IndexIntroductionConcepts/theories and dimensions of leadership in the retail environmentExamples of application of leadership conceptsChallenges in the Canadian retail industryConclusionIntroductionThe leadership approaches adopted by managers in managing 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 leaders focus on managing people and setting up operations to ensure efficient and effective service to customers. A task-oriented leader is likely to succeed in a retail setting by having employees complete their tasks effectively and efficiently. However, such a leader should be careful not to focus too much on what employees do and abandon customer opinions. An effective leader should also consider employee complaints and involve them in decisions regarding customer issues. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Successful leaders tend to find a balance between their goals and the well-being of employees. The direction of the task that these leaders take on involves employee input into the decision-making process. Leaders who demonstrate that they care about their employees make time to talk to them as they are in contact with customers (Janhonen and Lindström, 2015). However, an overly relational leader can lose authority and control over employees. When retail employees are happy, they tend to find a balance between serving customers and engaging in other tasks related to their work. Based on these considerations, retail leadership applies different dimensions of leadership concepts that aim to help companies succeed in the industry. In the Canadian retail sector, leaders are applying transformational, contingency and behavioral concepts as they seek to solve emerging retail challenges in the country. Concepts/Theories and Dimensions of Leadership in the Retail Context Retail leaders apply theories of leadership traits as they use their characters to influence employees to be effective. Leaders who adhere to trait theories tend to apply the pioneering dimension of leadership in their daily activities (Parris and Peachey, 2013). For example, a retail leader can use his charisma to guide employees towards efficiency in service delivery in the organization. A pioneering leader leads by example and aims to influence workers to emulate his or her character so that they can 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 as a way to motivate them to emulate their traits and become effective in delivering customer services in the retail context. For example, a retail leader can serve as an example by being dynamic in how he or she addresses challenges that arise in the organization's day-to-day operations. Such a leader can interact with employees and show them how to find solutions to problems in a short time. Leaders who adhere to the characteristic concepts ofLeadership 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 be quick to react to difficult situations and encourages workers to be like him when faced with customer problems that pose a dilemma. According to Parris and Peachy (2013), relational retail leaders take actions that aim to influence worker behavior. Leaders can influence employees by proposing different solutions to a challenge such as delivering a wrong shipment to customers. The dynamism that the leader shows 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 in leadership tend to follow the command and assertion dimensions of leadership. Such leaders believe that their behaviors can influence employee effectiveness (Arnold et al., 2009). Retail leaders can adhere to behavioral leadership concepts by being task-oriented. According to Arnold et al. (2009), the focus of such leaders is what employees do to influence the direction of the organization's tasks. In some cases, task-oriented retail leaders tend to forget about managing their employees and give all their attention to the tasks that subordinates should perform to provide services to customers (Janhonen and Lindström, 2015). For example, a retail leader may focus more on the task of providing customer service remotely and end up forgetting that employees get tired. While such leaders may be successful and supervise workers who complete their tasks effectively, failure to consider employee motivation may impact future effectiveness. Interestingly, retail leaders can be autocratic in their relationship with employees. In these cases, leaders command employees to implement decisions even without knowing their point of view. According to Janhonen and Lindström (2015), task-oriented leaders become authoritarian when they focus on satisfying customer demands even when their workforce is not sufficient to provide all services. Leaders responsible for high-volume stores may behave in a way that shows little commitment to the people they work with as they focus on customer complaints and profits. Although the autocratic leadership approach can result in high turnover within the organization, it can reduce employee motivation and make them less productive (Hunter et al., 2013). Therefore, retail leaders can be successful if they apply a democratic leadership approach and allow employees to have a say in the decision-making process. 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 contingency approach of leadership can be successful in a retail context. Contingency approaches apply leader characteristics and situational factors in making decisions. 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 find abalance between tasks and employee management. In a retail context, a leader can apply the path-goal model as part of contingency leadership. In this case, the leader explains to employees how they should package services to retain customers. Additionally, the leader can reward employees if they manage to achieve sales goals. Furthermore, contingency theory is applied under moderately favorable conditions when employees and customers agree on how the service is provided. In a favorable condition where the manager knows that the retail organization meets the customer's needs, the leader can try to be relationship oriented. In building employee relationships, the leader can build a team culture where workers work as a team to ensure effective service delivery. Building 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 evaluate the maturity level of employees based on how long they have worked in the organization (Hunter et al., 2013). When dealing with new employees, the leader should tell them how they are and should respond to customer requests. The leader can also tell new entrants when to report customer complaints. The purposeful dimension of transactional leadership theory is also applicable to the retail context. According to Van der Merwe and Verwey (2007), a decisive leader should be rational and inspiring. Recognizes the interdependence of the skills of employees and other managers. Transactional leaders tend to distribute responsibilities among employees. For example, in a retail setting, such a leader may change cashiers based on the nature of the operations taking place in a day. When distributing responsibilities to cashiers, the leader considers their efficiency. Distributing responsibilities among employees helps the leader see what happens when some workers are responsible for certain units of the company. It also helps encourage adaptability and resilience among workers. However, a transactional leader should seek to reward employees who agree to undertake activities outside of their obligations. Furthermore, 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 subordinates. In a retail context, a transformational leader interacts with employees on a personal level and helps them understand what they should do to improve 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 as individuals. For example, when an employee is absent, his team can resume his tasks and perform them effectively thanks to the motivation he receives from the transformational leader. Motivated retail employees treat customers with courtesy as they are treated equally by their leaders. Such employees are not arrogant and try hard to address customer concerns, and when they fail, they refer them to managers. Examples of application of leadership concepts.