Understanding The 5 Different Roles in Leadership for Maximum Positive Influence on Others

"The new century brings new challenges, new people; complex problems, complex communication; this is the new era even the best professional managers are ineffective unless they know how to lead."

- John Kotter

Aesop tells the story of a dispute between two powerful forces, the sun and the wind. They argued endlessly about which was stronger. To put the matter to a test, the wind picked out a man who was wearing a heavy coat and taking a walk.

"To prove I'm stronger than you, I will get the man to remove his coat before you can!" boasted the wind. He blew with all his might at the man. But the harder the wind blew, the tighter the man clung to his coat. Exhausted, the wind offered the sun a try.

The sun cast a pleasant springtime warmth on the man. After a few moments, the man was happy to remove his coat.

In what specific ways do leaders exert their influence over followers and events? The point of Aesop's story is that would be leaders, or powerful people in general, must have a variety of techniques and approaches in their repertoire of leadership skills.

The Roles of Leadership are classified into the following role:

• The Vision Role
• The Relationship Role
• The Control Role
• The Encouragement Role
• The information Role

In this article, we shall discuss the first 2 roles of leadership, the Vision and Relationship role.

The Vision Leadership Role

Leaders see beyond the events of the moment in the life of their organizations to glimpse what the organization and its membership can become. This vision is an inspiration for the leaders to work hard and realize their dreams. Thus the vision has become the final state of what the organization would be.

The vision role is played out through six distinct leadership activities:

Vision Statements

The leader puts his or her vision into written and oral form that can be grasped by all the organisation's stakeholders.

Visionary Actions

The leader translates visionary words into actions that confirm and support the vision

Goal-Setting

The leader sets specific goals that contribute directly to the attainment of the vision.

Motivation

The leader encourages organization members to think and act in ways that make the vision an eventual reality

Conceptual Architecture

The leader makes sense out of the various aspects and aspirations of the organisation's parts. The leader understands and communicates how the various parts of the organization interrelate.

Prophecy

Finally, the leader challenges the best talents of group members by making bold pronouncements about problems and opportunities in the organisation's near-term or long-term future.

The Relationship Leadership Role

The leader practices and fosters relationships that help the organization achieves its mission. Especially as leaders mature, their value to organizations may lie primarily in the range and depth of their personal and professional associations.

The relationship role can be divided into four areas of leadership activity

Teamwork

The leader assembles and manages teams that make the most of the complementary talents of group members.

Personal Structures

The leader establishes the formal relationships among job categories and levels of responsibility within the organization.

Networks

The leader initiates or joins networks that prove valuable to the organization.

Representation

The leader represents the organization to external stakeholders