- Transactional leadership
- Transformational leadership
- Charismatic leadership
- Creative leadership
- Corrective leadership
- Change leadership
- Multicultural leadership
- Pedagogical leadership
- Intelligence leadership
- Servant leadership
- Bridging leadership
- Purposeful leadership
And some more.
A blend of these leadership styles is appropriate at present times.Before that avery important aspect of leadership which needs to be discussed is trust. Unless the followers have faith,trust on their leader none of the styles would do any good. One can say that trust is the foundation stone of leadership and building relationship. (R.Nagel 2006)
TRUST
Trust is when has a faith on the other that he/she will not disappoint the other by any of his activity,deed or actions.one believes that the other will not take the use of opportunities secretively.it I sapositiveexpectation which rests on history of interaction and also has the element of risk. The dimensions of trust are based on main five (5) factors:
Competence: An individual capacity for which is required to be carried out, whether the person has the relevant skills,technical knowledge and people know about them.
Consistency: an individual who does what he says. The discrepancy in the actions brings distrust. Good in handling situations quality.
Loyalty: one who is ready to protect others putting oneself at risk.
Openness: on whom people can be reliant that he will always be open about things.
Integrity: most critical factor which binds all the above factors is the trustworthiness of the person.an honest person is trusted by all and hence can be proved an effective leader.
It is believed that in the pyramid of effective leadership trust and integrity forms the major base of leadership.Trust ones lost is very difficult to regain so one must be careful in his/her activates.(Roger Nagel2006,organisational behavior and organizational change)
The kind or leadership organizations expect nowadays is a lot more complex. A lot of styles,theories,approaches is to be combined and then applied. Leadership should be the result of how different ways of management methods and processes is used. Its humanity which is reflected to the people.Good leadership also depends on additional significant qualities like:
integrity,humility,courage,postivity,wisdom,courage,sensitivity,compassion,honesty,passion,confidence,determination,commitment.
These attract followers.it inspires them to follow the leader. Along with these factors a leader must also know how to lead them,motivate them ,guide them and instill passion, confidence, zeal towards life and work. The leader should be someone who can solve their problem, enable them to be thriving,create harmony among the teams,and stimulate them to show high performance. (Alan champman,leadership).
There are two approaches to leadership: The leader has to choose which way he will be oriented.Blake and Mouton designed one managerial grid which exhibits this difference in basic approach. According to them the leader first has to adopt whether he will show
Consideration i.e. employee orientation or—leaders concern is more for the employees and their needs. It’s about building team work,accepting differences among each other and overcoming through personal relationships.
Or
Structure i.e. task orientation— leaders believe that completing the task is more important for him understanding technical aspects produce better. They keep their followers busy with task all the time.
The style adopted should come naturally to him/her.it is said that considerate style leaders produce higher performers compared to structure. After all leadership management is about human resource (Schriesheim, 1982).
Also there is one more approach to leadership.Positive or negative.When a leader uses positive rewards like incentives, independence, holiday trip,extra benefits,recognition party or even a tap in the shoulder for good performance it is known as positive leadership.it motivates employee and give them a feeling of importance.it inspires the follower to work more passionately.While negative employers rewards penalties for poor performance, they make scold,rebuking in front of others,suspending or deduct salaryetc. It’s punitive in nature and it makes the leader highly satisfied and the follower dissatisfied.Their morale falls and soon productivity also slow down.
Positive approach or negative approach both are not nesecarilsy exclusively used. A leader can be both also. Sometimes punishments are also required to teach a lesson also but it’s been seen leaders who are on the positive side are true leaders.
A leader along with all these knowledge of different ways,approaches,styles of leadership,his role duties must also have emotional intelligence. Now one would think how is emotional intelligence linked with leadership? Is it necessary? I say it is emotional intelligence.
Emotional intelligence is managing ones emotions, feelings, goals, thinking and behavior until a leader understands his own self and is being able to controlhimself, howwould he motivate others,to solve others problem,guide them one should be at peace. EI also helps to understand and read others feelings and behaviour.it is an important aspect in intrapersonal relationships and management of people.
It reduces stress in people and helps in decreasing conflicts,bringing harmony,stability and ultimately effectiveness in work.
The elements of emotional leadership are as follows:
- Self-awareness
- Self-management
- Self-motivation
- Empathy
- Social skills.
In this ever changing global world all the organizations are looking for a manager who shows qualities of a transformational leader. They want a person who can reflect visions of tomorrow with reservoirof strength to guide the employees of the company towards carrying out their aims. They want a leader who has extra ordinary communication skills so that he can stimulate its employees, encourages them and exhibit trustworthiness. A true leader is consistent in his performance and people also have stable perceptions about him.
Transformational leadership is a leader who inspires followers to integrate their self-interest with the organizations. The leader who can foresee the future and develop leaders for tomorrow. He is the inspirational motivator and has extraordinary effect on the followers.He is charismatic,extremely powerful and facilitates change in self,others and the organization.
More important than ever it was,ethical leadership is the need of the hour. The world is as open as it was never before. Everyone is connected with each other. Nothing is hidden; its activities scrutinized all the time. People are aware of everything,just one click you get every information possible. One mistake and one’s company can be shut down. Employees know their rights, pay at equivalent organizations. Retention is becoming very difficult. Hencethe manager has to be careful and informed. He must act responsively. Biasnessof any kind should not be made and he should be ethical,than only he will be a real leader.
Modern approaches to leadership which are evolving to challenge the increasing global world and organizationalclimatic issue:
Leadership is now facing several challenges. The speed at which change is taking place is unbeliable.it makes us to think where to stop and from when to start new,fresh.Technological developments have kept us on our feet.energy crisis is the cry of every nation now. The society is deep state of stock and needs time to be adjust and cope with the change.Tensions of energy crises are felt everywhere. Adolescents are in turmoil throughout the world.
Many contemporary leadership roles have emerged in order to save the organizations and people. In the growing competition if ones need to survive,some new path has to be selected. Beloware some new styles/ways of leadership:
- Team leadership
- Mentoring
- Facilitating leadership
- Self-leadership
And the E-age and online leadership
Team leadership roles are done by the leaders to promote team work. They act as the link between one another and with outsiders apart from team. They are like troubleshooters. They manage dissatisfaction between employees and reduce conflicts. Coach the team leaders to be supportive of each other rather than pulling each other down. (R.Nagel2006)
Mentoring: mentors are either hired personnel or a senior executive of the organization .One of the most important relationship is of the mentor and the protégé. They basically counsel the employees. They listen to them,advise them and try to empathize with their problems. It’s like a person with whom one can open and talk freely. He shares his own experiences, acts like an influencer and guides them towards the direction one should take.
The concept of mentors has gained huge importance these days.
Self-leadership: self-leadership is a physical exercise. Much like having emotional intelligence. It is process where one tries to control own behavior. Make the most of opportunities which come on its way and not to delay it and integrate your work with others. Rating oneand then correcting it. Leaders help their followers to engage in self-leadership exercise. It boosts ones morale and they feel empowered.
Facilitators: it’s the mix of all the above approaches. The leaders facilitate opportunities for the followers. Guides motivate and coach them. Helps to set individual goals and achieve them.
E-age and online age: training imparted via internet. Its gaining pace at this global scenario.
Many organizations are doing this,it costs money and saves time. The digital offers you a lot more.you can select,recruit and impart training to anyone in the world.it needs trust shown at the leader.it has positive and negative impact.one should be a little careful in the e-world.
A new approach to deal with tough situations is empowerment.
Empowerment is a relatively new concept:it is that feeling which makes you feel controller of your life and things happening in your life. One feels confident to deal with any situation which comes in its way.a person knows obstruction would come but he/she is ready to take the challenge.it is a complete change in thought process.One feels free to speak,do anything in life.
To challenge this issues the organizationalso needs to take some steps:
Sometimes, even after everything being at place the company does not performs well. The employees do not show productivity neither do they follow growth. The manager tries its best and has all the qualities of a leader but it’s not able to motivate employees.at this time’sorganizational culture or organizational climate has to be blamed. The organization should go back and check with its own way of working, its customs, traditions, stories of history and way of doing any task at present times. May be the wrong is there. The problem is in the root and the solution also lies there.
Even if the problem is not solved, the organization needs to look at its company policy and HR policies. The company needs to find new set of managers who would be true leaders.
Easier said than done, true leaders are not so easy available and not very manager can be true leader. May be he/she is a good leader but since his/her own needs, expectations are not satisfied he/she is unable to exhibit or demonstrate those leadership qualities. Here the company needs to redesign or review the job analysis. They should know what they want from the manager, his job specification, description and roles he ought to play. Thus when someone is hired his expectations, capabilities, personal goals should be matched with the organizations. Both organist ion and job fit element should be there.
Selection is thus very important aspect. The process should be very carefully carried out. Testing should be applied on personality traits should be considered as a major determinate.
According to behavioral theories of leadership, it’s said that the leadership ship qualities can be taught.so the organization should after selection of the employee give required training and development sessions in order to teach leadership qualities. Leaderschosen should be flexible to bring a change in their behavior through proper training can change the person and bring out the qualities hidden inside.
Also there is a model of situational leadership training by Hershey and Blanchard.it explains the style of leadership to be demonstrated depends on the follower, understanding their behavior and then guiding is very beneficial. Thistraining should be imparted to the leaders to improve performance.it explains that effective leadership depends on the leader, follower and the different situations.it has a 4 major styles which are unique to each other:
Directing leadership: it is for people who does not have much of competence but are committed and passionate. They need a push and direction to get started.
Coaching style: it’s for those people who are capable but lack enthusiasm. They need to be directed,inspired and counseling. They are low at self-esteem, so doing something to build it. They should be made to feel that they are needed.
Supporting style: these people need littlesupport. They have competency and commitment but need guidance and motivationin order to gain the confidence.
Delegating style: they are competent as well as committed. They don’t need much help. They like to work on their own with little support and dircetion.to them the work is just delegated.
Some reasons why leaders fail are:
It’s hard to deal with so many people and their problems.
Leaders sometimes have a fear that their actions may seem negative to others.
Fear of rejection to be accepted is also there.
They are unable to fulfill own expectations.
Their style of communication is unable to inspire people.
Misunderstandings may occur.
Conclusion:
The leader is the ambassador of the company for the employee. He is the spokesperson of the to the company on the behalf of employees. He is an important link between them. His job is very important. The organization expects a lot from the leader. He is under pressure to motivate employees and bring about a change. He should choose that style of leadership which comes naturally to him. The leader should always exhibit a blend of leadership styles.it majorly depends on the situation. His own background, employees’ background and the organization’s background. Most importantly leader should be fear of free and must do whatever he thinks will be the best for the time being.
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References:
- Don Clank,1997,Leadership styles
U.S. Army Handbook 1973. Military Leadership
- Hofstede, Geert 1977. Culture and Organizations: Software of the Mind New York: McGraw-Hill.
- Lewin, K., LIippit, R. and White, R. K. 1939. Patterns of aggressive behavior in experimentally created social climates. Journal of Social Psychology, 10, 271-301
- Newstrom, John W. & Davis, Keith 1993. Organizational Behavior: Human Behavior at Work. New York: McGraw-Hill.
- Alan Chapman 2009,leadership
- R nagel 2006,organistional behavior and organizational change
- G.Deshpande 2006 Challenges of Leadership in the Global Scenario
- K Blenchard Leadership and one minute mangement.