THE LEADER

”If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, then you are a good leader.”

As commonly known to others, a leader is responsible for instructions, orders and planning. In any organization, a leader serves as “the captain of the ship”,” the master of troops” and “the king of an empire”. A leader has many faces; he could be someone who directs you with words and teach you what to do. As time goes by, different types of leader were coined for a clearer definition of what a leader could be. These types were summed up as follows;

Lai ssez-Fai r e A laissez-faire leader lacks direct supervision of employees and fails to provide regular feedback to those under his supervision. Highly experienced and trained employees requiring little supervision fall under the laissez-faire leadership style. However, not all employees possess those characteristics. This leadership style hinders the production of employees needing supervision. The laissez-faire style produces no leadership or supervision efforts from leaders, which can lead to poor production, lack of control and increasing costs.

Au t ocr at i c The autocratic leadership style allows leaders to make decisions alone without the input of others. Managers possess total authority and impose their will on employees. No one challenges the decisions of autocratic leaders. Countries such as Cuba and North Korea operate under the autocratic leadership style. This leadership style benefits employees who require close supervision. Creative employees who thrive in group functions detest this leadership style.

Participative Often called the democratic leadership style, participative leadership values the input of team members and peers, but the responsibility of making the final decision rests with the participative leader. Participative leadership boosts employee morale because employees make contributions to the decision-making process. It causes them to feel as if their opinions matter. When a company needs to make changes within the organization, the participative leadership style helps employees accept changes easily because they play a role in the process. This style meets challenges when companies need to make a decision in a short period.

Transactional Leaders using the transactional leadership style receive certain tasks to perform and provide rewards or punishments to team members based on performance results. Leaders and team members set predetermined goals together, and employees agree to follow the direction and leadership of the manager to accomplish those goals. The leader possesses power to review results and train or correct employees when team members fail to meet goals. Employees receive rewards, such as bonuses, when they accomplish goals.

Tr an sf o r m at i o n al The transformational leadership style depends on high levels of communication from management to meet goals. Leaders motivate employees and enhance productivity and efficiency through communication and high visibility. This style of leadership requires the involvement of management to meet goals. Leaders focus on the big picture within an organization and delegate smaller tasks to the team to accomplish goals.

These types of leader vary and sometimes can be effective to a certain organization but not for others. The need for a leader in a group, organization and the like is a major key in ensuring success. The responsibility of leader is a ton-weight. Either it will achieve its goal or could give adverse result. In this case, what are then a leader need to possess and remember to provide an efficient and an effective leadership?

First, a leader should “walk the talk”. Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing. In order for a leader to be able to gain trust and confidence of his subordinates, he needs to be able to convince them by setting as a good example. These include following rules and policies that may inspire people to become good follower.

Second, a leader should be goal-directive. Any organization will be too lousy or to incompetent if it cannot provide a clearer vision of what they want to achieve. Hence, a leader should be able to focus on directing his members in achieving their goal. A leader should be burning with an idea, or a problem, or a wrong that he wants to right. If he’s not passionate enough from the start, he will most likely fail.

Third, a leader should practice leading by learning.Power isn’t control at all — power is strength, and giving that strength to others. A leader isn’t someone who forces others to make him stronger; a leader is someone willing to give his strength to others that they may have the strength to stand on their own. A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame and a little less than his share of the credit.

Lastly, a leader should practice open communication with his people. A true leader is one who is humble enough to admit his mistakes. One of the common causes of failure to communicate within an organization is the lack of opportunity to listen. Sometimes, people listen not to understand but rather reply to react. Communication should be honest, open and two-way. Thus, this will lead to a better working relationship with each member of the organization.

— oOo— The author is Head Teacher I at Masantol High School