Leadership - Research Paper Example

? Level 5 Leadership Section Leadership is referred as the community influence of an individual among others in order to accumulate large number ofindividuals which might be beneficial to accomplish a common objective of an organization. Leadership style is an inherent quality of an individual which facilitates in encouraging members to attain a particular aim or vision of a specific group or leader. Leaders or leadership styles might be beneficial or detrimental for an organizational front. In addition, it can be revealed as an art which in order to motivate a group of individuals is followed with specific guidance of a leader to achieve a common aim. There are varied types of leadership styles which are commonly followed in an organization such as autocratic style, participative style, free-rein or Laissez-faire and toxic leadership styles among others. Level 5 leadership is a style of management which is the highest level in an organizational hierarchy of executives. It is one of the significant types of leadership which is essential for enhancement of productivity and profitability of an organization. Moreover, it is also necessary to improve its position in the market among others. ‘Level 5 leadership style’ is a type which might facilitate to alter an organization’s condition and reputation in the market. According to Collins (2001), a Level 5 Leadership style is utilized by diverse organizations in order to fabricate enduring prominence through a paradoxical merge of individual humility and proficient will. These are certain inherent qualities of an individual which are essential to improve the condition of an organization in this modern era. In addition, in order to sustain in the age of globalization and industrialization, level 5 leaders are always significant to any organization. It paves the path of an organization to become excellent from the position of best among others in the market. Moreover, Collins also observed that along with organizational transformation, the employees are also undergoing certain specific alterations in order to improve their efficiency and effectiveness. This would augment to enhance organizational as well as employee productivity (Collins, 2001, pp.17). Apart from these, level 5 leadership style also deals with recruitment of accurate employees in order to enhance the image and the position of an organization in the marketplace. As the employees or workers are fundamental sources of an organization, exact enrollment is very vital. This is because it is the employees who are primarily responsible for the betterment of the organization in the long run. Furthermore, apposite environmental culture is also the other essential ingredient responsible for organizational success as well as a prime objective of ‘level 5 leadership style’. A uniform organizational culture can provide consistency and stability among the workers thereby improving the morale and the satisfaction towards work (Collins, 2001, pp. 17). Thus, in order to maintain a pleasant environmental culture, it is essential for level 5 leaders to be modest, determined, to have fierce tenacity, communication ability, motivational ability and propensity to offer recognition to other co-members. Apart from these, the level 5 leaders should also incorporate honesty, humility, ambition and strong will-power in order to resolve any problem. Moreover, level 5 leaders always attempt to work for the organizational benefits rather than personal ones. Thus, the above discussed characteristics of level 5 leaders help to enhance the growth and development of an organization in the long run (Collins, 2001). Level 5 leadership style is different from other prevalent leadership styles. This is because in authoritative leadership style, the leaders force the members to follow their guidelines or regulations while resolving any problem whereas in case of participative leadership styles, mutual discussion is taken in order to solve any dilemma. The other important leadership style followed in many organizations is that of Laissez faire or free-rein. In this type of leadership style, the decisions regarding any problem are thoroughly left on the employees without any interference of a leader. However, level 5 leadership style considers a type of manager who incorporates all types of qualities which compel an employee to get attracted towards him/her. Thus, these aspects differentiate a level 5 leader from others leadership styles. Hence, from the above discussion, it can be evidently depicted that level 5 leadership style is highly desired for in order to sustain in this era of competitiveness. Thus, the importance of level 5 leadership style can be understood in an efficient and effective way. Section 2 Level 5 leadership style is an essential factor for an organization, as it is responsible for the organizational growth and escalation. The level 5 leaders along with depicting personality traits of humility and determination help to resolve the disputes in a friendly way. Moreover, level 5 leadership style recommends that personal skills are driven by needs. Level 5 Leadership is more reliable to individual synergistics as compared to others. It affirms that it is the personal skills which enable an individual to fulfill his/her dream or vision of life rather than competence. Thus, these types of behavioral characteristics encourage other employees as well as motivate them resulting in improvement of internal environment of an organization. Gillette is one of the significant examples of an organization that involves level 5 leadership style. In the year 1975, Colman Mockler became the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Gillette, and he was considered to be one of the noteworthy level 5 leaders. Mr. Mockler joined the organization of Gillette as staff associate after serving for the post of a controller in General Electric Company. Besides due to his high personality traits, very soon he was promoted as the Vice President of the organization i.e. in the year 1967, and then to ‘Senior Vice President. Later, he was promoted to the post of Executive Vice President and Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors in the year 1975. He remained in the organization for a considerable period, since 1975 to 1991 (Collins, 2001, pp.57-60). During his time at Gillette, the organization faced three fierce attacks, which might have even smeared off the company, but Colman Mockler managed the threat in an efficient way. Among three situations, the first two were from the reputed Revlon Group as a proposal of takeover and the other was from an investment management group, named Coniston Partners. The investment management organization already purchased 5.9 percent of Gillette stocks and as a result, a conflict rose among Gillette and the investment firm. The conflict was resolved in an efficient way by Colman Mockler which finally led to a friendly deal. Apart from these, due to high ambition and professional potency, Colman Mockler became successful to protect the organization from the three imminent external threats. In addition, due to high assiduousness and confidence, Colman Mockler reduced the threats and transformed the weaknesses into strengths for the organization. It became highly beneficial for the growth and development of the organization, Gillette in the market among benefits (Collins, 2001). Moreover, during the working period of Colman Mockler, there were significant improvements among the workers’ internal and technical skills which proved beneficial for Gillette as well as the employees. As a result, the efficiency and competence of the workers also enhanced significantly thereby enhancing the productivity of the organization as well. In addition, in the year 1991, Gillette was ranked in the 20th position in the Fortune’s list of top organizations, which proved to be rather one of the noteworthy incidents on organizational front. Thus, Gillette proved itself to be one of the branded organizations in the sector of consumer durables in the market (Mahalo.Com Incorporated, 2012). Furthermore, it also marked its position as a strong competitor in the sector of personal care division as well with varied ranges of products. Thus, the working period of Colman Mockler was one of the considerable periods in the history of Gillette which rather paved its path for success. Hence, Colman Mockler was a typical example of level 5 leader. Therefore, it can be evidently affirmed that Colman Mockler’s term of work proved advantageous for the organization of Gillette. Section 3 Level 5 leadership style is one of the most well-known and significant types of leadership followed for the betterment of any organization or individual level as compared to others. The personal leadership style which I possess is participative and democratic. Due to this type of leadership style, I always attempt to resolve any issue through individual or group decision making. As a result, all the members get an opportunity to offer vital opinions or to participate in the decision making process, which rather proves quite beneficial. Moreover, it also helps me, by enhancing my skills and knowledge base, which facilitates in improving my productivity and efficiency in work. In addition, as large number of members’ offers diverse opinions, so the issues get resolved in a synchronized and harmonious way. It also reduces conflicts among the friends and colleagues thereby improving the interpersonal relationship among the members of the group. In addition, due to my participative personality trait, I also encourage many of my friends to share assorted ideas and beliefs regarding any difficult situation. This improves morale and confidence of my friends thereby improving their engagement towards work. Apart from these, the communication also improves leading to high level of support to achieve the final objectives. It also provides a better understanding of the issues and offers pertinent decision-making and an excellent relation can also be retained among the friends which might prove beneficial in the long run. Thus, from the above discussion about Colman Mockler, the CEO of Gillette, it can be revealed that personal traits are more valuable as compared to others. This helps to improve organizational as well as individual perspectives. Hence, an individual should include a strong will along with a modest attitude in order to become successful in the long run. In addition, if these traits are utilized in the organization, where I am employed then it might enhance its productivity and profitability as well. Moreover, the internal organizational culture can also be enhanced. In order to overcome the alternating challenges and problems, it is essential to include a strong determination and a humble attitude. It would improve the confidence and the dedication towards work. Hence, it might prove beneficial to become successful in the future. The application of level 5 leadership style would certainly make a difference in my personal traits as it would improve the level of confidence and fortitude, which is highly essential to cope up with the future challenges. References Collins, J. (2001). Level 5 leadership: The triumph of humility and fierce resolve. Retrieved from http://www.sturgesspurtill.com.au/library/Leadership.pdf Collins, J. (2001). Good to great: why some companies make the leap…. and others don’t. New York: Harper Business. pp. 8-61. Mahalo.Com Incorporated. (2012). The best a man can get" gillette's slogan. Retrieved from http://www.mahalo.com/gillette/ Read More