What Is Leadership in Management?

People often think that leadership and management are similar, but there is a big difference between these two words. Leadership is about inspiration, influence, and setting direction, whereas management involves planning, executing, and monitoring. Management is a job, and leadership is about competence.

Leadership in management is about setting and achieving challenging goals, motivating others to give their 100% percent, making quick and good decisions, and always being one step ahead of your competition.

Leadership sets the tone of the company, providing the direction for a company and its workers. With strong leadership, a company can achieve significant success.

Why is leadership important in management?

Leadership plays an important role in a company’s success; without one, an organization will not work efficiently. The following facts can understand the importance of leadership in management:

  • Influencing the behavior of people- A leader influences their workers and guides them so that they put their best to achieve the organization’s goals.
  • Solving conflicts effectively- They can solve every conflict effectively under their influence. A leader always allows freedom for their employees to express their views.
  • Leading from the front- A good leader always leads from the front, sets examples for their subordinates on how to do something or make better decisions.
  • Taking important decisions-  A good leader can keep a cool head in the most critical times. Take important decisions without doubting themselves.
  • Training and Development of Subordinates- A good leader can prove helpful in the training and development of his subordinates. He provides them with information about the modern techniques of work. Not only this, he makes it possible for them to be good leaders in the future.

Types of Leadership Styles in Management

  • Transactional leadership- In this type of leadership, the organization rewards the member in return for their work. However, the decision-making powers are in the leader’s hands, and workers can do a little to increase their job satisfaction.
  • Autocratic leadership- In this leadership, the manager has as much power and decision-making authority as possible. The manager does not consult employees and does not incorporate their opinions. This type of leadership works only when quick decisions are expected and no input is required.
  • Transformational leadership- This type of leadership creates a positive environment for their employees, where people help each other. The leader increases the motivation and morale of everyone and communicates with everyone so that a positive change can be achieved.
  • Democratic leadership- In democratic leadership, the final decision is taken by the democratic leader, but everyone is involved in the decision-making process. This increases the job satisfaction between the workers and motivates them to work harder, and increases productivity as employees feel they are in control of the decisions affecting them. A lot of time is taken into the decision-making, but the results are often better.
  • Charismatic leadership- Charismatic leaders believe more in themselves than their team, which creates a risk to the organization if they leave as everyone thinks success is tied to the person.
  • Laissez-Faire leadership- This phrase means “leave it be.” In this type, the leader provides no direction to the team, they are given as much freedom as possible, and all the decision-making powers are in people’s hands. It can be effective only if the employees are experienced, skilled, and responsible and communicate efficiently.

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How to Become a Better Leader?

There are many ways in how a person can improve their leadership skills. Some of those methods are:

  • Connect with your team members- Leading a group of people requires a sense of mutual trust between the leader and their subordinates. To achieve this, a leader should learn how to connect. A leader should be able to recognize the strengths of individuals within their team and allowing them to be responsible and accountable increases employees’ confidence in themselves and their leader and increases their performance. 
  • Keeping a positive environment-  For an efficient office, it is essential to create a positive environment. In a day-to-day working environment, it’s normal to run into some problems, whether it’s a small miscommunication or a major issue; how the individual handles that negative situation says a lot about your leadership skills. Instead of thinking about the problem, a person should focus on how to solve it positively. A positive environment is more likely to create a more engaged and productive workforce. 
  •  Teach employees instead of giving orders- A leader should know how to show others what is required instead of telling them. Coaching employees will help them realize that there are more options in front of them, and they can perform their tasks with more choices. If leaders never impart their knowledge properly, employees won’t grow as future leaders to take their place.
  • Be open to new ideas- A front-runner should always be open to other people’s opinions and ideas rather than doing the same thing over and over again. Every person brings a new idea to the table. Encourage everyone to bring new ideas; this will help the team to become more innovative. True innovation, engagement, and success can prevail when employees feel like they can openly bring new ideas to the table.
  • Give direct feedback about performances- Giving honest feedbacks about your employee’s performance, even if it is criticism, will guide them in the right direction. If people don’t know what you think about their work, they can never improve. In addition to constructive criticism and performance reviews, let them know and celebrate their accomplishments if someone does a good job. Positive recognition will create an environment of productivity; this encourages the person to work hard in the long run.

What Happens to a Leaderless Team?

What happens when the boss is not inside the office?  People avoid work and do something fun, and nothing gets done. To explore why teams need leadership, we observed several teams when the leader was not present.  Here are the top five among the things we found: 

  • Indecisiveness- It would be impossible to decide without a leader. There will be no one to take the final decision, and everyone will argue whose decision is the best.
  • Disorganizations-  If no one is leading the team, there will be no good communication between people, due to which teams will become disorganized and ineffective. And in an unorganized team, a lack of responsibility will develop, leading to negative results.
  • Disintegration- As there is no one to lead and control the team, it can result in inter-conflicts, even over a small argument or difference in opinions.
  •  No goals- A leader sets goals and encourages everyone around them to achieve them. Without such a figure, the team will become clueless about what to do next.

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Conclusion

Therefore, it is integral to know how to become an efficient leader in managing your work environment. Investing in a management certification can provide beneficial results. Great Learning provides various management courses that you can join.

Leadership is an essential aspect of running any company or business. Without one, the organization will collapse. A strong leader is a person who can take charge and have respect for everyone; such a person can make a small scale business into a multinational company, and a bad leader who only thinks that they are right can destroy a successful business. Thus, understanding leadership skills and implementing them is necessary for adequate business functioning. 

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