Author: Sun
(Department of Tourism Management, School of Economics and Trade, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou University Town 5 10006)
Keywords: leadership, quality model, limitations, training
Through the literal understanding of leadership and the elaboration of the difference between leadership and management, we have a conceptual understanding of leadership, and then introduce the concept of leadership quality model. Through the analysis of its limitations, we can re-understand the question of "what is leadership", and deduce the essence of leadership research from it, that is, to study what a group of excellent leaders have, and then expound the author's understanding of leadership and some views on the research topic of "cultivating college students' leadership".
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First of all, the literal meaning of leadership
There is an explanation for "leadership" in modern Chinese dictionaries, that is, leading and guiding a certain direction. Leadership is the ability to lead and influence others. In particular, you can motivate your team, influence others and make yourself achieve a challenging goal. Only by completing such a task can you show that you have good leadership ability. But what is leadership? Everyone has different opinions, and some say it is personal charm. A charismatic leader can lead his team towards the set goals. Some say it is strength and courage, and the strength and courage of individuals or enterprises can also unite and lead a team. Others say that knowledge is profound, and knowledge and wisdom can also infect and influence your team. Finally, motivation and enthusiasm, by giving your team an appropriate incentive and doing things with enthusiasm, will infect and influence your team and achieve a career.
Second, the difference between leadership and management:
Leadership and management are different, so don't confuse them. Leadership is operation and strategy, and management is more about procedures.
Conceptually, leadership is leadership and guidance, management is management and clear management, and the explanation in Chinese dictionary is to be responsible for the smooth progress of a certain work. If leadership and management are explained in the language of economics, leadership means doing the right thing, that is, being responsible for the right decision. Management is to do things right, that is, to successfully complete the assigned tasks.
From the origin, management is related to dealing with complex situations. In the 20th century, with the emergence of large international organizations, including large multinational companies such as General Electric, Wal-Mart and Motorola, as well as alliances between countries such as North American Free Union and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, management has become an inevitable response to the emergence of these large organizations. Without good management, these organizations will inevitably fall into chaos. Therefore, management began to flourish after the 1940s, and in the 1970s and 1980s, a set of management theories was formed and some classic management works were born. Leadership is about coping with change. Leadership is the product of fierce competition in modern society. With the formation of "global village", international competition is becoming increasingly fierce, and the international labor structure is changing faster and faster. Then in this era of change, in order to survive and gain advantages, leadership and leadership are becoming more and more important. Major changes will no longer be accidental. In the face of change, we naturally need a good leader and commander to face the change, grasp the situation, and grasp the direction and future of enterprise development in the rapid change. [①]
Third, the leadership quality model
Therefore, leadership is a more strategic position than management. In the book Leadership, James Kouzes and Barry Posner summarized the characteristics of an outstanding leader as follows: there are five behaviors and ten missions: five behaviors are leading by example, * * * inspiring vision, challenging the status quo, making everyone do it and inspiring people. Ten missions, namely, 1, to clarify your own ideas and find your own voice; 2. Make actions consistent with the concept of * * * and set an example for others; 3. Look to the future and imagine exciting possibilities; 4. Call for the vision of * * * and inspire others to fight for the vision of * * *; 5. Seek opportunities by pursuing the road of change, growth, development and innovation; 6. Try and take risks, constantly achieve small successes and learn from mistakes; 7. Promote cooperation by emphasizing common goals and building trust; 8. Empower others by sharing power and autonomy; 9. Recognize the contribution of others by praising the outstanding performance of individuals; 10, celebrate the realization and victory of value by creating a spirit of collectivism. [②]
Of course, the above requirements for leadership cannot be said to be excellent leadership templates, but they also summarize the abilities that a successful leader should have, that is, constitute a relatively sound leadership quality model. So what is a quality model? The so-called quality refers to the individual characteristics that can distinguish outstanding employees in a certain position from ordinary employees, including motivation, traits, self-concept, knowledge and skills. In China, quality is translated into ability, talent and qualification. The quality model refers to a model that integrates the main qualities required by a certain post or role. Leadership model is a collection of excellent leaders' qualities. Attention to leadership and leadership development greatly promotes the use of leadership quality model.
The basic starting point of many organizations' leadership quality models is based on career development, especially the models built around a series of behavioral dimensions. However, at present, most quality models have formulated a series of standards on how managers and executives should prove leadership, which goes beyond the original intention of career development and is embodied in performance evaluation, career development, high potential confirmation process and succession management system, and these standards are regarded as the basic standards for selection, promotion and salary adjustment. In recent years, due to the failure of supervision on business ethics of enterprise executives, the quality model has been further extended to integrate enterprise values, learning ability and behavior norms, and together with * * * constitutes leadership. 360-degree feedback tools have been widely used, and the importance of quality model in the field of leadership development and evaluation has been well consolidated. [③]
Fourth, the limitations of the leadership quality model.
Even so, it is impossible to judge and identify whether a person has leadership through the quality model. As mentioned at the beginning of the article, there are different opinions about what is the ability to influence others. Leadership is not a general model. Therefore, the author believes that Kutz's "leadership" should not be regarded as a measure of leadership, but as a general model of leadership quality.
However, because the research of leadership quality model is based on the scope and extension of leadership behavior, it is easy to become too complicated. In addition, the quality model is based on the conceptualization and hollowing out of leadership. Generally speaking, when determining the quality, researchers will analyze some examples of outstanding leaders and try to determine the quality accordingly. However, the quality model reinforces the view that leaders are perfect or generalists, and there are few such people in reality. This general model often fails to recognize the diversity of leaders and the changes in cultural and environmental needs. For example, the leadership skills of top managers are often significantly different from those of middle managers, and the behavioral characteristics of leaders in western culture are also different from those defined in Asia-Pacific culture. Different operating departments and companies may also lead to different needs for leaders, and even some special needs. More importantly, the potential assumption of conceptualizing the leadership quality model is to accumulate a series of abilities of effective leaders.
Therefore, the quality model of leadership is limited and suitable for the generalization of leadership. Due to the influence of various factors such as different environments, different positions and cultural differences, the requirements for leadership are not the same. You can't ask the leading core of a very good football team to have the talent and quality of a world economic giant. On the other hand, a world economic giant may not be able to stand on a football team. But isn't the core of the football team and the world economic giants leaders? This statement is obviously absurd. Leadership exists in every corner of this society. Anyone can be an outstanding leader in one aspect, but he is an ordinary follower in many aspects. So most people are willing to be ordinary, rather than continue to tap their leadership potential in that area. Successful leaders have found their own leadership skills well, or they can be said to be successful leaders with various leadership skills, and have made good use of these leadership skills in their successful fields, thus creating success.
Fifth, the practical significance of the leadership quality model.
Therefore, the quality model of leadership summarizes the similarities and differences between this group of people and the excellent quality of leadership, and interprets leadership accordingly. Kouzes's book Leadership has a comprehensive understanding of leadership. From the philosophical point of view, this synthesis well understands and makes use of the principle of universality of contradiction. By understanding the regularity of a group of things, we can solve the most common contradictions in society. However, just like the limitation of the quality model mentioned by the author before, it seems that the integration of successful leaders and leadership qualities cannot recreate a successful leader, because people are not machines, and it is impossible to recreate an identical person through cloning. Or because of the different environment and times, the universality of contradictions no longer applies. At this time, from a philosophical point of view, it is necessary to combine the universality and particularity of contradictions and analyze specific problems. Only by combining these qualities with the unique qualities of leaders and matching the environment with the times can successful leaders be born. This is the essence of leadership, the combination of individuality and individuality, and the integration of the times and the environment.
Therefore, in my opinion, leadership cannot be defined in a unified sense. Take Kouzes's leadership as an example, the leadership it summarizes can only be said to be something shared by a group of successful leaders in a certain field (such as an enterprise), rather than the leadership in a complete sense. The question of "what is leadership" cannot be generalized, let alone confined to a certain framework system.
Sixth, the cultivation of college students' leadership.
Therefore, in order to exercise their leadership, college students must first find out what kind of leadership we need. Is the quality model the * * * of students' leadership or the * * * of potential leadership required by society? As we all know, excellent student cadres are not necessarily successful business people or social people. In my opinion, the leadership of college students' student work is only one aspect of cultivating future social leadership. Whether this aspect will play a great role as a successful leader in later life depends on people, environment and times.
However, in order to become a successful social leader in the future, college students can cultivate their leadership from the following aspects:
1, excellent professional skills, which is the basic condition of leadership training. An excellent leader is mostly a leader in his professional field, and his professional knowledge is often better than that of ordinary employees. Therefore, college students should learn professional skills well in school in order to become the best in the future professional field.
2, flexible communication skills, which is an essential tool for a leader to succeed. An excellent leader is often a versatile communicator. College students should make full use of the big stage of communication, show and sell themselves on this stage, and fully exercise their communication skills.
3. Independent thinking ability, which is a necessary quality for a leader. College students should not only learn professional skills well, but also have their own independent thinking. No matter what you do, you must have your own independent thoughts and opinions. A person who has no opinion will not be an excellent leader.
4, keen judgment, which is the most essential factor that distinguishes leaders from followers. Leaders often have their own opinions on things through their own independent thinking, and at the same time have keen judgment on the development of things, and can judge the direction and changes of things. It is because of this judgment and foresight that leaders can make correct decisions.
5, the influence on the crowd, this is the quality of every outstanding leader. But this is the hardest thing to cultivate leadership. This influence not only means becoming the core of the crowd, but also means becoming the guide and spiritual supporter of the affected people. This influence sometimes depends on the leader's innate personality charm, and sometimes depends on the leader's unique view of things and convincing inertia influence.
6. Pioneering spirit is the new requirement for leaders in 2 1 century. If college students want to compete in the increasingly fierce society in the future, they must learn to innovate and learn to look ahead. Dare to challenge the status quo, dare to open new horizons, walk in front of the crowd, think of unexpected heights, and lead followers to bravely challenge the unknown, so as to be convinced by followers and become an excellent leader.