By: Marcus Peterson
In performing leadership functions, managers sometimes make attempts to change over from one leadership style to another with changes in the situation. This is rather difficult to do for most people and unless one learns to do it effectively, it may only make matters worse. What really matters from the point of view of effective direction is that the leader provides the lead to the satisfaction of the led.
A manager must be very careful in his conduct in the presence of his subordinates. Every little act, gesture, expression and movement on his part is watched and interpreted by the subordinates in relation to their own work. In exercising leadership functions in his formal position, a manager must avoid all kinds of false impression formation on the part of his subordinates. He must strive to develop and maintain morale by evoking confidence and zeal.
The leader can win and maintain his subordinate’s confidence in him by establishing his superiority in knowledge and his ability to provide psychological support when needed. According to experts, leader should make use of orientation, which consists in providing the subordinate with the required information about his functions and its relationship with other functions, follow it up with training in managerial skills and continued supervision and provide his subordinates with job security assuming that he is efficient.
In addition, the other important function of managerial leadership is to create and sustain enthusiasm for organizational goals and activities. This is somewhat complicated. The manager exercising leadership in motivating his subordinates towards organizational goals should try to determine the conditions of factors in the organizational situation which prompt a subordinate to put in efforts beyond the acceptable minimum. The function of creating enthusiasm for the enterprise goals can be performed by the use of two techniques: inspiring subordinates and strengthening personal qualities.
