This week’s lesson describes some of the competencies required of those in a position of leadership. Social judgment skills are a vital component of any leadership position, but what happens if a leader lacks this important skill? According to the text, the skills approach tends to elicit hope that “many people have the potential for leadership” and “capabilities can be developed…via education and experience” (Northouse, 2013, p. 47). Unfortunately, not everyone takes the time to develop and continue to work on these skills, which often leads to resentment and unfair practices among leaders and followers.
Can leadership be effective without social judgment skills? There can be some degree of leadership without these skills, but the quality of the leadership will be questionable. Effective leadership is reflected in the satisfaction of the followers, and follower satisfaction is fulfilled via perspective and perception from the leader. Perception encompasses attention to how followers function within an organization, and behavioral flexibility entails adaptation to behavior dependent upon the insight of other’s perspectives. Social performance focuses on several areas, such as persuasion, communication, conflict resolution, and support. Now that we know what perception entails, I would like to cite a personal example of what happens to leadership when follower perspective is ignored (Northouse, 2013).
I have worked for a company for ten years where the supervisors show a severe lack of social judgment skills. Most of the employees are blunt regarding their attitudes regarding issues within the organization, in a last-ditch attempt to get their ideas and issues heard. While the issues are often heard, they tend to “go in one ear and out the other”, and no attempts are made to facilitate change or address the problem. The issue here is not lack of communication between leaders and followers, but rather a lack of adaptation to the follower’s perspective. When changes are proposed, the leaders often fail to consider how the followers will respond to the change, which is dangerous as the followers or employees are the cogs and gears of the organization. Upset employees equal unproductive employees, as they feel unappreciated since their perspective was not taken into account during the decision making process. Change may be better accepted if it is communicated correctly, which is a key component of social performance. Leaders lacking in social performance often fail to solve problems to their follower’s satisfaction, thus compounding the problem when future issues are not resolved correctly. In terms of coaching new directives to employees or subordinates, the leaders often execute the direction but fail to pair it with the support and reassurance needed to complete the task.
So how does an organization function with a lack of social judgment skills? For starters, lacking social judgment skills can impact an interviewer’s perception of a potential employee. Ignoring employee issues only complicates matters, and employees and followers lose respect for leaders when their concerns are dismissed. Lack of communication sows discord between followers and leaders, as they feel left in the dark or out of the loop, and unimportant to the organization. An organization whose leaders fail to exercise social judgment skills create resentment and apathy within their company, as followers who feel disrespected by their leaders also fail to emanate respect as well. Perspective and perception must be instituted by those in a position of leadership, or followers will show discontent and possibly turn on the leader. Followers are just as much an integral part of the leadership process as the leaders themselves.
Northouse, P. G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Los Angeles: Sage Publications
How true the sentiments to the importance of social performance in the leadership world. The success of both leader and follower and the common goal they strive to reach often times depends on a leaders social skills. Social performance plays a huge role in leaders gaining the respect from those on which they depend. Of the social performance skills we continue to build upon it seems one has the potential to solidify the foundation of respect and that is to empathize with those on which the success of both leader and organization stands.
When it comes to making decisions, the “can’t please everyone” mindset is not an ideal any leader should utilize to solve issues within their organization. When issues arise, it is of utmost importance to not only keep the lines of communication flowing but also to have accountability to the individuals involved. It is a wise leader who is conscious to the ripple effect decisions made throughout an organization can have on all members. This ability adds an element of not only accountability but of transparency to the leadership skills.
A leader who puts the good of the whole before the good for self leaves little room for failure as well as discord among followers. There are several skills a leader needs to exemplify, but the need for social performance is not one to be taken lightly.