Why Is Leadership Important In Organizations?
A manager must use leadership skills for the good of the organization. In today’s fast-changing business environment top-down, static, hierarchical structures have given way to more nimble, responsive organizational frameworks. While meeting the team goal and following established procedures are still sound management practices, communicating the vision and inspiring the desire to achieve are part of the effective manager’s skill set. How can a manager use leadership qualities in order to inspire, motivate, and guide his or her team?
Before a manager can embody good leadership qualities, he or she must understand what these traits are. A good leader must possess several attributes:
- Conscientiousness. A leader must make him- or herself accountable for reaching the organization’s goals. By having a sense of responsibility or duty the leader can motivate the group to follow suit.
- Vision. The ability to envision the organization’s mission and purpose, both in the present and future, allows a leader to communicate this to the team.
- Empathy. The ability to empathize with others, possessing respect for others, understanding the outlook and perspective of team members—all of these attributes help a leader to maintain the smooth and efficient functioning of the team.
- Basic fairness. Without a basic sense of fairness, a leader cannot hope to manage a team of people with diverse interests and attributes and backgrounds.
- Positive frame of mind, intelligence, analytical ability. These three qualities combine to give a leader the ability to manage challenges and potential problems and find solutions to the difficulties that may arise in a team’s efforts to meet their goals.
- Self-confidence. A leader welcome the input of others and are not threatened by constructive criticism. As a result, others will put their confidence in the leader.
- Communication ability. A good leader can communicate the goals of the organization and align individual goals and aptitudes with the group purpose.
- Enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is contagious. A passionate leader energizes their team.
- Integrity. Doing the right thing strengthens team spirit. By building trust when you do the right thing, even if it hurts at the time, your whole team benefits and will perform better.
- Loyalty. Stand up for your team in times of crisis. Team members who perceive that their team leader is loyal to them are more likely to return that loyalty.
- Decisiveness. Make a decision and take the lumps if it turns out to not be the right one. Indecisiveness saps productivity and morale.
- Charisma. A little dollop of charisma doesn’t hurt. Being polite, pleasant, well-spoken and attractive is a huge plus for a leader.
How do leadership skills benefit an organization?
Good leadership can permeate all levels of an organization to assure the smooth functioning of the individual teams, on their own and together. Quality leadership fosters unity and promotes an organic operation of the whole. Because communication is open, and the contribution of individuals is sought out by the leader, people are inspired to give their best effort. In order to produce a successful product, an organization must have leadership that can foster the accomplishment of the organization’s goals.
One of the issues having to do with the attainment of the corporation’s objectives is how to translate the vision and mission of the organization into precise results in the key spheres that the leader considers to be crucial. A good leader will solicit input from team members in the development of well-defined objectives. In this way, the team as a whole is invested in the project or job. The outcome is an improved result or product.
To encourage the adoption of the organization’s goals by the individual team members a leader will show the team members that they are valued by listening to and respecting their suggestions, and acknowledging their work contributions. The unity of the organization will benefit from such an approach.
A leader is important in managing organizational change.