The question of how to be an effective leader has many answers depending on who you ask. Throughout our lives we encounter several types of leaders who not only exist in workplaces but also in our sport clubs, schools, families etc. - the natural leaders can be found anywhere. But a natural leader is not always an effective one. He or she might take the lead - but are they leading in the right direction? And in the right pace? In addition, there are also leaders that might not find it natural to lead but are aiming to do the best job possible.

In order to look into how to be an effective leader, we firstly have to investigate what we attribute to the word ‘effectiveness’. In the Business Dictionary, the word effectiveness is explained as:

The degree to which objectives are achieved and the extent to which targeted problems are solved. In contrast to efficiency, effectiveness is determined without reference to costs and, whereas efficiency means "doing the thing right," effectiveness means "doing the right thing."

So an effective leader is a leader who achieves what is planned and solves obstacles along the way. Effective leadership is not dependent on costs, but when discussing how to be an effective leader in the business world, it is hard not to take costs into account in one way or another. After all, businesses strive to become successful in the sense of making a profit in the end. However, effective leadership makes for more effective teams which in the end is profitable for all businesses. So even though the concept of an effective leader is not first and foremost linked with costs there is a natural ripple effect which also affects costs in the company.

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