Leadership : Core Traits
People argue about wether a successful leader is made or born. The true leader ignores such arguments and instead concentrates on developing the leadership qualities needed for success. Qualities required for success as a leader include Honesty, Integrity, and Awareness.
It is important for a leader to exhibit, and display these traits. Just possessing each trait is not enough; a leader has to display it in a way that people notice. People want to see that a leader actively demonstrates these qualities, so they do not just assume that he/she has them. It isn’t enough to just be neutral. For example, just because you are not dishonest will not cause people to recognize that you are honest. Being honest isn’t a matter of not lying–it is taking the extra effort to display honesty. Just avoiding displays of incompetence won’t inspire the same confidence as truly displaying competence.
People want to follow an honest leader. Years ago, many employees started out by assuming that their leadership was honest simply because the authority of their position. With modern scandals, this is no longer true. When you start a leadership position, you need to assume that people will think you are a little dishonest. One of the most frequent places where leaders miss an opportunity to display honesty is in handling mistakes. Much of a leader’s job is to try new things and refine the ideas that don’t work. However, many leaders want to avoid failure to the extent that they don’t admit when something did not work. There is a saying that reflects this;
“ Truth always has its way of reviling itself.”
Which means, why cover up the truth with a lie, and another lie, and even another lie. In the end, telling lies comes up to bite you. A example of this is when Falstaff had robbed some rich men living in the country side, but was fooled by prince Harry and Poins who had just taken Falstaff’s money that he robbed. He comes up with a ridiculous story and tells them a lie of how he was attacked by a dozen men. Constantly his story changed, and in the end, when Hal and Poins reviled the truth, Falstaff lied his way out again. He has been at this hand of the table many times, he lies to get out of paying he bill for drinks, lies about accomplishments, and etc. Because he did this, He died a lonely old man. Hal disowned him completely without second thought as he came to the crown. Honesty is a important key in leadership, if you are not honest with things, you could possibly end up with your head on the chopping block.
To be a Honest leader, you also need to have Integrity. Doing the right thing when no one is watching. Integrity can also be, doing what you think is right, even if your prosecuted for it. An person with integrity, is also a person with good morals. To be a successful leader you have to take advice from those who are close to you, but if it goes against what is right in your mind, its not a good idea. A leader has to trust themself, and what decisions they wish to go through. Some people make choices, even though they are not the best ones. But if they are right, in the mind of the leader, wrong choices shouldn’t be prosecuted
Prince Henry shows Integrity at the Battle of Shrewsberry; by choosing to save his father, even though he was disowned. King Henry bravely meets the Douglas, who sought to kill the King, in single combat; although he knows that he can hardly hope to win: he is an old man, while the Douglas is a deadly fighter in the prime of his life. Harry reappears, and, seeing his father in danger, challenges the Douglas, whom he beats back so ferociously that the Douglas flees the field. Prince Henry made a choice to save his father, because he thought it was what was right. And in return King Henry approved of Hal again.
“Thou hast redeemed thy lost opinion, / And showed thou mak’st some tender of my life” [V.iv.47–48]Also, Prince Henry says to let the captured Douglas free because of his valor. Was this a right decision on Hals part? The consequences of failed leadership are reviewed in the scenes of rebellion sweeping through England, the robbery in Act II, the battle in Act V with Falstaff losing his troops because of his carelessness as a leader, and so forth.
To be a successful leader you need to be aware. Awareness is a big key trait. It keeps Honesty, and Integrity in check; one big circle. To be Honest, and have good morals, you need Awareness. Which includes, listening, and being aware of what is happening around you. A Leader is person who influences the thoughts and behaviors of others; a leader is one who establishes the direction for others to willingly follow. If a leader wishes to be followed, they need to listen to the people, and make changes according to demand. A Aware leader has the following traits of flexible, openness, empathetic, courage, interactive, and positive attitude. Leaders respect the dignity and worth of each follower.
Whichever qualities we find most striking in Henry V, it is important to note that in order to be effective, it is essential that Henry appear to be good. Henry’s claim to the English throne is weak, since his father was a usurper, and for Henry to appear to be a legitimate king he has to seem like he has God on his side. Thus, for instance, he makes sure that the Archbishop of Canterbury publicly presents the arguments supporting Henry’s legal claim to the French throne, even though the arguments are logically tortured, and even though the audience already knows that it cannot trust the archbishop. He is Aware of what needs to be done for his throne, and goes to war with old allies to achieve what he knows has to be done to keep his throne.
In order to achieve a goal, a leader must take charge and assign different people certain tasks. Leadership of a group can also mean a way of having a more strategic plan when overcoming an obstacle. A person can build stronger character within themselves in showing leadership to others. In conclusion, it’s essential that we continue this trait because it will be beneficial for our future. Another way of being a productive leader is discovering new ways to accomplish a set of tasks while maintaining a positive attitude. This is the changing part of being Aware. When your are a aware leader, you make changes and try to perfect things.
Looking back on Hals most important speeches, we see all of these traits. Honesty, Integrity, and Awareness. King Henry speaks a great deal in this play, as he understands the power of his words to elicit action. Sometimes his speeches are meant to stir soldiers’ morale, as with the speech at the Battle of Harfleur in Act III, scene i, and before the Battle of Agincourt in Act IV, scene iii. Other times they are meant to intimidate, as when he speaks to the French ambassadors in Act I, scene ii or the governor of Harfleur in Act III, scene iii. Even when he is talking to his soldiers in disguise, as in Act IV, scene i, or courting Catherine in Act V, scene ii, Henry seldom gets interrupted and is usually able to sway the mind of the person to whom he is talking. Henry’s side always wins in battle or argument, partly because Henry uses his charisma as an effective tool: for Henry, the act of speech, or rhetoric, is a vital weapon of both persuasion and war. An example of Hals speeches include, when he is taking on a disguise and a commoner in Act IV Scene i, he talks about himself in third person, talking about the king to William and Bates.
“No. Nor it is not meet he should, for, though I speak it to you, I think the king is but a man as I am. The violet smells to him as it doth to me. The element shows to him as it doth to me. All his senses have but human conditions. His ceremonies laid by, in his nakedness he appears but a man, and though his affections are higher mounted than ours, yet when they stoop, they stoop with the like wing. Therefore, when he sees reason of fears as we do, his fears, out of doubt, be of the same relish as ours are. Yet, in reason, no man should possess him with any appearance of fear, lest he, by showing it, should dishearten his army.”
[IV. i. 98-111]
Henry’s disguised conversations with his soldiers in Act IV, scene i; demonstrate the closeness between king and commoner. Henry’s conversations with his soldiers highlight the commonalities between king and subject, as does the fact that, without the costume of kingship, Henry is not recognizable as a king. Henry speaks to his similarity to other men when he tells his soldiers that “I think the King is but a man, as I am. The violet smells to him as it doth to me. . . . His ceremonies laid by, in his nakedness he appears but a man” (IV.i.99–102). Henry clearly understands that the difference between him and other men lies only in the trappings of his position—he may be wealthy and powerful, but flowers smell the same to him as they do to everyone else. He is trying to be Aware of what the common man thinks of him, so he could change the thought of the people another time.
That speech, which ends with the famous line “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown,” expresses the weary Henry IV’s understanding of the responsibilities of power, which the young Henry V, like his father before him, must now learn (2 Henry IV, III.i.31). This speech by Henry V is crucially important to the play, as it finds Henry alone for the first time; it is our first opportunity to get a glimpse into Henry’s psyche that is not compromised by his need to appear kingly. Henry presents us with the idea that his motivation for his actions as king is not power-lust or arrogance, but simply a crushing sense of responsibility to preserve stability and order for his subjects
The whole point of leadership is figuring out where to go from where you are now. While you may know where you want to go, people won’t see that unless you actively communicate it with them. Remember, these traits aren’t just things you need to have, they are things you need to actively display to those around you. When people do not consider their leader forward-looking, that leader is usually suffering from one of two possible problems:
The leader doesn’t have a forward-looking vision.
The leader is unwilling or scared to share the vision with others.
When a leader doesn’t have a vision for the future, it usually because they are spending so much time on today, that they haven’t really thought about tomorrow. On a very simplistic level this can be solved simply by setting aside some time for planning, strategizing and thinking about the future.
Many times when a leader has no time to think and plan for the future, it is because they are doing a poor job of leading in the present. They have created an organization and systems that rely too much on the leader for input at every stage.
Some leaders have a clear vision, but don’t wish to share it with others. Most of the time they are concerned that they will lose credibility if they share a vision of the future that doesn’t come about. This is a legitimate concern. However, people need to know that a leader has a strong vision for the future and a strong plan for going forward. Leaders run into trouble sharing their vision of the future when they start making promises to individuals. This goes back to the trait of honesty. If a leader tells someone that “next year I’m going to make you manager of your own division”, that may be a promise they can’t keep. The leader is probably basing this promotion on the organization meeting financial goals, but the individual will only hear the personal promise.
Which brings us back to the theory that Leaders are born, not made. Leadership trait theory is the idea that people are born with certain character traits or qualities. Since certain traits are associated with proficient leadership, it assumes that if you could identify people with the correct traits, you will be able to identify leaders and people with leadership potential. Most of the time the traits are considered to be naturally part of a person’s personality from birth. From this standpoint, leadership trait theory tends to assume that people are born as leaders or not as leaders.
There is a lot of value in identifying the character traits associated with leadership. It is even more valuable to identify the character traits that followers look for in a leader. These traits would be the characteristics of an individual who is most likely to attract followers. However, the idea that leadership traits are inborn and unchangeable appears to be incorrect. It is true that many of our dispositions and tendencies are influenced by our personalities and the way we are born. However, most people recognize that it is possible for someone to change their character traits for the worse. Someone who is known for being honest can learn to be deceitful. The whole idea of saying that someone was “corrupted” is based on the fact that people can learn bad character traits. If people can learn bad character traits and become different than the way they are naturally through conditioning, it logically follows that they can learn good character traits as well. A person who is prone to being dishonest can learn to be honest. A person who avoids risks can learn to take risks. It may not be easy, but it can be done.
Honesty
Integrity
Awareness
These are all traits that someone can learn to implement. It may not be easy, but with practice you can become more inspiring, with practice you can become more honest, with practice you can become more competent. What makes this less difficult than it first seems, is that these are character traits that followers are looking for in a leader. By simply displaying these character traits more consistently an individual is able to change how they are perceived. Sometimes it isn’t a problem with changing your internal characteristics—it is just an issue of displaying those characteristics more openly.
By focusing on your own character and developing traits associated with leadership, you can increase your ability to lead.
Tue Mar 14, 2023 12:06 pm by FyrebirdEvo
Subject: 14 paragraph paper on Leader ship. What do you think? 
