By Akintola Benson-Oke
LEADERSHIP is one of those concepts that is so ubiquitous, yet incapable of a precise definition. In attempting to describe it, an entry on Reference.com says, “Leadership can be described as the process or art of influencing people’s behaviours, thoughts and attitude. Effective leadership makes people feel like they have a say in how things are done. Leadership entails inspiring people to effectively, efficiently and willingly complete any tasks assigned to them, often inadvertently leading to higher levels of productivity and job satisfaction.”
Going further, the entry attempted to emphasise the importance of leadership. Among others, the entry rightly points out that:
Proper leadership sets a clear vision and effectively communicates it to followers, providing them with a clear understanding of the organisational direction.
Good leadership also fosters effective planning which is important when it comes to meeting organisational goals.
Quality leadership is also important during times of crisis and when dealing with relationships between co-workers.
Effective leadership improves employee relations and more closely aligns the team and individual objectives.
In the absence of strong leadership, an organisation may record slow growth, or stall completely, and eventually lose its competitiveness and direction.
In another take on the subject, a publication by the Management Study Guide outlined the importance of leadership as follows:
Leadership maximises efficiency. Leadership is an important function of management which helps to maximise efficiency and to achieve Organisational goals.
Leadership initiates action- The leader is a person who starts the work by communicating the policies and plans to the subordinates from where the work actually starts.
Leadership instills motivation- The leader is the one playing an incentive role in the organisation. He motivates the employees with economic and non-economic rewards and thereby gets the work from the subordinates.
Leadership provides guidance- A leader not only have to supervise but must also play a guiding role for the subordinates. Guidance here means instructing the subordinates on the way they have to perform their work effectively and efficiently.
Leadership creates confidence- Confidence is an important factor which can be achieved through appreciating the work efforts of the subordinates, clearly explaining to them their role and giving them guidelines to achieve the goals effectively. It is also important to hear the employees with regards to their complaints and problems.
Leadership builds morale- Morale denotes willing co-operation of the employees towards their work and getting them into the leader’s confidence by winning their trust. A leader can be a morale booster by achieving full co-operation so that the followers perform with the best of their abilities as they work to achieve goals.
Leadership builds an efficient work environment- Management is about getting things done by members of the organisation. An efficient work environment helps in sound and stable growth. Therefore, human relations should be kept in mind by a leader. He should have personal contacts with employees and should listen to their problems and solve them. He should treat employees on humanitarian terms.
Leadership Co-ordinates- Co-ordination can be achieved through reconciling personal interests with organisational goals. This synchronization can be achieved through proper and effective co-ordination which should be the primary motive of a leader.
Given the above, we can all agree that organisations will make huge leaps of progress when their officers are first and foremost leaders in their own right, whether those officers be low-level officers or in the highest echelons of management.
There are those who argue that leaders are born such that, once a person is not born to be a leader, he or she becomes forever incapable of occupying leadership positions. This is what is popularly referred to as the ‘X Factor’. Mike Myatt, writing for Forbes Magazine, opined that the ‘X Factor’ is one’s culture, one’s total approach to doing things. He said, it is the “Great Culture…that every organisation strives to attain but few achieve. It’s often talked about, but rarely understood. Culture is in fact more than a buzzword – it’s the very lifeblood of an organisation. Culture is what develops and sustains an enterprise. Every organisation has a culture. The question CEOs must ask of themselves is do they have the culture they need? Culture must be more than an afterthought – it must be intentional, purposed, and created by design; not by default.”
Suzanne Bates and David Casullo stated in a piece titled Executive Presence: The X Factor in Leadership that, “there is an X factor in leadership that is hard to nail down but essential to successful management.” In their opinion based on years of research, they described this X Factor as ‘Executive Presence’. They opined that Executive presence has three dimensions: Character, Substance, and Style and that “because leadership happens in the context of a social organisation, we now know that it is not just important for these qualities to exist—rather, they must be seen and felt by others, and therefore, amplified by the leader.”
The good news is that those who do not have the ‘X Factor’ in them can learn it. In their concluding chapter on the subject, Bates and Casullo wrote, “Every leader can strengthen facets of Executive Presence through coaching, mentoring, action learning, team development and leadership programs…when you’re looking to unlock the ‘X Factor’ in leadership, the key is in understanding the science behind solving for X.”
The purpose of this workshop, therefore, is to understand how to gain the keys that will unlock access to the ‘X Factor’ of leadership in each participant at this workshop. I have gone through the outline for this workshop and I am delighted to note that it covers the entire field in terms of what constitutes effective leadership.
The first is Assertiveness and confidence building. I am confident that you will learn how to define assertiveness and how to explore the impact you have in the workplace (primarily through your language and body language). You will learn how to efficiently and effectively recognise behaviours in others as well as to look inward to recognise your own behavioural type. You will also be taken through strategies for confidence building and understand how to best give and receive feedback as well as asking difficult questions.
Among others, assertiveness and self confidence will enable you to:
Say “no” positively and effectively;
Recognise different types of behaviours and its potential impact;
Become able to resist the pressure and dominance of excessively dominant people.
Stand up to bullies and bullying tactics;
Exert a little more control in situations that are important to you.
Recognise potential conflicts and adopt skills to manage them; and
Talk confidently to people and be heard.
- The second is Coaching, counselling and mentoring. One of the key tenets of leadership is the need to pass on knowledge and experience to others. Most great leaders throughout history have made it a priority to grow and develop other leaders who can come in, take the reins and lead more effectively.4
- A mentor is a trusted counselor or guide, a tutor, a coach. A mentor cares more about helping others than getting credit. A mentor seeks to make the world better through helping individuals and inspiring them to help others. In the context of helping others, a mentor seeks to guide, inspire, and build-up.
- The third is effective delegation of authority.
Delegation of authority is a process in which the authority and powers are divided and shared amongst the subordinates. When the work of a manager gets beyond his capacity, there should be some system of sharing the work. This is how delegation of authority becomes an important tool in organisation function. Through delegation, a manager, in fact, is multiplying himself by dividing or multiplying his work with the subordinates. The importance of delegation can be justified as follows:
- Through delegation, a manager is able to divide the work and allocate it to the subordinates. This helps in reducing his work load so that he can work on important areas such as – planning, business analysis, etc.(
- With the reduction of load on the leader, he can concentrate his energy on important and critical issues of concern. This way he is able to bring effectiveness in his work as well as in the work unit. This effectively helps a manager to prove his ability and skills in the best manner.(
- Delegation of authority is the ground on which the superior-subordinate relationship stands. An organisation functions as the authority flows from top level to bottom. This, in fact shows that through delegation, the superior-subordinate relationship becomes meaningful. The flow of authority is from top to bottom which is a way of achieving results.(
- Delegation of authority, in a way, gives enough room and space to the subordinates to flourish in the use of their abilities and skill. Through delegation, the subordinates get a feeling of importance. They get motivated to work and this motivation provides appropriate results to the organisation. Delegation also helps in breaking the monotony of the subordinates so that they can be more creative and efficient.(
- The fourth essential quality is Emotional Intelligence. Emotional Intelligence (EI) is the ability to understand and manage your own emotions, and those of the people around you. People with a high degree of Emotional Intelligence know what they are feeling, what their emotions mean, and how these emotions can affect other people.
- For leaders, having Emotional Intelligence is essential for success. After all, who is more likely to succeed – a leader who shouts at his team when he is under stress, or a leader who stay in control, and calmly assesses the situation? According to Daniel Goleman, an American psychologist who helped to popularize EI, there are five main elements of emotional intelligence:
- Self-awareness.
- Self-regulation.
- Motivation.
- Empathy.
- Social skills.
The more that you, as a leader, manage each of these areas, the higher your Emotional Intelligence.6
- Effective communication is the fifth essential quality. This is the quality that Lee Froschheiser called the “one golden thread” tying all other functions together. He said, “Think about it … how do the best leaders motivate and inspire their people? Through clear communication. How do the best organisations promote discipline, accountability and strategic alignment? With clear communication. And, how do market leaders sell their products and services? With compelling advertisements and marketing campaigns — that is, by clear communication. The point itself is crystal clear: In real estate, the old cliché is “location, location, location.” In leadership, you preach “communication, communication, communication.”
- He continued, “There’s no mystery here. Regardless of whether you’re talking about business, politics, sports or the military, the best leaders are first-rate communicators. Their values are clear and solid, and what they say promotes those values. Their teams admire them and follow their lead. Likewise, if you want your company to reach new benchmarks of achievement, you must master the art of clear communication.”7
- It is my fervent hope that you will take the best advantage of this workshop and resolve to be even more productive than ever before by imbibing the essential qualities of leadership and gaining that elusive ‘X Factor’ trait.
- I wish to thank all the people who have worked tirelessly to ensure the realization of this seminar including the principal officers at the Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions and other departments and offices that have been involved in organizing this training. Once again, we all are indebted to the visionary and passionate leadership of His Excellency, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, the Executive Governor of Lagos State. His interest in the welfare and training of officers of the civil service is unparralled. I hope that you all will actively participate in this workshop with a view to complementing the efforts of our Governor in ensuring the progress of our dear Lagos State.
- Once again, it is my pleasure to open this 2-day workshop. I wish you a rewarding time.
- Thank you for your kind attention.
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