A
genuine concern for others, honesty and a sense of humility are some of the
leadership qualities that senior managers should emulate according to latest
research.
An
extensive leadership study, one of the largest of its kind, which involved 800
organisations and 3,500 managers – mainly in the public sector – reveals that
an excellent leader is accessible and manages change sensitively.
At
a conference on Women as Leaders in the 21st century at Henley Management
College last week, Beverly Alimo-Metcalfe, professor of leadership studies at
Leeds University, set out the research results to senior business people. The
research takes into account the differences between leadership skills of men
and women.
She
presented it as "A new model of transformational leadership" – a type
of leadership which has been described by academics as people who communicate a
vision and create an environment where staff flourish.
"Transactional"
leadership by contrast is more authoritarian, giving rewards and punishment in
equal measures to performance.
"Organisations
do need both styles," she told delegates. "There should be different
levels of leadership – companies need both dimensions."
The
research highlights what good leaders need to motivate others and what personal
qualities they should have, it also lists organisational skills that are
needed. "Leaders should be charismatic and in-touch which means they
should be infectious with their enthusiasm and make work exciting," she
said.
Speaking
at the conference Anne Minto, HR director of Smiths Group, gave a personal
account of her own experience of leadership in the male-dominated world of oil,
gas and engineering industries.
"Women,
more than men, have to prove their worth to the business and at times this
places an intolerable burden on them. Women will stand in a far lonelier spot
than men – corporate loneliness for women is one of the biggest challenges in
our sector and is given as a frequent reason for leaving an organisation.
Minto
said that the loss of talented, highly skilled women to an organisation was a
serious waste of resources." We have to retain our highly skilled women
– it is crucial to us – and the loss of
them is a serious cost to the industry. It cannot afford to lose them."
Alimo-Metcalfe
is starting a research project on leadership in the private sector. To take
part, log on to: www.leeds.ac.uk/nuffield/download/tlq.pdf for information
