Leadership in the Civil Service - Term Paper Example

?Running Head: LEADERSHIP IN MILITARY AND CIVIL WORK PLACE Topic: Lecturer: Presentation: Introduction Leadership involves influencing other people to act in a particular way that the leader believes is likely to bring success to them. People work better when they have a clear vision of where they would like to be in future. This paper compares leadership in the military work place to leadership in the civil work place. It evaluates if military leaders can adapt to managing people in the civil work place successfully. It also discusses the leadership styles and how the followers can accept them as a leader, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of the two kinds of leadership opportunities. Leadership in the Military Vs Leadership in the Civil Service Bureaucracy According to Laver & Mathews (2008), military leadership involves persuading others to achieve the mission through provision of purpose, course and inspiration. Military leaders lawfully exercise authority over the subordinates based on grade or position in the organizational structure. They have a responsibility of ensuring that the mission is accomplished and that the welfare of the subordinates is maintained. The organizational structure of the military leads to bureaucratic leadership whereby significant procedures guide the military operations. There is a hierarchical structure from the top where the senior most staff is positioned to the bottom where junior officers are found. In other words, the structure represents a chain of command, which is a significant and most fundamental strategy for the accomplishment of organizational goals (McLaughlin & Osborne 2002). In bureaucracy, authority is distributed through statutes, bureaucratic systems as well as the positions of people in the hierarchy, which are defined by the particular office that the person holds. There are usually rules that govern the conduct of individuals at all levels, which are important in enhancing harmonious relations in the workplace and the maintenance of justice and equality not considering a person’s background. Lynn (1998) observes that consistency is maintained while on the other hand it is possible to avoid and deal with potential risks. People are safe guarded against injustices. However, bureaucracy in the contemporary civil workplace is slowly being displaced by the concept of new public management which focuses on the quality and effectiveness of service delivery rather than organizational structure. Military leaders may find difficulties in adapting to the new public management (Owen, 2003). Leadership Communication Leadership communication is significant for the accomplishment of the goals of leadership. It involves eloquence in expressing the ideas of the leader to the subordinates. In a military organization, effective leadership communication determines the relationship between the leader and the subordinates (Hersey et al. 2007). Helps the leader to effectively persuade his/her subordinates to adopt new ideas for the accomplishment of tasks. Efficient communication in the military enhances interactions between leaders and the subordinates, which is significant in the identification of problems and finding viable solutions especially due to the risky tasks involved in the military. Military leaders communicate the needs of their subordinates to those in higher ranks thereby generating confidence amongst the subordinates especially with the realization that their needs have been put in to consideration. A leader who effectively communicates with the officers in the lower cadres generates loyalty and enthusiasm in the force. Loyalty is fundamental in the success of the military (Laver & Mathews 2008). Similarly, effective leadership communication in the civil service is significant in maintaining credibility and ability to generate positive perception amongst workers. The leader is capable of establishing useful links with important stakeholders, which is necessary for building strong collaboration for sustainable development. He/she is able to establish lasting solutions through consultation. Effective communication in leadership is significant in conflict resolution, as well as raising the spirits of workers and inspiring them to put more effort (Kesler, 2002). Leadership Discernment The military is involved in risky activities that involve protecting human life and property. Discernment is significant in leadership, and involves withholding secret information regarding the military strategies while expressing ideas that are important for success. Information that is understood to mean one thing for a particular group of people may mean something different to others. Leaders with discernment are capable of communicating selectively so that they do not disclose secret information. This is important in building harmonious relations between the force and the public. Strategic discussions are significant since they help members of the military to understand the position of the organization in the operating environment, especially through seeking answers regarding the reasons for being in the force, the current position of the troop, the manner in which it operates, needs assessment, successes as well as the future operations (O'Donnell & Turner 2005). Decision Making Process In the civil workplace, leaders effectively act as agents of change when they allow their subordinates to participate in the decision making process. The work teams learn regarding the objectives of the organization through various channels such as; newsletters, internal memos, electronic mail as well as personal briefings. These allow civil servants to keep focus of where they are going to, and the organizational expectations. Listening to subordinates makes them feel appreciated and is significant in generating the desired commitment among the subordinates. They need to be encouraged to participate in the decision making process, making them own the organizational decisions (McLaughlin & Osborne 2002). However, the decision making processes of the military fails to involve the junior cadres in the decision making process. Policy development is mainly the task of high ranking officials who then communicate the policies for implementation to the subordinates. Sometimes the decisions do not favor the junior officers but they are not required to comment or influence changes. The decisions are entrenched in the organization and become part of the rules and regulations. This might be a significant hindrance for military leaders taking leadership positions in the civil workplace (O'Donnell & Turner 2005). Leadership Styles Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Model The model focuses on leadership strategies whereby the leader becomes effective through motivating their followers to adhere to their instructions. This depends on the capability and willingness of the followers to undertake the particular tasks allocated to them (Hersey & Blanchard, 1999). Military and civil workplace leaders to a great extent apply this model in enhancing organizational productivity. Employees joining the organization are usually competent in various fields and are motivated to work for personal and career development. However, they have to follow the bureaucratic system in place. Styles of Leadership in the Situational Model The behavior of leaders in their bid to be influential to the subordinates leads to the development of a particular leadership style that is significant in the accomplishment of organizational goals (Hersey et al. 2007). Leaders may adopt the style whereby they give instructions throughout the organizational processes. Under such situations, the subordinates do not question the procedures that they are supposed to follow in regard to the daily organizational operations. This style is task oriented and the leaders focus on the accomplishment of the tasks allocated to the subordinates rather than the process. On the other hand, leaders may choose the supportive style whereby they focus on developing a suitable relationship in the workplace that is significant in enhancing teamwork in the organization (Kesler, 2002). The leadership styles in the situational model include; directing, coaching, supporting and delegating. Directing This style of leadership is mainly adopted by military leaders who work with subordinates whose experience is low. Employees in such a case are usually incompetent in the accomplishment of tasks. Under such circumstances, the leader may be compelled to adopt a directive style whereby he/she sets targets and directs the employees on what to do, how to do it and the time to be taken for the accomplishment of these tasks (Hersey & Blanchard, 1999). A military leader must have the capability to direct subordinates to accomplish tasks. In this style, the leader usually has a low focus on the relationship between him and the subordinates as well as between the subordinates. This is mainly due to the fact that they possess different competencies and therefore developing a link amongst them may not be appropriate. In situations whereby the subordinates fail to perform particular tasks as a result of fear of adverse consequences, directional leadership comes in handy since the leader has to make things happen for the accomplishment of organizational goals (Hickson & Pugh 1996). Without such approach, tasks may be left incomplete and the organization goals cannot be accomplished. Leaders who adopt this approach usually develop working frameworks that serve as a guide for the employees, and they also develop their own guidelines regarding the manner in which the tasks are to be accomplished as well as how the employees are to be managed (Alldredge et al. 2003). This leadership style may not work in the civil workplace since it might be viewed by the subordinates as authoritarian. A military leader joining the civil service must undergo significant change to avoid directional leadership and adapt to a proactive leadership style such as coaching. Coaching Coaching is a leadership style that mainly applies to employees whose competence and motivation are slightly high. They might be unable to perform particular tasks even though they have interest in working (Huczynski and Buchanan 2007). The leader understands that the performance of employees can be improved through additional learning. Coaching and training are usually focused on giving the employees additional skills to improve their competence. For example, when new employees join the civil service with various skills acquired in education, coaching improves their knowledge in regard to the organizational operations (Kesler, 2002). Military leaders are used to commanding subordinates rather than strategic leadership styles such as coaching and therefore may find difficulties in coping with leadership in the civil work place. Supporting Supportive leadership motivates workers to remain in service in spite of many hardships they might be experiencing. It is appropriate in military leadership where decisions and tasks may influence life or death of the people involved. Sometimes military officials may be discouraged by the overwhelming tasks and leaders can play a significant role in supporting and heartening them to work to accomplish the ultimate goal (Kouzes & Posner 2007). In the civil workplace, supportive leadership is rather different since it is mainly focused on developing a strong relationship between the leader and the employees. Mentorship is the mostly applied technique to empower subordinates in the civil workplace (Kesler 2002). Delegating Delegation of duty is significant in the military as well as in the civil workplace. Delegating is usually applicable for the employees who are both highly committed and competent in the workplace. They can perform tasks on their own without supervision or continuously being directed. Such employees are usually satisfied with their work and derive much enthusiasm from performing their day to day duties in the work place. They are able to meet the target on their own and therefore there is usually no need for the leader to maintain focus on their tasks or developing strong relationships (Kouzes & Posner 2007). However, it is usually important for the leader to ensure that he is aware of the progress and to ascertain that the organizational objectives are met. Table 1.0: Advantages and Disadvantages of Military Leadership Advantages of Military Leadership Disadvantages of Military Leadership Highly structured with subordinates obliged to respect chain of command Decisions may influence life or death Command over work groups is vested on single authority hence no conflict in accomplishing tasks Involves command over the juniors during war and may not work well in conditions of peace due to extreme bureaucracy Leaders are looked upon for their great responsibility of upholding peace Some military leaders develop a tendency of totalitarianism Table 1.1: Advantages and Disadvantages of Military Leadership Advantages of Leadership in the Civil Workplace Disadvantages of Leadership in the Civil Workplace Highly structured with subordinates obliged to respect authority Procedures involved in the civil workplace may hinder leadership development Leaders power is vested in the office and not the person There are chances of abuse of office due to high powers vested in it The organizational goals are definite and hence no ambiguity in accomplishing tasks Syed Tanwir Husain Naqvi is one of the military leaders who were appointed to leadership positions in Pakistan by General Parvez Musharraf in his tenure since 1999. He has been successful in eliminating the ineffectual bureaucratic governance that was inherited from the colonial system. He led the National Reconstruction Bureau that was in charge of promoting good governance and effective service delivery to the citizens, especially the police force which traditionally was a highly intimidating arm of the government to a more people-friendly service thereby promoting the leverage of citizens in matters regarding their security (Wilder 2009). This perspective of Syed Tanwir demonstrates that military leaders can also work in the civil service work place even though significant differences exist in the two leadership opportunities. Conclusion The leadership style adopted by leaders in an organization significantly affects the productivity of workers. There are similarities and differences between leadership in the military and leadership in the civil workplace in terms of bureaucracy, leadership communication leadership discernment, as well as in the decision making process. Hersey and Blanchard’s situational model comprises four styles of leadership which include; directing, coaching, supporting and delegating. Each of them significantly affects the performance of employees. References Alldredge, M., Johnson, C., Stoltzfuz, J., & Vicere, A. (2003). “Leadership development at 3M: Ne wprocess, new techniques, new growth”. Human Resource Planning, 26(3), 45. Hersey, P., Blanchard, K.H, and Johnson, D.E., (2007). Management of Organizational Behavior: Leading Human Resources, Prentice Hall. Hersey, P. and Blanchard, K. H, (1999). Leadership and the One Minute Manager, William Morrow Hickson D. J. & Pugh D. S. (1996). Management Worldwide: The Impact of Societal Culture on Organizations around the Globe, Penguin Group. Huczynski, A.A. and Buchanan, D.A. (2007). Organizational Behaviour, Pearson Education. Kesler, G. C. (2002), “Why the leaders never gets deeper: Ten insights about executive talent Development”, Human Resource Planning, 25(1), 32-34. Kouzes, J. M. & Posner B. Z. (2007), The leadership challenge, Wiley Laver, H. S. & Mathews, J. J. (2008), The Art of Command: Military Leadership from George Washington to Colin Powell, The University Press of Kentucky Lynn, L. 1998. “The New Public Management: How to Transform a Theme into a Legacy.” Public Administration Review, Vol. 58, 3 pp 231-237 McLaughlin, K. & Osborne, S. P. (2002). New Public Management: Current Trends and Future Prospects, London: Routledge O'Donnell, M. & Turner, M. (2005). “Exporting new public management: performance agreements in a Pacific microstate”. International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol. 18 (7), pp 615-628 Owen, H. 2003. Public Management and Administration: An Introduction, 3rd ed. Bassingstoke. UK: Palgrave Wilder, A. (2009), “Pakistan & Afghanistan: Domestic Pressures and Regional Threats: The Politics of Civil Service Reform in Pakistan”, Journal of International Affairs, Vol. 63(1) pp 19-37 Read More