Leadership
and motivational qualities are excellent to have not only among management in a
business, but among employees as well. Many individuals tend to have a
propensity to be leaders, while same learn successful leadership behaviours and
go on to be effective leaders. Leading is the ability to influence others in a
group. Being a good leader takes understanding of what motivates others.
Leaders want to influence things to continue or create change. Either way it
takes a person with certain skills to do the task.
In order to be a leader, it is
important to understand what motivates the employees around you. It is
necessary to discover the fundamental needs that employees, co-workers, and
bosses have. All people have a need for a basic income and necessities. Another
large category of human need is the need for growth and challenges. A worker
lured to a job by high salary may find their job dissatisfying if they are
unable to have friendships and connection with other people at work. It is much
easier to lead and motivate if you understand what people’s undeniable needs
are.
Leadership enhances the
motivation, morale and performance of followers through a variety of
mechanisms. These include connecting the follower's sense of identity and self
to the mission and the collective identity of the organization; being a role
model for followers that inspires them; challenging followers to take greater
ownership for their work, and understanding the strengths and weaknesses of
followers, so the leader can align followers with tasks that optimize their
performance.
There are countless factors that make
a person a good leader, but it depends on a group of people that they are
leading. There is a common misconception that leaders are always outspoken,
flamboyant people, and this just isn’t the case. Less articulate individuals
with other combinations of skills are quite successful as well.
Leading is used to channel motivation
into practical use. There are many factors that play into keeping employees
motivated. A factor in motivation is the type of work that the employee is
doing. When employees are given a job with varied tasks and ability to grow
they tend to stay more motivated.
Many people are goal oriented once a
leader shows where their efforts should be focused. They respond well to
deadlines and planning. It is a good feeling to have a concrete goal to shoot
for. In organizations usually there may be specific planned goals. As a
manager, it is important to make sure that the goals are reasonable. The effect
of having a goal that is impossible to attain has reverse effects and can cause
discouragement rapidly. When goals are eventually accomplished, many people
like to be rewarded. Rewards work so well for some as motivating tools.
The work atmosphere in general has a
lot to do with employee motivation. Typically managers that treat employees in
a friendly manner are apt to get more of a positive response. We always prefer
to work at a business with individuals that enjoy their work and like their
surroundings. Employees always compare themselves to others to make sure they
are being treated in a way that they perceive as fair. If an employee feels
that they are not being treated fair, they will lack the motivation to work
hard. Everyone likes to have a little independence and to be useful while they
are working. Some control is always needed, but flexibility is appreciated. It
is very important to be ethical and considerate of others at all times.
In order to achieve leadership and
promote motivation there are an assorted variety of skills that anyone in an
organization can use. In fact, one of the best ways to be a leader is to be a
good example for others to follow. People with different personalities and
approaches are able to be terrific leaders. Concentrate on developing
interpersonal skills and you will be able to lead others more effectively.
This is a topic talks about
leadership. So, leadership
means how you motivate others and in the same way motivation is how you are lead by others. You may be asking yourself why there
is a discussion on how to be a good follower. So, let's start with a simple statement “you nor I cannot be a good
leader unless we are or can be a good follower.” There are people who may be good followers who do not make
good leaders or even want to be leaders, but there are no good leaders who are not good followers. The skills that make for good followers also make for good
leaders.
Successful followers come in a wide variety of personal
characteristics. For the most part, all of us are followers at one time or
another. There are some characteristics or traits that make for being a better
follower. Just as with leaders, motivation is the most important single factor.
Which is most important your ego or getting the job done? If you focus on the
goals to be achieved and are motivated, you will a good follower and, perhaps,
even a good leader.
Second in this list are such characteristics are reliability
and loyalty. These are also important for leaders. Very few of us have all of
best characteristics to be a good follower to the limit, but the most effective
follower and leaders regardless of which role will have most of them well
developed. Improvement is limitless. Remember, changes in the personality
traits take years of consistent work. We can and should start today, but don't
expect instantaneous results.
The
equation of success for a follower is very similar to that for a leader. The
more of these traits you have successfully developed the greater the
probability of your success either as a
follower or as a leader.
I have a strong belief that
you can be a winner as either a leader or a follower!
