(Digman and Takemoto-chock, 1981; McCrae and Costa, 1990)
A good leader needs to be a good communicator. They need to be able to communicate well in a group as well as use the appropriate communication channels in the work environment. E.g. Vertical and lateral communication.
Ideally a good leader should have a good mixture of; extroversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness and openness to experience.
Another important characteristic of a leader would be the style that he/she adopts; there are three main styles of leaders.
An Autocratic style, this is where the leader sets the objectives, allocates tasks and insists on obedience. This means that the group/people are 100% dependant on the leader, this often leads to group members becoming dissatisfied with the leader. Resulting in little cohesion, need for high levels of supervision and poor levels of motivation.
A democratic style encourages participation in decision-making. Leaders consult group members or attempt to ‘sell’ final decisions to them. It is believed that through participation and consultation, group members know and believe the objectives of the leader because the have been involved in the decision. This leads to increased levels of motivation and members willing to work harder. A democratic style needs good communication skills, they need explain ideas clearly to group members and understand the feedback they receive.
The third main style is laissez-faire; this style allows group members to carry out tasks freely with broad limits. This results in a very relaxed atmosphere, but with little guidelines and direction. This sometimes results in poor productivity and a lack of motivation as group members have little time incentive to work hard.
(Stogdill, 1974)
The style chosen by the leader will depend on various factors:
- The task. A certain task may be an emergency, and require immediate response from the leader. This situation would require an autocratic style of leadership.
- The tradition of the organisation. A business may adopt its own culture, which is the result of interactions of employees at different levels. This can result in a certain type leadership. For example the public sector leadership tends to be democratic as the have to consult with politicians.
- The type of work force. A high skilled work force may suite a democratic style as they have active participation in decisions.
- The size of the group. The larger the group the increased need for an autocratic style.
- The personality of the leader. Different leaders have different personalities. E.g. an aggressive, competitive personality may suite an autocratic style of leadership.
- The personality of the group. As with leaders different people prefer different styles of leadership. E.g. some people prefer to be told what to do rather than contribute, this could be because of little experience/interest.
- The time allocated. E.g. task with limited time available may require an autocratic style, as things need to be completed quickly.
Looking at the different characteristics, it is clear that there is no one characteristic that is more important than another, but a combination of characteristics that are important. Not only are the characteristics important but the situation, group size, group dynamics and the organisation trend dictate the quality of a leader.
Bibliography
S.T. Robbins, (1996). Organisational Behavior. Seventh edition. New jersey, USA. Prentice hall, Inc.
Lilly M. Berry, (1998). Psychology at work: an introduction to organizational psychology. Singapore. McGraw-hill.
Dave Hall, Rob Jones, Carlo Raffo, (1997). Business Studies. USA. Cambus Litho Ltd.
John Arnold, Cary L Cooper, Ivan T Robertson, (1998). Third edition. Work Psychology. GB. Clays Ltd.
Eugene McKenna, (1994). Business Psychology & Organisational Behavior: a student’s handbook. East Sussex, UK. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Ltd.
