Professional Documents
Culture Documents
What Is Leadership?
What Is Leadership?
What Is Leadership?
Leadership is a vital role in any organisation. It involves defining the direction of a team
and communicating it to people, motivating, inspiring and empowering them to contribute to
achieving organisational success. Leadership requires being strategically focused and applying
behavioural techniques to build commitment and attain the best work from your people.
The ingredients of effective leadership are complex and are widely agreed to depend on the
specific leadership situation, considering the difficulty of tasks, the degree of a leader's authority
and the maturity and capabilities of subordinates. Leadership skills often take time to learn,
because they are multi-faceted, behavioural and context dependent.
Becoming an effective leader is challenging to many new managers, but offers the rewards of
successfully orientating peoples work to be most effective and achieving excellence in team
performance. An understanding of the principles of strategic thinking, direction setting,
communications and motivation provides a springboard for developing skills and an effective
management style to suit your personality and leadership situations.
the adaptability to engage with the views and needs of team members
Leadership has been described as "a process of social influence in which one person can
enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task. For example,
some understand a leader simply as somebody whom people follow, or as somebody who guides
or directs others, while others define leadership as "organizing a group of people to achieve a
common goal".
Studies of leadership have produced theories involving traits, situational interaction,
function, behavior, power, vision and values, charisma, and intelligence, among others.
Leaders are people who do the right thing; managers are people who do things right.
Professor Warren G. Bennis
Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to
do it. Dwight D. Eisenhower
The word "leadership" can bring to mind a variety of images. For example:
An explorer, cutting a path through the jungle for the rest of his party to follow.
Leaders help themselves and others to do the right things. They set direction, build an
inspiring vision, and create something new. Leadership is about mapping out where you need
to go to "win" as a team or an organization; and it is dynamic, exciting, and inspiring.
Yet, while leaders set the direction, they must also use management skills to guide their people
to the right destination, in a smooth and efficient way.
In this article, we'll focus on the process of leadership. In particular, we'll discuss the
"transformational leadership" model, first proposed by James MacGregor Burns and then
developed by Bernard Bass. This model highlights visionary thinking and bringing about
change, instead of management processes that are designed to maintain and steadily improve
current performance.
Leadership means different things to different people around the world, and different things in
different situations. For example, it could relate to community leadership, religious
leadership, political leadership, and leadership of campaigning groups.
This article focuses on the Western model of individual leadership, and discusses
leadership in the workplace rather than in other areas.
Principles of Leadership
To help you be, know, and do, follow these eleven principles of leadership. The rest
of the chapters in this Leadership guide expand on these principles and provide tools
for implementing them:
1. Know yourself and seek self-improvement - In order to know yourself, you have to
understand your be, know, and do, attributes. Seeking self-improvement means
continually strengthening your attributes. This can be accomplished through self-study,
formal classes, reflection, and interacting with others.
2. Be technically proficient - As a leader, you must know your job and have a solid
familiarity with your employees' tasks.
3. Seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions - Search for ways to guide
your organization to new heights. And when things go wrong, as they often tend to do
sooner or later do not blame others. Analyze the situation, take corrective action, and
move on to the next challenge.
4. Make sound and timely decisions - Use good problem solving, decision making, and
planning tools.
5. Set the example - Be a good role model for your employees. They must not only hear
what they are expected to do, but also see.We must become the change we want to seeMahatma Gandhi
6. Know your people and look out for their well-being - Know human nature and the
importance of sincerely caring for your workers.
7. Keep your workers informed - Know how to communicate with not only them, but also
seniors and other key people.
10. Train as a team - Although many so called leaders call their organization, department,
section, etc. a team; they are not really teams... they are just a group of people doing their
jobs.
11. Use the full capabilities of your organization- By developing a team spirit; you will be
able to employ your organization, department, section, etc. to its fullest capabilities.
Challenge the process - First, find a process that you believe needs to be improved
the most.
Inspire a shared vision - Next, share your vision in words that can be understood by
your followers.
Enable others to act - Give them the tools and methods to solve the problem.
Model the way - When the process gets tough, get your hands dirty. A boss tells
others what to do; a leader shows that it can be done.
Encourage the heart - Share the glory with your followers' hearts, while keeping the
pains within your own.
Who is a Leader?
At the most basic level, a leader is someone who leads other. But what makes someone a
leader? What is it about being a leader that some people understand and use to their advantage?
What can you do to be a leader? Here's what you need to know and do.
A leader is a person who has a vision, a drive and a commitment to achieve that vision,
and the skills to make it happen. Let's look at each of those in detail.
Traits of a Leader
There are as many traits of a leader as there ae lists of what makes a leader. Here are the
fundamental traits of a leader from my perspective:
Has integrity. People have to believe that you are pursuing your dream because it's the
right thing to do, not just because you are ego driven.
Is a people person. Understands the differences that make people unique and is able to
use those individual skills to achieve the goal.
Is positive. A leader encourages and rewards people and makes you want to do it and do it
right. A leader is not a negative person and doesn't waste time and effort tellng everyone what
they're doing wrong.
Leadership Skills
Beyond the personal traits of a leader, there are specific skills someone must master if they
want to be a leader.
Effective communication - it's more than just being able to speak and write. A leader's
communication must move people to work toward the goal the leader has chosen.
Planning - the leader has a plan to achieve the goal. He/she doesn't get too bogged down
in the details, that's what managers are for, but rather uses a high level plan to keep everyone
moving together toward the goal.
Bottom Line
Leaders dream dreams. They refuse to let anyone or anything get in the way of achieving
those dreams. They are realistic, but unrelenting. They are polite, but insistent. The constantly
and consistently drive forward toward their goal. You can be a leader. You will be - when it
matters enough to you.
What makes a good leader? Here are some of their most important characteristics:
Self-Awareness. You have an intimate knowledge of your inner emotional state. You
know your strengths and your weaknesses. You know when youre working in flow and
you know when youre over worked. You know yourself, including your capabilities and
your limitations, which allows you to push yourself to your maximum potential.
Self-Direction. Youre able to direct yourself effectively and powerfully. You know how
to get things done, how to organize tasks and how to avoid procrastination. You know
how to generate energy for projects, to calm yourself when angered. You can make
decisions quickly when necessary, but can also slow to consider all the options on the
table.
Vision. Youre working towards a goal thats greater than yourself. It could be something
small, like the success of the team, or a larger vision like world peace. Working towards a
vision is far more inspiring than working towards personal gain.
Ability to Motivate. Leaders dont lead by telling people what they have to do. Instead,
leaders cause people to want to help them. A key part of this is cultivating your own
desire to help others. When others sense that you want to help them, they in turn want to
help you.
Social Awareness. Understanding social networks and key influencers in that social
network is another key part of leadership. Who in the organization has the most clout,
both officially and unofficially? Who moves the hearts of the group?
Emotional Intelligence and Leadership- Most of these traits tie directly into emotional
intelligence (EQ). Leaders with high EQ are intrinsically more self-aware. They
understand their mental processes and know how to direct themselves. Theyre more in
touch with what theyre deeply passionate about. They naturally care more for others and
receive more compassion in return. Theyre more socially in tune.
Leadership is more often than not about soft skills rather than hard skills. Yes, a leader who
understands what drives the bottom line is valuable. Yet its the leader who can get others to
perform at their best who ultimately creates winning organizations.
LEADERSHIP STYLE
A leadership
style is
leader's
style
of
providing
direction,
Paternalistic
The way a Paternalistic leader works is by acting as a father figure by taking care of their
subordinates as a parent would. In this style of leadership the leader supplies complete concern
for his followers or workers. In return he receives the complete trust and loyalty of his people.
Workers under this style of leader are expected to become totally committed to what the leader
believes and will not strive off and work independently. The relationship between these coworkers and leader are extremely solid. The workers are expected to stay with a company for a
longer period of time because of the loyalty and trust. Not only do they treat each other like
family inside the work force, but outside too. These workers are able to go to each other with any
problems they have regarding something because they believe in what they say is going to truly
help them.
One of the downsides to a paternalistic leader is that the leader could start to play
favorites in decisions. This leader would include the workers more apt to follow and start to
exclude the ones who were less loyal. In todays market paternalism is more difficult to come by
according to Padavic and Earnest who wrote business dimensional and Organizational
Counseling. They believe this because there have become more lay-offs and stronger
unionization. This affects paternalistic leaders because the co-workers may not believe that their
jobs are 100% ensured. When this happens, workers begin to look for bigger and better job
opportunities instead of staying at one company for a longer period of time. Because of this, the
leader may be thinking that you could be leaving and not fully believe you when you tell them
something about a job opportunity. This could put the workers and leader at risk for a bad
situation.
According to B. M. Bass who wrote Leadership and Performance Beyond Expectations,
workers who follow paternalistic leadership also have better organization skills. The leader
encourages organization because they allow the workers to complete tasks so that they can stay
on top of their work. The workers complete tasks this boosts self-confidence and it makes them
work harder to reach a goal and exceed the goal to prove to their boss they are working hard.
Having this style of leadership can also help implement a reward system. This system will allow
their workers to work even better because there is something for them at the end of the tunnel.
While doing this they will also be able to accomplish more work in a set time frame.
Democratic
The democratic leadership
style consists
of
the
leader
sharing
the decision-
making abilities with group members by promoting the interests of the group members and by
practicing social equality.
This style of leadership encompasses discussion, debate and sharing of ideas and
encouragement of people to feel good about their involvement. The boundaries of democratic
participation tend to be circumscribed by the organization or the group needs and the
instrumental value of people's attributes (skills, attitudes, etc.). The democratic style
encompasses the notion that everyone, by virtue of their human status, should play a part in the
group's decisions. However, the democratic style of leadership still requires guidance and control
by a specific leader. The democratic style demands the leader to make decisions on who should
be called upon within the group and who is given the right to participate in, make and vote on
decisions.[5] Traits of a Good Leader compiled by the Santa Clara University and the Tom
Peters Group:
Honest Display sincerity, integrity, and candor in all your actions. Deceptive behavior
will not inspire trust.
Competent Base your actions on reason and moral principles. Do not make decisions
based on childlike emotional desires or feelings.
Forward-looking Set goals and have a vision of the future. The vision must be owned
throughout the organization. Effective leaders envision what they want and how to get it.
They habitually pick priorities stemming from their basic values.
Inspiring Display confidence in all that you do. By showing endurance in mental,
physical, and spiritual stamina, you will inspire others to reach for new heights. Take charge
when necessary.
Fair-minded Show fair treatment to all people. Prejudice is the enemy of justice.
Display empathy by being sensitive to the feelings, values, interests, and well-being of
others.
Straightforward Use sound judgment to make a good decisions at the right time.
Imaginative Make timely and appropriate changes in your thinking, plans, and
methods. Show creativity by thinking of new and better goals, ideas, and solutions to
problems. Be innovative!
Research has found that this leadership style is one of the most effective and creates
higher productivity, better contributions from group members and increased group morale.
Democratic leadership can lead to better ideas and more creative solutions to problems because
group members are encouraged to share their thoughts and ideas. While democratic leadership is
one of the most effective leadership styles, it does have some potential downsides. In situations
where roles are unclear or time is of the essence, democratic leadership can lead to
communication failures and uncompleted projects. Democratic leadership works best in
situations where group members are skilled and eager to share their knowledge. It is also
important to have plenty of time to allow people to contribute, develop a plan and then vote on
the best course of action.
Laissez-faire
The laissez-faire leadership style is where all the rights and power to make decisions is
fully given to the worker. This was first described by Lewin, Lippitt, and White in 1938, along
with the autocratic leadership and the democratic leadership styles. The laissez-faire style is
sometimes described as a "hands off" leadership style because the leader delegates the tasks to
their followers while providing little or no direction to the followers. If the leader withdraws too
much from their followers it can sometimes result in a lack of productivity, cohesiveness, and
satisfaction.
Laissez-faire leaders allow followers to have complete freedom to make decisions
concerning the completion of their work. It allows followers a high degree of autonomy and selfrule, while at the same time offering guidance and support when requested. The laissez-faire
leader using guided freedom provides the followers with all materials necessary to accomplish
their goals, but does not directly participate in decision making unless the followers request their
assistance.[9][unreliable source?]
This is an effective style to use when:
Followers have pride in their work and the drive to do it successfully on their own.
The leader cannot or will not provide regular feedback to their followers.[9]
Transactional
The transactional style of leadership was first described by Max Weber in 1947 and then
later described by Bernard Bass in 1981. Mainly used by management, transactional leaders
focus their leadership on motivating followers through a system of rewards and punishments.
There are two factors which form the basis for this system, Contingent Reward and managementby-exception.[10][unreliable source?]
Management-by-Exception allows the leader to maintain the status quo. The leader
intervenes when subordinates do not meet acceptable performance levels and initiates
corrective action to improve performance. Management by exception helps reduce the
workload of managers being that they are only called-in when workers deviate from course.
This type of leader identifies the needs of their followers and gives rewards to satisfy
Maturity
Goal-setting
Efficiency of operation
Increasing productivity.
Think freely when setting their emotions aside from their work.
Individualized consideration
Intellectual stimulation