Leadership Development and Management - Essay Example

Leadership Development Leadership is an integral part of any given organization in its bid to succeed in the operations it undertakes. To understand the concept of leadership and with exceptional focus to the twenty first century management, there is need to focus on the virtues of a leader and what actually constitutes management. Leadership is a diverse and dynamic practice that varies from one individual to another. Learning the essentials of leadership and management is essential in ensuring that duties and responsibilities are effectively and efficiently discharged. Some leaders are charismatic, some authoritative, some democratic and others dictatorial. The mode of leadership will to a significant extent influence organizational activities, operations, and performance. Management is critical to the welfare of shareholders and the stakeholders in general, who at times suffer the consequences of poor leadership and management in organizations. It is the managers that come up with critical decisions, and their main function is to plan, control, direct and make strategic plans and address issues affecting the firm (Kouzes & Posner 168). The production chain, distribution activities and final consumption of products by the consumer all fall under management, leadership, and operational functions of the firm. Should one chain break down, then the others begin to fall apart, and the eventuality is a disaster in organizational stability. Different departments within the organizational setting are run by various managers, whose duties will include the surveillance of their departments to ensure that everything is functional. That means should any inconveniences occur, then the managers should be held accountable. For instance, the finance manager has a role to play in decision making regarding the financial activities of the firm and how the current and long term projects have to be managed with the limits of available funds. In this case, the manager has to be extra keen and store relevant data to eliminate any confusion and poor claims of mismanagement. Organizations in the twenty first century should strive to emulate the five Porter forces so as to make an organization expansion easy and become even more industrialized. Managers need to put an extra effort towards attaining any organizational set goals and objectives. It is vital that managers in the twenty first century focus more on their visions and those of the organization, as well as develop creativity and critical thinking tools for effective leadership. Leadership entails having a vision that should be in line with the corporate strategy and objectives of the firm. Managers with visions will view and see the position of the firm in the future. They develop a positive attitude towards the vision, and it is such focus that drives them towards attaining the respective visions for their enterprises. Leaders with vision do not let anything get in the way of their dreams and will go an extra mile to ensure that they realize successful outcomes irrespective of all the challenges they face. They have in mind that nothing comes by easily and work hard to obtain what they want. Not only are they consistent in their work, they also work with teams of people towards a common goal. A leader with a vision will work with a team, create a positive attitude towards the subordinates, enhance a sense of transformational and transactional leadership, and encourage them to attain the set goals. Managers ought to have visions that guide them to attaining set targets and organizational objectives. Visions create desire and targets that need to be accomplished, and require hard work and consistency to attain them. Visionary leadership ensures that work and the paths through which leaders are treading are safe and clear, as well as impart the same to the subordinates. For effective and efficient leadership they have to see and know what they want and where they are going so as to lead the employees to the desired direction (Kouzes & Posner 213). Another integral part of leadership is critical thinking. Thinking critically is essential when it comes to decision making in the organizational setting. Proper analysis of data and information is essential in management especially when confronted with conflicting situations. Critical thinking is crucial in day to day activities from trivial matters of office management to substantial issues such as conflict management, evaluating financial reports, debts settlement, consumer and human resource management (Collins & Porras 74). A leader will be able to make impromptu decisions that have an impact on the stability of the firm and thus he or she should bear this fundamental virtue. Critical thinking involves looking at situations and information provided keenly and evaluating the options presented, and then coming up with the best decisions that suit the circumstance. This is essential in leadership especially in strategic planning where a leader is faced with emerging challenges that need to be settled. Contemporary managers should be well versed with information that is both current and relevant so as to face and address issues and challenges in their respective fields of practice. Essentially, critical thinking involves evaluation of the vast information available from all possible sources and assessment of the underlying impacts on the organizational setting. An outstanding leader is creative. All-round creativity is an essential feature in a leader. It involves coming up with new ideas, activities, designs, thoughts and agendas that seek to attain the corporate objectives of the organization (Cynthia 58). Keeping the vision of the firm in mind, an influential leader will develop the best and most effective alternatives and strategies that if implemented place the firm in a different and more positive bearing. The twenty first century managers need this trait as it is an essential gear in maintaining and positioning a firm in the competitive markets. For instance, a creative marketing manager will develop the best marketing mix and investigate which markets will yield the most substantial market share. A creative finance manager will consider where to allocate resources and/or invest in long term projects that yield high profits or even come up with new ways of investing for the firm in evaluated markets. Marketing managers will come up with better and improved packaging means, proper brands and enticing advertisements that capture the eye of the consumer. Creative skills in the organizations give the enterprise a new edge in marketing skill and set it above the rest in the competitive world. Creativity also involves getting new and better ways of improving products through the internet, and testing previously suggested methods to see whether they can work in one’s favor. A manager is responsible for the actions of the employees and thus will seek to recruit in his or her department those workers that have creative skills to offer. A creative human resource manager will employ necessary skills to tap the best labor force and a team that will meet the goals of the firm, while a creative strategic manager will come up with a new way to counter the challenges that arise out of distortions in the market. Creativity skills are one of the critical forces that impact largely on organizations. With the introduction of new and improved products and strategies, a firm can become a legend and dominate a particular market. Leadership requires many virtues, with the most vital among them being vision, creative skills and critical thinking. These three when well employed can form a strong base for corporate stability and expansion. Managers in the twenty first century should exploit these three attributes that determine the progress of an enterprise in the long run. The three business components are key tools essential for growth, and while having a vision shows direction, creative skills set up a competitive edge and critical thinking aids in decision making. Works Cited Collins, James, & Porras Jerry. “Building Your Company’s Vision”. Harvard Business Review, 74(5), 2006; 65-77. Cynthia, M'muka. “Putting Leadership Back into Strategy”. Harvard Business Review, 86(1), 2008; 54-60. Kouzes, James, & Posner Barry. The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2011. Kouzes, James, & Posner Barry. The Leadership Challenge. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2010. Read More