Leadership refers to the type of power that makes an individual believe that they can influence the values, beliefs and actions of their followers. An individual with strong leadership skills is a good role model to their followers because the leader has the ability to achieve good results, enact change and attract trust and admiration from other people. Public leaders are expected to possess strong leadership traits that enable them to have the ability to influence the community. According to Vogel & Masal (2015), a public leader holds an influential position in the public office which allows them to lead and serve the community. The two leadership theories that support the definition of public leader include contingency theories and situational theories; and the leadership styles include authoritarian style and democratic style. These four aspects of leadership are aligned with the definition of public leaders based on how they are applied in theory and practice. Contingency theories concentrate on specific variables in leadership that are associated with the environment, which may influence the type of leadership suitable at that particular instance. This leadership theory implies that no leadership style is suitable for all situations; therefore, the public leader must employ different leadership styles in different scenarios. Baker (2014) asserts that effective leadership is not merely about the qualities that a person possesses but the ability to balance the needs, behaviors and context. Through contingency theories, public leaders must be able to evaluate the needs of their followers, assess the situation within their communities and modify their behaviors accordingly. Based on the contingency theories, the success of the public leader depends on various variables that include the leadership style, behaviors of the followers and the characteristics of the situation presented.
Situational theories imply that the preferred action of a leader is based on situational variables. This ideology is similar to that of contingency theories as it proposes that there are different sets of leadership styles that are applied for particular decision-making processes. Therefore, public leaders must be knowledgeable and understand the contextual factors that influence the behaviors of their followers to inform their decisions. Both contingency theories and situational theories reveal that public leaders’ leadership style will depend on contextual variables. Public leaders use an authoritarian leadership style when they have a clear perspective and understanding of the situation that their organization, community or followers face. On the other hand, they will opt for a democratic leadership style in situations whereby the followers consist of more skilled and knowledgeable participants. By adopting the authoritarian leadership style, public leaders provide their followers with clear instructions of what they should do and how it should be done. This form of leadership style mainly focuses on the ability of the public leader to command and control their followers. According to Wang and Guan (2018), authoritarian leaders make independent decisions without being influenced by their followers. Therefore, public leaders must be quick decision-makers since the authoritarian leadership style is most effective in contexts where there is limited time to make decisions or situations whereby they are the most informed individual within the group. Democratic leadership style is perceived as the most effective for public leaders. This leadership style encourages leaders to be democratic when guiding their follower, and also allow them to participate in the decision-making process. Although the democratic leadership style allows the public leader to encourage their followers to participate in the decision-making process the leader still maintains the final say in a situation. Democratic leadership is effective for public leaders as members of the community are motivated to participate in supporting the leader achieve their desired goals since they are engaged in the process. Successful leaders in the public, private and non-profit sector are those that are able to effectively guide their followers in achieving the vision, mission and objective of their respective organizations. Leaders in these sectors commit to the process of developing a shared vision that is shared by all their followers. Therefore, for them to be successful they must lead their followers through the process of recognizing and communicating strategies that should be implemented in order to achieve the vision. Although leaders in these sectors all have the same goals in influencing their followers, their leadership theories and styles are influenced by the organizational principles, beliefs, culture, and values, which shape their decision-making process. According to Baker (2014), a leader must understand and value the operations and strategies that an organization has implemented to realize it vision; because a shared vision that lacks appropriate action and tactics is irrelevant. Therefore, leaders in public, private and non-profit organizations must knowledgeable in nurturing a shared vision as well as creating core strategies that guide followers. Leaders are made as a result of the opportunities presented to them that enable them to develop their characters and vision. Leadership skills and traits are learned through a person’s experiences and the situations they are exposed to. Each situation or event requires a person in a leadership capacity to demonstrate different skills and knowledge; thus, for a leader to understand the right skill to apply they must be aware of the impacts that their decision. Effective leadership is only achieved through experiences that allow leaders to learn from their successes and failures. According to Bennis (2009), leaders share common traits such as a guiding vision, a desire to inspire their followers; possess integrity, and the willingness to take risks. A person cannot be born with these traits, but develop them through their life experiences.
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References
Baker, E. (2014). Leadership and Management—Guiding Principles, Best Practices, and Core Attributes. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice; Volume 20 - Issue 3 - p 356–357. doi: 10.1097/PHH.000000000000006
Bennis W. (2009). On Becoming a Leader. 2nd ed. Philadelphia, PA: Perseus Books Group.
Vogel, R. & Masal, D. (2015). Public leadership: A review of the literature and framework for future research. Public Management Review. 17. 1165-1184. 10.1080/14719037.2014.895031.
Wang, H., & Guan, B. (2018). The Positive Effect of Authoritarian Leadership on Employee Performance: The Moderating Role of Power Distance. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 357. doi:10.3389/fps.2018.00357
