In China, there is a saying that goes as follows, “A fence needs the support of three stakes. Two heads are better than one.” This shows the importance of cooperation and collection between people within a group. The success never belongs to one person, and leadership also needs collective work to achieve the goal.
Being transparent while collectively setting goals is very important and necessary to get started. Whether you are a member or a leader; when people set goals they sit down together and explain their opinions fairly and transparently. People discuss together at one place at one time, they combine the most valuable points and make their goals. As leaders, the job is organizing the community, making sure every group and individual can share their unique opinion and keep transparence. Leaders can draw on these internal motivations by appealing to, or creating, attitudes and values.
During the process of achieving the goal, the leader’s role seems more important. Leaders should be catalysts to grow a “citizen ecosystem,” in which people are very organized and work collectively. First of all, leaders should clarify the jobs of the group members, meaning everyone should clearly know what they are supposed to do and their individual goals. Second, leaders should connect the individuals and different groups closely and try to build their intimate relationships, too. There is never only one department in an organization or a company and the better understanding people have, the higher the efficiency, the more they can achieve. As leaders, they can do both official and informal ways during both work time and after work. For example, leaders can put different groups together in the meetings to let them communicate. When people know what others jobs and duties are, they more effectively they work. Also, off-work social time is important to build the cohesion amongst workers. Leaders can gather colleagues and group mates eating and partying after work to allow them to socialize with each other individually about one another's personal life experiences. It’s one of the best way to reduce arguments and conflicts.
Last, when the team has some achievements, leaders shouldn’t hesitate to award the members or to share the pleasures with everyone who spent time to achieve it. This is very important as people will be always thankful and have the feeling that they are recognized for their accomplishments. So when your group is supposed to achieve the next goal, all members will be happy to work and help.
To sum up, being a leader is a very important role as they are responsible for managing the relationships of the individuals and the groups within, as well setting up to achieve the goal at hand. They are also responsible for sharing the accomplishments with the group and leading the group to achieve even more.
Xinyi Yan is a senior studying strategic communication at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. What do you think makes an effective leader? Let Xinyi know by emailing her at xy307715@ohio.edu.
