Key Characteristics That Define a Leader and How Leadership Can Motivate Employees - Essay Example

Table of Contents Introduction 2 The Role of Leaders 2 Trait Leadership 3 How Leaders Motivate 5 Types of Motivation 6 Motivating Employees 3 Fallout of Poor Leadership 7 Conclusion 8 Introduction:- In a highly competitive global business and sociopolitical environment, leaderships plays a huge role in drawing motivating responses that can trigger progress and growth for organizations and countries alike. History acts as testament to the fact that leadership has had an enormous impact on the progress and prosperity of several states and companies. Presence of motivating and inspiring leaders elicits responses from followers that work to the advantage of every stakeholder involved. Gandhi, Abraham Lincon and Napolean are examples of great leadership that led their nations forward[Kri07]. There is however, considerable debate as to what constitutes inspiring and motivating leadership. The usual suspects are personality traits, which are further subdivided into five traits, nurturing, and training, environment and heredity[Ric98]. Some of the key ingredients necessary for leadership in the new age are vision and the ability to handle new situations and adapt aptly[Ric98]. Furthermore, the presence of charisma and a good feel elicits positive responses necessary to bring about change. While one may have the personality traits, he must also understand what motivates employees and subjects and how their motivation can be aligned with the goals of the organization. The ability to empathize with the employees is one of the key factors that determine the quality and success of leaders[Edw92]. While we shall discuss what motivates employees in detail, a key motivation factor is the kind of work they are doing. This is where the leadership’s role to identify what is best for each individual employee comes into play. We shall now analyze the key characteristics that define a leader and how leadership can motivate employees, we shall also discuss how poor leadership can dampen employee morale and impact the organization negatively. The Role of Leaders:- Leadership is different to management and the differentiating factor is the role of charisma. Leadership and management are two completely different phenomenon and most individuals do not exceed at both simultaneously. Organizations today need to breed leadership rather than waiting for a leader to come along[Joa08]. It is also important that while nurturing leadership, management skills and tactics are kept intact. The importance of vision and a clear sense of direction into the long term goals of the organization cannot be underplayed at any stage. This is what differentiates the functional leaders from the visionary leaders. While functional leaders have expertise on the day to day operations and efficiency oriented goals of the company, visionary leaders look beyond the obvious and identify opportunities that can shape up the future of the company[Joa08]. A key ingredient of successful leadership is charisma. A leader with charisma and vocal strength can move the emotions of the audience in his favor and elicit favorable responses. A prime example of a charismatic leader is the incumbent US President Barack Obama. Throughout his election campaign, his speeches moved audiences and turned skeptics into believers[Ric98]. Many believe that only a man of his charisma could have achieved so much despite the circumstances. Trait Leadership:- The theory of trait leadership asserts that there are certain inborn characteristics that define whether an individual has the capacity to lead an organization/country successfully. Several counter arguments and theories have arisen over the years; however this perception continues to pervade the society. Although traits themselves do not define leadership, they play an important role in the leadership equation[Kri07]. Individuals with the following traits are said to perform better as leaders than others:- 1) Sociability:- Sociability allows leaders to interact with their fellows and subordinates and helps empathize with them. A boss that regularly gels and interacts with employees understands their problems better and can get the best out of them. 2) Aggressiveness:- This trait can work both ways, however effective leaders learn to channelize this trait towards ambitious goals and targets and strategizing aggressively to achieve those goals. 3) Creativity:- Originality is extremely essential in determining the effectiveness of a leader. This is especially true when leaders face unforeseen problems that they are expected to solve while continuing to maintain employee morale and company performance. Furthermore, the creation of innovative organizations has always involved amazing creativity and out of the box ideas. A very relevant example is Facebook. Initiated Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook today has a population of more than 500 million people and acts as an amazing source of information sharing. 4) Popularity:- Popularity and likeableness plays a key role in deciding how employees react to leadership. Indifference and contempt can be a de-motivating factor for employees because they do not view their leader as deserving the respect and attention to draw out positive responses. 5) Humor:- This light side of leadership helps keep the cool in trying circumstances and also helps to break the ice when interacting with unfamiliar people. 6) Intelligence:- This factor is essential in determining the performance of leaders once they have power. While the other traits can help them reach to the ascent, this trait decides whether they stick there or come falling down. 7) Responsible:- A leader must stand up for his troops when the chips are down. Especially when his team is not able to meet expectations. This is where the real test of leadership lies. He must take responsibility for not only his own actions but also the actions of his subordinates and own up to any mistakes or discrepancies. 8) Credible:- Credibility plays a key role in determining how employees respond to orders and instructions. A technically perfect leader, can expect his employees to take his word for any technical adjustments needed in the prevailing system. A charismatic orator however does not possess the same level of credibility when it comes to technical employees if he himself lacks the expertise needed. How leaders Motivate:- Leaders are motivators. However, the kind of motivation they provide is much stronger than the transient motivation provided by speakers and experts. Real motivation follows guidelines defined by nature. Motivation is the key to effective leadership and leadership is the key to effective motivation[Ric98]. Maslow is a key contributor to the theory of motivation. According to Maslow, people have a long list of motivations that drive them to the eventual need of self actualization. Physical survival is the first and foremost concern though. It is hence essential for leaders to promise to fulfill their subordinates’ basic needs of food and shelter before expecting motivation to change drastically. The drive then moves towards spiritual or self actualization needs. It is this route that leaders need to take when deciding how to motivate their subordinates. Leaders need to first promise to fulfill their basic needs and then move on to the higher needs to elicit positive responses. Types of Motivation and expected results:- 1) Intrinsic Motivation: - Intrinsic motivation leads employees and subordinates to work for a greater cause than material gain only. This motivation is extremely important to lead people into political, social or cultural revolutions. The obvious materialistic reward is far fletched in all such cases and ‘change’ or hope is the main motto. People feel the need to contribute because they expect their contribution to benefit people of the coming generations as well. The revolutionary leaders often used charisma, attractive words and physical postures to drive listeners and motivate them internally. This charismatic leadership must also be accompanied by feeling of a needed change among participants[Kri07]. Intrinsic motivation leads to greater commitment and efforts and often produces performances. 2) Extrinsic Motivation: - Extrinsic motivation stems from external rewards and materialistic gains that are tangible and measurable. It is an important source of motivation as it works to satisfy Maslow’s hierarchy of needs step by step[Ric98]. While leaders should focus on encouraging intrinsic motivation, they must not forget that their employees and subordinates need to be well fed and well kept to allow good performances. Furthermore, extrinsic motivation is extremely essential for employees or participants who are expected to do uninspiring or dry work. Technical workers such as plumbers, janitors and laundrymen are usually motivated by extrinsic rewards. Motivating Employees:- Employee motivation hinges upon several factors. It is important that leaders identify what motivates employees the most and delegate tasks accordingly. Some of the key motivation factors that can draw results include:- 1) Interesting and relevant work:- Uninteresting and redundant work often acts as a de-motivating factor and hinders quality performance. Many employees prefer to be paid less to work on something relevant rather than forcing their way though work they do not like. Uninspiring and dry work can lead to lack in commitment and decrease in work performance. Furthermore, the fact can also drive away potential high quality workers. 2) Approachable Leadership:- An open door culture and approachable leaders are often viewed as more responsible and likeable. It is important that employees look up to leaders for guidance and motivation and that leaders are always available for providing any help or assistance. 3) Promotion of Work-Personal Life Balance:- This factor is important when the objective is to gain quality work rather than quantity of work. Especially for employees who are at responsible positions and need to take strategically important decisions, it is important that they allocate their hours in a well managed way and leadership helps them delegate work. 4) Appreciation and Rewards:- Rewards in the form of tangible materials or even appreciation in front of colleagues can work wonders. Everyone values self respect and dignity and many value it more highly than materialistic gains. 5) Proper Career Plan:- A proper career plan for employees can lead to permanent encouragement and motivation. Concrete steps can be a consequence of such a plan. Furthermore, as people continue to perform, they anticipate the type of work they will get in the next phase of employment and prepare for that[Joa08]. Fallout of Poor Leadership:- Poor leadership and management often lead to a bewildered employees and complete chaos. Many established organizations have fallen apart due to lack of proper planning and direction. Furthermore, the kind of leader is also important when determining the longevity of an organization. Types of leaders:- 1) Time Tellers:- Time tellers are leaders who continue to possess the technical expertise and skill of the best selling products and services offered by the company without transforming them to other members of the organization[Cou06]. They ‘tell the time’, by providing relevant information to company participants to allow for the production of products and contribute to the sales of products. 2) Clock Builders:- Clock builders are leaders who not only bring in the technical expertise and skills that are unique to themselves, they also ‘teach’ the skills and expertise to other members of the organization. This eventually leads to dissemination of unique skills within the organization. This dissemination eventually leads to the sustainability of the organization once the leader departs and elaves the organization. A prime example of an organization that has gone through both kinds of leaderships is Apple Inc. Steve Jobs had initiated the company and gave brilliant new concepts and products that led to a huge rise in profitability. His eventual departure, however, led to a huge decline in productivity for the company and the creative chunks started to dry down. The company eventually lost out to competition posed by more efficient and creative organizations including IBM, Microsoft and dell. Steve jobs was a time teller then. He came back to apple a few years later and revolutionized the company with unique products including the improved iMac, iPhone, iPod and now the iPad. The company saw unforeseen profits and a huge surge in brand equity. Recently he announced his resignation from his position of power at apple. It will be interesting to see whether he learned his lesson and acted as a clock builder this time around to allow apple to thrive after his departure[Kri07]. Conclusion:- The facts and illustrations above clearly cement the fact that leadership plays a vital role in motivating subjects and employees towards greater work ethic, performance and commitment. The movement along Maslow’s hierarchy of needs in terms of motivation is essential to derive satisfactory results. Furthermore, leaders shall be willing and able to transform organizational processes and transmit their own ideas to their follows to allow organizations to exist perennially. Leaders should act as clock builders rather than time tellers. Leaders should also encourage employee participation in decision making to facilitate intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is essential to get the best out of employees because they are able to look at the bigger picture. Failure of the leadership to manage themselves and their organizational members and motivate employees can hurt the organization severely. As seen in the case of Apple Inc, post Steve Jobs, employees can turn into uncreative burdens and the organization can take a nosedive in performance. It is hence imperative that leaders not only motivate employees but also provide them the necessary skill set to do their jobs independently. Works Cited Kri07: , (Ricketts), Ric98: , (Maddock and Fulton), Edw92: , (Freeman and Stoner), Joa08: , (Gallos), Cou06: , (Thurman and Gardner), Read More