Leadership can be defined as the process in which a person influences others socially, and can help and support others in achieving a common goal or objective. Leadership is a necessary requirement in an organization since it enables organizations to achieve its goals. In order to achieve the goals, leaders should provide motivation, inspire their employees, and provide direction to their team members. As indicated by John, “a leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way” (Gardner, 1996).
Efficient leadership is beneficial to an organization in enabling it to achieve stability and success. Lack of efficient leadership in an organization may make it lose direction, stability of even becomes less competitive. Some of the benefits of leadership in an organization or a business include; helping in setting a clear vision and communicating the vision to the employees with a clear understanding of the direction in which the organization is taking. This will help the employees understand their roles and responsibilities in the organization. Leadership also brings about motivation and inspiration in an organization since they shape the common goal of an organization. They also motivate the people around them to work to their level best.
Leaders as agents of change bring in new ideas in an organization. They then encourage their employees to discuss them by contributing their views on the ideas. This helps in creating a positive environment and hence improving the organizational performance.
Empowering employees
This is a term used to explain the employee accountability, responsibility, and capacity. The former employer had traits, which promoted employee empowerment. He had respect for himself and his employees. He was also accountable for his actions and words and expected the same from the other subordinates. The former boss sets a good example of discipline in the organization and this encouraged the other employees to do the same.
The boss delegate jobs in a clear manner. This helped the employees in determining what is expected of them. It also improved the employees’ morale and confidence since it showed that he was entrusting the employees to carry out certain responsibilities and tasks. It is also important to acknowledge the achievements made the employees. The former manager used to congratulate employees when they performed in the duties delegated to them. This made the other employees to work hard and keep up the good work they were doing. He always told the employees not to find fault, but to find the remedy
Authoritarianism
Employees who were skilled and dedicated in the organization were at times given some powers by the manager. This gave them the freedom in choosing the methods they feel are right to perform their obligations. He also invited feedback from the employees of the organization. Some employees came up with brilliant ideas, which were considerate. These ideas were later implemented.
Transformational leader
As a transformational leader, the manager used to inspire positive change to the employees. He was energetic and enthusiastic. He also participated in the organization activities and he helped every member of the organization to succeed in their duties. He intellectually stimulated the employees by encouraging creativity among the subordinate by encouraging them. (Sadler, 2003).
He served as a role model to the others and as employees, we emulated him because we respected him as our leader, he kept the lines of communication open so as we can feel free to share our ideas and this enabled him to recognize the contribution of each employee.
Fulfilling functions
There are different ways in which a leader can use in order to achieve the goals of an organization. As a leader, our former manager used to demonstrate persistence, determination, and good communication skills. He also positively reinforced the employees’ behavior, thus increasing the likelihood of a positive behavior in the future.
Company’s vision
The organization's vision was to ensure a level playing ground among their dealers with the paramount objective to avail their product to the end user globally and carry out its business profitably.
Motivating the workforce
The manager always rewarded the performing employees through incentives and promotions. This encouraged other employees by making them aware of rewards along the performance (Rost, 1991). The manger involved the employees in decision making, thus, making the employees conversant with the changes yet to occur in the organization. This helped in reducing resistance to the organizational changes, hence, improving efficiency and performance.
Through the management, the organization offered training to the employees. This helped the employees in learning new skills and gaining experience, which helped them in carrying out their required obligations. He believed that “good leadership consists of showing average people how to do work for the superior” (Gardner, 1996). The roles of the employees were also well-defined ad each employee had the opportunity to move up the ranks and better himself or herself. This prevented the employees from going to work in other organizations.
Communicating the organization's vision
The manager had developed a vision, which was well communicated to the organization team. The vision was communicated along with the goals of the company. This brought life to the organization's vision since the employees were given the map on how we were to achieve the goals. The manager used to inquire about the employee’s opinion before making decisions.
Agent of change
During periods of rapid change, he used to remind the employees about the goals and vision of the organization, and this helped us in understanding that to be successful, there is a need for change in the organization (Gerzon, 2006). This made him an agent of change in the organization and fortunately, the changes took place with less resistance.
References
David, Leonard. (2010). Commnetary: The Last Pitchamn. Business Week on line, June 10, 2010, retrieved November 10, 2010, at: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_25/b4183004440240.htm
Gardner, H. (1996). Leading minds: An anatomy of leadership. In collaboration with Emma Laskin. New York [u.a.: Basic Books.
Gerzon, M. (2006). Leading through conflict: How successful leaders transform differences into opportunities. Boston, Mass: Harvard Business School.
Kotter, J. (2002). Leadership Engine. Executive Excellence, 17, 7-8. Accessible via Trident online library.
Rost, J. C. (1991). Leadership for the twenty-first century. New York: Praeger.
Sadler, P. (2003). Leadership. London: Kogan Page Ltd.
