The Essence of Leadership

The Essence of Leadership According to Patterson (2015), leadership is the ability to influence a person's way of thinking so that they need to take firm and responsible action (Rachmayuniawati & Muyeni, 2020). According to Sarros & Butchatsky (in Rahmat, A. 2021) "Leadership is defined as the purposeful behavior of influencing others to contribute to a commonly agreed goal for the benefit of the individual as well as the organization or common good". According to this definition, leadership can be defined as a behavior with a specific purpose to influence the activities of group members to achieve common goals designed to provide individual and organizational benefits. According to Griffin & Ebert (in Wijono, S. 2018) leadership is the process of motivating others to want to work in order to achieve predetermined goals. Meanwhile, according to our group, leadership is a form of behavioral process that is inherent in a leader to help or influence its members to achieve predetermined goals effectively and efficiently. Leadership Objectives According to our group, there are two objectives of leadership, including: 1. Achieving Goals Leadership is something that is needed in every organization that is used to achieve predetermined goals. Therefore, without the soul of a leader, achieving goals in an organization is difficult to achieve. 2. Motivating Others Another objective of leadership is to motivate others. This is very important because with motivation, each member of the organization will do their job as best they can. Leadership Theories Based on a review of leadership literature, interest in leadership studies increased in the early twentieth century. Early leadership theories focused on the qualities that differentiate leaders from followers, while later theories looked at other variables, such as situational factors and skill levels. In summary, the main ideas of these leadership theories can be grouped as follows: 1. Great Man Theories, this theory is based on the idea that leaders are extraordinary people, born with leadership qualities and destined to be leaders. This theory assumes that leadership capacity is inherent, that great leaders are born, not formed. This theory often depicts great leaders as heroes, mystical, and rising to leadership when needed. The term Great Man is used because at that time leadership was considered a male quality, especially in terms of military leadership. The Great Man Theory positions leaders as figures who are in front who have characteristics that stand out compared to others, and somehow have differences with others so that they can become leaders for some others. Such conditions have now changed, and leadership studies have moved towards recognizing the importance of the relationship between leaders and their followers and the role of interdependence [Bolden, 2003] in (Iswanto, 2017 p. 159). There are no more heroes or solitary leaders, there are team leaders. And leaders do not always have to be in front, but leaders who have the capacity to follow. Not masters, but servants. 2. Trait Theories, this theory studies or identifies certain personality traits or characteristics or behaviors that are considered to be possessed by great people or great leaders and then makes a list of adjectives that describe several positive human attributes or noble virtues, ranging from ambition to zest for life [Bolden, 2003] in (Iswanto, 2017 p. 160). In certain respects, this theory is almost the same as the Great Man theory which assumes that people inherit certain traits from traits that make someone more suitable to be a leader. Trait theory emerged in the 1920s from serious research through a series of psychological tests that attempted to identify the general characteristics of effective leaders. Among them, Davis (1972) did, by bringing up four main characteristics that are considered to have an influence on the success of leadership in an organization, namely first, intelligence where a leader has a higher level of intelligence than his followers, second, social maturity and broad social relations (social maturity and breadth), namely leaders tend to have stable, mature and mature emotions and have broad activities, third, self-motivation and achievement drive, namely leaders have a stronger intrinsic drive character than extrinsic when carrying out leadership roles and fourth, human relationship attitudes, namely, a leader and oriented towards his followers. 3. Contingency Theories of Leadership, this theory improves the situational approach and focuses on certain variables related to the environment that can determine a particular leadership style that best suits the situation at that time. According to this theory, there is no best leadership style in all situations. This situational leadership assumes that effective leaders depend on the level of maturity of followers and the leader's ability to adjust their orientation, both task orientation and human relations in an organization. This situational leadership theory emphasizes the suitability between leadership style and the level of maturity of followers. In addition, the rapid development of the era, different characteristics of members, different cultures and organizational climates also require leaders to be able to lead situationally. Because leadership success depends on many variables, including leadership style, the quality of followers and aspects of the situation. 4. Behavioral theory. According to Nurhayati 2012:80, this theory is based on the assumption that leadership should be viewed as a relationship between people, not as the traits or characteristics of an individual. Therefore, the success of a leader is largely determined by the leader's ability to relate and interact with all its members. In other words, this theory pays close attention to the leader's behavior as an action and the response of the group he leads as a reaction. In (Yudiaatmaja, 2013:33-34). Behavioral theory attempts to identify leader behaviors. If the leader's behavior is significantly different when compared to the behavior of the led, then leadership can be taught. If leadership can be taught, then the supply of leaders can be increased. The most fundamental difference between character theory and behavioral theory lies in the underlying assumptions. If the character theory is correct, then leadership is basically innate. Whereas if the behavioral theory is correct, then leadership can be taught or instilled. The famous theory related to behavior began with research at Ohio State University around the 1940s. More than 1,000 independent dimensions of leader behavior have been identified, but they can ultimately be grouped into two categories that essentially explain most leader behavior. They call these two dimensions initiating structure and consideration. Initiating structure refers to the extent to which a leader defines and structures his or her role and the roles of his or her subordinates in relation to the goals to be achieved. Consideration describes the extent to which a person is likely to have a working relationship characterized by mutual trust, respect for subordinates' ideas, and the wellbeing, status, and satisfaction of his or her followers. Around the same time that the leadership study was conducted at Ohio State University, a leadership study was also conducted at the University of Michigan's Center for Research and Survey. The Michigan group also arrived at two dimensions of leadership behavior: employeeoriented and production-oriented leadership. The results obtained by the Michigan group were that employee-oriented leaders were preferred over production-oriented leaders. Employee-oriented leaders actually produced higher production than production-oriented leaders. This is because employees will have high productivity with employee-oriented leaders. 5. Servant Theory, or Servant Theory, According to Greenleaf In (Stephen, 2016:646) states that servant leadership is a leadership style that comes from a sincere feeling that arises from within the heart that desires to serve, namely to be the first party to serve. Servant Leadership focuses on how a leader can serve his followers. Leaders who implement Servant Leadership will build trust, a sense of justice, and sympathy from employees. The open, caring, visionary, objective, and wise attitude of a Servant Leader will influence employees to improve performance. Job satisfaction aspects include job content, management, coworkers, promotions, and supervisors that have an effective influence on work. Leader behavior that values work and believes in employee abilities (Empowerment) supported by job content satisfaction and promotion satisfaction will encourage employee voluntary behavior (Conscientiousness). Employees will feel challenged to develop themselves and achieve. Employees will even voluntarily do work that exceeds performance standards. Leaders who have long-term goals (Vision) supported by satisfaction with management will encourage responsible and active behavior (Civic Virtue). Satisfaction with management and the organization (salary, time allocation, working conditions) will encourage employees to actively channel their concern for the company through suggestions. Employees will convey their ideas for the benefit of organizational progress. Leader behavior that is respectful and humble (Humility) and trusted by employees (Trust) supported by satisfaction with supervisors will encourage employee tolerance behavior (Sportsmanship). Objective supervisor performance will encourage employees to play an active role. Employees will also have tolerance when the company's condition is unstable. They will not complain much, but will participate in channeling thoughts for the benefit of the company. Leaders who are able to heal emotional feelings with a loving attitude (Love) supported by satisfaction with coworkers will minimize interpersonal conflict. This will form a close relationship and high concern for each other (Courtesy). The empathy that is formed will encourage employees to care about the condition of others and help each other (Altruism). Servant Leadership supported by high job satisfaction can improve employee performance.