Leadership

Leadership is the process of influencing subordinates in the organization for the

achievement of organizational objectives.
Leadership is the ability to persuade others to seek certain objectives, willingly and
not by compulsion.
It is the human factors which binds a group together and motivates it towards certain
goals.
It is a process of stimulating members of the group towards the achievement of
predetermined goals.
Leadership is the ability to induce people in a group to perform their job confidently
and enthusiastically.
Leadership is a part of management, but not all of it.
A manager is required to plan, organize, execute and so on, but the leader just gets
others to follow him.
In order to be an effective manager, one has to be a good leader.
Meaning of Leadership
Leadership, one of the means of direction, is the ability of a manager to guide and
influence the behaviour of his subordinates towards the accomplishment of some specified
goals.
A leader interprets the objectives of the people working under him and guides the
achievement of those objectives.
He also creates and sustains enthusiasm among them for achieving organizational
objectives.
Leadership is a process of influencing the subordinates so that they cooperate
enthusiastically in the achievement of group goals.
Leadership is a great quality that can create and convert anything.

Definitions of Leadership
The term leadership has been defined by various authors. Some of the important
definitions are enumerated below:
1. According to Chester Barnard, “Leadership is the control over the quality of
behaviour of individuals whereby they guide people or their activities in organizing efforts”.

2. According to McFarland, leadership is “the process of inter-personal influence by

which the executive or manger influences the activities of others in choosing and attaining
given ends”.
3. According to Lester, Leadership is “the knack of getting other people to follow you
and to do willingly the things you want them to do”
4. According to Ordway Tead, Leadership is “the activity of influencing people to
co-operate towards some goal which they come to find desirable”.
5. According to Koontz and O’Donnell, Leadership is “the ability of a manager to
induce subordinates to work with confidence and Zeal”.
 6. According to the Encyclopaedia of Social Sciences, “Leadership is the relation
between an individual and a group around some common interest and behaving in a manner
directed or determined by him”.
7. According to Alford and Beatty, Leadership is “the ability to secure desirable
actions from a group of followers voluntarily, without the use of coercion”.
8. According to Theo Haimann, “Leadership is the process by which an
executive imaginatively directs, guides and influences the work of others in choosing and
attaining specified goals by mediating between the individuals and the organization in such a
manner that both will obtain maximum satisfaction.
9. According to James Gibbin, “Leadership is a process of influencing a group in a
particular situation, at a given point of time and in a specific set of circumstances and
stimulate people to strive willingly to attain organisational objectives, helping them with
experience to attain common objectives and satisfaction.”
10. According to Louis A. Allen, “A leader is one who guides and directs other
people. A leader gives the efforts of his followers a direction and purpose by influencing their
behaviour.”
11. According to Robert Tannenbaum, “Leadership is the inter-personal influence
exercised in a situation and directed through communication process, towards the attainment
of specified goals.” Leadership is the process of influencing the activities of an individual or
a group for goal achievement in a particular situation.

Characteristics of Leadership
1. A leader should have followers. The reason is, there cannot be leadership without
followers. A leader must receive habitual obedience from his followers i.e., there must be
acceptance of his leadership.
2. Leadership considers deeply inter-personal influence. It is rooted in feelings and
attitudes that have grown out of reactions of individual personalities to each other.
3. A manager must lead continuously because leadership is a dynamic and ever
evolving process.
4. Leadership involves directing, guiding and influencing the behaviour of
individuals and groups so that future activities and behaviours can be modified in the
appropriate direction.
5. There must be working relationship between the leader and his followers. That
means the leader himself must be an active participant. Otherwise, he will not have any
effect.
6. The leader must set an ideal before his subordinates. His behaviour must stimulate
the followers for hard and honest work.
7. Leadership involves motivating subordinates to strive willingly for mutual
objectives. There should be community of interests between the leader and his team of work.
If the objectives of the two are different and both move in different directions, there is no
leadership.
8. The Leader should possess certain personal qualities such as intelligence,
imagination, good personality, maturity, human relations orientation, etc.
 9. By exercising leadership, a leader attempts to influence the behaviour of
individuals to achieve certain objectives. Thus, it is a process of influencing the behaviour of
other in a particular way.
10. Leadership is related to a situation. The style of leadership required is determined
by the set of circumstances prevailing. Thus, there is no style of leadership which can be
applied in all situations.

Qualities of a Successful Leader

George R. Terry narrates an array of qualities for a leader to be successful in his
career, some of which has been listed below:
1. Energy – both mental and physical-required for a job,
2. Emotional Stability – enabling a leader to act with self-confidence, avoid anger
and deal with his subordinates understanding,
3. Knowledge of Human Relations – requiring an understanding of human
behaviour,
4. Empathy – enabling him to look at things objectively and from another’s view
point,
5. Objectivity – preventing him from getting emotionally involved,
6. Personal Motivation – fostering enthusiasm clearly within himself to get the job
done,
7. Communication Skills – enabling him to talk and write clearly and forcefully,
8. Teaching Ability – helping him to develop and inspire his subordinates,
9. Social Skills – enabling him to understand people; know their strengths and
weaknesses and present him as a friendly and approachable person, and
10. Technical Competence – providing him with an effective working knowledge
and insight of the operations under his guidance.
Successful leaders generally possess the traits mentioned above. But these traits exist
in varying degrees in different people.
Functions of a Leader
The functions of a successful leader are listed below:
1. Taking the Initiative: The first and foremost job of a leader is to take the lead
in all activities. He should not depend upon others guidance and direction to do any work. He
himself should be present in the field, lay down the goals, commence its implementation and
see that goals are achieved as per the predetermined targets.
2. Representing the Enterprise: As a leader is the true representative of the
entire organization, he should represent the enterprise and its objectives not only to those
serving for it but others in the outside world.
3. Interpreting: A leader is expected to give reason to his every order. It is a
delicate task of the business leader. He has to instruct things in such a way that they are
intelligible to all concerned. If his instructions are irrational, they are bound to be ineffective.
4. Guiding and Directing the Organisation: It is the primary function or the leader
to guide and direct the organization. He has to issue the necessary orders and instructions and
see that they are communicated properly. He should guide and advice people and direct their
behaviour for the achievement of organizational goals.
 5. Encouraging Team Work: Without team work, a leader cannot succeed in his task
of accomplishing organizational goals and the leadership may fail. Thus leader must try to
win the confidence of most of his subordinates, if not all.

Leadership Styles
Leadership is a psychological process of influencing followers or subordinates and
providing guidance to them.
The term ‘Leadership styles’ can be defined as the pattern of behaviour which a leader
adopts in influencing the behaviour of his followers (sub-ordinates) in context of the
organization.
Leadership Styles, which is also referred to as leadership techniques is always related
to a situation. This means a leader may be effective in one situation while ineffective in
another.
To be effective, a leader should change his leadership style depending upon the
requirements of the situation.
The various styles or techniques adopted by leaders in relation to their followers are
mainly classified into three categories, viz., Autocratic style, Democratic or Free Rein style
and Participative style.

1. Autocratic Style
The Autocratic style is also known as ‘Leader-centred style’, ‘Authoritarian style’ and
‘Work-oriented leadership’.
The autocratic leader shows greater concern for work than for his workers.
In this style, the leader concentrates all authority in himself and he alone determines
the policy and makes plans.
He instructs subordinates as to what to do, when to do, how to do it, etc. and also
exercise close supervision and control over his subordinates.
He demands strict obedience and relies on the power of his position to reward and
punish others.
Subordinates have little freedom working under autocratic leaders and are just
expected to do what they are told.
The autocratic leader accomplishes the results through the use of authority, fear of
deprivation, punishment and such other negative rewards.
As it is negative in character, authoritarian approach will succeed only in the short
run.
In the case of autocratic leadership the sociometric pattern is a star, with relationships
existing only between the leader and the members but not among the members. The leader is
the key person. The whole operation of the organization depends upon him. In his absence it
may function inadequately or not at all.

Advantages of the Autocratic Style of Leadership

a) It provides for Quick Decision-making because here only one person i.e., the leader
takes decisions.
 b) Mostly subordinates like to work under Centralized Authority and Strict
Supervision.
c) As there is no consultation with subordinates, confidential matters can be kept
secretly.

Limitations
The basic problem with the autocratic style of leadership is that subordinates are not
informed about why they are asked to do a particular work i.e., the purpose of the task.
Jobs are assigned, facilities provided and instruction is given without consulting the
person performing the job.
Subordinates are forced to follow the directions given by the leader blindly though the
directions given may not be proper.
This will ultimately produce feelings of helplessness and frustration among
employees.
The success of this type of leadership depends entirely upon the efficiency of the
leader.

2. Laissez-Faire Style or the Free-Rein Style

The Laissez-Faire Style also called as the Free-Rein Style and Permissive Style is a
style of leadership where there is the least intervention by the leader.
In this style of leadership, the leader largely depends upon the group and its members
to establish their own goals and make their own decisions and the group operates entirely on
its own.
Only very little control is exercised by the leader over group members as the leader is
passive and assumes the role of just another member in the group.
Group members perform everything themselves and the leader usually maintains
contacts with outside people to bring the information and materials which the group needs.

Advantages
a) It provides complete freedom to subordinates so that their motivation and morale can
be improved.
b) There is a full scope for initiative and creativity on the part of the subordinates.
c) There is a free flow of communication between the leader and the members of the
group.
d) This style of leadership can produce quick and good result if the subordinates are
highly educated and intelligent since they have to work without the intervention of the
leader.
Disadvantages
a) Leader’s contribution is completely ignored.
b) Members of the group do not get the guidance of the leader.
c) It fails to give the group the advantages of the leader’s inspiration and motivation.
d) This type of leadership style is only suits to groups where the organizational goals
have been communicated well in advance and are accepted to subordinates.
 3. Democratic Style
Democratic style of leadership is also known as ‘Participative style’, ‘Group Centred
style’ or ‘Person Oriented Leadership’.
The sociometric pattern for democratic leadership is a network which involves a tight
pattern of complete inter-relationships among all members.
In this type of leadership, the leader is expected to encourage and reinforce
constructive inter-relationships among members and reduce intra-group conflict and tensions.
A democratic leader takes decisions only in consultation with his subordinates.
This style of leadership allows substantial participation by members of the group in
management and the decision-making process and the subordinates have considerable
freedom of action.
The entire group is involved and accepts responsibility for goal setting and
achievement.
Subordinates are freely allowed to communicate with the leader and also with their
fellow subordinates and take their own initiative.
Although the leader is a quite important figure in a democratic situation, he is not the
key figure like the authoritarian style.
The leader shows greater concern for his people than for the project and serves more
as a coordinator or agent for the group.
Hence the group is not dependent upon him as an individual and can also function
effectively in his absence.

Advantages
a) It is a successful style of leadership because it is based upon positive assumption
about human beings.
b) It encourages co-operative spirit and development of subordinates for better
performance of their jobs.
c) Participation in decision-making can lead to better leader-subordinates relations and
higher job satisfaction.
d) It reduces employee’s grievances.

Disadvantages
a) Decisions cannot be taken quickly because under the democratic style of leadership,
the leader consults the subordinates before arriving at decisions.
b) Employees may be exploited by adopting this type of leadership disguisedly.
c) People who prefer minimum interaction with leaders and fellow subordinates may not
like this type of leadership.

4. The Paternalistic Style

Under this technique, the leader assumes paternal or fatherly role.

He works to guide, protect and keep his followers happy, who work together as
members of a family.
He makes provision for goods, working conditions and other necessary services.
 It is expected that under such leadership workers will work harder out of gratitude.
However, in the present day context, this attitude may not result in maximum motivation,
rather it can generate resentment in the subordinates.

Importance of Leadership

Leadership is an indispensable part of a manager’s job.

A manager must be able to lead the group working under him for inspiring group
efforts for the accomplishment of the organizational goals.
A good manager achieves maximum cooperation from the group members by
providing two-way communication and motivating them.
He also coordinates the activities of the group members by reconciling their
individual goals with the organizational goals.
Leadership is the ability of a manager to induce subordinates to work with confidence
and zeal.
A manager, who possesses the leadership qualities, is an important modifier of
behaviour of people working under him.
He provides direction to the efforts of the people working under him.
He provides direction to the efforts of the people towards the organizational goals.
A good leader is also instrumental in better utilization of manpower.
The significance of leadership in management will be clearer if we study the functions
which are performed by a leader.

Organization of Activities
A good leader divides organizational activities among the employees in a systematic
manner. The relationships between them are clearly laid down. This reduces the chances of
conflict between them.

Determination of Goals
A leader performs the creative function of laying down goals and policies for the
followers. He acts as a guide in interpreting the goals and policies.

Representation of Workers
A leader is a representative of his group. He takes initiative in all mattes of interest to
the group. He also attempts to fulfil the psychological needs of his followers.

Achieving Coordination
A leader integrates the goals of the individuals with the organizational goals and
creates a community of interests. He keeps himself informed about the working of the group.
He shares information with the group for the coordination of its efforts.
Inspiring of Employees
A good leader inspires the subordinates for better performance. Motivation is
necessary for getting the desired work from the subordinates. The leader motivate the
employees b providing them economic and non-economic rewards.

Providing Guidance
A leader guides the subordinates towards the achievement of organizational
objectives. He is available for advice whenever a subordinate faces any problem.

Theories of Leadership
There are three main theories with regard to the nature of Leadership. They are-
1. Trait Theory
2. Situation Theory, and
3. Behavioural Theory.

Trait Theory
The Trait Theory says that there are certain identifiable qualities or characteristics that
are unique to leaders and those good leaders possess such qualities or characters to the
maximum extent.
The trait theorists have identified a long list of qualities that leaders possess. They are
as follows:

(1) Intelligence:
A leader should be capable of understanding he context and content of this position and
function. He should be able to grasp the dynamics of environmental variables, both internal
and external, which affect the activities of the enterprise. He should also have technical
competence and sound general education.
(2) Personality:
The term personality here means not only physical appearance but also inner-personality
qualities. Such qualities include emotional stability and maturity self-confidence,
decisiveness, strong drive, optimum extrovertness, achievement orientation, purposefulness,
discipline, skill in getting along with others, integrity in character and a tendency to be
co-operative
(3) Other Qualities:
In addition to the above said qualities, a good business leader should possess a few new
qualities such as open mindedness, scientific sprit, social sensitivity, ability to communicate,
objectivity and a sense of realism.

In olden days, it was believed that leaders in general and great leaders in particular are
born, not made. Born leaders inherit several favourable traits or qualities which single them
from non-leaders or the mass or humanity. But later on this was considered wrong. The Trait
Theory is the modification of the above said view and it argues that leadership qualities or
traits can be acquired. They need not always be in-born or acquired through training practice.
 The trait theory of leadership is criticized mainly on account of the following
inadequacies:
a) It is not based on any research or systematic development of concepts and principles.
b) It fails to emphasise the intensity and the extent to which each of the agreed traits
should be present in an individual.
c) Leaders must display different leadership characteristics at different times and under
different times and under different situations.
d) Researches have shown that leadership should be looked beyond personal
qualifications and traits of the individual.
e) The theory does not offer scale to measure the degree of these traits. Therefore,
measuring a trait is not an easy task.
f) Skills are sometimes mistaken for traits.

Situation Theory
The situation approach does not deny the importance of individual traits in leadership.
But it goes further and asserts that leadership pattern is the product of situation in a particular
group and that leadership will be different in different situations.
It was discovered in a research study conducted by Bavelas and Barrett that no
individual emerges as leader when all the participants have equal access to the information
and that the individual commanding maximum helpful information will sooner or later
emerge as a leader. Thus it is obvious that a leader can so structure the organization that a
favourable situation is created for the subordinates to emerge as a leader.
Fred E. Fiedler has developed a contingency model of leadership
effectiveness. This approach was the result of the most extensive programme of research
about leadership styles and effective group performance carried out by Fred E. Fiedler. The
situational variables considered by this research are

1. Leader-Member Relations:
Leader member relations are good or bad depending upon leader being liked or not liked by
the group being supervised.
2. Task Structure:
Task structure is said to be high or low depending upon the extent to which work to be
done and goals to be achieved are defined clearly and unambiguously.
3. Power Position:
Power position is strong or weak depending upon the amount of reward and coercive and
legitimate power possessed.
Only the above said three factors are considered by this theory as defining the
situations
Which influence orientation of a manager.
However, there are other situational factors such as group performance, that
also have a bearing upon the pattern of leadership style and orientation of a manager expected
to do better.
 Finally, he concluded that production oriented leadership is most efficient
either in highly favourable or highly unfavourable situations from the point view of the
leader. A task oriented leader is needed when difficult situation is encountered when things
are not clear and work to be carried out and goals to be attained are ambiguous and have to be
defined by the leader. In the intermediate situations, a manager who is people-oriented is
likely to do better.

Behavioural Theory
The Behavioural Theory of leadership lay emphasis on the fact that, leadership is the
outcome of effective role of behaviour. It relies mainly on the acts of an individual rather than
his traits. Under this approach, leadership is described based on what leaders should do
instead of what they are. This theory states that a leader to be effective should perform his
function in such a way that will enable the group to attain its goals.