This is the name given to the set of skills that a certain person must possess to influence the way of thinking or acting of other individuals, motivating them to make the tasks that these people must carry out are carried out efficiently, helping in this way to achieve achievements, using different tools such as charisma and confidence when speaking, as well as the ability to socialize with others. The person shows leadership by taking initiative, by offering innovative ideas, etc.
What is leadership
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The concept of leadership is known as a group of directive or managerial skills that a person possesses to influence the way of acting or being, of individuals or a group of individuals in a given job, motivating this team to work in a enthusiastic to get the achievement of all your goals, activities and objectives.
In addition, the definition of leadership is understood to be the ability to commission, manage, have initiative, convene, promote, motivate, incentivize and evaluate a project, efficiently and effectively, be it personal, institutional or managerial (within the administrative system of the company).
What is leadership deepens a distribution of power, since the members of the group of people do not lack power, but they give life to the activities of the group in different ways. Despite the fact that, by general regulation, the leader is the one who has the last decision.
The job of a leader is to try to set a goal and get the majority of people to want and work to achieve the proposed goal. It is an essential element in the managers of the organizational world, to be able to move forward with said organization or company, but also, it is so in different contexts, such as education (teachers who make their students understand their way of thinking), in the sports (having knowledge of how to lead the team to victory) and even in the family environment (parents are almost always taken as an example by their children).
Types of leadership
According to the criteria of organizational development specialists, there are different types and styles of leadership. To tell the truth, it is not that there are several types, since leadership is only one and, like leaders, the cataloging corresponds to the way in which they exercise or have taken the ability to lead.
The types of leadership that exist are the following:
Business leadership
Business leadership It is that type of leadership that is exercised by the person in charge within the business environment and which has the quality of communicating successfully with employees when making recommendations or suggestions, forming a bond with the workers and the objective to be achieved from said company, for which it is recognized by those who work there as a leader within the company.
The main function of business leadership is to take care of the perfect functioning in all areas of the organization in order to achieve success. For example: a business leader is in charge of assigning an activity to a group of people, ensuring that goals are met and achieved, as well as making important decisions to maintain the balance of the organization.
Transformational leadership
The concept of transformational leadership was founded and introduced by specialist James MacGregor Burns. Esté described them as the type of leadership exercised by some people with a great personality and vision, thanks to that they are qualified to change the perceptions, expectations and motivations of their supporters, as well as to lead the renovations within the company.
Years later, Bernard M Bass drew up the original definition, creating Bass's transformational leadership theory. For example, companies that kept innovating the development of computers, thus transforming the course of business history.
Situational leadership
This leadership model is based on the adaptation of the type of leadership that the boss must take with respect to the level of development of the employees and the situation in which they find themselves, which makes it quite effective, since the most appropriate is exercised with regard to the situation in which the work team is adapting to its needs.
The importance of situational leadership focuses on the power that it can have over certain people, in addition to the fact that it allows knowing what a certain group of people want and trying to solve their concerns and needs, making the group feel protected, that will generate extra motivation when efficiently achieving the objectives.
To better understand how situational leadership is applied, we will give the following example: In a scenario of a company where its sales have been declining and it has caused damage to its financial condition, if the leader uses what is leadership, he estimates the damages, optimizes production even though you have to reduce production and budget, as long as you can attract your customers.
Democratic leadership
Democratic leadership is carried out through a person, who takes into account the participation of the other members that make up a certain organization, accepts the ideas and criticisms that they may give in order to improve in this way, is also responsible for answering any concern that the people under their charge have, this can generate trust among their subordinates, which encourages teamwork and at the same time to achieve the goals set.
A quite forceful example of what democratic leadership is are some of the political leaders who work hand in hand with the people and who despite their rank (in the case of presidents for example) take into account the opinions of those who they are below, when making decisions or actions.
Paternalistic leadership
This is characterized because the leader acquires all the responsibility of guiding and ensuring the well-being of his subordinates, this in order to generate better results in terms of work, for this to happen, the leader must use incentives with the workers, offering them rewards in case the work is carried out successfully, that is why it is called paternalistic leadership, since like a father at home, he assumes this role in the company.
Paternalistic leadership is shown when the employer provides welfare by way of incentives to his subordinates through: medical care, lodging, educational development, etc., this being a clear example of what this type of leadership is.
Autocratic leadership
It is the one in which a certain person takes charge of the responsibilities and makes the different decisions in a certain place, in addition to that, he is also in charge of giving orders to the other people who are under his command, that is, the power is It is centralized in one person and where subordinates are not considered competent when making decisions since in autocratic leadership the one who exercises the role of leader believes that he is the only one capable of doing it correctly.
A transcendental example of autocratic leadership are governments in which democracy does not exist but the leader (president) does what they see fit, without taking into account any opinion or any law.
Qualities or characteristics of a leader
The most outstanding leadership characteristics are described below
- Communication skills: it refers to two-way communication, since it must be expressed clearly, so that its instructions and ideas are understood, it must also be heard by its people. You must also know how to listen to what your group expresses to you.
- Emotional Intelligence: according to Salovey and Mayer, emotional intelligence is the ability with which feelings and emotions are managed, both one's own and those of others, in order to be able to use said information and guide thought and, in turn, action. Without this quality it is very difficult to be a leader.
- Establish goals: in order to be a leader it is necessary to be clear about what the objective is, since without a clear goal, efforts will be insufficient. In the same way, the goals that are established must be proportional to the capacities of the group, since it is useless to establish difficult objectives to meet.
- Planning capacity: after setting objectives, a plan must be developed to comply with it, said plan must establish the steps to follow, as well as the moment of its execution, the people who must execute it and the resources that are needed.
- Knowing and taking advantage of the strengths, but at the same time knowing what the weaknesses are and trying to improve them.
- The leader allows his followers to grow, so he should not cling to his position and activity, he must always have his eyes up. Teach your followers, create opportunities, and delegate.
- Charisma: it is considered the gift of being liked and attracting people, it must be pleasant in the eyes of others. To obtain this quality, you can start by showing interest in other people, really taking an interest, since excellence is found in charisma. It can be said that this quality is the opposite of selfishness. When the leader focuses on practicing excellence, charisma emanates on its own.
- Innovative: it is characterized by looking for better and new ways of doing things, which is really important today, since the world is in constant technological evolution.
- Always be informed: the leader must know how to channel the information that is given to him, in order to interpret it intelligently and then use it moderately and creatively at the same time.
To be an excellent leader, you must take into account these ten characteristics of leadership that are fundamental to fulfill this role successfully.
Leadership phrases
There are a number of historical phrases written and stamped in leadership books, among which the following leaders stand out:
- A leader is a negotiator of hopes, of the French leader Napoleon Bonaparte.
- The good leader knows what is true; a bad leader knows what sells best (Confucius).
- People should not feel obligated. They must be able to choose their own leader (Albert Einstein).
- A good leader doesn't get stuck behind his desk (Richard Branson).
- Stay with a leader when he's right, stay with him when he's still right, but leave him when he's gone (Abraham Lincoln).
