“Supportive leadership includes a wide variety of
behaviors that show consideration, acceptance, and concern for the needs and
feelings of other people” (Yukl, 2013, p. 63).
I never performed any research on supportive leadership prior to this
course (MSLD 511 - Organizational Leadership).
However, upon reading the textbook, I realized I demonstrated many supportive
leadership behaviors. Supportive
leadership is what comes naturally to me, so it is the style that I have
exhibited and honed throughout my years of supervising. I am definitely an advocate of this
leadership style because I know from experience it can produce results.
There are many reasons supportive leadership is so
advantageous. For example, it can build and maintain effective interpersonal
relationships, increase friendship and loyalty, form emotional ties which can
form support and cooperation amongst employees, improve job satisfaction,
reduce work related stress, and potentially increase subordinate performance
(Yukl, 2013). There are also some
guidelines to assist in achieving a supportive leadership style which include:
- Show acceptance and positive regard
- Provide sympathy and support when the person is anxious or upset
- Bolster the person’s self-esteem and confidence
- Be willing to help with personal problems
Another aspect of supportive leadership is
recognizing through “giving praise and showing appreciation to others for
effective performance, significant achievements, and important contributions to
the organization” (Yukl, 2013, p. 68). I
am a big fan of recognizing the accomplishments of not only subordinates, but
also my peers because I believe this builds confidence and fosters a stronger
team environment. In my current
position I do not have any subordinates, yet I am responsible for assisting
them in meeting certain metrics. If they
do not meet these metrics it reflects poorly on me. So when they meet metric criteria, I praise
them and show my appreciation. I believe
this helps them actually want to continue to meet criteria vs. them not being appreciated
and feel as if their efforts are a waste of time. There are times employees fall short of
meeting the metrics, however, I still commend them on their efforts and work
with them on how to be successful going forward. Recognition does not have to only be given
for successful efforts because “sometimes recognition is necessary for
unsuccessful efforts to perform an important activity with a low probability of
success” (Yukl, 2013, p. 70).
The thought of supportive leadership makes me think
of it being conducted at the higher levels within an organization. But upon further thought, supportive
leadership should take place at all levels of an organization. For example, employees who work side by side
will perform better together if they share best practices and support each
other. Yukl suggests to encourage
coaching by peers such as “assigning a competent subordinate to serve as a
mentor and coach for a new employee” (Yukl, 2013, p. 67). It is evident the supportive leadership style
is an effective leadership behavior. I
truly believe supportive leadership produces loyal organizations who want to be
proactive, productive, and satisfied. I will continue to practice supportive behavior throughout my career and daily life and continue to witness the benefits.
References:
Yukl, G. (2013). Leadership in
organizations (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall
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