Creative and intelligent leadership

Emotional intelligence is the ability to control one’s and other people’s emotions and to use emotional information to make appropriate decisions. Successful leaders can connect with their followers emotionally (Tyczkowski et al. 172-180). They do that by managing their emotions to avoid making biased decisions as a result of negative emotions. This kind of leader is socially aware and can understand the social needs of his followers and address them accordingly. To solve the challenges of their followers, leaders need to have good communication skills as well as proper understanding (Udin et al. 111-131). A leader who possesses these traits is not only able to serve his followers but is also good at solving conflict among his followers. Additionally, such a leader can earn much trust from his followers.

            According to Hughes et al, creativity and innovation are believed to be the line that separates a leader from a follower (549). A leader is the one who has the vision of where he is taking his followers. He should also do things differently from how other people do them. This will make him stand out as a successful leader. This kind of leadership requires the leader to inspire his followers and lead them in the right direction, which will facilitate meeting the set objectives and purpose. Resilience is another trait related to this type of leadership. A resilient leader is the one who stands strong even when the circumstances are very discouraging. He always focuses on the solutions other than the problems presented by such challenges.

Intelligent leader

            According to this theory of leadership, Barack Obama is a perfect example of an intelligent leader. Barack Obama was born in 1961. He is the only American president born outside the states of America. His emotional intelligence helped him throughout his 20 years as a community organizer, a civil rights lawyer, and as a state senator (Murphy & John 213-224). Obama’s success is contributed mainly by his skill to listen to his followers, coupled with his ability to solve problems.

            In his book, “The Audacity of Hope,” Barack Obama brought out clearly his trait of emotional intelligence by narrating how he listened to the people, analyzed their problems, and finally changed their problems into solutions. Throughout his presidency, Obama integrated well with his followers and always could motivate and inspire people.  Emotional intelligence, therefore, is a leadership trait that is indispensable in the 21^st century (Ngah, Rohana & Salleh 285).

Creative leader

            The creativity and innovation of Steve Jobs are well known across the business world. Steve Paul Jobs, who was an American entrepreneur and an industrial designer, was born in 1955 and died in 2011. It is said that Jobs reconnected with Stephen Wozniak, his high school friend to form a business partnership. The two worked together in designing a computer logic board, which called for creativity and innovation above the ordinary average. Steve Jobs’s creativity and innovation were widely seen in 2001 when he started reinventing Apple for the 21^st Century (Wu, Ruijuan, Wang & Hao 35-51). He steered the company towards the telecommunication technology. Between 2007 up to the time of his death, Steve Jobs has left a mark in the business world and will continue to be praised for the unforeseeable future.

Reflection

            I have learned that leadership is more about serving people than serving themselves. Even though all leadership traits are important to a leader, it comes out clearly to me that some traits are more applicable in a certain path of a career than others. In my dream of creating a brand in fashion design, I will need to be creative and innovative to come up with a unique design. Even as I aspire to work in a company before getting into my dream, I will strive to apply intelligent leadership skills. These skills will help me to understand my colleagues in the company as well as relating well with the entire workforce in the company.

Works Cited

Hughes, David J., et al. “Leadership, creativity, and innovation: A critical review and practical recommendations.” The Leadership Quarterly 29.5 (2018): 549-569.

Murphy, John M. “Barack Obama and rhetorical history.” Quarterly Journal of Speech 101.1 (2015): 213-224.

Ngah, Rohana, and Zarina Salleh. “Emotional intelligence and entrepreneurs’ innovativeness towards entrepreneurial success: A preliminary study.” American Journal of Economics 5.2 (2015): 285-290.

Tyczkowski, Brenda, et al. “Emotional intelligence (EI) and nursing leadership styles among nurse managers.” Nursing administration quarterly 39.2 (2015): 172-180.

Udin, Udin, et al. “Leadership Styles And Communication Skills At Indonesian Higher Education: Patterns, Influences, And Applications For Organization.” Organizations And Markets In Emerging Economies 10.1 (2019): 111-131.

Wu, Ruijuan, Cheng Lu Wang, and Wei Hao. “A hero who never dies: Steve Jobs in his fans’ minds.” Exploring the rise of fandom in contemporary consumer culture. IGI Global, 2018. 35-51.