Leadership - Advantages and Disadvantages of Working in Teams - Essay Example

?Question a) Yes, I believe that a person who is not a ‘born leader’ still has a chance of becoming an effective leader. Leadership qualities and skills can be acquired through learning and interacting with other leaders. There are many instances of the ordinary people with no reputation of leadership qualities go on to become a successful and effective leader. Also the various situations and challenges that people go through life helps them acquire leadership qualities. This claim is best supported by behavioral leadership theories. According to the behavioral leadership theories, leaders are not born but made. This theory concentrates on the behavior of the individual and not on the personal traits or skills. Behavior theory suggests that people through teaching and observation can be come great leaders. Some examples of successful leaders who were not known for their leadership qualities but when to become leaders by learning are Gurubaksh Chahal (Internet Entrepreneur) and Che Guevara. Gurubaksh Chahal today is successful entrepreneur known to be a very good leader. But while growing up he was a silent kid and did not seem to have any leadership qualities. He himself has said that he has picked up leadership qualities along the way. The same is true with Che Guevara. He is said to have acquired the leadership qualities when he travelled through out South America as a medical student. Hence, an effective leader can be developed. b) Vroom-Yetton Contingency Model is aimed at suggesting a leadership style to be used while decision making. It helps a leader in determining the amount participation of team members that he should use during decision making. This contingency model unlike other contingency model is normative, suggesting the leaders when to be participative or directive. The benefits of using consultative, democratic or authoritative styles during making a decision are identified by this model. According to the model, there are five decision making forms: A1: The decision is made by the leader alone with the knowledge of the available information. A2: In this style, the leader makes the decision himself but gathers the information needed to make the decision from his subordinates. The reason for requesting the information of the problem is not discussed or revealed to the subordinates. C1: The subordinates are involved in this style. The leader discusses or shares the problem with his subordinates. The interaction is at an individual level. But the decision is still made by the leader which may or may not include the views of his subordinates. C2: The subordinates are involved here to, but the interaction here is not on an individual basis. The leader shares and discusses the problem with the subordinates in a group meeting. Their suggestions and ideas are obtained but may or may not be used in decision making by the leader. G: In this style the subordinates are actively involved in the decision making. The leader explains the problem to the group and final decision is made by the group. The leader here only facilitates the meeting (discussion) but in no way influences the final decision. A leader can decide on the right leadership style by answering the following questions: Is the quality requirement of the decision high? That is, the importance of the decision’s technical quality. Do you have the necessary information to make the decision yourself? Does the problem have a proper structure? How important is the acceptance of the decision by the subordinates? That is, are they important for the effective implementation? If you make the decision by yourself, are you certain that the decision will be accepted by your subordinates? Do the subordinates same enthusiasm and commitment towards achieving organizational goals (achieved by solving the problem in question) as you do? Is there a likely possibility of a conflict over preferred solutions? A real life example of Vroom-Yetton Contingency Model at work is the 360 degree employee evaluation process. In this process, an employee is evaluated based on the feedback from every quarter of the organization possible. The A2 leadership style is used here. The leader or the manager gathers all the information that he needs from his subordinates and then make the decision himself. The problem or the purpose is not discussed here. Question 2 a) Following are the different types and source of power: Legitimate power is the power as a result of the position of the individual. The source of the power is the position. For example, coaches have the power to make the decision on who plays and managers have the power to assign work. The position that they hold are the sources of power. Coercive power is the power obtained due to the fear of punishments. The source of the power is fear. A manager possesses coercive power as the employees fear the manager. Reward Power is the opposite of power as it is obtained by the ability to reward. A manager has the ability to reward employees for what they have done. The ability to reward is the source of reward power. Expert power is the power gained through the experience, expertise and knowledge. The source of expert power is skill and knowledge. Referent power is the power obtained as a result of others identifying with a leader. The source of referent power is the association with the powerful. Charismatic power is the power obtained by the personal characteristics or traits of an individual. This is a personal type of information when compared to other types of power. The source of charismatic power is the personal self. b) Transformational leaders are those who inspire and motivate their followers. They are able to get the best out of their followers by motivating them to act beyond normal exchange framework. Satisfying the higher needs of their followers is their primary concern. They are always on look out for potential motives that strikes a chord with the followers and use this to achieve a mutual higher need. They are able to have their followers to engage completely without promising any personal favors but a greater benefit for all. Charismatic power is the most prominent in transformational leaders. This is because transformational leaders do not promise any rewards or punish their followers. They purely motivate their followers with their charisma and by doing what they preach. It is they personal characteristics that inspire others to follow them. They are able to motivate their followers to work towards a goal that might not involve self interest. Transactional leaders are those who follow an approach of reward and punishment. They are aware of the link between the reward and effort. They motivate their followers by promising them to reward them for their efforts or punish them if they fail to perform. The needs (mainly economical and psychic) of the followers are identified and are promised to be fulfilled for the services that they render. Coercive power and reward power are more prominent in transactional leaders. This is because, as explained above the leaders motivate their followers to perform either by promising them rewards or fear of punishment. c) Mahatma Gandhi is a great example of a transformational leader. He had all the qualities of a transformational leader. He motivated and inspired people to follow him by satisfying their needs. He was inclined towards the higher purpose and never did he ride on the needs of power. The main sources of power that he used to influence his followers were charismatic power and referent power. He developed personal traits that motivate the people around him and those who followed him. He lived by his principles and just did not preach but also acted on his ideology. He surrounded himself with those with power and leadership qualities. By being around with leaders he was identified by many initially as a leader. Question 4 a) Advantages of working in teams: Creativity quotient will be high lead to more ideas and in turn higher performance and results. Motivation will be high in a team Possibilities of empowerment available in teams is not available individually Complex projects can be easily implemented Individual weakness will be compensate by others in the team resulting in a balance Working in teams increases the confidence level of individuals Better communication and relationship among employees Disadvantages of working in teams: Too many ideas and views might lead to confusions Arguments and discussions can get prolonged resulting in poor performance Ego clashes are possible in a group Communication between different teams can be minimal and leading to negative competition Forming an effective team is not easy as individuals not just have to fit the job requirement but also be compatible with the team Team management is an added responsibility and consumes a lot of time. Read More