Role of interpersonal skills in effective leadership

1           Introduction

In the view of Schnackenberg and Tomlinson (2016), interpersonal skills hold significant importance in today’s globalised corporate world. It is mainly because it helps the individual to survive in the industry and to develop a strong level of relationships with other subordinates. It can be claimed that interpersonal skills can increase the productivity of the organisation through effective team building and increasing level of trust among employees. The idea of this essay is also to demonstrate the role of interpersonal skills but at the leadership level. It will highlight how interpersonal skills play an important role in building effective leadership by highlighting different leadership styles and the interpersonal skills they possess.

Further, this essay will also shed light on examples where effective leadership has used interpersonal skills. In the end, this essay will also include the discussion on team development and the importance of interpersonal skills within the organisation. For this purpose, the researcher has planned to include data taken from different articles, journals and lectures obtained during the class.

1.1         Interpersonal skills

In the view of Bedwell et al. (2014), interpersonal skills have a significant influence in today’s corporate environment. The authors have also explained interpersonal skills as the ability to interact with other members of the organisation. However, in the view of Mencl et al. (2016), interpersonal skills can be explained as the traits, and the behaviour one uses to interact with others and to form some sort of relationship. The author in a similar article has also highlighted some of the internal skills, which includes teamwork, active listening, leadership and responsibility. On the other hand, the authors Anderson et al. (2016), has claimed that interpersonal skills are the most important factor that decides the success of an individual. Although interpersonal skills include a variety of skills but the most common include effective listening and speaking. Such skills help the individuals to control the emotions and lays the foundation of success. Such skills are also known as soft skills.

1.2         Leadership

In the view of Mapetere et al. (2012), there are different leadership styles; however, each leader is defined as the person who can motivate others and develop the skills of others. On the other hand, the authors Afshari et al. (2012), have claimed that leadership is explained as the person who can make the best use of the employees working under and to motivate them to achieve the goals of the organisation. It can be claimed that a leader has the potential to achieve the goals of the organisation and to develop the vision for the organisation’s success. Similar kinds of views are also shared by the authors Li et al. (2011), who have claimed leadership as the art of encouraging other others toward the common goals. The authors have further added that it is the ability to make employees feel empowered so that they can contribute their role creatively toward achieving the goals of the organisation.

1.3         Importance of Interpersonal skills

According to Cheruvelil et al. (2014), interpersonal skills can create high performing teams. It is claimed mainly because it can positively influence the interaction between the members of the team. In a similar article, the authors have also claimed that interpersonal skills assist the individual in developing a positive working relationship that directly impacts the overall working environment of the organisation. The organisation also takes advantage of good interpersonal skills culture as it contributes to increasing in organisation productivity. Identical views are also shared by the authors Sunindijo and Zou (2013), who claimed that interpersonal skills help the employees to interact with each other in an effective manner. As it includes communication skills, it helps the organisation to deliver important messages quickly. The authors have also shed light on the conflict management benefit. It is claimed in the article that interpersonal skills help the organisation to manage conflict effectively and to convert negative conflict into a positive one.  Because it is impossible to eliminate conflict from the organisation, the management needs to possess good interpersonal skills so that they can manage the situation successfully.  The authors Smith et al. (2012), have claimed that interpersonal skills promote a positive attitude in the working environment, which is useful in building healthy internal and external relationship tied to the organisation.

1.4         Interpersonal skills a leader must possess

After highlighting the importance of interpersonal skills, the idea of this part is to list down some of the interpersonal skills that a leader must possess. In the view of Robles (2012), soft skills, also known as interpersonal qualities are the skills which a leader must possess and it includes more than people skills. The author has highlighted that people skills are part of interpersonal skills, and it also includes career attributes. The author has also shed light on the ten interpersonal skills that the leader must possess which includes social skills, integrity, courtesy, responsibility, positive attitude, communication, professionalism and work ethics etc. Similar kind of views are also shared by the author Jit et al. (2016), that have discussed that active listening is one of the most important interpersonal skills that a leader must possess. The authors have also explained active listening as the activity to actively listen to the employees in order to gather the useful information. An individual who is the leader should be an active listener and must avoid the behaviour of distraction during the conversation. Such quality helps the leader to build the level of trust with employees and to make them feel comfortable while sharing important personal information. Leaders who actively listen to their employees are also able to motivate their employees and can make the best use of their knowledge for the improvement of the organisation.

According to Pradeep and Prabhu (2011), dependability is one of the most important interpersonal skill that the leader must possess. An individual who wants to become the leader must have the quality of dependability. The organisation values the workers who are dependable and trustable. Such individuals are useful in the difficult situation and with important tasks to handle. Dependability can be because of punctuality or because of keeping promises. The authors Holt and Marques (2012), in the article, have claimed that empathy is the interpersonal skill that is valuable to the employers of the organisation. It is highlighted as one of the key element in the interpersonal skill. The author have discussed empathy as the quality of understanding the emotions and behaviors of others. It is also referred as the worker’s emotional intelligence. The employee who have such quality are able to positively manage high function workplace and are the best candidate for becoming the leaders. On the other hand the author Lee (2011), have claimed that empathy means being able to put one in another shoes and to understand the feelings of others. There are three kinds of empathy named as compassionate empathy, cognitive and emotional. Cognitive means thinking for someone from his perspective, emotional means feeling for some one’s emotions and compassionate means feeling the pain of others and taking measures to help the individuals. The author in the article have highlighted that a good leader is one who must possess the quality of empathy as it helps to create building a positive working environment and level of trust. It is also claimed that the leader, by possessing the quality of empathy, can motivate the employees and is also able to increase their productivity.

Teamwork is also one of the interpersonal quality or skills which the leader must possess. In the view of Hunziker et al. (2011), teamwork is the interpersonal skill that helps the organisation to promote the atmosphere of loyalty and friendship. This quality helps the leader to unite the workforce and to work for the achievement of the goals. A person who wants to become the leader must have the quality to work in the team and to build the environment of teamwork. Teamwork itself includes different interpersonal skills like flexibility responsibility, active listening and communication. An individual who is a good team player is usually considered as a good option for leadership.

1.5         Role of Interpersonal skills in effective leadership  800 more

In the view of Bedwell et al. (2014), in every industry, the leaders have shown some set of strong interpersonal skills as such skills are necessary for success. On the other hand, the author Chuang (2013), has claimed that in today’s global market, there is a need for some interpersonal skills which an effective leader must possess. As the leader is considered as the most important components of any organisation, it is important for the organisation that the leader must have good listening and speaking skills. It is claimed mainly because it is the role of the leader to convey the vision of the organisation to subordinates and to communicate the strategies to achieve the vision.

In the view of Lvina (2015), interpersonal skills play an important role in developing an effective Leader. The author has claimed that after the leader develops the initial plan, it is interpersonal skills that help to communicate the plan efficiently. It allows the leader to maintain a good relationship not only with internal stakeholders but also with external stakeholders. In a similar article, it is also claimed that interpersonal skills help to compete with the leader into an effective Leader. A leader with such qualities can deal with any difficult situation arise within the organisation. It is mainly because the interpersonal skills allow the leader to interact with the employees and to gain their level of trust. On the other hand, the authors Hoffman et al. (2011), has viewed interpersonal skill and effective leadership in a different way. The author has claimed that there is a positive relationship between two variables, i.e. higher the level interpersonal skills, higher will be the level of effective leadership. The author has also highlighted that the individuals that have mastered in interpersonal skills are also able to connect with the individuals positively.

1.6         Examples from the U.K.

The idea of this part of the assignment is to highlight the examples related to the topic, i.e. to explain how interpersonal skills were used by the leaders of the organisation located in the U.K.

According to Vodafone (2019), the company uses effective interpersonal skills where the employer of the organisation, i.e. the leader arranges team meeting with the employees to keep their employees up to date. The website also claims that in the year 2013-2014, the leader of the organisation was able to solve 12 cases of employment issues before they reached employment tribunal. It is mainly because the leader of the organisation maintain a good interpersonal atmosphere and allows straight communication. Employees share their issues with the Leader and Leader is able to solve the majority of them. It is further highlighted on the website that the leader of the organisation also arranges a survey where the employees are allowed to share their opinion, and any issue arise in the majority are resolved by the leader with open communication opportunity. This shows that although Vodafone is one of the giants in the organisation, the leader possesses interpersonal qualities that allow him to deal with employees issues and as a result, to increase their level of satisfaction.

In the view of Gallo (2015), the leader and the owner of Virgin group claim that communication is one of the best skill a leader must possess. The article further claims that the owner of the Virgin group strongly believes that a leader with good interpersonal skills can encourage their employees and is also able to increase the productivity of the organisation. The owner of Virgin group has also highlighted that he can manage many issues of employees because of good interpersonal skills. By the help of communication, the clear message is delivered to the employees, which helps them to understand the demand easily.

According to Makortoff (2019), British airline in the year 2019 has shown a great example of utilising interpersonal skills and increasing the level of satisfaction of customers. As highlighted above, two of the qualities of the interpersonal skills are empathy and increasing the level of customer’s satisfaction. Similar was the case of British Airways. The airline in the year 2019 realised the customer’s demand, and by using effective listening, the technique was able to solve the problem. The company hired 730 staff members in order to respond to the customer’s complaint. The company hired 100 extra staff members only to manage customers query related to upcoming pilot’s strike. By utilising interpersonal skills, the company was not only able to manage the chaos but was also able to provide quality of customer’s service. The company also offered valuable services to their clients who were expecting to fly on strike days. The leader of the organisation in an interview claimed that the company had offered options to rebook the flights to the customers who are expected to get affected by the strike.

1.7         Team development and leader’s interpersonal skills

According to Lacerenza et al. (2018), the team development is possible through the interaction of the team. In order to have teamwork it is necessary to have team interactions, because the professional and personal relationship between the team will increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the team. The increase in efficiency of the team will ultimately give benefit to the team as a whole and also the organisation at large; this is why the interaction and teamwork will create synergy, and the large lengthy tasks will be achieved smoothly. It is the leader who is creating the team to have a good relationship through making sure they interact enough between each other, give personal time to them with a view that the good relationship in the team will increase the productivity in the team. The team training by the leader and another relevant personal over the team building is necessary because team building will facilitate the team and work will be done effectively, and better results are expected. This is why it is necessary to have good relationship in the team, and if the leader is resisting for such friendship, then it is hard for team to build relationship, and everyone will do his job, and the synergy effect will not arise due to lack of interaction and teamwork (Saraswat and Khandelwal, 2015). The teamwork also facilitates a leader to have an interpersonal relationship with the team members, because they are well families with and the team is comfortable with the interpersonal relationship.

According to Çetin et al. (2012), the leader’s interpersonal skill of the leader allows convincing others to do what the leader is willing to ask them to do. If the leader is willing his staff to get the job done, then his interpersonal skills will be working as the motivation for them. Because the motivation is coming from the leaders, the ability to convince others is necessary for a leader; this is why the skills will give advantage to the organisation as a whole. In many cases, the leaders or managers are directly interacting with the bank, i.e. bank manager, sales staff, marketing staff, and if they can convince others, then this will be a win situation for leaders and the organisation as well. If the leader is convincing others to do something or take the product of the bank or the company, then the leader can give revenues and attract the customers, the commission will be in the hands of the manager, and the sales will be in the hands of the organisation. The interpersonal skill will give the opportunity to a leader to make his employees satisfied because the good relationship with the leaders gives major employee satisfaction; as a result the job turnover will be reasonable or very low (Boddy, 2017). Sometimes the interpersonal skills are adverse for others because the leader convinces others to do something, and sometimes the results are adverse for the person doing it; as a result, they will suffer.

1.8         Different leadership styles and interpersonal skills

There are many leadership styles in the world, but some of them are mostly known and widely uses in the world will be discussed.

Democratic leadership style is the one most effective, according to the leadership style, the leaders are taking the decision after taking the input of each member of the team. This leadership is most used, and in this style, the most important interpersonal skills are the ability to convince others, this is why he must be a good listener, positive, mindfulness, empathy and good time management. In democratic leadership, he has to listen everyone, and he must possess a positive attitude towards the inputs coming from others, he must be sharp enough to take the good decisions from inputs coming from others, and so on (Kalu Dolly and Okpokwasili Nonyelum, 2018). This style also requires the person with the calm mind because the inputs from others sometimes can be irritating, but the leader must not change the attraction from the important motive, i.e. best decision for the organisation. In this style of leadership, the employees have the power to talk; this is why sometimes it can be adverse for the team decisions.

The strategic leadership style is the one who takes the responsibility to manage the operation and answerable to higher management in an organisation. The leader is the one mostly found in corporate culture; this is why the leader can be a real-world leader or manager. The leader has the number of responsibilities, and he is answerable to any person, this is why the interpersonal skills must be; good listener, good time management, consistency, positivity, honest, delegating and prioritising. These are the ideal leaders in the current era; they are also responsible for maintaining the working environment that is acceptable by the staff and senior management. The number of responsibilities asks for having the ability to deal with unfavourable situations from either side, and he must use other motivational skills to ensure the job is done by the staff because he is reportable for any adverse or undone task (Özer and Tınaztepe, 2014). In this leadership style, it is hard to maintain the working environment with a large number of people with a different background.

Transformational leadership style is the one that puts efforts and asks from the staff to do beyond the limitations; he gives small goals, makes sure that each one is done effectively, and the improvement is there. These types of leaders are making sure to have a proactive approach, and in case of any change, the employees will not face major difficulties to facilitate the change. Such leader requires some skills and those are; time management, assertiveness, consistency, mindfulness, delegation and priority.  The transformational leader is giving small goals to the employee; this is why priorities and delegation skill is the most important one because this is what majority of the times he is doing (Abazeed, 2018). This style is more useful in growing companies because sometimes the work pressure is high, and the leader has to manage it by pushing others. The leadership style created pressure on the team; as a result, high employee turnover is expected.

Coach-Style leadership is also the effective style of leadership; in that case, the leader is the one who needs to find out the individual strength of the team and explore those skills at the right point and at the right time. These leaders are closely linked with his team in order to know the skill and strengths of the staff, and this is why there are a number of interpersonal skills required by the coach-style leaders in the organisation. The interpersonal skills are; good listener, mindfulness, positivity, honest, delegation and prioritising. The coach-style leader needs to be the most positive one because he has to think about the skills and abilities of the staff rather than gaols. The leader is responsible for giving the task to the individual according to the person’s ability and skill so that a better outcome can be derived (Harper, 2012). The leader most is mindfulness to pick the skills of individuals working with him or working under him; this is why the coach-style leadership required more efforts either it is pertaining to the staff, or it is pertaining to the organisational responsibilities.  It may be hard to find the right skills, and this exercise is time-taking, and many organisations cannot afford it.

The transactional leadership style is the one in which the staff is being given a challenging task, and once the achievement is made, then rewards are being given accordingly. This leadership style is mostly used in marketing because the bonuses are being given to them. In this style, the interpersonal skills required are; conflict resolution, team working, and decision-making. In this style, the employees are motivated because of bonus, and this is why the motivational skills are less required (Hussain et al., 2017). There is the number of employees who can be motivated through recognition and many other means except for reward; it is hard for them to survive in the organisation.

1.9         Importance of interpersonal skills within the organisation

The aim of this part of the assignment is to highlight the significance of the interpersonal skills within the organisation. In the view of Gerstein and Friedman (2016), interpersonal skills are important for the organisation as they increase productivity and assist the organisation in solving conflicts. Below are mentioned some of the important advantages associated with interpersonal skills within the organisation.

1.9.1        Encourage effective communication

One of the biggest advantages of having interpersonal skill atmosphere within the organisation is that it fosters effective communication. In the view of Lopes et al. (2015), effective communication is the first pillar of success in any business and to have good communication; one must possess good interpersonal skill. It is claimed mainly because such skills are necessary for developing a healthy working condition and a relationship between workmates. The author has also claimed that good communication allows the organisation to exchange innovative and creative ideas for the problems they faced. Important information is also shared quickly if the organisation promote good interpersonal skills atmosphere. On the other hand, the author Stachowska (2016), have claimed that effective communication promotes mutual respect within the workforce as employees consider other’s opinion. It can be claimed that the organisation in interpersonal skills are promoted, are able to manage effective working conditions, proper management of tasks, the smooth performance of duties and most importantly, timely completion of tasks.

1.9.2        Increase the level of trust

In the view of Pratono (2018), interpersonal skills hold significant importance as such skills are able to build the level of trust between employees. The author has explained that effective interpersonal skills help the employee to make their contribution to important decision making that directly impacts their level of trust. Employees feel a sense of empowerment and seek to stay in the organisation for a longer period of time.

1.9.3        Encourage feedback process

According to Skinner et al. (2016), effective interpersonal skills helps the organisation to maintain the feedback atmosphere. Effective interpersonal skills create a constructive feedback loop that helps the organisation to create a dynamic workplace. It is done by an ongoing communication process between the leader and the employee. Employees ask for the feedback for the task they have performed, and leaders provide constructive feedback. It reduces the communication gap between the employer and the employee and allows the organisation to increase productivity. The moral of the employees is also increased by providing constructive feedback.

1.9.4        Demonstrate social awareness

As interpersonal skills define the ability to interact with others, it clearly shows that an individual’s having good interpersonal skills demonstrate social awareness.  According to Dusenbury et al. (2011), good interpersonal skills shows that an individual is showing an interest in the wellbeing of the subordinates and coworkers. As a result, the individual is able to gain the trust of the coworkers, which helps to motivate them. The individual having good interpersonal skill is also able to gain information about the customers that helps in providing effective customers satisfaction. A leader having such quality is also able to deal with the difficult emotional situation and to make the right decision at the right point. Such a person is also sensible in dealing with coworkers issues.

1.9.5        Improves the productivity and client’s satisfaction

As highlighted above, interpersonal skills are useful within an organisation as they allow the individual to increase the productivity of the organisation and to deal with client’s satisfaction. Customer’s satisfaction is increased by demonstrating that there is no compromise to productivity and that the organisation is well aware of the customer’s need. In the view of Danielson et al. (2012), an organisation having the interpersonal skills within the workplace are able to find the best solutions for the client complains.

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