In society, leadership is a highly valued commodity. It is the leaders who continually shape society by using their influence and guiding individuals to a certain goal and direction. Effective leadership is important for our society to thrive. However, what is often missed is the complexity in the leadership process (Northouse, 2016, p. 6). Northouse (2016) defines leadership as a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal (p. 6). It is a process that occurs between the leader and his/her followers. It does not simply depend on the leader. Followers are a vital part because without them, it will be difficult for a leader to accomplish his/her goal. Leaders and followers must be understood collectively and in relation to each other (Northouse, 2016, p. 6). It is no surprise that Northouse (2016), emphasizes the importance of sociability to leadership effectiveness (p. 26).
Leaders who are sociable seek out pleasant relationships and are friendly, outgoing, courteous, tactful, and diplomatic (Northouse, 2016, p. 26). An example of a leader with great sociable skills is my Aunt. She is a director of a school for more than 30 years. She often goes around her school during lunch breaks to meet and greet the students. Most of the students run to hug and greet her. This also extends to her teachers where they often have a weekly get-together. In these get-together’s she doesn’t intentionally talk to them about work, but about their family, health, interests and passions. Most of her employees have been with her for over 20 years because they feel like they have a strong support system.
She also showed her sensitivity towards others’ concerns by creating an avenue for open communication, which is a trait of sociability (Northouse, 2016, p. 26). One teacher, for example, expressed her passion for underprivileged kids who had no education. By hearing this, she started a program to help educate these kids and allowed the teacher, who expressed her passion toward these underprivileged kids, to become the head of the program. Not only did this allow her employee to feel like she listened and cared enough about her passion, it also allowed for an educational goal to be met and achieved. Having an open and considerate attitude towards others allowed her employee to be more effective in helping educate the underprivileged kids.
Leaders that are sociable also show concern for the well-being of their followers (Northouse, 2016, p. 26). For example, one of my Aunt’s employees, was going through a tough time losing weight. This caused her employee to have various health issues. One recommendation of the doctor was to have an exercise regimen to lose the weight and be healthier in general. By hearing this, my Aunt created an exercise program for all of the teachers to exercise together at least twice a week. This not only helped her employee lose some weight and improve her health, but it allowed the other employees to be healthier as well. It created an avenue for them to be a supportive community towards one another’s’ well-being. It also made them individually strong and healthy enough to do their work effectively. By showing that she cared for her employees, the culture of caring for others extended to her followers as well.
Sociability is an important and often overlooked trait to leadership effectiveness. It is vital to leadership effectiveness because it is a process between the leader and the follower. Without a good and healthy relationship between the two, leadership will lack in its effectiveness. Social leaders exemplify good interpersonal skills and create cooperative relationships (Northouse, 2016, p. 26). This helps make it easier for a leader to accomplish his/her goal just like what we have seen through my Aunt’s leadership and her relationship with her employees.
References:
Northouse, P. (2016). Leadership Theory and Practice (7th ed). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc
Antonio Araiza says
Francesca,
Your aunt seems to be an amazing person and quite a great, caring and genuine leader. As such, I am not surprised that kids and adults alike run to hug her when she walks around the school. She certainly embodies the leadership trait of sociability but also demonstrates high levels of intelligence and self-confidence in her interactions with the students and members of her staff.
On one hand, she demonstrates intelligence, which helps a leader in acquiring problem-solving and social judgement skills (Northouse, 2016). I would suggest that she heavily relies on this trait while solving emergent issues such as pairing the teacher with the underprivileged kids and creating the exercise program for people in her school. She seems to have figured out the right balance between using social judgement skills for listening and problem-solving skills to take subsequent actions to help.
On the other hand, she seems to be very confident and never doubts that she can positively affect other people’s lives. Self-confidence is being sure about one’s abilities and skills, but it also includes a sense of self-esteem and assurance in the belief that you can make a difference (Northouse, 2016). She has been the director in her school for 30 years, and this is likely because she continues to make a difference in the lives of those around her.
Sociability, intelligence and self-confidence are innate traits we are born with (or without), and although your aunt seems to be a genuinely natural leader, I would suggest that 30 years of experience have helped her hone overlapping leadership skills. While the trait approach to leadership focuses on the personality characteristics of the leader, the skills approach emphasizes their capabilities and those abilities that can be trained, developed and learned (Northouse, 2016).
The three-skill approach suggests that technical, conceptual and human skills contribute to a leader’s effectiveness in accomplishing a set of goals or objectives. It is the latter skills that I think your aunt has mastered. Human skills, according to Katz (1955), are those abilities that leaders use in working and cooperating as a group to achieve a common goal, while adapting their own ideas to those of others (as cited in Northouse, 2016). Furthermore, leaders with human skills are sensitive to the motivation and needs of others, and take them into account in their decision-making (Northouse, 2016). Clearly, your aunt epitomizes human skills and that is very likely another reason why people love working with, for, and around her.
Your aunt has changed the lives of countless teachers and kids in the span of 30 years. She has many innate traits and sharpened skills that make her an amazing person and a great leader. Sociability, intelligence and her self-confidence are coupled with the human skills that make students and teachers gravitate to her. I really enjoyed reading about her and wish her continued success in her job as the director of her school.
References
Northouse, P.G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice (7th ed). Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications.