Table of ContentsIntroductionLeadership Concepts/Theories and Dimensions in the Retail ContextExamples of Application of Leadership ConceptsChallenges in the Canadian Retail SectorConclusionIntroductionLeadership Approaches adopted by managers in running retail organizations influence employee culture and customer loyalty. How the leader applies his or her personality and temperament influences employees' reactions and how they serve customers in the retail context. Retail managers focus on managing people and setting task directions to ensure effective and efficient service to customers. A task-oriented leader is likely to succeed in a retail environment by getting employees to complete their tasks effectively and efficiently. However, such a leader must be careful not to focus too much on what employees do and not to abandon customer opinions. An effective leader must also take employee complaints into account and involve them in decisions related to customer issues. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay Successful leaders tend to balance their goals with the well-being of their employees. The task direction these leaders take involves employee input into decision making. Leaders who show they care about their employees find time to talk to them since they are in contact with customers (Janhonen and Lindström, 2015). However, a leader who is too relational can lose his authority and control over his employees. When retail employees are happy, they tend to find a balance between serving customers and engaging in other job-related tasks. Based on these considerations, retail leadership applies different dimensions of leadership concepts that aim to help businesses succeed in the industry. In the Canadian retail industry, leaders are applying transformational, contingency and behavioral concepts to attempt to solve emerging retail challenges in the country. Concepts/Theories and Dimensions of Leadership in the Retail Context Retail leaders apply leadership trait theories in that they use their characters to influence employees to be effective. Leaders who adhere to trait theories tend to apply the pioneer dimension of leadership in their daily activities (Parris and Peachey, 2013). For example, a retail leader can use their charisma to lead employees to ensure effective service delivery within the organization. A pioneer leader sets an example and aims to inspire workers to imitate his or her character so that they succeed (Hunter et al., 2013). Retail leaders can use their personality traits to influence workers and customers. Leaders tend to influence their core beliefs and values ​​on employees in order to motivate them to emulate their characteristics and become effective in offering services to customers in the retail context. For example, a retail leader can serve as an example by demonstrating dynamism in how they address challenges that arise in the organization's daily operations. Such a leader can interact with employees and show themhow to find solutions to problems in a short time. Leaders who adhere to leadership concepts tend to be interactive and relational. They engage in close interactions with employees to ensure that they help them acquire their characteristics (Hunter et al., 2013). For example, a retail leader who adheres to trait leadership concepts strives to respond quickly to difficult situations and encourages workers to be like him when faced with customer issues that pose a dilemma . According to Parris and Peachy (2013), relationship retail leaders take actions aimed at influencing worker behavior. Leaders can influence employees by offering different solutions to a challenge like delivering a tortshipment to customers. The dynamism that the leader demonstrates to workers can influence their personality and the values ​​they apply in decision-making and thus become effective. In the retail context, leaders can apply behavioral leadership theory. Leaders who apply behavioral concepts of leadership tend to follow the assertive and assertive dimensions of leadership. These leaders believe that their behaviors can affect employee effectiveness (Arnold et al., 2009). Retail leaders can adhere to the behavioral concepts of leadership by being task-oriented. According to Arnold et al. (2009), these leaders focus on what employees do to influence the task direction of the organization. In some cases, task-oriented retail managers tend to forget about managing their employees and give all their attention to the tasks that subordinates must undertake to provide services to customers (Janhonen and Lindström, 2015). For example, a retail leader may focus more on the task of delivering to customers remotely and end up forgetting that employees are tired. Although these leaders may be successful and supervise workers who perform their tasks efficiently, failing to consider employee motivation can affect future effectiveness. Interestingly, retail executives can be autocratic in their dealings with employees. In such cases, managers order employees to implement decisions even without knowing their views. According to Janhonen and Lindström (2015), task-oriented leaders become authoritarian when they focus on meeting customer demands, even when their workforce is not sufficient to provide all services. Managers in charge of high-volume stores can behave in a way that requires little effort from the people they work with, since they focus on customer complaints and profits. Although the autocratic leadership approach can lead to high turnover in the organization, it can decrease employee motivation and make them less productive (Hunter et al., 2013). So, retail leaders can be successful if they apply a democratic approach to leadership and allow employees to have a say in decision-making. Democratic leaders tend to be approachable, positive and friendly and always strive to understand employee challenges that may affect their relationship with customers in the retail environment. The contingent approach to leadership can be successful in a retail context. Contingent approaches apply leader traits and factorssituational in decision-making. Leaders who apply contingency theories are inclusive and diplomatic (Parris and Peachy, 2013). Using inclusiveness and diplomacy as dimensions of leadership, contingency leadership strives to balance tasks and employee management. In a retail context, a leader can apply the path-goal model as part of contingency leadership. In such a case, the manager explains to employees how to package services to build customer loyalty. Additionally, the leader can reward employees if they successfully achieve sales targets. Furthermore, contingency theory is applied under moderately favorable conditions when employees and customers agree on the mode of service delivery. Under favorable conditions where the manager knows that the retail organization is meeting the needs of the customer, the leader may try to be relationship oriented. By building relationships with employees, the leader can build a team culture in which workers operate in teams to ensure effective service delivery. Based on the inclusive dimension, retail leaders can apply the Hersey-Blanchard situational approach to manage workers. For example, the leader may respond differently to employees based on the time they have spent in a store. Leaders who apply this model assess the maturity level of employees based on their seniority in the organization (Hunter et al., 2013). When dealing with new employees, the leader must explain to them how they should respond to customer requests. The leader can also tell new starters when to report customer complaints. The purposeful dimension of transactional leadership theory is also applicable in the retail context. According to Van der Merwe and Verwey (2007), a resolute leader must be rational and stimulating. It recognizes the interdependence of skills of employees and other managers. Transactional leaders tend to distribute responsibilities among employees. For example, in a retail context, such a leader may change cashiers depending on the nature of the transactions that take place during a day. By distributing responsibilities among cashiers, the leader takes into account their efficiency. Distributing responsibilities among employees helps the manager see what happens when certain workers are responsible for certain units of the company. It also helps encourage adaptability and resilience among workers. However, a transactional leader should try to reward employees who agree to undertake activities outside of their duties. Additionally, the energizing dimension of transformational leadership theory can be successful in a retail context when the leader is aware of himself and others. A transformational retail leader engages in intellectual stimulation and motivates employees through idealized influence (Parris and Peachy, 2013). The leader knows what the company needs and understands the perceptions and expectations of his subordinates. In a retail context, a transformational leader interacts with employees on a personal level and helps them understand what they need to do to build customer loyalty (Janhonen and Lindström, 2015). The leader encourages teamwork among employees to ensure that they feel motivated to move forward as a group and not individually. For example, when an employee is on leave, their team can resume their tasks and perform effectively because of the motivation they receive from the transformational leader. THE.