Effectiveness of leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Effectiveness of leadership - Essay Example It is possible that every become leaders, but it is difficult that everybody becomes effective leaders. Most of the persons act as a leader either at their family or at work, at some time of their life. Leadership styles are different for different people because of the individual differences. Some people may adopt authoritarian approach whereas some others adopt democratic style of functioning. Rewards and punishments are the main weapons in the hands of a leader in order to motivate the subordinates. Power is an essential component of leadership.There are passive leaders and active leaders. A passive leader will never act for the betterment of either the organization or the community which he leads. Some of the ancient monarchs who got leadership of a country simply because of their tradition, are the best examples of passive leaders. But an effective leader always incorporates the positives of these approaches in his leadership style. Leadership is an art which requires lot of ski lls like temperament, patience and preparation. It is not possible that a short tempered person or a person with lack of control over his emotion may become an effective leader. Emotional intelligence is the core of effective leadership. An effective leader is the one who takes quick and effective actions or decisions. There are endless qualities which can be attributed to an effective leadership. This paper tries to analyse some of the essential qualities of an effective leader.'Leadership' is a term which has so many definitions and used differently at different instances. Leadership can be generally defined as the behaviour of an individual when he was able to direct and control a group of persons towards a goal. Leadership can be of different types. Some people adopt autocratic or authoritarian style of leadership in which they never allow the opinions of the group members led by him; instead he will force the group members to functions in a specific manner as directed by him wi thout any questions or doubts. It is a kind of dictatorship. On the other hand some other leaders adopt democratic style of functioning while leading a group. Such leaders always value the opinions of the group members and they consider the needs of the group members on a humanitarian basis. There are also a third kind of leaders who incorporate both autocratic and democratic approaches in their functioning. The behaviour patterns of a leader vary from person to person and situation to situation. Same leader may function differently on different occasions. The behaviour pattern of a leader is often influenced by the personality of the leader. The term power always associated with leadership. Without power it is difficult for a leader to function properly. If a leader was unable to exercise the power, he will be labelled as a leader by position. In any case, the success of a leader often measured on the basis of the effectiveness of his performances. In order to become effective in their mission, the leaders should have certain qualities and skills in order to lead a group of individuals Essentials of effective leadership "Effective leaders are alike in crucial way: they all have high degree of emotional intelligence" (Goleman & Maccoby, p.3) Emotional intelligence is an essential quality required for an effective leader. The group which he leads often consists of individuals of different personality and behavioural traits. Only a leader with emotional intelligence can identify each individual member of the group very well and utilize them in an effective manner to execute the objectives of the group project. "The renowned researcher in human organizational behaviour David McClelland found that when senior managers had a critical mass of emotional intelligence capabilities their divisions outperformed yearly earnings goals by 20%" (Goleman & Maccoby, p.5) Emotional intelligence make a leader capable of increasing the productivity of the organization