Abstract
Leadership is a proper practice because it can make any organization or individual successful. According to Americans, an effective leader should possess certain traits and qualities to achieve his or her goals. This paper discusses how Americans view leadership and humility. The discussion goes further to explain the importance of humility in leadership.
How Americans view leadership
In the United States, leadership is something critical because it determines the success of any organization or project. Americans are always anxious about the best leadership and governance. According to them, leadership is a unique practice because the leader ensures every employee completes his or her duties promptly. Most of Americans are Christians. This explains why leadership is necessary for every American organization or family. These people also encourage one another to be a leader. According to Fry (2003), any person can become a leader in his or her life. For instance, a person can mentor others in order to achieve the best results. That being the case, Americans view leadership as an important practice in life.
Americans also believe that an effective leader should be “competent, determined, strong-willed, courageous, adept, visionary, and smart” (Owens, Johnson, & Mitchell, 2013, p. 1518). These traits are critical because they can make any person successful. Different theories explain why leadership is an opportunity for many people to achieve their goals. (Lawrence, 2010). This days leadership has a close relation to humility.
How the Americans view humility
Humility is another important aspect of American leadership (Owens & Hekman, 2012). It is also considered to be one of the most important traits among Christians. Effective leaders embrace humility to their guiding principle. Humility encourages a leader to have a good heart and not overuse the power s/he has over other people. In America, many people believe that leaders should develop good relationships with their employees and followers. Leaders should also be caring and charismatic. They should support different groups and address the problems or challenges affecting them. Christianity also encourages leaders to have a spiritual life. Some of the common values among the Americans include “honesty, humility, and sincerity” (Owens & Hekman, 2012, p. 788).
The importance of humility in leadership
In my opinion, humility is a very important value when we talk about leadership. Americans strongly believe that humility is an important aspect of proper leadership. “Humility is what makes a leader honest and decisive” (Owens & Hekman, 2012, p. 792). This is one of the core values that help a leader identify and address any mistake in an organization. This explains why such a leader will be optimistic, creative, and interactive. According to Fry (2003), Americans believe that humility ensures managers admit their challenges and mistakes. The approach gives room for proper decision-making.
Americans treat competition as a positive practice. Most of American leaders use the best traits and values that make them successful. This explains why the majority of Americans encourage others to cooperate and work hard to achieve their goals. At the same time, most of the American leaders promote the best practices at the workplace, such as teamwork. Humility is also helpful whenever solving problems in an organization. Humility encourages leaders to share their visions and empower their followers (Owens et al., 2013). Humility is a powerful tool because it instills the best practices and ideas in many leaders. In conclusion, every cultural group or society should embrace the concept of neo-humility to achieve its goals and objectives.
Reference List
Fry, L. (2003). Toward a theory of spiritual leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 14(1), 693-727.
Lawrence, P. (2010). Neo-humility/humility and Business Leadership: Do They Belong Together? Journal of Business and Leadership, 2(1), 116-126.
Owens, B., & Hekman, D. (2012). Modeling how to grow: an inductive examination of humble leader behaviors, contingencies, and outcomes. Academy of Management Journal, 55(4), 787-818.
Owens, B., Johnson, M., & Mitchell, T. (2013). Expressed Humility in Organizations: Implications for Performance, Teams, and Leadership. Organization Science, 24(5), 1517-1538.