world leader essay

Feb 15, 2023

Essays on Leadership for Students | 200 - 500 Word Essays

Are you writing an essay about leadership? Check out these examples!

Leadership is often defined as "the action of inspiring others to act in concert to achieve a particular goal." It signifies the harmony in actions that lead to a common objective. A genuine leader not only exudes confidence but also paves the way for their followers towards triumph. Over the years, various leadership styles have been identified and discussed by psychologists.

Qualities such as intelligence, adaptability, extroversion, innate self-awareness, and social competence often emerge as the hallmarks of impactful leaders. There's a consensus that these traits mold an individual into an effective leader. Interestingly, some theories suggest that extraordinary situations can thrust an ordinary individual into the spotlight, bestowing upon them the mantle of leadership. It's also believed that leadership isn't a static trait but an evolving journey. It underscores the belief that with dedication and the right resources, anyone can hone their leadership abilities.

True leadership goes beyond merely advocating for a cause. It involves taking responsibility, igniting motivation in others, and differentiating oneself from just being a 'boss'. A leader's essence lies in their ability to inspire and propel people towards grand visions, whereas a manager typically focuses on oversight and operational aspects.

What Is a Leadership Essay?

A leadership essay falls under the category of student application essays and serves to provide student admissions officers with insight into your past leadership experiences. Despite appearing to be very specific, this type of essay acknowledges that the nature and perception of leadership can vary significantly depending on the individual and the context.

If you find yourself in need of further insights or a unique angle for your leadership essay, consider exploring an expert essay-writing tool designed to assist students in crafting compelling narratives by analyzing vast data and generating fresh ideas within minutes. In this article, we'll also delve into various leadership essay examples to offer a clearer understanding of the genre and inspire your writing journey.

4 Examples of Leadership Essays

Qualities of a good leader, introduction.

Confidence is the most important attribute first of all. One of the most important qualities in a leader is confidence in one's own abilities. A lack of self-assurance is fatal to a person's leadership potential. If you want others to follow you, you need to exude self-assurance. It's imperative for a leader to have faith in his own judgment and actions. How can people want to follow him if he doesn't even know what he's doing?

Every effective leader knows that they need to be an inspiration to their followers. A leader needs to set an example for his team. In addition, he ought to inspire them whenever feasible. A leader must also maintain optimism in trying times.

What qualities a good leader must have?

Leadership is the ability to influence and guide individuals or groups toward a common goal. A leader must possess several qualities to be effective, including:

Communication skills: A leader must be able to communicate their vision and goals clearly and effectively, both verbally and in writing. This requires excellent listening skills, empathy, and the ability to adapt to different communication styles.

Emotional intelligence: A leader must be able to understand and manage their own emotions, as well as those of their team members. This includes being able to understand and respond to the emotions of others, and handling conflicts in a constructive manner.

Visionary: A leader must have a clear and inspiring vision of the future, and be able to articulate this vision in a way that motivates others to work towards it.

Strategic thinking: A leader must be able to think critically and creatively to identify and solve problems, make decisions, and develop plans and strategies to achieve their goals.

Flexibility: A leader must be able to adapt to changing circumstances and be open to new ideas and perspectives. This requires the ability to embrace change, be innovative, and continuously learn and grow.

Integrity: A leader must have strong ethics and values, and be willing to make difficult decisions that are consistent with their beliefs. This requires honesty, transparency, and accountability.

Decisiveness: A leader must be able to make tough decisions quickly, without undue hesitation or procrastination. This requires courage and the ability to take calculated risks.

Empowerment: A leader must be able to delegate responsibilities, give team members the resources they need to succeed, and foster a sense of ownership and accountability among their team.

Conclusion

These qualities are essential for effective leadership, and when combined with hard work, determination, and a commitment to excellence, can help leaders to achieve great things.

How one can be a Great Leader?

Leadership is the act of performing the duties of a leader. In the business world, for instance, it is essential to have someone in charge of a team to ensure everything runs well. Effective leadership is essential for any group that wants to maximize its prospects of success.

Leadership Comes from Experience

As we've shown, leadership can be innate in some cases but is more often learned through practice and exposure. Sometimes the best traits of a leader must be learned over a lengthy period of time, so that one can become a notable one, proving that leadership is not always about a person's innate qualities. Leaders should continuously be on the lookout for opportunities to grow their leadership skills.

Nobody can disagree that experience is a key component of leadership. Numerous examples exist to back up this claim, such as:

Instance 1:

Our school's head boy or girl has traditionally been an older student who has been around for a while and thus has a better grasp of the ins and outs of school politics.

Instance 2:

When there is a vacancy for a team leader, it is common practice for the employee who has consistently put in the most effort and attention to the office job to receive a higher number of votes than their coworkers.

“The best teacher for a leader is evaluated experience.” - John C. Maxwell

How one can be a Great Leader/Skills to be a Great Leader?

Effective leadership is a skill that develops through time. Developing into a leader with all the qualities that are needed takes a lot of hard work and potential. Being a prominent leader calls for a wide variety of traits. Some of these characteristics are addressed in further detail below:

One should be a Good Communicator

To be an effective leader, one must be able to convey his thoughts clearly to his/her/its subordinates.

Should have Confidence

The individual should have faith in what he says and does.

Give Credit to other Team Members too

A leader not only needs to impose his viewpoints and opinions instead he must also hear to the suggestions of other members of the team and offer them credit if their concept is appropriate.

Good Bond with the Team

A leader's ability to command respect from his team members depends on his ability to develop and maintain positive relationships with them.

Leads with Responsibility

A leader needs to be completely committed to his position. It's important that he takes on responsibility so that he can effectively deal with the various challenges he will inevitably face.

Any group or organization needs a leader above all else. Leadership development takes time and effort. One needs to have lived through a lot to be an effective leader. It's not enough to simply have years of experience in the field; one must also have the traits that make one an effective leader. You can't be a great leader unless you possess certain traits.

What makes a Good Leader?

Trying one's hand as a leader appears easy when viewed through this lens. Is that so tough? Of course not; leading is difficult, and not everyone aspires to be a leader. The vast majority of us have settled into well-established careers where we report to superiors and make a living. Still, not everyone is content to go along with the crowd. They become leaders in whatever field they pursue. A leader is an example to followers and will prioritize the needs of those around them.

Some Unique Qualities of a Leader

Many individuals resort to their leaders to vent their frustrations, therefore it's important for them to be good listeners.

A leader ought to be completely forthright; they can't play favorites or give anyone preferential treatment. One of the most essential qualities of a strong leader is the ability to make decisions with integrity.

They need to be aware of the bigger picture and understand what makes an individual stand out or become a leader. It's their expertise in addition to other distinguishing traits. Their awareness of current events and the results of recent studies is essential. In many ways, this is helpful, and it's the leader's responsibility to stay current.

Since some might not understand them, they should utilize straightforward, easily comprehended language. Leaders need to be able to communicate effectively at all times. In reality, what sets them apart is their exceptional communication skills. Adolf Hitler was such a gifted orator that his followers believed every word he said.

No matter how you're feeling or what's going on in the world, if you listen to a leader, they may make you feel energized. Since leaders are in charge of inspiring confidence in their followers, they can't afford to be wary or unsure of themselves. People tend to blindly follow their leaders.

Whether you're a leader or a doctor, you should devote yourself completely to your chosen field. Everything we do is for the benefit of others; engineers, for example, spend much of their time designing and constructing buildings for other people. So, take pride in what you do, and if you possess the aforementioned traits, you are also a leader who doesn't have to rely on others to succeed. No matter what you do, aspiring to leadership positions will always benefit others.

What is Leadership in Management and what are the weaknesses and strengths of a Leader?

Simply said, leadership is acting as a supervisor or manager of a group. Different mental pictures pop up when we hear the word "leadership" used in conversation. One might think of a political leader, team leader, corporate leader, school leader, etc. Leaders facilitate order and efficiency in the workplace. Teamwork and success are fundamental to effective leadership. Leaders utilize their managerial abilities to establish courses and guide their teams to success.

Strengths and Weaknesses of Leadership

Able to express oneself more clearly

Growth of character.

Self-awareness.

Possession of teamwork skills.

Gain assurance in yourself.

Weaknesses:

Acting favorably toward one's teammates.

Having no faith in the leader.

Thinks they're better than everyone else, but act hypocritically.

Not living up to the promised standard.

Insufficient morals.

Leadership and Management

Management and leadership are inextricably linked to one another. Leadership and management are both vital to the efficient operation of an organization; but, they accomplish very different things in the process. Leadership is a necessary skill for anyone aspiring to be an effective manager. The terms management and leadership are synonymous with one another. In this manner, we are able to draw the conclusion that a manager who demonstrates the traits of a successful leader is, in fact, a manager who is effective.

Leadership in School

Leadership is essential in nearly every group, as we've seen above. That group includes one's educational institution. Every school needs an outstanding figure to serve as its head of school. Class monitor, assembly captain, cultural leader, etc. are all examples of leadership roles that can be taken on at school, but this raises the question of what makes a person a successful school leader.

Any student hoping to be chosen as a student body leader will need to demonstrate a wide range of competencies. He or she needs to be a consistent student who pays attention in class and does well in extracurricular activities. For the simple reason that no intelligent and hardworking kid would ever be considered for leadership. Student leaders are most often selected from among those who participate fully in all activities.

Leadership in Organization

Leadership in an organization, also known as organizational leadership, is the process of establishing long-term objectives that further the company's mission and help it reach its ultimate destination. This is a classic illustration of how Bill Gates often works with his team: they agree on a strategy, and Gates implements it. To the same extent, it is the responsibility of the leader in each given organization to determine what it is that the group is trying to accomplish.

Leadership in Politics

Leadership in politics, also known as political leadership, is the process of becoming actively involved in a political party in the role of a party leader. Knowledge of political processes, their outcomes, and the political agenda is central to the idea of political leadership.

An effective leader can be developed in anyone who has the determination and drives to do so. Both the strengths and the areas for improvement should be nurtured. Whether in the classroom, the workplace, or the political arena, leadership is always necessary. Therefore, one can exercise leadership anywhere they like inside their own organization.

What are the types of Leadership?

The ability to lead is a rare trait that not everyone possesses. The ability to do so is a gift, so count your blessings if you possess it. It's recommended that you hone it even more so that you can propel your career forward and serve as an example to people around you. However, it is crucial to grasp the various leadership styles before you go ahead and polish your skills.

Types of Leadership Styles

Democratic Leadership

In this style of management, subordinates are given a voice in decision-making. Although the subordinates' efforts are highlighted, the leader is ultimately held responsible for the group's actions. Many people find this type of leadership to be effective.

Transformational Leadership

Transformational leaders motivate and inspire others to adopt new behaviors and ways of thinking in order to improve their own performance and that of their teams and organizations. A transformational leader is someone who encourages their team to strive for greater things and works to boost morale and output.

Team Leadership

A good leader fully incorporates his team into the task at hand. Members of the team are motivated to reach their goals and advance in their careers thanks to the leadership of the group.

Strategic Leadership

It requires a chief executive who doesn't restrict himself to brainstorming sessions with his superiors. He contributes on every level of the team. He is well-liked for his ability to unite the need for fresh ideas with the necessity of grounding them in reality.

Autocratic Leadership

The leader in a command and control structure is the center of attention. The chief executive has absolute power in this setting. He decides things on his own, without polling his staff. He relays this information to his staff and stresses the importance of swift action. The buck stops with him, and he alone must answer for his actions. Not much room for negotiation exists. It's no secret that this method of leading has its detractors.

Visionary Leadership

This kind of leader appreciates the abilities and requirements of his team members. He describes his ideal outcome and the teamwork that will be necessary to attain it.

Coaching Leadership

Leaders who coach their teams do so regularly in an effort to raise output. He inspires his employees to do better and works to keep them motivated. This approach to leadership has been much praised.

Facilitative Leadership

With occasional guidance, a facilitative leader ensures that the process runs smoothly for his team. As a precaution in case his team is ineffective. If the team is highly effective, the leader will take a hands-off approach.

Cross-Cultural Leadership

The leadership of this type is necessary when interacting with people from various cultural backgrounds. Because of the wide variety of cultures represented in the workforce across the United States, many managers and executives hold cross-cultural positions.

Laissez-Faire Leadership

The members of the team are given responsibility in this style of management. They are free to choose how they spend their time at work, with minimal oversight from the boss. It's not a good way to lead, according to experts.

Transactional Leadership

An interactive approach is integral to this kind of leadership. When team members successfully implement their leader's ideas and choices, they are rewarded with immediate, material benefits.

Charismatic Leadership

In order to bring out the best in his followers, this kind of leader makes the effort to change their attitudes, values, and actions.

This article should dispel the notion that leadership qualities can't be further subdivided. It should also assist you in pinpointing your own personal brand of leadership so you can perfect it over time.

Final Words

In conclusion, leadership is a complex and multifaceted concept that involves various qualities and skills. Effective leaders possess traits such as integrity, vision, empathy, decisiveness, and the ability to inspire and motivate others. They are able to navigate challenges, make difficult decisions, and lead their team toward success. Leadership also involves continuous learning and self-improvement, as leaders must adapt to changing circumstances and remain relevant. Effective leadership can have a positive impact on both individuals and organizations, fostering growth and creating a culture of success.

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Angela Merkel, the scientist who became a world leader

In word portraits, those who know the German chancellor, Harvard’s Commencement speaker, explain her rise to longtime prominence

Christina Pazzanese

Harvard Staff Writer

World War II was at a critical juncture when British Prime Minister Winston Churchill traveled to Harvard in September 1943 at the urging of his ally and friend President Franklin D. Roosevelt 1904, L.L.D. ’29. Taking a rare respite from the war, Churchill came to accept an honorary Doctor of Laws degree recognizing his international leadership that “turned back the tide of tyranny in freedom’s darkest hour.”

In 1947, as Europe’s vast devastation from that war had become clearer, U.S. Secretary of State George Marshall accepted an honorary Doctor of Laws degree for his success as the five-star Army general who had overseen much of the U.S. war operations in Europe. Marshall used his Commencement appearance in June that year to deliver a landmark speech pledging $13 billion for a new, U.S.-led aid program for Europe. That effort became known as the Marshall Plan and revitalized the continent.

Now, as national-populist forces again threaten to overtake much of Europe and undermine relations between the U.S. and the continent, Harvard again welcomes a pivotal democratic figure, a woman widely regarded as the most respected leader in the world, German Chancellor Angela Merkel. On Thursday, Harvard will award Merkel an honorary Doctor of Laws degree during Morning Exercises, and she will address the annual meeting of the Harvard Alumni Association during the Afternoon Program at the 368th Commencement.

Trained as a quantum chemist, Merkel spent her first 35 years living in Soviet-controlled East Germany working at a state-run research center until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. That historic shift prompted Merkel to abandon scientific work and embrace a lifelong interest in politics, steadily ascending the ranks of a newly unified German government.

Elected chancellor in 2005, Merkel is the first woman and the first East German to hold her nation’s highest elective office. When she steps down in 2021, she will be Germany’s second-longest-serving leader of the modern era, after her former mentor, Helmut Kohl, who spoke at Harvard’s Commencement in 1990.

In advance of her visit, the Gazette spoke with current and former Merkel colleagues, diplomats, scholars, and journalists about her life, her rise to political power, and her extraordinary influence on Germany and the world. Here are their reflections.

A figure of hope

AN AUTHENTIC LEADER She is extraordinary. She knows who she is. She does not try to be anything other. She is an authentic leader, which is critical. She has a set of strong values, and she understands Germany’s history exceedingly well, in part because she comes from East Germany. So she has a certain humility that comes from her particular biography. She fights for her country and for her people. She is analytical, she’s fierce, she’s a very skilled politician. She didn’t start out that way, but she certainly has become that. And she knows how to operate on the world stage — no easy task.

WENDY R. SHERMAN (Click to expand)

Under secretary of state for political affairs (2011‒2015); counselor of the State Department under Secretary Madeleine K. Albright (1997‒2001); special adviser to President Bill Clinton. Now professor of the practice of public leadership and director of the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard Kennedy School (HKS).

SOMEONE WHO DOESN’T FLINCH The most dangerous issue in the West is that democracy is under siege. It’s being challenged by Russian cyberattacks, by divisive politics here at home, by the rise of the anti-democratic populists in Europe, and by Donald Trump. And for a lot of us who think that the West is important, the idea of a democratic world, she’s now the leader of the West. I’m told that she doesn’t want that mantle. But for all of us who think that democracy is under challenge and we must do everything we can to revive it, she’s the one Western leader who’s never flinched. I think she will arrive at Harvard with many, many people on both sides of the Atlantic seeing her as a figure of hope.

NICHOLAS BURNS

FROM CRISIS TO TURNING POINT As ambassador to the Holy See, I witnessed the reaction to the way Merkel handled the migration crisis. She was viewed as “the woman who saved the dignity of Europe.” For Merkel, this decision was critical. While populists were maneuvering to use the issue to their advantage, she viewed it as the hour of truth for a Christian democracy. How Europe treated refugees was a testament to how it treats human beings. For her, the migration crisis was a turning point for Europe to demonstrate how to act responsibly.

ANNETTE SCHAVAN

ONE OF THE GREAT CHANCELLORS Considering the challenges she has faced, I would rank her as one of the great chancellors because she dealt with, like some of her predecessors, a major critical development: the breakdown of the established rules-based system in the wake of the U.S. election. She’s handled that very well, so far. That is her big crisis. She kept the European Union together in difficult times, particularly when the question came up of dealing with Russia, which is another crisis where she did well. Inside the European Union, there was a lot of divergence on whether or not to impose sanctions on Russia after the annexation of Crimea. She twisted the arms of some countries quite successfully to keep them on board, in close cooperation with the White House under [Barack] Obama.

KARL KAISER

SECRET TO HER SUCCESS What constitutes her success? If you ask me, it’s not visible at first sight. Probably the most remarkable achievement will be to have kept so much stability and continuity to the system in Germany, to government, to the country, to everyone’s life — with continued growth in economic terms, but also politically. When she took office, we were living through the terrorist age, then immediately slid into the most tumultuous economic times with 2008 and the ensuing economic crises, the European currency crisis. Her biggest, first achievement was preventing the euro from disintegrating. The second was to keep the EU together as it is now. Even the way the British show how difficult it is to get out, and what attraction the EU still can project, this shows that there must be something to it. She’s not a big performer, she’s not a huge visionary. She’s the stable hand.

STEFAN KORNELIUS

“She doesn’t need to win every argument. She doesn’t have to get in the last word. She quietly assesses the different factors involved in a given situation and then decides which way she wants to go, and does it quietly and without fanfare.”

A MISTAKE TO UNDERESTIMATE She does everything possible not to talk about herself. She doesn’t give interviews to correspondents from leading Western newspapers and magazines; she gives interviews to local papers when it’s politically advantageous. She seems to have no vanity. I’m sure she does, but she seems to have none, and that’s been one of her great assets as a politician. Whenever she runs up against a powerful and vain male German politician, she’s inevitably underestimated. She bides her time, and then, when the moment is right, she gives a small but decisive shove, and that person has to find some other line of work. That’s been her way to the top from the beginning. She doesn’t need to win every argument. She doesn’t have to get in the last word. She quietly assesses the different factors involved in a given situation and then decides which way she wants to go, and does it quietly and without fanfare. It’s a different kind of political style that Germans had not known until Merkel.

GEORGE PACKER

A LEADER RESPECTED She’s seen to be a problem-solver who sometimes puts other people’s best interests forward. And that’s just so remarkably unlike most politicians, on both sides of the Atlantic, that she’s stood out — to be serious, analytical, not always looking for the votes. She leads a country that has become, without any question, the strongest in Europe economically and politically, far stronger than France or Britain, the other two of that triumvirate. Her personal behavior, her seriousness, the way she drills down on issues — she’s substantive, she’s not superficial. If you took a private poll of the G20 leaders, the most powerful leaders in the world, and you asked, “Who do you respect the most in this group?” Merkel wins the poll. Or ask “Who would chair this group in a fair way?” They’d put the gavel in her hands. — NICHOLAS BURNS

DOESN’T NEED POLITICS A number of things are distinctive about her, but the thing that distinguishes her from most other politicians is that she’s genuinely not needy. She genuinely doesn’t need politics to be happy. People who know her much better say she ran for a fourth term because she felt responsible. She felt that she needed to, as it were, “finish her job.” Whenever she gets to step away, she will do so very happily. And I find that more credible than with most other politicians I’ve met.

CONSTANZE STELZENMÜLLER

A LATE RISE TO POWER Her political career could have never been anticipated, and never gave the idea that she could end up as chancellor or that she would be the leader of the Western world somehow. The speed in which she took on politics after ’89, especially when she joined the first unified German cabinet in ’91 and the continuing years, was breathtaking. There’s hardly a political career in these professionalized times where you start that late, at age 35, and not that high. So yes, this is stunning.

The second stunning thing is that her private character, the base on which all of this stands, has changed remarkably little. Yes, she has become, through and through, a political animal. She is breathing and thinking and dreaming politics, I guess. But on the other side, her character has not changed at all — the way she deals with people, the way she shows interest, the way she engages. She has not disappeared in the fog of prominence or of being a superhero. She’s a very down-to-earth woman, very self-critical. She’s always suspicious of people adoring her too much. She has kept that kind of ability to stand beside herself, watch herself, and tell herself, “Don’t take yourself too seriously, Angela.” — STEFAN KORNELIUS

Ever the East German

A CHILD OF THE EAST Her father was called “The Red Minister” because when everyone else was going west after the division of Germany following World War II, he went east and took over a parish north of Berlin, in the heartland of Brandenburg. It’s known for its correctness and its uprightness and the values of German Protestantism: hard work, discipline, self-effacement, all those things different from the German south. That was the region that shaped Merkel. That was the father who gave her a sense of purpose and responsibility. But she certainly didn’t take his politics and live by them. She was a good East German. She did not become a dissident. She avoided all the traps that could have derailed her career and even worse. She kept her head down and did what you had to do in order to have a decent life and a reasonably successful career. — GEORGE PACKER

FROM SCIENCE TO POLITICS She always was deeply interested in politics. She tells the story that she listened to West German radio in secret at her parents’ home, that she always dreamt of visiting Westminster in London, and so Parliament. Her first trip abroad led her to London. The first thing she did from Heathrow was to come up the escalator at Parliament Square in London and see the Churchill statue and then Parliament. Then, going on to Speakers’ Corner, watching those people debating. She had this deep desire to engage in public affairs and the public exchange of arguments. — STEFAN KORNELIUS

Angela Merkel worked as a research scientist until 1989. Here, as Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, she examines a beaker filled with water at a water-control station.

Photo by Ulrich Baumgarten via Getty Images

BEFORE THE WALL FELL I met Angela Merkel for the first time on Sept. 23, 1989, at an event organized by the Pastoral College in Templin. Her father, Horst Kasner, was in charge of this continuing education institution for the Protestant church. Together with friends and acquaintances, I attended a seminar with Professor Christofer Frey from Bochum on the relation of theology and natural sciences, ethics and responsibility, etc. My friend Marcus Kasner, Angela Merkel’s brother, also participated. One of the participants was Hans-Jürgen Fischbeck from the initiative Democracy Now, whose texts our ecumenical peace group had distributed the weekend before, after the worship. Another one was Angela Merkel, who was visiting her parents. I remember that she did not say much, but at one point when her father, as was typical for his generation, was suggesting moderation, she contradicted him. She was open-minded and acted politically in the spirit of the new civil rights movements, although she did not belong to one. For us, the most important date is the 9th of October, the Monday of the peaceful rally in Leipzig. One month later, the wall came down.

AFTER THE WALL FELL She wasn’t among the first to go over to the West. After it became clear people could cross, she didn’t go immediately. She actually took a sauna with a friend while others were crossing, and then joined a crowd. I picture her quietly taking it all in and assessing what it meant, rather than getting caught up in the euphoria and taking the lead. And that’s sort of been true of her for most of her political career. She doesn’t like to get out in front of the crowd. She likes to test the winds and make her decision like a scientist, based on a careful calculation of all the different factors at play.

She was a quantum chemist. She was divorced without children. She was working at an East German scientific institution that was decaying throughout the ’80s. You can’t think of a less-likely origin story for a world leader. I just have to speculate that as a really intelligent, ambitious, and capable person, she saw the fall of the wall as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and showed up at the local CDU [Christian Democratic Union] meeting and from there began to make her way upward. But whether she’d been planning it all along, I don’t believe it’s possible, because the fall of the Berlin Wall took everyone by surprise, including Merkel. I think she just saw the opportunity and realized that this was her moment, and she took it. — GEORGE PACKER

A NEW EXPERIMENT She had this career as a physicist, and she knew that the academic credentials she brought, the training and learning on the job she had enjoyed for about five to seven years in East Germany, wasn’t nearly enough of what was expected in the West. The East was so far behind in terms of equipment, in terms of scientific advances, that she knew she wouldn’t stand a chance in this competitive new environment. So she made the decision to join politics. She went from one political party to another to check on what she liked best. She disliked, for example, with the Social Democrats, the way that they always addressed each other by first name. That was too casual for her — or always this obligation to sing songs at the meetings. And the Greens, the same. That was alien to her. Her initial steps led her to a party called the Democratic Awakening, or Demokratischer Aufbruch . This party was, soon after unification, dissolved. — STEFAN KORNELIUS

“The key to understanding Angela Merkel is that her biographical experiences have shaped her world view. With the fall of the wall, her political life began.”

‘WE CAN DO IT’ The key to understanding Angela Merkel is that her biographical experiences have shaped her world view. With the fall of the wall, her political life began. That extraordinary event changed everything, shaped how she views political developments, and how to handle them. Merkel is motivated by a perspective that says, “What is impossible can be made possible.” When she lived in East Berlin, it appeared that life would never change. Even six months before the Berlin Wall fell, most people thought that its fall would be impossible. Her position on the migration crisis and her statement “Wir schaffen das” (“We can do it”) is a case in point. Merkel looks at a situation and then looks at its possibilities, not its obstacles. Her critics demanded that she take back this statement. But by doing so, they would have taken away her ability to lead. She, however, shaped the situation herself and decided how to handle it. She reacted the same way as with other topics. Rather than complaining, she looked at the opportunities the situation offered. — ANNETTE SCHAVAN

NO FENCES FOR REFUGEES After a long cabinet meeting, we went out of her office. During the meeting there had been tough conversations between some members of the government about the [Syrian] refugee issue. Some cabinet members asked for closing the borders and building fences. I was vice chancellor and leader of the Social Democratic party. She took me aside and said, “Please promise me that we will never build new fences in Germany against people who are refugees of civil wars and who only want to save their lives and the lives of their children.” To understand her position, one has to remember that she lived in East Germany, which was divided from West Germany through a fence. For me, it was her deep conviction that it is her duty as a Christian to help people who are in danger. And, of course, we did not build new fences in Germany.

HER CORE VALUES For a long time, there was a line I heard from many German journalists and politicians that she had no core values, that she was a politician who just went with what was popular and followed public opinion rather than led it — and that may have been true, but it’s no longer true. The second great event of her life, after the fall of the wall, has been something that echoes it: the arrival of hundreds of thousands of refugees at the borders of Germany. Those two moments are the bookends of her career. And there, she led and people learned that Merkel has core values, that they were shaped by being a product and a victim of Communism and being an East German, with all that that means. — GEORGE PACKER

FREEDOM AND SUPPRESSION Her suspicion of the police state, her suspicion of authoritarian systems, her deep, deep belief that liberalism and individualism are core to our whole existence — this all comes from her 35-year-old experience of being taught there and having to grow up in a system where she always felt suppressed. She grew up in a pastoral household. Her father was the priest-teacher in East Germany, the Protestant pastors’ teacher. So, yes, the family was watched. She was approached by the East German secret police when she started to study at the age of 17, 18, in Leipzig. She refused to cooperate, or actually told them she couldn’t keep a secret anyway, so it wouldn’t be worth recruiting her. So this is all part of her upbringing. It’s not pretension, it’s true. It is extremely honest, and you still do feel this honesty when she talks about democracy and liberalism and freedom. — STEFAN KORNELIUS

Taking power and leading

NO PLACEHOLDER Chancellor Helmut Kohl had good instincts, and choosing her as a successor was a good move. There was nothing for anybody to object to. There was nothing really for people to be able to say, “This is a real visionary; this is a person of great moral stature.” She was not that, but she clearly was not an apparatchik in any sense. She was a person whom no one could take offense with. I think the people in her party felt she’ll be the transitional figure between Kohl and whoever was the next major leader of the party. And, as it turned out, she was the major leader of the party.

Angela Merkel talks to her mentor, Chancellor Helmut Kohl, in 1991.

In 1991, Merkel was appointed Federal Minister for Women and Youth by Helmut Kohl, her mentor and, before her, the longest-serving German chancellor.

Michael Jung/Picture-alliance-dpa/AP Images

CALM OVER BOMBAST In Germany, there is a kind of blandness and blindness to politics, at least as I saw it back then. It’s changing; Germany is becoming more like the rest of Europe, but slowly. We here [in America] don’t recognize a politician like Merkel. It’s part of Germany’s political culture to distrust bombast. Look at what bombast led to in Germany. When Merkel and then-Chancellor Gerhard Schröder sat around a table on a news talk show after the 2005 election, it was clear that her party had won the most votes. But Schröder was trying to claim a victory. He was certainly bombastic. Merkel just quietly let him talk and talk and finally said, “We won the election. We will form the government.” It was so devastating that it deflated him in front of the eyes of the country. That’s Merkel. That’s how she has succeeded. Not in spite of that, but that is how she’s succeeded. — GEORGE PACKER

THE WOMAN CALLED ‘MUTTI’ In the German vernacular, we have this expression that has become a verb: to merkeln , which is “to wait for the strategic opportunity, or see how the chips lie, or how a landscape presents itself, and then make a strategic move.” Because she’s a woman, they call her Mutti , which is short for Mommy. Mommy Merkel. That’s partially in admiration, because she’s not mommy-ish at all. She’s not the mother hen of the nation. She’s a shrewd, straightforward, straight shooter who doesn’t take too many risks. She’s comforting in that sense — because she’s not a risk-taker. That’s why when she did open the doors to millions of refugees; that, for people, really broke character, because usually she’s so calculated, she’s so strategic, she’s so good at thinking a couple steps ahead.

DOESN’T DOUBT HERSELF She’s not taken away by the grandeur of the office. She’s not a pomp-and-circumstance woman. She hates standing at a party conference giving a speech and being applauded for 20 minutes. You can see she is physically uncomfortable being pushed into the limelight. She prefers to govern quietly and step by step, not by grandiose ideas, approaches, speeches. She rejects that role, and this makes her suspicious of all of us who expect more of that leadership type. The thing is, she’s utterly self-confident. There’s no question about that. She never has any doubt that she is right. She has the strength to make it through troubles. She went through at least three or four near-death moments in her political life where she was solely alone, especially during the refugee crisis. She never had any doubt that she was doing the right thing. How does this go along with the lack of the wish to show off? I can’t explain. — STEFAN KORNELIUS

WICKEDLY FUNNY I think what people really appreciate about her is her sense of humor. That’s something you hear all the time, that she is wickedly funny in private and really good at imitating other people. She’s famous for that. She is also one of the most experienced world leaders, if not the most. Merkel can point to a degree of experience, including with American presidents, that just makes for a sense of judgment and ability to bridge conversations that is in very short supply right now and is really appreciated by politicians who are newer to the game. A case in point is how she managed to charm Alexis Tsipras of Greece. I’m very critical of Germany’s policy toward Greece, but, bizarrely, the German-Greek relationship and the relationship between Merkel and Tsipras appear to be excellent and have come through all this with a consensus that the Greeks are now in a better place. That’s a fairly remarkable achievement. My sense is that she is very good at three things: reasonableness, listening, and empathy. That creates a certain amount of trust. She is never theatrical. She doesn’t grandstand. What you see is what you get, and that also inspires trust. There’s a fundamental sense that you may disagree with her, you may think that she takes too long to make decisions, that she isn’t fast enough or bold enough, but there’s never the sense that there is double-dealing. And that, in this day and age, is helpful. — CONSTANZE STELZENMÜLLER

QUIETLY BUILT TRUST Persuasion, using German resources like her predecessors did. Her word counts because she represents the biggest economic power in the European Union, and her personal standing does too. She is very cautious and very diplomatic, and the way she treats other politicians is very different from who’s now in the White House. She’s respected because of her success, because of her competence, because of her rationality, and because of her reliability. And she’s been in power for a long time — that helps. Her strength is to find consensus quietly and not publicly, never to humiliate anybody publicly, and to work until the early morning hours to work out a compromise, which is the method of the European Union. That’s her style: Work long nights, and then come out with a compromise. — KARL KAISER

MASTER NEGOTIATOR In nearly every European or international negotiation during the last decade, she played a very important role. Without her, it would have not been possible to stop the war at a certain level in the east of Ukraine. It was her outstanding role to convince the heads of state and government to participate at the Paris Climate Summit in 2015. Without the participation of many heads of state and government, the summit would not have been so successful. And she was, without great media participation, very active in the difficult regions of West Africa. — SIGMAR GABRIEL

“I think what people really appreciate about her is her sense of humor. That’s something you hear all the time, that she is wickedly funny in private and really good at imitating other people.”

HER POLICIES AND EUROPE Over the 13 years, France and Germany have pulled off many important things. The most important bilateral challenge was definitely to hold the eurozone together, particularly after the sovereign debt and banking crisis broke. That was not an easy bilateral cooperation. Both worked their way toward each other. And in the end, Germany did change its position on some of the key issues because of that intense dialogue with France and also because of the reality of the crisis evolving even further.

She simply underestimated how strong the resistance would be on the quota system that was introduced for the refugees who arrived to get distributed across the EU member states. That was never accepted, although the decision was taken in the European Council with a majority vote. I would say there was a lack of understanding for the east/west and north/south divides in Europe over various issues: migration, the eurozone, questions of national identity. But on the other hand, at the time of Brexit negotiations, Germany was one of the states that firmly stuck to the EU negotiation line, and that was crucial for the EU to really hold together.

THE RISE OF NATIONALISM Her technocratic style of government certainly left room for new political groupings that spoke to people’s emotions, to the sense of insecurity, to the fear generated by the great series of crises and the sense that globalization was something that affected people negatively and there was no way of fending off those negative impacts. On the migration decision, it’s often said, particularly in America, that she “threw open the borders.” That’s just factually untrue. We would have broken European law if we had closed them. We would have also left the Austrians and the central Eastern Europeans and the Balkan countries with that problem, political economies that were much more vulnerable to stress than ours was. We would have pushed off the problems in a way that we would have been justifiably accused of irresponsibility for. Frankly, what caught people by surprise in the negative was that the government then struggled for such a long time to get a grip on the situation. — CONSTANZE STELZENMÜLLER

A CHANGED GERMANY German society has become much more open, much more welcoming, much more liberal. Where all Western societies were engulfed by racial issues or gender issues, gay marriage, all of these things, she pushed her conservative party extremely to the center and changed the political landscape. Second, and this is the much more important point, during her chancellorship, this country grew into a foreign policy role which postwar Germany never had and never dreamt of: being a foreign political actor, being the central balancing moderating power in Europe, leading the European Union. Holding it together was always France, Germany, and Britain doing that in concert. Now, with Britain dropping out of that equation, and France with President Emmanuel Macron being engulfed in huge domestic problems, this role of keeping Europe together and yet not dominating it falls to Germany. The age-old trap this country fell into — it was always too small to rule Europe, but too big to be denied as the role of the main actor. So you have to calibrate that role of leading without dominating extremely carefully. This is what she mastered very well. — STEFAN KORNELIUS

Fraying ties of U.S. and Germany

AMERICA AS A MODEL Merkel has always said how much America was an ideal for her when she was still a young adult in the GDR [German Democratic Republic, or East Germany]. I’ve seen that in a lot of East Germans who were not in conformity with the system or part of the system. America always represented a hope, an ideal, and … the whole Trump era has been so hard to process because we have clung for such a long time to this notion of America as a model. I don’t think that Trump has destroyed that model because that ideal is much bigger than Trump or the people around him. But I think that what we’re seeing is, in many ways, an America that mirrors our own troubles, a society that, despite the fact that it’s wealthy and highly developed, is really struggling with the impact of globalization and integration, is really struggling with political polarization and with adapting its democratic structure to the new international gale-force winds that are buffeting all countries, large and small. — CONSTANZE STELZENMÜLLER

DISAPPOINTED IN THE U.S. She is a typical German in the sense that she considers a close relationship with the U.S. the most important part of Germany’s foreign policy and she’s profoundly disappointed by the destructive impact of Trump’s foreign policy in questioning that basis. She has tried to minimize the damage as much as possible and tried to educate her German compatriots, but also the European Union, that, on the one hand, one can no longer rely in the same way as in the past on the U.S., but on the other, to do everything one can to preserve the basics of that relationship. — KARL KAISER

Angela Merkel, surrounded by world leaders at G& summit in 2018, leans over table to face Donald Trump, whose arms are folded.

Last year, this photo of a defiant Donald Trump facing Merkel and other leaders of the European Union at the G7 summit in Quebec went viral.

Photo by Jesco Denzel/German Federal Government via AP

THE VALUE OF FREEDOM Of all the honors Merkel has received, the most meaningful to her was the Presidential Medal of Freedom that President Obama presented to her on June 7, 2011. It underscored what she holds most dear: her deep conviction of the value of freedom. From her perspective, Europeans are losing [a sense of] the value of freedom. — ANNETTE SCHAVAN

WHY SHE SOUGHT A FOURTH TERM The main reason why she ran for the fourth time was Donald Trump. She was undecided by the time he was elected in November 2016. She had to decide by December 2016 whether she would run again or not. After he was elected, she decided she couldn’t leave the West exposed to so much change at once. There was a French election coming up that year with, at that point, an extremely unperceivable outcome. Marine Le Pen was strong in the polls, and [French President] Emmanuel Macron wasn’t there yet. There was the danger that France would be the next to jump off the ship. Brexit was just starting to become reality. We had Trump in the United States. So at that point she decided that, “Even if I would consider it best to have a democratic change in Germany, it is far too dangerous right now.” — STEFAN KORNELIUS

TOTALLY LIBERATED AT MUNICH I’m one of the oldest members of the Munich Security Conference. I’ve been there since the late ’70s. It has never happened that a person got such a standing ovation. This is not done. And it was done. Because for the first time in the history of the conference, you had an America that consisted of two parts: one that challenges everything this conference had been standing for, and the other one that represented what had been the consensus of what originally was a NATO conference. That is why there was this enormous relief. Here is somebody who represents what we think: she, as the German chancellor, and then [former Vice President Joseph] Biden as the American. What struck all of us who know her from other occasions, she was totally liberated. I’ve never seen that. — KARL KAISER

Considering her legacy

ONE WHO PRESERVES The biggest misunderstanding is that she is simply sitting on her hands and that she really hasn’t changed the country, that she never came up with one big major theme or issue which will define her chancellorship. That’s not true. Probably these are things that might become clearer in retrospect: being the one who preserves rather than destroys, being the one who maintains, the one who solves crises rather than causes crises. This is defensive, not offensive, and this is probably the biggest misunderstanding: that these gifts are actually valuable and not for nothing. But she was never able to explain it, and she will never be, so it will be up to historians to judge. — STEFAN KORNELIUS

LEAVING AT THE TOP I guess [history will recognize her for] two things: to handle – quietly — really great international and domestic challenges while keeping the European Union together; and secondly, to preside over Europe’s most powerful country without reviving any fear of German power. It’s obviously her decision to have an orderly transition and not to repeat what happened under some of her predecessors. Some of the German chancellors ended very sadly. To leave when you’re at the top is very desirable, and to make sure that you have a successor you think is the best to continue your work. — KARL KAISER

“She slowly walks out now into the sunset.”

Angela Merkel walks under an umbrella with Krisjanis Karins, prime minister of Latvia.

In 2021, Merkel will step down from office, perhaps exiting the world stage.

Photo by Jesco Denzel

A FEMINIST, OR NOT It’s been a really interesting road for her because she’s had a difficult relationship with the idea of being a feminist. In the modern European era, aside from British Prime Minister Maggie Thatcher, she’s the longest-serving female leader, but that hasn’t necessarily meant that the state of women, or how women are seen in [Germany], or how women are perceived as leaders in the corporate or political environment, has radically shifted. I do believe she wrestles with whether she’s a feminist or not. I think she would just consider herself a shrewd and calculating politician regardless of her gender, and that has been entirely borne out in the way that she ascended the ranks to party leadership. Despite that, we now have a would-be female successor to her in Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. — CATHRYN CLÜVER ASHBROOK

A FEMINIST BY EXAMPLE She is a feminist by example and by asserting the right of women to be at the table and to lead at the table. Part of [that] is generational, and part is she is someone who believes in doing more than saying. I hope it doesn’t escape anyone that her likely successor is a woman. I think she believes that if you have the competence, if you have the skill, if you have the wherewithal — whoever you are — you should be able to move ahead. — WENDY R. SHERMAN

CHAMPIONING LIBERAL VALUES Within the EU, the migration crisis and the strong stance Germany took on eurozone issues will remain points of criticism. The question is whether, under her leadership, Germany will move further with its positions on eurozone questions. With the current coalition, this is possible. We’ll see. But I don’t think domestically this will define her legacy. In terms of European affairs or international affairs, I think [she will be remembered for] her determined stance on Russia and the way she engaged for the EU with Vladimir Putin on Ukraine and Russia, and the way that she became “The European” to talk with Putin. And secondly, standing up for liberal international values and a strong Europe in a situation where trans-Atlantic relations are fragile at least, or challenged by the U.S. president. — DANIELA SCHWARZER

WHY SHE WON’T RUN AGAIN She might have won it, but the price would have been huge. The country would have been paralyzed by that debate. She would have been engulfed by domestic fights or party fights, so she decided to decide on her own terms how to leave and when. Actually, the “when” is not decided yet, but at least she regained the initiative. Public opinion swung around immediately, and many applauded her. She slowly walks out now into the sunset. — STEFAN KORNELIUS

AMERICA’S GREATEST SUCCESS What I wish her to do is to use this occasion as an appeal to America about the basic premises of what America and Europe are about and what their relationship is about in the age of Trump. She is one of the leading spokesmen of Europe and of everything America stood for and what America created. Germany is the greatest success of American foreign policy. And to have re-created that country, the country of the Holocaust, which went to war with America, and is now America’s most important ally? Fantastic when you think about it and see it in historic terms. — KARL KAISER

HER HARVARD VISIT [South African leader Nelson] Mandela had been the biggest, most respected global leader, without question, when he was alive. I think that leader is now Merkel. The career incentives for our students are so unbalanced — the salaries in the private sector and on Wall Street. We want Harvard students also to think about their obligations and the good they can do in the public sector. And so, you think back to Marshall and [Aleksandr] Solzhenitsyn and Mandela, all on a Harvard stage. She’s someone whom our students can look up to and say, “This is someone I can follow. This is someone I can try to emulate.” That’s powerful for a Harvard Commencement, I think. Very powerful. — NICHOLAS BURNS

These interviews have been edited for clarity and length .

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student opinion

What Makes a Great Leader?

The coronavirus pandemic has tested leaders across the globe. Which do you think have risen to the moment?

By Jeremy Engle

Find all our Student Opinion questions here.

Now, more than ever, we need strong and effective leadership from our politicians and public health officials during this global crisis.

In your opinion, what makes a person a great leader? Courage? Trustworthiness? Empathy?

How much do you value hands-on life experience — and the ability to get things done?

How much do you appreciate strong character — and the integrity to do what’s right instead of what may be popular?

How much do you admire effective communication — and the power to inspire and unify through words and actions?

The Times video “ The Leader We Wish We All Had ” looks at the leadership style of Dr. Amy Acton, an Ohio Health Department official, who has earned praise for her daily briefings on the pandemic.

The Leader We Wish We All Had

A look at the style of dr. amy acton, who has earned praise for her daily briefings on the pandemic..

“This is no small thing that we are doing together. It is so incredibly hard to have shut down our lives the way we have. I am absolutely certain you will look back and know that you helped save each other.” This is Dr. Amy Acton, director of the Ohio Department of Health. Trademark lab coat, emphatic hand gestures, and a knack for metaphors. “It’s like Swiss cheese. So I want you to picture a hurricane. When you have a fire on your stove and you have your kitchen extinguisher, you’ll want to get it quick.” You may not have seen her press briefings. But in Ohio, they’ve become a daily ritual, catapulting her from unknown local official to cult icon. “Hi, my name is Amy Acton. Any questions?” “Dr. Amy is going to help us fight out the coronavirus.” In her youth, Dr. Acton overcame neglect and homelessness on her way to being crowned homecoming queen. And last year, she became the first doctor appointed to run Ohio’s health department. Under her, Ohio has become a leader in responding to Covid. It declared a state of emergency with just three confirmed cases, and it was the first state to shut down schools. Later that same week, some governors were still proudly eating in packed restaurants. And Dr. Acton issued a stay-at-home order affecting more than 11 million people when the death toll was still just three. So how did Dr. Acton do it? To find out, we watched more than seven weeks of press briefings, and we noticed themes that, well, let’s just say other leaders should pay attention to. First up, she empowers us. Take a look at this clip from the day Dr. Acton issued that stay-at-home order. “I don’t want you to be afraid. I am not afraid. I am determined. But I need you to do everything. I want you to think about the fact that this is our one shot in this country. All of us are going to have to sacrifice. And I know someday we’ll be looking back and wondering, what was it we did in this moment?” Of her 65 words there, 12 are pronouns. Her repeated use of “I” tells us she’s in it with us. She’s taking ownership. Her use of “you” makes the audience feel a connection with her, even though we’re watching from home. Toward the end, she switches from singular to collective pronouns, signaling that she’s just like us, and we’re in it together. She’s in charge, yet she’s made us feel like the heroes. “There are everyday heroes everywhere. We know that not all heroes wear capes. You’re heroic when you stay at home and watch your neighbor who’s a nurse’s child. I know you’re all donning those capes in big ways and small ways. Please help us. Thank you.” Ohioans were inspired. Not just to stay at home, but to spread her messages to each other. Another theme of Dr. Acton’s briefings is brutal honesty. And to understand this one, we have to take you back to mid-April. People were getting restless, wondering when things would get back to normal. “So I do hope no one at home thinks like, it’s wide open, May 1, going back to life as normal. The rules have changed, and they’re not going to be quite the same. Life will be different for quite some time to come, and maybe in some ways that are permanent.” She’s preparing us for the long haul, even if it’s not what we want to hear. “It’s really hard to hear that, but we are not going back to six months ago. That’s not the reality we all face.” This is something she does a lot, actually. Setting up bad news with a warning. “Ohioans, you know, I know that’s hard to take. I know that’s a hard truth for people, because we want there to be a right answer and a right way. And I know this is a deep breath we all must take.” Dr. Acton is also honest about what she doesn’t know. “We have to be very clear and transparent with you. All of these numbers are a gross underestimation, and we have no real idea of the prevalence of this infection yet.” A lot of leaders just avoid talking about uncertainty. But when Dr. Acton repeatedly says, “We don’t know.” It’s actually calming to hear her admit what we all feel deep down, that we just don’t have the full story. And finally, Dr. Acton sees vulnerability as a strength. After watching dozens of hours of briefings, there was one word we kept hearing over and over. “Please just acknowledge and give a name to what you’re going through. Acknowledge it with each other. And so I just want to acknowledge that these are still really tough times. This is wearing on all of us, and I just want to acknowledge that. I just want to acknowledge that all of us are feeling this. It’s such an unprecedented time.” Hearing Dr. Acton acknowledge our harder emotions forces us to face them head on. Stuffing down fear and sadness just causes more stress, and may make us act more selfishly instead of empathizing with each other. “And you’ll have days when you’re anxious. But don’t kill yourself over that. Please know and forgive yourself and try again.” And take a look at what she does here. “Every day I go through stages of grief. I go through, you know, denial. I go through a little anger. I go through a little bargaining. I don’t have to wear this. I might not need it. This isn’t true. I get a little down.” When she tells us she’s struggling too, we feel seen, and heard and less alone. And maybe that’s all any of us want right now. In a pandemic, the words our leaders choose can save lives. As of the end of April, Ohio had recorded fewer than 1,000 Covid deaths. By comparison, neighboring Michigan suffered more than 3,000, even though Ohio has a bigger population and had its first case three weeks earlier. Of course, other factors help explain this. But Dr. Acton convinced millions of Ohioans to stay at home. Not by ordering them, but by inspiring them. “People at home, you are moving mountains. You are saving lives. Again, I get emotional talking about this, because this is no small thing that we are doing together. It is so incredibly hard to have shut down our lives the way we have. I am absolutely certain you will look back and know that you helped save each other in this state. The impact is profound. Please, at home, don’t stop.”

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School Education /

Essay on Leadership: Samples in 100, 200, 300 Words

Updated on
Oct 7, 2023

The concept of leadership has been known to us since ancient times, from Ashoka: The Great to modern-day democratic leaders. Whether it’s politics or business, sports or entertainment, leadership is an essential part of human society, Leadership is the art of inspiring and guiding people towards a common goal.

Critics might argue that being a leader is just about holding a prestigious position and living a fancy life. That might be 1 in 1000 cases, as leaders across the globe work for the welfare and development of their people and country. Below we have discussed some essays on leadership where the multifaceted roles of this position are highlighted.

Table of Contents

1 Essay on Leadership in 100 Words
2 Essay on Leadership in 200 Words
3 Essay on Leadership in 300 Words

Essay on Leadership in 100 Words

Leadership involves a set of qualities, values and actions, which are focused on the benefit of people and their country. A person holding the position of a leader plays a pivotal role in every facet of life, influencing the direction and success of organizations, communities, and nations. To become a leader, one must have a clear vision to understand a future state that is better than the present and communicate that vision to their team or followers.

A leader’s actions should be aligned with their words, and they must demonstrate their honesty, transparency and ethical behaviour. Trust is the foundation for any successful leadership, and it is built through consistent ethical conduct.

Essay on Leadership in 200 Words

Leadership is a complex and multifaceted concept and is an essential part of developing a society or organisation. Leadership can involve various positions and types, from democratic to autocratic, where the leaders inspire and empower their teams, fostering an environment where individuals can thrive and achieve their fullest potential.

Effective leadership involves skilled communicators to can convey ideas, expectations, and feedback clearly and persuasively. They also listen actively to their team’s input and concerns. A great leader empowers a team of professionals by entrusting them with responsibilities and decision-making authority. With the formation of delegates, the power of leadership is divided among different authorities who are responsible for fostering growth and development among team members, making the organization more robust.

Some of the fundamentals of leadership are authenticity, integrity, ethical behaviour, a clear vision and other vital traits. Trust is the bedrock of leadership, and it is built through honesty, transparency, and consistency in actions and decisions. A leader who understands and cares about the needs and concerns of their team fosters strong relationships, promoting collaboration and cohesion.

At last, leadership is more than a title; it’s the embodiment of vision, integrity, empathy, communication and resilience. Effective leaders work to bring positive changes, inspire people around them and create a sense of purpose and direction in their terms and organizations.

Essay on Leadership in 300 Words

Leadership is a vital concept for the welfare of a society, community or country, depending on what the leadership is about. A leader transcends boundaries and is fundamental to human endeavours in various domains. Their job involves the ability to influence and guide a group of individuals toward achieving a common objective. Effective leadership is characterized by a combination of qualities, skills, and behaviours that inspire, motivate, and empower a team.

The first and most important aspect of a successful leader is having a clear vision. A clear vision works as a guiding light, outlining the desired future and providing a sense of purpose and direction for the team. Leaders with a compelling vision can inspire and rally their followers, creating a shared sense of purpose.

The other cornerstone of leadership is integrity. Leaders must demonstrate honesty, transparency, and ethical behaviour. Trust, which is essential in any team or organization, is built on the foundation of integrity. When people believe that their leader acts with integrity, they are more likely to follow willingly and commit to the cause.

Another trait that is essential for effective leadership is empathy. Leaders with empathy understand and connect with the emotions, needs, and perspectives of their team members. By showing compassion and actively listening, they create a supportive and inclusive environment that fosters trust and collaboration.

Apart from these traits, other important qualities for effective leadership include effective communication and interpersonal skills. A leader must be able to articulate their vision, goals, and expectations clearly and persuasively.

In conclusion, leadership is a multifaceted concept that plays a pivotal role towards the positive growth and development of organizations, communities, and societies. Effective leaders inspire their teams, create a sense of purpose, and drive positive change. Leadership is not merely a position; it is a journey of personal growth and a commitment to serving the greater good.

Essay on Knowledge is Power
Essay on Morning Walk for Students
Essay on Discipline
Essay on the Importance of Education

Some of the synonyms for a leader are: Coach, Captain, Principal, Chairman, Kingpin, Boss, CEO, etc.

What makes a good leader is their ability to persuade people using their effective communication skills, having a clear vision working towards the welfare of society, and taking responsibility for their actions.

Writing an essay on leadership in 200 words must include the fundamental aspects of leadership and the qualities they must possess. Effective leaders around the world create a supportive and inclusive environment where people can thrive and contribute their best efforts. They inspire a shared sense of purpose, foster collaboration, and guide their teams toward achieving collective goals.

For more information about such informative articles, visit our essay writing page and make sure to follow Leverage Edu .

Shiva Tyagi

With an experience of over a year, I've developed a passion for writing blogs on wide range of topics. I am mostly inspired from topics related to social and environmental fields, where you come up with a positive outcome.

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Home / Essay Samples / Government / World Leaders

Essays on World Leaders

Nelson mandela: early life.

Nelson Mandela, an iconic leader of the 20th century, was born on July 18, 1918, in the village of Mvezo, Transkei, in South Africa's Eastern Cape. His early life was a mix of challenges and a strong sense of purpose, laying the foundation for his...

My Role Model: Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela, a true visionary and a symbol of resilience and forgiveness, is my ultimate role model. His life's journey, marked by struggle and triumph, continues to inspire me to be a better person and make a positive impact on the world. In this essay,...

The Rise and Decline of Fidel Castro

Contemporary history is marked by numerous influential leaders who have shaped the course of nations. Fidel Castro, the charismatic and controversial Cuban revolutionary, is one such figure whose rise to power and subsequent decline have had a profound impact on Cuba and the world. In...

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