Whenever the business world goes through a crisis the most debated topic is the issue of leadership. There is discussion on the kind of leadership that bring about such situation and the ideal leadership style that can solve the crisis or pre-empt it. Leadership is relevant to the present crisis because part of it was perpetrated by faults in leadership style at some companies in the centre of the crisis.
Clichéd phrases like ‘tough times call for tough leaders’, ‘competent leadership’, ‘emotionally intelligent leaders’ and the like do the rounds as the topic is debated and discussed in meeting,forums,websites and blogs. This brings us to the question as to what actually constitutes good leadership? And is there any answer at all to this question or it as complex as the issue of leadership itself.
The focus in the recent times has shifted to a ‘soft’ style in leadership thanks to denial goleman and his ‘emotionally intelligent’ leader. The ideal leader is someone who is charming, likeable, empathetic and has a high degree of self-control and self-awareness.
A leader is someone who leads rather than conteols; he motivates his staff to follow a vision or claims to have the charisma to lead his team to greater heights. Yet none of these definitions emphasise on the competency factor in leaders. The focus is more on the likeability factor.
So what is good leadership about and who better to answer them the employees themselves. A study carried out by the UK institute of leadership & management (ILM) in 2007 has found that people would rather work for a tough boss who delivers results rather than a lenient one. In a poll conducted on 1500 managers, the study discovered that while teamwork and focusing on people those who took tough and resolute measures to achieve results.
These results were echoed in another study done by the University of Chicago in the same year where people responded positively to a leader who was persistent and efficient than someone who was just approachable or flexible. As the ILM study found, employees prefer managers who have a real commitment to deliver rather than someone who places priority on being liked by employee at the cost of missing targets.
The top traits in a leader according to the surveys quoted above are perseverance, attention to detail, efficiency, analytical skills and setting high standards. The central finding of the study-employees preferred managers who got things done. Less importance was given to aspects like teamwork, soft skills, enthusiasm or flexibility. An empathetic or flexible leader can be effective but he also runs the risk of favouritism or indecisiveness if he displays these traits to the extreme.
A study by the Hay Group, a global management-consulting firm on management styles concludes, “…too much concern with relationships and popularity damages team productivity. Leaders become overly concerned with maintaining popularity and good relationships and fail to address under performance and make tough decisions.” “To maximize team performance, leaders must ask themselves: do my relationship support or detract from the direction of the team?”
This is not to undermine qualities like charisma or the like ability factor because they play a significant role in motivating followers to achieve goals. Building positive relations with the team cannot be totally negated while defining leadership. During uncertain times like now where emotions like anxiety and fear rule the roost in both leaders and the led, some amount of emotional intelligence on the part of leaders is imperative.
This will help them connect with their employees and counter the lower morale, disengagement, stress or resentment the workers might be experiencing. People skills are important and also a certain level of emotional maturity. This will help to foster cooperation and compromise between the leader and his team to jointly tide over the crisis. Tenacity and competence are important traits in a leader but equally critical is emotional maturity and self-awareness.
A true leader is someone who displays a judicious mix of these two sets of qualities cannot be used in isolation as the yardstick for assessing or choosing a leader. Today’s changing times calls for a leader who is efficient and conducts his business with an open and compassionate attitude.
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