Running head: LEADERSHIP COMPETENCIES

Key Leadership Competencies

Melissa Sheldon
Siena Heights University Graduate College
February 5, 2016

LEADERSHIP COMPETENCIES

Key Leadership Competencies

Effective leaders come in all shapes and sizes and bring a variety of experience and skills
to the organizations that employ them. Each type of work environment requires a different type
of leader with competencies that are relevant to their workforce, industry, area of expertise, or
customer base. This paper will explore the key leadership competencies of motivation,
communication, and collaboration that must be developed in order to be successful in a small
organization.
A leaders ability to motivate and inspire their staff to do great work is admirable. In
order to motivate or inspire others, a leader must first develop relationships with the individuals
that they are trying to encourage. Once an employee trusts a leader, they are able to build and
maintain a meaningful relationship with them and are more likely to go above and beyond
expectations to get their job done. In addition to building relationships, leaders must also be
flexible in their approach because what motivates one staff member may not motivate another.
Being able to recognize differences in what motivates others and the ability to adjust their style
makes leaders more effective when dealing with individual workers. Savage-Austin and
Honeycutt (2011) state that servant leaders are able to motivate their employees to achieve
organizational goals due to their commitment to developing their staff members and the sense of
community that they establish within an organization. Staff are motivated when they feel as
though their talents and experiences are appreciated.
Communication is an essential skill that all great leaders must master in order to be
considered effective. In addition to providing open lines of communication, leaders must be able
to provide honest and constructive feedback to their staff members in order for continued growth
to occur. Ensuring that staff members are receiving the coaching they need is important to both

LEADERSHIP COMPETENCIES

the individual and the organization as a whole. Providing feedback requires a leader to become
proficient in discussing both positive aspects of performance as well as areas for potential
improvement. Gilstrap, White, and Spradlin (2015) discuss the importance of transparent
communication within nonprofit organizations and how it can influence the level of trust or buyin that is given by employees. This open and transparent communication is valued by employees
because it provides them with the positive and negative aspects of what is going on within the
organization and helps them feel better informed and more involved overall.
Small organizations require their staff to work closely together in order to achieve desired
outcomes. Working closely requires a great deal of collaboration. Great leaders are effective
collaborators and know how to bring their staff together and keep them engaged in their work.
Leaders within small organization are able to see the big picture and make sure that everyone is
working toward a common goal. Involving staff members in planning or decision making
processes is a great way for leaders to collaborate with their staff. Dubrin (2016) states that
participative leaders allow their staff to partake in the decision making process. Participative
leaders discuss decisions with frontline staff as they are often the ones that have more hands-on
knowledge regarding the product or service in question. This collaboration helps to solidify the
value of the individual workers to both the leader and the organization.
While a participative leadership style may be more commonly accepted in a modern
workplace (Dubrin, 2016), it is advantageous for leaders in small or nonprofit organizations to
develop their motivation, communication, and collaboration skills. The ability to motivate,
effectively communicate both the good and bad, along with collaboration skills allow a leader to
be flexible and make adjustments as needed in order to accomplish the organizational goals.

LEADERSHIP COMPETENCIES

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References

Dubrin, A. J. (2016). Leadership: Research findings, practice, and skills. Boston, MA: Cengage
Learning.
Gilstrap, C., White, Z. M., & Spradlin, A. (2015). Authentic leadership communication:
Nonprofit leaders and the constituted self. The Journal of Nonprofit Education and
Leadership, 5(2). 47-67. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/1730195112?accountid=28644
Savage-Austin, A., & Honeycutt, A. (2011). Servant leadership: A phenomenological study of
practices, experiences, organizational effectiveness, and barriers. Journal of Business &
Economics Research, 9(1), 49-54. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/848788676?accountid=28644