According to the results of research carried out by SAP, companies with good leaders carry out their activities efficiently and sustainably over time, according to the effects of research carried out by SAP, a German multinational company dedicated to designing business management software.
This is because both the commitment and the permanence of employees within the company are directly reflected in monetary gains or losses, according to said research.
Leadership is understood as influencing a group of people to work as a team and around a purpose.
Therefore, having the principles of the organization clear makes it possible to focus on the quality processes for the fulfillment of goals.
The leadership process requires the leader’s ability to influence people by directing their efforts towards achieving results through accompaniment that guides a single group in the right direction.
Four principles allow leadership to help achieve better business results.
- Leadership must consider the business model of the organization: regardless of the type of leadership that is decided to exercise, leaders must take into account the culture of each organization, as well as the techniques, tools, and concepts to apply depending on the reality of each business.
- Leadership is demonstrated by taking advantage of critical moments. While all moments are essential for a company, a leader must know how to take advantage of critical moments to guide the company and his team. A leader must be able to identify turning points and act with a mind to make a difference, especially by giving feedback so that the people who work with them know which direction to move in.
- To adopt or change a behavior, it is essential to understand the underlying mindset that causes it. If a leader does not know how to identify the underlying philosophies, it will be challenging to achieve a behavior change. It is also essential for the leader to remember her mindset and determine if changes are needed to enable her to achieve better results.
- People learn better from and with other people. This statement comes from the effects of various scientific investigations. Amid an increasingly digital and remote work environment, it is essential to remember that human contact is necessary. This means that companies must think of hybrid schemes where digital elements are integrated and face-to-face that generate a positive impact among the company’s collaborators.
What Types of Leadership Exist?
Leaders are essential to achieve good results in a company, but what types of leadership exist?
According to the leadership literature, there are at least eight types of leaders:
- The democratic leader: As its name indicates, it refers to a leader who makes his decisions based on each team member’s opinions and points of view. While the final decision rests with them, their team often backs them because they feel involved. Business experts point it out as one of the most effective.
- The autocratic leader exercises a leadership style opposite to the democratic one since the leader makes decisions in a unidirectional way and without taking into account the contributions of his team members. It is believed that he is one of the least effective because not being involved in decision-making makes employees feel excluded by their leader and show less involvement in achieving the goals set.
- The Laissez-Faire leader: As its name indicates, it is a leadership style where team members are allowed to “let it go” and make decisions with a minimum level of involvement on the part of the leader. While this type of leadership can help empower employees, it has the downside that it can limit their development and miss growth opportunities for the company. Although it can be effective for certain types of companies, it is recommended to keep this leadership style under control.
- The strategic leader: is a type of balanced leader who takes executive interests into account, but without abandoning the points of view of the team members, in search of stable working conditions for the majority. Although it is a leadership style that is generally considered desirable, it must be regarded as a limit to the number of people that can be taken into account.
- The transformational leader is the type of leader who is always looking to improve and transform the company and how things are done. This leader wants the team he leads to constantly get out of his comfort zone to achieve new goals. This type of leadership is highly promoted among companies with a growth mindset. You run the risk of ignoring employee learning curves.
- The transactional leader is the type of leader who rewards their employees for their work. This often implies that employees have an incentive plan indicating what they will receive to reach specific goals. While this type of leadership can help establish roles, responsibilities, and expectations, it can also discourage employees from taking actions beyond what is contemplated in the incentive plan.
- The coaching leader: This type of leader is dedicated to identifying and developing the individual strengths of each member of his team and designing strategies so that his team works in the best possible way. Although it has many points in common with the strategic and democratic styles, the emphasis is on the growth and success of each of the team members.
- The bureaucratic leader: This leader almost blindly follows the company’s rules. Although he is open to hearing opinions and points of view from his team members, unlike an autocratic leader, if they go against company guidelines or policies, he dismisses them immediately. They are usually found more in large, old, or traditional companies. This type of leadership is often promoted due to past positive experiences for the company. Due to the little flexibility that he can show, he closes the doors to innovation and creativity.
What Skills Should a Leader Have?
Regardless of the type of leadership exercised, a leader must practice three types of general skills:
- Technical Skills: You must be knowledgeable about any procedures or techniques related to the operational work you do and the strategic work you need to implement.
- Human skills: You must have the ability to formwork teams and cooperate efficiently and successfully with people.
- Conceptual skills: Relates to ideas and the ability to develop referential thoughts and relationships.
Communication
The agency considers it one of the most important for a leader. If someone wants to stand out as a leader, they must learn how to listen to their team and transmit information clearly and precisely to achieve a greater degree of involvement and commitment on the part of the employees.
Creativity
If leaders want to develop a project authentically and successfully, they must be creative and propose innovative solutions to setbacks that the company or the area they lead may have.
Emotional Intelligence and Empathy
One of the essential skills of a leader is putting yourself in the shoes of others, especially your team members, to understand their needs and concerns. This will allow you to gain the trust of your employees and develop a tailored career plan for each one.
Commitment
A good leader must believe and trust his team and commit not only to the company’s objectives but also to the people who work in it, when employees recognize the leader’s commitment to them, the level of loyalty they have to the company increases.
Teamwork
Leading requires knowing how to work as a team since coordination and collaboration lead teams to be more productive and innovative. This also helps the leader have visibility over the tasks carried out by each of the team members and contributes to their having the same vision and values.
Management Capacity
A leader must be able to let his team know where they are going through the dissemination of objectives, values , and priorities. He must know well all the jobs and the functions that each performs to coordinate and manage the employees properly.
Resilience and Adaptation
A leader must know how to recover from adverse moments and assume and manage the actions carried out to get ahead and observe the generated consequences.
Know How To Motivate
A good leader must motivate his team to come to work with the best attitude and thus obtain the best possible results. Ideally, he should become a reference and an example to follow.