“The sign on the door of opportunity reads PUSH”. The leader is one of those people who look forward to provide the “push” for the enhancement of individual career. From the perspective of the company, the leader is the pushing factor that drives the people to the attainment of the organisational objective. Thus a leader is expected to produce the desired “result”.

From the organization point of view, identification of potential leaders is the first step that is to be taken after defining the objectives as the leader is the driving force behind the organisational success. The past history on the success of the employee as a leader is a major deciding factor in the selection of a leader within the organization. Leadership qualities however vary with the demands of the industry and the job in hand. On short listing the potential candidates with the key leadership skills, the further enhancement of the skills can be done through training. Leadership training programs can aid in improving the driving skills of the leader. This however cannot ensure a good leader.

A good leader is one whose skills are not limited to a few. It requires a wide range of skills, few inborn, few acquired, to create a leader. The leader should move forward with the vision in mind. Every action should be directed to the mission. This requires an individual who has confidence in her convictions and is passionate of her deeds. She should be able to forecast the future on the basis of the past trends and current developments to guide the actions to the future.

Leader is the driving force behind a team. Study conducted by Hay/McBer identified the different types of leadership styles as:

· Coercive leaders
· Authoritative leaders
· Affiliate leaders
· Democratic leaders
· Pacesetting leaders
· Coaching leaders

Coercive leaders push the people to the organisational mission. Authoritative leaders, on the other hand, direct the people to approach the right path to the goal. Affiliate leaders succeed in getting the job done through a better understanding of the emotions of the people. She recognizes the importance of maintaining a good relationship with her team to imbibe a feeling of oneness amongst them for better results. Democratic leaders gain results by giving the team the chance to voice their opinion. Pacesetting leader on the other hand ‘set the pace’ for a highly motivated team. Coaching leaders coach the team members for the achievement of their personal and professional success. However, these features by itself, cannot succeed in driving the people. A combination of the various styles is necessary depending on the nature of work or situation involved.

She should be willing to take responsibility for her jobs and should be always on the look out for challenges in her role. She should have excellent listening skills to hear the voice of her subordinates. The leader should be aware of her potentials and utilize these for providing the support, encouragement, authority to drive the team towards the organisational objectives.