What does it mean to be a leader in a contemporary setting? There have been many people who have stepped up in recent times who can inspire us. However, to become one of them, we need to understand what being an effective leader truly involves.
At SACAP Global, we’re passionate about lifelong learning and our aim is to empower the future workforce. Our human-centric online courses give learners practical skills and applied knowledge that can grow their careers, and inspire and lead others to do the same. For this reason, our digitally certified Intro into Management and Leadership micro-credential focuses on contemporary leadership skills.
What is a contemporary leader?
If you’re a manager or leader, whether in business or even in a social setting, it can be difficult to achieve a balance. To be an effective contemporary leader, you need to know how to communicate effectively while managing and leading a team. This can be challenging when managing your own personal deadlines, deliverables and workload.
While there might be many different definitions of what a “good” leader is, in the fast-paced world that we live in today, being an effective leader means juggling a number of projects and responsibilities. It also requires embodying a variety of characteristics, some of which we’ll outline below.
Characteristics of a contemporary leader
There are different ways to view contemporary leadership, depending on which school of thought you choose to follow. However, there are some basic characteristics that are important when it comes to being a constructive manager and leader:
Practical
An effective leader and manager understands, through experience and applied learning, what needs to be done to grow people and meet business objectives. Leaders need to make practical decisions that benefit not only individuals, but the company as a whole. This means playing to people’s strengths and motivating teams to meet deadlines and deliverables, without wasting time and resources.
Nurturing
To be a good leader, you need to nurture the strengths of your team members and help them grow into managers and leaders themselves. As we balance many responsibilities within our personal and professional lives, being an effective leader means nurturing and caring for yourself. This can involve self-care and seeking mentors that can help to further enhance your management and leadership skills.
Collaborative
Contemporary leadership involves being multi-skilled in technical and social aspects of a business. Collaboration allows you to stay in touch with industry developments while playing off your strengths and others. Depending on the type of environment you find yourself in, collaboration can result in delegation, upskilling and making key strategic decisions in consultation with others.
SACAP Global’s approach to contemporary leadership
There are different approaches to contemporary leadership and management. The qualities we’ve listed above forms part of several theories covered in the Intro into Management and Leadership course.
After completing this course, you will have a rare mix of skills, capabilities and knowledge to successfully manage and lead teams, while keeping a business on track. In this micro-credential, you will learn about:
- The basics of contemporary management and leadership.
- How to identify, analyse and apply the right information to make the right business decisions.
- Take a practical look at critical issues, current challenges and trends that modern managers face.
Sign up and excel at your career with SACAP Global
Intro into Management and Leadership includes 80 hours of learning. It is classified as an OpenCred, a credential that can stand-alone, or interact with a formal qualification.
After completing the micro-credential, you will receive a digital certificate of competence and badge. Certificates and badges can be shared to 100+ social media platforms, and it’s easy to add your achievement to LinkedIn.
You’ll also create a portfolio of evidence during the course which you can use to demonstrate how you’ve integrated knowledge about the core principles of successful management and leadership.
Find out more about the course or learn more about any of our other courses on our website. To enquire, contact us via [email protected].
