Simply put leadership concerns leading a group of people or an organization. A leader is usually the vision bearer, and bears the responsibility of using his position to influence the team in fulfilling the laid down goals. My future context of leadership would be in the area of business. This is my chosen profession, and after working for a couple of years in entry level, and managerial positions, I aspire to become a corporate leader in a business organization. A business leader is called upon to motivate and inspire the team. Effective leadership ensures that an organization attains its goals, overcomes threats, and eventually attains success (MSA 2021). In addition, a business leader is usually the face of the corporation, and cultivates a good relationship with employees, shareholders, stakeholders in the industry as well as customers all with the aim of ensuring the success of the organization.

Some of the leadership goals I would like to succeed in include: mentorship, confidence, making strong connections, becoming more adaptable to change, and making smart decisions. Through mentorship, a good leader is able to inspire employees into embracing the vision of the company. A motivated staff will go about and beyond the normal call of duty to fulfill assigned tasks. As a leader, I would want to have a team who derive inherent satisfaction, and actually take pleasure in the work.  Such a team fulfills tasks with utmost diligence independent of external rewards or pressures. Secondly confidence is an important quality for a leader. A team will diligently follow the directives of a confident and strong leader.  Also, a confident leader demands for accountability from the team, and this is crucial in ensuring that everyone meets the key performance indicators (KPIs). Realization of the later leads to organizational growth. Third, a good leader is a charming person who establishes strong connections with customers and industry players. The leader is able to leverage on these relationships to form strategic linkages for the organization, and ultimately increase its market share. Fourth, a good leader is adaptable change. This is very relevant especially in light of the Covid-19 pandemic that has rocked the world, and changed the way of doing business. A leader is expected to lead the organization in navigating through tumultuous events. The timeliness and strategy employed to changes and threats can make or break an organization. Fifth, a good leader makes smart decisions, in consultation with the team and key experts. Effective decision making requires settling on the best decision in the interest of the organization.

The most outstanding core values for a leader include: vision, empathy and communication. As aforementioned, a leader is the vision bearer of an organization. As Jack Welch, a renowned industrialist, and business executive put it, “Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion” (Araoz, 2020). They set up clear milestones, and drive the team towards realizing the company’s goals.  Most important, such leaders are able to inspire the team into embracing and owning the organization’s vision. Secondly, empathy is an important trait in a leader as it enables an individual to truly understand the needs of others, and this includes employees and customers. In the business world, empathy is important in understanding the customer’s journey and experience when interacting with the products of an organization. A successful company is one that churns products that truly solve a customer’s problems. Communication is also another important core value in leadership. A leader should ensure that there is clear flow of information in the workplace as it will give employees good direction in realizing the organization’s goals. As a leader, I would put in place an open door policy that encourages employees to share crucial information and ideas with their supervisors and the management team. Excellent communication channels are good for invention, and innovation all of which boost productivity.

Some of the leadership principles for successful leaders include: leading by example, and working together to achieve more. A good leader needs to lead by example, and it is a sure way to inspire confidence in the team. For instance a sales manager who is good at sales, and achieves the set targets is a good example for the rest of the sales team. Indeed teams are highly motivated and more determined to accomplish set goals when they have leaders who lead by example. Secondly, I believe in the immense potential of teamwork, and when people work together to achieve more. As a leader, I will endeavor to cultivate team spirit, and put in place a cohesive work environment. Such an environment will encourage openness, and a chance to leverage on the strengths of all team members.

As a business leader, I would employ the transformational leadership style. This is the best leadership style since it calls upon a leader to inspire employees to create change and innovate that is important for an organization’s success (White, 2018). Instead of micro-managing, the employees are encouraged to be autonomous, and equally responsible for their own actions. The leadership style is designed to bolster productivity in an organization. This is critical in a dynamic business environment that requires a company to release products in accordance to changing consumer needs.

The most critical incident of leadership would be steering forward an effective and content team. Aside from being good in their jobs, I would want the people working under me to be happy and truly motivated to work. I would want to have team members who have totally embraced the vision of the organization, and are committed in taking it to the next level.