Qualities of a Business Leader

Leadership comes in many different forms. An example of an individual with all the qualities of a business leader is Rich Teerlink. In the 1980s when Harley-Davidson was about to be knocked out by their competitors; Rich Teerlink, the company’s leader, saved the firm with his one unique idea. That mantra of Teerlink was nothing but a dramatic change in the management of the company. He built a dissimilar company. One operated from the bottom up by employees rather than from the top down by managers. In fact, what the company was needed for its survival was nothing but a vivid change that Teerlink had made. Whereby, he took the timely decision, with the help of his innovative thinking and acted as a leader.

Leadership

In a corporate setting executive in charge , the where one person influences the behavior of others through motivation and empowerment. Leadership creates a common goal of success which is adopted by all the members of their organization. In a very simple and straightforward manner, leadership is all about moving people toward a specific goal.

Merely walking at the front is what most people consider leadership unless the person is actually choosing the direction. Without followers a leader is not really a leader; in spite of having the qualities or nature of leadership. Being the person in charge, or the leader is both a process and a virtue. As a process, it comprises the use of a non-coercive influence. Whereas, as a virtue, it is the set of characteristics you use to influence others successfully.

Leadership plays a vital role in business as it influences individual and group behaviors. Carrying this form of influence over others comes with it great responsibility. This responsibility can be give the perception of power over others and as such needs to ensure there is no sense of personal obligation or intimidation. A manager is not exercising leadership if s/he totally depends on force and maintains formal authority to motivate his/her subordinates.

Management vs Leadership

It is obvious leadership and management are clearly two different roles. A person can be a leader, a manager, both, or neither. Management is all about planning and budgeting, establishing agendas, setting timetables and allocating resources; whereas leadership is all about establishing direction, creating a vision, clarifying the big picture and setting strategies. So, a leader does have some specific qualities.

One of the characteristic of a business leader is having a strong personality; additionally being a good communicator, motivating and unique ideology are good to have as well. A good leader is always a risk taker. Moreover, he/she has the ability to reach to the masses as well as individuals. Being a leader in business is both a complex and a compelling phenomenon. Many discussions of leadership confuse personality, important objectives, formal position, and specific behaviors with management instead of leadership. It’s all about influencing others in a substantial way.

Qualities

The most known qualities of leadership are trait theories, functional or group approaches, style theories or behavioral approaches and contingency or situational approaches. Whew! Those are some big words and statements. Let me try to put them into non-formal type lingo.

Trait / Characteristic

Trait approach of leadership assumes leadership is based on some inherited characteristics of the individual. These traits or characteristics include drive, motivation, honesty and integrity, self-confidence, cognitive ability, knowledge of business and charisma. There are different methods of determining the traits of an individual.

Style / Behavioral

The style or behavioral approaches of leadership involves in observable process or activity. Whereas, the goal of behavioral approach is to determine what behaviors are associated with effective leadership. A successful leader could have different styles or behavioral approaches like authoritarian, democratic etc.

Contemporary / Model

The most contemporary approach or model of leadership is the transformational leadership. Transformational leadership is the process of transforming virtually everything of an organization including organizational behavior, cultures, employees and other involved parties. This technique is certainly a diversified and updated concept in the field of leadership.

Summary

Leadership qualities is one of the most highlighted and discussed topics in business; but giving explanations to leadership is really tricky. There are many interpretations and perceptions. A business person needs to have clear understanding on the type of leadership they respond to as well as those that report them respond to. Having the necessary qualities of a leader is necessary to be successful in business. Being an effective and efficient leader is all about implementing the correct emotional intelligence to motivate others. When you implement the best business leadership strategy for you and your business, it will enable you to continue your business activity effectively as well as to do something unique while reaching the success for you and your business.

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