A supervisor can be a leader, but a leader is not the same as a supervisor. These controversies are vital in many management discussions and debates. A leader is a person who has won recognition in some team and enjoys great prestige. Unlike leaders who focus on resources and organizational goals, supervisors need to concentrate on tasks and performance optimization to achieve specific purposes. In other words, leaders motivate and examine employees distantly, and supervisors coach and directly participate in work.
When people survive such a serious event as a Level 4 hurricane, they must understand what to do and how to cope with unpredictable changes. A people-centered leader pays attention to team members and their conditions to support them emotionally and financially (if possible). In contrast, a task-centered leader makes every effort to achieve the desired result and eliminate the negative consequences of the hurricane crisis. People who prefer situational leadership styles are ready to work under different circumstances and choose the correct approach for a certain group of people in a particular environment (Demirtas & Karaca, 2020). No awards, but re-organization of a working routine is expected. A crisis can unsettle visionary leaders and force them to adapt since this style is characterized by confidence, stability, and trustworthiness. A participatory leader considers employees’ opinions and approaches the task collectively. For leadership types such as people-centered and participative, recognizing people is necessary to manage human relationships and feelings. Task-centered leaders may be obsessed with achieving the necessary results and eliminating damage.
No less significant aspect of various types of leadership is the reaction to the activities of employees. Thus, people-centered and participative leaders pay more attention to the praise of employees than task-centered leaders. They recognize the contributions of employees who face working overtime. It does not take much time or effort to say “thank you” for knowing what has been done and why. Task-centered leaders prefer to hire a new employee and ensure that all tasks are properly done.
In most cases, the desire to establish trustful relationships with colleagues motivates me to say “thank you” because a person should be ready to do more work, but also be confident about the background and mutual support. I prefer to show appreciation when I want to demonstrate a high level of cooperation and respect in a team. I choose simple words, unobtrusive adjectives, and facts to appreciate the completed work.
Reference
Demirtas, O., & Karaca, M. (2020). A handbook of leadership styles. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.