You cannot treat your team members as friends because people tend to view this as weakness. On the other hand, you cannot be a dictator. A golden mean has to be found here. A good example for me is the comparison of a father (and presumably a leader) to a heater - warm, but tough (meaning strong-minded).

Looking at the current situation of Covid-19, the leader should be soft and empathetic.

Bartosz Mikoda I share the same opinion. But being a dictator is much more strange and hypocritical. A compromising situation should be the best solution. We need a LEADER who creates new leaders, but not a BOSS who delivers orders and creates tension in his team.

leadership behavior should be soft which motivates the team members. especially in the current pandemic where employees need support, respect, and care of team leaders.

Ali Mudassar I perfectly agree with your opinion. However, the attitude of a team director is an innate quality that goes beyond the will. Some people are naturally peaceful, others are always aggressive. Thus, this is not a matter of pandemic. This depends on the education and leadership skills.

thanks, Prof. Ali. The team leaders should be trained with specific soft leadership styles. soft social skills are interpersonal and relationship-oriented qualities that can be developed easily through action learning.

A leader who is characterized by morality, kindness, and softness in dealing with workers while maintaining the proper implementation of the duties assigned to them will be reflected in the increased presentation of innovative ideas from them and dedication to work and the desire to accept change and loyalty to the organization unlike the authoritarian leader @ Ali Sdiri

Team members incapable of self - leadership would be happy being influenced by a leader who to a certain degree micro manages the team member. ‘Leading by the nose’ to an extent. It is such leadership that is favored by the member. At the same time, the leader through a process of communication and encouragement, must empathetically convey, that the member should learn to be independent. However, one may have team members whose needs for independence are high, and for them, the leader must provide general counsel so that the task is accomplished. Having members ‘tied to the leader’s apron strings’ in this case is a recipe for disaster. In short, whether to be soft or authoritarian, the answer is ‘it depends’.

Narendranath Menon Thanks for this explanation. I stress on leadership skills. A leader should evaluate his team members, case by case, but there is a trend for his own behavior. Sometimes, a leader is a BOSS rather than a guide for his team. It depends on his own education and everyday life performance. A true leader may create a "friendly" atmosphere in his team.

This will depend on the situation facing the leader: if the leader enjoys strong support and the culture is one whete followers will comply with the leafership directives, then the leader can afford to be soft or friendly.

On the other hand, if the leader faces resistance to his directives, he needs to win over the followers first before he can be authoritarian with them. In other words, he must explain to them why things need to change and only after they fully understand, can he use his authority. Otherwise, they will go against him.

Depends..

I think the attitude of leaders during the Covid-19 pandemic must be gentle and provide greater understanding to their subordinates

During COVID-19 period, Leader should be very kind and supportive to his subordinates, everyone facing same problems during this period, and subordinates or employees of any organisation, are the pillars of organisation's success as well as leaders' success. If Leaders are very friendly and supportive, employees will get motivation for their work and will give best performance in the organization.

@Swechchha Jain

The QUESTION is not related to coronavirus.

While the question is not related to coronavirus as you have mentioned in response to Swechchha''s views, let me explain, Dr.Ali Sdiri, how you can use the pandemic to accept or reject your hypothesis. Leadership is about setting an example. Leadership is about influencing. The face mask as you are aware is to be worn in a manner to shield the nose and mouth. Time and again we observe leaders having it under their chin (disgusting sight) and some wear it around their neck like the medical doctors their stethoscope. What locus standi would such leaders have to wield the stick at a team member DIRECTING them to wear a mask. Credibility gap prevails. On the other hand, if the leader sets an example with the right behavior, team members ipso facto follow, leading to a leaderless organisation, a desideratum.

A leader must be respectful, kind, must listen and know their workers, must set an example of compliance on the job, this makes the leader is admired and respected by their workers.

I think the answer to this question can vary depending on your team

If you work in a volunteer team or have a research team that does not pay researchers, I do not think you can be authoritarian, and you have to be more patient in order to enjoy team cohesion.

But if the team desperately needs your help, you can be a little more decisive!

Dear Ehsan Amiri-Ardekani,

I do agree with you. It is dependent on both team and goals. Additionally, a boss can be both authoritarian and friend. He should deal based on the situation.

Its depend on circumstances. I think team leader must treat followers in soft way. Its important to ignite loyality and motivation of workers. Im not in favour of hard line.