thesis statement of a leadership

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Writing a Paper: Thesis Statements

Basics of thesis statements.

The thesis statement is the brief articulation of your paper's central argument and purpose. You might hear it referred to as simply a "thesis." Every scholarly paper should have a thesis statement, and strong thesis statements are concise, specific, and arguable. Concise means the thesis is short: perhaps one or two sentences for a shorter paper. Specific means the thesis deals with a narrow and focused topic, appropriate to the paper's length. Arguable means that a scholar in your field could disagree (or perhaps already has!).

Strong thesis statements address specific intellectual questions, have clear positions, and use a structure that reflects the overall structure of the paper. Read on to learn more about constructing a strong thesis statement.

Being Specific

This thesis statement has no specific argument:

Needs Improvement: In this essay, I will examine two scholarly articles to find similarities and differences.

This statement is concise, but it is neither specific nor arguable—a reader might wonder, "Which scholarly articles? What is the topic of this paper? What field is the author writing in?" Additionally, the purpose of the paper—to "examine…to find similarities and differences" is not of a scholarly level. Identifying similarities and differences is a good first step, but strong academic argument goes further, analyzing what those similarities and differences might mean or imply.

Better: In this essay, I will argue that Bowler's (2003) autocratic management style, when coupled with Smith's (2007) theory of social cognition, can reduce the expenses associated with employee turnover.

The new revision here is still concise, as well as specific and arguable.  We can see that it is specific because the writer is mentioning (a) concrete ideas and (b) exact authors.  We can also gather the field (business) and the topic (management and employee turnover). The statement is arguable because the student goes beyond merely comparing; he or she draws conclusions from that comparison ("can reduce the expenses associated with employee turnover").

Making a Unique Argument

This thesis draft repeats the language of the writing prompt without making a unique argument:

Needs Improvement: The purpose of this essay is to monitor, assess, and evaluate an educational program for its strengths and weaknesses. Then, I will provide suggestions for improvement.

You can see here that the student has simply stated the paper's assignment, without articulating specifically how he or she will address it. The student can correct this error simply by phrasing the thesis statement as a specific answer to the assignment prompt.

Better: Through a series of student interviews, I found that Kennedy High School's antibullying program was ineffective. In order to address issues of conflict between students, I argue that Kennedy High School should embrace policies outlined by the California Department of Education (2010).

Words like "ineffective" and "argue" show here that the student has clearly thought through the assignment and analyzed the material; he or she is putting forth a specific and debatable position. The concrete information ("student interviews," "antibullying") further prepares the reader for the body of the paper and demonstrates how the student has addressed the assignment prompt without just restating that language.

Creating a Debate

This thesis statement includes only obvious fact or plot summary instead of argument:

Needs Improvement: Leadership is an important quality in nurse educators.

A good strategy to determine if your thesis statement is too broad (and therefore, not arguable) is to ask yourself, "Would a scholar in my field disagree with this point?" Here, we can see easily that no scholar is likely to argue that leadership is an unimportant quality in nurse educators.  The student needs to come up with a more arguable claim, and probably a narrower one; remember that a short paper needs a more focused topic than a dissertation.

Better: Roderick's (2009) theory of participatory leadership  is particularly appropriate to nurse educators working within the emergency medicine field, where students benefit most from collegial and kinesthetic learning.

Here, the student has identified a particular type of leadership ("participatory leadership"), narrowing the topic, and has made an arguable claim (this type of leadership is "appropriate" to a specific type of nurse educator). Conceivably, a scholar in the nursing field might disagree with this approach. The student's paper can now proceed, providing specific pieces of evidence to support the arguable central claim.

Choosing the Right Words

This thesis statement uses large or scholarly-sounding words that have no real substance:

Needs Improvement: Scholars should work to seize metacognitive outcomes by harnessing discipline-based networks to empower collaborative infrastructures.

There are many words in this sentence that may be buzzwords in the student's field or key terms taken from other texts, but together they do not communicate a clear, specific meaning. Sometimes students think scholarly writing means constructing complex sentences using special language, but actually it's usually a stronger choice to write clear, simple sentences. When in doubt, remember that your ideas should be complex, not your sentence structure.

Better: Ecologists should work to educate the U.S. public on conservation methods by making use of local and national green organizations to create a widespread communication plan.

Notice in the revision that the field is now clear (ecology), and the language has been made much more field-specific ("conservation methods," "green organizations"), so the reader is able to see concretely the ideas the student is communicating.

Leaving Room for Discussion

This thesis statement is not capable of development or advancement in the paper:

Needs Improvement: There are always alternatives to illegal drug use.

This sample thesis statement makes a claim, but it is not a claim that will sustain extended discussion. This claim is the type of claim that might be appropriate for the conclusion of a paper, but in the beginning of the paper, the student is left with nowhere to go. What further points can be made? If there are "always alternatives" to the problem the student is identifying, then why bother developing a paper around that claim? Ideally, a thesis statement should be complex enough to explore over the length of the entire paper.

Better: The most effective treatment plan for methamphetamine addiction may be a combination of pharmacological and cognitive therapy, as argued by Baker (2008), Smith (2009), and Xavier (2011).

In the revised thesis, you can see the student make a specific, debatable claim that has the potential to generate several pages' worth of discussion. When drafting a thesis statement, think about the questions your thesis statement will generate: What follow-up inquiries might a reader have? In the first example, there are almost no additional questions implied, but the revised example allows for a good deal more exploration.

Thesis Mad Libs

If you are having trouble getting started, try using the models below to generate a rough model of a thesis statement! These models are intended for drafting purposes only and should not appear in your final work.

• In this essay, I argue ____, using ______ to assert _____.
• While scholars have often argued ______, I argue______, because_______.
• Through an analysis of ______, I argue ______, which is important because_______.

Words to Avoid and to Embrace

When drafting your thesis statement, avoid words like explore, investigate, learn, compile, summarize , and explain to describe the main purpose of your paper. These words imply a paper that summarizes or "reports," rather than synthesizing and analyzing.

Instead of the terms above, try words like argue, critique, question , and interrogate . These more analytical words may help you begin strongly, by articulating a specific, critical, scholarly position.

Read Kayla's blog post for tips on taking a stand in a well-crafted thesis statement.

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Leadership development and its effects on organizational performance

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Developing Strong Thesis Statements

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The thesis statement or main claim must be debatable

An argumentative or persuasive piece of writing must begin with a debatable thesis or claim. In other words, the thesis must be something that people could reasonably have differing opinions on. If your thesis is something that is generally agreed upon or accepted as fact then there is no reason to try to persuade people.

Example of a non-debatable thesis statement:

This thesis statement is not debatable. First, the word pollution implies that something is bad or negative in some way. Furthermore, all studies agree that pollution is a problem; they simply disagree on the impact it will have or the scope of the problem. No one could reasonably argue that pollution is unambiguously good.

Example of a debatable thesis statement:

This is an example of a debatable thesis because reasonable people could disagree with it. Some people might think that this is how we should spend the nation's money. Others might feel that we should be spending more money on education. Still others could argue that corporations, not the government, should be paying to limit pollution.

Another example of a debatable thesis statement:

In this example there is also room for disagreement between rational individuals. Some citizens might think focusing on recycling programs rather than private automobiles is the most effective strategy.

The thesis needs to be narrow

Although the scope of your paper might seem overwhelming at the start, generally the narrower the thesis the more effective your argument will be. Your thesis or claim must be supported by evidence. The broader your claim is, the more evidence you will need to convince readers that your position is right.

Example of a thesis that is too broad:

There are several reasons this statement is too broad to argue. First, what is included in the category "drugs"? Is the author talking about illegal drug use, recreational drug use (which might include alcohol and cigarettes), or all uses of medication in general? Second, in what ways are drugs detrimental? Is drug use causing deaths (and is the author equating deaths from overdoses and deaths from drug related violence)? Is drug use changing the moral climate or causing the economy to decline? Finally, what does the author mean by "society"? Is the author referring only to America or to the global population? Does the author make any distinction between the effects on children and adults? There are just too many questions that the claim leaves open. The author could not cover all of the topics listed above, yet the generality of the claim leaves all of these possibilities open to debate.

Example of a narrow or focused thesis:

In this example the topic of drugs has been narrowed down to illegal drugs and the detriment has been narrowed down to gang violence. This is a much more manageable topic.

We could narrow each debatable thesis from the previous examples in the following way:

Narrowed debatable thesis 1:

This thesis narrows the scope of the argument by specifying not just the amount of money used but also how the money could actually help to control pollution.

Narrowed debatable thesis 2:

This thesis narrows the scope of the argument by specifying not just what the focus of a national anti-pollution campaign should be but also why this is the appropriate focus.

Qualifiers such as " typically ," " generally ," " usually ," or " on average " also help to limit the scope of your claim by allowing for the almost inevitable exception to the rule.

Types of claims

Claims typically fall into one of four categories. Thinking about how you want to approach your topic, or, in other words, what type of claim you want to make, is one way to focus your thesis on one particular aspect of your broader topic.

Claims of fact or definition: These claims argue about what the definition of something is or whether something is a settled fact. Example:

Claims of cause and effect: These claims argue that one person, thing, or event caused another thing or event to occur. Example:

Claims about value: These are claims made of what something is worth, whether we value it or not, how we would rate or categorize something. Example:

Claims about solutions or policies: These are claims that argue for or against a certain solution or policy approach to a problem. Example:

Which type of claim is right for your argument? Which type of thesis or claim you use for your argument will depend on your position and knowledge of the topic, your audience, and the context of your paper. You might want to think about where you imagine your audience to be on this topic and pinpoint where you think the biggest difference in viewpoints might be. Even if you start with one type of claim you probably will be using several within the paper. Regardless of the type of claim you choose to utilize it is key to identify the controversy or debate you are addressing and to define your position early on in the paper.

Thesis Statement On Leadership Qualities

Nowadays, leadership thesis statement skills are a great point in favor in many selection processes and can lead you to get that position you want so much. However, you should not confuse leadership with the ability to “command”. Being a leader is much more than that; having thesis statement about leadership skills has to do with your ability to inspire confidence and commitment, as well as to motivate team members to improve day by day.

The goal of a good leader is to get the team to work effectively both individually and as a group. Your figure is key one for the department to work. On many occasions this task becomes a real challenge: the team is made up of heterogeneous people, with their own interests and differentiated knowledge. Therefore, the leader must defend the employee’s independence, supporting them in the use of all their potential and creativity and stimulating their sense of belonging to create a true team.

These are some of the most valued thesis statement on leadership qualities:

Setting goals and expectations is essential for teams to work together with a common goal

A person who moves towards a clear and fixed goal will apply himself with greater determination because he knows what is expected from him. Therefore, it becomes essential for a leader to transmit to his teams what the mission, vision and strategy are. You can start by setting an ambitious goal in the long term and, little by little, segmenting smaller tasks with more immediate results that will motivate your team and prevent them from turning their eyes away from the objective.

Invest in people

Human talent is the most important and valuable variable of any organization. Therefore, if you want prepared people, you must invest in their training. First, you must select those profiles that you think have potential in those areas and divisions that will help you to reach the goal and, once they are part of your team, invest in them to continue evolving, to grow professionally and make the organization grow towards the marked objective. People with thesis statement for leadership qualities are able to recognize special skills and know how to use them for the benefit of the company.

Enhance talent

It is important to create career plans for each of the people who work with you. Do with them performance evaluations and give a sincere feedback on what are their strengths and areas for improvement. On the other hand, talented people tend to be ambitious at the same time, so it is not always easy to retain them. For that reason it is essential to take care and motivate the talented employee. Another key ingredient is commitment, and this is only achieved with good communication between management and workers. This will make them feel motivated and satisfied.

Communication, key to lead effectively

It is essential to work on communication as an essential element to transmit the values to your team. The key is to communicate transparently, clearly and concisely. However, this flow of communication and information cannot be unilateral. Good leaders with thesis statement about leadership qualities always have an open ear towards the concerns of their employees. Communication and leadership go hand in hand when we talk about today’s leaders … and tomorrow’s leaders.

Be innovative and visionary, detect opportunities for improvement, and create an environment that stimulates.

Active listening

Active listening involves observing and asking, flexibility and trust, openness and firmness. It does no longer just about to know what the teams need, but also about actively listening to them, that is, gathering all their ideas and contributions and putting them into practice. When there is active listening in the team, the members understand and understand better the reason for their work. They expand their vision and direction according to their strategies and goals.

Enthusiasm and the spirit of overcoming

They are essential values in any leadership thesis that seeks to be a reference person within their teams. For this it is necessary that you create a healthy, optimistic, fun and at the same time ambitious and challenging working group. Motivating and inspiring your employees and encouraging their enthusiasm for projects are one of the most important skills and the key to success. Motivated employees are good employees. The more aware you are of your own abilities and the more open you are to them, the more successful you will be as a leader.

Lead by example

Albert Einstein said that “the example is not the best way to teach, it is the only one” and, this phrase, it makes special sense when talking about the relationship between a leader and his team in line with thesis about leadership. You must be the first to work hard, to take the responsibilities that protect your position and, in turn, to do so with honesty, ethics and authenticity. Do not pretend to be what you are not. Leadership ability can also be seen as the ability to deliver responsibility and delegate tasks. Those who transfer responsibility to their employees motivate them and guarantee their loyalty.

An influential leader does not need to use his authority to act on his team. The good leader influences through inspiration, his charisma, his values and his innate qualities, making his followers want to follow him, instead of feeling that they “should” do it.

Emotional intelligence

Emotional intelligence is a key factor, according to the thesis on leadership, and is related to perceive the needs of the team, understand the emotions of its members (as well as their strengths, limitations and potential) and channel them in favor of the project and the organization.

Strategic thinking

Speaking about thesis statement for qualities of a good leader, good leader has his sights set on the future, which allows him to anticipate and anticipate future challenges that arise in the organization. Its task is to satisfy current demands by ensuring a good future position, establishing goals and achievable objectives.

Knowledge and experience

Knowledge and experience is one of the most obvious qualities for leaders in line with thesis paper on leadership. A leader must know more than anyone. You must know how to advance obstacles, provide solutions when necessary and guide your team to obtain them.

The leader who inspires confidence is one who demonstrates consistency in his actions, acting with ethics, respect and integrity. Trust in each member of your team, as well as in yourself, is key and necessary to create a productive environment in the workplace.

Commitment and passion

An effective leader, as we can see from good leadership thesis, must know how to transmit the commitment with the organization and the project, being an example for all team members. A committed leader is one who inspires and spreads his enthusiasm and passion by making his subordinates feels as his owns each and every one of the achievements.