Essay Sample on Purpose of Leaders

Introduction

Leadership refers to the ability of an individual to guide other individuals, teams or organizations. There are different reasons for which leaders exist. The first reason for which leaders exist is to establish a vision for the followers. The purpose of developing a vision is to enable the followers to know the direction that the leader wants them to go (Khoshhal & Guraya, 2016). Development of a vision is especially important for leaders in organizations. The vision of the leaders will determine the success of the organization in the future and outline the plans that will be used in achieving this success. The second purpose of leaders is to build positive relations with and among their followers (Khoshhal & Guraya, 2016). Through these relationships, the employees are motivated to work hard in satisfying the consumers.

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Characteristics of Leaders

Leaders must possess different values and characteristics to be effective. Leaders must have integrity. Integrity means that leaders should be honest in all their dealings and apply moral principles (Khoshhal & Guraya, 2016). Through integrity, leaders can build trust with their followers and this can go a long way in achieving the objectives of the organization. Leaders must have humility. Humility means having a low view of oneself (Khoshhal & Guraya, 2016). Humility as a characteristic of leadership can help the leaders to achieve desired results or the objectives of an organization. For example, when the leaders have no ego, they will be realistic with their employees about the different problems that are faced by an organization. The other characteristic of leadership is focus. Leaders must focus on their vision and the objectives of the organization (Khoshhal & Guraya, 2016). They also focus on the achievements of the employees and their personal achievements.

Coaching

Coaching is a task that involves supporting and assisting individuals in implementing changes and achieving personal objectives. There are different approaches to coaching that can be applied by leaders. The first coaching approach can be analyzed from a humanistic perspective. This is a coaching perspective that is based on self-actualization (Ives, 2008). Self-actualization is the realization of an individual's talents as a reason for achieving positive results. Through this approach, leaders can stimulate individuals to realize their potential in the organization. The second coaching approach is that which is based on behaviors. This approach is aimed at changing the behaviors of the clients to fit the set objectives (Ives, 2008). The leaders apply the concepts of psychology to understand the behaviors of the clients. The other approach to coaching is the positive psychology model. This is a coaching approach that is aimed at identifying the strengths of the clients (Ives, 2008). The goal of identifying these strengths is to ensure that the clients are happy and contented with their lives.

Significance of Mentors

Mentors can contribute to the organization in different ways. Mentoring is important in organizations since it allows for the sharing of knowledge. Mentoring allows the employees to have role models within the organization who can help them in developing their career (Merrick, 2019). Through this process, employees work hard in making themselves better and as such improving the organization. Mentoring helps in retaining employees within the organization (Merrick, 2019). When employees are assisted by the executives of the organization to realize their goals, they will have no reason to leave the organization.

Significance of Coaching and Mentoring

Coaching can be important as a strategy is leadership development. Through this strategy, an organization can identify and retain valuable leaders. Research has shown that most leaders quit their jobs as a result of dissatisfaction (Gavin, 2018). These individuals do not experience any significant improvement in their career and as such are not motivated to continue being leaders. Through coaching, leaders are helped to realize their values (Gavin, 2018). These values help the leaders to develop a strong connection to the organization or with the followers. The identification of personal values increases the level of commitment of the leaders and this is important for the success of an organization. In general, identification of leadership values through coaching helps the leaders to align with the strategies of an organization. Coaching is important in helping a company grow through the change process. In most cases, leaders are faced with the difficult task of managing change (Gavin, 2013). A significant number of leaders have been overwhelmed in dealing with the change process through factors such as employee resistance. Through executive coaching, leaders can quickly adapt to the changes in an organization and help the employees through it.

Coaching can be applied as a planning tool for leadership succession. Through coaching, talented individuals in an organization are groomed to be future leaders (Gavin, 2013). Coaching is applied to ensure that these individuals are equipped in all areas of leadership. Coaching has thus led to junior employees being promoted to senior positions in an organization. Examples of leadership skills that are taught through coaching include interpersonal skills, conflict management, and the development of competitive strategies for the organization. In the same sense, coaching can be applied in grooming newly hired leaders in the organization (Gavin, 2013). The goal of coaching in this sense is to help the employees learn about the culture of the organization, processes, practices, and the expectation of the organization towards him or her.

Just like coaching, mentoring plays a significant role in leadership development. Mentoring can help leaders in developing their listening skills (Hester & Setzer, 2013). Listening may be a challenge for leaders who have to deal with a large amount of information. In cases that the leaders are willing to listen, they have divided attention which affects the purpose for listening. Through mentoring, leaders are trained to pay attention to all details. This helps the leaders to listen to the followers and contribute to making important changes in the organization. Mentoring is important in broadening the perspective of leaders. Through mentoring, leaders can see issues through different perspectives (Hester & Setzer, 2013). For example, leaders can deal with diversity issues that may be faced within the organization. Mentoring can also allow the leaders to understand issues based on the different types of people such as baby boomers, millennial, and individuals with disabilities. Through the learning of different perspectives of looking at issues, leaders can also develop problem-solving skills. The mentoring process allows the leaders to generate different solutions to a problem and apply the best one. Mentoring helps leaders in sharpening their storytelling abilities (Hester & Setzer, 2013). Leaders are sometimes faced with the task of motivating the employees and one way through which this can be achieved is by telling stories. Through storytelling, the leaders develop a comfortable environment that allows for the building of mutual trust between them and the employees. This is important in improving organizational growth.

References

Gavin, C. S. (2018). The impact of leadership development using coaching. Journal of Practical Consulting 13(13); 137-147.

Hester, J. P., & Setzer, R. (2013). Mentoring: Adding value to organizational culture. The Journal of Value-based Leadership 6(1).

Ives, Y. (2008). What is 'coaching'? An exploration of conflicting paradigms. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring 6(2); 100-113.

Khoshhal, K. I. & Guraya, S. Y. (2016). Leaders produce leaders and managers produce followers: A systematic review of the desired competencies and standard settings for physicians' leadership. Saudi Medical Journal 37(10); 1061-1067.

Merrick, L. (2019). How coaching and mentoring can drive success in your organization. United States Geological Survey.