Leaders envision the future; they inspire organization members and chart the course of the organization. Leaders must instill values - whether they are a concern for quality, honesty, calculated risk taking, or respect for employees and customers.
Every group of people that performs near its total capacity has some person as its head who is skilled in the art of leadership. This skill seems to be a compound of various ingredients: the ability to use power effectively and in a responsible manner; the ability to comprehend that human beings have different motivation forces at different times and in different situations; the ability to inspire; and the ability to act in a manner that will develop a climate conducive to responding to and arousing motivations.
An important ingredient of leadership is a fundamental understanding of people. As in all practices, it is one thing to know motivation theory, kinds of motivating forces and the nature of a system of motivation but another thing to be able to apply this knowledge to people and situations.
A leader who at least knows the present state of motivation theory and who understands the elements of motivation is more aware of the nature and strength of human needs and is more able to define and design ways of satisfying them and to administer so as to get the desired responses.
Another vital ingredient of leadership is the rare ability to inspire followers to apply their full capabilities to a project. While the use of motivator seems to center on subordinates and their needs, inspiration also comes from group heads. They may have qualities of charm and appeal that give rise to loyalty, devotion and a strong desire on the part of followers to promote what leaders want. This is not a matter of need satisfaction; it is, rather, a matter of people giving unselfish support to a chosen champion.
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