Leadership Managment - Essay Example

? Leadership management Management is an integral part of organizational processes. The scope of management is relatively broad and it could be in form of management of resources or individuals. The discipline of leadership itself seeks management since without management the overall processes would result in disarray. Though the principles of management and leadership organization apply generically to almost all disciplines, however the situation at hand is that of a services industry and the role of leadership in its organization. An organization is generically split into number of departments. Each of them having its own unit of working team that comprises of the team head, the managers, the middle management, the technical unit. Depending on the nature of department, for example, a marketing department would not need a technical expert. However leader is a generic trait of each unit. Hierarchy of units in the services industry: The services industry has number of departments in it, ranging from the top management to the middle management and finally the line staff. The top management is involved in the decision making, policies devising, negotiations, deals arrangement, future planning, and overall monitoring and adjusting of the work and requirements. The middle management is a link between the top management and the lower line unit. A hierarchy of exists in form of different roles. Units defined: Customer service assistant: The customer service assistant is the customer representative unit member and deals directly with the customers responses and interaction. They are in front line with the dealings of customers and are required to be up to the mark and provide the customers with the required information, details and material. Customers to any organization serve as the backbone, more so when it is a services industry where the customers are directly associated with the company. In case of the products manufacturing companies, the customers and manufacturers are linked through the second person in form of stake holder and distributors. However this is not the case in services industry and thereby more caution and care is required since the industry is in frontline with the customers dealing. It is often being said that a dejected customer takes along with him 5 to 8 customers by spreading the word of bad services. .while a satisfied customer brings along with him 3 to 5 customers. Socially active and interactive members are sought for this role and they should be highly friendly towards the customers. More than technical knowledge, the response and handling of customers is important in the customers service assistant position. Proper training and education helps improving the level of customer care and reaping maximum benefits out of the entire situation. Line manager: Line manager position of high importance as well as they ensure the smooth working of the overall organization. Their task is to ensure that the message and instructions are being conveyed accurately from top management and that the lower management and those involved in the frontline delivery are performing according to the requirement. The top management may be faced with an array of situations. Ranging from routine situations to that of emergency and unexpected. Defining the leader and leadership: Leader is the captain of the entire ship. His navigation skills enable achieving the objectives and completing the journey. However his role is not isolated and he is expected to coordinate with the unit itself. Leadership is an integrative process that involves equal participation of the members. Leaders must have the ability to take along the members with him. Involve them in decision making, bring the best out of them and provide them with all the requirements and facilities that are needed by the members in accomplishing the tasks. Leaders are also responsible for the appointment of suitable person for the suitable task. The principle of right man for the right job should be followed and a leader must be able enough to select the right person. Inducting the right person in right place enables maximizing the throughout. This also leads to the satisfaction of the members since low performance is always discouraging both for the members and the team and organization itself. A leader must be cooperative in nature and working. He may adopt any policy as long as the professional work codes are kept intact and the results are being achieved. Encouraging the team members and bringing the best out of them is the ability of a leader. However a balance is needed in every aspect and no compromise must be made over the quality or the relationship with the team members. Each member must be facilitated only through performance and contribution. These are some of the basics of effective leadership and successful operations overall. The need for communication: Communication serves as a tool between the leader and team members. Without proper communication, the overall project would fall into shambles and no one would be able to interpret and perform their task accordingly. Communicating the right idea to the team members is the responsibility of the leader. Ensuring that all the necessary tools and functions of communication theory have been performed only then can the leader can and expect the team members to deliver what is expected of them. Communication is that bridge without which no transport of ideas and opportunities is possible (Pauley 2009). Participation encouragement methodologies: A leader should devise such policies that enable maximum participation from the team members. No member should be afraid of coming up with questions or ideas regarding the task. This will allow creation of new ideas, innovative steps and hence overall productivity. Authoritarian mode of leadership is never advised since no effective output can be brought from the individuals that way. This mode of interaction restricts the free will to asking and contributing accordingly (Wilson 2001). Synergetic effect: A salient feature of the leader is to create synergetic effect and further capitalize it. It is done so by focusing on the members strengths and through the integrative approach, minimizing the impact of weaknesses of each. All together the strengths pile up to create an effective unit where each provides a helping hand to other and in the end the unit has more hands than would be in an individual effort(Dreikorn 2003). Self-awareness: the role of leader is to create self awareness amongst the members. Enabling them to know what they are capable of and this potential would help the organization and the individuals. Individual differences: differences are part of any organization. Differences are there where ever there is an opinion on either side. These differences can be used to positive effect if the leader organizes them and make use of these differences constructively. At the same time, the leader should be capable enough to ensure that the differences do not creep beyond a certain level and do not hurdle to overall process of project and organizational working (Mullins 2008). Learning and Development: Learning and development comes along the project work. It can be facilitated through the means of training, guidance, education and proper direction. Learning is of high importance since it enables achieving new paradigms. Perception and Decision-making: Negotiation: a leader’s ability list must include the ability to negotiate. Negotiations with the team members or the outside stake holders is part of the entire strategy and effective negotiations can help attaining the fruit of success accordingly. Negotiation to cut the prices, increasing the demand of organization, increasing pressure on the supply chain units, all are skills that contribute towards the success of organization. Option of leadership theories: A leader has a list of options to choose from with regard to his leadership style. While some might use the stick and carrot approach, others use total cooperative strategy that is more loosely based on the family structure where each is equal and contributes equally. While the participative theory provides the basis that the leader contributes in equal amount as do the team members. The transactional theory on other side is the contrast where the leader mostly monitors, and responds according to the performance. In such situations the leader more loosely acts as the watch dog and allows the team members to continue working as long as they are going smoothly and instructs them only when the leader feels for guiding and direction and strategy change. While some leaders might adopt informal method and still may yield the best output from the team members (Adetule 2011). Conclusion: Without a leader an organization cannot expect to survive or work. Leaders are the like the pillars to the building and without them no building can with stand (Adeniyi 2007). However leadership without proper team work and team members cannot produce the desired results. A leader may choose any operative leadership strategy and theory as long as it is contributive enough towards the main goal of organization. The performance of team members is directly subject to the leaders’ performance and their responses. Motivation from them and guidance can improve the performance many folds (Adair 2007) while improper direction and lack of guidance can not only harm the individuals but the organization itself. Works cited: Adair, J 2007, Leadership and Motivation: The Fifty-Fifty Rule and the Eight Key Principles of Motivating Others, Kogan Page Publishers. Adeniyi, MA 2007, Effective Leadership Management: An Integration of Styles, Skills & Character for Today's Ceos, AuthorHouse. Adetule, PJ 2011, The Handbook on Management Theories, AuthorHouse. Dreikorn, MJ 2003, The Synergy of One: Creating High-Performing Sustainable Organizations Through Integrated Performance Leadership, ASQ Quality Press. Mullins, LJ 2008, Essentials of Organisational Behaviour, Financial Times Prentice Hall. Pauley, JF 2009, Communication: The Key to Effective Leadership, ASQ Quality Press. Wilson, GL 2001, Groups in context: leadership and participation in small groups, McGraw-Hill. Read More