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Modern Spend Management and Accounts Payable software.

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Cristian Maradiaga

King Ocean

Download a free copy of "Preparing Your AP Department For The Future", to learn:

  • How to transition from paper and excel to eInvoicing.
  • How AP can improve relationships with your key suppliers.
  • How to capture early payment discounts and avoid late payment penalties.
  • How better management in AP can give you better flexibility for cash flow management.

The Importance of Human Leadership For Your Management Team

The Importance of Human Leadership For Your Management Team

Leadership is one of the essential skills that a person can possess. It can be the difference between success and failure.

To be a good leader, you need to have various skills. You need to be able to motivate your team, make good decisions, and handle difficult situations. You also need to work well with others and build relationships.

6 Leadership Styles in Business

  1. Authoritarian (Autocratic)

    This leadership style is focused on one person having all the power and control. The leader makes all the decisions and does not delegate authority to others.

    This can be an effective leadership style if you are in a situation where quick decisions, such as during a crisis, need to be made. It can also be effective when you have a clear vision.

  2. Participative (Democratic)

    This leadership style is focused on the leader involving the team in decision-making. The leader will solicit input from others and then make a decision.

    This can be an effective leadership style when you need to get buy-in from your team or when you need to make a complex decision. It can also help build relationships and trust within the team.

  3. Delegative (Laissez-Faire)

    This leadership style focuses on the leader giving authority to others to make decisions. The leader provides guidance but does not micromanage.

    This can be an effective leadership style when you have a team of experts, or you need to give people the freedom to do their job. It can also help build trust within the team.

  4. Transformational

    Here, the leader motivates and inspires others to achieve a common goal. The leader provides guidance and support and challenges people to think outside the box.

    This can be an effective leadership style when you need to achieve something big or when you need to motivate your team.

  5. Transactional

    Transactional leadership bases the leader-follower relationship as a transaction. The individual who accepts a position in the group agrees to follow the leader.

    This is commonly seen in employer-employee relationships, where the employee agrees to complete a series of tasks in exchange for money (wages.)

    The main advantage of this type of leadership style is that there are clearly defined roles. Everyone knows what they must do and what they will get in exchange. A downside, though, is that this approach discourages creative, out-of-the-box thinking and problem-solving.

  6. Situational

    The situational leadership style was first described by Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard in their 1969 book, “Management of Organizational Behavior.” The theory behind situational leadership is that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to leadership. The leader must adapt their style to the situation.

    There are four stages of development that a follower goes through:

    • Dependent – The follower is not capable and not willing to do the task. The leader must take complete responsibility.
    • Interdependent – The follower is willing but not capable of doing the task. The l% of leaders must provide close supervision and support.
    • Independent – The follower is capable but not willing to do the task. The leader must provide motivation and encouragement.
    • Integrated – The follower is both willing and capable of doing the task. The leader can take a more hands-off approach.

    The situational leadership style is effective because it considers the follower’s development level. It also allows the leader to adapt their style as the situation changes.

    The disadvantage of this approach is that it can be difficult to change styles on the fly. The leader must be able to quickly assess the situation and then adjust their leadership style accordingly.

6 Leadership Styles in Business

What is Human Leadership?

Leadership is the process of influencing people to achieve a common goal. It involves setting a direction, taking action, and inspiring others to follow.

Human leadership is a type of leadership that focuses on the personal relationships between leaders and followers. This type of leadership emphasizes empathy, emotional intelligence, and communication.

According to a recent Gartner study, only 29% of employees say their leaders display human leadership. This is important for companies because companies that use human leadership will have more higher employee engagement with less turnover. And in today’s world, workforce talent expects it.

Human leadership is important for several reasons. First, it can help build trust between leaders and followers. Trust is essential for any team or organization to function effectively. Without trust, people will be less likely to follow a leader’s direction or take their advice.

Human leadership can promote creativity and innovation. When people feel valued and respected, they are more likely to be open to new ideas and willing to take risks.

It can foster a sense of belonging and community. When people feel part of something larger than themselves, they are more likely to be motivated and engaged in their work.

Human leadership is all about connecting with your team on a deep level – acknowledging that everyone has unique strengths and weaknesses, and deserves to treated with love and respect.

According to Gartner, there are three components of human leadership:

  1. Authenticity

    Human leaders must be genuine and honest with their intentions. They should be transparent about their decision-making process and build trust by being consistent in their words and actions.

  2. Empathy

    Leaders must be able to understand and share the feelings of their followers and act empathetic. This includes being aware of the emotional state of others, as well as having the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes.

  3. Adaptivity

    Leaders must create a flexible environment that supports each team members’ unique needs. They should be able to adjust their leadership style to the situation and the individual.

    The pandemic is an excellent example of adaptivity in leadership development. Many managers have allowed employees to continue to work remotely via zoom meetings, for better wellness, even as much of the world goes back to an in-office work environment.

    By acknowledging that everyone has a personal life, with some of us at higher risk for complications should we become sick, companies are leading things the human way, providing a quality employee experience that allows them flexibility.

3 Components of Human Leadership

Further research shows human leadership is grounded in these core principles:

  • Self-Love

    Human leadership is all about unconditional love and self-respect. It honors everyone’s equal rights to integrity, dignity, and equity. It recognizes people for exactly who they are and what they bring to the table.

    It’s about treating everyone, regardless of status or contribution, with the compassion and respect they deserve as human beings. It’s about ensuring everyone acts with well-being in mind.

  • Self-Leadership

    With this style of leadership, leaders understand transformation is about human connection and understanding. By connecting with yourself and learning to love, you’ll be better equipped to connect with and understand others. It’s about looking inward to the self to build a strong connection, then outwardly driving connections with others.

  • Self-Learning

    Human leadership acknowledges that everyone has baggage and that we all must continue to grow. We are humans with limitations – not automated robots. This approach embraces the journey as much as the result.

    Core Principals of Human Leadership

    Leaders can change another’s reality every day. Positive actions become contagious and create real change.

    Human leadership is essential for any organization that wants to be successful. Companies can build trust, foster creativity, and promote a sense of community by focusing on the personal relationships between leaders and followers.

Do You Have What it Takes to Be a Good Human Leader?

Not everyone is a natural-born leader, and that’s okay, as many leadership skills can be learned and honed. These are the soft skills you’ll need to be an effective leader:

  • Communication Skills

    Leaders must effectively communicate their vision and inspire others to achieve a common goal. This includes being clear, concise, and consistent in your messaging.

  • Self-Awareness

    Self-aware leaders know their strengths and weaknesses and can use this information to make better decisions. They also understand how others perceive them, which allows them to build better relationships.

    Self-aware people can take a step back and look at themselves objectively, which helps them become more successful both professionally and personally.

  • Decision-Making

    Good decision-making skills can help your personal and professional life and any other situations where a choice must be made. There are several things that you can do to improve your decision-making skills.

    First, ensure you understand the problem or situation you are dealing with. Next, gather as much information as possible about the different possible solutions. Finally, evaluate the pros and cons of each solution and make a decision based on what is best for you and the people affected by your decision.

    Making good decisions takes time and practice, but you can become a better decision-maker with patience and effort.

  • Problem-Solving

    Problem-solving skills are important in any field. They can help you think of creative solutions to problems and develop new ways to improve your work. Problem-solving skills also help you better understand your problems and how to address them.

    Some common problem-solving techniques include brainstorming, breaking the problem into smaller parts, and using a model or analogy. You can also try different methods until you find one that works best.

    The key to improving your problem-solving skills is practice. Try applying these techniques to everyday problems and see how far you can get. You can also seek training courses or workshops to help you develop your problem-solving skills.

  • Relationship Building

    Building relationships is critical for leaders because connections can help propel your business to the next level. Some of the most important skills for building relationships are being able to listen attentively, being respectful, and being genuine.

    Listening attentively shows the other person that you’re interested in what they have to say. Being respectful indicates that you value the other person’s opinion and feelings. And being genuine means that you’re not just pretending to be interested in the other person; you care about them as an individual.

    Other important skills for building relationships include communicating effectively, showing empathy, and using body language effectively.

  • Time Management

    Effective leaders know how important time management is. Everyone has the same 24 hours a day- what you do with them matters.

    With time management, what works for one person might not work for another, so it’s important to find what strategies work best for you and stick to them. Here are a few tips to help get you started:

    • Make a list. This can be anything from a daily To-Do list to a list of goals you want to achieve over a certain period. Seeing your tasks written down in black and white can help you stay organized and motivated.
    • Set priorities. This goes hand in hand with making lists – knowing what tasks are the most important and must be done first is crucial for effective time management.
    • Take breaks. Use the Pomodoro Method to keep yourself on track. With this approach, you break your tasks into 25-minute work blocks, with five-minute breaks between blocks. This keeps you productive and allows your brain a rest period before switching to another task.
Skills you Need to be a Human Leader

Leadership Styles Can Make or Break You

Truly human leadership is an essential component of any management team. To create a strong, cohesive team that can achieve its goals, you must ensure that your leaders focus on the personal relationships between themselves and their followers.

Doing so will create an environment of trust, creativity, and belonging that will help your team reach its full potential.

What’s your goal today?

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