It is Not Impossible

SERGIO B. GONZALES

Cabiao National High School-School Principal II

Leadership is believed to be the heart and soul of an organization. It provides the right track and direction where the organization has to go. It provides the understanding among the members the common goals of the organization and sets plans and framework how to attain these goals. But most importantly, leadership provides encouragement, inspiration and motivation among all members of the group in exerting their best efforts to fulfill their duties and responsibilities in order to give their best contribution in accomplishing the objectives of their organization.

What makes a leader to possess good leadership? Competence is always a requirement for a good leader. A good leader should possess skills, knowledge and competencies in doing his tasks effectively. Having these three important things, a leader gains credibility and respect from his followers which are very essential in leading a group.

How to be a competent leader? A competent leader performs at the highest level as possible to ensure positive results. How to perform at the highest level? Here are some suggestions and recommendations based on some researches.

C – Challenges himself to turn negative to positive. A study on the effect of workplace negativity factors on employee of Mennon in 2018 reveals that negative actions of one employee can influence the behavior of other employees and can even impact these employees as well as their organization. A competent leader should always consider the fact that not all situations bring good weather. More often, the organization is challenged by negativities. In circumstances like this, a leader should remain focused in achieving the goals of the organization by addressing issues and concerns involving his people and find resolutions to the problems.

O – Opens the line of communication. According to the study conducted by Eisenberger and Stinglamber (2011), opening the two-way communication is a great factor that motivates the employees. This line of communication contributes in making employees content and satisfied working in the organization. On the contrary according the same research, employees who are not given to express their sentiments are not performing well.

M – Manages himself. A competent leader is defined by his emotions in dealing with every situation. A competent leader is always composed no matter what. According to Blessing White, Good leaders maintain a cool head even facing provocative situations. They possess patience and tolerance in understanding difficult situations and remains calm in making his decisions to assure the right actions.

P – PLAN WITH YOUR EMPLOYEES. It is very important every member is involved about the goals of the organization and plans how to achieve these goals. According to Cherry (2020), participative leadership or shared leadership, is a leadership style which allows members of the group take involve themselves in the decision-making process. Here, each member is given the opportunities in expressing their thoughts freely with the guidance of the manager. In the end, the decisions remain to be in the hands of the manager. Researchers believe that democratic style of leadership boosts the morale of the employees that leads to better contribution and higher productivity among them.

E – Encourages followers to be the best employees of the organization by focusing on their strengths. According to Gallup, a regular employee management writer of The New York Times, employees are more motivated and inspired knowing that their employers focus on their strengths and not on their weaknesses. In his article, he convinces managers to discover the strengths of their employees and build their roles based on these strengths.

T – Thanks every exerted effort. Appreciation is one of the best, if not the best motivating factor that pushes an employee to strive harder. A study conducted by Glassdoor in 2016 reveals that a little over 80 percent of employees would be willing to work harder for an appreciative and thankful manager, and 70 percent stated they feel inspired performing their tasks when regularly appreciated by their managers. On the other hand, Emmons concluded in his study that lack of appreciation is a major issue that results to job dissatisfaction, absenteeism, turnover and frequently, burnout,

E – Establish rapport among all the members of the organization. Building good relationship is one of the most important ingredients of successful organization. According to Tickle-Degnen and Rosenthal, rapport creates relevant close and harmonious relationships among people. It’s the sense of connection that builds respect, confidence and trust among people. Establishing rapport is making employees comfortable in their workplace and providing them the sense of belongingness which will result to teamwork and camaraderie among the members of the group.

N – Negotiates the indifference. It is very important for all the members of organization that they are all working for common goals. And somewhere along the way, they meet indifferences as they perform their tasks. In this situation a competent leader should take charge and shows skills in effective negotiation which according to Fells (2009) is a process that offers a rational and practical and realistic understanding of compromise and the competencies necessary in order to reach an agreement. If all are united, all things are achievable.

T – Trusts every member of the group. Research conducted at Penn State University reveals that workers who are empowered by their companies perform better. The study also concludes that a worker who is trusted is a worker who gains confidence, and a worker who is confident is a worker who excels. An excellent worker gives his best contribution to accomplish his missions in the organization.

Being a competent leader is definitely hard, but it is not impossible. What you need to do is to believe that you can make it. Just be determined and motivated. Remember the success of your organization lies in your hand.

What do you want? Success or failure.