LEADERSHIP

DEFINITIONS, CHARACTERISTICS &

CONCEPTS
 DEFINITION OF LEADERSHIP
In Short, Leadership is the ability of an individual or a group of individuals
to influence and guide followers or other members of an organization.

Leadership involves making sound (and sometimes difficult) decisions,

creating and articulating a clear vision, establishing achievable goals, and
providing followers with the knowledge and tools necessary to achieve
those goals.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF QUALITY LEADERS
An effective leader possesses characteristics like self-confidence, strong
communication & management skills, creative & innovative thinking,
perseverance in the face of failure, willingness to take risks, openness to
change, and levelheadedness & reactiveness in times of crisis.
In business, individuals who exhibit these leadership qualities can ascend
to executive management or C-level positions, such as CEO, CIO, or
president. Noteworthy individuals who have exhibited strong leadership in
the technology industry include Apple founder Steve Jobs, Microsoft
founder Bill Gates, and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF QUALITY LEADERS
Some other characteristics are;
• Givepriority attention to external and internal customers and their
needs
• Empower, rather than control the subordinates
• Emphasize improvement rather than maintenance
• Emphasize prevention
• Encourage collaboration rather than competition Leadership
 CHARACTERISTICS OF QUALITY LEADERS
• Train and coach, rather than direct and supervise
• Learn from problems
• Improve communications
• Demonstrate the commitment to quality
• Choose suppliers on the basis of quality, not price Leadership
• Establish organizational systems to support the quality effort
• Encourage and recognize team effort.
 LEADERSHIP CONCEPTS
Leadership concepts refer to factors that leaders consider when applying a
leadership style and overseeing a team of individuals. These principles focus
on ideas and perceptions about the traits leaders should have and how they
should perform in a leadership role.
In order to become successful, leadership requires an intuitive
understanding of human nature i. e. the basic needs, wants, and abilities of
people. To be effective, a leader must understand that;
• People, paradoxically, need security and independence at the same time.
• People are sensitive to external rewards and punishments and yet are also
strongly self-motivated.
 LEADERSHIP CONCEPTS
• People like to hear a kind word of praise.
• Catch people doing something right, so you can pat them on the back.
• People can process only a few facts at a time; thus, a leader needs to
keep things simple.
• People trust their gut reaction more than statistical data.
• People distrust a leader’s rhetoric if the words are inconsistent with the
leader’s actions.