Faculty: Faculty of Administrative Science and Policy Studies

Course Code: PAD101(Introduction To Management Principles In Public Sector)

Title: 5. What are the characteristics of a good leader? Discuss someone who has these
qualities.
Group: AM1101H
Members: 1. Cherylina Ula Anak Julin (2019202324)
2. Euodia Amos (2018296362)
3. Jesscy Ubong Lerang (2019291768)
4. Michelle Urai Anak Nyadau (2019444416)
5. Rebecca Anak Dahlan (2019203224)

Lecturer: Madam Sarehan binti Sadikin

Date of Submission: 4th November 2019
 Table of Content

Content Pages
Introduction 3
About Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad 3
Leadership Characteristics 4-8
Conclusion 9
Reference 10

1.0 Introduction

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Leadership is the ability to influence people toward the attainment of goals. A good
leader is the one that is responsible, not only for themselves but also those under his
or her leadership. A good leader must also be accountable and take that
accountability of their subordinates, as a leader has influence and ability to be a
factor of reason towards a subordinate's actions. In other words, the action and
character of a subordinate can represent their leader's influence towards them.
Furthermore, a good leader knows about giving the appropriate response for the
right situation. This can be learned from other exemplary leaders or by practical
experiences. A good leader is someone who not only instructs but is the first to act in
any situation and sets an example for others to follow. An example of a great leader
that we chose to elaborate on is Tun Dr Mahathir.

2.0 About Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad

Born on 10th of July, 1925 in Kampung Seberang Perak, Alor Setar, Kedah, is
Malaysia's fourth (now seventh) Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr, Mahathir
Mohamad. He led the country through a fast-paced modernisation drive that earned
Malaysia's international recognition as an industrial powerhouse. With mega
infrastructure- projects that took place like the notably Kuala Lumpur City Centre
(KLCC), PETRONAS Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and
Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC). He opened Malaysia to foreign investments,
reduced international trade barriers, privatised government services, as well as
established world-class physical infrastructure. He is also known as the longest-
serving Prime Minister of Malaysia.

3.0 Leadership Characteristics

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 i. Achievement drive

A great leader must have a clear vision. A leader must be capable and courageous
to lead that vision and has a clear focus of what needs to be done to achieve that
vision. For example, when leading to the election many circumstances happened, we
can relate it to Tun Dr Mahathir and his team of leaders. All of them led the role of
applying a clear vision for the future of Malaysia by making an agreement which is a
100-day manifesto and this short term vision gave hope to Malaysians of what
Malaysia could be in the next 5 years to come if they are the governing
administration. Besides, what Tun M has done was very inspiring because Tun M not
only united the parties for a common goal but he can influence and unite the hearts
of citizens to achieve this one similar vision which is to reform Malaysia. However,
this success and responsibility does not only fall on the shoulders of the leader alone
neither is it a one-man task but the right timing and the role of the people is also
important. By the power of the people, the parties that have been rivals for years
were forced to be united.

In an organization, executive and employees could be working with no doubts but

most of the time they are all busy with their own goals and not giving cooperation
with one another in achieving one common goal. Thus, in business, the power of
alignment between a leader and the team plays an important role in ensuring the
vision, goal and objective can be achieved or attained.

ii. Cognitive Ability

First of all, we keep asking ourselves what are the main drives of frustration for the
team at the workplace and what are the frustration of the employee or clients. In this
context, what are the common frustration of the citizens and what are the identifiable
struggles? What are the future frustrations if the problem is not resolved now.
Identifying the root of the problem is the foundation of addressing the common
frustration as the livelihood of the citizen depends on it. For example, they will move
to other leaders, other products and brands or any other available options to help
them solve their frustration if the critical problem is not identified in time. In other
words, it is neglecting their frustration. That is why understanding, identifying and
eliminating the causes of frustration is the key to being a successful organization.

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Being a leader requires a lot of soft skills, for example, the need to make sure that
the team is comfortable with the goals that are set for the team and always reflect on
what is the big why for the team, the organization and why do we do it.

As a leader, we need a better working strategy and make sure that everyone focus
on achieving the same big reason and results. By applying this, it can separate a
high performing team from falling or underachieving. Hence, the most important thing
is to have a common goal. The team will not only focus on the big picture but it
brings people together and encourage them to communicate problems and results.
By doing this we can detect the problem earlier and your progress to achieve the
goals will be under control. After all, an obvious thing we have witnessed is the
common goals and frustration addressed by Tun M and the party leaders. Just in
case that connection was not clear, they would have been on shaky ground or
unstable but by addressing the frustration of citizens, they can manage and eliminate
fear, doubts and uncertainty about the future of the citizens. It is hard to identify the
common values of each team members but goals need to be aligned with the
common values.

iii. Diplomacy.

In the 14th General Election, Tun formed a four-party coalition to form a unified
coalition for the first time as a strategic planner. This has helped to reduce voter
confusion as it reduces the spread of votes. Also, voters do not have to choose
between the four parties but only one unified party. If Tun did not do this, of course, it
will be hard for the voters to elect their representative. This is because, include the
four-party that were combined by Tun, there are nine to ten parties that the voters
chose including the independent candidates.

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iv. Desire To Lead

Tun Dr Mahathir has the key factor of being a leader which is a connection to the
people he is leading. He knows who are the people that he is leading and makes
them believe in him because to be a great leader, first and foremost, mutual trust
between oneself and the team is essential. He is responsible and dependable which
are critical traits of a great leader, and it earns respect from those who are working
with him to achieve his vision for the country. At the end of the day, the key to
effective leadership is commitment to the cause, being the first on and the last off the
battlefield. Not only Tun Dr Mahathir but the party leaders portrayed this as well.
They have led by example. They did their homework, they met the people at grass-
root level, they addressed their concerns, they communicated clearly with everyone
and they shared with clarity how they plan to resolve the problems of the people.

v. Cooperativeness.

Tun Dr Mahathir can identify the mental states of others, their thoughts by putting
himself in people's shoes. This helps him understand their beliefs, feelings,
experiences and intentions.

By understanding the people means he can empathize with people. He can think
along the lines of what the other person is thinking. He is able to reason out what
transpired in someone's mind before doing what they have done.

Understanding with empathy is important because it helps us understand how others

are feeling so we can respond appropriately to the situation. When we are able to
empathize with others, we can build and sustain meaningful relationships, hold a job,
or client effectively. The winning formula with the people was creating a manifesto
that understands and empathizes the people’s frustrations.

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vi. Conscientiousness in pursuit of goals

Tun Mahathir is always outspoken in his views with regards to the progress of the
country and the direction of the country and nation. He is also always consistent in
championing for his country and the people’s future. Tun spoke in public, addressed
the media, always collaborated with people and met his opponents with humility. He
also admitted and apologized for every mistake he did. He adopted technology for
the future of his country and he also embraced young people. Tun did everything he
can in order to achieve his goal for his people and country’s future.

For Tun Mahathir, work ethic is very important to achieve success especially in the
early phase of your business. Work hard and do whatever it takes to get the job
done. He does it right and pushed himself to be the best in what he does and stayed
focus until you achieve your goal or success. As a leader, you have to be a good role
model for others to follow.

vii. Determined

All great leaders are pushed to their physical, emotional, mental or spiritual limits.
They are fatigued, exhausted and drained by their experience, they still relentlessly
pursue their journey to achieve goal and success. As an example when the people
were uncertain by their victory Tun and his party still pursued relentlessly to
campaign till the last mile. They exhausted medium resources and people to reach
out to the people and champion for a common goal. The leaders are willing to
sacrifice their time, resources, energy and effort to be the servant leader of love,
caring and hope for the people.

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viii. Interpersonal Skills

Communication is at the core of every political campaign. Certainly, issues like the
economy, GST, unemployment, money laundering and policies matter, but the way
Tun and the leaders conveyed their ideas to the voters hinges their success and
ability to communicate messages effectively to the people.

ix. Committed to Leadership

First, committing involves dedicating yourself to a person, to something or a cause. A

commitment obligates you to do something and leadership is a decision and
obligation that you have towards others.

Leaders accept responsibility as the heads of their teams, and they’re always
working to do things better. People’s expectations are higher for the leader than for
everyone else in their organization. They have a duty to the team and community.

Leaders need to understand that the values that they uphold that will determine the
behaviours, the culture and the success of their organization.

Tun did that and his team and his people can see the difference.

Tun knows that he is not here merely to make a living or achieve his success. He is
here to enable Malaysia to live more abundantly, with greater vision, with a greater
spirit of hope and achievement.

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4.0 Conclusion

In conclusion, a good leader is defined by their works and their impact on what they
do. There will be times where they fail but it is how they get back up and solve the
problems. Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had proven these qualities in his work as a
Prime Minister of Malaysia. A leader should walk the talk and this is what we see in
Tun’s leadership, “Tun walks the talk”. Today, political parties no longer determine
the election. The leaders and candidates must appeal to the voters directly. From the
recent elections, we can see how social media has aided these leaders in their quest
to effectively engage voters.

Key quality of leaders are being able to comprehend because it is fundamental to

gain trust from the people.

It creates an environment of beliefs around leaders that allows them to conduct or

lead effectively, engage employees and ultimately deliver results. Building trust in an
organization requires a personal effort on the part of the leaders themselves other
than just team effort.

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5.0 References

10 Leadership Traits That We Could Learn From The 7th Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
(2018, May 16). Retrieved from Malaysian Online Network:
http://malaysianonlinenetwork.com/10-leadership-traits-that-we-could-learn-from-the-7th-
prime-minister-tun-dr-mahathir-mohamad/

Daft, R. L., & Marcic, D. (2013). Understanding Management. In R. L. Daft, & D. Marcic,
Understanding Management (p. 720). South-Western College.

TUN DR. MAHATHIR MOHAMAD BIOGRAPHY (ENGLISH). (2018). Retrieved from Perdana Leadership
Foundation: http://www.perdana.org.my/index.php/pms-of-malaysia/tun-dr-mahathir-
mohamad/tun-dr-mahathir-mohamad

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