What is Leadership?
For the success of any organization it is very important that some individuals take on the role of leaders. Leadership is a behavioral process that is performed by some individuals who steer and guide the efforts of other individuals. Thus we see that leadership involves guiding the efforts of other individuals and involves directing the actions, efforts and affairs of others. A leader is responsible for determining the realistic performance and then providing the workers with the resources required to perform their tasks. A leader also communicates to the workers what are the expectation of the organization of them and also provides a reward structure to encourage them. Leader delegates the authority whenever require and also remove the barriers and blocks in effective performance of others.

What are the qualities of a Leader?
For some time the identification of potential leaders was based on the concept that there was an identifiable set of trades that every good leader possesses. This approach has now been modified. While there are no set of absolute trades, it is reasonable to assume that individuals who possess the ability to lead others toward the achievement of organizational goals may benefit from certain attributes that help them in performing their leadership roles.

A partial list of helpful (although not absolutely required) attributes of a leader might include the willingness of the leader to assume responsibility for achievement, the ability to be perceptive and empathetic, the ability to be objective, the ability to place a proper priority on duties and activities, and the ability to communicate effectively with others.

What is the need of a Leader?
One may question the need for leadership once an organizational has attained a state of maturity and why a mature organization can not work without a leader. The need for leadership is present in all organization due to many reasons.

(i) Certain imbalances develop in growing organization which need changes both of the organizational level and at the unit level. With the extension of the organization control over the environment, new function are added and new complexity of structure are created for these new functions. In order to maintain the health of the internal organization during these transitory phases a leader is require.

(ii) Gaps in formal organizational structure: The formal organization is generally incomplete and imperfect. Its voids are generally filled by informal organization and organization fictions. As a consequence the “real” organization widely differs from the “formal organization”. Leadership is needed to compensate for the weakness inherent in the formal designs.

(iii) The internal dynamic of the organization: With growing organizations certain imbalances develop which necessitate changes both at the level of the organization as a whole and at the unit level. With the extension of organization’s control over the environment, new functions are added new complexities of structure are created to provide for these new functional needs. The health of internal organization is to be maintained during these transitory phases and it is the leader who can sustain the organization.

Some time these three terms are used interchangeably but there is a difference between these three terms.

While attitude is the predisposition to act in a particular way towards and object or situation, opinion is the expression of the judgment of an individual about a particular set of facts. It is an evaluation of the circumstances presented to an individual.

Similarly belief is also different from attitude. Belief is the acceptance of a statement of a set of circumstances. Beliefs is much more stronger than opinion and are less affected by the pro and con positions that are fundamental in attitude. However these three can influence each other.

All through these years a universal agreement could not be reached on the exact meaning of personality. It continuous to main different things to different people while some take it as a general some of traits or characteristics of a person, some other feels that it is a unitary mode of response to different situation in life. Personality can be defined as a pattern of traits that characterized and individual. It is a very diverse and complex psychology concept and is concerned with external appearance and behavior, situational interactions and self measurable traits.

What are the factors that affect personality?
The determinants of personality are broadly categorized into biological familial, cultural, social and situational categories. The biologically factors include heredity and the physical feature of a person. The structure of the brain is also a factor falling in this category. Cultural factors is also contribute in the personality of a person. Attributes like independence, competition, aggression and co-operation are affected by culture. Familial factors also have a significant impact on the personality of a person particular in early stage. This category includes factors like parents and other member s of family, environment at home and the order of birth among siblings. Social and situational factors also affect the personality of a person.

Delegation means assigning some work to others and also giving them the authority to perform that task. It involves the granting of the right of decision making in some identified areas and also giving the responsibility of the completion of the task to a subordinate. As in this process a superior delegates a part of his authority to a subordinate he can not delegate the authority which he himself doesn’t have. The subordinate is expected to work within the limitations that were put at the time of delegations. Delegation could be written or implied, specific or general or formal or informal. It helps in reducing the work load of the manager as they can delegate some of their work to others. It also helps in improving motivation, morale, and the job satisfaction of the subordinates. It also enables a manager to utilize the specialized knowledge and experience of a subordinate.

The process of delegations involves the determination of accepted results and the assignments of duties to the subordinates. The authority to perform these duties is also given to the subordinates so that they can take decisions and use the available resources. The subordinates to whom the authority is delegated are also made accountable for the performance of these duties.

The plan of action adopted for the achievement of the organization goals is called a long range plan. It also known as strategic planning and covers a time frame which could extent to five years or more. The mission of the organization is determining and the strengths and weaknesses are also evaluated. Long range plans also include the forecasting of the external environment like changes in the technology, social economical and political factors that indirectly effect the organization. Then the organizational goals are developed and those alternatives are chosen that can give competitive advantages to the organization. The implementation of strategy is the last step and control for measuring performance after the implementation of the plan should also be developed.