Leadership occurs in various aspects of life, including work, politics, family, and communities. It differs from management in that managers maintain operations, while leaders inspire collaboration towards shared goals. Five essential factors for effective leadership include active listening, cultivating a shared vision, recognizing strengths, fostering a growth mindset, and showing respect. Active listening involves understanding not only spoken words but also underlying emotions and encouraging open communication. Leaders should consider the broader impact of decisions on others, demonstrating awareness of how changes may affect individuals and groups involved.
Active listening in the tradition of psychologist Carl Rogers, Ph.D. (2015), is an essential leadership skill. According to Dr. Jennings, "the leader should be prepared to listen as carefully as possible in order to both understand and ask good questions." When an employee comes to a supervisor to offer a suggestion or critique, he says, "This takes some courage for most folks."
Leadership involves awareness of the larger vision. When making major decisions, leaders need to ask themselves questions like "Who will be affected by this decision?" and "How will it affect them?" For example, Dr. Jennings says, "If a company is considering changing employees' benefits package to cost 10 percent less, that might sound good on the surface, but if this change also cuts 20 percent of their benefits, that's not such a good decision."
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