Q2 With reference to a leadership theory or model, explain why do you think knowledge of Leadership is important to a Manager?

A manager should have the ability to influence the actions of others and to influence a group towards the achievement of goals. This is what we called the Leadership. It is a process whereby an individual influences other group members towards the attainment of organisational goals.

Managers should have the personality traits of leaders. They should be able to demonstrate emotional stability and remain composed under all situations. They are not supposed to be emotional during crises and they should always own up their mistakes and try their best to correct them in order to set a good example for their subordinates. They do not blame others for their mistakes and should have strong interpersonal skills so to get along with everyone including their clients. Most importantly, they must be mature enough and must have lots of experiences that give that great ability to solve problems.

They should have  characteristics to become the great leaders. They are the Drive, the Honesty and Integrity, the Self-confidence, the Cognitive ability, the Knowledge of business, the Creativity and the Flexibility.

The drive to desire for achievement, ambition, high energy, tenacity and the initiative.

They must be trustworthy and reliable for their superiors to let them handle the tasks.

They must have trust in their own abilities in order to pursue their goals and attain high positions. They should be intelligent and have the ability to integrate and interpret large amounts of information so to be able to make decisions and to think of the consequences. They need to have the knowledge of business and relevant technical matters. They must also have the creativity and originality. Leaders should have the ability to adapt to needs of followers and requirements of situation.

Regarding to behavioural theories, there are two dimensions of leadership style: Orientation to task and Orientation to people.

Orientation to task also known as Initiating Structure or concern for productivity. It means a leader must focus on the task by structuring his role and his subordinate’s role to help achieve organisational goals. Their subordinates must follow the meeting of deadlines and maintaining certain standards of performance. Leaders must also delineate specific tasks his subordinates perform.

Orientation to people/consideration refers to the degree to which the leader addresses individual’s needs. A good leader should not only be concern about the performance at work, they should also be concern about their needs. Example: If the deadline is few days later and the staff has met some problems at home, manager should try to help them in order for them to have no worries and meet the dateline. As we said, one’s emotional does affect their performance. To have good performance, one should not be facing too much pressure so to perform at their best.

If you want others to respect you, you must first learn to how respect them. Leaders’ relationship are characterised by mutual trust, respect for employees’ feelings and regard for their feelings. A manager should treat everyone as equals so to build up mutual trust.

The third dimension is Development Oriented Leadership. It values experimentation, seeks new ideas, and generates and implements change.

Fred Feidler developed the first comprehensive model for leadership in which he described three key situation dimensions.

These are: Leader-member relations, task structure and position power.

The degree of confidence, trust and respect subordinates have for their leader.

The degree to which the job assigns are procedurised: structured or unstructured.

The degree of influence that a leader has over power variables such as recruiting, dismissing, promotion and salary increases.

In order to have good performance for their subordinates, the managers should let their subordinates have confident, trust and respect for them. They should not do anything that will affect his/her image.

Every task should have a process, a procedure so the subordinates could follow closely what to do and what not to and succeed the goals.

If a leader has position power, they are able to control most of their subordinates. They can reward those that had done well and punish those that had not done their part yet claim credits. They are able to employ more subordinates with real ability and perform up to task.

In conclusion, a leader must have the good traits in order to be able to lead a group of subordinates and work towards the goals. Regardless of what they do, they should maintain a level of mutual trust, respect and good relations with their subordinates. I believe the subordinates will slog their guts out for a good leader, and a good manager that a company has.