Interpersonal skills development and workplace application

¶ … Leadership and Solitude

When talking about effective and compelling leaders in education and other important social fields most people tend to envision a certain type of individual. This individual is usually envisioned as a very social, affable, outspoken and extroverted person. William Dereziwics challenges and questions this character perception of leadership in his article titled Learn To Be Alone With Your Thoughts. This article presents a clear connection that exists between leadership and solitude, Dereziwics supports his opinion about leadership by commenting and discussing several situations where solitude directly results in leadership. He also talks about social and media interaction and how this conflicts with leadership. Derecziwics begins his article by stating that solitude is necessary for leadership, he says that this is so because solitude allows a person to think and critically analyze. Derecziwics states that it is very difficult to become an effective leader for someone who is unable to create their own thoughts and opinions. He believes that this takes a lot of patience and fortitude; two elements that are lacking in today's society. He cites important works of literature to as evidence for his claims regarding solitude, patience and leadership. He believes that essentially in order to become a leader on must look inward with deep concentration in order to build character strength and other character elements that can heavily influence leadership development. He also disapproves of the public preoccupation with media outlets such as Twitter, You Tube and Facebook because he feels that these create static and distraction for potential leaders.

It is difficult to dissagre with Mr. Derecziwics' opinions about the relationship between leadership and solitude. It does appear to be necessary for a true leader to look inward in a state of solitude and concentration in order to make informed decisions on behalf of a group. Leaders are those individuals that are courageous enough to avoid the constant use of cliches and conventional wisdom to make decisions. Leaders are those that have the fortitude and strength to be patient while employing critical thinking skills, in order to do so potential leaders must avoid costly distractions regardless of their form. William Dereziwics has presented what appears to be a correct and valid relationship between leadership and solitude as evidenced by his opinions, claims and statements made in his article.

Deresiewicz, W. On Solitude and Leadership. Independent School v. 70 no. 2 (Winter 2011) p. 102-7

Interpersonal Communications Module 3

Article #2 Defining Quality Leadership

Leadership is a very important element in virtually all fields of employment, especially in education. Therefore, it is also very important to establish quality and effective leadership at the head of an organization or entity in order for it to be successful and accomplish its organizational goals. In her article titled What is Quality Leadership?, Misty Laucour explains and defines how delegation and empowerment are important as leadership strategies. She explains that it is important for leaders to delegate responsibilities to employees or members of an organization while at the same time empowering those individuals. Lacours states that leaders can empower individuals by allowing them to take part in the decisions making process, thus creating an environment where the quality of work goes up due to good employee morale. Lacour lists that following actions as vital to the empowerment of follower: " (a) effectively match people to assignments; (b) engage all in active listening; (c) engage in purposeful actions based on goals and vision; (d) focus on growth and opportunities, not failures; (e) encourage others to think critically"(Lacour).