On Leadership Essay

Leadership could very much be likened to a driver of an automobile. Without it, the stationary vehicle may warrant some amount of value, yet it doesn’t live up fully to what it is worth. Without anyone to man its steering wheel, it would end up unmoving, stagnant, and eventually wasting opportunities to travel vast lands and reach great summits. Without someone to operate the car, there will be no one to lend his sense of direction. Without this someone, there will be no destination, much less any means to arrive to it. Without this someone, the car would ultimately miss the chance to possess an attribute which is very crucial to attain any accomplishment: the attribute of being DRIVEN. Likewise, being driven is essential to attaining success in the real world, which is why I deem leadership a significant part of life. In a world where tough competition is present almost everywhere, it isn’t enough anymore to merely possess knowledge or skills. So that success could be attained, there is a need to manage these raw gifts effectively and turn them into something more. And leadership makes that possible. I believe that leadership is built on the foundations of vision, drive and direction. Coupled with hard work and dedication, it enables people to maximize whatever resources they have, and allows them to achieve whatever goals they set upon themselves. Because for a group to function efficiently and idyllically, it must have a clear sense of what it aspires, where it wants to go, and how it is going to make it all happen. However, leadership should not only concern the what, the where, and the how. It is equally important that significant consideration be given to the why. Doing so is what I call responsible leadership. I believe that the ideal leader doesn’t only empower his followers; he empowers the society as a whole. It is something which separates a leader from a manager: a manager simply does things right, and a leader, aside from doing this, also makes it a point that he does the right things. All these years I have kept faith in the power of aggressive yet responsible leadership: leadership which inspires trust amid difficulties, which upholds long-term thinking while conquering immediate challenges at the same time. I always make it a point that I myself embody my own ideals of being a leader who could challenge the status quo and be a steward of progress and development. Indeed a great number of people have attempted to encapsulate the term leadership. But through these attempts do we discern that there are a myriad of meanings that could be associated with the word. Although I do agree with a number of the descriptions given, I sum it all up to one idea: that leadership is the one powerful requisite that could bridge the gap between your present location and your target destination, between your situation and your ambition, between where you are now†¦ and where you want to be.