Leadership is a management aspect that organizations should practice to achieve organizational goals. Leadership refers to the ability of a person to influence others to follow him or her willingly. Leadership involves establishing a clear vision and sharing that vision with others who are willing to follow (Burns 23).
The leader provides the necessary information, knowledge, and methods to achieve the stipulated vision. In addition, the leader coordinates and balances the conflicting interests of all members involved in the group. A leader can act and solve a crisis that may arise in the course of work. Unlike management, leadership flows from the core of a personality. Coaching or mentoring is useful in enhancing leadership. This paper describes the different styles of leadership that different leaders embrace in organizations.
The transformational leadership style is all about communicating change to the members of an organization. A leader using this style would like to see change in him/herself, others, groups and organizations. The leader in this case has a vision that he sells to people. The leader is energetic, dynamic and enthusiastic in achieving the vision.
Martin Luther king is an example of a transformational leader. In general, a transformational leader begins with developing a vision that will stimulate and convert potential followers. Then the leader uses his energy and commitment to sell the vision constantly to potential followers. In conjunction with selling the vision, the leader has to find the way forward. Finally, the leader has to lead the charge. This involves remaining central to the vision and standing up to take the responsibility on behalf of the team.
The participative leadership style involves the leader allowing members of the group to take part in the decision-making. The leader gives instructions only after consulting with the group. Members are able to perform better because they take part in deciding the tasks (Burns 45).
Involving team members motivates the m to work and perform in achieving the organization’s goals. A leader that practices this style is effective in winning the employees to his or her side. However, this style of leadership may consume much of the leader’s time as he consults from the members.
Another leadership style is the level 5 style of leadership. It involves a leader that gets the best people in the organization to perform. The leader in this situation gets ideas for new directions from other people that are the best in the organization. A level 5 leader is humble and relies on instilling inspired standards on others instead of instilling charisma. These leaders put the interest of the organization first before their own because they would like success for the overall firm.
They assume responsibility for poor results and when the organization succeeds, these leaders give credit to other people (Burns 100). A level 5 leader aims at producing long-term results for the company and building an enduring eminent organization. Level 5 leadership is a contemporary version of participative leadership that most chief executives are embracing to improve performance.
In conclusion, leadership is essential in achieving success in the organization. It is less about the leader’s needs and more about the needs of the followers and the organization. An organization can adopt different styles of leadership depending on the specified demands of the situation. The best leadership style is one that enables the organization to achieve its goals.
Work Cited
Burns, James. Leadership. New York: Harper & Row, 1978.