What Is Leadership?
Leadership refers to the power of a leader to induce subordinates to work with confidence.
According to Koontz & O’Donnell:
“Leadership is the ability of a manager to induce subordinates for better performance.”
According to Marry Parker Follet:
“The leader who influenced me most is not someone who does great things, but he makes me fool that I can do great deeds”.
Leadership is the power of a person which enables the organisation for successful utilisation of manager resources because men are the most important component of an organisation. And men play a vital role for the success of an organisation.
“Leadership is an important element of the directing function of the management. The power of leadership is the power of integrating.”
Features / Characteristic Of Leadership
- Leadership is a continuous process of influencing behaviour of others.
- Leadership is a personal quality of behaviour & character for exercising personal influence.
- Leadership exists only for the realisation of a common goal.
- Leadership Style does change under different situations.
- Leadership is the willingness of people to follow that makes a person a leader.
- Leadership establishes relationships between individuals and groups.
Types Of Leader or Leadership Style
The leaders are categorised under four groups. These are:
- Autocratic Leader
- Democratic Leader
- Free-rein Leader
- Paternalistic Leader
Autocratic Leader
The leader who experts in complete obedience from his subordinates and also decision making power is centralised with him is called Autocratic Leader.
Such a type of leader forces the subordinates to obey him without any question. He is the leader of an organisation which is not liked by subordinates.
Democratic Leader
The leader who provides an opportunity to subordinates to participate in policy formulation and decision making is called Democratic Leader. Such a type of leader encourages subordinates to make suggestions and to take initiative actions.
Free-rein Leader
The leader who provides maximum freedom to subordinates in respect of their own policies and methods of doing work is called Free-rein Leader.
Such a type of leader creates self confidence in the workers and provides them an opportunity to develop their talent.
Paternalistic Leader
The leader who guides his subordinates is known as the Paternalistic Leader.Such types of leaders guide and protect his subordinates but no one is allowed to grow and be independent.
Importance Of Leadership
The following points are showing the importance of Leadership.Motivate Employees A good leader motivates the employees for higher and better performance.
An effective leadership motivates the employees to work as a team & support the organisation whole heartedly. It also enables us to maintain proper cooperation & coordination.
Create Confidence Among Employees
A successful leader creates confidence in his followers. It enables them to make their own decisions effectively. A confident employee proves to be an asset for the organisation.
Aids to Authority
Leadership acts as an aid to authority by influencing the actions of subordinates. Only the use of authority shouldn’t ensure the achievement of desired goals but effective leadership enables the authority for the achievement of objectives.
Develop Cooperation
Effective leadership increases the understanding between subordinates and management. It will help them to never be in confusion regarding any decision which helps to avoid conflict among them & promote cooperation for smooth flow of the organisation.
Builds Morale
Effective leadership developed the morale of the employees. It facilitate them to increase productivity and stability in the organisation. The increase in quality of production is the result of high morale.
Qualities For A Effective Leadership
A leader should possess & develop certain qualities in order to influence the group for getting best results from individuals. The leadership qualities can be classified into 2 categories; These are:
- Personal Traits or Qualities
- Managerial Traits or Qualities
Personal Qualities or Traits
A successful leader must possess the following personal qualities:
Dynamic Personality
A good leader must have a charming and careful personality. He should be a person of strong and sound health. He is a person of cool temperature, optimistic outlook, conventional ability and civilised behaviour. He must have the ability to adjust himself under different changing circumstances.
Intellectual Capacity
A successful leader must have the ability to think of effective solutions to different business problems. He has talent to think scientifically analysis & interpret clearly under different circumstances.
Initiative
A successful leader has to undertake suitable actions at the proper time through developed ideas. He has the ability to develop new ideas and methods of doing things. He should have creative ability so as to secure subordinates.
Foresight
A Successful leader must have imaginative ability. He must have the potential of visualising and developing policies & programs. He must have the capacity to take effective decisions for future periods. His foresight should be based on logical reasoning to be more accurate.
Emotional Stability
A successful leader must have a good temperament. He must have the ability to overcome moodness inconsistency and disappointment. He must have such temperament so as not to be confused under emotional situations.
Character
A successful leader must be a symbol of faultness character and conduct. It is that attitudes and action should be morality justifiable. He must be a person of honesty in attitudes and actions.
Flexibility
Flexibility and open-mindedness makes the leader more identified with the groups. He must have a flexible, bent of mind and shouldn’t think that his decision is final. He must prepare policies and programs according to others viewpoints.
Sense of responsibility
Authority & responsibility go together. A leader must be in a position to bear the burden of all his decisions. As he possesses certain authority he must be responsible for the things and men over whom he exercises authority.
Managerial Qualities or Traits
A successful leader must have passed essential managerial Qualities for the success of business undertakings. Following are some important managerial Qualities of leadership:
Technical Knowledge
A successful leader must have developed and clear ideas in regard to technical aspects. Such technical knowledge enables the leader to take right decisions on different matters of business.
Ability to deal with people
The success of an organisation has a direct relation with the performance of its employees. So, the leader must have the ability to manage people through solving psychological problems & motivate the personnel to perform better.
Ability to judge & decide promptly
A successful leader is one who understands the matter quickly and can take effective decisions without any loss of time. He has the ability to make proper decisions in the best internet of business among various alternatives.
Organising ability
The success of a leader depends upon his ability to get things done through the effort of others. He must possess organisation qualities to bring the people together and machines, materials, money in the best possible manner.