Leadership Approach - Essay Example

Running Head: LEADERSHIP APPROACH Major approach in studying Leadership in an organization [Supervisor’s Major approach in studying Leadership in an organization Introduction: The significance of the paper is to understand the major approaches in studying leadership in which leadership action team plays a vital role in attaining the goals of the organization and enhance the leadership skills of an individual. This paper also aims to underline the strengths and weaknesses of leadership action teams helps in understanding this study through an example of Hewlett Packard and Rank Hovis.

Overview: Major approach in studying leadership: Leadership action team is a functional approach towards studying leadership. The people are assigned to work with a small group that has the same more or less the same capabilities. They are provided with the assistance of a coach who guides them with major leadership challenges. This approach puts them in a situation, which is above their current capacities and provides them chances in revealing their leadership qualities (Romanuk, 2010). This approach is a combination of innovation, creativity and out of the box thinking and a mentor keeps providing feedback, which would ensure learning from their mistakes.

Team work is based on the mutually dependent interaction where everyone has to collectively work in achieving the desired result. There are two phases in the Leadership action teams; first phase is a transition phase in which the team absorbs itself in planning the activities that would help in the attainment of the goals. The second phase is the work activities that directly help in the attainment of goals. It is because of these efforts that the collective action occurs (Huszczo, 2010). Strength: Leadership action team helps in abrupt learning of the leadership skills and makes unity among the team members.

A coach that is associated with the team gives feedback all along, which helps them in correcting their errors. It develops goal-oriented behavior among the team members and they are able to evaluate their performance by focusing on the activities which helps them if they are meeting their goals or not (Huszczo, 2010). The research provides compelling evidence that setting the challenging goals and have a clear performance review would therefore result in the effective team performance. The diversity of the group allows group members to share their skills and ideas among team members.

The leadership skills can only be learned through performing the task by leading which gives an individual a world of confidence (Huszczo, 2010). Weaknesses: The nature of the individuals can cause conflicts among the team members, which is a weaker link to this approach. The team members often have difficulties in grabbing the viewpoints of other team members due to which a blockage occurs in sharing of information freely. There can also be a conflict of interest among the leadership action team members, which can hamper the movement of growth and effectiveness (Romanuk, 2010).

Leadership Action Team in Organizations: ‘Hewlett Packard’ and ‘Rank Hovis’ experiences the use of leadership action teams in their organizations by forming teams to address the customer’s problems or when they have to develop a new product or a service. They also hire individuals in their teams that have less experience and capabilities and develop them through a mentor (Huszczo, 2010) Leadership action teams have been considered an effective approach in studying leadership because the team members work under an associate that enhances the skills and the knowledge of an individual in attaining the goals of an organization.

This approach helps them in understanding their weaknesses and helps them to put more effort in achieving the desired objectives. References Huszczo, G. (2010). Tools for Team Leadership: Delivering the X-Factor in Team EXcellence. Boston: Nicholas Brealey Publishing. Romanuk, F. (2010, April 14). Five Approaches to Leadership. Retrieved April 3, 2012, from www.roxburghmissionalnet.com: http://www.roxburghmissionalnet.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=139:five-approaches&catid=45:leadership&Itemid=89