What is Leadership?

“The action of leading a group of people or an organisation.”

That’s how the Oxford Dictionary defines leadership. In simple words, leadership is about taking
risks and challenging the status quo. Leaders motivate others to achieve something new and
better. Interestingly, leaders do what they do to pursue innovation, not as an obligation. They
measure success by looking at the team’s achievements and learning.

In contrast, management is about delegating responsibilities and getting people to follow the
rules to reduce risk and deliver predictable outcomes. A manager is responsible for completing
four critical functions: planning, organising, leading, and controlling.

Unlike leaders, managers do not challenge the status quo. Instead, they strive to maintain it. They
evaluate success by seeing if the team has achieved what was expected.

Leadership vs. Management: What’s the Difference?

 Vision

Leaders and managers have different visions. Leaders are visionaries, whereas managers are
implementers. Leaders set goals for their team. Managers ensure that the goal set by their
superiors is achieved.

 Organising vs. Aligning

Managers achieve their goals by delegating responsibilities among the team. They tactically
distribute work among subordinates and organise available resources required to reach the goal.

Meanwhile, leaders motivate people. They concentrate on the personal development of their
team besides working towards achieving organizational goals. They envision their team’s future
growth and work towards achieving that.

 Analysing and Assessing

A leader analyses and assesses every situation to achieve new and better results. Whereas a
manager does not analyse or evaluate, they emphasise on questions like how and when, which
assists them in achieving the goals. They accept and strive to achieve the status quo.

What Do Leaders Do?

Leaders are not always people who hold higher ranks in an organization. But they are people
who are known for their beliefs and work ethics. A leader is passionate about their work, and
they pass on their enthusiasm to their fellow workers, enabling them to achieve their goals. If
you feel you do not possess the relevant skills currently, you can consider taking up one of
the leadership courses or a leadership training programme.
What Are the Different Types of Leadership?

All leaders have a unique style that sets them apart from others. Hence, these different types of
leadership styles will help you decide which type of leader you want to be. Accordingly, you
would be able to hone your skills with the best leadership training programme. Read on.

 Autocratic leadership

A leader who has complete control over his team is called an autocratic leader. They never bend
their beliefs and rules for anyone. Additionally, their team has no say in the business decisions.
Moreover, the team is expected to follow the path directed by the leader.

This archaic style of leadership has very few takers because it discourages change. And modern
leaders are changing the definition of leadership and redefining what leadership is with their
path-breaking decisions.

 Laissez-Faire leadership

Laissez-Faire is derived from a French word that means ‘allow to do’. “The practice of non-
interference in the affairs of others, especially with reference to individual conduct or freedom of
action,’ defines dictionary.com. In this type of leadership, team members have the freedom to
perform their job according to their will. They are given the freedom to bring in their perspective
and intelligence in performing business functions. If you take up a leadership course, you’d get
to learn about it in detail.

 Democratic leadership

In this type of leadership, team members and leaders equally contribute to actualising business
goals. Furthermore, they work together and motivate each other to achieve their personal goals
too. This type of leadership leads to a positive working environment.

 Bureaucratic leadership
In this type of leadership, leaders strictly adhere to organisational rules and policies. They make
sure that their team members do the same. Bureaucratic leaders are often organised and self-
motivated.

There is no right or wrong leadership style. Therefore, it is up to you to decide the kind of leader
you wish to become.

What Are the Qualities of a Good Leader?

1. Honesty and Integrity: Leaders value virtuousness and honesty. They have people who
believe in them and their vision.

2. Inspiration: Leaders are self-motivating, and this makes them great influencers. They are a
good inspiration to their followers. They help others to understand their roles in a bigger context.

3. Communication skills: Leaders possess great communication skills. They are transparent
with their team and share failures and successes with them.
4. Vision: Leaders are visionaries. They have a clear idea of what they want and how to achieve
it. Being good communicators, leaders can share their vision with the team successfully.

5. Never give-up spirit: Leaders challenge the status quo. Hence, they never give up easily.
They also have unique ways to solve a problem.

6. Intuitive: Leadership coach Hortense le Gentil believes that leaders should rely on intuition
for making hard decisions. Especially because intuition heavily relies on a person’s existing
knowledge and life learnings, which proves to be more useful in complex situations.

7. Empathy: A leader should be an emotional and empathetic fellow because it will help them in
developing a strong bond with their team. Furthermore, these qualities will help a leader in
addressing the problems, complaints, and aspirations of his team members.

8. Objective: Although empathy is an important quality a leader must imbibe, getting clouded by
emotions while making an important business decision is not advisable. Hence, a good leader
should be objective.
9. Intelligence: A good leader must be intelligent enough to arrive at business solutions to
difficult problems. Furthermore, a leader should be analytical and should weigh the pros and
cons before making a decision. This quality can be polished with an all-inclusive leadership
training program.

10. Open-mindedness and creativity: A good leader is someone who is open to new ideas,
possibilities, and perspectives. Being a good leader means understanding that there is no right
way to do things. Therefore, a good leader is always ready to listen, observe, and be willing to
change. They are also out-of-the-box thinkers and encourage their teams to do so. If you enrol
for a leadership course, all these things will be a part of the curriculum.

11. Patient: A good leader understands that a business strategy takes time to develop and bear
results. Additionally, they also believe that ‘continuous improvement and patient’ leads to
success.

12. Flexible: Since leaders understand the concept of ‘continuous improvement, they also know
that being adaptable will lead them to success. Nothing goes as per plan. Hence, being flexible
and intuitive helps a manager to hold his ground during complex situations.