Transformational Leadership - Assignment Example

Leadership Leadership Today's organizations need a strong leader to be ruled. Without the direct participation and support of an s leadership, this power cannot be pushed to its full potential. Leadership requires many of the characteristics common to all leaders, but also requires special abilities to manage any organization in today's rapidly changing environment. One model for thinking about strategic change in organisations sees the existence of an organisation as a social system built on 'influence paths' or 'loops'. To improve organizational performance the following aspects should be taken into account. The first is identification of a task and the quality of its fulfillment. The group exists to achieve a common purpose or task, and the leader's actions in one area affect both the others; thus successful achievement of the task is essential if the group is to be held together and its members motivated to give their best effort to the job. So, the four key elements of performance should be taken into account. These are: measurement - assessing results against agreed targets and standards; feedback - giving people information on how they are doing; positive reinforcement - emphasizing what has been done well so that it will be done even better in the future; only making constructive criticisms, i.e. those that point the way to improvement; exchange of views - ensuring that the discussion involves a full, free and frank exchange of views about what has been achieved, what needs to be done to achieve more and what individuals think about their work, the way they are guided and managed and their aspirations. Performance and development reviews provide those involved with the opportunity to reflect on past performance as a basis for making development and improvement plans. Obtaining historical perspective through analysis is a necessary part of the review but reaching agreement about what should be done in the future is what it is all about. The performance review should take the form of a dialogue, not a top-down interview or 'appraisal' (Boehnke, Bontis, 2003). The old routines of central planning and negotiating inputs from might have gone, but there remained the assumption that some other agency would solve the problems: an assumption the CEO himself appeared to share. All of this was taking place within a structure which remained hierarchical, with little involvement of junior management or the workforce, who believed that their product could only sell locally and clung to the assumption that they could sell everything they could produce (Whipp, 1991). This systems view therefore suggests that organisations can and do change by mutually reinforcing and amplifying stimuli within their systems. It is change on the basis of the current ways of doing things: in this sense, it is an explanation of incremental change. The change agent seeking to manage change incrementally would, therefore, search for ways in which changes could be made within current systems, which would have the effect of amplifying change. Education and communication might be appropriate if there is a problem in managing change which is based on misinformation or lack of information. It requires an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect between managers and employees, and might well be time consuming if large numbers are involved in the change since it is unlikely that mass briefings of people will be sufficient to communicate effectively. Many organisations realise that such situations are likely to require small group briefings and debate if the communication is to be effective. However, often the direction or process of strategic change lacks clarity, so relying on processes of communication alone is problematic. The ability to motivate and inspire employees is now a core competence for the best managers. In order to achieve optimal goals three basics would be taken into account: motivation, reward and commitment. Motivating other people is about getting them to move in the direction you want them to go in order to achieve a result. Motivation can be described as goal-directed behaviour and ability to contribute to a solution. People are motivated when they expect that a course of action is likely to lead to the attainment of a goal and a valued reward - one that satisfies their needs. It is reasonable to believe that strong commitment to work is likely to result in conscientious and self-directed application to do the job, regular attendance, nominal supervision and a high level of effort. Commitment to the organization will certainly be related to the intention to stay - in other words, loyalty to the company. Participation in the change process can be helpful in increasing ownership of a decision or change process and strengthening commitment to it. This may entail the setting up of project teams or task forces; those involved are then able to make a meaningful contribution to the decision-making process, the outcome of which may be of higher quality than decisions taken without such an approach. However, there is the inevitable risk that solutions will be found from within the existing paradigm. The change agent who sets up such a process may well, therefore, need to retain the ability to intervene in the process. Reward strategy should be developed as an integrated part of the total personnel strategy of the organization. The aim should be to ensure that it will support initiates in the fields of resourcing, development and the overall goals for improving organizational performance. The strategy should also take into account the employee relations climate and the processes for negotiating pay with trade unions. With the intervention approach the change agent retains the co-ordination of and authority for such processes, but delegates aspects of the change process. For example, it might be that particular stages of change, such as idea generation, data collection, detailed planning, the development of rationales and norms of change, are delegated to project teams or task forces. However, the sponsor of the change maintains overall control and ensures that progress is monitored and improvement demonstrated. There is, however, the risk with this approach that those taking part in the process may see themselves as being manipulated, and may withdraw co-operation (Whipp, 1991). Routines are the institutionalised "ways we do things around here" (Whipp, 1991) which tend to persist over time and guide how people do their jobs. It may be that an organisation which becomes especially good at carrying out its operations in particular ways achieves real competitive advantages, but there is also the risk that the same routines act to block change and lead to strategic drift. The main vehicles for change are to do with communicating and consolidating its acceptance throughout the organisation. It is vital that processes are under way which achieve acceptance of change throughout the organisation. Building up alliances and a network of contacts and sympathisers, even though they may not be powerful themselves, may be important in overcoming the resistance from more powerful groups. Attempting to convert the whole organisation to an acceptance of change is difficult; it is likely that there will be parts of the organisation or individuals in it more sympathetic to change than others. The change agent might more sensibly concentrate on these to develop momentum for change, building a team or network strongly supportive of the activities and beliefs of the change agent. In terms of group dynamics three interconnected and often overlaping aims should be considered: first, the effectiveness with which groups operate (team building), second, self-understanding and awareness of social processes and, third, interactive skills which will enable people to function more effectively in groups. Group training can also help in modifying individual attitudes and values. Group dynamics programmes may emphasize one of these aims more than the others, and they come in a number of forms. This approach can be modified for use in courses primarily designed to improve interactive skills (Reed, 2001). References 1. Boehnke, K., Bontis, N. "Transformational leadership: An examination of cross-national differences and similarities." Leadership & Organization Development Journal. Bradford: 2003. Vol. 24, Iss. 1/2; p. 5 2. Lagone, C. A., & Rohs, F. R. Community Leadership Development: Process and Practice. Journal of the Community Development Society, 1993, 26, pp. 252-267 3. Mabey, C., Salaman, G. Strategic Human Resource Management, Blackwell Business, Oxford. 4. Reed A. Innovation in Human Resource Management. Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, 2001. 5. Whipp, R. Managing Change for Competitive success, Basil Blackwell, 1991. #2 Groups Questions. Training strategy takes a long-term view of what skills, knowledge and levels of competence employees of the company need. Primarily, the choice of leadership approach should be based on the current and future goals of organization and the spheres of improvements. Performance management requires managers to review regularly, with their teams and the individuals reporting to them, performance in relation to agreed objectives, the factors that have affected performance and the development and training needs that emerge from this analysis. In all the stages (upper, middle and front-line) leadership can be defined as the ability to persuade others willingly to behave differently. The function of team leaders is to achieve the task set for them with the help of the group. Leaders and their groups are therefore interdependent. In all the stages leaders have two main roles. First, they must achieve the task. Secondly they have to maintain effective relationships between themselves and the group and the individuals in it - effective in the sense that they are conducive to achieving the task. The leadership training will be based on functional approach for upper and middle managers, and on qualities approach for front-line managers. In functional approach the leader's role is to ensure that this purpose is fulfilled. If it is not, they will lose the confidence of the group and the result will be frustration, disenchantment, criticism and, possibly, the ultimate disintegration of the group. The second step includes identification of a group maintenance needs. To achieve its objectives, the group needs to be held together. The leader's job is to build up and maintain team spirit and morale. In this case, the purpose of a task force is to evaluate solidarity of the group. The second step includes individual needs. Individuals have their own needs, which they expect to be satisfied at work. The leader's task is to be aware of these needs so that where necessary they can take steps to harmonize them with the needs of the task and the group. This approach is the best one for upper and middle managers because it involves three core elements of successful organizational performance: task needs, group maintenance needs and individual needs (Lagone, Rohs, 1993). The situational approach is limited in contrast to functional approach. It includes problem-based view in the sense that it should be planned to fill the gaps between what people can do and what they need to do, now and in the future. During the training the problem may be a negative one in the form of a weakness that needs to be remedied. Or it may be positive because it refers to how the need to develop new skills or enhance knowledge to meet future requirements will be satisfied. In contrast to functional approach it does not solve all the needs of upper and middle management. For front-line managers qualities approach is the most appropriate because it helps them to solve organizational and performance problems effectively. The aims of this approach is to: give those doing the job more scope to use their experience and know-how; provide opportunities to tap the knowledge of employees, who may know more about work problems which are hidden from more remote managers and team leaders; improve productivity and quality; improve employee relations; win commitment to the organization. Upper and middle managers need an initial two- to three-day training course involving some techniques from the quality approach such as analytical techniques they will use and in team building and presentation skills. Team leaders, with the help of facilitators, also train the members of their team. This training effort is a valuable spin-off from a quality circle programme. Instruction in leadership, problem solving and analytical skills is a useful way of developing existing or potential team leaders. Membership of a quality circle is also a means of developing skills as well as getting more involved. These requirements are demanding and although the essential concept of quality is valid they too often fail to survive after an initial spurt. But they can be replaced by more informal and ad hoc improvement groups or by regular team meetings held by team leaders (or organized by the team itself in a self-managed team) in which work problems and areas for innovation and improvement are discussed and agreed (Mabey, Salaman, 1998). Upper, middle and front-line managers have to satisfy the following needs: task needs which means that the group exists to achieve a common purpose or task. The leader's role is to ensure that this purpose is fulfilled. If it is not, they will lose the confidence of the group and the result will be frustration, disenchantment, criticism and, possibly, the ultimate disintegration of the group; group maintenance needs in order to achieve its objectives, the group needs to be held together. The leader's job is to build up and maintain team spirit and morale; and individual needs as individuals have their own needs, which they expect to be satisfied at work. The leader's task is to be aware of these needs so that where necessary they can take steps to harmonize them with the needs of the task and the group (Johnson, 1990). Action learning a method of helping managers at all levels develop their leading talents by exposing them to real problems. They are required to analyse them, formulate recommendations, and then, instead of being satisfied with a report take action. It accords with the belief that managers learn best by doing rather that being taught. The concept of action learning is based on six assumptions: experienced managers have a huge curiosity to know how other managers work. People learn only when they do something, and they learn more the more responsible they feel the task to be. Learning is deepest when it involves the whole person - mind, values, body emotions. The learner knows better than anyone else what he or she has learned. As an effective technique in leadership training "job rotation" can be employed. It aims to broaden experience of upper and middle managers by moving people from job to job or department to department. It can be an inefficient and frustrating method of acquiring additional knowledge and skills unless it is carefully planned and controlled. What has sometimes been referred to as the 'Cook's tour' method of moving trainees from department to department has incurred much justified criticism because of the time wasted by them in locations where no one knew what to do with them or cared (Johnson, 1990). It is better to use the term 'planned sequence of experience' rather than 'job rotation' to emphasize that the experience should be programmed to satisfy a learning specification for acquiring knowledge and skills in different departments and occupations by middle and upper leaders. Success in using this method depends on designing a programme which sets down what trainees are expected to learn in each department or job in which they gain experience. There must also be a suitable person available to see that trainees are given the right experience or opportunity to learn, and arrangements must be made to check progress. In general, it is possible to say that for successful organizational performance managers of all levels (upper, middle and front-line) should be acquainted with three approaches and be able to use them in accordance with changing organizational environment. Nevertheless, upper, middle and front-line managers solve different tasks and special attention in leadership training should be paid to a functional approach for upper and middle managers, and to qualities approach for front-line managers. Action directed at meeting group or individual needs must be related to the needs of the task. It is impossible to consider individuals in isolation from the group or to consider the group without referring to the individuals within it. If any need is neglected, one of the others will suffer and the leader will be less successful. It is possible to conclude that the kind of leadership depend on the environment and, of course, on the actual leader. The qualities of leadership in terms of intelligence, initiative, self-assurance and so on has only limited value. It is more useful to adopt a functional approach and take account of the variables leaders have to deal with, especially the task, the group and their own position relative to the group. References 6. Boehnke, K., Bontis, N. "Transformational leadership: An examination of cross-national differences and similarities." Leadership & Organization Development Journal. Bradford: 2003. Vol. 24, Iss. 1/2; p. 5 7. Johnson, J. "Managing strategic change", British journal of Management., vol.1, 1990, pp.983-990. 8. Lagone, C. A., & Rohs, F. R. Community Leadership Development: Process and Practice. Journal of the Community Development Society, 1993, 26, pp. 252-267 9. Mabey, C., Salaman, G. Strategic Human Resource Management, Blackwell Business, Oxford. 10. Reed A. Innovation in Human Resource Management. Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, 2001. Read More