The Role Of A Leader

Regardless of the level of management, leadership is an important ability. 

At a top-level, such as C-Suite roles, leadership is important for co-operation in devising procedures and policies. At mid to entry-level, leadership is required for the interpretation and implementation of procedures and frameworks as outlined by top management. 

Leadership can be applied through guidance and support of the staff working below throughout the execution of plans and procedures.

Management Study Guide¹ provides an excellent list of roles of leaders, which is broken down below:

Representing the organisation:

Any leadership role, like a manager, is an ambassador of the company. They must represent the business in the best possible, honest light, and communicate the mission of the company to the wider audience, they represent the values of the company – values that their own beliefs and actions should be based upon. In a more, inside-the-business sense, a leader represents the department in which they are leading.

Integrates personal goals with organisational goals:

A leader is expected to merge the personal goals of employees with the goals of the organisation, through coordinating the efforts across the business towards a common purpose, in turn working towards and achieving targets. This can only be done when a leader holds influence and obtains willing co-operation.

Providing a support system:

A leader is expected to invite the support and cooperation of employees – having a strong, encouraging personality and plenty of experience as well as being aware of the assistance employees need in order to implement support should provide positive results. 

Leaders have to be open to suggestions and willing to apply these to future plans. This way, the full support of employees creates more willingness to work, therefore creating a more effective team.

Offer guidance and build rapport

A leader offers guidance through supervision and communication of plans and policies to secure co-operation. 

It is important that alongside this role of guidance, that solid rapport is built with employees; having conversations with employees and gaining understanding, as well as utilising intelligence and experience to manage employees.

When developing leaders, gaining feedback from employees allow opinions to be shared from multiple angles in order to plan goals for personal and professional development.

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