Leadership is all about taking charge and setting an example. A leader is someone who decides to take responsibility for his or her actions and surroundings, and tries to change them for the better. A leader is someone who relies more on actions than verbal communication, letting his or her actions do the talking. A lot of people are under the impression that leadership is ingrained in a person, indicating that a person is born to be a leader. However, that’s not true at all. There are many people who rise above and take control of their lives, becoming leaders in the process, by simply taking initiative.
There are a myriad of different theories that have been talked about leadership and what it means to be a leader. There are some important things that you need to know about leadership and what it entails.
What Makes a Good Leader?
A good leader must have some important qualities that separates him or her from others. Here are some common qualities that all leaders are supposed to have.
- Communication: Communication is key for a leader. A leader must be able to communicate with other team members and other people outside to ensure that the message is relayed effectively. With effective communication, every member of the team knows exactly what they have to do.
- Integrity: A leader who is not honest can never be successful. Integrity is important for leaders in this day and age. They need to be truthful, honest, and up front with all the members of the team, highlighting their problems and taking responsibility when the time arises.
- Delegation: Leaders know that they cannot do everything by themselves. Learning to delegate is important for leaders and they should be able to trust their team members.
Focusing on Situational Styles of Leadership
Situational leadership is a very common theory that is widely used to describe a particular type of leadership. The theory was developed by Paul Hersey and Kenneth Blanchard and focuses on agile adaptation of the leader who changes his or her leadership style in order to fit with the development level of the followers.
If the leader is too far ahead from his or her team members, he or she won’t be able to influence them at all. Therefore, the leader has to adopt his or her style in order to fit with the level of the workers. This type of leadership style focuses more on taking a direct approach. The leader is responsible for telling and directing the workers in general and making sure that they understand the message.
Active participation is imperative for leaders so that they are able to guide the workers. The leader must take the development level of the workers into account and make sure that they do not create too many hurdles. Leaders are responsible for motivating the employees in order to make sure that they do not lose hope and are able to grasp the concepts that the leader is trying to teach them.
