Leadership Styles and Traits - Term Paper Example

Leadership styles and traits Introduction Leadership has become a critical issue within the broader context of organizational imperatives and social consciousness. The fundamental principle of leadership relies on having followers who are motivated for higher performance that are achieved through hard work and delivered with ethical considerations. McShane (2003) says that leaders have vision, perseverance and capacity to inspire others. Indeed, in the contemporary environment of cut throat business, the role of leaders and leadership within the organizations becomes one of the most critical aspects of competitive advantage. Hence, leadership inputs of the organizations greatly facilitate in turning risks into opportunities to be exploited. The paper would therefore be discussing the various leadership qualities and styles of leaders that not only enhance the organizational performance but also create a motivated workforce. Leadership styles Leadership is integral part of human interaction and promotes a flexible approach to the changing dynamics of the organizational scope and processes. Indeed, the leaders within the organization exploit the personality traits of the workforce to maximize performance outcome. The four major styles of leadership would be discussed: situational leadership; transformational leadership; participative leadership; and charismatic leadership. These leadership styles not only judiciously exploit the competencies of the followers but also ensure that they are equipped with necessary knowledge to meet the challenges of time. Situational leadership Sjostrand and Tyrstrup (2001) strongly believe that one needs to ‘approach managerial leadership as a relational, ongoing social construction process rather than as a single clear cut phenomenon’. In the current environment of advancing technology and rapid globalization, change has become an intrinsic part of business dynamics. The leaders adopt flexible approach to inspire and motivate the workforce to accept the change as challenges to improve performance. Lord MacLaurin of Tesco is an excellent example of such leadership, who has encouraged his workforce to move with times to overcome the challenges of fast changing technologies and changing equations of business (Tesco). His leadership initiatives have provided Tesco with distinct leverage against their rivals and helped it to gain a niche market position. Transformational leadership This type of leadership greatly empowers the followers to make decisions based on informed choices and thereby start exhibiting traits of leaders themselves. Indeed, Burn (1978) asserts that it builds relationship that stimulates and helps convert the followers into effective leaders and often transforms the leaders into moral agents. This is interesting because it promotes leadership traits amongst the followers so that they are able to make critical decisions independently at the time of crisis. Great leaders like Martin Luther King and Gandhi have demonstrated such leadership styles and inspired the masses to fight against social injustices. Participative leadership This is the most favored styles of contemporary leaders, especially organizational leadership. It promotes collective decision making and trust building processes as major drivers of change that are used to improve and improvise productivity. Tannenbaum & Schmidt (1973) argue that leaders use effective communication to share organizational vision, mission and goals with the workforce. They thus, facilitate a more accommodating approach to changing dynamics of business compulsions. Prince, CEO of Citigroup had displayed participative leadership when he took over the stewardship of the company. He promoted innovative approach and provided the workforce with continuous learning for optimal performance. He diligently created visions and goals for the organization and inspired the workforce to work towards achieving them (Paine, 2008). It is especially relevant in the context of globalization which has promoted a multi-cultural work environment, comprising of people coming from different race, color and culture. They learn to interact with each other without racial prejudices. Thus, leaders are able to take the risks and at the same time, inculcate confidence in their followers to move forward. Charismatic leadership Northouse (2004:171) says that charismatic leaders have strong personality who emphasize ‘articulation of ideological goals with moral overtones; and (4) high expectation of followers and confidence that they will meet these expectations’. It promotes the concept of role model amongst the followers for zealous support of its defined ideologies. Russel Simmons (2007), proponent of Hip Hop culture in America is scintillating example of charismatic leaders. He has exploited the cultural dynamics of Hip Hop phenomenon of the black community to address their myriad problems. Leadership traits Kouzes and Posner (2007) have asserted that four major traits of leaders vis-à-vis honesty; forward looking; inspiring; and competency are critical paradigms of leaders that cut across gender, race, culture and nationality. These qualities hugely help the leaders to gain the trust of the followers who willingly follow them. Honesty It is found to be the most desirable characteristic of leaders that inspires committed following. Honest leaders are associated with ethics and moral values. It not only gives them a distinct credibility in the eyes of their followers but also gives credence to their ideological perspectives of issues. They set high standard of ethics and integrity which encourages the followers to trust them. Forward looking People expect their leaders to have vision that can be effectively communicated to the followers for the wider welfare of the organization and the people at large. The capacity of leaders, to look forward to the future so as to anticipate and exploit new avenues of opportunities, is considered to be important issues within leadership traits. Ashkanasy et al (2002: 317) stress that leaders have ‘the ability to read emotions in one’s self and in others, and to be able to use this information to guide decision-making’. They provide an intangible stability among the workforce coming from diverse socio-cultural background and facilitate their integration with the system. Hence, leaders instill confidence amongst the followers and provides them with impetus to move forward even during tough conditions. Inspiring The leaders are equipped with inherent zeal to challenge the process and creatively explore new dimensions of growth, both organizational and personal. Indeed, people observe and imbibe qualities that help them to evolve as an individual with strong character. Leaders are therefore able to inspire their followers to be more confident and make decisions based on informed choices. Competent Leaders competency refers to ‘leader’s track record and ability to get things done’ (Kouzes and Posner; 35). The leadership competency is broadly experience based that provides the leaders with necessary knowledge to act appropriately under different situations. Leaders excel in their capacity to bring about changes in other people. They do not have to be technical expert to contribute positively to productive outcome of technology based organization. Understanding the hidden dynamics of human relationship helps the leadership to build a culture of mutual respect and shared learning that not only boosts self confidence of the workforce but also significantly influences organizational outcome. Thus, leaders realize the importance of human relationship and treat human resource as human capital that has potential to achieve great things. Conclusion One can therefore, conclude that effective leadership is highly stimulating and encourages an ongoing learning process within and outside the precincts of organization goals and objectives. It is developed through experience and proactive participation of the leaders and the followers. Indeed, good leaders use self example to promote trust and mutual respect which has become a crucial issue within the emerging new multicultural societies. The leaders promote cross cultural understanding and are able to exploit their cultural competencies for the wider welfare of the organization. Indeed, merely having leadership traits is not enough until it is accompanied by experience that judiciously uses those traits to influence the outcome of a situation. The leadership that learns through experience becomes the enabling factor of organization and helps provide it with competitive advantage. Hence, leadership initiatives have become extremely relevant part of organizational success. (words: 1269) Reference Ashkanasy, N. Hartel, C. and Daus, C. (2002). Diversity and emotion: The new frontiers in organizational behavior research. Journal of management, 28 (3), 307-338. Burns, J.M. (1978). Leadership. New York: Harper Row. Kouzes, James M and Posner, Barry Z. (2007). The Leadership Challenge. 4th Ed. Jossey Bass publishers. McShane. (2003). Leadership and Management. Study guide. Northouse, P.G. (2004). Leadership: Theory and Practice (3rd Edition). London: Sage Publications Ltd. Paine, Lynn Sharp., Knocp, Carin Isabel and Sesia, Aldo Jr. (August 2008). Leading Citigroup. Harvard Business School. Simmons, Russell. (2007). Do You! 12 Laws to Access the Power in You to Achieve Happiness and Empowerment. Gotham Books. Sjostrand, S and Tyrstrup, M. 2001. ‘Recognized and unrecognized managerial leadership’, in invisible management – The social construction of leadership. S Sjostrand, J Sandberg and M Tyrstrup (eds.). Thomson. pp 1-27. Tannenbaum, R. & Schmidt, W. (1973). How to Choose a leadership Pattern. Harvard Business Review, May-June 1973, No. 73311 (originally published in March-April 1958 issue). Tesco. Retrieved from: Read More