A leader is a person who leads according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary. Also, it means a Guide or conductor. These above definitions may seem like no-brainer, but the simplicity serves as an uderpining to the widely accepted notion of leadership. To lead is a complex idea that interweave different kinds of skill sets, and require nurturing and time to become a master at it. Also it demands creativity and personal ingenuity to be a successful leader.
However, there are some acceptable traits that are associated with leaders. Amongst are intergrity, humility, credibility, kowledgeble, and visionary. No matter what field or industry, these traits have become a standard be which leaders are measured by. Moreover, these traits are not unique to a particular leadership role, but are transfereble from industry to industry to ensure success. Hence leadership is the process of inspiring others to work hard to accomplish inportant tasks. So to be an outstanding leader, it is important first and foremost to know how to work with people, and secondly to have a clear sense of the task ahead. Tasks and personnels might change from one role to another, but the leadership skills required to be successful is similar across the spectrum. Although, new leadership roles demand individuals to adopt different approaches from those adopted in their previous roles. An example of a high profile industry switch was that of Edward Whitacre. As a former head of AT&T and SBC, critics question his qualifications when he was named to be the Chairman and CEO of General Motors. The critics forgot that one of the qualities of a leader is the ability to get results, and Whitacre is well respected for getting results in the companies he has worked. He skills sets which gets him results from his employees in the previous jobs will be needed in this new role.
Closely examined, one of the contingency leadership theory that support the transferability of leadership qualities is the Hersey-Blanchard situational leadership model. The model matches leadership styles with the maturity of followers. These model believe that successful leaders adjust their styles base on the readiness of their follower to perform in a given situation. A leader according to these model should be able to assess the followers' readiness so as to be able to determine which type of leadership style to employ. The style range from Delegating, participating, selling and telling. Further, this model believe that leaders should adjust their style as followers mature over time. But it should be known that not all skills set are tranferable. One person that will agree to that is Jim Turner. Jim for 30 years was in the beverage industry, which took him to become the President of Dr Pepper. He was at Dr Pepper when the company was purchased by a private equity firm. Through many changes in the company, he became the head of Dr Pepper Bottling Co. of Texas. Under him, the company grew to a $2 billion annual revenue through acquisition and expansion. But he decided to retire from the company due to constant travelling to open an insurance company. He quickly realized that even while he was successful at the beverage industry, this new industry will require a new set of skills that he did not have. He described his first year as ups and downs, so he finally decided to hand over the management responsibilities to another person.
Jim will advice that not everything is transferable from one type of business to another. According to him, ''Management skills, selling skills, marketing skills- all of these tranfer. But a different customer base requires a different skills set. You have to surround yourself with people who understand the technical aspects and culture of the new industry.''
http://www.dmagazine.com/Home/D_CEO/2010/July_August/Three_Dallas_CEOs_Reinvent_Themselves_With_Second_Careers.aspx
http://www.career-line.com/job-search/new-gm-ceo-comes-from-att/
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