The leadership process is the ongoing relationship between leaders and followers to accomplish company goals. Leadership is basically the influence of a leader in achieving shared goals through followers. The process of leaders and followers working together is different for each business.
Some companies value and incorporate leadership development programs into their company culture. They nurture leadership at every level by providing activities such as team building workshops. The concept of a team is extremely important in the leadership process, as the focus should be on the followers as well as the leader. Company, or organizational, culture can be seen as a workplace environment shaped by its leaders and embodied by its followers.
Followers become a part of the leadership process starting when they are hired. How satisfied the follower is with the leader often relates to how well he or she becomes motivated to achieve success in and for the company. Yet, the leader's assessment of the follower determines his or her future in the firm.
Many companies have a performance review system for assessing employees. A performance review may be given to the follower by the leader every few months or yearly, depending on company policy for this part of the leadership process. Typically, a written review is prepared by the leader who then discusses it in a private meeting with the follower. If the leader notes that the follower needs improvement in some areas of his or her work, then more leadership coaching will be needed. If instead the leader has found the follower to have exceeded workplace expectations, the employee may be rewarded with a pay raise or a promotion.
Assessment of company leaders is often done informally as well as formally by upper management. A president or chief executive officer (CEO) assesses company leaders at least partially by how well the leadership process motivated employees to achieve set goals such as increased sales or a successful new product development. Although there are different styles of leadership, every leader has to motivate and inspire others to work toward the realization of common goals.
Some common and effective leadership techniques for inspiring and motivating employees include leading by example and rewarding initiatives. Leading by example means that leaders set effective guidelines by acting as they expect their followers to; this type of leadership often garners respect as well as inspires motivation. Rewarding employee initiative can mean downplaying mistakes during the leadership process, but giving attention to accomplishments.