Leadership and Organisational Effectiveness - Case Study Example

Leadership and Organisational Effectiveness Student’s Name: Grade Course: Tutor’s Name: Date: Introduction Leadership is defined as “the collective activities that a person in charge of an organisation engages in, in order to set direction, build commitment and create alignment in the organisation” (Fitzgerald &Schutte,2010 p. 495). Transformational leadership on the other hand is defined as an integrated and comprehensive approach of guidance adopted by leaders for purposes of bringing change, meaning and clarity of purpose to an organisation (Hacker & Roberts, 2003, p. xvii). More specifically, these writers define it as the “comprehensive ad integrated leadership capacities required of individuals, groups, or organisations to produce transformation as evidenced by step-functional improvement” (p.3). Based on these definitions, there is no doubt there is a strong link between leadership and organisation performance. According to Lieven, Geit and Coetsier (1997, p. 416), leaders are responsible for engendering positive impacts on the overall organisation through working with teams therein or individual workers. This means that a leader who has a clear vision about how the organisation should perform is in a better position to inspire his subordinates to work towards a specific defined goal. Notably, transformational leaders develop a clear vision about the organisation, before communicating the same to their subordinates. Additionally, such leaders are good in inspiring and motivating their followers towards achieving the identified goals, mission or vision of the organisation. Transformational leadership and its effect on organisational effectiveness According to Lievens et al (1997, p. 415), transformational leaders adopt a style of leadership that borders on a partnership approach. In such a case, the leader and the employees under him work together in a manner that brings transformation in to the organisation, to the leader, as well as to the workers. Fitzgerald and Schutte (2010, p. 495) share the same opinion and observes that transformational leadership creates an understanding of the needs presented by the employees by first establishing good connections with them and later helping them reach their potential in the organisation. Such form of leadership also ensures that the vision of the organisation is communicated to the employees in an inspiring manner. Unlike transactional form of leadership where the leader adopts the role of an overseer usually relegating himself to the roles of issuing commands, orders and telling the workers under him what to do, a transformation participates in the organisation’s activities usually adopting the role of an adviser and an inspirer. When such happens, the followers are more willing to buy into his vision voluntarily without being pushed to it. Besides, by the transformational leader’s attitude and treatment towards the workers, they feel like part and parcel of the organisation and are therefore more motivated. This in turn leads to them developing high levels of job satisfaction. From the above observation, it looks like transformational leadership is then more beneficial to the organisation, the leader and the workers than other forms of leaderships. This opinion is supported by the Economist (2006, p. 19), in a opinion article which states that contemporary organisations are “looking for carrots that will induce workers to stay” rather than “looking for the right sticks with which to prod the work-shy labourer”. This argument is based on the assumption that people employed in an organisation will exercise self-control and self-direction if they understand the organisational objectives guiding them. However, the Economist (2006, p.19) observes that the level of achievement attained by employees towards the organisational goals are directly affected by the level of understanding they possess towards the same goals. This then raises the need for transformational leadership, which is ideally supposed to inform employees about the vision, mission and goals of the organisation to take over in the contemporary organisations. The realisation that transformational leadership is more advantageous in the contemporary organisation scenario raises the question; why then aren’t all leaders transformational leaders? Well, according to Hacker and Roberts (2003, p. xviii), transformational leadership is a deliberate and conscious thing to take on. More over, it takes great skill, patience, tact and even a change in behaviour for one to perfect the requirements of transformational leadership. The writers aptly describe it as a “... deeply human process, full of trial and error, victories and defeats, timing and happenstance, intuition and insight” (p. xviii). In addition to the deliberate actions that an individual leader must take in order to be a transformational leader, other perspectives such as interpersonal relationships at work, and the organisation’s context as a whole must also be considered. Identifying transformational leaders Bass (1985, cited by Lievens et al., 1997, p. 417) states that a transformational leader has four distinct factors that set him apart from other form of leaders. They are; individual consideration, intellectual stimulation, inspiration, and charisma. While factors like personal charisma can be intrinsic in the leader’s persona, the leader would need to be deliberate in his actions in order to use his charisma in helping his followers share the organisation’s vision, and instil faith and pride in them such that they would be more willing to overcome the challenges they encounter in the line of duty (Lievens et al., 1997, p. 147). Factors like intellectual stimulation on the other hand require constant external input in order to flourish. Combined, the four identified factors enable a leader to inspire his followers to follow a common vision; overcome challenges and rethink their ways of performing their duties at work. By embracing individual consideration, the transformational leader is able to communicate to his followers with respect, treat them as individuals, recognise their unique needs and afford specialised attention to each one of them. By doing this, the leader is able to build a more cohesive, motivated and inspired workforce, whose results are reflected in improved organisation efficiency. Incidentally, the above mentioned characteristics may contribute to effective transformational leadership, but does not entail all that is needed to enhance efficiency in an organisation. According to Yeo (2006, p. 66), leadership skills are essential for efficient performance of an organisation. As such, all leaders, irrespective of the approach they decide to pursue in order to effectively attain the desired results in the organisations, must learn the art of balancing the influence and immense power granted to them by their employing organisations. Most notably, a transformational leader has to use less power on his followers and instead target influencing them through careful tactics. By adopting such an approach, the leader will be able to reshape the minds of his followers making them more accommodating to the vision and mission that he has for the organisation. In addition, a transformational leader has to devise a way through which his voice will be heard without appearing dictatorial. According to Yeo (2006, p. 67) one of the ideal ways that transformational leaders can assert themselves in the organisation is by sharing their thinking with the followers. This enables them to share their mission, vision and goals, with the larger team thus improving the chances that the followers will be willing to participate. But the leader’s responsibility does not just end there. In addition to sharing their mission, vision or goals about the organisation, they must provide the instrumental skills needed to attain the targets set. As such, they are responsible for providing the resources, direction and the motivation needed to attain efficient organisation performance. Interpersonal relationships A leader’s ability to relate well with his followers is affected by just how well, he has cultivated and developed his interpersonal skills. The interpersonal skills not only affects a leader’s communicative competence, but also affects how he influences other people to buy into his ideas, mission and vision (Yeo 2006, p. 68). If an organisation then is to be effective under a transformational leader, he will need to be effective in developing interpersonal relationships. According to Hacker and Roberts (2003, p. 4), a leader just like each of his followers must first transform at an individual level, by learning the successful way of acting and behaving, while engaging others in the organisation. Some of the things a leader must comprehend before engaging his followers as identified by Adair (2007) include the interaction between personality and group needs, individual needs and their link to motivation in the workplace, the roles and importance of interaction in the workplace, decision-making and sharing, and the role of leadership in enhancing the performance of an organisation. Adair (2007, p.37) holds the opinion that though creating a viable working environment in an organisation is an essential factor in enhancing motivation in the workers, 50 percent of the motivation needed for them to perform in their duties is intrinsic. Considering that a transformational leader inspires and motivates his followers more than any other form of leadership, it is therefore agreeable that such a leader is in a better position to bring out the inherent motivation in his followers. In addition, for a transformation leader to come up with aims and objectives that will enhance organisation efficiency in the future, he would need to possess some level of intelligence, which will enable him to weigh the different possibilities that the future holds, gauge the competition, and the market trends and then base his vision for the company on his understanding of possibilities, threats and opportunities facing the organisation. The importance of a transformational leader, or any other leader to develop good interpersonal relationships is emphasized by Boaden (2006, p.7) who observes that apart from establishing the direction that an organisation is supposed to take, the leader is responsible developing a vision for his organisation and articulating the same in a manner that inspires his followers. Further, he is responsible for aligning his followers by enthusing them into joining the efforts meant to contribute towards the achievement of the vision. The leader’s roles do not just end there. He is responsible for the execution of his vision, in which case, he plays a major role in inspiring, energising and motivating the workers in the organisation. More importantly, he is supposed to play a critical role of developing and valuing talents in the organisation, as well as maintaining the positive expectations among the workers. Hacker and Roberts (2003, p. 6) observe that strong interpersonal relationships form the basis of good organisational performance. This mainly stems from the fact that strong relationships in the work place leads to strong teams. The teams in turn foster stronger work dynamics, which ultimately lead to more robust, productive and effective organisations. But just how do transformational leaders succeed in establishing good interpersonal relationships in the workplace? Well, Hackers and Roberts (2003, p. 7) hold the opinion that just like the individual transformation in a transformational leader starts with consciousness, so does the development of interpersonal relations in the work place. According to the two authors, the transformational leader acts on his follower’s consciousness by questioning the direction of the organisation, its purpose for being and the organisation’s results. By creating a known purpose for the organisation, the transformational leader lays the groundwork for deliberate interpersonal relationship not only between him and his followers, but also amongst his followers. Adair (2007, p. 17) adds to this by stating that once the purpose for an organisation has been identified, this creates a conscious need to achieve it. Consequently, this forms the reason why individuals or teams in the organisation perform their duties the way they do. Indirectly, the conscious purpose creates motivation in the organisation and by extension efficiency. Does transformational leadership really increase efficiency? If the information provided by Boaden (2006); Hacker and Roberts (2003, p.6) and Fitzgerald and Schutte (2010, p. 495) is anything to go by, then the answer to this question would be in the affirmative. According to Boaden (2006, p. 9), transformational leadership has a strong influence on organisational productivity since it affects subjective measures in the workforce. Such measures include job satisfaction and the willingness to belong to the organisation. Hacker and Roberts (2003, p.6) on the other hand argue that leaders who adopt transformation leadership find some form of new consciousness that encourage them to be more exploring. This leads to new and exciting discoveries, which in turn leads them to replace some of the tedious and otherwise unproductive routines reinforced in some organisation cultures. When such happens, a transformational leader through his close working relationship with his followers will always communicate the newfound discoveries to them thus enhancing the possibilities that if indeed the discoveries are viable, the larger team in the organisation will embrace them wholeheartedly. According to Fitzgerald and Schutte (2010, p. 496), transformational leadership raises the awareness that employees in an organisation possess towards their tasks. In addition, this form of leadership makes workers more aware of the importance of attaining goals set by the organisation. The role of a transformational leader is expanded from being just a person who inspires and motivates his followers, to that of a person who articulates the vision of the organisation to the employees, provides them with the appropriate model to follow, fosters acceptance within work groups or teams, communicates performance expectations and provides individual support to his followers. Transformational leaders are also more open to change and are therefore more likely to embrace beneficial changes that come with new developments in the market. According to Fitzgerald and Schutte (2010, p. 496), not only do such leaders portray greater involvement and understanding of the work involved in their organisations, but they also portray a high level of flexibility, a factor that allows them to adapt to change more easily. The possession of emotional intelligence is also a major factor cited by Fitzgerald and Schutte (2010, p. 496) as one of the characteristics that provides transformational leaders with the foundation on which they build behaviours that enhance their ability to work with others. Specifically, the authors note that through emotional intelligence, transformational leaders are able to perceive and act on their and other people’s emotions. In addition, the emotions stirred in them are a useful facilitation tool in decision-making, while the understanding of self and other’s emotions enable them to adopt a leadership approach that is accommodative for everyone in the organisation. Characteristics of transformational leadership which influence organisational performance as identified by Stone, Russell and Patterson (2004, p. 350) include: idealised influence; inspirational motivation; intellectual stimulation; and individualised consideration. Idealised influence: In transformational leadership, idealised influence is contained in the admiration and respect that followers have on their leader (Stone et al. 2004, p. 350). Due to these factors, followers perceive their leader as their role model, always seeking to emulate him. Notably, respect breeds trust, which consequently leads to situations where followers unquestioningly trust the judgement of their leader. According to Stone et al. (2004, p.351) the trusting, respectful relationship means that a transformational leader has an easy time sharing the vision he has for the organisation. More so, the idealised influence generated from the trust inspires acceptance of the vision by the followers. Notably, the honest communication, usually adopted by such leaders allows them to share the risks contained in decisions, thus making the collective workforce aware of the benefits as well as the losses that may come with either success or failure of specific objective Inspirational motivation: As has been discussed herein, a transformational leader has a role to inspire and motivate his followers towards attaining organisational goals. But how exactly does he do this? Well, according to Stone et al. (2004, p. 351), the leader inspires acceptance of his vision among his followers by aligning the values and interests proposed in the vision to the group’s collective interests. In addition, he helps his followers visualise the futuristic state of the organisation and the benefits that could come from a successful organisation in the future. By arousing team spirit, enthusiasm, optimism and motivation a transformational leader is able to build a relationship with the people working under him, which are based in interactive communication, and the formation of bonds between the leader and the work teams, the leader and individual employees as well as bonds among employees. According to Stone et al (2004, p.351), the formation of interpersonal bonds in an organisation lead to parties adopting a value based method to achieving organisational goals. More importantly, such bonds encourage people to work as a team thus enhancing the chances of better organisation performance. In order to ensure that this system works towards attaining a better future for the company, the transformational leader communicates the attractive prospects of the future, and also ensures that his followers clearly understand what is expected of them in order for the shared vision and goals to be achieved. Intellectual stimulation: For transformational leaders to stimulate the intellect of their followers, they questions existing assumptions about performance in the workplace, reframe existing problems and encourage the workforce to explore new ways of solving old problems in the organisation (Stone et al. 2004, p. 351). They also brainstorm with their followers in order to find new solutions for existing challenges. Individualised considerations: transformational leader are keen observers who are keen to notice the needs presented by individual people working under them. By acting as an adviser, a coach or a mentor to such people, the leader is able to provide them with a supportive environment where their skills can prosper in order to compliment what other workers do in the organisation. This can only result in better performance for the organisation. Conclusion It is common knowledge that human resource is critical to the existence of any organisation, since they are responsible for the day to day operations of such. Over the years however, debates about just what leadership style fits different organisation has ranged on unabated. To date, such discussions still continue especially in the scholarly circles. With competition looming large and better organisations, with better pay always hunting for skilful workers, its no secret that the contemporary organisations have to work extra hard in order to recruit, train and retain workers. Transformational leadership has been cited as one of the ideal ways that can help organisations not only attract and retain skilful workers, but also help them increase efficiency in the organisation. In this essay’s opinion, this assertion is true considering that job satisfaction is a major factor influencing how employees perform at work. A leader who inspires and motivates his followers is therefore more likely to have a workforce which has high levels of job satisfaction, which ultimately means that they perform well, results which are reflected in enhanced organisation’ effectiveness. References Adair, J 2007. Leadership and Motivation – the fifty-fifty rule and the eight key principles of motivating others, Kogan Page Publishers, London. Boarden, R.J 2006, ‘Leadership development: Does it make a difference?’ Leadership & Organisational Development Journal, vol. 27, no. 1, pp5-27. Fitzgerald, S. & Schutte, N. S 2010, ‘Increasing Transformational leadership through enhancing self-efficacy,’ Journal of Management Development, vol. 29, No. 5, pp. 495-505. Hacker, S. & Roberts, T 2003, Transformational Leadership: Creating Organsiations of Meaning, American Society for Quality, New York. Lievens, F., Geit, P. & Coetsier, P 1997. ‘Identification of transformational leadership qualities: An examination of potential Biases,’ European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, vol.6, no. 4, pp. 415-430. Stone, A.G., Russell, R., Patterson, K 2004, ‘Transformational versus servant leadership: a difference in leader focus,’ The Leadership and Organisation Development Journal, vol. 25, no. 4, pp. 349-361. The Economist 2006, ‘Survey: The X and Y factor’ The Economist, vol. 378, no. 8461, p. 19. Yeo, R.K 2006, ‘Developing tomorrow’s leaders: Why their worldviews of today matter,’ Industrial and Commercial Training, vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 63-69. Read More