Effective Leadership

QUESTION

Explain the requirements for effective leadership and my position as an effective leader:

Effective leadership is a trait that can be acquired through birth or equal training. Being an effective leader requires you to act with humility and precision, as a way of guarding your reputation on specific performance and other leadership related activities. For you to be an effective leader, some specific requirements must be fulfilled. One of the requirements is to lead by example. A good and effective leader is one who leads by showing what is needed to be done and how it needs to be done. By doing this, he sets the pace and the target for the others to follow specifically and perfect on the specific skill.

A leader’s perfection in a certain task is important as workers can consult him when minor problems arise regarding the performance of the task. Experience in a specific field is therefore a major requirement for all leaders as they are aware of the different paths to achieving specific target results in their field. It is true to say that leaders are experts in their fields out of continued specialization or proficiency. While most view leaders as people with the inborn ability to manage others, the fact that stands out is that leaders can equally be trained to some standard of expertise before being exposed to the outside environment. Individuals with an inborn leadership ability are however favorites and are loved by the people they serve, owing to the fact that they know how to manage people and their duties respectively

A major leadership trait or characteristic is collaboration or the ability to collaborate. Collaboration in that sense is the ability to work with others mutually as a team without unnecessary conflict. It is the ability to understand each other and help out each other when a problem arises during task performance. Collaboration specifically targets to achieve the art of working together for faster completion of tasks and other activities handled by the team. A good leader is therefore a good collaborator, with the effective ability to interact, socialize and communicate with every team member. As a collaborator, a leader welcomes new ideas and often calls for suggestions before his team handles any task. His ability to communicate helps in solving team conflicts and unite the members with the target of achieving the goals set before the start of each activity. Therefore, collaboration enhances equal co-coordinating in the tasks by the team, an effect that leads to faster completion of tasks appropriately.

A collaborating team works in a cooperative manner as duties are well planned for, with the introduction of specific task performance and the division of duties according to the specialization of each worker. As a collaborating leader, specific duties are towards your responsibility. They include; equally supporting all team decisions that you feel are good, equally performing your share of work or task, updating your team members on the latest news in the group and equally sharing all useful information for the continued growth of your team. A good team leader also builds a good interacting relationship with his/her team members by pointing out the positive attributes of each member and how they can benefit the team in the long run. The act of appreciating the positive attributes of each team member also makes them feel like they are a family and strengthens their relationship within, solidifying it to handle any future tasks or challenges. With collaboration, a good leader also gives credits to the outstanding team members who achieved remarkable targets to boost the performance of the team. Therefore, with all these collaboration related traits of a leader, he achieves total team commitment in the long run, a trait that creates team work and a winning or success spirit.

Another remarkable leadership trait is interpersonal understanding. It represents the continued ability by a leader to specifically understand what a team member is expressing verbally and non-verbally. It is a trait that allows him to understand the facial expressions and notably point out the emotions a team member is experiencing. Interpersonal understanding covers the continued depth of taking time to understand a ream member fully, what he is thinking of, his aspirations, dreams, ideas and preference to certain team ideas or suggestions. This trait is effective in that it justifies the way a team member acts and relates it to the current physical, mental or psychological situation he is going through. The ability to successfully interpret emotions and verbal content make a leader a special person, reason being that he can identify a calamity or a challenge approaching from far, and take the specific precautions to prevent it from spoiling his target goals.

A good leader therefore is able to read the minds of his team members and separate those who are positively guided into achieving the specific team goals and identify those who are causing delays in achieving the team goals, probably because of lacking interest in the matter. This ability in most cases makes the leader to be feared as the trait manifests power and the ability to be above all team members in terms of reasoning and understanding. The interpersonal understanding trait uses the leader as the connector among the team member, as all of them respond to his requests, looking upon him for consultations and guidance if need be. The ability to interpret others intentions in business puts the leader at a position ahead of all the normal thinkers, and enables him to strategize as a solution to the existing problems that he noted.

Another trait of a leader is team leadership, which involves managing people, how they interact and how they handle tasks appropriately. Team leadership is a trait that includes all the necessary leadership characteristics and the necessary leadership skills that are needed to achieve the specific target objectives. An effective team leader is a role model to other team members and plans ahead of time to ensure that his team remains on top in comparison to similar teams under different leaders. A good team leader manages team meetings and plans for them well, keeps his team members informed on updates relating to their tasks and promotes team effectiveness by maintaining a good working and socializing platform to promote equal interaction by all members of his team. Through equal interaction between team members of different races, cultures and backgrounds, equality will be achieved in the team therefore allowing for positive productivity within the team.

Myself as a leader, I feel that I qualify to manage a team effectively owing to some of my leadership traits. One of my main positive leadership traits is to achieve my set objectives on time. I have a desire to always complete my jobs before due time, this will allow me to reflect on the job and note any errors that may exist as a result. My ability to get my job done before due time places me at a better position as I can compare how other leaders are managing their teams an make the necessary changes needed for my team be flow with perfection. My ability to complete jobs before due time will also help me achieve more goals, a condition that will be perfect for business as it will place me at a better position as compared to my competitors. As an effective leader, I am also very judgmental. This trait enables me to stay in position and recognize the change of emotions in the faces of team members. I take this trait important to me in leadership in that I can know how my team members react to new ideas and how adaptable they are to them. Team spirit can also be achieved through my judgmental spirit as I can take time to solve the challenges facing my team members as a solution to achieving an equally co-coordinating team.

As a fashion leader, I however need to improve on certain specific traits in order to place me at a better position in comparison to other fashion leaders. First of all, I know I have a poker face which needs to be improved before disaster strikes. In the fashion industry specifically, one needs to have/acquire a straight face, which will effectively match with your walking style or posture. My poker face will however make me look like a joker on the runway, a challenge that I need to get fixed. In order to achieve effective leadership, I will therefore need to improve my facial expression and practice on keeping a straight face for my own benefit. With that, I will acquire the required confidence of performing on the runway or in fashion events, as a complement to my strong dressing abilities. The second challenge that I need to take care of is the fact that I’m shy when it comes to masses and big/large crowds.

My shyness has a negative impact on me as a fashion leader. I therefore need to be confident and brave to face a large audience or also a team. Without confidence, shyness will incapacitate my ability to communicate with other people especially people I am close with. This might lead them to misunderstanding my intentions and in turn fail to recognize my contributions. I therefore need to be charismatic, brave and active. i will also be able to effectively communicate or pass information accurately if I learn to manage my shyness. With the elimination of shyness, I will be also able to interact with my friends in the fashion industry with an aim of gaining better knowledge on surviving in the industry. I am therefore aware that if I change these things and turn them into positive traits, my position as a fashion leader will be effectively justified. It is therefore recommended for every leader in his specialization or industry to identify his challenges and take time to solve them, as a way of achieving success in his set goals and targets.