What Is Leadership? Definition, Types, and Key Skills of Great Leaders
The importance of leadership has been the focus of discussions about personal development, business success, and organisation development. Effective Leadership has an effect on people, culture, and business results. To put it simply, what is leadership? What are the characteristics of a leader that are truly great?
This article discusses what leadership means by giving examples of different leadership styles and explaining what makes effective leaders.
Leadership – What is it?
Leadership can be defined as a person’s ability to motivate, guide and inspire an individual or group in their pursuit of a goal. Leadership does not have to do primarily with the title or rank of the person leading but rather with their ability to exert influence, create vision, provide for accountability and direct the actions of others.
A good leader creates a culture of trust, clarity of direction, and motivation through the leader’s inherent qualities of creating trust, clarity of direction, and exemplary performance rather than through a position of authority. Leadership is available in all areas of life including business, education, communities, and sports.
Simply put: A leader creates a vision of how many people can work together toward the accomplishment of shared success.
What is the Significance of Leadership?
The Importance of Leadership is prevalent everywhere. Leadership is necessary for creating the direction and vision of your Organization(s) and Society.
The Role of Leadership provides the following:
- Direction and Vision
- Teamwork and collaboration
- Improved decision Making
- Trust and Accountability
- Innovation and Change Leaders provide motivation and performance through increased employee morale and productivity; Without Leaders, teams often lack direction, morale and sustained Long-Term Success.
Types of Leadership Styles
1.Each situation requires
a different form of leadership style; therefore, to accurately reflect the most common and successful types of Leadership, the following list will be presented.
2 The Autocratic Leader
is one who makes decisions without much input from team members.
- Good for High-Pressure Situations
- Quick Decision-Making Environments
- Pros: Leadership provides fast decisions with clear authority.
- Cons: Leadership limits creativity and employee morale. (3) The Democratic Leader is one who involves the team in the decision-making process.
- Good for Creative Teams
- Good for Collaborative Work Environments
- Pros: Higher team engagement and better ideas.
- Cons: Leadership has a slower decision-making process than Autocratic Leaders. (4) The Transformational Leader inspires change and innovation through the power of Vision and through the motivating force of change.
- Good for Growing Organizations
- Good for Organizations driven by Change and Innovation.
- Pros: Leadership creates high motivation and strong workplace culture.
- Cons: Leadership requires effective communication skills.
4.Servant Leadership
The primary focus of a servant leader is to serve the needs of their team members before serving themselves or their own organization.
Best For:
- Creating and sustaining trust-based cultures
- Long-term development of individuals and organizations
Advantages:
Will develop strong relationships and loyalty within teams and organizations
Disadvantages:
May not be effective in highly competitive environments.
5.Laissez-Faire Leadership
Laissez-Faire Leadership provides little to no direct supervision of team members, allowing them complete autonomy in their work.
Best For:
- Teams with highly skilled personnel
- Creative professionals
Advantages:
Fosters creativity and independent thinking among team members
Disadvantages:
- May result in a lack of direction for some individuals.
- Essential Skills of Exceptional Leaders
- Exceptional leaders possess essential skills that may be developed through education, training and experience.
1.Communication Skills
Exceptional leaders exhibit effective communication skills when communicating clearly, actively listening to others and communicating confidently.
- Don’t Create Mistrust Through Miscommunication
- Miscommunication leads to mistrust
- Effective Communication Builds Trust
- Effective leaders create an environment of trust through effective communication
2.Emotional Intelligence
Exceptional leaders possess emotional intelligence. Exceptional leaders understand their feelings and the feelings of others and use that understanding to manage the emotions of both parties effectively.
3.Decision-Making Skills
Exceptional leaders possess the ability to make sound decisions based on careful analysis of available data, evaluation of the risks associated with each option and confident making decisions under pressure.
- Vision and Strategic Thinking
Exceptional leadership requires a commitment to the future. Exceptional leaders focus on developing a clear long-term vision for the organization(s) and ensuring alignment of day-to-day operations with developing and achieving longer-term organizational goals.
4.Servant Leadership
The primary focus of a servant leader is to serve the needs of their team members before serving themselves or their own organization.
Best For:
- Creating and sustaining trust-based cultures
- Long-term development of individuals and organizations
- Advantages:
- Will develop strong relationships and loyalty within teams and organizations
Disadvantages:
May not be effective in highly competitive environments.
5.Laissez-Faire Leadership
Laissez-Faire Leadership provides little to no direct supervision of team members, allowing them complete autonomy in their work.
Best For:
- Teams with highly skilled personnel
- Creative professionals
- Advantages:
- Fosters creativity and independent thinking among team members
Disadvantages:
- May result in a lack of direction for some individuals.
- Essential Skills of Exceptional Leaders
- Exceptional leaders possess essential skills that may be developed through education, training and experience.
1.Communication Skills
Exceptional leaders exhibit effective communication skills when communicating clearly, actively listening to others and communicating confidently.
- Don’t Create Mistrust Through Miscommunication
- Miscommunication leads to mistrust
- Effective Communication Builds Trust
- Effective leaders create an environment of trust through effective communication
2.Emotional Intelligence
Exceptional leaders possess emotional intelligence. Exceptional leaders understand their feelings and the feelings of others and use that understanding to manage the emotions of both parties effectively.
3.Decision-Making Skills
Exceptional leaders possess the ability to make sound decisions based on careful analysis of available data, evaluation of the risks associated with each option and confident making decisions under pressure.
4.Vision and Strategic Thinking
Exceptional leadership requires a commitment to the future. Exceptional leaders focus on developing a clear long-term vision for the organization(s) and ensuring alignment of day-to-day operations with developing and achieving longer-term organizational goals.
