The Anatomy of Leadership, by Baimba Kamara. Jd. (Law)
“THE ANATOMY OF LEADERSHIP”
By Baimba Shek Kamara, JD. (Law)
Perhaps one of the most important sets of skills to possess in our rapidly changing and complex world are those of leaderships. This has become painfully obvious, as we have continued to struggle to hold dominion over our own destiny in the quickly changing landscape of our society and workplace. Perhaps, because of effective leadership, or the lack thereof, that will determine if our cities, organizations, and governments continue to succeed, prosper and move forward; or if instead, they will become stagnant and die.
The word “leadership” means, literally, to “go in advance”.1 But what exactly is leadership and what makes someone a leader? Are you born with leadership ability or is it something you acquire and obtain during your life experiences? These questions have been posed many times before and have generated many different answers to them. Over time, various models have emerged to explain the leadership “phenomenon” during that period. The basic theories can be grouped into three distinct areas; trait, behavioral, and situational or contingency.
Trait Model
The trait theory concentrates on the personal characteristics of a good leader. That is, if you were to examine the traits or characteristics of great leaders throughout history, you would notice a common group of essential qualities that all of them seem to have possessed. It is by mastering these qualities that would enable people to emerge from the rest of the population, to separate themselves from the masses and to become a great leader that others were willing to follow.
Characteristics of Good Leaders:
The following section focuses on the various personal characteristics generally thought to be possessed by those who have been considered to be good leaders. Now it doesn’t mean that a good Leader will possess all of these traits, in fact, far from it. A good leader will exhibit varying degrees of these traits, some to
By Baimba Shek Kamara, JD. (Law)
Perhaps one of the most important sets of skills to possess in our rapidly changing and complex world are those of leaderships. This has become painfully obvious, as we have continued to struggle to hold dominion over our own destiny in the quickly changing landscape of our society and workplace. Perhaps, because of effective leadership, or the lack thereof, that will determine if our cities, organizations, and governments continue to succeed, prosper and move forward; or if instead, they will become stagnant and die.
The word “leadership” means, literally, to “go in advance”.1 But what exactly is leadership and what makes someone a leader? Are you born with leadership ability or is it something you acquire and obtain during your life experiences? These questions have been posed many times before and have generated many different answers to them. Over time, various models have emerged to explain the leadership “phenomenon” during that period. The basic theories can be grouped into three distinct areas; trait, behavioral, and situational or contingency.
Trait Model
The trait theory concentrates on the personal characteristics of a good leader. That is, if you were to examine the traits or characteristics of great leaders throughout history, you would notice a common group of essential qualities that all of them seem to have possessed. It is by mastering these qualities that would enable people to emerge from the rest of the population, to separate themselves from the masses and to become a great leader that others were willing to follow.
Characteristics of Good Leaders:
The following section focuses on the various personal characteristics generally thought to be possessed by those who have been considered to be good leaders. Now it doesn’t mean that a good Leader will possess all of these traits, in fact, far from it. A good leader will exhibit varying degrees of these traits, some to
References: 1 Warren Bennis and Robert Townsend, Reinventing Leadership: strategies to Empower the organization (New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1995)