The Benefits of Leadership Qualities - Coursework Example

The benefits of leadership qualities Insert name Insert institution Introduction Teamwork is the most common way to achieve goals in a group and every organization needs leaders at every level. Being a leader and superior is a great position, as one given power to manage others. However, Cohen (2010) state that, “Leaders ask questions to set direction, put the right people in the right positions, seek insight from all levels, and ensure resources are allocated to the highest priority, while acting ethically at all times and engaging people to stretch beyond what is comfortable to maximize results” (p. 16 - 17). Leadership Position also adds on different duties between leadership and the people they work with. These abilities can improve the qualities of leadership in a team to become success. This essay will discuss three different qualities of leadership that would be of advantage to the leader and team members in order for successful teamwork. These qualities are communication, fairness and confident. It will also provide some relevant examples to explain how a team performs well with these qualities of leadership in order to attain success in teamwork. Communication Communication is most efficient when it leads to collective understanding, provides feedback chance to leaders and employees in order to recognize their strengths and weaknesses. It also motivates others and makes a better decision (Gilley, A., Gilley, J.W., & Mcmillan, 2009). Therefore, communication is the most direct and effective way in which one is able to understand others and make better decisions to achieve the goals. This also shows that leaders and employees can clearly point out their expectations and reduce misunderstandings by communicating to the team. In addition to that, effective communication will be able to achieve meaningful work and fulfilling relationship in the team. A Leader of character communicates with candidness, truthfulness, and sincerity. Effective leadership can enable a leader and follower to work together more efficiently since they understand the underlying issues and know what is to be done to accomplish their objectives. Employees will also be better informed, have a better understanding of their roles, and be internally motivated to succeed (Baldoni, 2004). There are some examples of communication that can be used to illustrate how teams are able to attain their successful teamwork. For example, communication can be seen when the team leader in the organization has the ability to access information in a wide area network systems and then gathers the knowledge from a variety of sources in order to solve a complex problem in the workplace (Rigor/Relevance Framework, 2009). Another example is the Military arm of any government. Military personnel may realize insecurity in a country or for instance terrorist activities, with effective communication; he or she can relay the necessary information to the superiors or colleagues and an investigation may be carried out in order to prevent the nation from that terror attack. Examples are military leaders like Alexander the Great, Napoleon. In conclusion, Successful communication is achieved by the leader who is honest, equitable, and focuses on what is important in life. As a result, the employees will have a great deal of understanding the leader, which can lead to the employees performing the work skillfully. Fairness Fairness in leadership deals with the main effects of leader distributive, practical, and especially interactional equality. Leader fairness is connected with follower affective or evaluative responses and behaviour, and the responses (affective / evaluative) mediate leader fairness’ effects on behaviour (Van Knippenberg, 2008). This will cause a leader to have a good relationship with the supporters. Hence, fairness deals with others consistently and justly. A leader, who portrays fairness, should not make any judgment before checking all the facts and avoid concluding based on incomplete evidence. When followers feel they are being treated fairly, they will reward a leader with loyalty and dedication. Moreover, the effects of a leader sacrificing his or her interests for the good of the team are that supporters would almost certainly conclude they could set aside their doubts of being led to some goal that serves the leader’s interest rather than the team’s interests. On the contrary, if the leader acts in self-benefiting ways, the follower’s dilemma would likely to be resolved in favour of rejection of the leader or rather resistance to his or her direction ( Annick, Lester, Sitkin & Lind, 2008). There are some relevant examples that can be used to illustrate fairness leadership and as a result show the effect of the leader and supporters’ relationship. For instance, deliberating on how the U.S. political structure works and analyzing the paybacks and challenges of the cultural diversity of this nation versus other nations and as a result they are able to come up with fair policies for its citizens and foreigners (Rigor/Relevance Framework, 2009). Another example is the Judiciary department of any government in a nation. A judge has to show fairness leadership in any case since this will replicate to the citizens of the nation trusting the very same Judiciary and generally the government. If the Judiciary does not show Fairness leadership, it may lead to a series of corruption occurrences in the judiciary department. In conclusion, a leader and follower relationship can be fruitful provided that there is fairness leadership that obtains the followers agreement. Confidence Confident leaders are self-assured and believe in themselves and their teams. While leaders are not immune to worry, insecurity and confusion, they build the foundation for trust. This trust promotes confidence in the future. They also uphold an optimistic outlook when steering rough waters (Cohen & Beach, 2010). Self-confident is an essential quality of leadership that can develop trust and motivate others. This means that a good leader needs to appear confident in order to set direction or goals as a leadership role. Leaders and employees can carry their work optimistically from their confidence. Leaders who converse with confidence, hope, and resilience lift performance of the team. Confident leaders have the knowledge that their actions can influence the outcome of the challenges and generate positive results. Leaders must trust their employees, and employees must trust their leaders and colleagues - and themselves. Trust can be improved by executing in a disciplined manner, providing corrective feedback with respect, and focusing on what can be learned rather than who to blame. Constructive discipline results in teams that are self-empowered and self-disciplined, and have a communicable winning spirit that sees problems as opportunities (Cohen & Beach, 2010). There are applicable examples that can be used to illustrate the effects of confidence in a leader. For instance, “Business leaders were ranked second lowest in regard to confidence level out of all categories studied. This resulted in the fact that “nearly three quarters of Americans (72%) believe that unless the country’s leaders improve, the United States will decline as a nation.” (National Leadership Index, 2005, p11). “The reports revealed a nation that felt that there was a lack of integrity in leadership and that public confidence in business leadership was low” (Leonard, 2008). Another example is a winning sports team in the Olympics, there seems to always be a team leader who exudes confidence and as a result boosting the team’s morale levels. For instance, a basketball team, the team captain can be kept as the pillar of confidence for the team members. In addition, a church leader can be another example to illustrate confidence, because, people look up to a religious leader who has confidence in the Creator, and as a result, they are able to trust the church organization. In conclusion, a leader inspires confidence in others and draws out the trust and best efforts of the team in order to complete the task well. Employees also trust and confidently work with their leader and team. References Gilley, A., Gilley, J.-W., & Mcmillan, H.–S. Organizational Change: Motivation, Communication, and Leadership Effectiveness, 75-94 Baldoni, J. (2004). Powerful leadership communication: Leader to Leader, 2004(32), 20-24. 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