Credibility is essential to exercise leadership.
Leadership is the influence exerted on people that encourages them to work enthusiastically toward a common goal. Whoever exercises leadership is known as a leader .
Leadership is the role occupied by a person who stands out from the rest and is capable of making the right decisions for the group, team or organization that precedes them, inspiring the rest of those who participate in that group to achieve a common goal. For this reason, it is said that leadership involves more than one person, the one who directs (the leader ) and those who support him (the subordinates ) and allow him to develop his position efficiently.
The leader's job is to set a goal and get the majority of people to want and work to achieve it. It is a fundamental element for managers in the business world to move a company or organization forward, but it is also a fundamental element in other areas, such as sports (knowing how to lead a team to victory), education (teachers who get their students to identify with their way of thinking) and even in the family (parents or older siblings who are taken as an example by their children).
Types of leadership
There are different classifications of leadership, which are established based on various criteria. When a leader is chosen by an organization, it is called a formal leader . Informal leaders , on the other hand, emerge naturally or spontaneously within a group.
In any case, the most widespread classification is the one that refers to the link between the leader and the subjects he influences (that is, his followers). In this case, there are democratic , authoritarian and liberal ( laissez-faire ) leaderships.
The democratic leader is one who, first of all, encourages debate and discussion within the group. Then he takes into account the opinions of his followers and only then, based on criteria and evaluation standards that are explicit, does he make a decision.
The authoritarian leader, on the other hand, is one who decides on his own, without consulting and without justifying himself to his followers. This type of leader appeals to one-way communication (there is no dialogue) with the subordinate.
As for the liberal leader, he usually adopts a passive role and hands over power to his group. That is why it does not make a judgment about what the members contribute, to whom it grants the broadest freedom for their actions.
If leadership is exercised through changes in the values, behaviors and thoughts of the group members, it is called transformational .
Leadership requires negotiation skills and persuasion skills.
How to exercise
The bases of being a good leader are to stay up to date with the latest in the field in which the work is carried out, observe the work of other leaders and modify the way of working whenever necessary. On the other hand, the qualities that someone who exercises leadership must have are knowledge, confidence , integrity and, of course, charisma to inspire their subordinates.
The best leaders are those who are visionaries , are able to understand productive situations for the company before they arise, are innovative and are in favor of change. We can use as an example Bill Gates , a frustrated Harvard student who, thanks to his leadership qualities, was able to found one of the most important companies in the technology sector ( Microsoft ) and with the decisions he knew how to make, he achieved an influential company. They trusted him, becoming the richest person in the world. He was able to understand that computers would one day become an indispensable part of homes and worked to develop the products that would allow this, being a great example of a visionary leader .
But having a good idea is not enough to become a leader, it is necessary to know how to carry it out and convince others that said idea is innovative and beneficial and that it aims to solve important problems. If we manage to captivate the public with our idea, we may possibly become a visionary leader valued by the environment.
Assuming leadership with conviction and courage is essential.
The influence of leadership
Another classification of leadership is determined by the leader's influence on his subordinates. When the leader is recognized as an authority within the group and the members believe that he or she provides important resources, leadership is transactional .
Another definition of the term is the one found in the Dictionary of Behavioral Sciences , which defines leadership as the qualities of ability and personality that allow someone to become the guide of a group, controlling all the individuals who are part of it. .
For his part, Ralph M. Stogdill states that there are as many definitions of leadership as there are people who have thought about this concept; However, the most accurate would be that it is the process of conducting the activities of a group and influencing the behaviors they develop.
To be a leader, it is essential, on the other hand, to have good communication skills . Not only knowing how to clearly express ideas and mandates, but also knowing how to listen and keep in mind what each individual who is part of the group that is represented thinks. Furthermore, as defined by Peter Salovey and John Mayer , it is essential to have emotional intelligence. That is, with the ability to manage the feelings and emotions of oneself and others and use the information to achieve the fundamental objective of the group.
The address
Leadership involves assuming the direction of a group , transmitting a vision and directing the collective effort towards a mission. The leader, who acts as a guide , coach or captain , defines the strategy and must boost the motivation of those he directs.
It can be said that a leader has management responsibility . It must promote collaboration and achieve conflict resolution, exercising active listening and acting with empathy . As we already saw, in any case, there is a leadership style based on authoritarianism , where the objectives are set individually by the leader and the challenges are attempted to be overcome according to his designs.
When the leader is authoritarian, there is no room for criticism or feedback . This makes it difficult for employees, collaborators or subordinates to commit to performance and the search for results .
If leadership is exercised with humility and listening to others, on the other hand, it is more likely to achieve dedication , enthusiasm and commitment .