“Great Man” Model vs. Personal Leadership Style

Subject: Leadership Styles
Pages: 2
Words: 347
Reading time:
2 min

The great man model presents leaders as people who are selfless and dedicated to serving others. Most of the leaders in the past exhibited these characteristics, but things have changed in the 21st century. The pressure to succeed within a short period forces leaders to employ different mechanisms that can guarantee success faster. As such, leaders have changed the approach of empowering their subordinates from the inside-out approach to the outside-in approach.

People in the current world are more concerned about the surroundings and the visible success. The outside-in approach guarantees success but only for a short time. The inside-out approach is a rather slow process, but it guarantees long-term success in the end. The different approach to leadership explains the many failures within the business industry today. People have chosen to use the shortest path to success rather than the slow processes that guarantee long-term results.

The great man model presents certain characteristics that a leader should possess. My leadership style is democratic leadership. The democratic leadership style goes hand in hand with the qualities presented by the great man model. Democratic leaders are selfless and ready to serve. In fact, Democratic leaders consider themselves as servants because a great servant makes a great leader. Other than giving orders, democratic leaders lead by example. They involve themselves with every day’s work, which helps inspire their subjects to perform better and more effectively.

The characteristics presented in the great man model match my leadership style and ability. The model states that a leader must have self-confidence, persistence, optimism, and be willing to deal with challenges. I always like to deal with challenging situations because they give me an opportunity to exploit my potential as I train other people to become effective in their duties. As a democratic leader, I always take actions that most people would rather avoid. These qualities help me achieve success as a leader. In general, the great man model is an ideal leadership manual for modern society leaders.