Outcomes of Effective Leadership
Pressures on organizations are increasing; even in the Students’ Union where I work. There are growing needs to become more efficient, and to deliver success against strategic goals with shrinking resources. Quantitative analysis can measure performance outputs, and managers can make judgments using business information by qualitatively analyzing.
Employees often represent the largest expense for organizations; therefore it is vital to monitor staff performance in order to recognize success and failure. Leaders can achieve little without the support of their followers. Flatter hierarchal structures are more prevalent in modern times; this means managers cannot expect blind allegiance.
Engagement with followers is vital. Effective engagement must happen continuously. It is important not to limit the times of communication to employees. This can lead to misunderstandings of tasks and direction of work. For example, if I were to only talk to my team members on a one to one basis annually, it would be likely they would not be working on what I would ideally want to them to work on. It is useful to note however that some employees might not like too much engagement from a manager. They might feel like they are being monitored too much, and fear they are doing something wrong. They correct balance must be found.
An important outcome of effective engagement is that team members can link their daily actions to the organization’s strategic plan. This will motivate individuals, as it will give them clear goals to work towards. To improve this in my team I could organize a mapping day where everyone links his or her work to the Students’ Union’s strategic plan.
Some see a leader simply as an individual others follow, whereas others define leadership as organizing a group of people to achieve a common goal. Studies of leadership have produced theories about the different duties and