The Development of Successful Leadership within an Organization - Assignment Example

?What can the human resource management department contribute to the development of successful leadership within an organization? Introduction Peoplecomprise various organizations’ most crucial and vital element defining their success or failure. The accomplishment of organizational goals largely depends on the availability and utilization of resources: men, money, machines, materials, methods and markets, the interaction and interrelation are determined by human resources. If the latter is available and capable, all other ingredients can be of great use to the organization. It is through people that diverse resources can be harnessed and developed; otherwise, these would be neglected and lost. Man odes or undoes what exists. Man creates or overlooks opportunities and scenarios. Hence, people power is considered the most significant and dominant factor of all the resources available to an organization. In this regard, the essay aims to determine what the human resource management department can contribute to the development of successful leadership within an organization. The discourse would initially define relevant terms that would be used in the paper including human resources management, leadership, competencies, and the difference between behavioral and functional approaches to job performance. Definition of Terms Martires (2004) defined human resources management as “the art and science of acquiring, motivating, maintaining, and developing people in their jobs in light of their personal, professional, and technical knowledge, skills, potentials, needs and values and in synchronization with the achievement of individual, organization and society’s goals” (p. 6). Human resources departments in some organizations are subsumed in another department or it may be a separate department itself. As one of the primary functions of human resources management (HRM), development of human resources require the registration, tracing, and insuring of all personnel’s progress through continued job proficiency, career growth and guidance. Competencies are upgraded and expertise is developed in this broadening phase of people management. By competencies, the definition provided by Boyatzis (1982) is most appropriate: “an underlying characteristic of an employee (i.e., a motive, trait, skill, aspects of one’s selfimage, social role, or a body of knowledge) which results in effective and/or superior performance” (Cited in USOPM, 1999, p. 7). Likewise, leadership has been defined as the process of influencing people to work or act towards the attainment of specifically defined goals (Martires & Fule, 2000, p. 569). On the other hand, that Ken Valenzuela, the Chief Editor for BeALeader.Net collected various definitions of leadership: “Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal” (Northouse, 2004). His own definition is hereby presented as “the ability of developing and communicating a vision to a group of people that will make that vision true” (Kenneth Valenzuela, 2007). Authors Lussier & Achua (2004) define leadership as “the influencing process of leaders and followers to achieve organizational objectives through changes” (Lussier & Achua, 2004). There are different types of leaders depending on the personality of the leader and subordinates and the situation. Different leadership theories stipulate diverse leadership styles, such as: the behavioral approach (autocratic, democratic and laissez faire leaders); there is the task-oriented versus people-oriented leaders; and contemporary theories present the emergence of transformational leaders and servant leadership styles. Leadership and Management Development The article published by the US OPM revealed trends in HRM that focus on the rise of competencies where leadership and management development begin to assume more challenging roles in light of the changing forces affecting HRM in contemporary organizations. The trends that were revealed are hereby summed as “(1) organizations realize they cannot do business as usual; (2) managers are taking greater roles in HRM; (3) HR is being restructured and reinvented; (4) there is increasing reliance on technology; (5) focus is being directed on improving HR efficiency; (6) transformation from rules-based to consultative approach” (US OPM, 1999, pp. 3 – 5). How Leaders Affect the Organization Different leadership styles are manifestations of patterns of behavior and actions that leaders make over a period of time as perceived by followers. It is how leaders behave, over time, when they are trying to influence the performance of others. Style is the visible aspect of leadership and influences the achievement of organizational goals through strategies implemented. Leadership uses three essential elements to influence and affect the organization: leader, followers and the situation. Together, these elements provide the context where leadership operates and determine leadership effectiveness. Leaders, through concepts of competencies, must understand what motivates followers and need to respond to those motives. As emphasized by Martires and Fule (2000), all leadership acts are goal-directed. Leadership is effective to the extent that the goals of leaders, followers and that of the organization are achieved. Influence attempts may succeed in the sense that attitudinal changes are brought about. However, leadership succeeds only when followers take actions that are congruent with goal attainment. How HR Develop and Improve Leadership The human resources department’s role, aside from acquisition and maintenance, is the development of people, including current and potential leaders. Competencies are upgraded and expertise is continually developed through various means and techniques. Among the methods of development of human resources are training and education, career planning and counseling (Martires and Fule, 2000). Leadership training and development aims to harness the skills, knowledge and abilities of supervisors and managers. The top executives, due to their age, experience and some kind of management development programs they have previously attended, compose the group that is most challenging to hone. In this regard, HR searches for appropriate leadership training programs, seminars, conferences that enhance identified skills such as decision-making, conflict resolution, entrepreneurship, negotiation skills, and cultural diversity skills to prepare leaders for roles in global organizations. Overall Conclusion ` The HRM department can use competency models by reviewing and evaluating future trends in HR and incorporate competency based HR applications, as required, for the development of successful leadership. By identifying competencies, organizations could focus on assessment tools and training programs to ensure that future leadership requirements are appropriately and effectively addressed. The current essay initially delved into definitions of crucial terms such as human resources management, competencies and leadership, among others. Likewise, leadership styles were noted to be diverse depending on the personalities of both leaders and followers, as well as the situation in the organization. As leaders’ competencies and qualifications are enhanced, their learning on human resources functions and theories are appropriately applied towards the defined goals. HR’s role is instrumental in further developing the knowledge, skills and abilities of leaders through further education and training. Ultimately, the goal of the organization is the improvement of self-worth of each and every personnel, concurrent with the achievement of its mission. Reference List Boyatzis, R. (1982): The Competent Manager: A Mode for Effective Performance. John Wiley & Sons, New York. Lussier, R.N.; Achua, C.F. (2004) “Leadership: Theory, Application, Skill Development” (2nd Ed). South-Western. Martires, C.R. (2004). Human Resources Management: Principles and Practices. National Bookstore, Philipines. Martires, C.R. & Fule, G.S. (2000). Management of Human Behavior in Organizations. National Bookstore. Philippines. Northouse, P.G. (2004) “Leadership Theory and Practice” (3rd Ed). Sage Publications US Office of Personnel Management (OPM). (1999). Looking to the Future: Human Resources Competencies., [Online]. Available at: http://www.opm.gov/studies/Trans2.pdf, [Accessed 28 February 2011]. Valenzuela, K. (2011). Leadership Definitions, [Online]. Available at: http://www.bealeader.net/5/leadership-definitions [Accessed 18 March 2011]. Read More