Every organization stresses the importance of having a leader but what role do they actually play? Does a leader add value to a company in more ways than one? Or are they a trophy trend where a leader is only available for show and hides in the background? Nowadays, it appears as if the leadership role is too glorified. While the definition of true leadership is changing, the following are some roles that a leader has to play.
Defining the Vision
A leader is a catalyst in most organizations who not only has a vision but also helps to highlight that vision for others. Being aligned with the company’s vision, mission and goals drives the employees towards meeting and achieving their own targets within a company. For example, Bill Gates is considered to be an industry leader. He not only motivates his own organization but also makes an impact on the vision of others in the digital and software market.
Motivation
Leaders are the core motivators behind the employees need to want to be better. Their main aim is to provide the employees with the perfect platform that lets them do this. When it comes to providing motivation, Google is one of the best organizations for this. They not only motivate their employees to do better but have actively funded the ideas of their other employees, providing them with the motivation to do and be better.
Defining the Guidelines
When it comes to building the guidelines of a company, the leader is responsible for not only defining them but to also help to figure out the pitfalls that the employees could face in meeting the organizational roles. By defining the guidelines, a leader manages to provide them with the proper information they need. Moreover, it gives a definitive idea of the skill sets of the employees. With the same guidelines for every single person, a leader usually succeeds in assessing this factor with ease.
Building Morale
Leaders are the rallying force that helps to keep their employees’ morale up. Look at all the leaders such as Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates and others like them including Steve Jobs. They’re renowned for their ability to inspire others and have managed to not just inspire their morale but also have the ability to form an image that inspires others to work tirelessly for the goal they have in mind for them.
Image Maintenance
Oftentimes, the leader’s image is so strongly linked with the image of the business that it can be hard to separate one from the other. This is one of the main reasons why Steve Jobs was so closely linked with Apple that when he left Apple for a brief hiatus, Apple’s stocks and sales actually suffered as well. His death also made an impact on the company with many questioning how Apple will survive without their enigmatic leader. Nonetheless, Apple has weathered through the worst of its storms and the company has managed to bounce back as showcased by their stellar sales of the iPhone 7.
