Nurturing Leadership: An Interview with Alexander Landback - Free Essay Sample

Introduction

Leadership is a vital part of an organization as it determines its success or failure (Conger, 2015). Good leadership means that the management of the organization is in a position to offer direction and provide essential needs to motivate the juniors. In an organization with effective leadership, everyone knows the individual and collective goals of the company. Therefore, there is harmony and cooperation that brings about overall success. Although people believe that leadership is innate, examining some successful leaders reveals that it is a skill that requires hard work, persistence, and focus. One way of developing leadership skills is by following the mentorship of people in a leadership position. Alexander Landback is an example of such a leader who serves as a mentor for prospective and young leaders. The paper provides some of the essential takes from an interview with Landback regarding effective leadership.

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Early Life and Education

During the interview, Landback stated that he spent most of his early life in Tampa. Thus, he was born and lived in the region both during his childhood and adulthood. His awakening moment came during his university studies back in 2008. By then, he was studying at the University of Florida (UF) for his undergraduate Bachelor of Arts degree in Law. After successfully completing the undergraduate degree, he proceeded to the University of Florida Levin College of Law, where he pursued his Juris Doctor, J.D. degree, and completed in 2012. Laidback demonstrated his leadership skills early in life, but the most significant was when he was still a law student at UF. He was among the vocal members of the Moot Court team of the university and participated in effective decision-making for the group. His leadership traits ensured that he received the award of Best Oral Advocate in the 2011 Florida Bar race of the Robert Orseck Memorial Moot Court Competition. Moreover, he was the winner of the Andrews Kurth Moot Court National Championship of 2012 which focused on the evaluation of leadership performance.

Professional and Communal Involvement

Landback has had numerous professional and communal engagements throughout his career life. He started as an English tutor in Alexandria, and then Egypt before joining law school. Additionally, he served as a career service advisor, mainly dealing with engineering at the University of Florida. Most of these engagements were private practice. Initially, he had worked in the public sector as an assistant attorney in Florida for the Judicial Circuit. Most of this engagement at Bartow and Waucula involved the prosecution of a misdemeanor as well as felony charges. Therefore, Landback provided services to the people of Polk County and other areas in Florida. Notably, Landback has undergone a series of professional transitions. He has interacted with people from different professional backgrounds and age brackets. Additionally, he has had the opportunity to deal with both the law-abiding citizens and the offenders.

In the interview, he stated that he had worked with prestigious law firms, including the oldest one in Polk County. When working at this law firm, he acquired cohesive experience in commercial and civil litigation, building on his legal background. Moreover, he had worked with Straughn & Turner serving corporations, small and medium scale businesses, not-for-profit organizations, government organizations as well as private entities regarding legal matters. All these extensive experiences with different professional backgrounds enhanced his leadership skills in many ways. Currently, Landback is an Assistant General Counsel at Florida Polytechnic University, where he has been working for over two years. In this capacity, he has the responsibilities of the provision of legal intelligence and guidance regarding academic and nonacademic affairs, human resources in the campus, university relations, and police, as well as technological services, among others. In a way, Landback is in a leadership position and a vital legal advising figure in the provision of supportive services on employee and employment, litigation issues, contracts and agreements, and real estate matters.

Leadership Experience

Laidback defines leadership in terms of the provision of social or professional influence to enhance and maximize the individual and collective efforts of each player in an organization. According to Landback, the primary goal of leadership is to ensure the achievement of the goals of a company or group. Throughout his career, Landback has learned that the foundations of effective leadership are in social influence as opposed to authority or power. Therefore, anyone in an organization can be a leader provided they can influence and socialize with others. Hypothetically, many leaders of the world today are people with backgrounds in Law and legal studies (Conger, 2015). When asked to address the relationship between leadership and law studies, Landback stated that he does not see any connection. He reaffirmed the fact that leadership is a skill, and just like any other skill, it requires an individual’s effort to advance.

Landback has been in leadership for an extended duration. He was a leader when he was still a student, carried on with leadership after his graduation, and incorporated it into his career path. He has interacted with people from different cultural, ethnic, racial, and religious backgrounds. In these engagements, Landback states that he has learned one crucial lesson; that leadership requires an understanding of others’ positions and opinions. He further points out that although most of his leadership has been centered around the managerial position, he does not see leadership as only top managers. Thus, he believes that the molding of leaders starts from the lower levels of organizations as one advances through the management hierarchy. Additionally, leadership exists everywhere and is not restricted only in work environments. Therefore, he not only considers his professional leadership positions as part of his experience but also the informal leadership roles that he had to take earlier on in life.

Advice to the New Leader

As part of his leadership advice, Landback warns of the general belief that it is innate. Instead, he advises that leadership stems from a combination of perseverance, instinctive strategy, hard work, and individual conviction. These are some of the areas that young leaders need to focus on developing and nurturing. There are a lot of behind-the-scenes tasks that are vital in creating a charismatic and inspiring figure as a leader (Renz, 2016). Some of the critical pillars for effective leadership that new leaders should never ignore include maintaining a clear vision and effective communication when in the position of leadership, take feedbacks from subordinates and society generously and honestly, and being ready to empower and motivate those who look upon the leadership for support. Additionally, new leaders should be prepared to lead by example and make tough decisions affecting the entire group.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the interview with Alexander Landback, an Assistant General Counsel at the Florida Polytechnic University, sheds light on the essentials of effective leadership. Laidback outlined part of his life journey, including early life, education, and professional engagement. Each of these areas was critically essential in shaping and molding him into the kind of leader he is today. Moreover, he helped address some of the misinformation that people have about leadership, such as distinguishing leadership and authority, the factors that contribute to being an effective leader, and the different roles of a leader. Moreover, Landback provided vital information that he thought would help shape the path of a new leader.

References

Conger, J. (2015). Charismatic leadership. Wiley encyclopedia of management, 1-2.

Renz, D. O. (2016). The Jossey-Bass handbook of nonprofit leadership and management. John Wiley & Sons. http://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/47869/1/420.pdf