Strong leadership is as important as good management for your business to succeed. Good leaders must be able to:
- manage relationships
- motivate employees
- make decisions
- deal with conflict and resolve problems
- influence employees by acting as a role model
- encourage others to follow.
On this page:
Leadership styles
Managing behaviour
Developing emotional intelligence
Leadership styles
Researchers have identified six styles of leadership:
- directive or autocratic - demanding immediate compliance
- visionary - with a view on the big picture
- affiliative - to achieve harmony
- participative - valuing consensus
- pacesetting - to achieve high standards
- coaching - encouraging individual growth.
While managers can draw on all six styles, no single approach fits all situations. Leadership is also influenced by other factors:
- the situation - eg a manager may lead differently during a crisis than during normal work conditions
- employee capability - experienced staff often work best on their own while newcomers need more help
- environmental factors - leadership style needs to reflect changes to team structures and business operations.
[top of page]
Managing behaviour
Managing behaviourManaging behaviourTo guide the actions of staff good leaders monitor their own emotions as well as those of others. This concept is known as emotional intelligence (EI) and encourages a supportive and productive workplace and makes leaders better at:
- conflict resolution and avoidance
- managing social interactions to reduce in-fighting and bullying
- dealing with customers
- encouraging ideas and innovation.
[top of page]
Developing emotional intelligence
There are various ways a leader can develop emotional intelligence:
- have a positive attitude – this makes you appear confident and credible to others
- observe behaviour – interpreting body language and speech patterns can help you to better understand people
- control feelings – avoid becoming angry or frustrated as it creates negative attitudes
- avoid negative signals – your speech patterns, body language and non-verbal behaviour can be very powerful.
[top of page]
More information