A Leader has significant impact on the thinking, behaviour, and performance of the people around him or her. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, directly or indirectly, leaders motivate or drive people to behave in certain ways.

Unfortunately in many cases, leaders are not aware of their impact. A leader needs to identify and understand the impact he or she has on the thinking and behaviour of those around them, and how this influences their effectiveness. Understanding the implications this has for organisational culture can help a leader to develop new ways of leading, resulting in those around them behaving more constructively and so ultimately becoming more effective as a leader.

A constructive leader encourages and motivates others to approach their work in ways that help them to personally meet their higher-order needs for growth and satisfaction, while inspiring people to effectively manage their time and take on challenging tasks.

Below are five ways you can become a constructive leader;

1. Motivate people to actively support others in their career development and growth, as well as encourage people to set their own priorities and allocate time in accordance with a long-term plan.

2. Encourage people to build good personal relationships with others (within the organisation) and promote mutual respect of people's diverse backgrounds and viewpoints.

3. Inspire people to take on challenging tasks with a sense of confidence and to encourage people to pursue interesting projects and opportunities.

4. Motivate people to approach their work with creativity and inspire people to experiment with innovative solutions to problems.

5. Emphasise the importance of the team, to encourage people to discuss things in a friendly and open manner while stimulating people to think in unique and independent ways.

So, why does being a constructive leader matter? The relationship between leadership and organisational culture is a particularly important one. Leaders set the agenda for culture – they model the behaviours that others follow and, through their own leadership, cause others to behave in certain ways that may or may not be consistent with what the leader actually desires.

Inserts taken from Human Synergistics book “Why Culture & Leadership Matter”. Contact your Account Manager for a copy.