Introduction to Leadership

• Leadership can beh defined at one’s ability to influence and motivate

others to bring the best out in them. It focuses on encouraging
individuals to add more to the effectiveness of an organization.
Leadership is often defined as a process wherein an individual
influences or encourages others to achieve the organizational
objectives and direct the organization so that it becomes more
coherent and cohesive to work.
• Moreover, a person who can bring out the change is the one who
possesses the ability to be a leader. A good leader is the one who
always looks out after others before himself and is proactive.
Proactive refers to a leader’s tendency of being three steps ahead of
others, thinking of all the possibilities and scenario.
• Leadership is all about developing people, in turn helping them to
reach their maximum potential. In the simplest of terms, leadership is
an art of motivating people to help achieve a common goal.
Leadership Style
Autocratic
• Generally, an autocratic leader believes that he/she is the smartest
person at the table and knows more than others. They make all the
decisions with a little input from team members.
Authoritative
• The Authoritative leadership style is the mark of confident leaders
who map the way and set expectations, while engaging and
energizing followers along the way.
Pacesetting
• This style describes a very driven leader who sets the pace as in
racing. Pacesetters set the bar high and push their team members to
run fast and hard to the finish line.
Democratic
• Democratic leader are more likely to ask “How do you see it?” And,
wherever possible, they share information with employees that
affects their work responsibilities. They also seek employees opinions
before making a final decision.
Coaching
• A leader who coaches views people as a reservoir of talent to be
developed. The leader who uses a coach to approach seeks to unlock
people’s potential.
Affiliative
• Of all the leadership styles, The Affiliative leadership approach is the
most up-close and personal. A leader practicing this style pays
attention to and supports the emotional needs of team members. The
leader strives to open up a pipeline that connects him/her to the
team.
Laissez-Faire
• The Laissez-Faire leadership style is the opposite end of the spectrum
from the Autocratic. Of all the approaches, this one involves a least
amount of oversight. You could say that Autocratic style leader stands
as firm as a rock on issues, while the Lassez-Faire lets people swim
with the current.
Group Dynamics in the Workplace
Strong leadership is important within the
group
• A leader should guide the development of the group and the path to
the goal that needs to be reached. They can do this by defining
specific roles and responsibilities for the members of the group as
well as the timeline for the common project so members can
understand their role within the timeline.
Recognize how personalities affect team
dynamics
• This practice can also provide an opportunity for managers to note
any gaps of experience and behavior and necessary converge with
additional team members for the group to accomplish its goal.
Understanding the life cycle of a group
• The way a group comes together can be demonstrated in 5 steps:
1. Forming – the coming together of a group
2. Storming – the members of the group seek out like-minded members. At this
stage, confilcts with different sub groups may arise.
3. Norming – members become invested in the group as a whole and its common
goal
4. Performing – the members of the group are now functioning as a unit
contributing to complete the task within the standards defined in the previous
steps.
5. Adjourning – if the group is formed to meet a specific goal, then the group will
be disbanded after the completion of a certain task.
Communication is Key
• It’s imperative for all members of a group to understand and utilize
the chosen methods of communication. Open and Transparent
communication builds and maintains a sense of trust within the group
and helps maintain focus toward the goal. Side conversations via
separate emails or instant messaging chat feature can be detrimental
to the groups overall trust.
Diversity and Cultural sensitivity
• When it comes to Diversity, there are many factors that influence the
full and complete spectrum. Race, Gender, and sexual orientation
perhaps immediately spring to mind. To create a truly positive group
dynamic in a particular cohort, its important to make sure people
from all backgrounds, identities, and views feel accepted and
validated
Team Building
• Team building in the workplace is the process of creating a team that
is cohesively working together towards a common goal. The
importance and main purpose of team building is to create a strong
team through forming bonds and connections. Creating these bonds
through team building is very beneficial to business and organizations.
The benefits of team building include increased communication,
planning skills, employee motivation, and employee collaboration.
• Fun activities that help people see each other in a different light allow
them to connect in a different setting. People in your team are asked
to think about the implications of these activities in their workplace.
• One of the most powerful reasons for team building is to get results.
Through a series of planned team building that is fun and
motivational, teams build skills like communication, planning,
problem-solving, and conflict resolution. These team building activity
ideas help to facilitate long term learn building through fostering
genuine connections, deeper discussions, and processing.
The importance of team building
Builds trust
• Trust plays an essential role in building effective teams. For teams to
work together, they need to know they can trust each other. That they
can fall back with each other if the need arises . Moreover, when you
build trust among teams, they give each other space and autonomy to
accomplish their task and make their own decisions.