Sociology

A leader is a person who gives guidance, and has a passion for a cause that is greater than he or she is. This is someone with a dream and vision that will better the society. With passion the leader will be able to make the necessary courageous and difficult decisions and carry them into action. Leadership entails having values which must be life giving to society. These values must be embedded in respect for others, which means that one can be able to deal with diversity in the society because it is not homogenous. This work will outline modern leadership in contrast to the traditional earlier form and the peculiar attachment to organizational success today.

A high potential leader shares many desired characteristic with the past leaders.  Many qualities of effective leadership have always been and will be important for yesterday, today and tomorrow respectively.  Characteristics like vision, integrity and customer satisfaction were critical in the past, today, and they will be still be critical in the future. There are some characteristics that are more important in today than in the past that everyone aspiring and one who is a leader must put into consideration. Todays leaders ought to have a vision. This means spending some considerable amount of time thinking about how a system or an issue should be made different. This entails having feelings about something and yearning to improve it (Goldsmith, 2005).

An effective leader always thinks of how the future could be different. Having vision means that one is creative enough and has the intellectual drive to be able to improve the present situation.  One has to be able to think outside the box, have good visions and come up with effective strategies that will help advance the vision.  In order to be able to lead in any organization, one has to be a reader and a learner. This means that a leader has to be a student who is ready to do enough research to ensure that he or she is equipped with the necessary information needed to lead that organization. Furthermore, one can never lead in an area they know nothing about.

Global thinking is another characteristic that the present leader should poses. In modern times, companies must approach issues from global perspective rather than the age old trend on local and national approach.  Today the trends towards globally connected markets are much stronger than yesterday. A financial crisis that may occur in one corner of the world is felt in the rest of the world thus influencing the whole world. To be able to lead effectively, understanding the economic implications of globalization and the legal and political implications is paramount.

The dramatic projected increases in global trade and integrated global technology are the main factors that make global thinking a key variable for the present leader. Global trade has made it hard to buy specific America cars for example noting that assemblage is spread all over the world.  Therefore, it is very important if a leader is able to spend time in multiple countries to be able to understand how international trade can help their organization achieve a competitive advantage. Competitive pressure has increased rapidly and producers have learnt how to manage global production and how to market their product in the very competitive global market (Goldsmith, 2005).

New technology is another major factor that has made global thinking a requirement for any leader. In a world that has turned into global village outsourcing has reduced running expenses by using a work force from a world wide range thus an effective leader needs such information. Barriers to global business that seemed impossible in the past have been broken by technology. With such propositions in technology, an organizational leader can only be techno savvy and steer clear from local traditional market and labor trends. Thus competitive advantage at this age is achieved by a complete blend of technology and globalization standards if a leader has to lead any organization from failure.

As humans are cultural beings, cultural diversity and multiculturalism has had a huge effect on human history and for this purpose, business organization. Appreciating and respecting cultural diversity is therefore not an option but a prerequisite for a high potential.  One should understand not only the economic and legal differences, but also the social and behavioral differences of diverse societies in the world. One must understand that observation, and appreciation of developing cultures is not just an obligation but an opportunity to be successful.

Appreciation of cultures does not only mean understanding the big things, but also the small things that make up a unique culture.  For example somebody working in the Middle East must take the effort to understand and read the Koran. Religion is one of the most important variables that impact behavior in a society. Another important aspect is motivational strategies to diverse cultures. This is because motivational strategies that are effective in one culture may actually be offensive in another culture. Thus, a leader must effectively understand, appreciate and motivate colleagues in multi cultured environment in order to be resourceful (Hesselbein, Goldsmith  Leader to Leader Institute, 2006).

A good leader must be able to build partnerships and alliances of all kinds. This is very helpful especially when outsourcing the activities of the company. This is because we are living in a world where outsourcing of all but core activities is the norm making these partnerships and alliances vital.  The ability to negotiate complex alliances and manage complex networks of relationships is very important. The roles of customers suppliers and partners are becoming more blurred and this has deep implication for leaders. Today it is hard to identify sabotages.

In diverse fields, like pharmaceuticals, the same organization may be your customer, supplier, partner or competitor. Thus, it is critical to build and pursue positive long-term relationship with many organizations. The days when leadership was expressed on a fixed hierarchy perspective are over, thus, one must learn how to lead across a fluid net work.  Being able to effectively share leadership is not an option for a leader today. This is because mostly one is dealing with alliance structures where all the partners are willing to work together to achieve the common good. The leader should be able to share ideas with their partners but not to command them on the path to follow (Wright, 2010).

It is not only the leaders who are different but also the employees are more knowledgeable than in the past. In order to succeed, it is paramount to know how to manage these knowledgeable workers who know more about their work thus are well equipped. Old leadership models will not work where employees are told what to do and how to do it at this century.  Employees will only work for the leader who provides the most challenging and yet motivating opportunity, thus the leader must poses very sharp skills in hiring and retaining key talents.

Every high potential leader understands that new times will require new skills. Unfortunately many of the past leaders were not trained or even encouraged to believe in these very important skills. The challenge is that many past leaders did not see the value of these new competencies which are greatly valued by the present leaders.  While it is true that past leaders were expected to mentor and develop the present leaders, today there may be a major addition to the process. Presently leaders recruit and help mentor young leaders and develop past leadership styles.