Importance of effective leadership
Discuss about the Building Trust and Enhancing Performance.
In this chapter we were given a basic introduction to leadership. Through this course and these chapters I understood the importance of effective leadership in every organization. I also learnt about the large amount of responsibility that comes with being a leader. I follow a lot of global leaders like Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk. I keep reading a lot about them and try to listen to their interviews in order to understand their leadership style. This course helped understand how many types of leaders are there. Every student in the class had a different take on leadership. We also learnt about various qualities that a leader has.
A leader has a vision and guides a team to fulfill that vision (Drescher et. a., 2014). This is why leaders are very important to organizations. A leader is different from a manager. A leader defines the culture in an organization through his leadership style. I also learnt that there are several different leadership styles but no one leadership style is better than other. The best leadership style simply depends on the situation (Yukl, 2013). For example, we learnt that some leaders are democratic. A democratic leader allows his team to participate in the decision making process. The final decision is made by the leader but still employees are encouraged to take offer their suggestions and viewpoints. Democratic leadership style makes employees have an increased sense of ownership for the firm and it also positively impacts their creativity and performance (Lasswell, 2017).
On the other hand, autocratic leaders believed in a centralized decision making system. They give commands and expect their team to follow (Bhatti et. al., 2012). In most organizations, this style of leadership may demotivate employees. But there are certain critical industries like self-defense (Army, military, Navy) where the nature of work is so different that it is important for a leader to be authoritative.
Earlier I used to believe that leadership styles of different people may vary slightly. But I realized that leadership styles may vary immensely from individual to individual. Exactly opposite to autocratic leadership style is Laissez-faire style wherein the leaders are simply guides who can be approached if the team requires them (Chaudhary & Javed, 2012). The leader in this style leaves the employees to make their own decisions and does not interfere. This obviously make the team members feel valued and motivated but it is crucial that the followers must be capable enough to make their own decisions (Yang, 2015).
Types of Leadership Styles
I also learnt about charismatic leaders who motivate the team by their personality and charisma. Then we also learnt about transformational leadership. Under this style, the leader feels the need to change the status quo and identifies a need for transformation (Avolio & Yammarino, 2013). The leader then sets a clear vision and guides the team through that change.
I have also learn that it is very important that leaders are able to lead their team in an effective manner and instil trust and respect among their followers. Leaders are largely responsible in setting the right organizational culture and environment (Selznick, 2011). It is important to note that organizational culture plays a significant role in boosting employee morale and motivating them to perform better. For example, a democratic leader may create an innovative and fun working environment where every individual feels valued. On the other hand, an autocratic leader may create an environment which is dull and strict. Therefore leaders play a significant role in the growth of an organization.
After reading about different leadership styles, I realized that I am a democratic leader. Even when we work in teams, I try to create an atmosphere where everyone’s opinions are valued and the team can collectively make decisions.
Moreover, I also felt that leaders are born with exceptional qualities. Even though this is true, bass theory taught to us during this course helped me understand how leaders understand that they are leaders. Bass theory suggests upon three different theories. First is Trait theory; this mentions that leaders may assume leadership roles naturally owing to their personality (Antonakis & House, 2013). Second is Great Event Theory; this suggests that in times of crisis, certain people automatically take active roles and go on to become leaders. Third is the Process leadership theory; this suggests that everyone can become a leader by learning and improving their leadership skills.
This course and these chapters helped me in gaining a deeper insight about leadership and their importance in organizations. I also learnt that leaders move forward with the team which results in the growth of all team members. I would keep my learnings in mind when I begin my career and attain leadership roles with organizations.
During these weeks, we learnt about different types of leadership and various traits that leaders possess. I learnt that every leader must possess certain qualities. The foremost of these traits is courage. A leader must be courageous in order to lead the team in an effective manner, take risks and make the right decisions of the team (Raelin, 2011). There are a number of followers who look up to the leader and hence it is important that a leader is fearless and spirited. Secondly, it is important that leaders are clear about their vision. Their vision is eventually the team’s vision and hence it is critical that their future plans, goals and objectives for the team are crisp and clearly defined. Thirdly, the leaders must have integrity and honesty. This is an important trait of a leader. Honesty of a leader will create a similar working environment and it is important for the growth of the team in the right direction.
Democratic Leadership
Leaders must be able to effectively motivate their team members (Hackman & Johnson, 2013). This is only possible if the leader has the right amount of passion. Passion is the source of driving an individual and hence it is important that a leader is passionate and driven. With the help of these chapters, I started analyzing my own behaviors and attitudes in order to understand my efficacy as a leader. There is a huge connection between an individual’s personal traits and their leadership styles. A leader must be able to develop traits like being open to new ideas, becoming agreeable and being emotionally stable (Hogan & Judge, 2013).
We also learnt about mental mode. This mental mode signifies that every individual perceives and understand things as per their beliefs and thought process. During this class, we were shown a picture of an elephant. Every individual had a different opinion about why the elephant was placed there. Such practical activities helped us in understanding the course better. Through this model, I understood that everyone has a limited understanding towards things. Therefore, it becomes even more important to work as teams so that a group of people coming together can get a deeper insight over matters. We also learnt that while working as a team, team members may find it difficult to accept opinions of others and this is where the role of a leader comes into the picture. A leader must accept varied opinions and view points and join all these opinions like solving a jigsaw puzzle. This will lead to reduced blind spots and improved overall team performance.
These leadership traits are critical for a leader and the team in order to make sure that the team performs well and continues to grow. Leadership traits and personality of a leader also make it easier for the team members to respect and follow the leader (Unsar, 2016). After taking this course, I tried to analyze some profound leaders that have played an important role in shaping our society, businesses and industries. After a thorough analysis, I realized, that all these leaders have the below mentioned traits.
- They are all very creative and intelligent
- They are very courageous and do not fear taking risks and log shots for the team
- They have immense clarity of thought.
- They are disciplined, punctual and respect other’s time as well
- They are humble and treat everyone with respect
- They lead by example.
After this analysis, I would also try to instil and develop these qualities in order to be able to be an effective leader. My major weakness is lack of punctuality. So the foremost thing that I would start working on is being able to be on time always. This is why this course was a major learning experience for me and I am sure the impact of the course will last a lifetime.
Autocratic Leadership
For a leader, a very important trait is being able to establish positive and long term relationships with people. I once came to know about a famous saying, “An individuals’ network is an individual’s net worth”. A leader’s relationships with the team members and other stakeholders are highly important (Carter et. al., 2013). I have always been an extrovert and I find it easy to communicate with new people. Even during this course, we had to make a team presentation in week 8. I took no time in building a team owing to my positive relationships with everyone in the class.
Leadership, similarly requires the leader to build strong relationships that are mutually beneficial. A leader’s network will be able to assist the team in times of crisis and help the team whenever required. Successful leaders strongly lay emphasis on establishing and nurturing relationships with their team members (Drescher, 2014). This helps the team as well as the leader. There are various steps that leaders take in order to make sure that they remain well connected with their teams. Firstly, leaders understand the importance of open communication. Open communication in a team builds positive relationships and creates transparency. By focusing on communication, leaders provide their followers with a chance of addressing their grievances and building positive relationships with their leader. Secondly, leaders value opinions of all their followers. This makes followers feel they are respected by their leaders. This is important to build a positive relationship between the leader and his follower. Thirdly, the leaders also make sure that they praise team members when they perform well and they are able to provide a constructive feedback when followers do not perform that well. During this, the leader must try to understand the problems and shortcomings of their individual members. This is what helps in building long term relationships with customers (Salem, 2015).
My important take away from this section was that eventually communication forms the backbone of every organization. Communication helps leaders in building strong connections with their followers. This is why for the growth of any team, it is important that leaders work towards creating a transparent flow of information within the team. All team members should be entitled to their opinions. Their opinions must be valued and respected.
This entire course has been a major learning experience for me. I have understood about various intricacies of leadership that I did not know before. Leadership is highly important for the success of any team and effective leadership can lead to the success of the team. Therefore, it is imperative that individuals must start working upon their skills at a young age in order to become efficient leaders of the future. I would ensure that my learnings from this course help me improve my leadership skills and become a commendable leader one day.
References
Antonakis, J. and House, R.J., 2013. The full-range leadership theory: The way forward. In Transformational and Charismatic Leadership: The Road Ahead 10th Anniversary Edition (pp. 3-33). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Avolio, B.J. and Yammarino, F.J. eds., 2013. Introduction to, and overview of, transformational and charismatic leadership. In Transformational and Charismatic Leadership: The Road Ahead 10th Anniversary Edition (pp. xxvii-xxxiii). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Bhatti, N., Maitlo, G.M., Shaikh, N., Hashmi, M.A. and Shaikh, F.M., 2012. The impact of autocratic and democratic leadership style on job satisfaction. International Business Research, 5(2), p.192.
Carter, M.Z., Armenakis, A.A., Feild, H.S. and Mossholder, K.W., 2013. Transformational leadership, relationship quality, and employee performance during continuous incremental organizational change. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 34(7), pp.942-958.
Chaudhry, A.Q. and Javed, H., 2012. Impact of transactional and laissez faire leadership style on motivation. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 3(7).
Drescher, M.A., Korsgaard, M.A., Welpe, I.M., Picot, A. and Wigand, R.T., 2014. The dynamics of shared leadership: Building trust and enhancing performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 99(5), p.771.
Hackman, M.Z. and Johnson, C.E., 2013. Leadership: A communication perspective. Waveland Press.
Hogan, R. and Judge, T., 2013. Personality and leadership. The Oxford handbook of leadership, p.37.
Lasswell, H.D., 2017. Power and personality. Routledge. United Kingdom.
Raelin, J., 2011. From leadership-as-practice to leaderful practice. Leadership, 7(2), pp.195-211.
Salem, I.E.B., 2015. Transformational leadership: Relationship to job stress and job burnout in five-star hotels. Tourism and Hospitality Research, 15(4), pp.240-253.
Selznick, P., 2011. Leadership in administration: A sociological interpretation. Quid Pro Books.
Unsar, S., 2016. Leadership and Communication. Springer International Pu.
Yang, I., 2015. Positive effects of laissez-faire leadership: conceptual exploration. Journal of Management Development, 34(10), pp.1246-1261.
Yukl, G.A., 2013. Leadership in organizations. Pearson Education India.
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