Importance of Leadership and Qualities of an Effective Leader

Introduction 

Leadership is the potential and ability to influence the behavior of others to work towards meeting the objectives of the organization. It is the capacity to influence a group of people towards the realization of the goals of the organization. Leaders are expected to develop future visions and goals for the organization and then use their influence to motivate the members of the organization to work towards achieving these visions. According to Keith Davis, leadership is the ability of an individual to persuade members of the organization to seek defined objectives enthusiastically. It involves the human factor that binds a group of people together and then motivates them towards a specific objective. Leadership is an essential part of the organization, and without proper and effective leadership, the members of the organization will lack direction. Leadership is a crucial management function which brings together members of the organization, influences them and then motivate for these members to maximize efficiency and work towards meeting the goals of the organization. 

Importance of Leadership 

Leadership is an important part of the organization success. Having worked in an organization, I interacted and had contact with a leader who dedicated the various significance of having a leader in an organization. A leader is a motivational factor in an organization. The leader I worked under motivated the employees with both economic and non-economic rewards so that they can feel enthusiastic about their work. Employees’ motivation is essential in increasing productivity. A leader also provides guidance for the followers on what they should do. Leaders give direction through instructions so that the subordinates can work effectively and efficiently. Leaders also create confidence among the employees by encouraging them and expressing their work efforts. By clearly telling the employees of their roles, the leader instills confidence in the employees. Leadership is also useful in morale building. A leader can be a morale booster by expressing the willing co-operation of the employees and winning their trust. A leader also helps in building a conducive work environment where employees can effectively work towards the goals of the organization. The leader I worked with utilized all these roles to ensure that the employees worked towards the purposes of the organization. 

Qualities of an Effective Leader 

An effective leader has various traits which make a good leader out of him. These qualities are what makes the leader have influence over the employees making them work towards meeting the goals of the organization. The first quality of a good leader is visionary and foresight. A leader cannot maintain the influence over the employees unless he exhibits that he is forward-looking. A good leader must be able to visualize situations and frame programs that are logical. The leader of the organization I worked in was visionary as he could set future goals and visualize situations. Another quality of an effective leader is excellent communication skills. A leader must be able to communicate the procedures and policies of the organization clearly and in a precise manner to the members of the organization ( Bolman & Deal, 2017 ). Excellent communication skills are useful in persuasion and stimulation of workers. Self-confidence is another attribute of an effective leader. A leader must himself express self-confidence if he is to earn confidence from the followers. A leader should handle situations with full power and confidence so that the followers can have trust in him. The leader of the organization I worked for lacked this self-confidence attribute as he would sometimes seem unsure of what he was doing making the followers lose trust in his power and abilities. 

The leader also had great signs of empathy. He would carefully listen and understand the problems and the complaints of the employees while at the same time having a complete view and aspirations of the employees’ needs. This was essential in improving the relationship and personal contact with the employees. Another trait of a leader is integrity. A leader should have high standards of integrity because he is the role model to the junior employees. The employees will always imitate the leader, and as a result, a leader must demonstrate high integrity. Understanding the traits of an effective leader is useful as it will help me know how to provide effective leadership for members of the organization in my future leadership ambitions. 

Leadership versus a Management 

Understanding the differences between leadership and management are an essential part of organizational behavior. A leader must have the potential to influence others to work towards a particular set of objectives. A manager, on the other hand, is expected to have the traits of a leader. An organization requires excellent leadership and robust management to achieve optimal efficiency in the organization. A significant difference is that while leaders lay down the required structure and delegates the authority, a leader provides the direction by creating a vision and communicating it to the employees through motivation and inspiration ( Lunenburg, 2011 ). Another difference between a leader and a manager is that while a leader gets his authority from the followers, a manager has his authority by virtue of the position that he holds. Management is more focused on the technical aspect of the business whereas leadership focuses more on influencing people to work towards the goals of the organization. Similarly, managers tend to follow the policies and procedures of the organization while leaders follow their instincts. These differences help in understanding and differentiating who is a leader and who is a manager in an organization. The organization I worked for had a leader who also had the qualities of a manager. 

Leadership and Motivation 

Motivation is a goal-oriented characteristic that can help an individual achieve specific goals. To become an effective leader, one must start with self-motivation. Self-motivation gives a leader the power to motivate the followers. A leader is expected to set goals, influence followers and motivate them to work towards realizing these goals ( Vidic & Burton, 2011 ). For employees to work towards the goals of the organization, the leader has to provide motivation which can take various forms including rewards and encouragements. Recognition for the work done by the employees can also be useful in motivating employees. An effective leader is one recognizes and rewards the employees for work done. Encouragement and inspiration are crucial to making employees motivated. The leader of the organization that I worked for was a highly motivational person who would always encourage workers to work enthusiastically towards the goal of the organization. He had self-motivation, a trait he instilled in his followers so that they could keep motivated always. 

Organizations need strong leadership for optimal effectiveness. Leadership can be inbuilt in an individual or acquired. Organizational leadership deals with both human psychology and expert tactics. The corporate leadership focuses on developing leadership skills and abilities that are relevant and necessary for the organization. An effective leader should not keep dominance over others but instead should give guidance to the individuals under him and provide the right direction that is beneficial to the organization. A leader is expected to boost the morale of his followers so that they are committed to the goals of the organization. He should support the team and listen to them at all times. The leader of the organization that I worked for had demonstrated many of these qualities. The employees were always motivated and committed to meeting the goals of the organization. 

Leadership Styles 

Many leadership styles exist in the workplaces. The goal and culture of the organization determine the leadership style that is best suited for an organization. Some leaders prefer using a combination of different leadership styles within the same organization if they intend to meet certain objectives. An effective leader should be flexible with the leadership style and should be able to switch from one style to the next depending on the situation at hand. 

Autocratic Leadership Style 

This is a leadership style which permits the manager to make decisions alone without involving other members of the organization. The manager has the total authority to establish and impose their decisions on the employees. A leader has the complete body and command over the employees or the team that he leads. The team members are not allowed to oppose the view of the leader, neither are they allowed to put forward their views even if they are in the best interest of the organization as a whole ( De Vries, Bakker & Oostenveld, 2010 ). No one is allowed to question the way a leader make things done. The merit of this style of leadership is that it leads to faster decision making and greater productivity under the supervision of the leader. However, this style of leadership can lead to employees’ turnover. At the same time, the style works best only when the job is monotonous. 

The leader I had experience with applied a variety of leadership styles to exert influence on the workers. The leader used an autocratic style of leadership in which he made decisions alone without involving other members of the organization. The leader never allowed any person to question his decision or even come up with an opinion. 

Laissez-Faire 

This is a leadership style in which the leader fully trust employees or the team’s ability to perform the task themselves without being supervised. The leader using this style only concentrate on the intellectual aspect of his duty with little focus on the managerial duty. Employees and team members are always welcomed to share their views and opinions that they believe provide the best interest of the organization. This leader does not directly supervise the employees and fail to give a regular update for those working under him. However, this leadership style only works best when the employees are well-skilled, experienced, loyal and intellectual. Without experience and skills amongst the employees, this style of leadership can lead to major errors in the work. The style, however, provides an opportunity for the employees to bring their views into decision making. The leader I worked with never used this style of leadership. He believed that employees must be supervised and guided to make them work. He, therefore, believed in constant employee supervision. 

Participatory Leadership Style 

This is a leadership style in which the leader encourages team members to take part in the decision-making process, but the final decision still rests with the leader. The leader provides guidance to the employees on how to perform their duty and the employees communicate back to the leader about their experience in work and any suggestion. This style of leadership leads to employees’ satisfaction, employees’ motivation and increased skills. This leads to an optimistic working environment and enhances creativity among employees. In case an organization needs to make changes internally, the democratic leadership style can be the best style. The problem with this style of leadership is that it is time consuming and making decisions take a long time. 

Bureaucratic Leadership 

This is a leadership style in which the leader strictly follows the rules and policies of the organization. The leader also ensures that the employees adhere to the rules and policies of the organization. The promotions are done on the ability of the employees to comply with the regulations of the organization. This style is suitable when a safe working condition is required and also quality work needed. However, it discourages creativity and demotivates employees. This is another leadership style that the leader I worked with demonstrated. 

Leadership Theories 

Trait Theory 

This is a leadership theory based on the idea that a great leader is derived from the personal characteristics of an individual. It identifies various traits of a good leader which include intelligence, openness, and self-efficacy. Great leaders are judged by their features. 

Transactional leadership 

This is a theory which is based on the argument that leadership abilities arise from an individual’s ability to punish or reward. It argues that leaders must have a goal, have the ability to train and do an evaluation of the employees’ performance ( Odumeru & Ogbonna, 2013 ). The leader must also be given an authority to punish or even reward based on the performance of employees. 

Transformational leadership theory 

This is a theory that focuses on developing a mutual trust and fostering the leadership abilities of others. It involves setting goals that go beyond the short-term objectives. The approach identifies various aspects of effective leadership which include being charismatic, inspirational, and intellectual and consideration ( Hamstra et al., 2011). Any leader who possesses these traits will transform and lift subordinates to higher levels and make them have the interests of the organization beyond their interests. 

Situational Leadership 

This theory of leadership argues that the organization groups can affect the extent to which the traits and behaviors of a leader will be effective. Introduced in 1967, Fielder’s situational theory became the first to specify that situational factors can interact with the traits and behaviors of a leader to influence how effective the leader becomes. The theory argues that favorability of a contingency determines the effectiveness of a leader. Research indicated that leaders who are task-oriented could be more effective in either favorable or unfavorable situation. The theory does not propose that leaders can adopt different styles in different situations, but it rather argues that leaders with varying styles of leadership can be more effective in different situations. 

Acquiring the knowledge and leadership concepts can help me understand ways of becoming an effective leader. Understanding the different styles of leadership provides me with knowledge on which leadership style for adapting in each particular situation. Using a combination of varying leadership styles under different situations is important in helping one become a future effective leader. Leadership attributes of effective leaders are also useful in knowing who is an effective leader and who is not. The knowledge of leadership skills and leadership concepts are therefore important and have changed my view of leadership and how to become an effective leader in future and make the organization prosper. 

Conclusion 

Effective leadership is an essential part of the management if the organization is to become successful. A leader is responsible for providing the direction and guidance for the subordinate members of the organization. A leader must possess the qualities of a good leader and must lead by example by being the role model for other members. A leader who adapts different appropriate leadership styles under different situations can emerge to be successful leaders compared to those who still to one style even if the situation changes. 

References 

Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2017).  Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership . John Wiley & Sons. 

De Vries, R. E., Bakker-Pieper, A., & Oostenveld, W. (2010). Leadership= communication? The relations of leaders’ communication styles with leadership styles, knowledge sharing and leadership outcomes.  Journal of business and psychology ,  25 (3), 367-380. 

Hamstra, M. R., Van Yperen, N. W., Wisse, B., & Sassenberg, K. (2011). Transformational-transactional leadership styles and followers’ regulatory focus.  Journal of Personnel Psychology . 

Lunenburg, F. C. (2011). Leadership versus management: A key distinction—at least in theory.  International Journal of Management, Business, and Administration ,  14 (1), 1-4. 

Odumeru, J. A., & Ogbonna, I. G. (2013). Transformational vs. transactional leadership theories: Evidence in literature.  International Review of Management and Business Research ,  2 (2), 355. 

Vidic, Z., & Burton, D. (2011). Developing effective leaders: Motivational correlates of leadership styles.  Journal of applied sport psychology ,  23 (3), 277-291.