Leadership

Many people believe that leadership is simply being the first, biggest or most powerful. Leadership in organizations has a different and more meaningful definition. A leader is someone who sets direction in an effort or task and influences or motivates people to follow that direction. The power point presentation explains leadership is the influence that particular individuals exert on the goal achievement of others in an organizational context.

When some think of leadership the idea of the military is taken into account while others use the term to refer to executive management. These are few examples of different types of leaders there are. There are also different roles of leadership such as senior-level executives and middle managers. Motivated leaders who have charisma and high levels of emotional stability will be honest and have integrity in the manner in which they lead. An effective leader must be respected by the members of his or her group in order to perform effectively.

Another aspect of leadership includes leadership traits such as being influential and inspirational. There also different contexts of leadership, e.g, leading oneself, leading other individuals, leading groups, leading organizations. Some traits that are often associated with being an effective leader include a measure of intelligence, high energy, self confidence, dominance, and a need for achievement. An effective, charismatic leader must lead by example. That leader must be able to know what is going on, the job or task that is being accomplished, and be able to lead the group into performing the task at hand successfully.

There are many different types of theories on leadership. There is Fiedler's contingency theory, situational theories of leadership and House's path-goal theory. These theories are used to make an individual or manager a more effective leader. They can be used as a guide for individuals and help them achieve whatever goal is set out by their organization or group.

Fiedler's Theory is stated in the power point presentation as the association between leadership orientation and group effectiveness is contingent on how favorable the situation is for exerting influence. If there is some catastrophe which will befall a group or set of individuals if a task is not complete, then that group will be more effective as they are motivated to complete that task to avert that particular catastrophe.

The Situational Theories of leadership explain how leadership style must be tailored to the demands of the task and the qualities of subordinates. If a leader has high caliber group members than the style of leadership would be different than that of a leader with a penal colony work gang. Not only is this true, but if the task is to build a nuclear power plant than the leadership requirements would demand exactness instead of a lackadaisical attitude.

House's Path Goal Theory is stated to be the situation under which various leader behaviors are most effective. The leader forms a connection in the group between those individual group goals and the goals of the entire organization. Furthermore, for workers to have job satisfaction than the leaders behavior must be seen as immediately satisfying or working toward being satisfied in the future.

There are many different leadership styles and behaviors that one must consider when thinking of leadership and often the leadership style is situational depending on the environment, task at hand and the life cycle of the organization. Some of these styles include the autocratic leader, participatory leader, laissez-faire or hands off styles of leadership, developmental leadership, consideration and initiating structure.

The developmental leader works with the members of his or her organization as equals and uses charisma skillfully to persuade or negotiate instead of using formal power achieving high levels of participation and commitment instead of blind obedience. This leader member exchange focuses on the relationship between the leader and the various members ensuring high quality and the ability to talk. The employees in this style of leadership are