How important is the Caring leader?
The leader might be likened unto the parents of children. The parents duty could be said to nurture and grow their child or children in a loving environment. The parent would be looking to ensure that their children are in a safe healthy environment. Indeed it could be said that a parent would want the best for their children, and would work to ensure that they get a very good start in life. So could this caring idea be applied to leadership, and could all aspects apply to the definition. If you look at the two types of leadership, you could find some very stark differences, and these could show if leadership by force or leadership by consent could facilitate the aspect of caring.
The idea of leadership by Force
Let us look at the idea of leadership by force in a working environment, The idea of leadership by force could be said to be a method by which a leader will get the workers to carry out work activities by instilling fear in the workers to produce the required work. The leader may issue orders and expect those orders to be carried out without an objection. In this type of environment the leader may be considered someone who might be disliked or hated by the workers. This type of leader may get good productivity but may have a high turnover of staff. Indeed it could be suggested that people may not tolerate a ruthless and hard leader for a long period of time, this may lead to them seeking new employment. The idea of using fear to induce a person to produce results may in-fact produce problems at a future date. So leadership by force may have negative side effects, which could be undesirable. In the past this type of leadership could have been the main method, but leadership by force could be thought of as a dying breed.
The idea of leadership by Consent
Leadership by consent could be considered the opposite of leadership by force. If you consider leadership by consent in a working environment, you could see a leader who will get the opinions of the staff before making decisions. The leader would tend to ask questions instead of giving direct orders. This type of leadership may be considered as getting the support of the workers. You may also find that people are more willing to work as they are the ones who had made the decisions that affect their lives. This type of leader could in-fact be a person who actually cares for the staff that they lead, and may find that the staff will be more supportive of the leader. It could be said that if a leader truly cares for the people they lead, it may be something that is sensed by the staff. Napoleon Hill spoke about 16 things that brings success and one of these things was having a pleasing personality. A leader with a pleasing personality could be a person who is able to get more co-operation from the staff that they lead.
Conclusion
Leaders can get results by force or by consent, a leader who leads by force might be seen as a leader who is uncaring, even if they may in-fact care. On the other hand a leader who truly cares for the staff that they lead may possibly be found to be a leader who leads by consent. What do you think - Thoughts to Make you Wonder
MGA Brown (c) January 2012
MGA Brown is the Author of "Thoughts To Make You Think" and "Thoughts to Make You Wonder" To see videos of of these articles go to http://www.mgabrown.co.uk/
