I have so many ideas of what an effective leader should be that I often feel overwhelmed and cannot imagine how I will become the 'ideal' leader that I want to be. There are many ingredients of effective leadership styles. I have read several books and articles on leadership and management. I have also participated in a few leadership training/education modules offered through my employers. There are many theories on what makes an effective leader. In my research I have discovered that there is many leadership styles and most are effective if used in the right situations. Information on the subject of leadership is plenty with some resources being quite in-depth, but most describe a specific type of leadership. I did find one book that was both easy to understand and made a lot of sense. In the book, Leadership and the One-Minute Manager, the theory and use of Situational Leadership is described. I think that this style of leadership is most effective. It describes that different forms of leadership are needed in different situations. The book defines leadership style as "how you behave when you are trying to influence the performance of someone else" (p. 46). Therefo

I believe that not all managers are good leaders. I worked with a manager that was great at the operational side of the business but she was not an effective leader. She felt that everyone should be treated the same and expected the same productivity and accuracy out of each employee. The drive that she placed on meeting the operational objectives with disregard for the human culture only backfired. Instead of getting better results they worsened. Morale became an issue, as well as, absences, stress related illnesses and conflicts between co-workers. I believe these were all a result from the manager's ineffective leadership skills.

The third style of leadership is supporting. Supporting is similar to the coaching style but employees are not in need of direction. The employees who require a supportive leader already have the skills and knowledge of their job duties but either lacks motivation or confidence. This type of employee requires a lot of praise to encourage motivation and improve confidences.

Maccoby, Michael, The Leader. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1981.

The coaching style would be useful for existing employees who have lost their sense of commitment. These types of employees may still be inexperienced or may have been incorrectly supervised leading to their loss of commitment. Coaching style will also be useful on employees who need praise to build their self-esteem. The coaching style provides some direction with plenty of support. Support is important in building confidences and praise is needed to boost self-esteem. If the employee 's confidence and self esteem is increased their commitment to the company and their ability to complete job duties will increase. This will ultimately improve the employee's productivity and morale.

re, one of the most important ingredients of any leader

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