Effective Leadership

Leadership is the ability of a person to influence other people to perform certain tasks or behave in a certain manner in order to achieve a certain goal. A good leader should thus assess the different situations to determine what approach to get desired things done. Effective leaders are not usually born; they are made. This means no one is automatically a leader even with formal authority; learning how to deal with followers is what makes an effective leader. Any organization or group requires good leadership to succeed in achieving its goals. Leaders play the role of unifying all efforts by different individuals towards a common goal. The ability to make followers willingly forego and drop their personal goals and interests for the attainment of the common organizational goals is a key skill which effective leaders must posses. Effective leadership means getting out the best from the followers.

It is important for leaders to understand that the environment is highly dynamic. Therefore there is no guarantee that whatever approach that works today will be effective tomorrow or in a different setting. This means that leaders should be responsive to the situational changes while offering leadership. It would be unwise to imagine that there is one leadership style that is appropriate for every occasion. Different situations call for varying leadership styles.

The common leadership styles include: authoritarian style, democratic style, charismatic style, laissez faire, and transformational style. Under the authoritarian style, a leader issues instructions on what exactly is to be done, and whom, how it is to be done and when. He does not solicit for opinions from the followers; instead he makes the decision alone. Followers might...

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...needs of their followers. Communication is also a key factor that influences effective leadership. Effective leaders are able to pass out message to their followers and get appropriate feedback in return. Leadership is not determined by the authority of a position or position but by the results. Ability to positively influence the behavior of others toward attaining a specified goal is what makes for effective leadership. Situational leadership is the best approach that could make leaders effective. Leaders need to be flexible and open minded to be able to utilize the different styles of leadership in different situations. Flexibility is a major quality of effective leaders who wish to get things done and in the right manner.

Works Cited

Johansen Murray, (2011). Leadership Styles Overview. Available at: http://www.legacee.com/Info/Leadership/LeadershipStyles.html