A crowd in a fair, for
instance, is joyous, free spirited but self-
occupied. In the same way, a gathering
may have individually talented and even
highly motivated people but they will
achieve nothing if they lack vision or goal
to achieve collectively.
The success of leadership depends on
personal characteristics that include expe-
rience, imagination, persuasiveness, far-
sightedness, and astuteness in inter-
personal dealings.
The leader will not be able take his/her
organisation very far if he is not able to
generate, manage and monitor the use of
resources. Most organisations have
resources available, but seldom...