Leadership function, Nature, Characteristics, Qualities, Importance

1. Leadership is an essential component of management’s guiding role. Anywhere there is a structured team striving for a shared objective, leadership of some kind is required. “The ability to integrate is the power of leadership.” The leader brings out the best in each of us; he gathers and focuses our most intense emotions, both groping and shattering. He is the one who gives each man’s uncoarctate energy shape. Not someone who does big actions, but someone who gives me confidence that I can accomplish great deeds, is the one who most affects me. Get married to Parker Follet.
2. Leadership is the capacity to instil in others a sense of self-assurance, fervour, and a desire to follow their lead. A manager has to be driven, proactive, self-assured, and morally upright in order to succeed as a leader. Diverse circumstances may need distinct approaches to leadership.
3. Definitions:
4. Different people define leadership in different ways. To be sure, there are nearly as many definitions of leadership as there are individuals who have attempted to define it, as Stogdill correctly pointed out.
5. Below are the definitions provided by a number of well-known writers and management specialists:
6. According to Koontz and O’Donnell, a manager’s capacity to inspire confidence and passion in their staff is known as leadership.
7. According to Dubin, R., leadership is the use of power and decision-making.
8. Leadership, according to Allford and Beaty, is the capacity to get desired behaviours from a group of followers willingly and without the use of force.
9. According to George R. Terry, leadership is the process of persuading others to voluntarily work toward shared goals.
10. According to J.K. Hemphill, leadership is the act of initiating actions that lead to a regular pattern of group engagement aimed at resolving a shared issue.
11. Jame J. Cubbin, The technique of exerting influence on a group in a given setting at a given moment and under a certain set of circumstances that motivates individuals to voluntarily work toward achieving organisational goals and satisfaction with the kind of leadership supplied is known as leadership.
12. Drucker Peter, Leadership is the elevating of man’s views to higher sights, the elevation of man’s personality above its natural constraints. It is not the making of friends and influencing others, i.e., salesmanship.
13. The focus throughout the several definitions of leadership is on a person’s ability to motivate and inspire others to work together to accomplish corporate objectives. Therefore, we may define leadership as the exercise of influence that motivates followers or subordinates to use all of their effort in order to accomplish predetermined objectives.
14. The essence and traits of leadership:
15. Following a close examination of the aforementioned definitions, the following crucial traits of leadership become apparent:
16. Being a leader is a personal trait.
17. It does not exist without adherents. Is leadership impossible without followers?
18. What defines a person as a leader is their followers’ desire to follow.
19. Influence is the process of leadership. A leader has to be able to shape his followers’ attitudes, behaviours, and worldviews.
20. It exists simply to achieve shared objectives.
21. It entails being prepared to take full responsibility in any circumstance.
22. In order to achieve corporate goals, followers must be motivated to work voluntarily, which is the role of leadership.
23. Various situations do call for different leadership philosophies.
24. Neither bossiness nor management are synonymous with leadership.
25. Leaders, both official and informal:
26. Leaders may be divided into two categories based on their official recognition by upper management: formal and informal. A person who is officially appointed or chosen to oversee and manage the actions of their subordinates is known as a formal leader. He is an entity formed by the formal framework, endowed with organisational power, and answerable to those who have formally elected him. The official leader is accountable for two things. In addition to helping, guiding, and directing his subordinates in achieving their goals, he has the dual responsibility of meeting the organization’s expectations.
27. There is no official recognition for informal leaders. The people who are influenced by them give them authority. There are always going to be certain people in every organisation who are well-liked and who are asked for assistance, direction, and protection. These informal leaders have one job to do, which is to assist their followers in realising their own and the organisations’ objectives. In order to meet the demands that official leaders are unable to, informal leaders are formed. Informal leaders may be effectively used by an organisation to support formal leadership.
28. Roles of Leadership:
29. The following are crucial roles of a leader:
30. 1. Setting Goals: In order to inspire followers to work with fervour and assurance, a leader must exercise creativity in outlining objectives and guidelines.
31. 2. Organizing: A leader’s second responsibility is to establish and mould an organisation along scientific lines by allocating responsibilities that suit individual skills in order to ensure that all of its constituent parts work together to meet corporate objectives.
32. 3. Taking the Lead: A leader’s next duty is to take the lead in any issue that the group finds important. He shouldn’t rely on other people to make decisions or exercise judgement. He ought to provide novel concepts, and his choices need to be the result of creative thought.
33. 4. Coordination: A group leader must balance the organization’s interests with those of each individual member. He has to make sure everyone in the group is willing to work together to achieve the shared goals.
34. 5. Direction and Motivation: A leader’s main responsibility is to inspire his team to strive for the accomplishment of predetermined objectives by providing guidance and direction. To do this, he should instil confidence and passion in the group.
35. 6. Link between Management and Workers: A leader serves as an essential conduit between the two groups of people. He advocates his subordinates’ interests before management and explains the management’s policies and programmes to them. He will only be useful if he can really represent his subordinates’ best interests.
36. Characteristics of a Successful Leader: An effective leader gets his people to act in a certain way. It is dependent on the calibre of leadership he can provide. Effective leadership requires a few fundamental traits. Many writers have discussed the many attributes that someone should have in order to be an effective leader.
37. A competent leader should possess some of the following traits:
38. Good disposition.
39. stable emotions.
40. strong educational background and expertise in the field.
41. initiative and originality of thought.
42. a sense of accountability and purpose.
43. the capacity to mentor and instruct.
44. excellent judgement and comprehension.
45. ability to communicate.
46. Sociable.
47. unbiased and adaptable methodology.
48. sincerity and moral rectitude.
49. thoroughness, self-assurance, and industry.
50. The guts to take charge
51. Importance of Leadership in Management: It is impossible to overstate the significance of leadership in any collaborative endeavour. Anywhere there is a structured team striving for a single objective, leadership of some kind is necessary. The moment has come, said Lawrence A. Appley, to replace the term management with the word leadership.
52. The need for effective leadership has existed for as long as history is written, but in recent decades, owing to the complexity of production techniques, the high level of specialisation, and social changes in contemporary companies, the need for it has become more urgent. An effective dynamic leader is likened to a “dynamo creating energy” that energises and charges the whole team to the point where near miracles may happen. A company’s ability to succeed is largely dependent on its leadership.
53. 1. It Boosts Morale and Motivation: Managers may raise the morale and motivation of their staff members by exercising dynamic leadership. An effective leader shapes a person’s behaviour such that he willingly contributes to the accomplishment of organisational objectives.
54. 2. It Serves as a Motivating Force for Group Activities: Group efforts are motivated by leadership. Its tenacious efforts and influence on interpersonal relationships propel the group to greater performance levels.
55. 3. It Supports Authority: Using authority by itself doesn’t always produce the intended outcomes. Authority benefits from the influence, inspiration, and initiative of leadership.
56. 4. Leadership Is Required at All Levels of Management: Without strong leadership, no level of management can accomplish the intended goals. For this reason, leadership is essential at all levels of management.
57. 5. It Acknowledges the Inadequacy of Formal Organizational Connections: Individuals with shared interests may collaborate outside of formal partnerships, and no organisational structure is able to supply all forms of relationships. These unofficial connections are better at managing and regulating the behaviour of the subordinates. In order to achieve the corporate objectives, effective leadership makes advantage of their informal ties.
58. 6. It Establishes the Foundation for Cooperation: Good leadership fosters cooperation by improving communication between management and subordinates.
59. Methodology or Strategies of Successful Leadership: The following are the methods of successful leadership:
60. When formulating the policies and plans of action and when enacting any significant changes within them, the group leader should confer with the members.
61. In order to achieve shared goals, he should make an effort to cultivate his subordinates’ voluntary cooperation.
62. When required, he should use his power to carry out the policies. He should provide his subordinates directions that are comprehensive, understandable, and unambiguous.
63. He has to instil in his followers a sense of confidence and fervour.
64. He has to pay attention to what his subordinates are saying and show empathy.
65. He needs to speak clearly.

He need to adhere to the motive principle