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    The Journal of American Academy of Business, Cambridge * Vol. 18 * Num. 2 * March 2013 238

    The Pivotal Importance of Leadership, Knowledge Sharing and

    Organization Culture

    Dr. Michael Ba Banutu-Gomez, Professor, Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ

    ABSTRACT

    Many business owners or individuals, who work for an organization, have gained the knowledge, skills and

    abilities needed to share and expose their expertise in a specific field of interest. Leadership is one of those words,

    which have many definitions, with tons of examples and scenarios within it. In this paper, leadership is defined and

    also recognized for its importance. We then discuss the advantages of leadership and what happens to an

    organization if leadership doesnt exist. The next topic discussed what knowledge sharing is, its importances and

    the advantages and disadvantages of it. The last topic, focused on the definition of organizational culture and its

    importance.

    INTRODUCTION

    Upon completing this assignment it was quite clear, thousands of articles, journals, textbooks, websites and

    author titled books would come up in the search engine pertaining to leadership. Degree and non-degree holders

    have their share of intellect when it comes to leadership, organizational culture, and knowledge sharing. It seems

    that everyone has something to say about what the definition of each means and the qualifications and essentials

    needed to be declared as a leader or what an organization should have to be successful. Reading different books and

    articles have taught me that there is no wrong answer as to what leadership is.

    Instead, it is best for the reader to take knowledge from each source and combine the information with what

    you feel is best for you, the success of your business or within a company that you work for. Its a huge relief to

    know that typing in the word; leadership in your search engine, in a matter of seconds comes up with over 7

    billion items that incorporates leadership in it. It is amazing to find that a lot of people had something to say about

    these topics listed in this paper, and all of the contributing writers and authors of many articles and books are all

    correct. A lot of strategies have been implemented because of their inputs, which is a job well done and deserves an

    encore.

    What is leadership?Throughout an organization, professional use or even in the personal lives of many, the word leadership

    plays a significant role in everyday lives and the tasks at hand. Although there are many different definitions of what

    leadership is, there are keywords and similar understandings of evolves around this particular discipline (Wikipedia,

    2011). When defining leadership, we can say that it influences relationships among leaders and followers in hopes

    of obtaining accomplishments of a common task or shared purpose. The influence process has to target and work

    towards the achievement of the vision or set of goals of the organization. Leadership is definitely an important and

    critical management skill. Thus organizations need strong leadership and strong management for optimal

    effectiveness to satisfy all stake holders. Most importantly, we have to note that Leaders do not exist in a vacuum

    and that leadership is a form of symbiotic relationship between leaders and followers in any setting or situation.

    Why is leadership an important characteristic to have and what are the leadership traits/qualities?

    Some continue to argue about whether or not leaders are made or born, but a true leader ignores those types

    of arguments and concentrates more on developing leadership qualities that people look for in a leader. Leadership

    is how you go about influencing one person or a series of individuals without factoring how different they are fromothers and is a very valuable characteristic to have. Even though other leaders and followers come from the same or

    different place, leadership plays an important role in bringing unity. In Chapter 1 of The Leadership Experience

    textbook, emphasizes, Leadership involves influence, it occurs among people, those people intentionally desire

    significant changes, and the changes reflect purposes shared by leaders and followers (Draft & Lane, 2008). After

    reading a few articles and book chapters, contributing writer, David Hakala for HR World, wrote about leadership

    qualities in laymen terms in which others can understand and grasp. Identified below in Figure 1.1, are 10 leadership

    characteristics and traits (Hakala, 2008):

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    Top 10 Leadership Characteristics

    Vision Integrity

    Dedication MagnanimityHumility Openness

    Creativity Fairness

    Assertiveness Sense of Humor

    Figure 1.1

    What are the advantages of leadership on a personal and professional level?Leadership doesnt necessarily confine people into having high-powered positions within a company and

    nowhere in the definition does it say that leadership requires it. No matter where you are within your personal or

    professional life, having leadership characteristics and qualities can be very useful in the various situations that you

    may face (Kotter, 1996). The advantage of having leadership enables your ability to handle tough situations and the

    result of a great outcome is priceless. The leaders personal qualities such as charismatic, enthusiastic and

    courageous enhance their leadership capabilities. It is important to understand that personality, social, physical, and

    a persons intellectual attributes differentiate leaders from non-leaders. Furthermore, we need leaders today to

    create visions of the future, inspire organizational members to want to achieve the vision and to challenge the status

    quo in an organization.

    What happens when leadership within an organization doesnt exist?

    Can you imagine a state without any rules and regulations?

    No traffic lights at intersections or better yet, a world with no laws to protect consumers from others?

    Absolutely not! The first thing that would come to your mind is a chaotic and dysfunctional society so fragile andvulnerable. Take these examples and apply it to an organization. If there is no leadership within an organization, it

    will crumble and close its doors faster than you can spray an aerosol can. In your professional and personal life,

    there are decisions, techniques and ideas that require leadership-like outcomes and results. It is difficult for any

    organization to survive without effective and efficient leadership.

    What is knowledge sharing?

    Knowledge sharing is an activity in which knowledge, such as skills, expertise or information, is exchanged

    among people, friends, and members of a family, community or within an organization. Organizations have

    recognized that knowledge constitutes a valuable indefinable asset for creating and also sustaining some type of

    competitive advantages. Knowledge sharing activities are generally supported by knowledge management systems;

    however, technology constitutes only one of the many factors that affect the sharing of knowledge within

    organizations, such as organizations culture, trust, and incentives. The sharing of knowledge constitutes a major

    challenge in the field of knowledge management because some employees and even competitors tend to resist

    sharing their knowledge with the rest of the organization (Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia, 2011).

    Why is it so important?

    Knowledge sharing extends past teamwork, even past collaboration. Its about engraining knowledge

    transfer into those key processes that are used for interlinking suppliers, buyers, customers and service organizations

    into a companys workflows.

    What are the advantages and disadvantages of knowledge sharing?Large organizations know many things but at the same time they may not necessarily know everything they

    need to know in there field of work.Knowledge sharinghas become much more and much more important in any

    business industry. Its an issue faced by many organizations and is often the reason why the management of

    knowledge sharinghas become so important. The main objective is to ensure that the right information get to the

    right people so that they can make the right decision. Some people argue that there should be a straightforward

    process, but in reality, its not that simple; sometimes it takes years, or even decades.

    There are many examples that multiple companies in the same industry share their knowledge relating to

    the industry, however one example that come to mind is the auto industry. For years, American cars have been

    trying to catch up to the advanced technology from other foreign countries. Some automobile cars have great

    engines and longevity like Nissan and Honda; while Toyota became negligent of its safety issues in its cars, causing

    a huge lawsuit; they have something to learn from each other, but at the same time, maintain competition with each

    other.

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    Is Your Company Ready for Empowerment?A leader can build and sustain an empowered business by empowering employees and giving them the

    ability to act resourceful. Employees are empowered when they are able to solve their own challenges and problems

    in their own way. Letting them use applications and software that are not promoted by the company makes

    employees resourceful. They will not feel resourceful if they are only allowed to use two company approved

    websites and applications to solve problems. Similarly, employees will not feel empowered if management makes

    employees come to them for help solving problems without first attempting it on their own. Your culture also has to

    encourage employees to be empowered and resourceful. Empowered and resourceful employees are useless if the

    corporate culture does not encourage them to be innovated and solve problems.

    The first problem is getting employees to this point begins with improving management and leadership.

    These groups have to guide employees toward the same goal and inspire them with the corporate mission and

    values. An open leadership system will make employees feel comfortable bringing new ideas to the table.

    Management then has to support the employees that have good ideas to help them achieve their solutions. Part of

    this is supplying the right technology and resources to get the job done. Employees need to be encouraged and

    rewarded so that the empowered culture can be sustained.

    Leadership Challenges in Empowering Employees

    Leaders are likely to face some problems when empowering employees. One is that employees are spread

    out in global companies and decision makers are likely to be far away from the central headquarters. A strong

    corporate culture is needed to make sure these empowered decision makers make the best decisions that fit the

    organization. Another problem is that some employees will not feel comfortable being empowered to solve their

    own problems for fear that they are making a mistake. Having training that challenges employees and allows them

    to first solve problems in pretend situations can solve this. Any mistakes can be corrected and explained.

    A third problem with empowering employees is that they may not have the resources to solve their own

    problems or come up with new solutions. Employees need the technology to look up company policies and

    procedures or to more quickly and effectively respond to customers. A fourth problem could be the companys

    culture. The companys culture needs to encourage employee empowerment and innovation. This means that a

    company cannot be filled with micromanagers even though the leaders try to empower employees. The culture needs

    to give trust and freedom. The culture cannot harshly punish employees who make mistakes either. These

    employees will no longer feel empowered because they will be afraid of more harsh punishment. Leaders will need

    to build the culture from the top down. Current employees might need to be sent to new offices to help teach this

    culture. Training can also help reinforce culture. With the right tools and knowledge, a leader can be successful in

    empowering employees and the company will benefit.What is organizational culture?

    Organizational culture is comprised of the values, norms, beliefs, values and artifacts of the organization

    members and their behaviors. The concept of culture is important when attempting to manager an organization

    change that is spread widely Even though culture is one of those words that are difficult to express distinctly,

    everyone knows it when they sense it (Wikipedia, 2011). Thus organizational culture is defines as a system of

    shared meaning held by members that distinguishes the organization from other organizations (Robbins, 2013). In a

    nut shell organizational culture is the personality and essence of the organization. In essence as a leader, you can

    shape the culture of your work environment sometimes even though it shapes you. All leaders can and should do

    their part to create a healthy, ethical culture and even take an extra mile to consider spirituality and its role in

    creating a positive organizational culture that will nurture your organizations sustainable competition in the global

    market. Organizational culture is what creates the norms in a firm that define what is right or wrong behavior. It also

    affects how people understand an organizations events and processes. Organizational culture can define such things

    as whether employees go out to lunch, stay in the building, or opt to work through lunch. Many people are skepticalthat organizational culture has any impact on an individual or organization because they often use the term as if it

    means it is just the way things are done such as procedures and routines rather than all the norms, behaviors, and

    beliefs of the workplace.

    This skeptical thinking means that global leaders would have a hard time in delegating decision-making

    authority and creating consistent behavior in employees that are located in different areas. In contrast, these leaders

    use the organizations culture to make sure decision-makers know what is acceptable and so that employees

    behaving consistently. If a corporate culture says that decisions that result in x are unacceptable while those that

    result in y are, decision-makers are more likely to make that latter. A culture that rewards hard work and innovation

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    is likely to create employees that give their all and are always looking for a way to improve their work and the way

    an organization operates.

    Research has shown that a strong culture, one in which the basic assumptions of the culture are widely

    shared and deeply held, have higher levels of performance than those with weak cultures. This means global leaders

    need to use organizational culture to shape organizational behavior. One way is that a strong culture makes finding

    and corrected violations much easier because everyone agrees on appropriate behavior. Either someone else will

    point out the violation to the leader or the leader will be more likely to see the violator who is not following thesame culture. A strong culture also means goals and visions are shared, enhancing coordination and motivation.

    Leaders can use current employees to transfer the culture to new employees. It would be helpful to send

    existing employees that already know the culture to manage a new office for brief time so that they can teach the

    culture to the new employees. Only having a set of rules and standards in place instead may not result in the same

    culture. These senior employees would be especially helpful if the culture pushes decision making to the front line.

    They would be there to show the companys decision making processes and standards. The new employees would

    learn over time and would begin to automatically follow the culture. The article also suggests that symbols and

    signals are used to reinforce belief and values. This could be in the form of reminders, posters, or even a well-

    designed company logo.

    How does organizational culture change affect a leader?An organizational culture affects a leader in the fact that leadership is intertwined with culture formation. It is

    almost like you cant have one without the other. It is also intertwined in the fact that the 7 main traits that capture thequality of an organizations culture: innovation and risk taking, attention to detail, outcome orientation, people orientation,

    team orientation, aggressiveness and stability are all are traits that are set by the leader in an organization. These are all

    things the leader in a company is responsible for cultivating. Therefore, if a leader is responsible for dictating the degree to

    which these traits are present in a company than he or she is also in a way responsible for the culture of the organization.

    Different types of organizations portray different types of cultures based on the different goals and visions that the

    organizations wish to instill in their company. For example a brokerage company may have a culture that reflects

    maximization of profits, while other companies such as Whole Foods and Nordstroms focus on build a knowledgeable

    staff to increase customer service. Another factor that can affect the culture of organizations is the location of the

    organizations. In the United States, the common country wide culture favors individualism and independence, which

    affects the culture of many US companies. In Asia there is a more collective approach to the social culture, which can also

    have an impact on how companies there conduct business. The leader has an active role in producing the environment in

    which fundamental organizational change is more or less likely to occur. This means that the leader can choose to enforce

    the existing culture through their actions and behaviors, or make a change in the culture for either better or worse. The

    second, leadership behaviors are comparable to distinct cultural traits. Third, organizational culture has a major impact onthe leadership styles that can be developed in an organization. Four, leaders can use the knowledge of the organizations

    culture to create change in the organization.

    Resistance to change organization culture

    A leader must know what resistance to change is first and how to correct approach the problem(s) in the

    right situation. Resistance to change can have a positive and negative effect. A positive way would be when a person

    speaks up about how to change a product and the company goes with the idea and it leads to a better decision. On

    the other hand, a company can already be set in their own ways and not willing to spend the money or time in the

    new idea or product. Leaders can overcome resistance to change when employees voice their opinions, go on strike,

    or engage in work slowdown. Some actions that leaders might take into overcoming resistance to change would be

    education and communication. Talking with employees will help them see the logic of change. Another action is

    participation, where leaders bring in the employees who oppose of change and try and get them involved into the

    decision making process. Another action is facilitation and support. Leaders can offer support groups and sometime

    therapy to employees who need it. Also negotiation is a technique used because the leader can exchange somethingof value for a lessoning of the resistance. Two more actions are manipulation and cooptation where they can be used

    to twist the truth into more appealing decisions and by giving them a key role in the change decision Dominant

    Culture-Which is essentially having a large sub culture within the organization that is on board with the change. This

    will cause the smaller sub cultures to feel like they have to get on board too. It is basically, majority rules.

    Leaders establishing trust and commitment in a change process

    Trust, in many relationships, both personal and professional is the most important and decisive aspect.

    Without trust, there is no relationship. You have to trust that your whole team has the same goals as you, and

    therefore is looking out for your best interest. This goes hand-in-hand with commitment, if only half of the team is

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    committed, and then there is no team. The old saying, the team is only as strong as its weakest link, holds true,

    especially for a leader. An organization needs to know that if they are giving 100%, they are not going to be the only

    ones, and that they can trust their leaders to do the same. Honesty helps to create trust, which allows for acooperative approach to working together. Also establish mentor-apprentice relationships throughout the

    organization.

    It is very important for leaders to establish trust and commitment in a change process. This is because

    leaders need to have a mutual trust between themselves and their followers to get everyone to be open and

    understand one another. They need to be open to one anothers feelings and ideas and this cant happen unless there

    is trust in the organization. Change is difficult for many people so leaders need everyone, including themselves, to

    be committed and trust one another. An organization must stick together especially if it is a scary idea like change.

    Followers must be able to trust that the leader is conducting change in the organizations best interest. They must

    also be committed to the process and learn to not resist change. They need to learn instead to talk openly about their

    feelings (expose their weaknesses) and it is the leaders job to listen. Leaders need to have many skills to bring

    positive change into an organization. Some of these skills include listening, observing, knowing their place (when to

    intervene), teaching group dynamics to all members of the organization, and communicating. Leaders must also be

    organized to create their positive vision, know when to recognize and reward positive results of members efforts, be

    prepared to answer tough questions during regular question and answer sessions, they need to empower their

    employees and lead by example.

    A good leader also has good relationship with the members of the organization by showing trust andcommitment. Leaders and followers need to have a positive attitude if they want to bring about positive change.

    Many skills that go into being a good leader, are obviously also required for a leader to bring aboutpositive change. The leader must be good at public speaking as well as listening. This will allow a leader toinform everyone about the change taking place, as well as address peoples issues or concerns with the change. A

    leader must be honest and open in order to gain the trust of subordinates, as well as develop a healthy relationship

    with those under him/her. Being open will allow a leader to voice his/her concerns with change creating a better

    team atmosphere where everyone believes that together they will make the change work. A leader should also be

    confident in themselves as well as those around them, approachable, tolerant, and enthusiastic.

    Furthermore, trust must be established and maintained in a change process because if the individuals are

    willing to make personal sacrifices, the organization will succeed. A sufficient level of trust must be created in

    order to allow groups of people to feel comfortable exposing their deepest weakness and discuss questions together.

    This open expression of feelings and opinions will help the members of a group understand one another and,

    therefore, be more enthusiastic about working as a team. When this is instituted, leaders can better reflect socialequality, openness, and participation to their employees or followers during the change taking place. Leaders cannot

    be selfish during a change process; instead, they must establish a more cooperative approach of working together

    and be dedicated to performing their job efficiently in an effective high performing approach.

    In order to successfully lead complex change in organizations, leaders must work hard to nurture their

    companys organizational culture and also must focus on the companys organizational structure. Organizations with

    leaders who have the following important differences from other organizations: flat and team oriented, less

    hierarchal structure, more autonomous units, an orientation toward high-value-added goods and quality services,

    quality controls, service controls, responsiveness, innovative speed, flexibility, highly trained and skilled workers,

    leaders at all levels (no managers), positive thinking in look and outlook oriented, strong and vibrant code of ethics,

    and sustainable social responsibility to the community. In addition, changing the organizations culture should be the

    focus of the leader. Leaders should have a strong relationship with their followers in order to create a loyal

    environment.Challenges in bringing effective and efficient change to an organization can make the change a very

    difficult process. These challenges include coming to a consensus of the required change with upper management

    and stakeholders, employee discomfort and un-cooperation, and an unwanted change in organizational culture.

    Sometimes change wanted by upper management to better the company in their mind, may not be the same idea

    that a leader of the organization has for the betterment of the company. Stakeholders are concerned with profits

    only, and will want change that will drive higher profit levels, but this could be at the expense of employees, etc. It

    is challenging for leaders and management to agree on an important change.

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    Also, employee acceptance of change can make the transition extremely challenging. If employees do not

    see the value in change, begin to fear for their job positions, become uncomfortable with the change situation, or

    simply do not accept the change in any way, the change will not be effective. Leaders must insure that employees

    are willingly going to cooperate with change and that they are satisfied with it. Employees fearing for their jobs will

    not accept a change, so this issue must be resolved early in the process. Additionally, it is important that the

    organizational culture adapts to the change, but does so willingly. A leader cannot drastically change the beliefs and

    values of the organization, without disrupting those within the organizational community. Therefore, in order to

    lessen this challenge, leaders must be sure to keep a similar culture when instilling changes.

    Developing LeadersThere are many characteristics that one needs to have to efficiently and effectively help guide diverse

    organizations. One characteristic is to be inquisitive. A leader must be inquisitive because constant learning is

    needed in global organizations. A leader will always run in to new cultures, customs, ideas, and different types of

    people. Being inquisitive makes it easier to adjust to new environments and to understand people. Leaders must also

    have character, which involves both emotional connections and integrity. Emotional connections are built through a

    sincere interest, an effort to listen, and an understanding of different viewpoints. Integrity can be viewed and

    described as ethical behavior and loyalty to the companys values and strategy.

    Another trait to have in developing leaders is duality. Duality is the ability to manage uncertainty and to

    balance tensions. Leaders of todays organizations are going to have a lot of uncertainty and change and leaders

    need to know when to act and when to ride out a situation. The tensions that need to be balanced involve decisions

    like standardization or adaptation, management styles, labor relation policies and country norms, and globalbranding vs. local consumer preferences. Finally, leaders must also be savvy both in business and the organization.

    Business savvy is recognizing new market opportunities while organizational savvy knows the firms capabilities,

    strengths, and weaknesses and develop employees to adapt.

    Leadership and cultural intelligenceThere are many challenges that businesses leaders face today in trying to help their managers become more

    proficient in the business environment. It seems evident that there are very good employment opportunities for people

    who have a strong business leadership background in conjunction with the ability to achieve a high degree of emotional

    and cultural intelligence. An individual who wishes to become a successful business person cannot rely on just their

    technical/analytical knowledge; they must also be skilled and have developed their emotional intelligence as well as their

    cultural intelligence. Emotional intelligence is not something a person is necessarily born with; however, the positive in

    this is that emotional intelligence can be learned. Just as with most skills, a person can become aware of his/her strengths

    and weaknesses as it relates to emotional intelligence and work on the areas that they are weakest in to improve their

    emotional intelligence. For someone to become skilled in emotional intelligence they must have a cognizantunderstanding of and be able to exercise self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship management.

    When a business leader has demonstrated mastery of these traits they have proven to become extremely successful leaders

    here domestically. These same traits are necessary to develop a business leaders cultural intelligence as well. The

    literatures stated that the next leader of the future organizations would need to have some level of experience overseas.

    The more our world becomes economically integrated the more need businesses leaders will have for people who can

    bridge the divides. A business leader who wishes to do business in various parts of the world cannot ignore the need for

    people who have the technical and relationship skill set to help grow their businesses in other countries besides their own.

    One way that a person with aspirations of becoming a global business leader can help achieve this success is to learn other

    languages and immerse themselves in one or two other cultures to truly experience what life is like in other parts of the

    world. Having these experiences to draw upon as one furthers their business career will prove invaluable. It seems to

    meet that a reasonably bright, young person who can speak another language in addition to English and who has done

    some studying abroad and has a thirst to continue to broaden their worldly experiences can practically write their own

    ticket with a large local and international firm today. It is exciting to see that these opportunities are out there for anyone

    who wishes to commit themselves to embracing cultural change and learning more about how to effectively managepeople on an emotionally sensitive level.

    What is the advantage and importance for an organizational culture?

    Organizational culture is one of the most critical factor determining an organization's effectiveness, growth,

    and longevity. It is also the building blocks for a successful organization. Having a culture is a great advantage

    because it contributes significantly to the organization's image and brand promise. Organizational Culture creates

    energy and momentum and with these things as well, the organizational culture cannot exist. Two-time bestselling

    author of Vantage points on Learning and Life and Chief Potential Officer of Kevin Elkenberry Group, Mr.

    Elkenberry is an expert at converting organizational teams. He provides seven reasons as to why its important to

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    focus on and build organizational culture:

    A Strong culture is a talent-attractorA strong culture is talent-retainerA strong culture engages people

    A strong culture creates energy and momentum

    A strong culture changes the view of workA strong culture creates greater synergyA strong culture makes everyone more successful

    Mr. Elkenberry states that, focusing on building and sustaining an organizational culture is one way of showingthat people are the organization's most valuable asset.It is for these basic reasons that organizational culture matters. It is

    the right thing for an organization to do - to think about the work environment, working relationships and how we do

    things here (Elkenberry, 2007).

    Leaders need to comprehend the culture in order to help motivate the followers to work towards the mission. It is

    because of this that many strategic planners now emphasize identifying strategic values within a culture just as they do

    their mission and vision. Leaders who understand their organizations culture are most able to make successful strategic

    plans to benefit the company. In addition to strategic planning, an organizations culture affects leaders because leadership

    produces an environment in which fundamental organizational change is more or less likely to occur. Specific leadership

    behaviors are comparable to distinct cultural traits.

    CONCLUSION

    In life, changes come about, whether its good or bad, make the best of it. As a leader, your position is a

    challenge because you have to satisfy the wants and needs of your customers, employees and management that are lookingat you for leadership. Leaders are either born or made and possess skills that are needed to lead others to the right

    directions. Making these changes are not the only changes that can be done but is a great start. Having a leader within your

    organization can be that secret recipe that prevents the organization from folding. Leadership is necessary in every

    organization because it helps create an organization with a purpose and substance through identifying the way ahead. It

    also steers others towards accomplishment of agreed objectives. Leaders make others want to do something that should be

    done for the progress of the organization. Leadership plays a pivotal part in helping us understand group behavior,

    organizational vision and organizational culture. In the final analysis, leader is the one who usually helps and direct all

    organizational members toward achieving goals. Indeed, knowing what makes a good leader and developing skills on how

    to train all employees to become leaders should be paramount and valuable in improving optimal organizational and group

    performance in achieving excellence.

    ACKNOWLEDGEMENTThe researcher will like to acknowledge Keyshonna Norman in his leadership class in helping to collect data for this research.

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