Leadership Is An Influence-Based Relationship

Introduction

Leadership can bring to mind a variety of images and definitions. One may think of a political leader, passionately pursuing a social or civic cause or an army general leading his troops into battle, with a clearly defined strategy that delivers a victorious result. Similarly, in the corporate world, it may be an executive developing and deploying a business strategy designed to beat the competition (Mindtools, 2016).

What we can garner from all of these examples is that leadership is an influenced-based relationship, and as defined by Ormond (2011) a leader is someone who has the natural or learned ability to influence and lead others towards achieving a goal or objective. We can also look for reaffirmation of these definitions

Leading is influencing, guiding in a direction, course, action, opinion. The distinction is crucial”. What this essentially implies is that leaders are those who set the framework and direction of a given objective and lead it through influence and guidance, while managers are those who are tasked with the responsibility of following and executing a plan to its successful completion. That being said, it is imperative that managers think and behave like leaders in order to manage effectively.

For the purpose of this essay we will look at leadership theory and frameworks such as Path Goal Theory, Hersey Situational Leadership etc. We will also look at the strong leadership skills and traits required for leadership and then subsequently develop and present a personal plan of

Flexibility: Not every problem demands the same solution, nor does every team member or team respond to the same approach. By being open to new ideas, and adopting various approaches depending on the situation, a leader increases their chances of achieving the best possible outcome.

Conviction: This is one of the most crucial characteristic of leadership. The leader who believes in the mission and works incessantly towards completing it can be an inspiration and a resource to those that follow them.

Now that we are aware of the common characteristics of leaders, it is also prudent to point out that, as alluded to by Vince Lombardi above, there is not a sole leadership style a leader should assume. Johannsen (2014) stated that “when developing your leadership skills, you must first ask yourself, “What leadership style work best for me and my organisation?” For an aspiring leader to answer this question, you should be cognisant that there are numerous styles from which to choose and as part of your leadership development. These styles, as highlighted by Johansenn (2014) are:

1. The Autocratic Leadership Style

2. Bureaucratic