Change in Any Organization Is Inevitable - Essay Example

?Perfect Position Paper Change in any organization is inevitable. Companies can be restructured and expanded. This paper will describe the leadership style model I would apply in the company when granted a leadership position. It will outline the strengths and weaknesses of the leadership style in action through a self analysis. Also, it shall compare and contrast leadership theories to enable the audience to understand my leadership approach. Following the restructuring and expansion within the company I work for, I would suit the position of a financial manager. I would propose my position due to the qualities I possess. This is a leadership position which involves allocating resources to projects or activities within the company. I can passionately hold, communicate to others, at the heart of the leader’s activities and priority. To my integrity, I will act outwardly in a mode that would be consistent with inner values. I have the dedication to providing time to achieve the vision and set the example. Humility grants me the recognition that I am not a perfect person than the rest in the team. I can listen to novel ideas even if they confront the views I may hold. Creativity enables me to think differently, encourage and develop new ideas. I would be able to treat everyone justly and consistently, without jumping into conclusions before listening to facts. I would take responsibility for failures and give others credit where they deserve. Through a sense of humor, I would relieve tension, engage followers and diffuse hostility. For the sake of the company’s success, I would perform several roles. Create plans and strategies; providing the task to be accomplished, the time it should be accomplished, who should accomplish it, and how it should be accomplished. This will enable the team accomplish tasks. Strategies provide a well established environment to perform projects of the company (Mintzberg, Lampel, Quinn & Ghoshal, p. 41). Creating long-term vision; this will ensure that the team has foreseen the future and carry out duties towards achieving the company’s objectives. Inspiring others; this should be in accordance to the created vision. Communicating direction; setting up strategies for effective communication enables followers to perform the right task at the right time. Facilitating change; every partisan would provide ideas for transformation. Building consensus; this would be after a critical view from facts created upon several members’ opinions. Developing groups and the individual talent; teamwork enables members to achieve a common objective from a common ground. Allocating resources; financing fundamental activities in the company enhances profit realization. Through a critical analysis of my roles within the company, I would apply a transformational leadership style. Transformational leaders incorporate change. They follow a vision and inspire others towards the vision. They build opportunities for the team to show flair and are responsible for innovative ideas. This leadership style requires one to be strategic, charismatic and extravert. These are leaders who can make out the broad picture instead of detail. They inspire vast loyalty and set examples. If the followers recognize them as hypocritical, the team becomes cynical or disillusioned (Robbins & Judge, 2011, p. 69). Implementing the success cycle provides a stepping stone in becoming a transformational leader. This involves vision, goals, plans, action, monitoring progress, and reviewing achievements. The vision would be for the collective success instead of an individual one. The vision should be shared and sold to the team. Selling a vision would entail conviction, courage, a wish to inspire others, and a desire for adjustments. Goals are milestones towards the ultimate vision. They would define the achievements and outcomes in a minute, more tangible and manageable than the vision. The plan will outline the criteria to achieve the set goals and specify the required resources for success. The action involves carrying out the entire plan. Action focuses on the vision and implementing judgment. Monitoring progress requires putting in place the right data for the plan and measure success. Initiating the Key Success Indicators enables devotion to the relevant activities. Reviewing achievements addresses the fundamental concept of answering the question of whether one has achieved the set goals. It turns the review into constant improvement process (Yukl, 2010, p. 96). A transformational leadership style has strengths and weaknesses. This approach embraces change within the organization. It is an approach that would be applied in situations which are fast changing. In this case, it would require team members to have high skill levels and the leader should be ready to get involved into the detail. This approach encompass following the success cycle model which enhances victory within the organization. On the other hand, the success cycle involve following key principles such as acting upon the goals outlined in the plan and vision. This requires the group to understand the plans and goals and sign up to the vision, unless it done, they can make poor choices regarding time management. This approach would be termed irrelevant in low skilled jobs. It is a complex approach of leadership. Theories developed that apply to leadership include; transformational and transactional leadership theories, functional and situational leadership theories, participative and autocratic leadership theories. Transformational vs. transactional leadership theories; another technique that one would analyze leadership approaches would be evaluating the rapport between the leader and the follower and the nature of work. Transactional leadership theory bases upon exchanges or transactions between the follower and the leader. It assumes that job relationship involves a leader to issue the task, criticism or praises, and punishments or rewards. The follower has diminutive responsibility, except performing tasks in the appropriate manner. Everything can be done correctly if both follower and leader carry out their portion as expected in the transactions. It poses a restrictive form of leadership thus contrary to transformational. Transactional leadership approach does not incorporate a collective form in decision making. This is contrary to transformational approach of leadership since it requires a leader to inspire the team towards change and attain the vision stated. Transactional theory provides little time for strategies, vision, and long term goals. Transformational theory dedicates a lot of time to developing strategies and vision to achieve long term goals. Transactional theories would apply to low skilled jobs, where the system is undemanding, and procedures well defined or where little change would be required. Transformational theory applies to high skilled jobs, where the leader fully participates in collaboration with members to bring change. Functional vs. situational leadership theories; functional leadership theories focus on the functions or actions of a leader i.e. what he or she does. In this case, it assumes that leadership evolves from leaning. These theories study successful leaders in conjunction to what they achieved through their behaviors and actions they exhibit. Functional leadership theories would be clear but does not help the leader to deal with different situations and changes like situational and transformational leaders. Situational theories apply some transformational principles. Situational theories would be developed to find suitable ways of adjusting leadership actions to achieve the needs of different circumstances. The situational models identify the willingness, capacity, motivation of the followers. Leaders choose the method of leadership basing on their experiences and personality, and the working environment (Yukl, 2010, p. 123). Transformational leadership requires a leader of high personality, integrity, and experienced to deal with changes within the company. Participative vs. autocratic leadership theories; these theories would be developed on the notion of the leadership styles. They focus much on the equilibrium of power between the followers and the leader. Autocratic leaders make decisions and inflict them on others. These are leaders who believe that they are perfect in making decisions, while the followers should accept the authority. These leaders possess certain traits of personality, such as a requirement to be in control of events (Grant & Ashford, 2008, p. 15). Autocratic leaders do not nurture their followers like the participative and transformational leaders. Participative leaders involve and consult others in the process of decision making. They demonstrate respect for others, consideration, and ability to listen. Participative leaders build support for the team and lead them into a shared vision and common objectives. This is an attribute in transformational leadership. This paper has defined roles I would have performed in a leadership position. It has discussed the leadership style model applied with its strengths and weakness with regard to self analysis. Theories developed about leadership been tackled clearly to provide the audience a patent view about the form of leadership in action. References: Grant, A. M., & Ashford, S. J. (2008). The Dynamics of Proactivity at Work. Research in Organizational Behavior, 28, 3-34. Mintzberg, H., Lampel, J., Quinn, J. B., & Ghoshal, S. (2003). The Strategy Process: Concepts, Contexts, Cases (4th Ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2011). Organizational Behavior (14th Ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall. Yukl, G. A. (2010). Leadership in Organizations (7th Ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Read More