Qualities of a Leader

CO-OPERATIVE LEADERSHIP

A co-operative organisation has to run on the lines of dual control. That is, it has to fulfill both the management principles and the principles of co-operation. In the present day, co-operatives have to fight and compete with the power of multinationals. To take on the mighty multinationals, the co-operatives should nurture and develop good leaders which are capable of driving the co-operatives into the direction of success.

Leadership defined: 'Interpersonal influence exercised in a situation and diverted through the communication process towards attainment of specified goals'

In other words, people coming together for achieving common objectives must have leaders whose function is to take on the initiative, assume responsibility for carrying out policies and proposals, give directions and inspire and activate the followers to achieve the co-operative goals.

FUNCTIONS OF A LEADER

The functions of a leader depend on the kind of the co-operative society, which is being led. It depends on the structure and the goal of the society.

1. THE LEADER AS AN EXECUTIVE:

The leader has a very important function of co-coordinating the activities of the co-operative society. So a leader in his executive capacity does not carry out work or activities but assigns it to other members, as well as sees the proper execution of the policies.

For instance, the leader of a political party makes it a point to see that the policies of the party are being executed. He also assigns the work of party propaganda to some persons, secretarial work to some others while the election work to some other members. He organizes discussions for the execution of the plan and acts as a guide during the discussion.

However, sometimes, the leader is not able to delegate responsibilities and authority and feels necessity to be personally involved in each activity. Such situation may prevent members from sharing responsibilities affecting their involvement in the work of the group.

2. THE LEADER AS A PLANNER:

The leader functions in the capacity of the planner too. He decides what ways and means are to be adopted to achieve the objectives. He plans the work of the co-operatives in such a manner that the goal may be achieved through proper steps being undertaken at the present and also in future. Thus, his planning may be for short term.

Frequently, the leaders are the only persons who know in complete details the plan to be adopted. The members of the co-operative societies are only told about some of the fragments of the plan with which they are concerned. Often the plan is drawn in such a manner that the execution in parts of it would ultimately lead to the attainment of the group objective.

For example, for the security of India, many a short term plans are drawn up. These plans when integrated, will lead to the attainment of desired objective.

3. THE LEADER AS THE POLICY MAKER:

An important function of the leader of any social group is to plan out the goals, objectives and policies of the co-operative society. The leaders may themselves plan the policies or objectives or they may get the policies or objectives from other sources