Finance and Business Leadership and Management

Effective Leadership Styles

All organizations and institutions need leadership in order to be able to manage them properly, and this is in order to be able to achieve the desired results of successes and achievements in all business. Without leadership in any organization or institution, it is impossible to achieve goals and ambitions.

The manager or leader is the one who has control over the institution. One can create an atmosphere of friendship and love among employees in a way that achieves the desired goals, or can create a tense situation among employees. 

The meaning of leadership:

It means the ability of the leader to influence others through the skill of communication to do the required work in the required manner in order to achieve the planned goals. Also, leadership does not arise out of a vacuum, but it must make many social relations and communication with individuals.

Leadership also represents a number of behaviors followed by the leader, and these behaviors are a combination of the qualities of the leader and subordinates, the organizational system, and the cultural context, so that the employees make an effort at the highest level of efficiency with a state of client satisfaction.

Managerial leadership styles:

Leadership is divided according to different criteria into several types. In terms of productivity and effectiveness, it can be divided into positive or negative leadership.

In terms of delegation of authority, leadership can be divided into centralized leadership or decentralized leadership. As for the nature of the organization, it is divided into formal leadership and informal leadership. Finally, leadership is divided in terms of classical studies into democratic, autocracy, and liberal leadership as well. We will learn about each type of leadership in this article.

1. Democratic leadership:

Democratic leadership depends on three factors, which are human relations, participation, in addition to the delegation of authority. The democratic leader always interacts with the employees of the institution and takes the principle of counseling as an approach for the leader’s life. Also, they give one of the employees some of the leader’s powers.

Democratic leadership is based on trust between the leader and the employees, and it ends in many positive results from improving the spirit of the workers, in addition to increasing the productive capacity of the employees.

Models of democratic leadership:

  • A model that gives a certain percentage of freedom to employees in the institution in which they work, and this is through their participation in decision-making, where the leader presents the problem to the employees and asks them for advice and assistance in the matter, and then chooses the appropriate solution for them.
  • A model that presents the solutions related to the problem, and asks the employees to choose the best solution within the framework of the solutions that were presented.
  • A model that gives a large area of freedom, in order to participate in reaching the right decision and implement it as required.
  • Another model that makes a specific decision about a particular matter, and will modify this decision immediately if employees object to it.

2. Autocratic leadership:

Autocratic leadership is known as authoritarian leadership or dominant leadership, as it revolves around the leader only; That is, the leader must dominate and supervise all matters.

And from that begins the monopoly of decision-making and develops and finds solutions by oneself in the event of any problem without consulting the employees of the institution, and the employees of the institution must obey orders only. This approach depends on the threat and it is a negative approach.

Models of autocratic leadership:

  • The model of the autocratic leader, whose style depends on the use of positive leadership in the sense that one praises with some punishment to ensure the loyalty of employees and to create a state of positivity among employees.
  • And the model of the leader who makes decisions in all matters, whether small or large, and gives strict orders that the employees perform in silence and without discussion.
  • The rare leader model that gives the opportunity for employees to participate in decision-making through seminars and conferences, and this is to create a space of freedom and discussion between one another, but the leader makes the decision alone after that.

3. Free leadership:

Free leadership is known as reckless leadership, unguided leadership, or random leadership. This type of leadership depends on the individual only as one enjoys a high level of freedom without the involvement of the leader.

In this case, the leader becomes a consultant, just like the employees of the institution.

There is a prevailing belief that the possibility of employees to be creative and achieve goals is only through the complete freedom that is granted to them.

However, this type of leadership has received many criticisms, and it revolves around the negative consequences that will affect  the employees, including the loss of the spirit of cooperation and the failure to commit to the rules and instructions.

Skills that an effective leadership must have:

  • There are many skills that a successful leader must have, and these skills are divided according to several levels, as follows:

1. Knowledge skill:

  • Knowledge skill is considered as the foundation upon which the house is built. It is substantial and necessary for leadership assets.
  • It includes knowledge capabilities, for example, the ability of a leader or manager to collect and analyze data and information.
  • It includes other skills such as speaking and listening.
  • In addition, it includes their ability to communicate ideas through writing, learning, and adapting to all circumstances.

2. Personal skills:

  • Personal skills include a number of social skills related to influencing and being influenced by others.
  • These skills are called social abilities or another name, which is social complexity and also human relations skills.
  • These skills appear in one thing, which is social intelligence by recognizing the ability of an individual or leader to persuade those around them, and influencing them with their ideas.
  • In addition, it includes the skill of negotiation and getting to know the reactions of others.

3. Practical skills:

These skills are related to several things, including specific functional or practical areas.

As it includes the ability of the leader to control the financial resources, and managing them as required. For example, identifying the tools needed to complete the work, as well as finance resource.

Also, it includes working to motivate employees through many ways,  including providing financial incentives and making them feel that the institution to which they belong is like the house to which they belong, and to give them all respect.

4. Strategic skills:

  • Strategy is one of the things that must be available in organizational leadership.
  • This skill requires the availability of great concepts and knowledge that make the leader able to understand all the complexities and deal in a simple and flexible way in order to manage and influence the organization or institution. This is through the ability of the leader to develop plans and establish a general vision for the institution. In addition to the leader's ability to identify and reach the problem, and develop alternative plans to lessen the consequences of the problem.

The steps to become a successful leader:

The steps that an individual must commit to in order to become a successful leader:

  1. The individual's ability to make the decision to be a leader within an institution and not be just an ordinary individual.
  2. Work on the continuous development of all skills in the personality of the individual. This is by engaging in self-development programs held by the institution to which he belongs.
  3. Benefit from the top trainers in terms of experience and professionalism.
  4. Access to the strengths and weaknesses of the individual's personality so that they can overcome and fix them.
  5. Put past mistakes and experiences in the first steps of the individual.
  6. Take the reactions of the surrounding personalities about everything that the individual does.
  7. Develop the business carried out by those around, in order to develop the spirit of leadership.