Effective leadership is the key to overcome organizational concerns. The only real measure of leadership quality is its effectiveness. An effective leader is the one who is consistent and knows what works and what doesn’t. They promote optimistic and creative working environment. Effective leaders make sure they don’t fail the organization; they deliver sustainable and measurable results. Also they ensure ethical consistency of the workplace. They are well informed about the how the forces of concern affect the employees of the organization.
Honesty is an integral part of being an effective leader. This gives credibility and results in trust and confidence of the people they are leading. The ability to persuade people generates a sense of pride in them and this in return gives pride to the organization. Persuasion is a major quality effective leaders possess which will create a strong spirit of cooperation and teamwork. They also have a feeling of ownership and feel that it’s their personal responsibility. Effective leaders do what they say they will do and keep the promises and finish their commitments. Their actions are consistent with the wishes of people they lead and have a clear idea of what others value and what they can do. They also believe in the attribute of self worth of the people they lead. Also must admit to the mistakes he or she makes. Attempting to hide a mistake will ultimately damage and diminishes credibility. The employees should feel trust and open climate when being lead. Leader’s who are effective should keep this quality their priority to help employees to be successful and feel empowered, along with getting the work done.
Often managers in IT organizations show that they are figureheads or decision makers. An effective manager should not feel superior, but should try to work alongside the group members. This way members respect leaders more for showing the willingness to work with them. Any comments or phrases that cause resentment and resistance must be avoided at all times. Demanding members to the work might not be appealing sometimes; effective leaders should request or recommend that members do something.
If any of the above qualities, though possessed, not put to proper use will cost the leader in a big way. There are many disadvantages of being an effective leader. The major problem that plagues the IT firms is competition. An effective leader cannot do much when working in groups, where any situation is perceived as competitive. This issue is very destructive in nature and undermines the creative energy of the group members. The competitive behavior creates an atmosphere, which cannot be corrected even by effective leadership. The members of the group seek the attention of the manager by showing traits, which include need for being liked, respected. When the manager shows favoritism, he is paying the price of loosing respect from other members. This is a challenge for group leaders; this leads to group settings where the group tends to come up with a solution quickly without trying to explore the possibilities.
When there is pressure from the top-level authorities, a leader can do nothing but to fail. Some organizations have the top-level management who intervene group meetings and direct the manager in discussions. This creates pressure on the manager and the discussions move aimlessly. Time constraint is one other problem that makes the leader pay the price even though he is effective. Meeting deadlines and managing groups to work together even with exceptional leadership skills can sometimes instill pressure on the manager and he or she might not perform well in a certain situation. Although they are disadvantages and though the leaders pay price of being effective, by showing consistent results the fruits of effective leadership can be fully achieved.
