The leadership theories and personal leadership style - Essay Example

Determining Your Perfect Position Paper 1. Introduction The leadership characteristics of individuals are not standardized; the professional and educational background is usually a key factor influencing the leadership capabilities of people worldwide. At the same time, the personal view can highly influence the decisions of people as members of various social groups, either related to economic or social activities. In this context, determining the perfect position, in terms of leadership capabilities, can be a challenging task. My leadership style, as influencing my perfect position in the workplace, is presented in this paper. Reference is made to leadership theories, as applied in social and business life internationally. Personal leadership approach is presented and evaluated in order to decide which would be the position in which I would perform more successfully, that is which would be my Perfect Position in the workplace. 2. Leadership theories and personal leadership style Different approaches have been developed in the literature for explaining the decisions of leaders. These approaches are based on different social or economic conditions. This means that the leadership style of each individual is unique; still, it seems that similarities in regard to the leadership styles of individuals cannot be avoided. 2.1 Key leadership theories The leadership style of people worldwide is evaluated using different criteria. According to Northouse (2009) the leadership style of an individual can be judged by referring to the level at which the particular individual ‘concerns for people or performs in regard to the production process’ (Northouse 2009, p.73). The above leadership approach is incorporated in the ‘Leadership Grid model’ (Northouse 2009, p.73) and includes five different leadership styles, such as ‘the authority-compliance and the team management’ (Northouse 2009, p.73). In the context of the Vroom-Jago Leadership model, there are five different leadership styles, depending on ‘the potentials of a leader’s subordinates to participate in key activities’ (Hellriegel and Slocum 2007, p.225). From a similar point of view, DuBrin (2008) emphasizes on the differentiation between the participative and the authoritarian leadership styles; the first allows subordinates to participate in the decision making process while the second reflects the power of the leader to decide alone, i.e. without being influenced by the views of his subordinates (DuBrin 2008, p.348). On the other hand, Wright (2009) noted that leadership styles could be divided into six major categories: ‘visionary, coaching, affiliative, democratic, pacesetting and commanding’ (Wright 2009, p.237). Using the above distinction of leadership styles, I would characterize my personal leadership style as visionary, a leadership style that has certain characteristics. Indeed, the visionary leader tend to focus ‘on the values of individuals’ (Wright 2009, p.237) and tries to continuously inspire individuals in order ‘to achieve long-term goals’ (Wright 2009, p.237). From a similar point of view, Cameron and Green (2012) note that the key characteristic of the visionary leader is his ability to set long – term goals, i.e. to plan for the future, and not only for present. At the same time, it is made clear that the visionary leader can ‘inspire trust to subordinates’ (Cameron and Green 2012, p.158). At the same time, Riggio and Orr (2004) explain that a visionary leader is characterized by ‘high enthusiasm and integrity’ (Riggio and Orr 2004, p.225); such leader is also expected to focus ‘on empowering subordinates and sharing his vision’ (Riggio and Orr 2004, p.225). These characteristics of visionary leader will be evaluated, as related to my personal behavior in order to verify whether my leadership style is a visionary leadership style or not. 2.2 Personal leadership style, as related to leadership theories I have been working in a quite challenging sector, the US Army, for over 20 years. In the particular sector there are not many chances for such a leadership style to survive, at least up to now. Indeed, in the past, the commanding style has been the most common leadership style developed in the US Army at the level that, in most cases, orders had to be followed without set any doubts, meaning that in the particular sector followers are not particularly capable of presenting their own views in regard to the methods used for handling a combat. It should be noted though that the above phenomenon is mostly related to ‘the Old Army’, an area where the development of initiatives by followers is strongly criticized. In the ‘New Army’ the visionary leadership can be highly developed, under the terms that ‘this Army’ is open to changes and does not allow the excessive use of doctrines. Also, in this ‘New Army’ the power of leaders to decide is reduced, meaning that in the ‘New Army’ leaders need to justify their decisions and are obliged to promote the personal development of soldiers, as this development is mostly achieved through lessons achieved at war but also through training that it is constantly changed. Personally, I believe that the empowerment of followers should be a key part of leadership; followers should be treated as equals, meaning that a leader should be able to share his vision and urge his followers to achieve a high range of long-term goals. In the past, I had to follow, strictly, orders without having any power to set my concerns, i.e. I was exposed to a Commanding Leadership Style; gradually, in missions where the cooperation with colleagues has been necessary I have also used the Democratic Leadership Style, a fact that indicates my willingness to accept changes, as necessary, so that goals are achieved. In addition, there have been many times that I’ve sacrificed by time in order to help others. In fact, I would gladly help others showing sympathy, where necessary, on the basis that problems need to be shared so that they are faced more effectively. Still, I would not hesitate to impose punishment, when necessary; in other words, I believe that for modern leaders sympathy is equally important as fairness. In addition, I tend to be enthusiastic, being in good mood most of the time, believing that being optimistic can often help to overcome severe problems. 2.3 Advantages and disadvantages of personal leadership approach As noted above, my personal leadership style is the visionary leadership. The particular leadership style has certain advantages and disadvantages, which should be taken into consideration for evaluating the potentials of this leadership style to help towards my professional development in the future. The advantages of the visionary leadership style would be the following ones: a) it helps to build trust and cooperation between the leader and his followers (Cameron and Green 2012), b) it increases the performance of followers, in the context that followers are urged to participate in the decision making process (Riggio and Orr 2004), c) it can secure the achievement of long – term goals (Wright 2009). On the other hand, the visionary leadership style has also certain disadvantages: a) it is based on the condition that followers are willing to contribute in the achievement of the long-term goals as set by the leader (Cameron and Green 2012), b) it may not be feasible in organizations where the work of individual is more valued than the team work (Wright 2009). In other words, the visionary leadership can highly support the achievement of organizational goals, in case that this leadership style is used in the workplace, but its use is not guaranteed, meaning the case that the internal organizational environment does not allow the use of such leadership style. 2.4 Determining perfect position According to the issues developed above, my Perfect position would be a role through which I could empower and coach people; at the same time, the above position would allow me to share my vision. In any case, I would prefer to supervise people so that I would be more capable of helping them. Although I have been used in handling emergent problems, I would prefer to work in a position where emergencies are not a common phenomenon. Possible, a non-for-profit organization would allow me to develop by visionary leadership style, as explained above; the role of the supervisor in such organization would also allow me to empower people but also to help people, at the level that these organizations are highly involved in the support of various social needs, either at the level of state or locally. Another position that would allow me to develop my visionary leadership style would be the administration department of a community service; reference is made again to a supervisory role that would allow me to help people and share my vision. 3. Conclusion The potentials of leaders to use their skills can be differentiated, being influenced by the needs and the challenges of their environment. Personally, I believe that the leadership style can highly affect the performance of businesses or social groups worldwide. Moreover, it has been proved that people, as members of organizations or social groups, tend to support leaders who like to share their vision and who empower their followers. In this context, the achievement of long-term goals is more feasible when using a leadership style that values followers, as key contributors in the achievement of these goals. My preference for the visionary leadership style, as related to my personal beliefs in regard to the appropriate behavior of a leader in the workplace, leads me to specific position: I would rather choose a supervisory position in an organization involved in the support of the public, especially in terms of safety since the specific subject is related to my work experience. In any case, the Perfect position would be a position that would allow me to empower and to help people, ensuring that fairness and equality are not threatened. References Cameron, E., and Green, M. (2012) Making Sense of Change Management: A Complete Guide to the Models Tools and Techniques of Organizational Change. London: Kogan Page Publishers. DuBrin, A. (2008) Essentials of Management. Belmont: Cengage Learning. Hellriegel, D., and Slocum, J. (2007) Organizational Behavior. Belmont: Cengage Learning. Northouse, P. (2009) Leadership: Theory and Practice. London: SAGE. Riggio, R., and Orr, S. (2004) Improving Leadership in Nonprofit Organizations. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. Wright, M. (2009) Gower Handbook of Internal Communication. Surrey: Gower Publishing Read More