Professor Mohamed Zairi

Leadership of Excellence Explained Professor Mohamed Zairi

The purpose of launching the Leadership of Excellence (LoE) series is to present the subject of leadership in a more meaningful way and leaning on the various schools of thought that have been scrutinising the topic of leadership but also reflecting on the requirements of modern work environments and the challenges that leaders are most likely expected to encounter and deal with in the future. There has been so much written about what makes leaders, what are the secrets of successful leadership and whether leaders are made or born. As a baseline it is perhaps important to accept the fact that great leaders are only great because they are acknowledged widely by their disciples, their followers and the wider community. In a sense great leaders are those individuals that subscribe to the highest standard of ethical conducts and are believers in sets of values that drive their behaviours. Very often great leaders are those individuals that can be trusted and they can command respect in all quarters. Through ethical behaviour and ensuring that the code of conduct is based on the principles that leaders believe in this will ensure that even if mistakes are made which are outside the control of those individual leaders the trust is not broken and followers will continue to believe firmly in the power of the leaders that have inspired them hitherto. The Leadership of Excellence (LoE) series is therefore launched to cover a wider perspective on this important topic and moving the debate beyond what the previous schools of thought have illuminated us with. The debate is no longer valid in so far as defining what leadership is about or who great leaders are. Furthermore the debate is no longer about whether leaders are made or born and what key competencies they must have. The new debate is really looking at dynamic leadership and evolving leadership and a leadership new paradigm that blends all of the previous labels that have been covered extensively in the various schools of thought. For instance the following list of leadership that has been described and scientifically studied will still be applicable in the context of the 21st century: -Servant leadership-Gutsy leadership-Transformation leadership-Collaborative leadership-Passionate leadership-Inspiring leadership-Visionary leadership-Democratic leadership