The concept of leadership has many definitions and interpretations and renowned business leaders in the world, time and again, have introduced various successful leadership applications.
Despite these definitions and interpretations, in this writer’s corporate career of over forty years as a follower and leader, the belief is that the personality of the leader plays a pivotal role in management success than subject knowledge.
For example, many noticeable successful globally recognised conglomerates with hundreds of diversified business lines are headed by a single person with the knowledge of a few subjects. These leaders always have a confident viewpoint on managing teams effectively and efficiently.
Simply, in business, leadership that theoretically has many different approaches, is the ability to inspire and influence a team of workers towards a common goal. Unlike the management that predominantly focuses on set processes and systems, leadership emphases more on people.
A great leader not only sets a clear direction but also empowers their team to achieve objectives while fostering a sense of purpose and motivation.
Leadership authority comes from five different sources from which a leader can effectively manage a team. These include the position’s legal authority granted by the organisation, Expert Power: the leader’s knowledge, abilities, and expertise; Coercive Power: the capacity to discipline subordinates; Referent Power: the followers’ attitude towards the leader; and Reward Power: the ability to reward subordinates.
Positional power
Legitimate power or positional power is a crucial concept in leadership. It refers to the authority granted to individuals based on their official positions or roles within an organisation and the formal authority granted to an individual. This legitimate power given by the organisation allows a leader to make important decisions, give orders, and influence team members on their individual duties and responsibilities.
Positional power provides the authority to a manager to guide the organisation in a pre-determined direction to ensure the achievement of a common goal. The employees clearly understand the organisational hierarchy, reporting lines, and responsibilities. It provides the consistency of workflow in the organisation.
By leveraging legitimate power effectively, leaders can establish trust, and collaboration, and drive positive change within the organisation.
Expert power is the knowledge, experience, and skills of the leader on a particular domain. This can only be earned through the trust of subordinates by demonstrating competence. With such expert knowledge, a leader can influence employees to fall in line with the directives given by the leader.
Legitimate power
Legitimate power and expert power most often go hand in hand and supplement each other. When good leaders combine their legitimate power with expertise, they can effectively make more informed decisions and provide more effective guidance. This combination not only augments a leader’s credibility but also earns the respect of followers.
Referent power is the leader’s interpersonal relationships with a team, charisma, and the friendliness towards them. It is based on the admiration, respect, and emotional connection that team members feel towards the leader. A leader with strong and assertive personal traits and refined communication skills can inspire and motivate his or her followers.
Jointly, legitimate power and referent power can establish trust among workers and create a sense of loyalty. This can enhance their ability to influence and inspire their team, resulting in higher levels of commitment and collaboration.
In business, there are many instances where the leaders must take control of situations firmly. In this context, coercive power where the leaders can use strong arm tactics to influence to defuse negative circumstances.
With legitimately granted authority, coercive power provides the leader with the ability to administer punishments, withhold rewards, or make a negative impact on the status of an offender. However, good leaders use this power sparingly and justifiably and do not over-rely on punishment.
Reward power also is important for a leader to provide incentives, rewards, recognition, or other benefits to provide encouragement to followers. This also provides the team members with an enhanced feeling about the leader’s authority in the line of hierarchy.
Legitimate power and reward power also can be interlinked. Leaders can use the powers assigned to them to hugely motivate their team members. However, as the distribution of such rewards are visible, the leader must ensure that they are fair, equitable, and align with the performances, to maintain trust.
Informational power is another aspect in great leadership that aligns with leaders’ personalities. The leader must be better informed than the team and have access to valuable and relevant information. Leaders must have access to strategic information and insights that can influence decision-making and shape the direction of the organisation.
Challenging times
Managing and navigating through severe crises is an acid test for leaders. How effectively they sail through uncertain and challenging times is the highest assessment a leader can confront. Those who demonstrate resilience, adaptability, mitigating risks, and crucial decision-making skills pass this test and emerge winners in the eyes of the team members.
Leadership evolves with the rise of technology, globalisation, and workforce advancements in the future. Hence, when applying the theories combined with strong personalities, leaders will need to be more agile, culturally competent, and technologically savvy to navigate these complexities successfully.
Leadership deals with both the human mind and specialised strategies. The leader must have the potential to control the group of individuals by utilising effective management practices as well as personality. They should have the capability and capacity to guide a team without domineering but giving them a sense of direction.
Organisational leadership
Organisational leadership is about the processes, the results, and strategic communication that leads to achievement. Confident individuals with high energy levels and flexible approaches along with other leadership traits are recognised as great leaders.
Leadership ranks first in management success because it provides the vision, inspiration, and direction needed to achieve organisational goals. The leader’s personality plays the most crucial role in the leadership.
Effective leaders empower their teams, foster a positive organisational culture, and navigate challenges with resilience and adaptability. As the market trends and consumer behaviour is going through a rapid change than ever before, the role of leadership also becomes more critical in the future business landscape.
