How to Improve Leadership

We are living in some very interesting times. We no longer are competing in a localized area for sales, resources and talent. Globalization has called for new traits of leaders in this new environment. Leadership will make all of the difference. Let us take a look at how one can improve leadership qualities and become an effective leader in today’s competitive environment. This means learning how to motivate team members, enhance cohesiveness and improve productivity.

Training Will Make that Important Difference

There have been numerous contemporary studies on what is needed to lead in this new global environment. Organizations must realize that it will take awareness and a proactive stance to stay competitive. To be able to imbibe these qualities and implement it, leaders need a quality training program steeped in research. It has been observed that corporations that implemented leadership training programs achieved a much greater competitive stance. Training programs would arm corporate leaders to gear up and learn behavior patterns that would help them to create a conducive and cohesive atmosphere within a diverse team. Leadership training help managers focus better on team challenges such as appreciating various cultures, values, norms, and communication styles. Effective programs aim at imparting cultural knowledge and teach methods of effective communication with multi-cultural employees. As a result, there is a usual boost the team morale, and achieve greater productivity.

Training on Cultural Diversity

During training, leaders are given an insight in to different cultures, customs and values of various diversity groups. The leaders are trained to respect the customs and values. For example, if you are working with an employee based in Gulf nations, you will need to understand and appreciate that team members cannot be working full-time during their holy month. Likewise, if you are working with an Indian team, you will have to appreciate that they come from far more conservative society as compared to the Western World. You will be made to understand that religion is never to be argued upon, no matter who is on your team. This awareness and openness towards people and their cultures foster better collaboration amongst all team members.

While leaders and organizational members are learning about different cultures, and their values, they will also get an insight about their spending habits. For example, if someone wanted to launch a new consumer product in India, the best time would be in October and November. For Gulf nations, it would be in August through September. While for European nations it would be before Christmas. These are the times when people are willing to open their wallets and shop! So, learning about cultures will not just bring cohesiveness and team spirit, it will also help leaders in making the right decisions at the right time.

Mentoring expatriates

It is often argued that there are not enough mentoring programs for the expatriate leaders to gear them to meet the global challenges. Many a times, a product or service does not take off as desired due to lack of effective leadership qualities in the expatriate employee. This anomaly can be overcome by providing a mentoring program in global leadership.

Employee Network Program

Trainings are best followed up with an employee network program done in intervals of at least every three months. Various cultural topics can be discussed at meetings or forums. Here, employees will gain an understanding about different cultures and global leadership from knowledgeable individuals.

These programs will ensure that all involved emerge as successful global leaders. Leadership is both an art and a science. The first step is realizing that effective leadership involves learning new ideas. The second step is taking action to gain the required training to create and sustain a competitive stance in this new global environment.

Transformational Leadership

A transformational leader is a person who is able to influence individuals and earns their trust; respect and admiration to a great extent thereby help them shift their focus from individual interest to the collective interest of the organization or the team. This in turn works to meet the organizational goals, improve productivity and efficiency. He focuses on the values and importance of a task, and influences his subordinates to let go off the personal goals to achieve a larger perspective-the corporate goals.

A transformational leader will inspire and motivate his subordinates, give due consideration to the followers, and provide intellectual simulation. Through the behavioral pattern of the leader, the subordinates are motivated to accept new challenges and develop better solutions. He motivates them to think out of the box, and develop new, viable solutions.

Research indicates that transformational leadership has yielded positive results in improving performance and in developing positive attitude amongst the subordinates.

Having said that, let us see how a leader can assume the role of a transformational leader.

First and foremost, a transformational leader is extremely social. He interacts proactively with the subordinates and tries to alter the group behavior to suit the organizational environment and strikes a chord with team members, to ignite a positive response from them.

Now, to be able connect with the team members, a leader must possess fantastic communication skills. Here, communication encompasses verbal and non verbal communication. A transformational leader understands the emotional responses and cues given by the team members.

The second trait that a transformational leader must have- is self awareness. Self awareness arises from self confidence. A leader will not over estimate or under estimate himself or his subordinates or his superiors. When a leader has assessed the true worth of him and his team mates, he is likely to achieve the goals along with his team mates. The leader focuses on his subordinates, evaluates them, and provides them coaching in areas where they need development and training.

Let us see this with an example: In a company selling FMCG goods, the transformational leader of a sales team will set realistic targets for his team, encourages them and trains them to achieve their targets, and asks them to think of novel ideas to promote the product. He is receptive of the ideas of his team mates. Here, the leader is not just passing orders to his subordinates about the goals to be met, but he is proactively taking interest and is trying to be the vehicle to meet the goals. He is keeping the communication lines open by asking them to think about novel ways, and he listens to their ideas, thereby building a mutual relationship of trust and cohesiveness in the team.

A point to be noted here is that he is setting realistic goals after assessing the skills of his team members. He fully understands the strengths and the weaknesses of his team members and is ready to help them overcome their weaknesses, and fortify their strengths. This is the reason why organizations look forward to transformational leadership.

Understanding Leadership Styles

Leadership in simple terms means the ability of an individual to bring about change or being a vehicle to the change. The change could be political, social, economical, behavioral or organizational change.

Talking of leaders and leadership styles, there cannot be a ‘One Size Fits All’ approach. Understanding leadership styles and its effective implementation can help the organization meet its goals.

So, let us take a look at some of the leadership styles.

The earlier theorists believed in the ‘Great Person Theory’, where in it was thought that leaders are born and not trained. This theory existed up till 1950s. The 1960s saw a shift in the leadership theories, which now was attributed to a predefined behavior and style. This new theory or the behavioral leadership theory believed that people can be trained to become leaders. This theory emphasized on learning certain traits such as being a visionary, who can teach others and believes in a democratic set up. He is the one who influences people to boost their performance. This leadership style comprise of transformational leadership, charismatic leadership and transactional leadership.

Transformational Leadership is one where the leader acts as a great motivating force to his followers, and helps them to achieve their goals. A transformational leader is full of zeal and zest and is ready to help his followers at all times.

As against this, a leader following transactional leadership style is more focused on the tasks and deadlines that his followers must meet. He is a go getter, is more focused on getting the work done, directing the task and meeting corporate objectives. He does not inspire his followers, though.

A charismatic leader is a role model of his followers, due to his insight, confidence, his ability to thing out of the box, and due his unconventional behavior. He is the hero, the ultimate man for his followers. He enjoys a great relationship with his subordinates, and influences them greatly to perform better.

Often an individual assumes the role of a leader in a particular situation. This theory was proposed by Fred Fielder. He advocates that a leader may be born in a particular situation, where he is able to influence members in the group. If the leader has congenial relations with the group, his chances of achieving success increase.

These leadership theories have undergone an evolution process with the globalization. Although many of us might think globalization to be a recent phenomenon, it is not. Human beings have always migrated towards greener pastures centuries ago, and are doing so even today. With the advancement in information technology and the infrastructural development, the process of globalization has accelerated in the last 2 decades or so.

Globalization has changed the leadership theories, as the business widened, spanning across several borders, cultures and societies. It also paved the way for better products, better services, and mergers, giving rise to giant conglomerates. With a view to get a global perspective, multinationals are hiring people of different nationalities.

Thus, developing a global perspective is now indispensable for successful leadership. A leader with a broader horizon can meet the ever changing global challenges and can also effectively guide his multi cultural team members. That’s the new leadership mantra!