Classic Leaders Essay

Leadership: The Examination of the Styles of Classic And Contemporary Leaders
Garrett Messmer
East Tennessee State University

Abstract Leadership has a very broad spectrum. The styles and forms it manifests can vary greatly, as can the effectiveness of any given form of leadership based on many variable factors. Many of these leadership factors seem to escape identification. Attempts to describe leaders “usually read more like a high school year book than serious research” (Clemens, 1999). Literature, however, seems to be one of the best places to search for examples of noteworthy leadership. The three classic writers Plato, Homer, and Hemmingway all give good insight into effective leadership through some of their most well known works. We also see in business that leadership is a very important skill necessary for the present and future success of any business. Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, is a name that often comes to mind for leadership in business because of his outstanding success. Matthew Bershadker is the president and CEO of the ASPCA and a prominent non-profit leader of today, and Dr. Richard Crumley is a small business leader who runs his own independent pharmacy and is a helpful leader in his community.

Leadership: The Examination of the Styles of Classic and Contemporary Leaders
Part One One of the most well known works of classic literature is The Iliad, which was written by the Greek writer Homer. Although little is known of Homers personal life, in examining this epic poem we can see into some of the struggles individuals and organizations faced during these times amongst the Greeks (which was roughly in the time period of 800 B.C [Clemens, 1999]). The Iliad tells the story of two leaders, Agamemnon and Achilles, during a time of war between the Greeks and the Trojans. The Greeks believed that “balance is required to sustain the effectiveness of organizations and of the individuals in them. This means avoiding extremes, behaving reasonably, and living moderately” (Clemson, 1999). Homer’s work shows readers the importance for a leader to maintain good terms with their assets and avoid distractions. According to Clemens (1999), “Postmortem investigations of business disasters are rarely performed, but if they were performed regularly, they would reveal that business failure often has less to do with product, marketing, engineering, or financial problems than it does with the chemistry among the organization’s leaders. It’s the bond that exists among top managers, not just their individual talents, that determines an organization’s success.” One of the most important aspects of leadership is understanding the importance of a team. One must be able to identify the strengths and weaknesses of his or her team members and delegate tasks and responsibilities appropriately to their subordinates. Just as importantly, a leader must be able to communicate with their colleagues and establish shared goals that can bring everyone together to work for the team and not for the individual. Clemson gives an excellent real life example of this within the Walt Disney Co. The chairman, Michael Eisner, had placed Michael Ovitz as the president of the company to handle operating responsibilities for each division within the company. Ovitz seemed like a good candidate, being founder of an organization known as the Creative Artists Agency and considered the most powerful agent in Hollywood. The problem was, Clemson points out, he neither know how to teambuild, nor did he care to do so. He formed no alliances with other higher ups in the company, nor did he befriend any of his colleagues. It seems that the phrase “it is not what you know, it is who you know” truly applies in the corporate world, and Ovitz alienated too many of those involved in management to see any of his attempts to change the company come to fruition. It would appear that “ultimately the

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