Leadership, its general characteristics. Basic Approaches to Leadership

A person's behavior and leadership qualities determine a leader. Such a person is able to organize the activities of the team: make decisions on behalf of the entire group, organize work, set an example. He proved that his choice for management was expedient and justified. He does not give in to solving problems that may seem insurmountable. Leadership and personality are interrelated concepts.

The leader organizes the activities of employees

The main character traits of a leader

The main character traits of a leader include:

• control over behavior and emotions;
• positive vision;
• resistance to stress;
• readiness for change;
• confidence in success;
• clarity in expressing thoughts;
• readiness to overcome difficulties;
• ability to manage time wisely;
• ability to persuade;
• ability to conduct constructive dialogue.

A leader is a strong personality who is able not only to solve problems and overcome difficulties, but also to foresee them in the future.

When is it useful to be a leader?

Not only in a leadership position, but also in other areas, having leadership qualities is very useful. A leader is a decisive person who knows how to accept responsibility and act confidently and quickly. These are the kind of people who endear you, so these qualities will be useful in negotiations, teaching, and when creating your own business. In general, these traits are the ability to stand up for yourself and move on. It is important to answer that a leader has an optimistic mindset, which helps to become successful in any field.

Formal and informal leadership

Leadership can be formal or informal.

The formal leader is the official head of the team. In rare cases, he evokes the sympathy of employees, at most - respect. An informal is a leader who is informally recognized by the majority of the group. They like him more. But his decision-making is also controlled by his manager.

An unofficial leader often appears in a team under an authoritarian management style. With this style, the official leader is perceived as a tyrant, and the socio-psychological process in the team is perceived as unfavorable and in need of a strong leader. In liberal or democratic management styles, an informal leader appears extremely rarely. No one is afraid of the leader, and no help is needed to defend their interests.

The decisions of the informal leader are controlled by the official leader

Leadership Qualities

A business leader must be persistent, decisive and able to give orders, make decisions, control and direct the activities of the team. A leader at work must be able to :

• determine the tasks of the group he leads;
• communicate them constructively to employees;
• convince of the need for a set goal;
• motivate maximum employees to quickly complete tasks;
• maintain authority in the team;
• remain calm regardless of the situation;
• respond quickly to any change in situation;
• think broadly and positively;
• achieve your goals despite obstacles;
• listen to the opinions of others;
• build the right questions;
• to take risks;
• make long-term plans and achieve results;
• dump ballast.

The problem with leadership and management is that the manager is not always endowed with the qualities of a leader. In addition to qualities, a manager must be able to behave like a leader.

What does a leader look like?

A successful person consists of more than just internal qualities. Equally important is the appearance and image as a whole. Individuals who are leaders by nature tend to look well-groomed and tidy. A successful person can be distinguished by:

• stylish business look;
• well-groomed hairstyle;
• perfectly clean shoes;
• expensive accessories.

To ensure your appearance remains at its best, do not neglect these rules:

• Start getting enough sleep.
• Learn to eat healthy.
• Pay attention to sports.

BBQcash experts recommend:

The ideal time a person should devote to sleep is 8 hours a day. If you don't get enough sleep, be prepared for your mental clarity to become clouded and your concentration to be severely impaired. A proper nutrition system has a beneficial effect on both appearance and health. Try to give preference to fresh vegetables and fruits in your food. Sports will help relieve mental stress and relax after a busy day.

A well-known example of a person with developed leadership qualities is Vladimir Putin. Already at the age of 48, he took the post of President.

Demonstration of qualities

The qualities of a leader are demonstrated by words, intonation, way of conducting a conversation, facial expressions and gestures, confidence and firmness of opinion.

1. A confident person maintains good posture.
2. Doesn't take his eyes off the other person's eyes.
3. Smiles only in appropriate situations.
4. Treats the interlocutor with respect.
5. Dress appropriately for the position held.

External manifestations of leadership qualities

A dominant person in a community is not always active. But it is quite easy to identify it by external manifestations of leadership qualities:

• They dress well. They take care of their appearance, but without extravagance in their appearance. They have their own style.
• They surround themselves with people.
• They look straight into the eyes and confidently shake hands.
• Direct the conversation when communicating.
• They always listen to the speaker to the end and do not rush to answer.
• Quite polite and tactful.
• In the classroom they are placed at some distance from everyone in order to have an overview and not allow strangers into their personal space. But they don’t hide behind their backs.
• Characterized by a confident gait with swinging arms.
• They themselves volunteer to perform duties from which the majority remain silent.
• They immediately grasp the essence of the problem.

It is very important to consider the implicit leader in the team in order to direct his activities for the benefit of the entire organization.

Main types

The desire for leadership is the desire to take a worthy place in society. And it is common to all people. According to the style of decision-making in a team and methods of approach to resolving problems, types of leadership are determined: authoritarian, liberal or democratic.

Authoritarian leader

Authoritarian leadership provides the leader with the ability to make decisions autonomously, and also implies the subordination of all team members to management. The implementation of decisions made is monitored. The manager has the right to criticize and, without giving reasons, take measures to punish subordinates, which causes mass discontent in the team.

Disadvantages of an authoritarian type of leadership:

• high probability of making wrong decisions;
• lack of initiative and passivity of employees;
• team dissatisfaction;
• difficult moral situation.

This style is advisable only in critical situations: an accident or a threat to life. The authoritarian style is capable of suppressing mass discontent.

Liberal leader

The liberal view is characterized by a lack of control and clarity in requirements. There is the possibility of unpredictable penalties.

Such a personality tends to regress and is characterized by a lack of incentive to work and employee dissatisfaction with management and overall work. The climate in the team is unfavorable. The negative influence of people on each other is expressed by hidden conflicts.

Democratic leader

In a democratic form, a person involves the team in discussing the most important tasks and goals and making decisions. The group is given a certain level of freedom to discuss and stimulate work activity.

Such a leader is the most effective. High probability of making the right decisions, good performance indicators, favorable psychological environment. This type of leadership is an indicator of the professionalism of a manager and a good leader.

Leadership and Guidance

Leadership and management are often confused. But these are not synonymous words. In order to understand what leadership and management are, it is necessary to consider their differences.

Key Differences between Leadership and Management

Main similarities:

• a leader and a manager can be both at the same time;
• are representatives of government;
• may have an impact on the environment.

We can conclude that leadership is the influence on one’s followers without the use of coercion and punishment. The authority of a leader depends on his personal qualities and ability to protect the interests of the group.

Management exerts influence through the exercise of formal authority. The position confers leadership authority, but not leadership qualities.

Skills of a modern leader

Leaders or managers are the problem. While managers can be leaders, the opposite is not necessarily the case. In fact, the two roles are often separate. After all, modern business prefers this approach. While leaders lead, managers manage, but this is not the solution to the problem.

Every organization strives for success. Therefore, every team wants to achieve more. That is why the development of leadership skills is of great importance for managers and executives in order to combine not only management functions, but also to find an approach to employees.

Below we will talk about how and what leadership qualities you need to develop in order to become an outstanding leader in the modern world.

Focus on people

To become an effective team leader, you must always remain aware of the relationships within the team. For example, if someone has been feeling out of sorts lately, you need to know what's going on. What does an employee need to get back on their feet? Who can help him do this? Meanwhile, you should also consider how the rest of the team is feeling. While someone is on vacation or sick leave, they will have a higher workload. Knowing your team is very important when dealing with sensitive situations.

You can learn to understand others in several ways. These are psychological courses or trainings aimed at developing emotional intelligence. The second method is very unobvious, but even if your work has nothing to do with sales, study this topic. In fact, any sales training helps develop soft skills.

Be able to make difficult decisions

Risky or difficult decisions are difficult to make. Therefore, most people prefer to avoid such decisions. Your team will expect this from you. And you must quickly take responsibility and suggest the best course of action. At the end of the day, leaders inspire trust and get others to trust them.

Therefore, leaders must be able to make difficult decisions. Without this ability there is no direction to lead to. Decisions are difficult due to several factors:

• Total number of options
• The complexity of their interaction
• Speed ​​of required response

To become a better problem solver, practice math, logic, or both. Some are working on math Olympiad problems. This may seem too strange, but in fact, the good thing about mathematics in this regard is that it always contains a solution, no matter how long and difficult the path to it may be.

Inspire the team

Leaders tend to be confident in everything they do. Communicating this to the entire team is challenging. One thing leaders must do is to never reduce confidence in the team effort. Praise employees publicly and criticize them privately—there should be no room for public humiliation on your team.

Use this advice for many other situations. For example, celebrate even small team victories and encourage your employees.

The best solution is to have amazing recruiting. In fact, trust in your team begins with recruiting and continues with every joint achievement. If your team initially includes people who share the company’s values, then working together and inspiring them will be much easier and will bring more significant results.

Think strategically

A leader has a vision that inspires and leads teams forward. A leader must also see the long-term goals of the team and individuals at the same time. Leaders must look to the future and analyze every step. Strategic thinking is at the core of any modern business. This also applies to modern leadership.

Vision and strategy. To develop a vision, leaders must take the right steps. The right step is not one step forward, but one step higher. Strategy is a step forward, vision is a step higher.

The solution is not simple. You can study strategy, play chess. Spend 15 minutes every day thinking about a few steps to improve something. Learn algorithmic thinking.

To be an example

Leading by example and motivating others through personal action is the most effective method. For example, if employees have a tight schedule due to a new project, the leader will be the first to arrive and the last to leave.

Problems with teamwork? An effective leader will consider the best solution for collaboration. Perhaps even offer some minimal training to help the team adapt.

Leadership through learning is effective. Teachers are leaders. So are coaches, professors, etc. Typically, the people involved in teaching others are leaders. This is why anyone interested in leadership should try to become a coach. Solution: attend a training of trainers.

Develop new capabilities

Leaders create and seek new opportunities. They use strategic thinking to activate resources and invest in creating change. This is most valuable when working with sales. Sales leaders are constantly developing new capabilities. They know how to open a lead and they know how to successfully close a sale.

To discover new possibilities, open your mind. You have hundreds of ways to develop yourself and your team. Use technology, optimize processes, implement new practices, look at every situation as an opportunity. At worst, it will be just another lesson.

Use effective communication

Leaders are effective communicators. More precisely, they use the right information: 100% reliable and complete, clearly targeted, accessible, understandable and delivered on time.

When leaders speak, other people listen. They know that the information they receive has value. Fortunately, leaders are also good speakers and don't wait for people to gather around them to speak.

To develop effective communication, you can do many things. These include public speaking courses and excellent examples of TED lectures.