Leadership in Formal and Informal Setting
The ability to lead and become a leader plays a significant role in society and work life. When a group of people wants to perform certain duties and activities to accomplish specific goals and object the services of a leader are required. Leadership, in my opinion, is the ability to give instructions for others to follow, become able to solve problems, and to come up with new ideas that will help to progress a group of people or organization a person is managing. To guide a group of people, an organization, country, or corporation, a leader should have certain qualities that set him or her apart or make him different from other people. Leaders have the ability and skills to inspire other people to follow them to reach their goals. In addition to this, leaders inspire their subordinates to pursue their success by helping the leaders accomplish their desired objectives. The leader must ensure that their followers get along and cooperate well with each other. Leadership is vital and occurs in both formal and informal systems and situations in society.
An informal situation of leadership is guiding a group of friends to accomplish specific group goals. These goals may include academic activities such as class group assignment or holding voluntary and charity functions to help the community. Informal activities help the leader to work with a group of ethnically diverse people and also improve their teamwork skills. Diversity is vital in leadership because different people have different wants and needs. Therefore, as a leader, one must come up with decisions that will make every participant in their group to become satisfied. I have the opportunity to lead a group of friends to organize a charity event to raise money for a local animal shelter. My group of friends is diverse from different races, gender, and age. I was selected to be the event’s organizer and was responsible for dividing roles and activities. The experience was useful because I had to assign each person a duty they can finish and do it at their optimal best.
A formal setting of leadership would be a manager or CEO of a company or corporation. A good leader or company manager ensures that the company increases its revenue annually and also ensure that his subordinates grow professionally. Similar to Kawaski in chapter 3 of the coursebook, I believe individuals working in the company make it better and improve the performance of the company. Thus, the company’s leadership has to ensure his workers are satisfied with the workplace. In addition to this, the leader is supposed to appreciate the individuality of their workers. Hence, like the SAS company in Chapter 4, leaders should create a safe working environment that accommodates their subordinate’s attitudes and behaviors. The author of an article by the New York Times states that as a leader, “You have to create a sense of urgency, but also have the patience to bring everybody on the team along” (Bryant 2017). I share the same views as Bryant because, for the company to enjoy success, the leader should encourage his workers to work hard work, focus, and have a goal or target to accomplish.
I believe that leadership in both formal and informal social settings is essential and plays an integral part in the success of these two settings. I believe that leadership encompasses particular skills that help a group of people and organizations to grow and become better. As such, I have had the opportunity to lead a group of friends to organize a charity event to raise funds for an animal shelter. In an informal setting, a leader is needed to help meet the differences in ideology and needs of the group so that they accomplish their goals and targets. Diversity challenges the leader to meet the need of the people he or she is serving. Since different people have different wants and needs, the leader must ensure that the workers are satisfied. Consequently, a leader should provide a conducive and safe environment for their workers to express themselves and become encouraged to work hard, focus, and meet their objectives.