Welcome to the course on leaders and leadership. Let’s se what’s behind a good leader!
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This course takes about 30 minutes to complete, and you will learn:
What leader and leadership mean
How a leader differs from a boss
Why leadership is important
How to be a better leader for your team
Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them.
Leaders can be found in various roads of life.
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For this type of leader, the main part of their leadership is an ideology that brings followers to the same cause. By convincing enough people to follow their ideology, the political leader is aspiring to a position in the political ladde
Similarly to a political leader, a religious leader is one to focus on ideology. This person inspires others to follow on their journey to explore and focus on the same values. Also, this can be a leader with official recognition from the corresponding religious structure like a pope or archbishop.
This type of leader inspires others by creating a captivating life or methods of living that motivate others to transform their life similarly.
This type of leader focuses on various aspects of the workplace. They bring inspiration as well as actively participate in productivity increment and decision-making, problem-solving. and other skills.
As seen on the previous page, leadership can be expressed in different forms and mediums. However, in
this course, we’ll focus on leaders and leadership in a workspace setting.
In this chapter, we focus on the leaders found in the workplace.
Every business, whether it's a multimillion company with decades of history or a growing enterprise finding its place in the business world, solely depends on the people belonging to that organization.
Teams can be built, trained, or molded, but the core element of any team (either as a smaller branch within the company or whole company altogether), is the leader. The person or persons play the role of motivating, pushing, and molding the team. Therefore, the strength of the company can be judged by the characteristics of those personalities.
Who can be a leader?
Every person can express leadership traits or evolve them with time and resources. Also, a workplace can have numerous leaders (not just those in management). However, the typical workplace leadership role is for people in higher or lower management positions with the ability to impact the work of others.
You can look at leadership as the force that inspires the team to a common goal. Good leadership influences people to reach their maximum effort. It is a crucial characteristic to improve a company's productivity and future goals. The leader also has a direct impact on the overall mood in the workplace.
Leadership shouldn't be mistaken with power. Getting up a career ladder on its own isn't a statement that defines one's leadership. The custom of how one with status uses the power they have been given is a sign of whether that person is a leader or not.
The leader has to be practical and a realist yet must talk the language of the visionary and the idealist.
No one is born a leader (even if that saying tells you otherwise), and no one is a lost cause if they do not display typical traits assigned with leadership.
A few people already have abilities that are needed to be a leader; however, most likely they do not have all the qualities. In general, leadership is a set of skills that can be learned, developed, and improved over time if the person is willing to do that.
Let's move to the next section to learn more about how one can become a leader.
In this chapter, you'll find out more about what is expected from a leader.
A leader is only as good as the team that follows him or her. However, it is also crucial to remember the importance of Leadership for a team.
A great team without a strong leader won't reach their best potential and will eventually fall apart.
A good leader can start with a team that has no team spirit and aren't too fond of operating together; however, with patience and hard work, a good and productive team can be developed.
Choose the answer that suits you the most in your existent or future leading role in the company.
Looks like you are at a crossroads. But we got you covered. Keep reading to find out more on how to become a great leader!
CONTINUEAs we touched on earlier in the course, a leader is not a title but the way how one acts. Therefore, being in a manager's position doesn't automatically make a person a leader. Here are some thoughts on how to differentiate a boss from a leader. Read them and move to the next pages to focus on developing necessary leadership skills.
The leader has to be practical and a realist yet must talk the language of the visionary and the idealist.
There is nothing bad with being a boss. Every company needs someone to supervise others and to be responsible for decision making. However, the power to delegate tasks and make decisions alone is not sufficient to create a long-lasting healthy work environment that inspires workers to be loyal and to strive for their personal and the company's benefit.
Loyalty is a treasure in both the personal and business worlds. By creating a reliable and secure relationship between employees, a leader can create long-lasting effects for the company. In return, employees who feel valued by the company perform better. They are more open to new ideas and also participate in creating innovative solutions for any problems they could face along the way.
As mentioned in the previous chapter, leadership skills can be developed over time. Here are the core traits of a person who aspires to be a leader to their team. Click on each of the traits to learn more.
Communication is more important than ever in this position. A leader should be interested in and capable of listening, analyzing the received information and communicating further action.
Leadership can quickly sail a person into unknown waters. Leaders should be ready to develop new skills or gain knowledge that is needed in every new situation they face.
The leader should be certain to take the first step forward and encourage others to follow. The leader also inspires others by leading by example.
People buy into the leader before they buy into the vision.
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There are a couple of leadership approaches or styles. Each leadership style has its pros and cons. Workplace dynamics as well as team and work habits play a significant role in deciding which leadership approach is the most appropriate.
Dynamics and adaptability are significant aspects of leadership. Therefore, one can use various leadership styles or change them over time, if necessary. A powerful leader can also take traits from various leadership styles and mix them to find the right balance needed for the company and the team.
It is important to be familiar with various approaches to leadership and to choose the ones you feel are most useful for the situation.
The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.
Click on each box to read more about the particular leadership approach
This leadership style is where the leader typically is the sole decision-maker. It results in a fast decision-making process and a visible chain of command and responsibilities. With this leadership style, it is easy to maintain consistent productivity and results.
However, it lacks ways for the team members to express their ideas or creativity. If misused, it can also lead to a toxic work environment, and thus, a larger turnover rate at the organization.
This is a leadership style where the leader acts as a role model. The leader inspires others to follow their vision and to work together to achieve the goal. It is a very motivational style, and it is driven by inspiration and common goals. Therefore, it kilds a more unified and creative team. It is a great style to use when trying to improve the direction the company is going or the overall morale at the workplace.
However, it puts great pressure on the leader to balance between being a role model and communicating freely about all of the aspects of the company. It can also cause imbalance and uncertainty when transformation occurs.
As the name says, this leadership style focuses on creating a bond with employees by being empathetic, passionale, and enthusiastic. This is a great approach to boost the office morale and unify the team.
However, with this leadership approach, it can be hard to make difficult decisions and communicate them to the employees.
If you want to involve most of your employees in the decision-making process, this could be the right leadership style. It focuses on involving and consulting the team before making big decisions or changes for the company. Typically, they leader still has a larger saying in the result, but overall, it helps to create a more unified and inclusive work environment where employees are assured their opinion matters.
However, this could also backfire in cases where the employees do not feel the same about the organizational decisions. Also, the leader could have a hard time communicating the unpopular decisions with the rest of the team. It is also more time consuming, and it isn't the best approach when swift decisions need to be made.
This approach uses rewards, punishments, or different exchange systems to motivate the team and achieve results. It can be very effective for short-term goals as it increases employee motivation and productivity while they try for the reward.
However, it should focus on rewards that are motivational for the employees; otherwise, the productivity and motivation will drop. It also limits the professional and personal growth as well as the overall creativity and innovation of the company.
This leadership style encourages people to work with others. It can be inside the already existing team or even reaching outside the team members. The focus is on sharing knowledge and gaining different perspectives as well as embracing diversity.
However, it can create conflicts between team members and leaders while causing issues with responsibility and task delegation. Also, the decision-making process caribe time-consuming as it typically involves consulting with others outside the team.
This leadership style is called "laissez-faire", and it focuses on a hands-off approach by the leader. The leader plays the role of resources, tools, and guidance provider to the team. However, the leader passes the ability to make decisions about the day-to-day work to the members of the team. This is a typical style in creative companies as it gives more freedom to each individual employee.
Delegative leadership can lead to increased creativity and better individual productivity. It also enhances independend between the team members as each employee find their best approach. However, it can also go downhill if the employees aren't competent or motivated enough. Then a drop in productivity, as well as interpersonal difficulties, may arise.
This leadership focuses on the development and needs of other team members. Leaders who follow this style put the company's and team's needs before their own. That results in performance peak and overall security and trust within the organization.
However, this leadership style can take a great toll on the leader, resulting in burnout and strained relationships when bad news needs to be communicated. It also could take a longer time than other leadership styles to reach the intended goals.
In this chapter, you'll find out more about how to be a better leader in the workplace.
Before you are a leader. success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.
As mentioned earlier, a leader is not a single person's position. To become a leader, one must have a team to lead. Therefore, one of the leader's main tasks is to improve various aspects of the team. The two main areas of improvement are communication and production. Let's read more about them on the following pages.
Depending on which leadership style is the best fit for your needs, you could also focus on different communication methods with the members of your team.
However, here are some things you should always pay attention to:
Leadership reaches further than just job delegation and management. There are both business and interpersonal challenges that are the leader's responsibility to address. How it is done can greatly impact the company.
Click on each of the boxes to read more about various aspects of problem-solving.
When you see an issue, do not target and attack right away. Analyze the situation and how it could affect the company on a larger scope. It is possible you'll see a pattern or a recurring issue that should be addressed by a more complex approach than it was previously. By analyzing the situation and looking at the bigger picture, you have a chance to look past a temporary fix. Instead, you'll be implementing a permanent solution and possibly even addressing other issues along the way.
Data is an objective tool to prove a Soint when emotions and opinions are subjective. When you are faced with an issue, collect as much data as you possibly can. This will help to communicate the needed solutions and prove the point to other employees of the company.
AAs the leader is the link between the company's vision and the team working towards that goal, it is crucial to communicate effectively and openly. Transparency ensures trust within the team and helps to see all of the angles of the issue you are trying to solve. By communicating with the team, you'll be able to see different perspectives as well as the possible impact that the resolution would have.
You should get comfortable with communicating honestly about all of the subjects - both positive and negative.
Acknowledging one's responsibility is an important part of solving the problem. However, that shouldn't be the focus of the problem-solving actions. Instead, focus on overcoming the obstacle and how that could improve the future decisions for the company.
Most likely, every problem has several possible solutions. Analyze, evaluate, and focus on the solution that seems the most appropriate. Communicate it with the rest of the team. Evaluate if the implemented solution is working or if you need to look further to find a better one. If the solution needs improvements, acknowledge those improvements, and communicate the needed changes with the rest of the team.
By holding themselves personally accountable, leaders show an example for their followers. Mistakes aren't signs of weakness or failure; they are a part of everyone's development. By acknowledging one's faults in the decision-making process, the leader can create opportunities for both themselves and the team to grow, discover and improve. By not being invincible and always right, the leader also shows fairness and respect for themselves and for others. This is a sign of personal strength.
Struggle, tough decisions, interpersonal issues - those are words that aren't pleasant for anyone. However, those and other occurrences don't mean the leadership or management has been faulty. Challenges, struggles, and setbacks are a natural part of every process and development. Given that, it is a great learning moment for everyone, especially to those who encapsulate the spirit of the company. The example and actions of the leader can play a significant role in the overall mood of the team or even the whole company. Also, remember that a leader is still a person. Leaders can also make mistakes or suffer greatly. Any personal hardship or struggle shouldn't be looked over or disregarded. Personal struggles shouldn't be hidden to express a stronger or "perfect" view of a leader. Go to the next page to read tips on overcoming struggle as a leader.
Here are a few tips on how to overcome struggles, hard decisions, or any other issues in the workplace or your personal life while being a leader.
Being a great leader is a part of the lifelong learning process. Time passes and people and organizations change and adapt to the changes. A leader needs to keep up with the changes to give the needed resources, encouragement, and motivation to the team.
Also, the learning process is a great way to prepare a leader for yet another situation they haven't experienced before.
You can widen your scope of ledership by:
Investing in personal growth
Socializing with other leaders in your area
Following leaders that inspire you and getting familiar with their journey, struggles, and achievements
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.
Welcome to the knowledge check of this course.
Who can be a good leader?
That's right!Although anyone could be a good leader, only those people who have the willfulness to learn and improve themselves can be good leaders. It is not enough to be born into a family with a history of leadership roles. It is also not enough to simply possess some of the needed skills and think that will be enough to be prepared for a multitude of situations or teams.
That's right!Although anyone could be a good leader, only those people who have the willfulness to learn and improve themselves can be good leaders. It is not enough to be born into a family with a history of leadership roles. It is also not enough to simply possess some of the needed skills and think that will be enough to be prepared for a multitude of situations or teams.
What are the disadvantages of a democratic leadership style?
That's right!Although anyone could be a good leader, only those people who have the willfulness to learn and improve themselves can be good leaders. It is not enough to be born into a family with a history of leadership roles. It is also not enough to simply possess some of the needed skills and think that will be enough to be prepared for a multitude of situations or teams.
Not exactly!The biggest disadvantages of a democratic leadership style are the time-consuming process of decision-making and possible hardships to communicate and enforce unpopular decisions with the rest of the team.
Sort these characteristics in the correct groups.
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