Effectiveness of leadership - Essay Example

Effectiveness of Leadership It is possible that every become leaders, but it is difficult that everybody becomeseffective leaders. Most of the persons act as a leader either at their family or at work, at some time of their life. Leadership styles are different for different people because of the individual differences. Some people may adopt authoritarian approach whereas some others adopt democratic style of functioning. Rewards and punishments are the main weapons in the hands of a leader in order to motivate the subordinates. Power is an essential component of leadership. There are passive leaders and active leaders. A passive leader will never act for the betterment of either the organization or the community which he leads. Some of the ancient monarchs who got leadership of a country simply because of their tradition, are the best examples of passive leaders. But an effective leader always incorporates the positives of these approaches in his leadership style. Leadership is an art which requires lot of skills like temperament, patience and preparation. It is not possible that a short tempered person or a person with lack of control over his emotion may become an effective leader. Emotional intelligence is the core of effective leadership. An effective leader is the one who takes quick and effective actions or decisions. There are endless qualities which can be attributed to an effective leadership. This paper tries to analyse some of the essential qualities of an effective leader. Introduction 'Leadership' is a term which has so many definitions and used differently at different instances. Leadership can be generally defined as the behaviour of an individual when he was able to direct and control a group of persons towards a goal. Leadership can be of different types. Some people adopt autocratic or authoritarian style of leadership in which they never allow the opinions of the group members led by him; instead he will force the group members to functions in a specific manner as directed by him without any questions or doubts. It is a kind of dictatorship. On the other hand some other leaders adopt democratic style of functioning while leading a group. Such leaders always value the opinions of the group members and they consider the needs of the group members on a humanitarian basis. There are also a third kind of leaders who incorporate both autocratic and democratic approaches in their functioning. The behaviour patterns of a leader vary from person to person and situation to situation. Same leader may function differently on different occasions. The behaviour pattern of a leader is often influenced by the personality of the leader. The term power always associated with leadership. Without power it is difficult for a leader to function properly. If a leader was unable to exercise the power, he will be labelled as a leader by position. In any case, the success of a leader often measured on the basis of the effectiveness of his performances. In order to become effective in their mission, the leaders should have certain qualities and skills in order to lead a group of individuals Essentials of effective leadership "Effective leaders are alike in crucial way: they all have high degree of emotional intelligence" (Goleman & Maccoby, p.3) Emotional intelligence is an essential quality required for an effective leader. The group which he leads often consists of individuals of different personality and behavioural traits. Only a leader with emotional intelligence can identify each individual member of the group very well and utilize them in an effective manner to execute the objectives of the group project. "The renowned researcher in human organizational behaviour David McClelland found that when senior managers had a critical mass of emotional intelligence capabilities their divisions outperformed yearly earnings goals by 20%" (Goleman & Maccoby, p.5) Emotional intelligence make a leader capable of increasing the productivity of the organization for which he was working for. Persons who are susceptible in facing stiff challenges or who are incapable of taking quick decisions to tackle problems might not be good leaders. Only those leaders who take problems as a challenge will succeed in their mission. Self awareness is the first component of emotional intelligence (Goleman & Maccoby, p.5) Self awareness, self regulation, empathy, motivation, social skills etc are the major components of emotional intelligence at work (Goleman & Maccoby, p.6) A person could be an effective leader only when he knows his own merits and demerits very well. Some leaders might be short tempered ones while others might be cool under difficult situations. It is quite possible that the short tempered leader might misinterpret things and accuse and fire the group members for unnecessary things. On the other hand, a cool leader will always analyse things before making conclusions and taking further actions. If the leader is able to assess his actions and behaviour on a critical note, he take avoid conflicts and problems while tackling problems. He should be able to regulate himself on difficult and critical instances. For example, the father of Indian nation, Mahatma Gandhi was a leader who exhibited immense patience and temperament while leading his struggle against the British to make India a free nation. He has adopted the theory of non-violence even when the British handled the Indian freedom struggle using violent measures. He has realized that in order to get an empathetic approach towards the Indian freedom struggle from world leaders, and to motivate the British to leave India, the struggle using non-violent means was the best option. The people of India has accepted Gandhi's views and obeyed his instructions in the struggle for freedom. "When the real leader speaks, people listen. Trust is the foundation of leadership" (Maxwell, p.X) "Leaders touch the heart before they ask for a hand" (Maxwell, p.XI) Mother Teresa is considered to be one of the greatest humanitarian advocates of the last century. She was able to touch the hearts of the poor and needy people and become an influential leader for them in all aspects of their daily life. "Leadership has an extra ordinary power. It can make the difference between success and failure in anything you do for yourself or for any group to which you belong" (Cohen, p.1) The success of a leadership often measured on the basis of the outcomes. A person will be an effective leader only when he was able to transform a situation which could have been a failure, into a successful one. For example, the American economy is not so good under the present situation. Lots of people have lost their jobs and even biggest financial institutions and automobile manufacturers are on the verge of destruction. Many people see an effective leadership in the current President Barak Obama. He has already started to implement his revolutionary measures in health sector, automobile sector, and defence sector like all the critical areas in order to streamline the American economy. If he was able to restore the American economy back on its growing phase, he will definitely be remembered as an effective leader who saved America from an economic disaster. Thus an effective leader is the one who was able to convert a failure into a success. In Obama's case, we have to wait till the end of his period at the president's office in order to rate him as a success or failure. "Leadership develops daily, not in a day" (Maxwell, p. IX) "Effective leaders are those who advance their own transformation, the personal transformation of others, and the transformation of the company; produce superior results; and build the capacity of the organization and of the people in it" (Fulmer & Goldsmith, p.146) A leader who is able to contribute heavily to the organization, but failed to contribute to his subordinates may not be an effective leader. On the other hand some leaders might be a successful one for the subordinates, but the organization may not get much from such leaders. For example, a democratic leader may always try to value the opinions of the workers or subordinates at the expense of the organization's interest. On the other hand an autocratic leader may work for the organization's goals by completely avoiding the interests of the workers. Both of them cannot be considered as effective leaders since they failed to exercise their duties fully. A leader who safeguards his own and the organization's interest alone might not be an effective leader. "According to Vroom-Yetton model, a leader should be both autocratic and participative, varying his style according to various situational factors" (Bryman, p.153) It is not possible for an effective leader to be either autocratic or participative always. He should be able to change his strategies and approaches as per the demands of the situations. For example, it is possible that a worker who performed well in one instant might underperform on another occasion. An effective leader complements the worker when he performs well and may punish the worker when he failed to perform well. "The position power of the leader has been emphasized by writers like Pelz and Fiedler" (Bryman p.161) Power is the main weapon in the hands of a leader and he should be able to use it judiciously. Without power a leader may not be effective. For example, in organizations, the workers respect the power and position of the manager more than the personality of the manager. A manager who was reluctant in using his power will never command respect from the subordinates. If the manager puts a blind eye towards the punishable things performed by the workers, or if he fails to recognize the outstanding performances of the workers, he would not be an effective manager either in the organization's view or in the workers view. "The first responsibility of the leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between the two, leader must be a servant and a debtor. That sums up the progress of an artful leader" (Depree p.11) "When we think about leaders and the variety of gifts people bring to corporations and institutions, we see that the art of leadership lies in polishing and liberating and enabling those gifts" (Depree p.10) No two individuals are alike. Each person has their own personality and skills. It is not necessary that a successful accountant might be a successful sales person. But at times an accountant who is a failure in accounts department may excel in sales. The ability of the effective leader lies in identifying the talents and placing them in suitable positions. A leader or manager should never rely on the academics alone of the persons he leads or manages while allocating duties. "Leadership has to do with getting things accomplished by acting through others (Cohen p.3)" A person who does all the things independently without seeking assistance from others cannot be considered as a leader. A leader always gets the things done through others. He will only guide the group members to reach the target. "Napoleon Hill from his research found that no successful individual become successful strictly by himself or by virtue of what he could do by himself. Every single one interviewed by Napoleon Hill had become successful through others" (Cohen p.4) "The leader's power to employ performance-contingent rewards and punishments seems to be an important determinant in of his or her behavior" (Bryman p.120) An effective leader always motivate the group members with the help of rewards and punishments. Good works will be properly rewarded whereas the poor performances will be punished by an effective leader. It is not necessary that the rewards and punishments always be given in the form of material things. Even some kind of encouraging words can serve as a motivating factor for the group members at times. "The true measure of leader ship is influence- nothing more, nothing less" (Maxwell, p. IX). "Leaders don't inflict pain; they bear pain" (Depree, p.11) It doesn't mean that leaders executing their works by inflicting pain on workers. In fact, leaders bear lot of pain by taking all the risk associated with a mission on their shoulders. Moreover, they have to devise the strategies, which are the most critical aspect of executing a project. If the strategy fails the leader should take the blame whereas if the strategy succeeds, the leader should distribute the credit to all the subordinates also. For example, in a manufacturing unit, the production manager is the person who is making strategies suitable for the timely production of goods. If the goods were not produced in time, the workers will say that they have obeyed the instructions from the manager and worked accordingly. The manager is the person who has to explain the reasons of the failure not only to his superiors but to the customers as well. "The amount of time and effort put into work is important in determining the success of leadership. The more time you put in, the more successful you will be (Blanchard et al, p.15) "Don't work harder-Work smarter" (Blanchard et al, p.15) Even though the leader needs to put more time and effort into the work, it doesn't mean that he should physically work harder to obtain better results. He should concentrate on devising innovative and smart strategies for the execution of a project rather than working hard with the existing facilities. Suppose a screen printing unit which depends heavily on the skills and abilities of the workers got a big order which need to complete in a short time period. An ordinary manager will try to complete the project by appointing more employees and allotting more overtimes. But an effective manager will search for machineries which can complete the project more rapidly and effectively than relying completely on manual efforts. Thus the leader should work smarter than work harder. "The art of leadership requires us to think about the leader as steward in terms of relationships" (Depree, p.12) "Anyone can steer the ship, but it takes a leader to chart the course" (Maxwell, p.X) The manager or the leader is the bridge between an organization and the workers. The workers should concentrate on preserving their interests whereas the management of an organization will be keen in protecting their interests. These two interests will quite often contradict and the manager is the one, who should be able to device strategies for preserving the interests of the organization and also that of the workers. An effectiveness of a leader will quite often measured on the basis of how well he was able to satisfy the organization, the customers and the workers. 'A traditional manager will analyze, leverage, optimize, delegate organize and control things whereas a real change leader will do, fix, try and change things. Change leader will consider people as the critical source, hold accountability, satisfy both the customers and the workers' (Katzenbach, p.21) "Momentum is a leaders' best friend" (Maxwell, p.XII) quick actions are the order of the current world. It is not possible for a leader to be effective in the current world if he adopts a wait and watch approach. Opportunities will never search for us, but we have to search for it in order to succeed as a leader. For example, it is not possible for Obama to wait till the global economy regains its strength in order to strengthen American economy. He has to take actions and that should be as fast as possible as well. Thus an effective leader is the one who is able to take quick and effective decisions. Conclusions Leadership is an art which require lot of skills and abilities. It is not possible for all the people to become effective leaders. Effective leaders are the one who satisfies the organization, customers and the workers or subordinates. Most of the effective leaders adopt a mixed strategy of autocracy and democracy. Power and influence are the weapons in the hands of a leader. An effective leader always works smarter than work harder. He will always be ready to bear pains and to take the accountability of whatever the mission he undertakes. An effective leader always recognizes good works while he takes strong actions against the under-performances. Emotional intelligence is one of the essential qualities an effective leader needs. Self awareness, self regulation, empathy, motivation, social skills etc are the major components of emotional intelligence. References 1. Blanchard Ken, 2. Ken Blanchard (Author) 3. > Visit Amazon's Ken Blanchard Page 4. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. 5. See search results for this author 6. Are you an author' Learn about Author Central 7. Zigarmi Patricia & Zigarmi Patricia Zigarmi (Author) > Visit Amazon's Patricia Zigarmi PageFind all the books, read about the author, and more.See search results for this author 8. Are you an author' Learn about Author Central 9. Drea, Leadership and the One Minute Manager: Increasing Effectiveness Through Situational Leadership, Publisher: William Morrow; 1 edition (October 20, 1999) Retrieved on 10 September 2009 from http://www.amazon.com/Leadership-One-Minute-Manager-Effectiveness/dp/0688039693 2. Bryman Alan, 1986, Leadership and organizations, published by Routledge & Kegan Paul plc, London, Retrieved on 10 September 2009 from http://books.google.com/books'id=zk4OAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA160&lpg=PA160&dq=Leadership+and+Organizations+by+Alan+Bryman&source=bl&ots=d-XNhtTMmB&sig=0xpBxohOKLuFZQiYokjCkKKCfBo&hl=en&ei=LseoSsPDLZrq6AP3m4zrBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#v=onepage&q=&f=false 3. Cohen William A., The New Art Of The Leader Revised, Publisher: Prentice Hall Press (October 3, 2000) Retrieved on 10 September 2009 from http://www.amazon.com/New-Art-Leader-Revised/dp/0735201668#reader Depree Max, Leadership is an Art, Publisher: Dell (August 10, 1990), Retrieved on 10 September 2009 http://www.amazon.com/Leadership-Art-Max-Depree/dp/0440503248#reader 4. Fulmer Robert M.& Goldsmith Marshall, The leadership investment , AMACOM books New York 2000, Retrieved on 10 September 2009 from http://books.google.com/books'id=PVtd1rwiRwsC&pg=PT1&lpg=PT1&dq=The+Leadership+Investment+by+Robert+M+Fulmer+and+Marshall+Goldsmith&source=bl&ots=OOQXwctVtA&sig=o0fa1ECYe2MkSiaxVXprau74kZA&hl=en&ei=YNWoSuPxB4KTkAWH1OmVBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#v=onepage&q=&f=false 5. Goleman Daniel, Maccoby Michael, Harvard Business Review on What Makes a Leader, Publisher: Harvard Business Press; 1st edition (October 15, 2001) Retrieved on 10 September 2009 from http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1578516374/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1'pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0875848834&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0A4W57HKE5SVPP7W4JBX 6. Katzenbach Jon R. Real Change Leaders: How You Can Create Growth and High Performance at Your Company, Publisher: Three Rivers Press; 1st pbk. ed edition (June 10, 1997) Retrieved on 10 September 2009 from http://www.amazon.com/Real-Change-Leaders-Performance-Company/dp/0812929233# 7. Maxwell, John C. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You, Publisher: Thomas Nelson; 1st edition (September 18, 1998) Retrieved on 10 September 2009 from http://www.amazon.com/21-Irrefutable-Laws-Leadership-Follow/dp/0785274316 Drea Zigarmi (Author) > Visit Amazon's Drea Zigarmi Page Find all the books, read about the author, and more. See search results for this author Are you an author' Learn about Author Central Read More