LEADERSHIP

 The action of leading a group of people

 It means giving a purpose, directions and motivation to the person to succeed on their
own.

Factors of Leadership

Four factors mainly affect leadership. The Leader should be good enough to lead the team. He
should have the knowledge of his team, the situation and all the required skills needed to be a
good leader. He should know the personal aspects of a team member as well. The Team should
be good enough to compliment the leader. There should be diversity in the team and
coordination should be at par. The team should have an understanding and support each other
to reach the set goals. The goals can be reached only when the situation is analysed correctly.
The leader has to analyse the situation with the help of the team members and then act
accordingly. The work is to be distributed among the team members according to the situation
where they can produce the maximum output. For maximum output with efficiency, the
communication should be at par. There should be no communication gap and all the
information should be communicated without any deformity.

Skills of a leader

 Patience
 Relationship with other
 Faith
 Passion
 Do not rely on statistical data alone
 Lead yourself first
 Put more emphasis on the team
 Set an example
 Take advice
 Know when to ignore advice
 Be accessible
Leadership Styles
 Autocratic

One person takes the decision and takes very less inputs from others. The leaders make choices
based on their own beliefs. The work done is highly rigid and structured. It works on rules and
does not give room for creativity. The benefits include making quick decisions even in a
stressful situation. The chain of command is strong and is effective when strong directive
leadership is needed. The style can be very effective when the leader is strong. This is very
effective in small groups of people where leadership is lacking. Group projects tend to work
better when one person is either assigned the role of leader or simply takes on the job on their
own. By setting clear roles, assigning tasks, and establishing deadlines, the group is more likely
to finish the project on time and with everyone providing equal contributions. High pressure
situations are managed well by autocratic leader. In situations that are particularly stressful,
such as during military conflicts, group members may prefer an autocratic style. This allows
members of the group to focus on performing specific tasks without worrying about making
complex decisions. This also allows group members to become highly skilled at performing
certain duties, which is ultimately beneficial to the success of the entire group. Manufacturing
and construction work can also benefit from the autocratic style. In these situations, it is
essential that each person have a clearly assigned task, a deadline, and rules to follow.
Autocratic leaders tend to do well in these settings because they ensure that projects are finished
on time and that workers follow safety rules to prevent accidents and injuries. Group members
can end up feeling that they have no input or say in how things or done, and this can be
particularly problematic when skilled and capable members of a team are left feeling that their
knowledge and contributions are undermined. This style tends to discourage group
input. Because autocratic leaders make decisions without consulting the group, people in the
group may dislike that they are unable to contribute ideas. Researchers have also found that
autocratic leadership often results in a lack of creative solutions to problems, which can
ultimately hurt the group from performing. Autocratic leaders tend to overlook the knowledge
and expertise that group members might bring to the situation. Failing to consult with other
team members in such situations hurts the overall success of the group. Autocratic leadership
can also impair the morale of the group in some cases. People tend to feel happier and
perform better when they feel like they are making contributions to the future of the group.
Since autocratic leaders typically do not allow input from team members, followers start to feel
dissatisfied and stifled.
 Participative

This is when the employees are given right to give inputs in the decision making. The
leader listens to all the employees and then makes decision. This helps in the free flow
of ideas and emphasises on collaboration. The responsibility is divided amongst all
equally and the leader provides guidance control and balance in the group. This also
puts a positive effect on employee engagement. It also allows the employees to put up
ideas that are past their regular duties. This leadership style brings quality along with
productivity and democracy. The leader show trust in the employees and respect them.
The pool of ideas give an additional advantage of analysing the situation from different
perspectives and then making a decision based on permutation and combination of
many ideas. The productivity of the staff on increases as they feel involved in the
organization. The diversity of ideas give a better decision making process and makes
the environment creative. The team thus build is strong as they respect each other and
the ideas of the co-workers. This increases trust among the team members. There are
also some disadvantages associated with the style. The decision that comes is slow.
Owing to the involvement of so many people, the decision making becomes slow which
might frustrate the employees or even fail to serve the purpose due to time lag. The
leadership style falls short in making effective decisions in a crisis. The people involved
may not be able to bring out the best from their treasure due to which the decision
making can be hindered thus making a difficulty for the organization. The employees
also lack expertise. All the people involved may not be experts in the field that the
decision is to be taken. The person might not know much and make a decision based
on intuition which may put a negative effect on the organization. Although the final
decision is taken by the leader, the people who have a say should be aligned with the
situation.

 Laissez-Faire

This styles involves the leader taking a back seat and decision making powers are given
to the team. This leadership style brings out the least productivity in the group members.
There is very less guidance from the leader which gives complete freedom to the
followers to make decisions. The tools and resources are provided by the leader and the
group members have to make the complete use of these to solve the problems. Even
though the power of taking decisions is with the team, the leader takes the sole
responsibility of it. The leadership style cab cater to needs very effectively in some
situations. When team members have the skills to succeed. Laissez-faire leadership
can be effective in situations where group members are highly skilled, motivated, and
capable of working on their own. Since these group members are experts and have the
knowledge and skills to work independently, they are capable of accomplishing tasks
with very little guidance. When group members are experts. The delegative style can
be particularly effective in situations where group members are actually more
knowledgeable than the group's leader. Because team members are the experts in a
particular area, the laissez-faire style allows them to demonstrate their deep knowledge
and skill surrounding that particular subject. When independence is valued. This
autonomy can be freeing to some group members and help them feel more satisfied
with their work. The laissez-faire style can be used in situations where followers have
a high-level of passion and intrinsic motivation for their work. While the conventional
term for this style is 'laissez-faire' and implies a completely hands-off approach, many
leaders still remain open and available to group members for consultation and feedback.
They might provide direction at the beginning of a project, but then allow group
members to do their jobs with little oversight. This approach to leadership requires a
great deal of trust. Leaders need to feel confident that the members of their group
possess the skills, knowledge, and follow through to complete a project without being
micromanaged. Laissez-faire leadership is not ideal in situations where group members
lack the knowledge or experience they need to complete tasks and make decisions. This
style of leadership has been linked to negative outcomes including poor job
performance, low leader effectiveness, and less group satisfaction. Some people are not
good at setting their own deadlines, managing their own projects and solving problems
on their own. In such situations, projects can go off-track and deadlines can be missed
when team members do not get enough guidance or feedback from leaders. Lack of
role awareness. In some situations, the laissez-faire style leads to poorly defined roles
within the group. Since team members receive little to no guidance, they might not
really be sure about their role within the group and what they are supposed to be doing
with their time. Poor involvement with the group. Laissez-faire leaders are often seen
as uninvolved and withdrawn, which can lead to a lack of cohesiveness within the
group. Since the leader seems unconcerned with what is happening, followers
sometimes pick up on this and express less care and concern for the project. Low
 accountability. Some leaders might even take advantage of this style as a way to avoid
personal responsibility for the group's failures. When goals are not met, the leader can
then blame members of the team for not completing tasks or living up to expectations.
Passivity and avoidance. At its worst, laissez-faire leadership represents passivity or
even an outright avoidance of true leadership. In such cases, these leaders do nothing
to try to motivate followers, do not recognize the efforts of team members, and make
no attempts at involvement with the group. If group members are unfamiliar with the
task or the process needed to accomplish the task, leaders are better off taking a more
hands-on approach. Eventually, as followers acquire more expertise, leaders might then
switch back to a more delegative approach that gives group members more freedom to
work independently.

Theories of Leadership

 Great Man Theory

Thomas Carlyle proposed the theory in the 19th century. This tells that the leadership
skills are inbuilt. It supports the quote that “Great leaders are God-gifted and not Man-
made.” The upbringing, education and experience do not have any effect in making the
leader.

 Trait Theory

Given by Gordon Allport in the 20th century, it focuses on identifying different

personalities and characteristics liked to successful leadership. It is the first modern
theory of leadership. This style depends on the innate traits. The limitation to this is that
a lot of traits have been identified and not all traits can be satisfied by every person
making it difficult to understand who fits in the theory.

 Contingency Theory

Given by Fiedler in 1964. The theory says that the leader’s effectiveness is subject to
change according to situation. It is based on the fact that no leadership style is perfect
for every situation. The style should change according to the situational need.
  Behavioural Theory

Behavioral theories of leadership are classified as such because they focus on the study
of specific behaviors of a leader. For behavioral theorists, a leader behavior is the best
predictor of his leadership influences and as a result, is the best determinant of his or
her leadership success. This behavior-focused approach provides real marketing
potential, as behaviors can be conditioned in a manner that one can have a specific
response to specific stimuli. As a result, we have gone from the supposition that leaders
are born, (Great Man Theory) through to the possibility that we can measure your
leadership potential (Trait Theory) via psychometrics measurements and then to the
point that anyone can be made a leader (Behavioral Theories) by teaching them the
most appropriate behavioral response for any given situation. When a few of those
situations are combined; you have a program that you can trademark and market!

Issues in Leadership

1. Developing managerial effectiveness is the challenge of developing the relevant skills —

such as time-management, prioritization, strategic thinking, decision-making, and getting up
to speed with the job — to be more effective at work.
2. Inspiring others is the challenge of inspiring or motivating others to ensure they’re satisfied
with their jobs and working smarter.
3. Developing employees is the challenge of developing others, including mentoring and
coaching.
4. Leading a team is the challenge of team-building, team development, and team
management. Specific challenges include how to instill pride, how to provide support, how to
lead a big team, and what to do when taking over a new team.
5. Guiding change is the challenge of managing, mobilizing, understanding, and leading
change. Guiding change includes knowing how to mitigate consequences, overcome resistance
to change, and deal with employees’ reactions to change.
6. Managing internal stakeholders is the challenge of managing relationships, politics, and
image. This challenge includes gaining managerial support, managing up, and getting buy-in
from other departments, groups, or individuals.

Importance of Trust in Organization

 Increased productivity amongst staff
 Improved morale amongst employees and staff
 The ability to work more effectively as a team, rather than individuals
 Reduce the time to make and discuss key issues as each individual trusts in the
judgement and expertise of their colleagues.
 Trust is good for morale and motivation.
 Trust builds teamwork and collaboration.
 Trust produces increased speed, improved efficiency and hence, decreases costs.
 Trust empowers ethical decision-making.
 Trust increases loyalty and the willingness to stay with a company.
 Trust decreases stress levels and hostility in the work environment.
 Trust overcomes resistance to change.
 Trust breaks down corporate silos and isolating behaviours.
 Trust is a gateway to persuasion, sharing and developing ideas.
 Trust is a key ingredient to coaching and improving employee performance.
Diversity in Workplace

The world has become small. Multinational companies, technology and immigration has
facilitated diversity in workplace. Many government policies have been made to include
diversity in the workplace. The government has been supporting diversity with laws and
legislation like the civil rights act etc. In an ideal world, the term “diverse” would apply to
everyone as each worker brings a distinct perspective, background, and skills to any
organization. The sum of these unique contributions is a diverse workforce. In reality, however,
the term typically applies to specific groups of people who have experienced discrimination
(e.g., racial bias) or incidental conditions (e.g., no access to office buildings for people with
disabilities) that created obstacles to opportunity. Diversity and inclusion (D&I) initiatives are
aimed at eliminating obstacles and bringing people from these groups into full participation in
the workforce. Understanding the opportunities these groups provide and the challenges they
face is critical to building an effective D&I strategy. Examples of different types of workplace
diversity follow.

Types of Diversity and their management

 Gender

Women today constitute a major part of the population. Gender diversity is the most
common type of diversity prevalent in the organizations. Having equal number of men
and women working does not solve the purpose of the diversity. It has been noticed that
the female workers have to face consequences in the organizations. The women earn
only 83 percent of what men earn. Also the difference can be seen in the leadership
with only 5.4% women constituting fortune 500 CEO and mere 20% as fortune board
members. Restrictions on the female employees need to be alleviated. Gender also
include the LGBT community. The community includes a major workforce in
corporates. The laws have also supported the same recently. The organization needs to
make laws according to the LGBT community as well.
 Race and Ethnicity

As migration gained popularity, people from different race and ethnicity became part
of the organizations. They help develop the organization in their own ways. A report
from McKinsey shows that the ones having more ethnic diversity tend to get higher
financial returns. Thus the companies need to incorporate people from different races
to take the organization to new heights.

 Disability

The organizations are adding more workforce which are visually impaired or hearing
impaired. They make special arrangements for them like ramps and elevators instead
of stairs and telephone headsets to screen readers for communication. The disabled at
times bring out better skills than the normal people which help the organization thrive.
For eg. an autism affected person poses better IT skills than the one without Autism.

 Age

There may be more than one generation working in the organization at once. All of
them have different needs and different working style. Catering to the needs of all and
also bringing out the best is a challenge that the organizations face. The benefit of
having age diversity gives the needed experience, speed and efficiency. Decisions are
more effective and the organization reaches greater heights.