How do leaders manage to keep control of situations?

Question

How do leaders manage to keep control of situations?

Answer 1

Most good leaders balance control with helping others agree with their decisions and feel it was their choice to begin with.

Answer 2

The previous answer suggests the idea of participative management, which is one way. A lot of leadership research also suggests to other powerful avenues: one is to build commitment to the leader or group. The other is via what they call "transactive" leadership.

The commitment option requires a leader to build commitment by showing their own commitment and "authenticity" towards a common goal. They also provide the means for followers to facilitate the followers' self development. Control via this method is by the followers' interest in seeing the group goals achieved.

  The control through transactive approach requires a contractual arrangement as well as a means of ensuring that the behavior agreed to by the followers is fulfilled.  So, depending on the complexity, monitoring and the threat of sanctions is needed to keep control. I guess to put a positive spin, incentives and a system of finding when people do the right thing is needed.

  In general research has shown that you need both transactional and transformational leadership across most situations.  Yes, respect, power, authority, expertise is needed, but these all feed into the two leadership styles mentioned above.