Leadership In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

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As Peter Drucker once said, “Management is doing things right, leadership is doing the right things”. An effective and successful leader has many qualities that help the audience and create positive results and outcomes. In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo, one of the leaders of Umuofia, was very strong, cold, and he reinforced Igbo traditions and culture within the tribe. Although he had the right qualities, he was not amiable towards his people which didn’t allow him to be a good leader. In order to be an effective leader, there have to be many attributes that define how distinguished and proficient of a leader someone is, which is clearly conveyed not only through this novel, but the articles “The Difference Between …show more content…

Throughout the article “The Difference Between Good Leaders and Great Ones”, Bailey discusses how good and great are very different descriptions for a leader. Leadership has many outcomes depending on the characteristics of the leader. Bailey states that it’s “natural to think of leadership as running from one end to the other. To do so, though, is to mistake what great and good leadership are. They’re fundamentally different…[but] it’s absolutely necessary for understanding the very elements that explain leadership’s operation and impact. Great can be vital but destructive; good can be compassionate but impotent,” (Bailey). The author wants the reader to understand the difference between a great and good leader. Great leaders use major force while good leaders are amiable and interested in the well-being of others. A crucial leader, which is what most people aim for, has to have the qualities of both a great and good leader. Having the qualities of one or the other would lead to lack of force towards actions or lack of vision. If none of these qualities are possessed, the audience falls apart causing major consequences which lead to