One of the key concepts of leadership is that everyone has innate leadership skills that can be ‘polished’ and developed. In excellent organizations, everyone, regardless of title or position, is encouraged to act like a leader. One of the principles of effective leadership is “to make sure that other people will be willing to follow you. Unfortunately, management education doesn’t place enough emphasis on leadership skills.” The functions of a leader can be defined as follows: 1. Taking the initiative – A leader initiates all actions necessary for the purpose of warranting the health and growth of the enterprise in a competitive economy. 2. He identifies group goals 3. He represents the organization 4. He acts as an arbitrator 5. To assign reasons for his actions 6. To interpret the objectives of organization 7. To guide and direct the organization 8. To encourage team work 9. He manages the organization Top 50 Quotes That Show the Road to Success This exemplary leadership model by kouzes and posner will give you a fair idea on how a leader should set behavioral and performance standards in an organization. Leadership Styles Every leader has his own style that can be defined as a leader‘s behavior towards group members. It refers to the pattern of behavior which a leader embraces in influencing the behavior of his subordinates in the organizational context. Different leadership styles can be categorized as follows. 1. Autocratic Leadership Autocratic leadership is also known as authoritarian, directive, leader centered or monothetic style. Under this style, leader concentrates all authority in himself, instructs a subordinate as to what to do, how to do it, when to do it etc. He also exercises close supervision and control over his subordinates. There are three categories of autocratic leaders a. Strict Autocrat – A strict autocrat believes on negative authority and gives orders which the subordinates must accept. He may also use his powers to disperse rewards to his group. b. Benevolent Autocrat – The benevolent style aids in accomplishing high productivity in many situations and he can develop effective human relationship. His motivational style is usually positive. c. Manipulative Autocrat – A manipulative autocrat leader is one who makes the subordinates feel that they are participating in decision making process even though he has already taken the decisions. 2. Participative Leadership This style is also called as democratic, consultative, group centered or ideographic style. A participative leader is one who consults and welcomes his subordinates to participate in decision making process. Under this style, subordinates are freely allowed to communicate with the leader and also with their fellow subordinates and take their own initiative. 3. Laissez Faire or Free-rein Leadership Under this style of leadership, the leader mostly depends upon the group and its members to establish their own goals and make their own decisions. The leader is passive and assumes the role of just another member in the group. Only very little control is exercised over group members. This style is also known permissive style of leadership. This style is appropriate only in certain situations where the manager can leave a choice to his groups. A leader is supposed to possess these discretionary skills required at different times and during interaction with different people… Qualities of a successful leader The following are the major innate qualities in a successful leader. 1. Physical features like height, weight, health and appearance 2. Intelligence 3. Emotional stability 4. Human relations 5. Empathy 6. Objectivity 7. Motivating skills 8. Technical skills 9. Communicative skills 10. Social...

Interview Interesting Aspects An interview can be explained as a mutual conversation or a one to one meeting that gets stretched into a “recruitment process or promotion.” In French, from which it originates interview means ‘inter-sight’ and in Latin, it is interpreted as ‘seeing each other.’ Nowadays interview is a powerful tool in psychology, in the healthcare profession as well as in business. Too many approaches in the interviewing process may be successful as fact finding tools but without looking at the dynamics existing between an interviewer and interviewee; such meetings then become lifeless.   The notion of an interview should not only aim at collecting scientific data but also look into the human aspect to capture the essence of a person. Only a trained interviewer must be allowed to evaluate the interviewee’s motivation, personality component and the influence of environmental/ emotional problems on him/her. The two common pitfalls in an interview are the ‘stereotyping’ of the individual and the unconscious exercise of personal bias. Is it wise to judge a person based on similarities to some other person/ trait? ‘Halo Effect’ is the tendency to judge a person based on one of a few specific characteristics- the traits liked or disliked by the interviewer need not be superimposed on the interviewee to decide if he is suitable for the job. All depends on the interviewer and his characteristics which help or hinder an interview from the interviewee’s view point. Care must be taken on the part of the interviewer not to conclude the interview in an abrupt manner and it is also necessary for him to create a favorable image for the company in the mind of the interviewee. The interview is not to be considered merely as a selection technique, but as a means of in- depth analysis that facilitates closer and enhanced communication. This approach is very much necessary for psychologists, teachers, managers, leaders and the like. Definition: The interview is a conversation with a purpose. There are three purposes. 1. Obtaining information– Collecting relevant data about the candidate’s background, training, education, experience and interests. 2. Giving information– Apprising the interviewee with the present position of the company, the future plans, specific job and the personnel. 3. Motivation– Instigating the candidate to join the company Advantages of Interview: Interviews prove as a better means to measure the ability and traits of a personality rather than through written tests or other techniques. It is easy to determine how a person reacts in a conversation and whether he is good looking (here it means if he/ she is presentable, looks are equally important). A skilled interviewer can easily determine the personality traits such as loyalty and responsibility that can be expected from the candidate during this personal meeting. Limitations of Interview: ·  Stereo typing ·  Halo Effect ·  Personal bias Interviewing Techniques: A. Patterned Interview: This was developed by Mc. Murry. Senior recruitment, promotion and appraisal interviews fall under this category. This patterned interview contains  no questions related to ‘job skills’. Basically it is conducted to appraise personality, motivation and interests. Reference checks and academic records determine knowledge and job competencies. The following personality traits could be measured through patterned interview according to Mc. Murry: i.  Stability ii. Ability to get along with others iii. Self-reliance iv. Willingness to accept responsibility v.  Freedom from emotional immaturity vi. Motivation B. Directive Style: This type of interview is appropriate when the interviewer seeks factual information only where the interviewee is not given much freedom of expression and so becomes defensive. There are also chances that the relationship between the interviewer and the interviewee might be  impaired. C. Non-Directive Style: This requires more time, and suitable for exploring sensitive matters, understanding feelings and...