BMAL 501: Group Forum 4 1
Leaders Make a Difference
Kelly Anderson, Jonathan Cruz, Elizabeth Osei-Amoah, Sara Raxter, Joseph Taccone
School of Business, Liberty University
BMAL 501: Strategic Leadership and Management
Dr. William Barksdale
November 29, 2020
Author Note
Kelly Anderson, Jonathan Cruz, Elizabeth Osei-Amoah, Sara Raxter, Joseph Taccone
We have no known conflict of interest to disclose.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Group 1
Email: klanderson16@liberty.edu, jdcruz2@liberty.edu,
eoseiamoah@liberty.edu, sraxter@liberty.edu
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Introduction
Executive leadership is essential for organizational success, referring to the ability of
effectively managing or directing staff while giving a clear sense of direction. Moreover, leaders
can be managers, despite the duties in such positions being different. Understanding the various
roles is essential in correct completion and attaining the required progress. The focus is on
attaining the set organizational goals within the set timelines.
Group Consensus
As a team it was determined that character, integrity and self-awareness are essential for
an organization and three important concepts learned this week. As an organization it is
important to have people who can be seen as role model and examples of what the organization
is about. Character, integrity and self-awareness are characteristics found within big and small
organizations. Developing a good character can change the way others view you and your
organization. Keeping your integrity and being self-aware in the workplace can take productivity
to the next level. As a leader having these characteristics can determine the productivity of your
team.
Biblical Integration
Demonstrating and building character, integrity and self-awareness are important for a
leader in an organization. In Proverbs 11:3, “The integrity of the upright guides them, but the
crookedness of the treacherous destroys them” (ESV, 2018). This passage is a prime example of
why it is important to be truthful and walk upright. The bible states those who walk a crocked
path get destroyed. It is evident we have all heard and seen of leaders who have told lies and
destroyed relationships not only with their teams and companies but with their customers as well.
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The scriptures illustrate how a leader is supposed to uphold themselves so that others may follow
their example.
Also, scripture provides in 2 Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourself, to see whether you are
in faith. Test yourselves, Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ in you?
Unless indeed you fail to meet the test” (ESV, 2018). This scripture prompts us to really think
and examine ourselves to become more self-aware of who we know we are outside of what
people see? Are we embodying the Christ in us? This is an important skill to have as a leader
being able to go within and search yourself come to and correct any imperfections you see within
so you can continue to embody and reflect the Christ in you and also show that you are an aware
and transformative leader.
Concept Implementation
Character
Character is the first crucial concept for a leader. It has been determined to be the most
essential element for a leader to have. It is understood that if you have a good character you have
the ability to persevere. As a leader there are times you will want to give up and let things go but
when you think back and remember those who are looking up to you and remember they need
you to show them the way that’s where character comes to play. As opposed to learned skills,
character determines other aspects, such as trustworthiness and integrity in the organization. In
such cases, supervision and authoritarian leadership styles are not necessary. Leadership
character plays a big role on how an organization, team, or business runs. Leadership with a lack
of character is certain to fail and lose the trust of their team and organization. “Character is
foundational to the quality of decision making and hence an avenue through which organizations
can enhance performance.” (Seijts & Gandz, 2017) Leaders with character possess drive,
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collaboration, humanity, humility, temperance, justice, accountability, courage, transcendence,
and freedom of judgement. Character influences the types of decisions a leader makes and a
leader with no character can destroy the team or organization they are leading.
Integrity
Integrity is another vital element of executive leadership and management. There is a
clear and unambiguous relationship between integrity and performance. It is not that
performance is caused by integrity; rather, integrity is a necessary condition for performance.
More rigorously, as integrity declines, so, too, does the opportunity set for performance available
to the actor or decision maker. Hence, we speak about the available opportunity set for
performance. Integrity is thus a necessary, although not sufficient, condition for performance.
Some level of integrity is required for any level of performance. For example, when enough
spokes are removed from the bicycle wheel, the wheel collapses, and there is no opportunity for
performance (Orlitzky & Monga, 2018). A leader’s goal is to develop a culture committed to
safety, who continually identify and mitigate risk factors on a daily basis (Jule, 2020).
Self-Awareness
Self-awareness is an important skill to have. Being able to look within yourself and
reflect on who you are and what you bring to the table as a leader is a powerful tool. Being self-
aware opens the door to leadership evolution from within. If you know your capabilities, you are
also aware of your weaknesses then evolving them to become a great leader. At its essence then,
self-awareness is rooted in cognitions about oneself; by extension, a useful way to index the
accuracy of such cognitions is by comparison to how others view the focal person (Dierdorff et
al., 2019).
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The idea of servant leadership is another essential element in executive leadership
management. Donia et al. (2016) state that in such settings, employees are likely to experience
higher levels of satisfaction which often predict improved productivity. The focus is on guiding
others and shelving personal interests for the benefit of the organization and other staff.
Conclusion
Being an effective leader takes a lot of hard work, but that work starts with yourself.
Being a person of good character, integrity and being self-aware are the building blocks to a
great leader and someone who can make a positive impact on others live consistently over time.
Everyone can be a great leader one time when they are put on the spot, but it takes a true
authentic leader to be great every time and part of their natural abilities. “While leaders must
expect tribulation, challenges, complexities, and downright ugly situations, they will often find
that even these leadership morasses can have a positive ending as the resilient leader helps others
navigate the storm to a safe landing and a productive future.” (Dees, 2013).
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References
Dierdorff, E. C., Fisher, D. M., & Rubin, R. S. (2019). The Power of Percipience: Consequences
of Self-Awareness in Teams on Team-Level Functioning and Performance. Journal of
Management, 45(7), 2891–2919. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206318774622
Dees, R. (2013). Resilient Leaders: The Resilience Trilogy. Creative Team Publishing.
Donia, M. B., Raja, U., Panaccio, A., & Wang, Z. (2016). Servant leadership and employee
outcomes: The moderating role of subordinates’ motives. European Journal of Work and
Organizational Psychology, 25(5), 722-734.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1359432X.2016.1149471?
src=recsys&journalCode=pewo20
English Standard Version (2018) Holy Bible. Crossway.
Jule, J. (2020). Workplace Safety: A Strategy for Enterprise Risk Management. Workplace
Health & Safety., 68(8), 360–365.
Moorman, R. H., Blakely, G. L., & Darnold, T. C. (2018). Understanding how perceived leader
integrity affects follower trust: Lessons from the use of multidimensional measures of
integrity and trust. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 25(3), 277-289.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1548051817750544
New International Version (2020) Holy Bible. Zondervan.
Orlitzky, M. (Ed.), Monga, M. (Ed.). (2018). Integrity in Business and Management. New York:
Routledge, https://doi-org.ezproxy.liberty.edu/10.4324/9781315750477
Seijts, G. H., & Gandz, J. (2017). Transformational change and leader character. doi:https://doi-
org.ezproxy.liberty.edu/10.1016/j.bushor.2017.11.005
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