A Snapshot of The Power and Beauty of Leadership in Organizations

By Alexander Melnick on December 2, 2024

Alexander Melnick is a passionate advocate for leadership, inspired by his transformative experience in military high school, where he discovered and excelled in its practice. A neurodivergent thinker, Alexander channels his intensity and drive into fostering excellence, empowering others, and navigating the challenges of complex organizational systems.

A Snapshot of The Power and Beauty of Leadership in Organizations

One of the most beautiful sights a person can ever encounter in an organization is the art of leadership in full operation. Such organizations evoke awe from others because everyone possesses the confidence to be an eagle in their own way: they are not afraid to explore unfamiliar territory and are determined to test the boundaries of the sky and touch the stars. That said, what are some fundamental characteristics of these magnificent leadership environments? How do they begin?

Creating environments rich in leadership begins with a leader’s heart. In effective organizations, leaders care about other people, especially those whom they lead.  Leaders routinely check in with their people to ensure that their spirits are well, and their needs are met; they understand that each person is unique and cannot be reached or motivated in the same way.  Leaders also value openness and transparency: they share useful information with others, explain the reasons behind organizational directives, and welcome divergent viewpoints. Thus, when people know that their leader cares about them, they will endeavor to go above and beyond their job description and genuinely try to understand organizational objectives and successfully implement them. 

Leading from the heart also fosters a workplace where people know that being “yes men," feigning expertise, passing problems onto someone else, or blaming others is unproductive and benefits no one.  They are not afraid to admit ignorance, ask questions, and analyze situations before acting. A large part of what makes this possible is the leader’s strength to admit that he does not know everything and to actively negotiate formidable obstacles via encouraging diverse ideas from others that challenge conventional organizational wisdom and thinking. Hence, leaders create safe environments that encourage inquiry, creativity, and risk-taking and where failures and setbacks are viewed as invaluable learning opportunities and necessary steps for growth.

Leaders understand that there is a clear distinction between management and leadership.  Managers who lack leadership ability will often force their plans and monuments onto others which often results in flaws being found in them, projects collapsing, and perpetual cycles of blame. In contrast, leaders realize that organizational success often results when people are empowered to come up with their own plans and build their own monuments within the organization. In such an environment, people will work out any flaws in their plan and ensure that it has the best chance of producing organizational success. Thus, leaders acknowledge that their primary function is giving their people the tools and support to accomplish this. They understand that there is no reason to fear employee talent and high ability, because developing them benefits everyone: setting people up for success is a win-win for them and the organization.

Leaders also understand that it is unwise to lead their direct reports as a charismatic CEO would lead people on the organization’s frontlines.  When it comes to a leader’s direct reports, he or she does not possess the near infallible image of a CEO: they are fully aware of their leader’s strengths and limitations. Thus, leaders effectively lead their direct reports via treating them as people and not as objects: they value the fact that other people are unique individuals who have their own dreams and end goals. Consequently, leaders give them the opportunity to share their own visions of success and invite them to harmonize those visions with organizational objectives and build creative synergies that promote organizational progress and growth. Most importantly, a leader gains the respect and support of his or her direct reports via giving them credit for their ideas and victories: individual and organizational success are only possible when others’ successes are recognized and celebrated.

Overall, an organization’s ability to adapt to new, formidable challenges hinges upon ensuring that everyone exudes leadership excellence. In environments that are rich in leadership, people are seen as leaders regardless of their title. They are empowered with the knowledge of critical job functions above and below them and take the initiative and make executive decisions. This is crucial in times of crisis because people will not be waiting around for others to act: they will draw power from their leader’s faith in their ability to gracefully persevere through hardship. Hence, this atmosphere of trust, confidence, and cooperation results in an organization that runs smoothly and efficiently in the leader’s absence, which is one of the greatest hallmarks of organizational environments where leadership has become a beautiful, splendid work of art.