A leader is “a person who influences a group of people towards the achievement of a goal. A mnemonic for this definition would be 3P’s- Person, People and Purpose” ((Wong, 2007)). That is, the leader himself, his followers and his vision for the group. To be a leader, one must have followers. To have followers, one must have their trust (Ibid). According to Henry A. Kissinger, the task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been.
For the leader to get his followers to where they have not been depends largely on the kind of leader, and some traits to help him work effectively. Some leaders are autocratic, charismatic, task-oriented, people-oriented and democratic. These personal dispositions contribute immensely to their leadership style and success or failure. A leader is likely to be effective when he/she is:
Optimistic: we all want to work with and for people who lift us up into the clouds instead of dragging us down into the mud. This leader seeks out the positives in his workers or followers, helping them overcome their own feelings of self-doubt and spreading optimism throughout his organization;
Has Integrity: research shows that the top thing that employees want from their leaders is integrity. A leader with integrity is honest, fair, candid and forthright, and treats everyone in the same way that he/she would want to be treated. Leaders with integrity usually are effective at their job positions and at whatever they do.
Supports and facilitates his team: For people to do their very best work, they need an organizational environment that supports them by making it safe to take risks, to tell the truth, and to speak up without being punished for doing so. The leader who desires to be effective will support his followers by creating this kind of environment, and he will facilitate their progress toward attaining his organizational goals.
A leader who possesses or pursues the above qualities is (undoubtedly) going to be effective in administering his government, enterprise or whatever position he finds himself.
There are also a number of factors (aside the leadership qualities) that are responsible for a leader’s effectiveness. Three of the factors are explained below:
The first factor to consider is Motivation. When employees find meaning in their lives and work, they are motivated to become more productive. The leader must “inspire” his team. People want to be led, not managed. Instead, leaders must manage their actions and lead by example. The leader must allow his followers to understand the logic of how decisions are supposed to be made. Bottom line, the role of leadership is to add value to other people and the true measure of leadership is influence, thus a great leader must have the ability to change the attitude or behaviour of others. Motivated leaders are always effective at their job positions.
The second effective factor for leadership success is Time Management. Time lost can never be regained- this has been one of the guiding principles of successful leaders and business persons. The leader beforehand plans and makes arrangements for his daily routine at work. He sticks to his to-do list which enables him to manage energy and activity. Being aware of the competition around and the desire to maximize profit, the leader is keen on supervision. He unexpectedly moves around to acquaint himself with workers performance- suspending those who use their working time unprofitably. The leader goes to work, attend meetings, and meets clients or investors on time. This time consciousness pays off well when the profits and success of the enterprise moves from strength to strength. Time management really contributes to a leader’s effectiveness.
The last factor to examine for effective leadership is Goal settings and Periodic Reviews. People only stay motivated when they understand why they do what they do, how what they do contributes to the success of the company they work for, and they can measure progress toward that end. This is what “employees finding meaning in their work” is all about. The leader therefore must be transparent and set smarter goals, followed by frequent and appropriate pulse-checks that will allow for the agile adjustments necessary to deliver his expected results. We find mission and vision statements in almost all organizations, aside which they have other objectives to execute. Followers or workers will collectively when they know the leader’s plans of action. The leader again must be revising his tactics to meet changing trends. By doing this he is in a better position to becoming more effective at what he does. Setting goals guides the leader to win.
From the discussion, it is conspicuous that leadership role can be rewarding and also challenging. However, the leader who intends to be most effective must develop by the qualities and factors explained above. Followers and employees must also strive to help their leaders realize or achieve their ambition. In the long run both the leader and follower will reap the benefits of their effort. Effective leadership will change society for the better.
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