Leadership

Leadership is not domination but it is the art of persuading people towards a common goal.
Fiona McDonald highlighted to us that great leaders enable ordinary people to do extraordinary things. This means to be an effective leader one has to be able to cross boundaries to engage diverse constituents. At the same time leaders create positive energy while also being able to mange conflict.

One thing that fascinated me about the lecture on leadership was the fact that contrary to what I thought Fiona claimed that Mugabe the President of Zimbabwe was a good leader because he has managed to stay in power for 28 years. This means he is an effective leader. This might be true that he has managed to stay in power but I thing he has managed this through intimidation and the use of violence. Maybe that is his style of leadership.

People Skills needed in an organisation

Intellect – the ability to analyse, critique and synthesis information in order to solve problems

Willingness to learn – the ability to learn and willingness to learn through out life

Flexibility and Adaptability – the ability to respond to change

Self regulatory skills – self discipline, time keeping, the ability to deal with stress to plan and prioritise your work load and to juggle several tasks at once

Self motivation – being a self starter, and determined

Self assurance – being self confident, self awareness

Communication skills – the ability to communicate formally and informally, verbally and in written form

Interpersonal skills – the ability to relate to and feel comfortable with people of all levels and being able to maintain relationships as circumstances changes

Team working – the ability to work effectively in teams and being able to re-adjust roles from one project situation to another