Organizational Leadership

Organizational Leadership: Final Paper
MGT: 380
3/12/2012

Organizational Leadership
I was only a senior in high school, when I was promoted to my first leadership position as a shift manager, working within the local area restaurant I was employed for.   At that young age, I had little leadership knowledge and quickly had to learn the inner workings of what organizational management entails.   Years later, and after acquiring much hands-on organizational management experience, I can tell you that leadership involves adept direction and strategy, and it is what so many organizations rely upon in order to achieve success.   Being a leader takes great effort; being a great leader is harder yet.   Leadership involves capabilities of different styles and techniques, as not all leaders will utilize the same approach; what is appropriate for one organization may not be adequate for meeting the demands of another.   Leadership is an essential directional component within organizations; it is a main foundational constituent which helps to support and uphold the organization.
My leadership began as an unknown journey, and as time passed and my experiences expanded, my leadership style began to take shape.   Every leader is shaped by his/her unique leadership style, which is greatly consisted of their personality traits or characteristics.   One of the most rudimentary of the leadership ideals is known as the trait theory, which is centralized around personal leadership attributes.   The trait theory has involved years of research examining and trying to find just what those great leadership skills really are. Trait theory considers which ‘traits’ great leadership encompasses - this is also why this theory has been designated as ‘the great man theory’, (Weiss, 2011).  

One of the most debated aspects of trait theory involves the speculation of whether or not leadership skills are innately instilled, or instead, learned.   For me, effective leadership skills were something...