What is Organizational Leadership?
Last Updated October 1, 2021
Organizational leadership involves having the right combination of skills and abilities that are used to make an organization more efficient and effective. Organizational leadership skills range from understanding data-driven
decision-making to communicating well and setting proper expectations.
How to be a Leader in Your Organization
According to Villanova University’s Strategic Organizational Leadership course, only a handful of people are born with natural leadership ability. Fortunately, leadership is something that can be learned. While there are many types of leadership styles, using them effectively requires knowing yourself, understanding team dynamics, putting theories into practice, remaining flexible and evolving to meet the needs of your situation.
According to Villanova University HR faculty member Kim Nash, professionals must be continually learning, growing and developing. “We can be leaders in our organizations by being prepared with the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to move our organizations forward.”
What is Strategic Leadership?
The term strategic leadership encompasses an approach being taken by leaders that includes human capital as well as other factors that determine business success.
Strategic leaders understand the relationship between technology, data analysis and success in the modern business world. Data-driven decisions give a competitive edge to companies. But strong leadership goes beyond this. As pointed out by Forbes, today’s leaders need to be open-minded, flexible and continuously assessing and improving their business.
Organizational leaders can also work together with HR departments in setting goals for employees that align with overall strategic business goals.
This is vital because, as noted by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) in the article, “What Type of Leader Are You,” leaders can come from anywhere in an organization and with different styles that might work effectively for specific situations.
Styles of Leadership in Organizations Today
SHRM reports that leaders today tend to fall into four general categories.
- Dominant – These leaders are assertive, direct and results-oriented
- Influential – These leaders are active and dynamic with a positive attitude and an ability to always see the bright side of a situation
- Supportive – These leaders help people get things done, and do not get involved in office politics or drama of any kind
- Conscientious – These leaders are logical and methodical. They often prefer working with technology tools rather than people
5 Steps for Organizational Leadership DevelopmentAccording to the Strategic Organizational Leadership course, leadership is not something that most people are born with – but it can be learned. Aspiring leaders can the following five steps to develop organizational leadership skills:
- Intrinsic motivation – Start with small practical steps. This includes choosing to act when faced with thinking, talking or doing.
- Study yourself – An ongoing process is to study yourself to understand your strengths and weaknesses. This is important as great leaders are not afraid to delegate duties and be mentored by others.
- Study others – Take interest in the people on your team. Studying others provides crucial information about the behavior of those you work with every day.
- Practice – Once you learn strategic leadership skills, put them to use. Practice the techniques rather than only learning the theory.
- Evolve – Delegation is a necessary, but difficult skill to master. Choose trust over control and skepticism and be open to adapting your leadership style to your circumstance.
A great leader uses their leadership styles effectively and understands how to influence their teams.
What Leadership Traits Define Great Leaders?
The Strategic Organizational Leadership course also outlines leadership traits that matter today and go beyond the basic skills of good leaders. Characteristics of strong organizational leaders include:
- The ability to plan, organize, control, coach and delegate
- Communicating well and holding themselves responsible
- Providing motivation and resolving conflicts effectively
- Setting expectations and continuously evolving
- Collaborating and becoming part of the system (leaders do not act alone)
- The ability to create and articulate a clear vision for the team or organization
- The ability to establish a connection with a team and with individual members of a team
Some leaders now must lead through virtual means, no longer relying on the hierarchical organization or the room structure. The corner office is no longer where leaders need to sit and pass down edicts. Today’s leader looks like the information leadership of yesterday, according to the course.
A New Era of Organizational Leadership
As women have moved in increasing numbers into management roles, they have also brought new leadership approaches into the workplace. These include empathy, collaboration and being more accessible – which the New York Times points out is not so much “feminine qualities” but “the traits of well-rounded leaders.”
Forbes lists two of the top traits for successful managers as self-managing – knowing when and where to focus attention – and being accountable and responsible. Again, the focus is on collaborating and team building that is critical to successful strategic management.
Leadership continues to evolve. Seeking an education in organizational leadership can prove a key step
for ambitious managers who aspire to take their leadership skills to the next level.
