Relationship building toward an effective leadership

Article by Jefferson V. Baloaloa

Divine Word College of Laoag

jvbaloaloa@yahoo.com

Abstract

            Leaders strive every day to become successful in leading the organization. Encouraging collaborative and productive team relationships is one of the solutions. To be successful, it is believed that a leader must be able to bring out the best in each team member and the team as a whole. This article proves this claim as it analyzed the importance of relationship building towards effective leadership. Relational leadership theories were reviewed and it emphasizes the importance of leaders building quality relationships with their followers to achieve individual and organizational effectiveness. Both theories also demonstrate the importance of effective communication that allows both leaders and followers to build trust and commitment. It was found out that the quality of the relationship followers has with their leader is the primary driver of these feelings of engagement. Therefore, relationships really matter as a fundamental enabler of the organization’s ability to attract, keep and get the very best out of the people. In this article, various concepts were discussed to help leaders equip the necessary characteristics in becoming an effective leader. Further, effective leaders must be open and transparent with their followers and serve the community in a way that benefits everyone.

Keywords: Leadership, Building Relationship and Relational Leadership Theories

Introduction

             People are at the center of all leadership efforts. Leaders cannot lead unless they understand the people they are leading. One way to look at leadership is that the function of a leader is to lead and guide people who will follow with the same values. An effective leader thus must be able to build relationships and create communities. We can define leadership as inspiring people and planning for the future with the motivating factors of relationship building and community service. Relationships can happen between concepts, actions, and values.

The management gurus James Kouzes and Barry Posner discussed the importance of relational leadership in their book, The Leadership Challenge. They state, “When leadership is a relationship founded on trust and confidence, people take risks, make changes, keep organizations, and movements alive. Through that relationship, leaders turn their constituents into leaders themselves” (Kouzes & Posner, 2007).

However, leaders’ relationships with their people are somewhat strained these days. Trust, a key part of any relationship, has been damaged by the financial crisis, the recession, corporate responses to the recession that were often necessary, but also very difficult. Rebuilding leadership trust and relationships is a critical component of engagement and for moving forward.

If leadership is a relationship, how do real relationships is built? The focus is not on the tasks and activities needed to get work done but relationships creating a work environment where the sum is greater than the parts. Leaders with strong, trusting and authentic relationships with their teams know that investing time in building these bonds makes them more effective overall.

Relational Leadership Model

Relational leadership is a relational process of people together attempting to accomplish change or make a difference to benefit the common good (Komives, S. R., Lucas, N., & McMahon, T. R., 1998). This philosophy values being ethical and inclusive. It acknowledges the diverse talents of group members and trust the process to bring good thinking to the socially responsible changes group members agree they want to work toward. Relationships are the key to leadership effectiveness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Relational Leadership Model

Relational leadership involves a focus on five primary components:

• Ethics: Upholds values and standards of morality.
• Purpose: Having a common set of values and vision to move an initiative forward. This means having an individual commitment to a goal or activity. It is also the individual ability to collaborate and find common ground with others to establish a common purpose, vision for a group, or work toward the public.
• Empowerment: Sharing power with others to embrace what they have to offer.
• Inclusivity: Welcoming and open to diverse points of view and diverse identities.
• Process-Orientation: The focus is on the group and how the group works together remaining a group, and accomplishing the group’s purpose.

Relational Leadership Theories

Leader-Member Exchange Theory (LMX). The first leadership theory is leader-member exchange (LMX) and focuses on the relationship between leaders and followers. This theory focuses on the relationship between the leader and each subordinate or dyad, so the theory posits that leaders develop an exchange with each of their subordinates and is a two-way interaction. The theory suggests that each of these relationships are unique and that the quality of the leader-member exchange relationships influence subordinates’ responsibility, decisions, and access to resources and performance (Bauer & Ergoden, 2015).

The relationships are based on trust and respect and extend beyond transactional, business relationships. Subordinates who develop strong emotional attachments with their mentors tend to engage more fully within the organization and become effective team members (Day & Miscenko, 2016).

Servant Leadership Theory. The servant leadership theory is based on the premise that leaders are effective when they first serve their followers. Essentially, the leader is not in a position of power above the followers, but the emphasis is on the leader meeting the concerns of the followers (Northouse, 2013). An effective servant leader empathizes with their followers and nurtures and empowers them to help them reach their full potential (Greenleaf, 2012).

There are ten characteristics that are central to the concept of servant leadership. It includes listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of people, and building community.

Communication is an important skill for all leaders yet servant leadership emphasizes the value of listening intently to others. The servant-leader seeks to identify the aims and goals of the group and helps them fulfill this mission. The servant-leader is receptive to what is being said within the group. One of the hallmarks of a servant-leader is the ability to balance listening with periods of reflection to consider what they can offer the group (Greenleaf, 2012).

The servant-leader also strives to empathize with others and accepts their individual characteristics. So, although the servant-leader might not like something that they did, they choose not to reject them as people. Effective servant-leaders are also able to heal through forgiveness of themselves and of others. Servant leaders also recognize that they have the ability to help those who have been emotionally hurt and so they strive to help them when they come into contact.

Another characteristic of servant-leaders is that they are self-aware and so have strong ethical standards and values. Having this strong sense of morality enables servant-leaders to have a holistic view of the organization. Servant-leaders have an inner peace yet are also able to tackle and challenge thorny issues within the organization that are based on their code of ethics (Greenleaf, 2012).

Three Characteristics of Servant-Leaders

There are three characteristics of servant-leaders that show a commitment to the community and people in organizations. These are stewardship, commitment, and building community.

Stewardship. Stewardship means serving the needs of others to serve the greater good. Stewardship occurs when the servant-leader views the organization as an institution that exists for the greater good of society. This stewardship emphasizes the main goal of servant-leadership which is first and foremost a commitment to serving the needs of others coupled with an ability to persuade and to be open rather than to control others.

Commitment. Servant-leaders are committed to nurturing individuals and their potential. This stewardship is also revealed in the commitment that servant-leaders have for the growth of people. Servant-leaders believe that people have an intrinsic value beyond their contributions as employees so they engage in nurturing each individual within the organization.

Building Community. Role modeling helps build communities that hold together. Finally, servant-leaders are adept in building community particularly after the change has occurred and people feel they have lost some of the familiarity of old-style organizations. In order to build and rebuild communities, servant-leaders just need to show the way through demonstrating their own unlimited liability. In fact, mass movement is not needed but just for the servant-leader to be an excellent role model for others (Greenleaf, 2012).

Defining Relational Leadership Theories

Relational leadership theories shift attention to what transpires between individuals and center relationship as the locus of leadership. While academics and practitioners participate in the relational turn, they develop different philosophical understandings about the study of relationships of leadership.

The meeting place of all these different understandings is the awareness that leadership is not alone, secluded action. Instead, leadership lies in the collective action of interconnected individuals, an the outlook that challenges deep-held assumptions about leadership, such as individualism, agency, and independence.

Responding to these challenges requires first to distinguish between the different philosophical understandings around relational leadership to then move on to a discussion about what these offer to the conception of leadership. Views about relationality in today’s leadership arena fall into the following two broad philosophical domains: entitative and processual stances.

Entitative Perspective on Relational Leadership. This views leadership as starting from individuals and extending into the collaboration between one or more sides (Bolden et al. 2011). Leadership is produced by interacting individuals that are in relationships, with the production of leadership available from others than the appointed leader. The underlying premise is that one an individual cannot embody all the capacity needed to deal with organizational reality; therefore, there is the need to shift attention from individual to diffused forms of leadership.

This diffusion brings about an arrangement or a network of interacting individuals that come to form relationships. The entitative philosophical domain on relational leadership is primarily concerned with examining the conditions of diffusing leadership to achieve organizationally goals, under the assumption that interacting individuals are separated from each other before coming to form relationships.

Processual Perspective on Relational Leadership. Processual perspective on relational leadership conceptually demotions the role of the individual (Hosking 2011). This ontological position contests the hegemony of the bounded individual as well as the separation between leader and followers. Leadership is not an outcome of the action that can be traced back to individuals or networks of individuals; it is a process.

This implies that relationships are not independent of the individuals making them; they go on among individuals and the only the characterization that would then be possible about individuals is that they are temporary expressions of these relationships (Gergen 2009). Such a processual understanding questions individual agency as the source of leadership and redefines participants engaged in leadership beyond rational and self-contained entities.

Rather than the producers of leadership, individuals are relational participants in the process of leading. Instead of separating between leaders and followers, leadership becomes a process of negotiating social order, where the labels “leaders” or “followers” do not exist in advance. Labels do not come before relational processes; they become in the process.

The processual philosophical domain on relational leadership is primarily concerned with studying leadership in action. Starting from the premise that leadership does not precede relational interaction, the focus is on studying how relating to one another brings about orientation and organizational achievements – leadership direction.

Building Trust in Relationship

Effective leaders recognize the importance of building solid relationships. They spend time focusing their efforts in key areas that will build connections with the people they lead. These three simple tools that great leaders use to improve their working relationships:

Listen. Leaders let other people talk and they pay attention to what they’re saying. They remove anything that would distract from their conversations and focus on what people are trying to convey.

Understand. They appreciate what other people do and value their contributions. Leaders are not only open to new ideas but are also eager to learn new things. They know that taking the time to understand where people are coming from will pay dividends in the long run.

Acknowledge. Leaders acknowledge the contributions of others. They are quick to give credit to others for their successes. They celebrate achievements and delight in the accomplishments of their team. They know that people will be more motivated to work hard and try new things if their leader acknowledges their efforts.

In his book, The Trusted Advisor, David Maister discusses the trust equation, a formula for building sustained partnership with others. While he discusses the equation’s importance to business advisors, it describes the elements of trust that are key to real leadership.

The trust equation is:

Trust = C + R + I
        S

C is credibility. Leadership credibility has two components. The first is how much the team believes the words and actions of the leader. The second is to what degree the leader has the know-how, experience, or background to know what he is talking about. On the one hand, it is objective — does he has the ‘qualifications’ to be a leader. On the other hand, it’s an emotional response. Does he perceive himself as being believable? Does his actions reflect truthfulness? Does he have truthful intent? How many experiences have the team all had over the past 18 months that made them question the truthfulness of those they considered leaders? What’s the lingering impact on their workplaces?

R is reliability. People need to know they can count on leaders, that the leader will walk the walk and talk the talk. Leaders need to follow- through on promises and follow-up on commitments. There needs to be a sense of predictability and fairness in the way a leader approaches situations and people every single day. Otherwise, the relational bank account that funds trust goes into the red.

I is intimacy or the ability to create a personal connection. This does not mean that the leader needs to share his private life or dwell on the private lives of his people. It means recognizing that work is a personal place and issues like career development, promotions, compensation, reorganizations, hiring and firing are intensely personal. As a leader, the willingness to have emotional honesty about these and other issues in the workplace increases the trust that the team has in him and the commitment they have to his agenda.

Credibility, reliability and intimacy’s additive effect is mitigated by how much others perceive a leader is acting primarily out of self-concern. If others believe a leader building a ‘relationship’ primarily to serve his or her own interests — i.e., to advance his or her career, to manipulate a situation for advantage without regard to the goals, needs and struggles of others, to push off responsibility and blame others– trust is destroyed, the relationship is seen as disingenuous and engagement and commitment plummet.

According to Oxford Group (2019), there are five key conversations that a leader can have to transform trust and develop more effective workplace relationships. These are the following:

Establishing a trusting relationship. A conversation with a team member to share a deep, mutual understanding of the respective drivers, preferences, motivators, and demotivators for high performance at work, and to understand what makes each other tick.

Agreeing with mutual expectations. A conversation about not only what the team are both trying to achieve at work, but also why, and the expectations the leader can have to support each other in achieving these outcomes.

Showing genuine appreciation. A conversation to help a team member focus on where they are being successful, to jointly understand the reasons for their success, to say how much they appreciate their contribution and find further ways in which they can deploy their skills and talents to benefit both themselves and the organization.

Challenging unhelpful behavior. A conversation to agree on a new and more effective set of behaviors where what a team member or colleague is saying or doing is getting in the way of team performance.

Building for the future. A conversation to explore the future career aspirations of a team member and give the leader the best possible chance of creating conditions that will enable them to build that future career within his organization rather than elsewhere.

Relationship Building: Skills Needed by Leaders

In the recent two studies conducted by the Center for Creative Leadership (2020), relationship building was identified as a key skill for leaders. Whether he is the CEO of a or the principal of an elementary school, relationship skills matter a lot. Leaders who are skilled at building and maintaining relationships share several traits. Here’s what many effective leaders have in common in terms of relationship skills:

A leader must be self-aware. Self-awareness includes knowing your strengths and weaknesses, but also the impact that your behavior has on others. For example, say a small business owner takes pride in personally managing client relationships. She also realizes that her hands-on style can frustrate her staff by creating the appearance that she doesn’t trust or appreciate them. By taking into account the impact of her behavior, the business owner can adjust how she relates to her clients and employees.

An effective leader should be willing to delegate important tasks and decision making. Delegating — besides being an efficient way to lead — helps to build experience and confidence in others. It also forces leaders to give honest, consistent feedback and to motivate and reward people for their hard work. Think about the parent who teaches his kid to pick up after herself. While it may be slow-going at first, eventually the child develops the skill and is able to help around the house.

Skilled leaders must also have good interpersonal skills. They should be able to negotiate and handle work problems without alienating others. This requires an understanding of others’ perspectives and needs. Leaders with honed relationship skills develop a rapport with all kinds of people. Have you ever known a school principal who is equally comfortable with students, parents, teaching staff, and school board? If so, you’ve seen people skills at their best.

Effective leaders must have a participative management style. Strong leaders use effective listening skills and communication to involve others, build consensus, and influence decisions. Compare the styles of 2 city mayors, for example. One mayor is participative; the other autocratic. Initially, the mayor who values relationships and broad communication appear to be less effective than the more independent-minded mayor. But, as time passes, the participative mayor is able to build support for key initiatives and is considered a good leader and skilled administrator. In contrast, the authoritarian mayor faces many political roadblocks and becomes highly controversial.

One other significant point — the importance of feedback. Giving and receiving effective feedback is one of the best ways leaders can improve their relationship skills. Feedback lets people know how they’re doing reinforces goals and encourages strong effort. When giving feedback, make sure to focus on a single message, being specific, and be sensitive. And remember to judge the behavior, not the person.

Being good at relationships isn’t just a personality trait. And the good news for everyday leaders is that we can all improve.

Conclusion

The leader of today is no longer the lone hero who can do it all. It is critical for leaders now to encourage collaborative, productive team relationships while leading. To be successful, a leader must be able to bring out the best in each team member and the team as a whole. One of the key practice areas effective leaders demonstrate is Enable Others to Act, which focuses on the importance of building trust and relationships within the team. Relational leadership theories emphasized the importance of leaders building quality relationships with their followers in order to achieve individual and organizational effectiveness. Both theories demonstrated the importance of effective communication that allows both leaders and followers to build trust and commitment. The theories also show how power and coercion are unnecessary sanctions that only exist to harm the organization. The most effective leaders are those who are open and transparent with their followers and serve the community in a way that benefits everyone.

Therefore, when employees have high levels of engagement this has a significant, measurable, and transformational impact on organizational performance. Research shows that it is the quality of the relationship people feel they have with their immediate leader or manager that is the primary driver of these feelings of engagement. So, relationships really matter. They are not an optional take it or leave it factor. They are a fundamental enabler of the organization’s ability to attract, keep, and get the very best out of the people. Effective leaders know that leadership is a relationship, and leaders and managers with poor or toxic relationships with their teams will see performance suffer.

Without relationship, there is no trust. Without relationship, there is no extra effort. Day after day, people do not come to work for a time clock. They come to work for a person. And for them to give anything other than the minimum, they must have relationships with that person.

References:

1)      Bolden, R., Hawkins, B., Gosling, J., & Taylor S (2011) Exploring Leadership: Individual, Organizational & Societal Perspectives. Oxford University Press, Oxford

2)      Center for Creative Leadership. 2020. 4 Relationship Skills You Need in the Office. Retrieved from https://www.ccl.org/multimedia/podcast/everyday-leaders-can-you-relate/2. Retrieved on July 22, 2020.

3)      Gergen, K.J. (2009) Relational Being: Beyond Self and Community. Oxford: Oxford University Press

4)      Harvey, E. O. (2020). Let’s Change the Change Paradigm. Retrieved from https://nextbridgeconsulting.com/leadership-is-a-relationship/. Retrieved on July 20, 2020.

5)      Hopkin, M. R.  (2011). Leadership is Relationship. Retrieved from https://leadonpurposeblog.com/2011/11/26/leadership-is-a-relationship/. Retrieved on July 21, 2020.

6)      Hosking, D. M. (2011) Moving relationality: meditations on a relational approach to leadership. In: Bryman A, Collinson D, Grint K, Jackson B, Uhl-Bien M (eds) The SAGE handbook of leadership. Sage, London, pp 455–467

7)      Komives, S. R., Lucas, N., & McMahon, T. R. (1998). Exploring leadership: For college students who want to make a difference. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers

8)      Molinario, F. (2020). In Leadership, Relationships Matter Most. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbeshumanresourcescouncil/2018/10/24/in-leadership-relationships-matter-most/#315131974207. Retrieved on July 24, 2020.

9)      Mugavin, B. (2020). Leadership is All About Relationships When Leading Virtually. Retrieved from https://www.flashpointleadership.com/blog/leadership-is-all-about-relationships-when-leading-virtually. Retrieved on July 25, 2020.

10)  Schaefer, B. (2015). On Becoming a Leader: Building Relationships and Creating Communities. Retrieved from https://er.educause.edu/articles/2015/10/on-becoming-a-leader-building-relationships-and-creating-communities. Retrieved on July 20, 2020.

11)  The Oxford Group. (2019). Why Leadership is about Relationships. Retrieved from https://www.oxford-group.com/insights/why-leadership-about-relationships. Retrieved on July 21, 2020.

12)  Towler, A. (2018). Leadership as a relationship: Why "we" matters more than I". Retrieved from https://www.ckju.net/en/dossier/leadership-relationship-why-we-matters-more-i#:~:text=They%20state%2C%20%E2%80%9CWhen%20leadership%20is,Kouzes%20%26%20Posner%2C%202007). Retrieved on July 23, 2020.

Uhl-Bien M, & Ospina, S.M. (2012) Advancing relational leadership research: a dialogue among perspectives. Charlotte:  Information Age

Leaders: Why do we need them in an organization?

LEADERS: WHY DO WE NEED THEM IN AN ORGANIZATION?

SONNY P. DIZA, MBA

                                                     DIVINE WORD COLLEGE OF LAOAG 

"The true mark of a leader is the willingness to stick with a bold course of action — an unconventional business strategy, a unique product-development road map, a controversial marketing campaign — even as the rest of the world wonders why you're not marching in step with the status quo. In other words, real leaders are happy to zig while others zag. They understand that in an era of hyper-competition and non-stop disruption, the only way to stand out from the crowd is to stand for something special."
-Bill Taylor

Abstract

The organization of today does not have the luxury of stability since it faces an ever increasing change in markets, customers and technology. It needs to accept, adopt and implement changes in the business model according to changing trends, technologies, customer preferences and future concerns (Sarna,SK, 2015).  Making decisions is guided by the values and the question is about the values of the current "leaders". Many organizations have fallen into disrespectful leadership by leaders, according to them, are the leaders who bring growth or decline of effectiveness in the organization. The leader as a person in charge or as a change agent can manage an organization or the process of organizational change more effectively and successfully if he/she is capable and competent. Organizational change is a demand of the day, and needed for organizations to survive. Naturally, the question arises. "What role does the leader play in enhancing the organization's effectiveness?" Does the style of leadership guide the structure and culture of the organization? Leaders have very different ways of directing a team, a division, or a company. Some are subdued and analytical; others are charismatic and go with their gut. And different of situations call for different types of leadership. According to Goleman (1999), effective leaders are alike in one crucial way: they all have a high degree of what has come to be known as emotional intelligence.  This article discusses the importance and role that the leader plays in the organization, its qualities and characteristic

Keywords: leader, leadership, roles, qualities, characteristic

 Introduction

An organization is considered to be effective if it finds the balance between the demands of owners, employees, customers, community and the needs of the employees. The leader plays a key role in the orientation and direction of the organization which is the one that sets the vision and mission of the organization and others follow it. So, an appropriate leadership style influence and ensure the prosperity and the economic growth of both organization and employees. One important aspect is the way it treats and orients human resources and their involvement in making decisions. Leadership is one of the main factors in bringing positive change to the organization; if there is no leadership in the organization they will not be able to change in the direction they desire and could experience negative change instead. (Meraku, 2017)

Leadership is critical to business and to life. There has been a lot of work done and books written about leadership, yet it is still much undervalued. Most companies spend more time and money training management than they do training leadership. The most successful organizations – whether they are a business, government, community or military – are successful because of great leaders. Of all the skills needed in groups, leadership is the most important

What is a Leader?

A leader is the one who guides or inspires others in action or opinion; one who takes the lead in any enterprise or movement; one who is “followed”. Leader is a role (Rush, 2012). A leader is the one in the charge, the person who convinces other people to follow. A great leader inspires confidence in other people and moves them to action. "The leader is defined as any person who influences individuals and groups within the organization, helps them in defining objectives and guides them towards achieving these goals" (Nahavandi, 2003). The perception of the leader in many successful companies consists of three elements on which other elements can be raised. These elements are: For leaders to be visible, the importance of the leader to be visible is based on Lord Sieff's statement: "Being an effective leader should see, and better than ever seeing in action". Leaders offer a clear misunderstanding, who first and foremost trust the people themselves and encourage others to do so. (Meraku , 2017). 

Qualities That Define a Good Leader

 

 A great leader is always able to lead a team to success, regardless of the situation that they are facing. In order to help you achieve better results for your company and make you a better leader, here are some key leadership qualities that every good leader should possess or learn from. These qualities are the foundation of a good leadership. While some of these leadership qualities may be more naturally present in the personality of a leader, it is definitely something you can develop and strengthen over time. (https://inside.6q.io/qualities-that-define-a-good-leader/)

 

1. Honesty

One of the leadership qualities that define a good leader is honesty. When you are responsible for a team of people, it is important to be straightforward. Your company and its employees are a reflection of yourself, and if you make honest and ethical behaviour as a key value, your team will follow. Leader should remember to lead by example.

 “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” – John C. Maxwell

 

 

 

2. Delegate

Regardless of the situation and position you are in, always remember that you can’t do everything on your own. Good leaders recognize that delegation does more than simply passing the task to someone else. It is trusting and believing that your employees are able to handle the task given to them.

Delegating to others shows that you have confidence in their abilities, and this can result in a positive morale in the workplace. Your employees want to feel appreciated and trusted. So by giving them a task, they would generally feel honored that they got selected and they would feel the importance of having them around.

 

3. Communication

Communication is the key to success, said everyone. Without clear communication, your employees will have trouble to understand your mission, goals, and vision.

Good communication is a leadership attribute for a number of reasons. Communication should be consistent when it comes to establishing work expectations or giving constructive feedback. With great communication, your employees will have a broad understanding to what they are working for.

“It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership.” -Nelson Mandela

 

4. Confidence

Another one of the leadership qualities, is having confidence. There may be days where the future of your brand is cloudy or the monthly sales do not look promising. Any company or businesses would have gone through these issues before; so it is not something new.

As a leader, it is your responsibility to maintain the team morale and keep moving forward. Keep your confidence level up and assure everyone that setbacks being looked into. By staying calm and confident, the team would not worry as they put their trust in you. 

5. Commitment

Nothing shows commitment like getting your hands dirty with the rest of the employees. There is no greater motivation than seeing their leader working alongside everyone else. By proving your commitment to the company and especially your team, you will not only earn the respect of your team, but will also instill that same hardworking drive among your staff.

Showing your commitment sets the example for others to follow, and leads to greater loyalty and respect for you as a leader. Set the tone of commitment, and others will follow suit. Remember that if you expect your team to work hard and produce quality work, you would need to lead by example.

 

6. Positive attitude

You want to keep your team motivated towards the continued success of the company, and keep the energy levels up. Whether that means providing snacks, coffee, relationship advice, or even just an occasional beer in the office, remember that everyone on your team is a person. Keep the office mood a fine balance between productivity and playfulness.

If your team is feeling happy and upbeat, chances are they won’t mind staying that extra hour to finish a report, or devoting their best work to the brand.

“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” -Peter Drucker

7. Creativity

As a good leader is someone the team could look up to for answers or solutions, it is up to you to think outside the box when any issues arise.

You could also gather the team and start brainstorming ideas to build upon some of your ideas. When you get your employees involved in a decision or an idea, they often the importance of their existence in the company. They feel respected and wanted and at times, even looking forward to work. 

8. Inspire

Another quality that defines a good leader is being inspiring. Being able to inspire your team is great for focusing on the company’s vision and goals, but it is also important for the team during their current projects.

When your team are drowning in workload or their morale is low, you as a leader need to be inspiring and start finding ways to inspire your team. It is your job to keep spirits up, and that begins with an appreciation for the hard work that they have put in. Start off by giving words of encouragement once in a while.

 

9. Empathy

Having empathy as a leader goes a long way. Empathy is the ability to understand or feel what other people are experiencing. In other words, they put themselves in other people’s shoe. Extraordinary leaders praise in public and address problems in private.

At times, leaders need to look after their team‘s feelings. The best leaders guide employees through challenges and are always on the lookout for a solution. Instead of making things personal when they encounter problems, or assigning blame to individuals, good leaders look for constructive solutions and focus on moving forward. 

10. Accountability

A good leader takes responsibility for everyone’s performance as well as their own. When things are going well, they praise. However when problems arise, they identify them quickly, seek solutions, and get the team back on track. 

11. Enthusiastic

A good leader is enthusiastic about their work or cause and also about their role as leader. People will respond more openly to a person of passion and dedication. Leaders need to be able to be a source of inspiration, and be a motivator towards the required action or cause.

Although the responsibilities and roles of a leader may be different, the leader needs to be seen to be part of the team working towards the goal. This kind of leader will not be afraid to roll up their sleeves and get dirty.

 

12. Focus and drive

A good leader is generally focused and they are able to think rationally. Not only does a good leader view a situation as a whole, but is able to narrow down the cause as well as find the solution to the problem.

Leaders should also be self-driven to work harder in wanting to achieve better results for the company. They are the driving force in the team and also someone the team could look up to and encourage the rest to work together. “People ask the difference between a leader and a boss. The leader leads, and the boss drives.” -Theodore Roosevelt

 

13. Responsible

The last quality that defines a good leader is being responsible. Great leaders know that when it comes to their company or workplace, they need to take personal responsibility for failure.

A good leader does not make excuses; they take the blame regardless and then work out how to fix the problem as soon as possible. Responsibility is definitely a key leadership attribute.

 

What Are the Characteristics of a Good Leader?

Leaders shape our nations, communities, and organizations. We need good leaders to help guide us and make the essential large-scale decisions that keep the world moving. (https://www.ccl.org/blog/characteristics-good-leader/)

 

 

1. Integrity

The importance of integrity should be obvious. Though it may not necessarily be a metric in employee evaluations, integrity is essential for the individual and the organization. It’s especially important for top-level executives who are charting the organization’s course and making countless other significant decisions. Our research show that integrity may actually be a potential blind spot for organizations. Make sure your organization reinforces the importance of integrity to leaders at various levels.

 

2. Ability to Delegate

Delegating is one of the core responsibilities of a leader, but it can be tricky to delegate effectively. The goal isn’t just to free yourself up — it’s also to enable your direct reports, facilitate teamwork, provide autonomy, lead to better decision-making, and help your direct reports grow. In order to delegate well, you also need to build trust with your team.

 

3. Communication

Effective leadership and effective communication are intertwined. You need to be able to communicate in a variety of ways, from transmitting information to coaching your people. And you must be able to communicate with a range of people across roles, social identities, and more.

 

4. Self-Awareness

While this is a more inwardly focused skill, self-awareness is paramount for leadership. The better you understand yourself, the more effective you can be. Do you know how other people view you, or how you show up at work?

 

5. Gratitude

Giving thanks will actually make you a better leader. Gratitude can lead to higher self-esteem, reduced depression and anxiety, and even better sleep. Few people regularly say “thank you” at work, even though most people say they’d be willing to work harder for an appreciative boss.

 

6. Learning Agility

Learning agility is the ability to know what to do when you don’t know what to do. If you’re a “quick study” or are able to excel in unfamiliar circumstances, you might already be learning agile. But anybody can foster learning agility through practice, experience, and effort. Explore how great leaders are great learners, with strong learning agility to get started.

 

7. Influence

For some people, “influence” feels like a dirty word. But being able to convince people through logical, emotional, or cooperative appeals is a component of being an inspiring, effective leader. Influence is quite different from manipulation, and it needs to be done authentically and transparently. It requires emotional intelligence and trust-building.

 

8. Empathy

Empathy is correlated with job performance. If you show more empathy towards your direct reports, our research shows you’re more likely to be viewed as a better performer by your boss. Empathy can be learned, and in addition to making you more effective, it will also improve work for you and those around you.

 

9. Courage

It can be hard to speak up at work, whether you want to voice a new idea, provide feedback to a direct report, or flag a concern for someone above you. That’s part of the reason courage is a key skill for good leaders. Rather than avoiding problems or allowing conflicts to fester, courage enables leaders to step up and move things in the right direction. Learn more about why a positive workplace environment and culture requires courage and truth.

 

10. Respect

Treating people with respect on a daily basis is one of the most important things a leader can do. It will ease tensions and conflict, create trust, and improve effectiveness. Respect is more than the absence of disrespect, and it can be shown in many ways.

 

Importance of Leadership

·         Initiating Action: Leadership starts from the very beginning, even before the work starts. A leader is a person who communicates the policies and plans to the subordinates to start the work.

·         Providing Motivation: A leader motivates the employees by giving them financial and non-financial incentives and gets the work done efficiently. Motivation is the driving force in an individual’s life.

·         Providing guidance: A leader not only supervises the employees but also guides them in their work. He instructs the subordinates on how to perform their work effectively so that their efforts do not get wasted.

·         Creating confidence: A leader acknowledges the efforts of the employees, explains to them their role clearly and guides them to achieve their goals. He also resolves the complaints and problems of the employees, thereby building confidence in them regarding the organization.

·         Building work environment: A good leader should maintain personal contacts with the employees and should hear their problems and solve them. He always listens to the point of view of the employees and in case of disagreement persuades them to agree with him by giving suitable clarifications. In case of conflicts, he handles them carefully and does not allow it to adversely affect the entity. A positive and efficient work environment helps in stable growth of the organization.

·         Co-ordination: A leader reconciles the personal interests of the employees with the organizational goals and achieves co-ordination in the entity.

·         Creating Successors: A leader trains his subordinates in such a manner that they can succeed him in future easily in his absence. He creates more leaders

Induces change: A leader persuades, clarifies, and inspires employees to accept any change in the organization without much resistance and discontentment. He makes sure that employees do not feel insecure about the changes. https://www.toppr.com/guides/business-studies/directing/leadership/

 

Role of a Leader

Following are the main roles of a leader in an organization (https://www.managementstudyguide.com/role_of_a_leader.htm)

1. Required at all levels- Leadership is a function which is important at all levels of management. In the top level, it is important for getting cooperation in formulation of plans and policies. In the middle and lower level, it is required for interpretation and execution of plans and programs framed by the top management. Leadership can be exercised through guidance and counseling of the subordinates at the time of execution of plans.
2. Representative of the organization- A leader, i.e., a manager is said to be the representative of the enterprise. He has to represent the concern at seminars, conferences, general meetings, etc. His role is to communicate the rationale of the enterprise to outside public. He is also representative of the own department which he leads.
3. Integrates and reconciles the personal goals with organizational goals- A leader through leadership traits helps in reconciling/ integrating the personal goals of the employees with the organizational goals. He is trying to co-ordinate the efforts of people towards a common purpose and thereby achieves objectives. This can be done only if he can influence and get willing co-operation and urge to accomplish the objectives.
4. He solicits support- A leader is a manager and besides that he is a person who entertains and invites support and co-operation of subordinates. This he can do by his personality, intelligence, maturity and experience which can provide him positive result. In this regard, a leader has to invite suggestions and if possible implement them into plans and programs of enterprise. This way, he can solicit full support of employees which results in willingness to work and thereby effectiveness in running of a concern.
5. As a friend, philosopher and guide- A leader must possess the three dimensional traits in him. He can be a friend by sharing the feelings, opinions and desires with the employees. He can be a philosopher by utilizing his intelligence and experience and thereby guiding the employees as and when time requires. He can be a guide by supervising and communicating the employees the plans and policies of top management and secure their co-operation to achieve the goals of a concern. At times he can also play the role of a counselor by counseling and a problem-solving approach. He can listen to the problems of the employees and try to solve them.

Emotional Intelligence for Leaders

Emotional intelligence is widely known to be a key component of effective leadership. The ability to be perceptively in tune with yourself and your emotions, as well as having sound situational awareness can be a powerful tool for leading a team. The act of knowing, understanding, and responding to emotions, overcoming stress in the moment, and being aware of how your words and actions affect others, is described as emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence for leadership can consist of these five attributes: self-awareness, self-management, empathy, relationship management, and effective communication. (Gleeson, 2015)

Leaders are closely observed in terms of their body language, facial expressions etc. So, it is important for a leader to consider the non-verbal form of expressions as well, which may positively or negatively influence followers. Therefore, if a leader is talking about ethics in business with a slightly unconvinced and bemused look on his face, the followers make a note of it and the message is not received by them. A leader has to act as a role model too, supporting his statements, ideologies and values with appropriate actions.

As a leader one also has to be aware of one’s own capabilities and weaknesses, it is difficult to accept guidance from a leader who is not self-aware. As managers, leaders have to empathize as well with the situations, emotions, aspirations and motivations of the subordinates. A decreasing performance of a team member might be because of a number of reasons, a disruptive worker might be facing motivation issues and a subordinate who uses abusive language with others might be lacking confidence in his own abilities. A leader needs to discern facts and try and reach to deeper levels and understand things beyond obvious.

Emotional Intelligence is also important because the followers or subordinate expect it from their leaders. A subordinate working closely with the manager would expect the manager to understand his situation and priorities. And not surprisingly, whether manager does so or not, affects his level of commitment and performance at work. A leader has to suitably know and understand when he/she needs to be directive and when he needs to delegate. He/she needs to be aware, when the team members are acting as one unit and when there are differences. (https://www.managementstudyguide.com/emotional-intelligence-for-leaders.htm)

 

Conclusion

Many of us in leadership or management positions know what we need to do to be better leaders, we just sometimes fail to act. Being a great leader requires constant personal and professional development, regular transparent feedback from the team, self-reflection and taking action on feedback received. Great leaders are rarely satisfied with their performance. Without the team there can be no real leadership.  Effective leaders have specific attributes it shows specific behavior of styles of leadership. The effective leader creates the situation that is best for the organization through the use of skills and processes. The significance of business leadership is well expressed by this organization: A good leader can make a success of a weak business, but a poor leader can destroy even the best plan. ( Madanchian, et.al, 2017)

Leaders and their leadership skills play an important role in the growth of any organization. Leadership refers to the process of influencing the behavior of people in a manner that they strive willingly and enthusiastically towards the achievement of group objectives. A leader should have the ability to maintain good interpersonal relations with the followers or subordinates and motivate them to help in achieving the organizational objectives.

Leaders will be successful as they become skilled, sometimes forceful, in practicing these core elements of vision, strategy, operations, and tactics. But the most successful leaders also blend these with other core leadership attributes of gratitude, humility, and caring. The opportunity to provide leadership should be seen as a gift, not an entitlement. All too often the leader may feel that he or she should have all the answers. As noted earlier, leaders should be skilled at asking the right questions, rather than holding themselves to the impossible task of being all knowing. Finally, inspirational leaders demonstrate that they care about others, first, for who they are and, second, for what they can do. In other works, exemplary leaders regard others first as “human beings,” rather than as “human doings.” (Baker, 2014)

References

 

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