Leadership — How to become a Better Business Leader?
Leadership is one of the most important components of the manager’s job together with controlling, planning and organizing. It is needed in companies to stimulate employees to work and achieve goals and outcomes. Although leaders have the main role for outcomes, some consider that outcome, result or profit of some company depends also on other factors, such as working environment, working atmosphere and technology that they have.
Good leader
It is essential for the company to choose good leader, i.e. someone who is capable and has many skills to achieve and improve value of the company.
There are ten roles that leaders should have:
- team builder
- team player
- strategic planner
- entrepreneur
- figurehead
- coach
- technical problem solver
- executor
- negotiator
- spokesperson
Even though leaders has advantages since there are perceived as those who have power, can influence on important decisions in company, it is not simple as that seems like. In other words, they are the ones who are responsible for everything that happens in the company, whether it is good or bad. For example, if company fails in some aspect, it could discourage them. Moreover, they have to be able to organize everything and to deal with other employees in the company, to know their needs, qualities and their functions in the company.
Leadership effectiveness is connected with their personal skills and features. Personal traits that are correlated with leadership effectiveness are self-confidence, humility, core self-evaluations, trustworthiness, authenticity, extraversion, assertiveness, enthusiasm, optimism and warmth and sense of humor.
Although many people think that leaders of the company are brave, self-confident, selfish and highhanded persons, it is not always the case. They are supposed to act sometimes like that to have an authority, but also many of them are kind persons who perhaps do not want to show all their personal traits because of other reasons, such as giving someone opportunity to use their weaknesses on the bad way. Also, some leaders are born with personality that is required for the role of leader but the environment has the great influence on that.
Charisma is distinctive feature important for the role of leader. The leaders who are charismatic have the advantage in some way from the ones who are not. For example, they are more attractive to other people, and have the greater influence on them. In other words, they can impact on employees to be happier, to have more trust in them and to have support by them. All of these reasons are positive for leader since if they got this from people they want, they will act and be better. Even though some people are born with charisma, the other ones who had not that luck can also develop some traits and skills to become charismatic. For example, they should try to be more optimistic, enthusiastic, do everything with more energy and will. On the other hand, charismatic leaders are sometimes perceived as leaders who do not act ethically since they use their charisma to achieve some goal on inappropriate way.
Leadership
As it is accentuated in the Ohio State University studies, effective leadership demands the right manners, abilities and bias. Leadership behavior consists of consideration and initiating structure. Consideration is when leader tries to connect and make relationships with employees, for example tries to be their friend, gives them support and presents self as a person on who they can rely on. Initiating structure is when leader structures relationship and defines positions of others so everyone knows they have to do. In addition, both of these are good for managing good results and good working atmosphere. When we are talking about ethical and moral leadership, all of that focuses on the point that leaders should do the right thing.
The key principles of ethical and moral leadership are to be honest and trustworthy and have integrity in dealing with others, to pay attention to all stakeholders, to build community and to respect the individual. It is very important to behave in this way, since that is essential if leaders want others to respect them. It is simple, how they treat other people, the people will perceive them. Having an ethical responsibility is good in many ways for the company. In other words, the employees will be more motivated, the outcome will be managed on a better and faster way and the company will be more profitable.
Using power in good way
Organizational power is important component of leadership and something that every good leader should and wants to have. Power is not something that people can get overnight. When someone has a power, they are able to control things in better way than others or to control someone because they are able to do that. They cannot be born with that ability but can work a lot and put a lot of effort to achieve that.
Powerful leaders are setting the goals, developing strategies and reaching the goals. That is one of the most important things that make them powerful, they succeed to manage what they intended to. Everyone has been in situation where has been dependent of someone else. The situations in which people are not able to do something by ourselves create dependence of someone or something. That is good for leaders since on that way employees or team members are giving opportunity them to control them and also they give them the power. Moreover, organizational power is associated with both, personal and position power. Position power is based on someone’s position in some organization. For leaders, they know what their position is, and they can feel powerful since they are the ones who are controlling, planning, organizing and leading things. But, it is also connected with personal power since they are supposed to be self-confident, independent, have a good attitude and so on. Moreover, leaders also have to have good influence tactics. If they are able to influence on people, it is very useful and good for them in achieving goals and good outcomes. Establishing teamwork is very important leadership aspect. They have meaningful role in teamwork since they are encouraging teamwork, helping to build relationship among team members and motivating them to manage the work. If they manage to build good teamwork where team members are well connected, trust and help each other, it is also good for them since the company will reach goals and outcomes.
The leaders who succeed managing that are effective leaders. They are excellent trainers and prime movers. The main purpose of training and moving the employees is to involve, motivate and inspire them to be better, more engaged and to achieve goals and outcomes. The expectancy theory is beneficial for improving motivational skills because it is inclusive, forming on other causes of motivation.
It has three major components:
- valence
- instrumentality
- expectancy
Valence is value of a result. Since there are always several results, it is important to value which one is more motivational. Instrumentality is particular evaluation of the possibility that achievement will take to some results. Expectancy is a specific evaluation of the possibility that exertion will take to some assignment precisely.
Building good relationship
Leadership and management development are extensively exercised in many organizations since it is crucial for every company to choose and have a good and effective leader. Even though some people are born with skills of leaders it is does not have to mean that they are good leaders. Many factors define good leaders, and the one that is most important is environment. Moreover, they are improving and developing their skills constantly to become effective.
Building good relationship with members, getting their trust is essential for achieving goals and outcomes. Also, the power that they owe, the personal one is more important than the position power that is temporary, unlike the personal power. As John Maxwell said, “Leaders become great not because of their power but, because of their ability to empower others”.
References:
DuBrin, A. (1995). Leadership. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning
