Leadership - From Vision to Reality

FROM VISION TO REALITY

2 August, By Lindelwa Masuku

An Introduction to Leadership

Leadership is the accomplishment of a task through directing those that follow under you. A leader is a person who skill-fully organises his colleagues to accomplish specific goals. A great leader is someone who can do this every day, every year, in a wide range of situations. When directing, inspiring, and managing others, a leader's approaches and behaviours are referred to as their leadership style. The way a person strategises and executes plans while taking into account the expectations of stakeholders and the welfare of their team depends on their leadership style.

Are leaders Born or Made?

People have been debating whether great leaders had inherent leadership qualities or whether these qualities may be developed in others for decades. In the end, the truth is that both are true: a person might be born with inherent leadership skills, and a person can pick up these skills via experience. Whether or not someone is a "born leader," they all have the potential to develop their leadership capabilities.

The different styles of leadership

Democratic Leadership Taking into account the opinions of every team member, the leader makes judgments. Each employee has an equal say in how a project is run, even though he or she makes the final decision.

Autocratic Leadership The opposite of democratic leadership is autocratic leadership. Without consulting anyone who reports to them, the leader makes decisions in this leadership style. Prior to a change in course, employees are neither taken into account nor consulted; instead, they are expected to follow the decision at the time and pace set by the leader.

Transformational Leadership The company's practices are constantly being "transformed" and improved under transformational leadership. The leader consistently pushes the team outside of their comfort zone, even if they may have a fundamental set of responsibilities and objectives that they execute every week or month.

Coach-Style Leadership This leader concentrates on discovering and developing the unique strengths of each member of his or her team, much like a coach does for a sports team. Additionally, they concentrate on tactics that will improve teamwork. Although it shares many characteristics with democratic and strategic leadership, it places more attention on the development and success of specific workers.

Pacesetter leadership style One of the best approaches for attaining rapid outcomes is pacesetting. The primary focus of pacesetter leaders is performance. They frequently establish high expectations and hold their team members accountable for reaching their objectives.

Bureaucratic leadership style The bureaucratic style prioritises fixed tasks inside a hierarchy, each employee having a predetermined list of duties, and there is minimal need for cooperation or originality. In highly regulated fields or divisions like banking, healthcare, or government, this leadership approach works best.

Laissez-Faire Leadership Let them do is the precise translation of the French phrase "laissez-faire," which is used by managers who delegate almost all authority to their staff. While concentrating on the broader operations of operating the business, they might have complete faith in their staff.

The relationship between influence and leadership

Being a leader implies having influence; you are expected to direct and have an impact on outcomes. Change can be brought about via influence, without necessarily requiring leadership. Without a leadership position, someone can still have a lot of influence. You can also be a non-influential leader who is unsuccessful. However, effective leaders use their influence to produce good outcomes.

Characteristics of effective leadership

Integrity For both the individual and the company, integrity is a crucial leadership quality. For top- level executives who are setting the direction of the company and making numerous other crucial choices, it is especially crucial.

Communication The most effective leaders are adept communicators who can convey knowledge, motivate people, and coach direct subordinates in a number of ways. You also need to be able to listen to and communicate with a variety of people from different roles, places, and social identities.

Delegation One of a leader's primary duties is delegation, although it can be challenging to do so successfully. Not only do you want to free yourself up, but you also want to provide your direct reports the opportunity to develop, collaborate, have autonomy, and make better decisions.

Ways to measure the effectiveness of a leader

To what extent is the business profitable and gaining clients? Do others highly suggest you and your business because of your excellent reputation? Have you remained enduring? If you are an effective leader, your business will be successful.

My Leadership Style

I believe I am a Transformational leader because I value the input of my team and am always open to their suggestions. Also I encourage them to learn new skills and empower themselves even if I do delegate certain tasks. I would like to learn how to be a better delegate leader, as I sometimes end up doing all the tasks by myself.

Prof Pumla Dineo Gqola.

In addition to being a professor of literary and cultural studies, Professor Gqola has a DPhil in postcolonial studies from the German-based University of Munich (LMU). Her scholarly writings have been published on postcolonial feminisms, Black consciousness literature, and slave memory. From her work as a black feminist, academic, and gender activist, I believe Prof Gqola is a transformational leader. Her work within the black feminist project has encouraged many black women to be bold and proud of their identities whilst tackling the many challenges they face on the daily. Her work has been grounded on transforming conventional spaces black women occupy. She has inspired me to be conscious of the power I hold as a black woman within the contemporary visual art field.