Leadership - Meaning, Importance and Qualities

While motivation is the process through which employees are made to contribute voluntarily to work, leadership is the ability to persuade and motivate others to work in a desired way for achieving the goals. Thus, a person who is able to influence others and make them follow his instructions is called a leader.

For example, in an organisation the management decides to install some new machines to which the workers are resisting. However, one of the workers takes the initiative, explains the fellow workers the benefits of working with the new machines and moulds them to accept the management’s decision. Now he is said to be leader as he is able to influence a group of workers who followed him.

In practice, the managers have to guide and lead their subordinates towards the achievement of goals, and so, to be an effective, a manager has to be a good leader. Leadership is the process, which influences the people and inspires them to willingly accomplish the organisational objectives. The main purpose of managerial leadership is to get willing cooperation of the work group to achieve the goals.

Importance of Leadership

The objectives of any organisation can only be fulfilled if its employees are working towards accomplishment of such objectives. To make people work in the desired manner, proper instructions and guidance are necessary. This direction process becomes effective when the persons who give such direction have leadership qualities.

Leadership is essential in functioning of any organisation and its importance and benefits are varied.

1. leadership improves the performance of the employees. Leaders can motivate the followers to work and thereby increase their performance level.

2. With continuous support and guidance, leaders are able to build confidence among the followers, thereby increasing speed and accuracy and decreasing wastage.

3. With friendly and cooperative efforts the leader is able to build employees’ morale which in turn contribute to higher productivity.

Leadership Qualities

In order to be successful, a leader must possess certain qualities. A good leader should be professionally competent, intelligent, analytical and he or she should have a sense of fair play, including honesty, sincerity, integrity, and sense of responsibility.

He must possess initiative, perseverance, be diligent and realistic in his outlook. He must also be able to communicate his subordinates effectively. Human relation skills are must for any leader. Earlier, it was believed that the success or effectiveness of a leader depends upon his personal traits or characteristics, like physical appearance, intelligence, self-confidence, alertness, and initiative. This is no longer regarded as a correct approach.

It has been established on the basis of experiments that the success or effectiveness of a person as a leader depends upon his behaviour pattern or leadership style in relation to the followers.

To get things done, managers have to influence their subordinates and seek their voluntary co-operation. If their leadership is not based on suitable behaviour or style, they will not be successful. When leaders involve people in determining goals, and build up team spirit, chances are that people will follow them voluntarily.