Leadership
by Karina T.
But one of the most important things about being a leader is being responsible. If a leader isn't responsible, the goal of the group won't be achieved in time, and everything will go off track. Another point is that if a leader doesn't do what the leader needs to do, then the followers might overthrow him/her.
Leaders have to balance many traits, and communicate well with their group to get the best results out of them.
An authoritarian leader is one of the kinds of leaders. They have a set goal, and a set way that they have to reach it. They have clear expectations for what had to be done and are the most productive of the three, but decision making is less creative than in other leadership types.
A participative leader is another kind of key leadership types. This is generally the most effective kind of leadership, where they offer guidance to the group members, but also participate in the group's actions and allow input. In Lewin's studies, the followers were less productive, but the work was at a much higher quality than the others.
The last key leadership type is the delegative leader. This group was the least productive out of all of the three, and the followers showed more demands, little cooperation, and weren't able to work independently. These leaders leave the decision making to the group members, which leads to little to no motivation.
I think of myself more of a participative leader, giving help to those in need, and working in the group too. We took a personality quiz one day, and I got the result of an ENFP. ENFP's are said to be warm and enthusiastic people, and live in the world of possibilities. This helps because they are open to changes in plans and are empathetic.
As I had said before, I am an ENFP. And they are open to possibilities. This also means that they are flexible to change, which is an important part of being a leader. A leader must be able to change plans when things don't go the right way, or a teammate cannot make it. They also have great enthusiasm, which helps to motivate and inspire others.
A participative leader interacts with their group greatly, and offer guidance while working together with them. ENFP's are said to be a people-person and easily relate to other people. As a leader, being able to put yourself in your followers shoes is important to see how they feel about the project being done.
By taking the personality quiz, I found out many things about myself. Other than the fact that knowing that there are people who are like me out there, I really feel like an ENFP describes who I truly am - not only as a person, but also a leader.