What? What makes a good leader? Their strength? Their power? Or is it the way a person guides a group to their goal. “Team leadership is a process whereby an individual influences the progress of team members toward attainment of a goal.” (Levi) What a group needs in a leader changes based on the circumstances, and the style of leadership will also change. Now, there are many types of leadership styles and ways those styles are used. Here are 10 common types of leadership from Indeed: Coach, Visionary, Servant, Autocratic, Laissez-faire or hands-off, Democratic, Pacesetter, Transformational, Transactional, and Bureaucratic. Levi also talks, though a survey, about: Directing, Coaching, Supporting and Delegating. All of these are leadership styles, and everyone leads differently. That is why finding the best leader or no leader at all is important to your team.
So What? You might be asking yourself “Why is finding the perfect leader for my team so important?”. Finding the perfect leadership is vital when getting tasks done. If a group has an a amazing leader who fits perfectly with the team then the team will get its tasks done, have less conflict and have more productive conversations to resolve issues effectively and efficiently. On the other hand, having a team with a leader who does not fit can cause tension, lack of work ethic, tasks not getting done as efficiently, conflict, and many others. Of course, there is no such thing as the perfect leader or the worse leader but it’s easy to come close to either one. According to the Center for Creative Leadership, the good leaders consistently possess these traits: Integrity, Ability to delegate, Communication, Self-awareness, Gratitude, Learning agility, Influence, Empathy, Courage, and Respect. These traits are important because “they make up the backbone of leadership across leader levels, industries, and continents. Without these skills, true leadership is impossible.” (Center for Creative Leadership)
Now What? How do I find the perfect leader for my group? Of course, there is no such thing as a “perfect leader” but as the Center for Creative Leadership states: “we believe that leaders are not born but made. We know that leaders are molded through experience, continued study, and adaptation.” (Center for Creative Leadership). Most leaders emerge on their own as teams learn about one another and work together. Management Study HQ states: “A good leader ensures team members’ energy is high to perform the job to their very best. An efficient leader motivates team members by building trust and confidence in them so that, they take a positive approach to the job and the organization at large.” (Management Study HQ). Overall, having a great leader starts with experience and a team. Leaders emerge through learning and emerge in teams over time through work and achieving goals. Having good traits as a leader is also important in that good leaders, according to the Center for Creative Leadership, have the 10 skills: Integrity, Ability to delegate, Communication, Self-awareness, Gratitude, Learning agility, Influence, Empathy, Courage, and Respect. Leadership can be in learned in a classroom, but intrinsically it comes from on the job experience, trial and error.
Refrences:
“10 Common Leadership Styles.” Indeed, 5 Mar. 2020, www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/10-common-leadership-styles.
KukrejaI, Sonia. “Importance and Qualities of a Good Leader.” Management Study HQ, 24 Dec. 2018, www.managementstudyhq.com/importance-qualities-good-leader.html.
Levi, Daniel. Group Dynamics for Teams. SAGE, 2017.
“What Are the Characteristics of a Good Leader?: CCL.” Center for Creative Leadership, 19 Mar. 2020, www.ccl.org/blog/characteristics-good-leader/.
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