leadership

Psychology

2022

We explain what leadership is and what it means to be a leader. Also, the different types of leadership and examples of great leaders.

A leader has the ability to motivate.

What is leadership?

Leadership is the set ofabilities of an individual that allow him to perform tasks such asLeader. A leader is one who is in command of a group and has the ability to motivate its members through its speech or his empathy.

There are different types of leaders who work in various fields such as a business, a family, a organization, a soccer team, among others. In some cases, group members only follow the leader's orders, in others they help totake decisions giving their point of view and collaborating.

The skills of a leader are varied and are the key to generating a positive influence on a certain group of persons. The leader usually takes the initiative to start doing something, then manages and evaluates.

A leader is also one who has characteristics that make him a famous person or who imposesI respectYou stand out from the crowd and have qualities that give you superiority to play a role. The leader excels in some aspect (title, experience,knowledge, performance) and is usually a role model for the rest of his peers.

See also:Mission and vision

Other definitions of leadership

  • Richard L. Daft defines in his book"The leadership experience"leadership as a relationship of influence between a leader and his followers in which it is intended to generate a change and arrive at real results that reflect shared purposes. The elements of this relationship are: leader, influence, intention,responsibility, change, shared purpose and followers.
  • In theManagementfromBusiness Leadership is the action of carrying out an activity (such as adraft) effectively and efficiently within aorganization.

Types of leadership

The charismatic leader manages to enthuse the group and is chosen for that.

Some experts argue that leadership is only one and that, as leaders are people with different characteristics, that makes them different. Others claim that there are various types of leadership with different characteristics.

According to Max Weber:

  • Charismatic leader. He excites people and is chosen for that, he has a tendency to believe more in himself than in his followers.
  • Traditional leader. He inherits power, usually because he belongs to an elite family group or asocial class
  • Legitimate leader. Acquire the can through legal paths; he is the opposite of the "illegitimate leader" who gains power through illegal means.

According to the formality of your choice:

  • Formal leader. He is elected as the leader in a group or organization and has the authority to mete out punishments or give rewards, make decisions, and guide the group.
  • Informal leader. He is not directly elected as a leader, so he does not have an authority, but is followed by the rest of the group members for his charisma and his ability to motivation.

According to the relationship with his followers:

  • Dictator leader. It imposes its authority and its decisions without leaving room for it. dialogue; force your ideas and points of view to the group.
  • Autocratic leader. He has the power of decision over the group and guides the way forward without allowing the participation of the rest of the team members.
  • Democratic leader. Encourages the participation of group or team members to make joint decisions, respects the opinions of others and delegates tasks.
  • Onomatopoeic leader. Guide the group and motivate it through onomatopoeia to generate enthusiasm and retain members.
  • Paternalistic leader. He makes the decisions and establishes the way forward, works based on results and imposes a system of rewards and punishments to incentivize the members.
  • Liberal leader. He leaves the decision-making power and the fulfillment of the functions in the hands of the members, since he trusts the team and gives their support.

According to the influence it exerts on the followers:

  • Transactional leader. Seeks the fulfillment of the tasks of the team members through a system of rewards and punishments.
  • Transformational leader. Motivates followers and focuses on them and their potential to achieve the expected changes in the organization. He is a leader who believes in his team and forms bonds with its members.
  • Authentic leader. Know their strengths and weaknesses, share their opinions, thoughts and feelings, and listen to those of the other members of the group. He is a balanced leader who seeks diverse opinions before making decisions.
  • Lateral leader. He has experience in the position in which he works and leads a group without being a boss, stands out for his motivational power, communication and guide the group.
  • Longitudinal leader. He uses the authority and power that comes from having a hierarchical position that of his followers.

Business leadership

Business leaders have a group of people in charge.

Business leadership is exercised by leaders who are part of a company and have a group of people in charge. It is a fundamental role that focuses on compliance with the objectives short and long term.

Companies are looking for leaders (not just bosses), since they are interested in these employees having a personality leadership and tools that motivate the people in charge to make decisions and fulfill the proposed objectives. The purpose of business leadership is to train trained people who work for the development of the company.

The leader fulfills the role of guide and must have professional and personal characteristics such as: charisma, communication skills, decision-making ability, ability to delegate, discipline, listening and honesty.

Some of the characteristics and benefits of well-executed business leadership are:

  • Improve the bonds between team members.
  • Get the proposed objectives.
  • Generates harmonious work environments.
  • Encourage communication.
  • Divide tasks among members and assign roles.
  • Favors the teamwork.
  • Promotes a sense of belonging among members.
  • Improves the productivity of the company.
  • Highlight the potential of each member.
  • It takes into account the different points of view.
  • Make consensual decisions.

Importance of leadership

Leadership is an important role both in business and in any other group or organization made up of several individuals. When leadership is well executed, it generates harmonious environments conducive to the development of tasks and the potential of each of the members.

The importance of the figure of the leader lies, mainly, in his role of guide and motivator for the fulfillment of objectives or the correct performance of a group. The leader seeks to integrate the members, fosters a relationship based on respect and communication among them, takes into account the opinions and points of view of others, and promotes consensual decision-making or that benefits all members equally.

The leaders are in companies, basketball teams, families, groups of friends, schools, that is, in every human group. Leadership is essential to maintain order in a group and to execute actions and achieve objectives.

Are leaders born or made?

There are individuals who are born with qualities to be born leaders (such as empathy, sympathy, sociability,intuition) and then add to these characteristics the knowledge acquired throughout theirlife; and there are those who learn what a leader has to have and adapt to the situations in which they can have a leading role or be part of it.

Qualities of a good leader

There are certain personal and professional characteristics that stand out in good leaders:

  • It is honest.
  • Delegate tasks Listen and take other points of view into account.
  • Encourage teamwork.
  • Motivate and empower team members.
  • He is responsible and committed.

The power of the leader

The leader must exercise his power thinking also as another member. At some point the power that emanates from the leader is demanded by the members of that group, they need someone to guide and order them. The power of the leader can be used in two ways, on the one hand, to punish the followers and on the other, to reward them.

A leader sustains himself in that position and retains his power only as long as his followers or superiors consider him to be the right person to satisfy their demands. needs, the power that the leader has is not useful if he is not serving the followers.

Leadership examples

Martin Luther King transmitted a message of non-violence and fight for equality.
  • Mahatma Gandhi (1869 - 1948). Indian lawyer and politician who led a peaceful fight to liberate India from the British Empire. He stood out for his defense of the peace world, peaceful resistance and nonviolence.
  • Winston Churchill (1874-1965). British politician who ruled as Prime Minister of that country. His good command of public speaking and the power of motivation made him a positive leader who transmitted a hopeful message to all the English people during the WWII.
  • Martin Luther King (1929-1968). American pastor and activist who led a movement for the rights of African Americans in the United States. He is considered a leader for his oratory and the support that his message of non-violence had and his fight for equality.
  • Nelson Mandela (1918 - 2013). South African lawyer and politician who fought against discrimination race in his country and the apartheid regime (system of racial segregation) instituted by white minorities. He was in prison for 27 years and ruled the country as president between 1994 and 1999.
  • Malala Yousafzai (1997 -). Pakistani activist and student who fights for the defense of the rights of women and girls and access to education in your country and in the world. In 2014 he became the youngest person to win a Nobel Prize.
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