Characteristics Of Supportive Leadership

.0 Introduction 1.1 What is Leadership? According to McShane and Von Glinow (2004), a leader must be able to "influence, motivate and enable others to contribute toward the effectiveness and success of the organization." There are core characteristics of leadership which can be seen as five aspects of an individual, (see appendix), the most important characteristic is that the group is seeking to achieve a goal or target and the leader is the one to help the group achieve this goal. (Howell and Costley 2006, p. 5) 1.2 What is change management? When change is introduced to an organisation, ultimately this change is going to affect one of four parts of the organisations operations; the processes, the systems, the organisation's structure or

Fiedler's contingency model focuses on the match between a leader's style and the characteristics of the situation. While I deploy supportive leadership styles and I emphasise on showing empathy for others and providing moral support and assistance to others, my main objective is to get the job done. 4.0 Traits and skills of supportive leadership Leadership style is the manner and approach of providing direction, implementing plans, and motivating people. Supportive leadership style is more transformational, emphasizing effectiveness. It is a naturally organic and emotionally sensitive style and is especially useful in circumstances such as change. This form of leadership style helps to build and maintain effective interpersonal relationships. (see appendix) 5.0 Sources of Power or influence If you practice supportive leadership, your employees will likely be more satisfied with you and with their jobs (see appendix). Some of the methods used by me to influence and empower my work group are; 5.1 Personal appeal-the leader uses referent power when asking the target to carry out a request or proposal as a personal favour due to their friendship. For example, using a more friendly approach towards giving my fellow CSR's their assigned

These will allow me to apply the difference styles of leadership. In identifying my own leadership style (supportive), I discovered that there where instances that I would have to use a little of all styles. I think the best way for me to improve my choice of leadership style and to know when to apply the other styles will be to continuously expose myself and participate in formal and informal education classes. As I observe and learn from my own senior management and peers through questions, application and/or coaching; this will provide opportunities for me to constantly improve. As a leader and being positioned between the demands of management, team and the workers; leadership skills must include the ability to juggle the various priorities while keeping performance high and cost under control. 9.0 Conclusion In conclusion, there are several leadership styles that I can relate to. However I feel that my constant pursuit of self improvement of my skills and recognizing my strengths-taking opportunities to improve them. As for my challenges, seek coaching and mentoring assistance, attend workshops, seminars and conferences that are conducive to my leadership skills and maintain