Situational approaches to effective leadership

Leadership, the need to develop leadership qualities must be considered as one of the main tasks of working management specialties. For workers, first of all, leadership means social activity, or an active life position. It is a kind of guarantor of fresh ideas, extraordinary approaches, and bold decisions. These qualities are the foundation for management skills. The employer is interested in getting the most qualified manager - an effective leader.

Thus, the relevance of the problem under study is determined both by the trends in the development of scientific knowledge and by the existing needs of social practice. The study of emotional intelligence and its relationship with leadership qualities is an important theoretical and practical task that requires actual research and further development.

It is customary to say that the company has leaders and managers. The fact is that the key tasks, events, the very actions of managers and leaders differ from each other. A person can be a great leader and a disgusting manager, and vice versa. The problem arises when organizations mix these two roles. Of course, there are rare exceptions when people brilliantly combine both qualities.

There are three factors that influence the behavior of the leader. These factors are:

• •    The relationship between the leader and team members. This implies the loyalty shown by subordinates, their trust in their leader and the attractiveness of the leader's personality for performers.

• •    Task structure. It implies the familiarity of the task, the clarity of its formulation and its structuring, and not vagueness and lack of structure.

Official powers. It is the amount of legal power associated with the manager's position that allows him to use the remuneration, as well as the level of support that the formal organization provides to the manager.

The potential benefits of a task-oriented leadership style are speed of action and decision-making, unity of purpose, and tight control over the work of subordinates. Thus, for the success of production, the autocratic style is initially an effective tool for achieving the goals of the organization, provided that the performers willingly cooperate with the manager.

In this situation, a task-oriented leadership style is most appropriate, because the relationship between the leader and the subordinates is already good. Therefore, the leader does not need to spend a lot of time maintaining this relationship. In addition, because the leader has significant power and the task is routine, subordinates obey the leader's instructions and need little help. Therefore, the role of the leader in this situation is to say what needs to be done.

People-centered leadership styles are most effective in moderately leaderfriendly situations. In such situations, the leader does not have sufficient authority to ensure the full cooperation of subordinates. But, in contrast to the unfavorable situation, the subordinates here are not actively looking for any reason for resentment.

In most cases, performers as a whole tend to do what the manager wants from them, if they are explained why this is being done and given the opportunity to fulfill his desire.

If the leader is too focused on the task, he runs the risk of antagonizing the performers and thereby contributing to the manifestation of potential shortcomings of this style. This focus on the task reduces the influence of the leader.

A people-centered leadership style is likely to empower a leader to exert influence. The manifestation of concern for the well-being of subordinates in practice would improve the relationship between the leader and subordinates.

Provided that subordinates are motivated by the needs of a higher level, the use of this leadership style can enable the leader to stimulate the personal interest of performers in a particular job.

This would be ideal because a self-directed workforce reduces the need for tight, tight oversight and also minimizes the risk of losing control.

Succession planning refers to preparing promising employees to take the place of current leaders when it is time for the latter to leave their positions. This kind of training requires the active movement of the employee between departments. Moreover, in many multinational corporations, future leaders tend to travel overseas to gain experience in overseas affiliates.

Succession planning should be based on a clear vision of the future that the company aspires to: this will align the leadership development program with the long-term goals of the organization. Thus, preparing a new generation of leaders should take into account not only the existing knowledge and history of the company, but also plans for the future. For these plans to come true, the selection of potential leaders must be based not only on "what we know and have," but also on "what we want to become." Succession planning should be handled by the people who are currently in leadership positions who are the bearers of this “vision of the future”, as well as senior personnel in the HR department who can translate this concept into a specific training program. Accordingly, attention should be paid to three main characteristics of candidates:

• •    Skills and knowledge;

• •    Perception of the role of the leader and the degree of its acceptance.

• •    Self-confidence (self-efficacy).

These three aspects should be the backbone of any leadership training program.