Leadership

What is a Leader?

The lines and definitions of leaders and managers may seem somewhat blurred and confusing. Just who or what is a leader? At times it is useful to think of leaders as developing vision while managers oversee tasks. It is also true, however, that whether you are the CEO of large company or the manager of a small department, you are a leader. People in your company or in your department are going to pay attention to, and most likely follow, the example you provide in taking on your responsibilities and carrying out your tasks. The guidance you provide as a leader is in the how, why, what you do, as well as in what you say.

Management is doing things right;
leadership is doing the right things.


An extensive study on successful and unsuccessful organizational leaders found that, while attributes and styles of successful leaders varied widely, there are two things successful leaders do that are common. Successful leaders initiate structure and show consideration.
Employing an Innovative Leadership Style

Initiating structure means setting clear priorities and goals, establishing an organized approach to accomplishing the work, and allocating the resources effectively and properly. Showing consideration means recognizing people as individuals with lives, interests, and needs outside of the workplace that need to be recognized, accommodated, and even encouraged. Effective leaders don’t see their team members as identical functioning cogs.

It seems intuitive that successful leaders initiate structure and show consideration. Being innovative in these important areas, though, plays a significant role in how successful they are as leaders.

Successful leaders provide clear direction and individual appreciation to encourage workers to contribute toward reaching organizational goals; innovative leaders have the ability to make people want to contribute to reaching goals. It may seem like a small difference, but that could be the difference between achieving standards and setting new standards.

If you’re looking for a definitive description of innovative leadership, good luck. Like good art; it can be difficult to explain but easy to recognize. Most would agree, however, that innovative leaders are willing to try to new approaches and to think in different ways. They understand that at times failure is part of learning. They keep their eye on the horizon as well as the bottom line. They tend to see the inherent and potential value of organizational operations instead of just the cost