The Relevance Of Leadership Skills in Today's Fashion industry (2024)

A Fashion leader is an individual who has many key responsibilities in the running of a fashion-related business. From supervising their staff to checking through figures and statistics, fashion leaders have to use a wide range of skills and possess some key leadership and management qualities. It is a growing conundrum in which to control knowledge within a business. Some businesses allocate excessive amounts of capital into projects to improve Knowledge management (Ray T.). It is unlikely that a fashion leader is naturally a ‘born leader’. However it has been proven that people one follows such a person because they have evidence that they "get things done."

In the 1930s, Kurt Lewin developed a framework based on a leader's behaviour. It was written that there were three main types of leader. Autocratic leaders made decisions without consulting their teams. Democratic leaders asked for their team’s advice and took into consideration their knowledge. Finally, Laissez-faire leaders don't interfere; they allow people within the team to make many of the decisions. It has been noted that each of these types of leaders are preferred and necessary at different situations. It can be referred to the Fiedler’s Contingency Model which states that there is a particular leadership stance that should be taken in a particular situation and puts each employee on a scale to find their leadership orientation. This means that managers would construct a plan around the current situation instead of a ‘one size fits all’ approach.(Mind Tools Editorial Team, 2013). The ‘Theory X and Theory Y’ concept also changes who a manager is and their approach to certain situations. Managers who support Theory X believe that their workers must be incentivised. Whereas managers who sway towards Theory Y believe their workers are naturally driven.

In any appointment of leadership, no matter the industry, transactional leadership is very important and can ensure that the followers and leaders perform as well as they can do. Transactional leadership theories centre on the rewarding or punishing of followers and leaders when they do good or bad things respectively. Not a lot of effort is involved in this process, with just the issuing of rewards or punishments amongst the subordinates. This makes it easy to inform new staff due to its simplicity. This technique is most effective if the aim is beneficial to the company so as to ensure everyone is putting the optimum effort in to receive rewards whilst improving the business. However this theory does not work if the members of the team are irrational and do not take kindly to light punishments. It also assumes these workers are solely motivated by rewards, which is incorrect. If the fashion leader is ineffective it may be catastrophic due to possible exploitation and can be dismissive of the entirety of the workforce’s capabilities.

James McGregor Burns defined the concept of ‘Transformational Leadership’ as the leaders and their followers raising each other up on a moral level as well as a motivational level. This concept was mentioned in his 1978 book titled ‘Leadership’. The idealistic level at which Transformational leadership plays a part is in that it garners interest and enthusiasm for a leader’s vision. This is especially important for fashion leaders to get people in the correct mood to make a sale due to their motivated and believing attitude to the task at hand. This allows the staff members to feel more of a part of the operation and big picture. Gathering genuine interest in the vision allows leaders to create and maintain strong relationships with their staff. The strong relationships then ensure that everyone works hard to assist in the creation of the vision.

It is important to have enthusiasm within the workplace as this will allow the fashion leaders to enjoy their work much more. Additionally it is also a key aspect in helping staff to grow and be more fulfilled with a more positive atmosphere at the workplace. This motivation is also a key skill which leaders need in able to meet those sales targets or secure the best prices within the buying sector for the products. Seeing the leader in any workplace being motivated and enthusiastic is beneficial to the staff as it influences them to follow suit. These motivated staff members are more likely to be more productive and have a better work ethic and the ‘drive’ to improve themselves to reach higher positions. It may also be noted that the staff will be a lot less aggressive amongst each other, disciplining them and reducing bullying due to their levels of motivation instead of boredom.

According to Robert House’s Path-Goal Theory developed in 1971, good leaders in fashion would help their employees reach their goals. This involves identifying the goals, motivating them and giving them the tools to help them reach these goals. This includes rewarding them for milestones and removing obstacles and potential barriers The theory points out four types of leadership that are best fit for this; these include Supportive leadership, Directive Leadership, Participative Leadership and Achievement-orientated Leadership. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs provides managers with an ideal template to help their employees produce to their full potential and so can be often referred to when discussing leadership qualities and skills. The highest building block is self-actualization in which the person achieves their destiny in life. Managers and fashion leaders can present difficult yet attainable goals in order to improve their employees and help them aspire to their destiny.

Another important attribute to have is the innovative personality trait. This trait means that leaders are able to ‘Make the best of things’ and produce better results because of it. For example, innovative fashion leaders will not cease sales if a particular product sells out. They will make full use of the store, altering the layout if needs be to fill out the space and prevent the shop from looking empty. The fashion leaders will keep themselves up to date with the latest fashion news and trends as they are often interested in the industry itself. The information they gain is primarily through magazines and trend websites. They are also more likely to try new trends and risks in order for self-satisfaction and experimentation. These trendsetters are fashion forward, trying new things as well as bringing back popular items. This fashion forwardness puts them in a prime position to manage others in the industry with their expertise and natural eye for fashion that helps them make key decisions correctly and quickly. These quick and efficient decision making skills are vital for any fashion leader. Though these decisions must be made quickly, they must also be correct or beneficial to ensure the business flourishes instead of plummets. The decision making skill must be utilised so that all negatives and positives are weighed so as the positives outweigh the negatives for the decision to be worthwhile and profitable for the business. In fashion this is a key skill with the industry changing rapidly, the need for quick decisions on stock, style and staff is essential to keep up with high demand.

In order for fashion leaders and managers to acquire the best possible deals to keep costs down and the public image of their brand strong, fashion leaders must be excellent communicators. This will enable them to negotiate effectively to improve the business at a low cost route. In order to get everyone on board for their ideas and decisions, they must be influential and have influence over their workforce and co-workers in other segments. Communication has been used for years to establish relationships amongst other groups of people and individuals. The communication aspect is vital for getting across important points about the business to others as well as issuing orders effectively and motivationally. Communication is likely to remain vital for fashion leaders as it will enable them to argue certain points with others as well as control their designated sections effectively, ensuring everyone is comfortable carrying out their orders. The leader will communicate so as to ensure their workers are comfortable talking to them and asking for guidance if needed. Fashion leaders can communicate non-verbally in aspects such as their dress sense to get across points such as their social status and how much power they truly have over their subordinates. Additionally, simple and miniscule aspects such as the way they walk can have massive impacts over how they are perceived by others. Whilst shuffling may be more comfortable for some, strutting ensures people know the leaders are confident and comfortable in their roles, as well as ensuring people know they ‘mean business’. Communication does not only include conveying the leader’s own view, but also receiving others’. This means they are required to listen effectively too, getting the most they can from others and ensure the scenario is balanced and not one-sided with one party constantly talking.

However fashion leaders without these vital skills may still find ways to be successful without the desired attributes and qualities. Offering the staff a simple reward-scheme may be enough to make staff work at the optimum levels without all the hassle of encouraging them verbally. These reward-schemes and such may in fact be preferred in situations where the work is menial and boring. For example in factories, reward-schemes would push people to make products quickly for the bonus of pay or pre-determined prizes. Additionally the fear of retribution is a key method of motivation in the workplace however it is not necessarily leadership. It is simply the negativity or self-doubt involved once orders are issued by the fashion leader. Leaders in the fashion industry may also be reliant on luck and possibly delegate subordinates to make decisions for the leader. This is rare, although highly risky if the subordinate has not had the required experience or knowledge intake to make an effective and justified decision. However delegation can be proven to be very successful if suitable people are selected to assist in the decision making.

Throughout this essay it is apparent that there are a range of possible attributes and skills needed by fashion leaders. However there are a couple of methods for avoiding acquiring these qualities, however ineffective they may be. The characteristics of fashion leaders can only be properly and fairly judged in different situations to which they are most effective. Since the fashion industry is ever-changing, it can be concluded that the skills required will change in future as needs for certain tasks or even newly-created roles arise and alter through development. This being said it has always been important for a few core skills to be possessed. For example communication was a skill required for decades and must be harnessed by leaders of all levels to ensure that the business operates at a smooth rate and produces the most profit it possibly can. Although a business may have different components within the fashion industry, it will always be the leaders that drive the businesses forward in the future. This is especially true due to the fast paced nature of maturity that fashion products have.