Organizational leadership entails many things. These include inspiring others and being a good example to the people following the leader. There are many challenges to being a leader, both professional and personal. This paper discusses the personal and professional challenges faced by leaders in the workplace.
Staying humble is one challenge of being a leader. For a person to ascend to a leadership position, they have to work hard. Leadership comes with many privileges, such as good pay and leading others. This can lead to pride. When one is in a leadership position, it is easy to begin believing what is written about them in the press. Everything is going swimmingly. It is not hard to fall into the trap of believing that you are the only one accountable for all of this achievement. Credit for the company’s most significant accomplishments ought to go to the head of the organization. However, individuals governed by a haughty leader do not admire or follow him because of his arrogance (Figueroa et al.,2019). This style of leader alienates their group, stokes the flames of conflict, and paves the way for dramatic situations. All of these things are detrimental to the health of a business. The most successful leaders are those who are also the most humble. They are conscious that power is not the primary factor in leadership but rather impact and influence. They are conscious of the significance of the network of people who support them. In addition, they get the benefits of being a part of a group that recognizes the worth of their integrity and works willingly with them to achieve a common goal. As a leader, modesty may be challenging to maintain, but it is an essential quality that is well worth working on developing.
Having self-confidence can also be challenging in organizational leadership. If we are to be forthright, the problem is that most leaders suffer from crippling levels of self-doubt. The more successful they are, the more likely they battle with ideas that are not who other people think they are. Many people in leadership positions struggle with imposter syndrome, which is characterized by excessive feelings of self-doubt. This contributes to the difficulty of their jobs. It will prevent you from being able to lead, motivate, and assist your team. Therefore, having a sound sense of one’s capabilities is essential to leadership.
Contrary to humility, which is centred on the realization that you are not the centre of the world, being confident means coming to terms with the fact that you have value in the overall scheme of things. It entails silencing the voice of the critical voice that lives within one’s head and telling them they are a fraud, a failure, or both. Self-assurance is your response when self-doubt tells you you are not good enough. “I am adequate,” it says.
Overcoming fear as a leader can also be challenging. Sometimes leaders are given difficult responsibilities such as making decisions, leading to fear of failure. This is because the organization might depend on the leader’s decisions. Fear may be the most significant factor that impedes a person’s capacity to manage an organization successfully, promote its goals, and make good decisions. Apprehension over the inevitable transitions, how the leaders will handle them, and how the team will react to them (Cortellazzo et al., 2019). the fear of making an erroneous decision. All of the possible dangers and “what ifs” that may stop your plans in their tracks, such as swings in the market or the economy, the possibility of layoffs or other types of reorganization, or even catastrophic events on a global scale. Fear is a natural human inclination that may affect anybody, even those in leadership positions.
You may, however, accept responsibility for it, recognize it, and effectively handle it if you do those three things. At a later time, I will elaborate. Following through can also be challenging due to the leaders’ busy schedules. The leaders are quite busy. There always needs to be more time to do all that has to be done. Interruptions, crises, and new opportunities all exert a draw on you in their unique ways. This pull may take many forms. As a result, it should not come as a surprise if one of the challenges you face as a leader is that you could find it difficult to put the plans, ideas, and strategies you develop into action. Several studies have shown that 90 per cent of business strategies need to live up to expectations. Indeed, there is a great deal of labour that has to be completed. Changes and surprises are prevalent. On the other hand, taking on too much has hindered the success of many leaders who came before you and has stopped them from completing what they started.
Leaders face stress and anxiety due to the responsibilities they have. Therefore dealing with stress and anxiety can be a challenge to a leader. With all these leadership difficulties staring the leaders in the face, it is fair to feel stressed out. It is all-natural. However, the stress that these difficulties produce for those in leadership positions might be a significant hurdle in and of itself. The fear, the self-doubt, and the onslaught of problems and requirements that leaders often face might all combine to produce a level of stress that puts your ability to lead in jeopardy because different people react in various ways under varying amounts of pressure. Being patient is the more challenging of the two. It might be challenging to concentrate.
The ancient fight-or-flight response may make one angry and return to being defensive; it can, in effect, shut off our thinking brain. This can cause us to feel defensive and angry. It may be advantageous for leaders to learn more about how they react to stress. This may help them better understand their behaviours and steer clear of the leadership pitfalls that manifest when worry is allowed to fester unchecked. Keeping themselves motivated can also be a challenge. The leader is required to keep the other people motivated; hence, self-motivation can be challenging. There are bad days for every one of us. Those times when one finds themselves unable to go on due to a lack of progress or the failure of an activity. When you focus your attention on something that is not working properly, you make it easy for it to drain your energy. It may be challenging for a leader to navigate this situation since everyone expects them to be the cheerleaders. a person who believes in moving ahead, having passion, and having a philosophy of “getting things done.” The notion that you would be the primary source of motivation might be one of the most demoralizing things you have to contend with at times (Chen et al., 2020). On the other hand, the people in your group turn to you for leadership, guidance, and motivation. Even if you are not at your most lively or best.
Leaders also face some professional challenges, such as mentoring employees. People desire to climb the professional ladder, and the leader must make this as achievable as feasible. Encourage, coach, and provide them with the needed opportunities. Recognizing one’s capabilities and areas of growth is a necessary step. You should challenge them by setting high goals for them to reach, but you should also reassure them that they can meet those standards and provide them with the direction and support they need to think they can. There is no way around the need for commitment and time. In employee development and mentoring, recognizing employees’ contributions is an essential ingredient in the equation. Everyone should have the experience of being significant. Everyone wants to be acknowledged, respected, and heard. As the team leader, you must communicate to the other group members how highly you regard them. And not only in expressing gratitude for what you have done.
To be more specific, in the sense of “I observed what you did at this time and truly appreciate the excellent work,” “I appreciate the wonderful effort.” This requires you to pay attention, listen carefully, and put in a true effort to assist your team in understanding their strengths, finding sources of happiness, and growing toward their potential. Managing resources can also be a challenge for the leader. Managing. Avoid micromanagement. Even just that one variation may have been a challenge for the leader. However, in the context of this sentence, we are talking about the continual process of problem-solving—the chessboard configuration.
It is negotiating the complexities of human relationships while also managing the dynamics of a team (Bratton, 2020). As a good steward of the resources available to your company, you are under continual pressure to make choices that are in its best interest. All of it condensed into a collection of challenges that, if allowed to, may tangle the leader up and make things tough for them. Make sure to consider delegating as well. It is easy to delegate tasks. Not all delegating methods are effective. It is not enough to “pass things off” or “clear your plate” when attempting to delegate effectively. It is about allowing them the independence to carry out the responsibilities that you have delegated to them. Considering all that is necessary for effective resource management, taking the leadership role could be challenging.
References
Bratton, J. (Ed.). (2020). Organizational leadership. Sage.
Chen, M., & Decary, M. (2020, January). Artificial intelligence in healthcare: An essential guide for health leaders. Healthcare management forum (Vol. 33, No. 1, pp. 10–18). Sage CA: Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications.
Cortellazzo, L., Bruni, E., & Zampieri, R. (2019). The role of leadership in a digitalized world: A review. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1938.
Figueroa, C. A., Harrison, R., Chauhan, A., & Meyer, L. (2019). A rapid review of priorities and challenges for health leadership and workforce management globally. BMC health services research, 19(1), 1-11.
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