Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Research Paper Example As such, good leadership is a major tool every organization should consider especially in today’s modern world because it determines the difference between the success and failure of the organization (Holden, 2007). Many organizations in the world have succeeded while others have failed miserably due to application of poor or good leadership. This paper will identify two individuals who have portrayed both good and poor leadership skills that have helped them push their organizations towards success or failure. As such, the paper will look at the CEO of Apple Inc., Steve Jobs as an example of a good leader by analyzing his leadership styles and qualities. In addition, the paper will look at the CEO of HP as the example of poor leadership. Understanding leadership Leadership refers to an influence relationship that exists between leaders and their followers with an intention of bringing real changes and outcomes that depict shared purposes. On the other hand, a leader is a pers on who learns and acts in such a way that people respect him and follow him due to his recognized achievements and charismatic reflection. In a more generalized term, leadership is an integral aspect of management because it helps in the making of vital decisions that greatly benefit organizations (Canals, 2013). Additionally, leadership does not denote personality, but rather represents a price that individuals have to pay in order to attain success or experience failure. Therefore, in order to achieve success, the leaders have to set the pace for the rest of the team to follow because leading a crowd or a team may be extremely challenging. Development of leaders A leader is a person who learns and acts in such a way that people respect and follow him due to his charismatic reflection and recognized achievements (Holden, 2007). However, the major controversy that caused unending debates from scholars is how the leaders develop because others argued that leaders ‘are made†™ while the rest opposed that leaders ‘are born’ with leadership traits. They also argued that leaders could adapt their leadership style depending on the situation at hand. Scholars came up with different theories to differentiate the two aspects. For instance, the traditional leadership theories claimed that leadership is nature borne of individual and shunned the great man theory that claims that leaders ‘are made’ by arguing that it was impossible to create such attributes on a grown individual. Contemporary leadership theories confirm making of leaders because it depicts an individual’sadvancing through a series of stages that portray the possibilities of an individual becoming a leader (Canals, 2013). To analyze the possibilities of an individual becoming a leader, the contingency, transformational, and transactional approaches offer the best forecast. However, changes in leadership continuously emerge due to environmental dynamics and acquis ition of skill. Changes in leadership pattern from old to new Scholars researched the concept fostering transformational leadership in the 1970s with an aim of finding out the difference between transforming leadership and transactional leadership. Traditionally, the regular use of transactional leadership style was because it involves managing, supervising and motivating the employees. However, as the world advanced, the