The Effective Business Leadership - Coursework Example

Managers are people who do things right, while leaders are people who do the right thing” (Bennis cited in CSU06) while Nahata (2001) too agrees thata leader “does the right things” whereas a manager “does things right”. Webster’s dictionary defines a leader as “a person, who by force of example, talents, or qualities of leadership, plays a directing role, wields commanding influence, or has a following in any sphere of activity or thought;” and a manager as “one that manages” or “a person that conducts, directs or supervises” (cited by Nahata, 2001). Ideas about leadership and management are interwoven. Even though leadership and management styles have been written about much later, but research suggests that both these have been in practice through out recorded history. Different leadership and management theories have been espoused by different authors and hence it is essential to differentiate between leadership and management. Management has been defined as the “mental and physical effort to coordinate diverse activities to achieve desired results” (Eric, n.d.). Leadership on the other hand has been defined as “natural and learned ability, skill and personal characteristics to conduct interpersonal relations, which influence people to take desired actions. You lead people and you manage things, is how Pejza differentiates (cited by Eric). Thus effective leadership requires accomplishment and influencing. Leadership requires trust and commitment of others, which they can achieve through their own behavior and integrity. Management has to be followed and obeyed. Nahata emphasizes that leadership and management are complimentary. Leaders create and deal with change while managers deal with complexity, for instance peacetime army can survive with good management but wartime army needs to be led. Leadership requires vision, direction, strategies, motivation and inspiring while management is about organizing people and systems, choosing structure and function. Companies look for and depend on business leaders. The future sustainable advantage of firms around the world depends upon the identification of tomorrow’s leaders (Lieberson & O’Connor, 1972). I feel motivated to be a leader in my chosen field and have been inspired by the examples of the leaders that have led businesses worldwide. I would like to be a leader in the field of HR and draw inspiration from the examples that I have encountered. Whether leaders are born or developed has always been an area of debate. According to Nahata, leaders would have to be born with certain traits while other traits can be learned through trial and error, observation and through education and training. Developing leadership potential requires a thorough understanding of one’s own strengths and weaknesses, values and motivation. These are essential in trying to help others as a leader. Leadership is not something that can be developed if time can be spared and besides, mere training is not enough (Danby, 2007). Certain skills and attitudes have to come from within which can be polished or developed. To determine the requirements of the right leader, Kouzes and Posner started researching on what people did when they were at their ‘personal best’ (Wiley, 2000). The extraordinary experiences of the ordinary people revealed the pattern of success. The model of leadership that they developed is known as The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership. These qualities include modeling the way, inspiring a shared vision, challenging the process, enabling others to act and encouraging the heart. Businesses today face great challenges due to increased competition and shortened product life cycles (Sorenson, 2000). In such a situation the greatest threat to business is the failure to change. To manage change requires a leader to steer the company through the crisis or change. Change in an organization can be brought about for different reasons. Business leaders are faced with the change in culture due to globalization and cross-cultural people working in the same organization. Developing and inspiring a shared vision requires leadership because it has to be realistic and credible (Nahata). If the vision is shared, the individuals can find their own roles, which contribute to their personal and professional growth. The strength of a leader lies in his ability to inspire others to give their best. For instance, there is always a resistance to change in the face of environmental pressure and uncertainty when it is caused by the organization culture, says Schein (Lakomski, 2001). A leader plays a crucial role in such cases where he has to inspire them to understand and accept the vision or the corporate goals. The individuals have to be inspired to deal with the external and internal environment. The leader can transform the current stagnating culture into a productive culture. When the resistance to change appears to be non-rational, the dynamics of culture have to be understood. The leader would first need to unfreeze the old assumptions after which cognitive restructuring takes place. Thereafter refeezing takes place which means that changed behaviors and new assumptions become embedded and reinforced as the new culture through which the organization can solve the problems. In this change model, the role of the leader in managing change becomes important as he should be competent to diagnose and respond appropriately to changes in the environment on an ongoing basis. As a leader, it is important to bring together people of different views, backgrounds, culture, education, and still develop synergy as the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Participative leadership promotes understanding and cohesive teamwork, increases satisfaction, resolves conflicts and improves decision quality (Sorenson, 2000). This form of leadership provides a platform to view multiple perspectives and induces people to work with commitment and achieve satisfaction. Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) is another situation which can bring about changes in the workplace and requires a leader at the helm of affairs. M&A can have a demoralizing effect on the employees but Pollitt (2006) cites how Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries plc (W&DB) UK, overcame the initial imbalance due to the right leadership. When W&DB took over two breweries within 12 months, the synergy resulted in closure of two head-offices, one distribution centre and downsizing. The cost-dominated and hard-nosed attitude greatly affected the ‘survivors’. The employee attitude and motivation level was affected as different employees across group doing the same piece of work did not get the same compensation. A survey revealed widespread dissatisfaction amongst the employees, and each group felt the others got favorable treatment. The staff morale was down as they felt that the company did not care for its employees. They felt the business was poorly run, training was not aimed at improving the performance of the employees and communication was inadequate. This situation requires more than just how to manage. To lead effectively in this situation would mean to inspire and win commitment (Goffee & Jones, 2004). The HR leadership understood that employees have to be taken into confidence. The stand that necessitates change should be communicated to the workers which motivate them to act. Grouping different activities under different names had a profound effect on the employees as each could identify with something that was new and fresh. People were now open to changes. This means effective leadership requires sharing the influence and power with others. A leader’s ability to implement goals reflects not only his distinctive qualities but also social and environmental limits (Lieberson & O’Connor, 1972). In the context of business, the corporate and environmental factors impact how the leader works. There are varied forces that reduce and muffle a leader’s impact and then the organization’s formal structure plays a vital role. It is the responsibility of the leader to reconcile different view points but also take individual decision at times and accept responsibility for the consequences, according to the CEO of General Motors. The management of any business according to the Deming’s consideration has two sets of problems – problems of today and those of tomorrow (Kruger, 2001). Problems of today encompass the immediate needs while those of future concern the purpose and dedication to quality improvement. This does not come through the management of business but calls for leadership skills. Leaders need to initiate and encourage people to have a commitment to the organization and work towards its objectives on a long-term basis, in other words shared vision. Without the right leader involvement is not possible and without involvement change is difficult. They should be personally involved in inspiring quality (Juran cited by Kruger). A study by Patterson et al., (1997) confirmed that management of people was more important than the combined effect of strategy, product, service quality, or even the manufacturing technology or the expenditure on R&D (cited by Gollan, 2006). There is a definite relationship between employee performance and their attitude. Communication organizational aims and objectives are important. Difficult issues can be resolved through discussions. Honesty, trust, openness, employee participation, all helps to achieve high motivation among staff. Management here does not refer to traditional management principles but to the leadership qualities of understanding and motivating the people. Each leader is unique, say Goffee and Jones (2004) and this is what I aim to be. As the authors suggest, leadership cannot come by imitating others. A leader has to be true to him self and not emulate the habits of others. A leader must be able reveal his weaknesses which imply to admit that one is also a human and has mood swings. Weakness here does not mean technical or professional drawbacks which could harm the organization. It simply means to convey the message that part from being the role-leader, he is also human like others and hence not perfect. This helps the leader to draw support and build a strong group to help him. In the case of a manager, others expose the weaknesses which go against the manager. This is not a positive experience and can cause feelings of inadequacy and defensiveness. Managers live under pressure to rule and standardize which compels them to reveal their weakness. In the same situation, a leader can draw support from the group by acknowledging their incompetencies. Leaders have the capability to read a situation and sense an environment; they know when the team morale is shaky or when complacency has set in. Situation sensing has its own distinctive skills. They spend time with their important subordinates like traveling together which is when they are able to pick up lot of information on the motives, attributes and skills. Leaders are able to analyze the tension between team members and how they build their capabilities. They keep themselves well informed of the subtle shifts in the organizational climate. Situation sensing is a trait which some have it as a natural instinct and are gifted with it. Others have had to inculcate this skill through training or experience. Situation sensing is a critical leadership quality but this is dangerous too. A right leader would need to test his sensing skills from time to time to ensure reliability. Effective leaders care for their people whereas a manager needs to be trained to care for people and ever after training he needs to make an effort to demonstrate that he cares. It is important to communicate passion about the work and not simply plating the role. This shows involvement and concern which works as a motivator for others. Leadership dos not mean to always agree with others or stand by them in support. It may also call for standing apart, observing the situation and taking tough decisions. Effective leaders express their distinction through personal qualities such as sincerity, creativity, expertise and loyalty. Some like the former President of Philips use their physical presence as a leadership asset. I draw inspiration from different leaders and would like to lead in my own unique way. My own philosophy of leadership would be a model based on the army leadership which adheres to strong traditional values bit also demands innovation and flexibility. Leadership encompasses all aspects of people management. Leaders in the army are chosen not for their technical competence but because they can lead people. The judgment has to be made on experience and this means the ability to sense what is happening. A manager would struggle to perform when asked to motivate and lead but a leader would be able to sense the situation and respond accordingly. Excellent communication has to exist in a group so that each member is aware of the role he is supposed to play in the context of the organizational mission. This will clarify the roles and responsibilities of each player in terms of general leadership and conduct. This would help to boost the morale, improve efficiency and give rise to creativity. This would also encourage flexibility and initiative. In the army language this would be refereed to as ‘orders’ but it is an effective communication tool. I would not follow an autocratic form of leadership because being authoritative never works. Self-discipline should be imposed by every individual and they would be motivated to achieve this. External discipline is a forceful coercion while self-discipline alone is lasting and what an individual would follow. Danby (2007) has explained this wonderfully when he says before one’s own ego enjoys the rush of power over others, one must realize that one is a part of the greater force. Thus if the actions of all are not in alignment then it would result in chaos and the entire system would falter. To ensure this does not occur, self-discipline is essential. Leadership requires selflessness and sacrifice. This would make the employees feel valued and committed. I also draw immensely from the experience of the CEO of the pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly. He firmly believes that leaders do right things which imply that ethical standards have to be maintained (Tobias cited by Crainer, 2003). Doing the right things is not due to fear of legal repercussions but because the leadership values, the corporate culture arouses the consciousness amongst the team members or the people to do only right. Most of the failures in the corporate world are due to failures of ethics and culture. This again corroborates with the principle of self-discipline. Secondly, what has influenced me is the assertion of the CEO that one should have the ability to produce through others. The third and most striking consciousness of a leader, again which I draw from the experience of the CEO of Eli Lilly is that people should be encouraged to take risks, come up with suggestions and they should be backed even if they are a failure. This in itself is a learning process and if they are not supported when their projects/suggestions fail, if they are rebuked, nobody else would venture forward. Even managers and leaders fail but failures as we know are the stepping stone to success. I would encourage all involved to draw lesson from the experience of one person who ventured to take risks. The leader is ultimately responsible for all successes and failures but individuals must be encouraged to feel a part of the organization and this is the best way to go about it. As a leader I would identify the needs of different people and different situations. This would help me decide what should be pursued and what should be let go as during the course of business many tempting offers may arise. A leader needs to be a good listener which I will inculcate. Through his own values and beliefs, a leader is able to attract the right talent. I would need to be a model which others would love to follow and embrace my principles. I would like to make a difference to the organization that I will be associated with and make people passionate about their work. Merely working is different from being passionate about their work and this is precisely how I see myself as a leader. This would require the characteristic to motivate people. I would like to be open to experience and I also realize that a leader must possess traits of humility and humor. The group would look up to me only if I also demonstrate task competence which means I must be the role model. I would like to adopt a people-oriented approach rather than a task-oriented or a result-oriented approach. I would like to create a vision that would be exciting to the group and which would make them passionate to work together towards fulfilling the shared vision. I would invite suggestion and be open to new ideas. Thus, managers are not leaders but managers should develop themselves into becoming leaders. Leaders most often have some characteristics and trait from birth which can be further enhanced and developed through training. Leadership is not insignificant that can be looked into if there is time after managerial duties. Managers have to learn to lead. Leadership requires shared vision, the ability to encourage others to act and communicate with others. A leader is only a part of the whole which he must remember at all times. A leader leads and he must know how to get work done through others. Corporate failures or even successes are due to the success and failures of the CEOs or the leaders. A leader leads by his own example which means he needs to be the role model. Nobody is perfect and this is the impression that a leader should create about him self before the group. This would make it easier for them to identify themselves with the leader. Leadership should not be autocratic but people-oriented. People have to feel committed, encouraged and involved. They should not just work but work with passion and this passion can be aroused by a leader. They should not do the right things out of fear of legal repercussions but because it is right. These feelings can be inculcated only by a leader and not by a manager. Change always brings resistance but leaders know how to make the people overcome the resistance. For businesses to be successful in the years to come, managers have to necessarily acquire leadership qualities like the ability to motivate, innovate, encourage, direct, supervise and communicate. References: Crainer, S., (2003), Succeeding with values, Business Strategy Review, Winter 2003 Vol. 14 Issue 4 CSU06 (n.d.), Management and Leadership, 05 Oct 2007 Danby, P., (2007), The Way of the Warrior, London Business School, Business Strategy Review Autumn 2007 . Eric (n.d.), Leadership for Excellence, 05 Oct 2007 Goffee, R., & Jones, G., (2004), What makes a leader? Bysiness Strategy Review, Summer 2004 Vol. 15 Issue 2 Gollan, P. J. (2006), High involvement management and human resource line sustainability, Handbook of Business Strategy, pp. 279-286 Kruger, V., (2001), Main schools of TQM: ``the big five, The TQM Magazine Volume 13 . Number 3 . 2001 . pp. 146-155 Lakomski, G., (2001), Organizational change, leadership and learning: culture as cognitive process, The International Journal of Educational Management, 15/2 [2001] 68-77 Lieberson, S., & O’Connor, J. F., (1972), Leadership and Organizational Performance: A Study of Large Corporations, American Sociological Review, Vol. 37, No. 2. (Apr., 1972), pp. 117-130. Nahata, M. C., (2001), Balancing Leadership and Management, American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education Vol. 65, Fall 2001, 05 Oct 2007 Pollitt, D. (2006), Raise a glass to HR at Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries, Human Resource Management International Digest, Vol. 14 No. 1 2006, pp. 9-12, Sorenson, R. L., (2000), The Contribution of Leadership Style and Practices to Family and Business Success, FAMILY BUSINESS REVIEW, vol. XIII, no. 3, September 2000 Wiley, J., (2000), How The Leadership Challenge Began, 05 Oct 2007 Read More