5 Characteristics of Effective Leadership

There are many factors that contribute to effective leadership, and I will address five of them here. An effective leader is crucial to any successful business, whether it is an offline or online business.

The first characteristic of effective leadership is empathy, an understanding and identification with another person's feelings, situation and goals. Showing such empathy even in difficult situations will win you kudos with the staff. In the event of a conflict, a good leader will be able to empathize with both sides, while being able to negotiate an amicable solution. Your staff will work much better with you when you show some empathy.

Secondly, an effective leader shows a tenacious determination and resolve, never wavering in spite of obstacles. Together with a positive attitude, this can turn around an almost impossible situation, thus enabling others to see the brighter picture and carry on with the task at hand, keeping the end result in mind.

5 Characteristics of Effective Leadership

Thirdly, one must be able to detach themselves from the situation and analyze it from a distance. The effective leader is calm and composed in the face of turmoil and uncertainty. This stability like a rock gives a certain sense of character and offers some peace of mind to others who may be mindlessly caught up in that turmoil.

Fourthly, a leader must have excellent communication skills. He must be comfortable running meetings and making presentations. His presentation skills have to be excellent, and be able to convey accurately the essence of the subject at hand and be able to address any ambiguities before they come up. Such communication skills will have to be learned along the way to being a good leader or manager.

Lastly, an effective leader has to be resourceful enough to find the resources that are needed. Not every leader will have an intimate knowledge of the subject, but he will be able to turn to the people in the know and gather any necessary resources as required.

I have covered five important characteristics of an effective leader. Although there are many more characteristics of effective leadership, I believe that these are five crucial factors that will have to be learned by anyone who wishes to become a great leader. These characteristics can be learnt by anyone, whether they are currently an effective leader or not, however, this is not something that you learn in school.

And thus I close this with a quote from John F. Kennedy

"Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other."

5 Characteristics of Effective Leadership
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Shafir Ahmad publishes his ezine at http://www.ShafirAhmad.com - For more leadership and other personal development information, please go to http://effectiveleadership.nmaskuri.com/?sa

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Autocratic vs Consultative Leadership

When one speaks about Leadership styles, there are several different models to choose from. However, whatever the model it is never an easy process to implement or practice a particular style of leadership and hope to get the results that was intended. "Leadership" per se is both an Art as well as a Science. The one key element that all leaders should possess is their ability to communicate their visions and values to the people they are leading and to get the people to buy into their visions and values.

The key concern is whether the leader is getting his people to 'buy-in' or is he trying to 'sell' his vision. When you want to 'sell' you need to be convincing and give the impression that the ideas you have are inherently beneficial to the people and therefore they should accept it. This usually is a challenging dilemma as sometimes the people you are leading might not quite see the relevance of your visions and values and may not be forthcoming in accepting them. However, if you are able to create the circumstances whereby the people feel that what you possess are important visions and values, and that by they buying into these it would benefit them well, you have created a winning formula to lead your people successfully.

If you want your people to 'buy-in' rather than 'sell' your visions and values you need to pay meticulous attention to the type of leadership style that you portray. I personally find that in this context, leadership can be classified either as autocratic leadership style or a consultative leadership style.

Autocratic vs Consultative Leadership

Autocratic Leadership Style

Autocratic leadership is one which is based on a clear top-down approach. The leader is in a position of absolute power and he can implement and do whatever he wants to get things done. Usually in an autocratic leadership environment there will not be much discussion of affairs as the people find that their voices does not carry weight in the problem solving and decision making aspects of their organization.

An autocratic leader will be the driver of his people and without his leadership the organization will not be able to function. Usually autocratic leaders like to delegate their power but at the same time having a stranglehold on all those subordinate to them. They also like to coach their people to do things the way they want it and may create a 'my way or the highway' kind of working environment. The impression one gets in an autocratic leadership style is that the leader is seen as some kind of megalomaniacal tyrant to be feared and followed.

Although there is some truth to this, autocratic leadership is not necessarily a bad style. In fact there are some circumstances where an autocratic leadership should be the preferred style. One instance where autocratic leadership style may be applicable is when the organization is new and the people are inexperience and thus look up to the leadership to guide them in their work. Another instance is if the people are disengaged in their job and have no clear direction and there is vast internal politicking of the kind that is disruptive and causes an emotional strain in the way the organization is being managed. Here a powerful autocratic leadership might help to re-align the organization to its original position and get the people back in shape.

The downside of all this is that an extended period of engaging in an autocratic style of leadership can strain the relationship between the leader and the people in that the people might find the leader to be so task-oriented that they may develop a sense of resentment. Further, when the leader becomes too autocratic he may forget that he is dealing with humans and not machines and might create the impression that the people are just part of the machinery. This can create a sense of dissonance in the work environment which will not be beneficial to the leader, the people and the organization in the long run. Take the cue from Dwight D. Eisenhower who said: "You do not lead by hitting people over the head - that's assault, not leadership"

Consultative Leadership

Consultative leadership is the way to go in the long run. Management Guru, Kenneth Blanchard said: "The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority". This is the very nature of consultative leadership in that you the leader will have to develop the ability to influence people rather than impose on them your authority as is the case in an autocratic leadership style. In consultative leadership style, the leader will engage the subordinates efficaciously in the decision making and problem solving process. This kind of leadership style endorses the fact that the leader is indeed the servant of the people he is leading. The people have the power to engage in consultation with the leader and are able to make suggestions which they know would be taken into serious contemplation by the leader.

Further, consultative leadership style endorses the concept of empowerment rather than delegation. When a leader empowers, he is basically giving the person concern a freehand to do what is necessary. The leader may draw up certain parameters for the person to work within and to ensure that he is kept in the loop by the person. In a consultative leadership style, the leader still has strong visions and concrete values that he can communicate with his people. However unlike the autocratic leader, the concept underlying consultative leadership style is one of administering a people-oriented kind of management rather than a task-oriented one.

The consultative leader's role will continuously involve the development of his people and this is done by being kept aware of the needs and wants of the people. The only way this information can be gotten is by having constant dialogue with the people and clarifying the goals and aspirations that you have and synchronizing this with their personal visions. When the people get to experience this state of being they will be more prepared to 'buy-in' the visions and values of the leader.

In the long haul, consultative leadership will be the most appropriate one. As the organization mature, the leader has to learn to move away from delegation to empowerment. When the people become more experienced and participative in their professional relationship with you the leader, you will have to play the role of a mentor to them. Consultative leadership style will invoke in you the ability to find out the strengths and weaknesses of the individuals under your authority and allow you the opportunity to nurture the best out of them. The parting quote by Elisabeth Dole seems apt to be mentioned here where she said: "What you always do before you make a decision is consult. The best public policy is made when you are listening to people who are going to be impacted. Then, once policy is determined, you call on them to help you sell it".

Autocratic vs Consultative Leadership
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Dr Daniel Theyagu is a corporate trainer and seminar leader who has designed and conducted competency-based training for more than 150 organizations.

He is based in Singapore and can be reached atdtheyagu@singnet.com.sg

Website: http://www.thinklaterally.com

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Five Important Qualities of Effective Leadership

Effective leadership is key to the success of an organization. Without leaders, an organization is like a ship lost at sea. Leaders are those that chart a course for their organization or set new course if necessary. There are many qualities or characteristics of an effective leadership, this article will discuss five of them.

1. Influence and Inspire

Many people think that leadership is about power; driving people to do what you want to accomplish using fear. Well, this is a wrong leadership. A leader is not a boss. An effective leader must be able to influence and inspire people to accomplish a goal, or an objective of an organization. A leader inspires; a bossy person give orders!

Five Important Qualities of Effective Leadership

2. Vision

A leader must be visionary; a clear sense of purpose of the organization. People will only follow you if they see that you know where you are going. A leader must always have loyal followers; a clear sense of hierarchy, know who the bosses are, who to talk to, what are the organization's goals and objectives, and how the organization works is the only way to show others you know what you are doing. If you don't know what you're doing or where you're headed to, people will not follow you.

3. Trust

Effective leaders are trustworthy leaders; similar to respect, it's something you have to earn from your people. Good and effective leadership can be measured from the trust and confidence your subordinates have of you. If they trust you they will go through hell and high water for you and for the organization. However, trust and confidence don't come easily, they are built on good relationships, trustworthiness, and high ethics. The strength of your group and the entire organization depend on the way you deal and the relationships you build with your people. This is the foundation for a strong and effective organization.

4. Communication

Communication is very crucial to effective leadership. The vision, goals, knowledge and technical expertise must be clearly communicated and imparted to all the people in organization. Remember that having a communication skill is only part of the solution; it must also flow smoothly and openly and this can only be achieved when there is trust in your organization. If the trust level is low, it's very difficult to communicate your vision or messages even though you have a high communication skill.

5. Intuition

Effective leaders are intuitive or possess instinctive knowledge to make successful decisions. Some people are naturally gifted with such trait but others learned and developed it through experiences. But one thing is certain when it comes to effective leadership, there is no doubting the importance of intuition. Many times leaders have to rely on intuition for successful decision-making.

Being a leader is not about what you make others do. It's about who you are, what you know, and what you do. You are a reflection of the people who follow you. An effective leader is not a one-man show or do-it-all-yourself hero. Effective leadership is about recognizing and taking advantage of the skills and talents from different people to form a cohesive unit.

Five Important Qualities of Effective Leadership
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Want more information on the qualities of an effective leader? Then, head over to our blog. You will also discover many self improvement tips and download a free report: Power of positive thinking.

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10 Elements of Effective Leadership

Everything rises and falls on leadership. The reason why some families and Corporations seem to have it all while others struggle along is a result of good leadership and bad leadership respectively.

Many Successful people acknowledge the importance of good Leadership practices and the impact they can exert on the people they lead and the organization as a whole.

Leadership skills are a very vital component in any entity. It can be defined as leading or influencing others. In other words, where there is a leader there is a follower. I would like to mention here that, we are all leaders in one way or another. We are influenced by other people and we also have people in our circle of colleagues that we influence. We might also be an older or younger sibling and we influence those under us.

10 Elements of Effective Leadership

So it is very important that we influence the people we lead in a positive way so that they may influence others in a similar manner. At the end of the day we may live in harmony and lead productive lives. So, what are the 10 elements of effective leadership?

1. They appreciate who they are

One of the mistakes a leader can make is try to act like someone else. A leader understands that he or she is a unique and original individual and can not imitate another person. A leader has to learn from other leaders before him but never should he think he is a Malcolm X, Martin Luther King or Winston Churchill etc.

2. They posses a positive attitude.

Attitude can be defined as the way you habitually think and react to life's situations or circumstances. Attitude is everything and can do wonders in your life. Attitude is what makes one person succeed and another fails. The difference between successful people and people that are less successful is because the successful ones have a lot of attitude and the other minimal or non existent. Effective Leaders have a great deal of positive attitude. They are not shaken by circumstances or mishaps as they do not dwell on negatives. They always look on the bright side of life and they see something good in any misfortune. They are in control of their lives. "When you control your attitude you control your life."

3. They believe in themselves.

They have a firm belief in themselves and they value and regard themselves highly. They believe that they can conquer anything. If you are a leader and do not believe in yourself, how do you convince another person to believe in you?

4. Change is their way of life

In order to grow and develop, effective leaders put themselves in situations that are going to make them change and mature and keep on growing. They are not scared or intimidated by change and in many circumstances, they initiate change. They act rather than react.

5. They plan ahead

Effective Leaders know where they are going. They have their goals and destiny in defined long before they motivate others to follow. They have a plan for their lives and are not free styling. They have the future in perspective and are clear where they are going before they lead others.

6. They build relationships with quality people.

A leader influences people and is influenced by others. It is in this view, therefore, that a leader ought to network with people who are going to nurture and motivate him. These are people who will tell him what he has to hear not what he wants to hear. These people often put him in the hot seat and he will learn from their counsel.

7. They are optimists

Optimism is one of the qualities of an effective leader. He needs to have a positive outlook towards life. To an Optimistic Leader white is black and bad is good. He always has something to learn from every bad situation.

8. They do not take issues personally.

When disciplining a subordinate, a leader does not get personal or do it in front of others but rather finds an appropriate time and place to have a friendly chat with them.

9. They build the people they lead.

The greatness of a leader is not determined by the power he possesses but his ability to empower others. Many leaders want to be feared and revered but a leader who will win the peoples' heart is one who is keen on empowering them. He wants to build his people to become better employees, citizens and colleagues.

10. They love and respect the people they lead.

Without love and respect, a leader can not be effective and all efforts to control or influence the followers may be in vain. Love and respect when given out are the exactly what you receive in return. You do not receive disrespect when that you give out respect. So what you give is what you get.

10 Elements of Effective Leadership
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Aaron Kamanga
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Cell:+260 97-650-9863
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Leadership Styles and Types - Overview of Skills

Leadership style is crucial to success. We find leadership all around us. Each of us will fill the role ourselves at various times in our lives. Leadership can be found in the world of business, sports, politics, religion and as close as home. Leaders must respond to the rapidly changing world and meet the challenges it demands. There are different types of leaders and you will most likely encounter many over the course of time.

Understanding different leadership styles and their impact will help you become a more effective leader.

In 1939 famed psychologist Kurt Lewin identified classic styles of leadership. These three styles are well established though more specific types have been identified since. Leaders should not be confused with managers. Leaders are always managers but the reverse is not necessarily the case. Good leaders will use the style or a combination of styles that best fits the situation.

Leadership Styles and Types - Overview of Skills

Autocratic:

This is an authoritarian form of leadership where one person makes the decisions. The expectations are clear. Lewin and his colleagues found this form of leadership caused the most discontent. Used rarely but can be appropriate to complete routine or unskilled tasks.

What needs to be accomplished, as well as, how and when, are the sole responsibility of the leader. Allows for quick decisions when time is crucial. This is a less creative approach. A "Do what you are told" Obedient and strict form of control. Use when a group or member doesn't have knowledge of the practice or procedure. The autocratic style works best when there is no need for input. Input will not change the decision or outcome.
Democratic:

Democratic leadership is participatory and often most effective. Employees and team members feel in control of their own destiny when they are included in the decision-making process that leads to greater satisfaction and a feeling of appreciation. Although the leader may have the final say.

The leader acts as a guide. Accepts input and seeks ideas and suggestions through discussion. Even though the leader may have the final say the team contributes to the process. Democratic style can be problematic when the final decision is hampered by a wide range of opinion. People are more committed when involved in the process of making decisions. They have a personal stake in the outcome. This style is mutually beneficial and helps improve people skills.
Delegative/Free Rein:

As a leader it is not possible to do everything yourself. A leader must prioritize and delegate tasks and decisions while still taking ultimate responsibility.

Minimal in direction. Allows decision-making by the team. Works well when the team or a member is more knowledgeable about the subject. This style works best with highly motivated and well trained people.

Leadership Styles and Types - Overview of Skills
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6 Characteristics of the Lion to Consider For Your Own Leadership

As a leader, there are certain qualities and characteristics of lions that you might find useful to consider - for yourself and your "pride." Let us just take a few minutes to explore these and as with all metaphors, we aren't going to beat this one to death.

1. Protective

You don't have to watch very many Discovery Channel shows about lions to see how very protective they are - of territory, themselves, their young, and so forth. As far as being more lion-like, what do you need to be protective of? Protective of yourself? Your money? Your children? Your partner? Your spouse? Your business? Your colleagues? Your position? Your beliefs? So, exactly what do you need to be protective of?

6 Characteristics of the Lion to Consider For Your Own Leadership

2. Brave

Being lion-like means you are brave and courageous. Naturally, you choose when and where to be brave vs. timid, courageous vs. cowardly. We all make choices every day. Look for opportunities today and every day where you can be brave. It does make a difference, both for you and for others.

3. Willing to fight

Hmm...we know that lions will fight when need be. They don't pick fights but because they are willing to protect their food, their mates, their territory and so forth, they will fight if necessary. What is the one thing you are willing to fight for?

Many readers are parents and my guess is that many parents would be willing to fight for their children. Or maybe you are a professor who is willing to fight when you see other faculty members being bullied. Maybe you are a teacher who is fighting for particular students who need your "protection."

What is it for you? Really. What are you willing to fight for? The one thing?

4. Hunters

LOTS of people are concerned right now about financial issues. Someone wrote to me recently that she had overheard middle school girls in the bathroom at a movie talking about how they needed to come up some ways to earn money because after the legislature was over, their parents weren't going to be able to give them money for the movies any longer. You might be one of the people who is "hunting" for money. You might be hunting for it for your own personal situation or you are hunting money for projects at work or for community needs and the like.

But what else do us lion-like folks hunt for? You might describe it thus:

Bravery to find what really makes me happy Bravery to ignore what others feel is successful and find my own success Bravery to dare to make dramatic changes in the path of my career that will also change my personal life...and vice versa

What are you hunting? And just like a lion on the Savannah, you may or may not find it, but you hunt regardless.

5. Group members (part of a pride)

6. Loners in the big scheme of things

The last two - being part of a group (i.e., a pride) and also being somewhat loners in the big scheme of things - let's think about these together.

As a person who is seeking ways of staying positive, no matter how crazy things are around us, we need both to see ourselves as being part of a pride - a team - a family - a group - an association - a community - or whatever you might call it. We have to deliberately assemble our group - small or large - that will assist us in our - if I can use this word - survival. Lions aren't part of prides for no reason. There's a reason. You need a "pride" of your own if you are to "survive" in your positive place.

And, here's the other part (at least as my little brain considers this), we are also loners in the bigger scheme of things. What I mean by that is, just as lions are not hanging out with all the other animals but rather hang out - sometimes completely alone - but certainly mostly just with a few other lions, we also may need to separate ourselves sometimes.

6 Characteristics of the Lion to Consider For Your Own Leadership
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Consider what you need for your own positive leadership and see if some of these lion qualities support you in your goals. And to access other tools for positive leaders, you're welcome to check here:

http://stayingpositiveinafreakedoutworld.com/Materials.php

(c) 2010 Meggin McIntosh, Ph.D. | The Ph.D. of Productivity(tm) | http://meggin.com

Through her company, Emphasis on Excellence, Inc., Meggin McIntosh, Ph.D. works with smart people who want to consistently keep their emphasis on excellence.

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Integrity, Self-Awareness, and Leadership

Integrity is generally agreed to be a vital quality in a leader. It's usually defined in terms of honesty and adhering strongly to an ethical code. However, when applied to non-human areas such as a body of data, or an ecosystem, something that has 'integrity' is 'intact', 'whole', or 'not tampered with'. This was in fact the original meaning of the word (from the Latin meaning 'untouched').

Integrity therefore came to mean 'ethically sound' by metaphorical extension. As so often with metaphors applied to human subjective experience, we can discover something useful when we take the metaphor literally.

Consider a person who is grappling with an inner conflict. It may be that two of their most important values are in conflict, or that they cannot choose between alternatives that seem to be equally tempting (or equally scary). Because memory, learning and behaviour are influenced by emotional states, it could even be that what they believe and how they act change significantly depending on how they are feeling.

Integrity, Self-Awareness, and Leadership

Can a person who has significant unresolved internal conflicts be a good leader? It's doubtful. Such a person would find it hard to make decisions and stick to them, because whichever alternative they choose would leave part of themselves unsatisfied. In addition, when you feel ambivalent about your own decisions, it is hard to defend them against criticism.

So unresolved internal conflicts do not make for good leadership. They lead to indecision, inconsistency, and an inability to stick to your guns - none of which are desirable characteristics in a leader. In order to build the sound internal foundation (also known as "character") which is necessary for leadership, you need to identify your own values and resolve any values conflicts that you uncover.

Being clear about your own values and acting in line with them also means that you will be perceived as "walking your talk" - the key element in leading by example.

The most important thing to remember about emotional intelligence as it applies to leadership is that self-awareness is the foundation on which all the other 'competencies' of emotional intelligence are based. If you are not aware of your own emotions, it's impossible to manage them and hard to understand the emotions of others; in turn, self-management and empathy are prerequisites for being able to handle and inspire emotions in other people.

For a splendid fictional example of how low self-awareness impacts on leadership, see any episode of the hit TV series "The Office" or the nearly-as-good American remake, "The Office: An American Workplace".

Integrity, Self-Awareness, and Leadership
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Andy Smith is an Emotional Intelligence consultant and NLP Trainer based in Manchester, UK. You can email him at andy@coachingleaders.co.uk. His website, at http://www.coachingleaders.co.uk contains many free articles and downloads.

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