CONCEPTUAL MEANING OF LEADERSHIP

LEADERSHIP

Leadership is a distinct aspect of management, leadership means different thing to different people. A leader is a person who influences other in the direction of his goals.

Leading is one important function of management only next to planning and organizing. It is the liveliest element in the management process. It initiates actions to translate the decisions into concrete actions. Managers have to lead their subordinates through guiding and motivating. Leading involves directing, influencing and motivating employees to perform essential tasks.

Leadership is a process of influencing others to understand and agree about what needs to be done and how to do it, and the process of facilitating individual and collective efforts to accomplish shared objectives.

Every manager has to act as a leader in his area of operation. This means he has to guide, instruct, lead and motivate his subordinates so as to use their skills, efficiency, capacity etc. for the benefit of his Organisation. He has to influence the behavior of his subordinates and get the work done through their collective efforts. Leadership qualities are required in order to conduct various managerial functions effectively.

         

                          Definitions of Leadership

Leadership can be hard to define and it means different things to different people. In the transformational leadership model, leaders set direction and help themselves and others to do the right thing to move forward. To do this they create an inspiring vision, and then motivate and inspire others to reach that vision. (www.mindtools.com› Leadership Skills).

Leadership has been described as “a process of social influence in which a person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task“. Chemers M. (1997). For example, some understand a leader simply as somebody whom people follow or as somebody who guides or directs others. While others define leadership as “motivating and organizing a group of people to achieve a common goal“.

According to Koontz and O’Donnell, (2005) “It is the ability of a manager to induce subordinates (followers) to work with confidence and zeal.“

According to Peter Drucker, “It is the shifting of own’s vision to higher sights, the raising of man’s performance to higher standards, the building of man’s personality beyond its normal limitations.“

Etuk (2000) defines it as the managerial function of motivating organization personnel towards the attainment of organizational goals.

Davis (2005) sees leadership as the human factor which binds a group together and motivates it towards goals while Lucy (2003) defines leadership as the ability to influence the behaviours of others.

Having considered the various of input of other researchers in the definition of leadership it is pertinent for the researcher to draw conclusion of what really leadership is all about. Therefore in the words of the researcher leaderships is the act of directing, controlling, coordinating and managing the skills, ability, efficiency and efforts of others towards the achievement of cooperate goals.

                        Characteristics of Leadership

There are a number of key leadership Characteristics that successful leaders repeatedly demonstrate. The following are common characteristics of a good leader.

1.     Guiding and Motivating: It is a managerial process of guiding and motivating the subordinates for achieving organizational goals/objectives. For motivating, communicating is necessary.

2.     Needs subordinates and common interests: It pre-supposes the existence of subordinates. There must be common interest for the leader and his followers due to which they cooperate and participate for achieving common objectives. Chemers M. (1997)

3.     Promotes interest in the work: The purpose of leadership is to influence, motivate and encourage subordinates to take active interest in the work assigned and give the best results.

4.     Needs support from all: The leader must recognize the presence of all employees irrespective of their position. The leader cannot become successful unless he obtains support from all.

5.  Influences subordinates through personal qualities: A leader understands the problems of his subordinates and influences them by his personal qualities.

6.     Needs interaction with followers: The objective of the leader and his subordinates should be the same.

7.     Achievement of objectives: The success of a leader largely depends on his ability to achieve organizational objectives. When a leader fails to attain the objectives, he is of no utility to the management. Chemers M. (1997)

            

          Theories of Leadership

For decades, leadership theories have been the source of numerous studies. In reality as well as in practice, many have tried to define what allows authentic leaders to stand apart from the mass! Hence, there as many theories on leadership as there are philosophers, researchers and professors that have studied and ultimately published their leadership theory. Chemers M. (1997)

Theories are commonly categorized by which aspect is believed to define the leader the most. The most widespread one’s are:

1.     Trait Approach Theory (The Traits Approach),

2.     Behavioral Approach Theory, and

3.      Contingency / Situational Approach Theory.

1. Trait Approach Theory (The Traits Approach).

The traits approach theory was one of the first attempts to explain the leadership based on personal traits. Traits are inborn or acquired personal qualities of an individual. They include physical qualities and the qualities of head and heart.

Traits theory refers to certain traits/characteristics which separate leaders from non-leaders. Such traits enable some to rise above their followers.

The basic traits useful for leadership include height, energy, looks, knowledge and intelligence, imagination, self-confidence, integrity, fluency of speech, mental balance, enthusiasm, courage, sociability, and friendliness and so on.

According to the traits theory, an individual possessing such traits is usually able to influence others and gets the status of a leader. This suggests that a leader is quite different from an average person in regard to personal qualities such as intelligence, perseverance and overall personality including physical features. Chemers M. (1997)

The traits theory is based on the personal qualities (inborn/acquired) of an individual. Such qualities play a positive role in building it. A person becomes leader due to such traits. The theory is based entirely on personal traits and their contribution in developing leadership.

2. Behavioural Approach Theory.

The behavioral approach theory is an extension of the traits theory and is superior in certain respects. The traits theory failed to explain what caused effective leadership. The behavioral approach is based on the study of behavior of a leader.

It grows/develops not by traits but by the acts or experience of a person. The behavioral theory is based on the assumption that leaders are not born but they develop gradually by experience and maturity. The attention is given to what leaders do (i.e., their behavior) rather than to what they are. A leader learns new traits through his experience (behavior or acts). The focus point, here, is on what the leader does while leading. Schultz & Schultz, Duane (2010).

Like the traits theory, the behavioral approach oversimplifies the complexities of the leadership process. However, the behavioral approach is responsible for the development of a classification of leadership styles which has provided managers suitable opportunities to secure greater insight into their own behavior.

3. Contingency / Situational Approach Theory

Situational leadership style is flexible/adjustable and is normally more effective as compared to other types of leadership. The situational theory of leadership was developed by Hersey and Blanchrd at the Centre for Leadership Studies in Ohio State University.

Situational/Contingency Theory is a new addition to the existing theories of leadership. It is a combination of different leadership styles such as autocratic, democratic and so on. An ideal leader studies the overall prevailing situation, draws conclusions about the whole situation and adopts the leadership style which is most appropriate to the prevailing situation. He is not concerned with one specific leadership style but will use any style as per the available situation. He is interested in achieving his objectives and is willing to use suitable means for this purpose. Sometimes he may be democratic but may be autocratic on some other occasions. “Different strokes for different folks” is his leadership approach. He will consider the group of employees (skilled, unskilled, supervisory, etc.) to be handled and adjust his leadership style accordingly. Schultz & Schultz, Duane (2010).