It includes directing and influencing others towards the completion of stated regular objectives and involves being responsible and accountable for the entire group. According to Satterlee (2009), one of the main functions of a leader is to address the issues of change and how to cope with these changes.This can be done by using a leaders' influence to convince followers that their way is the way to go. Accordingly, leadership is the art of and method of influencing followers of organized groups so they will strive to willingly do what the leader wants them to do (Pulley, Sessa ; Malloy, 2002) A leader not only has the passion to work but also has the passion to work with confidence. Therefore in order to be an effective leader the leader must possess the basic characteristics of an effective leader in order to carry out tasks efficiently.When these characteristics are used correctly they will enhance effective management in organizations (Maxwell, 2007).
Effective leaders have an optimistic effect on their organization’s business and customs through their skillful leading style to promote major changes. An effective leader is very aware and very knowledgeable in leadership practices and concepts. An effective leader honors their followers, gives them credit for their hard work, learns from the errors and mistakes of others and tries to promote change and to overcome the situation.They never make fun of or ridicule their follows and they try to develop a positive atmosphere in which everyone can work in a collaborative manner. This paper will define and determine the characteristics of an effective leader (Maxwell, 2007).
What is leadership? In determining the characteristics of an effective leader, it is essential to first be aware of how a leader needs to perform. A leader communicates directly with individuals, creates and maintains relationships with them, inspires and motivates them to carry out the organizations objectives.Leadership is the skill to raise the group’s performance in line with the objectives of the organization. Leadership and motivation are strongly interrelated.
An effective leader has a better understanding of what individuals in the organization want and need if they know how to motivate them (Satterlee, 2009). According to John Kotter (1996): “Good leaders produce important, positive change by the providing vision, aligning people’s efforts with the organization’s direction, and keeping people focused on the mission and vision by motivating the inspiring them.Good leadership, like good management, helps an organization to succeed”. According to John C.
Burkhart (1999) “leadership is a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and directs to the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent. ” An effective leader completes this process by using their leadership characteristics. Characteristics of an effective leader include principles, ethics, values, knowledge skills, and attitude. The general basis of great leadership is having a “respectable character and providing service that is not based on self to the organization.
Leaders that are respected focus on what they are in regards to beliefs and character. They also focus on what they know in regards to job tasks of the organization and motivating and providing direction (Pulley et al. , 2002). How to identify a leader The skill of leadership is one that is not taught but developed (Davis, 2003).
Leaders are sure to stand out in work environments that require coordinating and teamwork. This is sure to be the fact when a difficult task is involved and there is no one to step into the leadership role.The trick to identifying a leader is to put into place programs that will assess an individual’s ability to work in teams. By making a void in leadership position, an efficient leader will always surface and handle the situation.
Leaders are born to take charge and thrive on the opportunity when given a chance. An efficient leader will instantly show leadership characteristics that will immediately show their leadership abilities (Maxwell, 1998). These methods are considered successful because they bring out the best in a leader by giving them the opportunity to display his abilities in a difficult situation.This allows management to conclude on who among the group are efficient leaders and who are just putting on an act in front of the big bosses. It will also help to identify those that were thought to be good leaders but do not hold the characteristics necessary for the position (Maxwell, 1998). Characteristics of an Effective Leader Effective leaders are very productive; they must think and conduct themselves as a leader for positive impact on followers of the organization.
An effective leader is completely conscious of their strengths and weaknesses.The best managers focus on using others strengths to benefit the organization (Digeorgio, 2004). In order to be an effective leader you must be able to motivate followers and zero in on their stronger characteristics so that they are able to work at their highest potential (Clifton ; Nelson, 1996). As leaders we need to learn how to manage these strengths to pull out the best in every follower because without this type of management by leaders it will be hard to keep followers productive (Satterlee, 2009).
Gallups’ research has proven that the more engaged followers are, the more productive they become. The same research shows that leaders play an essential role in driving engagement. Gallups’ studies have shown that when leaders’ focus on the strengths of their followers the chances that the followers are actively disengaged at work is only 1 in 100. They have also shown that teams with higher engagement levels have significantly higher productivity and profitability than workgroups with lower engagement levels (Brim ; Asplund, 2009). They strive to keep their roles in leadership.It is very important that leaders show by their actions the positive traits and attitudes they are trying to implement in the organization before trying to implement change.
According to Satterlee (2009), an effective leader keeps his eye on the future, makes a course for the organization, and “attract, retain, motive, inspire, and develop relationships with employees, based on trust and mutual respect”. A trusted leader must inspire trust in order to remain effective. An effective leader strives on their honesty and trustworthiness.They always deal with followers honestly and develop trust with their followers.
They give credit where credit is due in every case. They admit when they make mistakes rather than blaming others for errors. When a follower feels that they are treated with dignity, respect and in a fair way, they find their leaders to be friendly and worthy of their respect. When followers trust their leader they are more prepared to do what is being asked of them.
The higher the level of trust, the easier the followers accept decisions made by leaders (Andersen, 2005).The concept of trust can be built through the use of transformational leadership. A transformational leader is “able to paint the organization’s picture of success and inspire followers to get there (Satterlee, 2009). Being a transformational leader allows leaders to build trust throughout an organization inspiring employees to stay for years to come (Michaelis, Stemaier ; Sonntag, 2010). The Golden rule “treating others as you would want them to treat you” is a key point in the role of an effective leader. They are always the one that provides harmony and action with their words.
Effective leaders are always unwavering, persuasive and work to complete their best work. They realize that there is always a way to improve. The followers they strive to obtain are “cooperative, organized, unified, disciplined and very productive”. They work hard to keep their standards high and mold new ways to improve and bring change (Maxwell, 2007). Effective leader believe in making others feel pleased and celebrated. According to Clifton ; Nelson (1992), celebrating can happen through speaking, watching, writing and through reward and recognition.
It does not only happen in the form of applause or through plagues. It is considered more valuable when it happens in more than one way. This being said, each individual has their own celebration style that can be used to celebrate their strength. “The best managers individualize recognition.
Understanding each employee will help you decide how, what and why you praise” (Lanphear, 2004). Effective leaders do not use their power to bring down others, make them feel bad about themselves, and do not criticize. They bring changes through optimistic thinking, attitudes and words and are very committed to helping others.They think of helping as serving and see serving others as a way to gain respect. These actions do never make a leader feel inferior or secondary.
They believe that followers need to be helped and motivated. Followers are what make the workforce of an organization; by failing to motivate followers or not helping when could result in failure of an organization on the whole. Leadership and followership are interconnected as they each help others outside of their specific roles instead of refusing to assist if the task does not act in accordance with their job description.People generally follow if the leader possesses good qualifications, has a good reputation and has a strong vision of the future.
Being a manager necessitates an understanding of every situation as required by the many different behaviors or approaches to be applied in every case (Maxwell, 2007). There are certain characteristics that set effective leaders apart from others. According to Stephen Covey (1989), true leaders should always remember that success can be achieved by aligning one’s self and philosophies with natural laws to bring true power, focus, energy, compassion, and integrity into one’s life.The principle-centered leadership theory is based on the concept that “natural laws, based on principles, operate regardless of our awareness of them or who we grew up with. They are practiced in different levels of our everyday life (Satterlee, 2009).
Conclusion It must be remembered that while there are many courses that allege to supply people with leadership skills or characteristics, it has also been said that leadership is a calling by God. We have been born with predetermined characteristics that tell us if we will have the ability to be an effective leader.This is why anyone can try to be a leader, but only some out of the many have the ability to be an effective one. “Leadership as a calling entails that the leader must also heed the call” (Kossoff, 2005). The level of responsibility and the range of duties an excellent leader is required to carry out have turned away many individuals that have the potential to become efficient and effective leaders (Reh, 2005).
It is very important that we test ourselves so that we are able to learn what are strengths are. By knowing our strengths we will be better equipped to know if we have the characteristics to become an effective leader.
