Effective Leadership. Leadership Factors

Introduction

Leadership, this is a process by which an individual is able to make an impact on others so as to achieve a goal and be able to direct people in a way that will make them unified and coherent. For a person to be a good leader they are some skills and knowledge that “he/she should apply, but sometimes we do have traits that can influence our actions as leaders and this is what we call leadership traits, which influence our leadership skills” (Bass, 1990).

Sometimes leadership in a person is gotten trough learning but there are some traits in which they influence the kind of leadership a person will have. These traits are; person beliefs, what a person values, “his ethics and lastly the character of a person but Skills and knowledge are two qualities that will directly contribute to the process of leadership in a person” (Blake and Mouton, 1985)

Leadership Factors

To be a good leader you must understand yourself first and then the people who you are leading, after knowing your followers you should have knowledge of the kind of followers you are responsible of because some followers may be pretending to be with you but in reality they are not. Their behavior is very important because knowing how they react will help you to know how to handle them and lastly “for a good leader he/she must be in a position to convince his followers at all times, because the followers will determine if a leader is successful or not” (Bolman and Deal, 1991).

Different styles of leadership are applied differently in various people, for example a new employee will require more administrative supervision than an old employee. Similarly followers who lack motivations, need a different approach in leadership than those followers who are more motivated. The first fundamental in leadership is that you must know the type of people you are leading, such as their motivations and emotions. “To lead it requires a two-way approach; much of it must be by setting an example, and “not doing things that you will not require your followers to do them” (Bolman and Deal, 1991). “How you communicate to your followers will either builds or destroy the relationship between a leader and his followers” (Ivancevich and Matteson, 2007).

In leadership you must read situations that in which you have found yourself in and it requires you to decide what type of action you will apply in that situation, because situations are different most of the time. What you apply in term of leadership in one situation it will be different in another situation. For example, confronting an employee who has behaved inappropriate, it should be on time and it must be effective.

Various situations will have an effect in a leader’s actions than the traits that can be seen in that leader, “while traits may be seen over a longer period of time in a leader; these traits have little effect across various situations” (Bass, 1990).There are forces which affect a leader, this factors can either be the relation between a leader and his followers or between a leader and the authority.

Adolf Hitler the Charisma

Adolf Hitler came to power during a time when Germany as a nation was going through a hard time. “The economy was doing badly and the people in German required a strong charismatic leader to lead the nation away from these difficulties in which the nation was going through” (Kershaw, 1998). Hitler had these qualities and had previously promised to fix the economy of the German nation.

We remember in the year 1921, when Hitler joined the Nazi party, it had only 6,000 members but within 2 years in the helm of that party the members rose to 50,000. Adolf Hitler had powerful speeches and this made the Nazi party win thousands and thousands of supporters in the Germany and as a result of that, “he also got the chancellor position which led to him being a dictator. Adolf Hitler could not have won many supporters in Germany had he been a self-contained type of a leader” (Peterson, 1969).

Adolf Hitler knew by teaching the children about the fascism ideology, his plans would succeed with the help of German children. “Adolf Hitler gained the respect and support of all the children in Germany because he taught them discipline and orders while the children were still in school. He also enforced the ideology of nationalism in these school going children” (Peterson, 1969).

Adolf Hitler Leadership

Adolf Hitler was a great leader regardless the evil he perpetuated, he actually changed the way the world looked at war. “Hitler came from a solder with no future and vision in leadership, to the chancellor of Germany at one time” (Haugen, 2006). As an army commander, Hitler was able to persuade his army to meet his goals and he was able to influence them to achieve his vision. The impact that Adolf Hitler had on our world in the last century was large, “he was able to convince not only his supporters in Germany but other allies to continue his ill-will towards USSR and the Jew people” (Roberts, 1980).

He was able to control his people and achieve some of his goals of expanding Germany into USSR and killing the Jews. “If we are looking at a leadership style and compare it to Adolf Hitler, there is one word which will stand out and this can be related to Hitler: directive” ( Roberts,1980). According to Blake and Mouton’s Leadership Grid, Adolf Hitler will take 9.1, in poll ratings. He was an “authority-compliance”. “He was the type of a leader who would emphasis on the job requirements and cared about his people because he saw them as tool for getting his job done” (Roberts, 1980).

Adolf Hitler Strategy

Adolf Hitler had a simple tactics he was able to influence the people so that they can support him in his quest for his goal and the goal of the country, he was able to influence most of the party leaders and the supporters of the party “He addressed the citizen of Germany who were affected mostly by the inflations which happened at that time and he was able to obtain the support of the workers who were disappointed in the revolution at that time” (Stierlin, 1996).

To the middle class he promised them liberation from the major businesses and factories and even large stores which were existence at that time and to the small business in Germany that found it more difficult to compete with large businesses, “he promised them that if they voted him to power, then he would do away with department stores and all their interests, but this promises were never kept when he came to power” ( Giblin, 2002).

Adolf Hitler designed Germany economic program which was to assist the middle-class people in Germany, he brought forward his slogans for nationalism and racism to this middle class citizen that were in Germany (it was on the basis of Germany workers to be self-determine in all sectors) Years later, in 1928 he came up with programs for the Germany “farmers who became rich during the war in 1932.They were selling their produces with high prices and the mass in Germany were unemployed” (Giblin, 2002).

Adolf Hitler had a vision and goal to build a movement it Germany that will restore the glory the Germans had before the world war one, and all this he had the support of many people in Germany from the Industrial workers to intellectuals, from desperate elites in the nations to students who were ambitious youths, who did not have any future in the Germany at that time because of massive inflations.

Like Adolf Hitler, After the first World war was over, all the men from humble origin in the Germany nation who had participated in the war found themselves socially shipwrecked and they were uninspired, they had nothing to lose because “they gained nothing when they defended the country during the war but they felt they had everything to gain if only they could be in power to change the miss deed that happened to them” (Peterson, 1969).

Adolf Hitler Authoritarian

In his career before it had reached climax he managed to conquer nine nations in Europe and humiliated great nations which were in Europe at that time, the likes of Britain and France. His leadership was able to conquer many nations in Europe and started creating both socially and economically a system that will follow his visions of the Germany.

More than seven million Austria people gave in to Adolf Hitler invasion, while the Czechs and Slovaks were also tied to his chariot wheel and the nation sovereignty was defenseless to the Adolf Hitler Invasion. No country in Central Europe was able to march Adolf Hitler invasion for more than six years since Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933, but he met resistance from Poland which was backed by the Anglo-French alliance (Britain and France countries).

Mahatma Gandhi the Civil Right Leader

“Gandhi on returning from London he stayed in South Africa for more than 20 years. While in South Africa he champion the rights of Indians minorities, to have better living conditions in that country” (Dalton, 1996). But most of his protest was directed toward the increasingly racist law in that country which was directed mostly to the Indians minorities. “During those times he was able to fight for those rights that Indian community did not have in South Africa, Gandhi developed a method which was non-violent, it was a method of courage and nonviolence with truth known as ‘Satyagraha.” (Dalton, 1996).

During the struggle in South African, Gandhi “believed in the behavior of a person was vital than what that person would achieve” This idea was satyagaraha (truth force) and it was highly idealistic to the struggle of the Indians in South Africa. Gandhi did not tell the Indians in South Africa to reject the principle rule of law which it was oppressive towards the Indians, “any individual from the Indian minorities would have to accept the punishment for having broken the South Africa law, but he/she should reject with courage the legality of the law in question which was oppressive” (Easwaran, 1997).

Gandhi in 1915 went to India, his achievements while in south Africa spread to the whole of India and within a short time during the first world war, Gandhi became the leading figure in the India National Congress, In India he continue with his method of non violence against the British authorities and at the same time he continue with his struggles in liberating the lower case in the Hindu society against the “untouchable”. Gandhi also struggles to unite the Indian Hindus who were the majority in the country with the Christians and Muslims. “People all over India started to respect him because of this ideology even the British magistrate who sentenced Gandhi to prison recognized his exceptional qualities” (Fischer, 2002).

Gandhi the Politician

Mahatma Gandhi came up with an idea “swaraj” while he was travelling with in a train, he had the right ticket for the first class compartment but he was asked to leave because he was an Indian. “The idea of ‘swaraj’ was born as a result of this incident, which means fighting for the independence of India Nation and spiritual renewal for all the Indians people” (Gandhi, 2008).

While his political friends shared with him his methods of “swaraj and Satyagraha” few of his friends shared all of these ideas. Whilst still in South Africa he had commanded the respect from the Jewish and Christians and he learned the Leo “Tolstoy ideology, which state “that the kingdom of the almighty father is within each person and the Government in the world are formed as a results of war, and one can only overcome this evils through passive confrontation” (Nehru,1965).

Mahtma Gandhi In 1894 he formed Natal Indian Party to champion the Indian support against the bill; this bill the Natal Amendment bill it was meant to take away the right to votes from the Indians living n South Africa “actually we are told he was successful in reducing some of the harshness of the bill against the Indians minorities in South Africa but his other fights against unjust laws and discriminations in South Africa did not succeed” (Fischer, 2002).

Mahatma Gandhi the Humanitarian

Gandhi was involved in humanitarian activities while still in South Africa, during the Boer war of 1899 he was the head of Red Cross unit in that war and this earn him praises in British authorities in South Africa. In 1906 Mahatma Gandhi was involved in humanitarian during the Zulu rebellion; we read Gandhi sent an ambulance to that province to help with the causalities in the war. The suffering of the Zulu’s people moved Gandhi because the Natal government did not mind the injuries. Gandhi once said; “nursing the wounded was one of the principal of joy and it was to every mankind to respond to that” (Easwaran, 1997).

Mahatma Gandhi the spiritual Leader

Mahatma Gandhi lived a simple life; was only dressed in loincloth and sandals in his feet. He was jailed a couple of times but he forgave his oppressors, “he went on hunger strike, wilstle focused on his cause. Mahatma Gandhi used fasting as a tool in “Satyagraha”(Fischer, 2002). He knew fasting as a tool in “Satyagraha” could be misconstrued by the people so he developed guidelines in fasting. “Gandhi was a spiritual leader to many people in India and in the whole world” (Easwaran, 1997).

Conclusion

Adolf Hitler saw his role as a leader and it was his duty to restore the respect the Germans had as a great nation in the world. Adolf Hitler owns insight was an artist with a vision rather than a politician with ability of running the Germany government. As such he won many supports from the Germany people. To the world Adolf Hitler was an “evil Satan” because he brought much suffering to the people of Western Europe and the Jews, but to the Germans he was a hero, he was able to restore the Germany respect to the whole world and the economy grew because of the ideology he instituted while he was their leader.

Mahatma Gandhi is one of the known leader in the 20^th centaury, his ideology was never anti-British and he was quite civil toward the authorities both in South Africa and in India. He believed his duties as a citizen in a country this is shown when he organized ambulance to the British during the World War 1 and he was also involved in the recruitment of solders for the British in India. “Mahatma Gandhi was pro-truth and pro-violence because his ideology was based on these two factors” (Fischer, 2002).

References

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Blake, Robert R. and Mouton, Janse S. (1985). The Managerial Grid III: The Key to Leadership Excellence. Houston, Gulf Publishing Co.

Bolman, L. and Deal, T. (1991). Reframing Organizations. San Francisco, Jossey-Bass.

Dalton, D. (1996). Mahatma Gandhi: selected political writings. New York, Hackett Publishing.

Easwaran, E. (1997). Gandhi, the man: the story of his transformation. New York, Nilgiri Press.

Fischer, L. (2002). The essential gandhi: an anthology of his writings on his life, work and ideas. London, Vintage Books Publisher.

Gandhi, M. (2008). Autobiography: the story of my experiments with truth. New Delhi, Bn Publishing.

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Haugen, B. (2006). Adolf hitler: dictator of nazi germany. London, Compass Point Books Publisher.

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Kershaw, I. (1998).An hitler 1889-1936: hubris. London, Penguin Books,

Nehru, J. (1965). Mahatma Gandhi. University of Michigan, Asia Publishing House.

Peterson, E. (1969) The limits of hitler’s power. Princeton, Princeton University Press.

Roberts, J. (1980). Adolf hitler: a study in hate. London, The Rosen Publishing Group.

Stierlin, H. (1996).Adolf hitler: a family perspective. New York, Psychohistory Press.