What makes a good leader using Advocate leadership style - Research Paper Example

? Topic: Lecturer: Presentation: Leadership in organizations is very crucial as it determines the success of the organization. Leadership entails setting direction and influencing people towards accomplishment of the set goals. There are many types of leadership styles such as the idealists, mentors, enthusiasts, diplomats, achievers, innovators and advocates. This paper is going to be concerned with advocacy style which is the strongest from of leadership. Advocates are committed to accomplish whatever mission they have set out using all the available means. They take responsibility for failure and share success and would suffer for the sake of the group. The paper is going to argue that a leader using advocacy leadership style which is the norm in the social work can become a good leader by being assertive, dedicated, humble, flexible and able to use different strategies to get results. In addition he must possess skills such as capacity to inspire, communication skills, leading by example, self-awareness, able to manage conflict among others. Introduction Every successful organization has a successful leader behind it. The problem is that there has not been an agreement among theorists as to what constitutes successful leadership. The trait theorists would argue that it is the innate qualities of leaders that make them successful; the behaviorists would argue that it is the behavioral characteristics that make a leader to be effective while still others believe that effective leaders possess certain skills. For ages, we have heard many individuals from different organizations being named as great leaders; for example, Bill Gates and Nelson Mandela. What is leadership and what makes these leaders effective? This is what this paper will try to answer using the advocate leadership style. Effective Leadership Leadership is defined by Stanfield (2009 p. 5) as “directing behavior of others towards accomplishment of some common objective”. In other words, it is the ability to influence others towards an accomplishment of some set goal. Leadership is often used interchangeably with management or administration but the two concepts mean two different things. While leadership involves influencing people, management involves planning, organizing and controlling. A good manager needs to be a good leader but a good leader does not necessarily have to be a manager. Some people become leaders due to their power to influence or charisma and not because they have management skills. However, good management skills can help in becoming an effective leader. Organizations require good leaders in order to function effectively and beat competition. There are many types of leadership in organizations such as the idealists, diplomats, mentors, achievers, innovators, enthusiasts, and advocates (Northouse, 2010). All of them have different styles of leading but the focus will be on the advocates. The advocate type of leaders according to Kirst-Ashman and Hull (2012, p. 207) are highly committed to the goals of the organization and are most of the times skilled administrators. These are the strongest leaders in any organization as they handle a great deal of responsibility without being too dominating. Moreover, they take their responsibility very seriously and would go to great heights to ensure organizational goals or the group missions are achieved (Stanfield, 2009). They are thus willing to suffer for the sake of the team provided they get to where they are heading to. They also do not avoid conflicts and take tasks head on. They are willing to take responsibility for any failures or mistakes but when it comes to achievements, they are shared among all members. Kirst-Ashman and Hull (2012) also consider such leaders as straight-forward and have great concern for the well being of all members in the organization. All these attribute make advocates great leaders and their style is most needed especially in social work where great deal of advocacy is required. So what makes a good leader using the advocate style of leadership? Advocacy according to Kirst-Ashman and Hull (2012) is a tradition in social work and the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) ethical codes makes it a duty for social workers to engage in advocacy. This entails respecting the worth and dignity of every person and our rights as part of society (p. 402). In social work, there are many groups of population that are considered as population-at-risk and through advocacy; the social workers ensure such groups are not disadvantaged. This entails opposing the efforts by groups to determine what is normal. The work involves a lot of controversy and confrontations thus good leadership is required if goals have to be accomplished and if dignity and worth of those individuals at risk is to be preserved. Trait theorists would argue that such leaders have innate qualities that make them effective. In fact, many people consider social workers to have certain characteristics that make them good such as caring abilities. One of the qualities that make advocates good leaders is assertiveness (Schein, 2010). This is the ability of the leader to set a clear goal for the followers to know what is expected of them and in turn know what is expected of him. Kirst-Ashman and Hull (2012) note that advocacy produces changes in any system. To produce the desirable change assertiveness is needed. The advocate expresses his or her opinion confidently without fear of making enemies. Leaders are not supposed to be nice all the time to avoid being swayed by the crowd or administrators as this would mean ignoring the real injustices being committed. Making enemies from time to time due to standing up to their opinion is desirable as these enemies later become friends or allies in future endeavors (Northouse, 2010). These are the same people when they need something done will come to the advocate leader for assistance since they are aware of the effect of his or her style. It is thus an asset when seeking changes in the system. Another quality that makes advocates good leaders is dedication. These leaders are very dedicated to their work and have an inner drive to accomplish their mission no matter the circumstances (Stanfield, 2009). For example, a social worker needs to advocate for his clients rights in whatever manner necessary even if it means going to court provided the client’s well-being is maintained. The aim of any organization is to accomplish its set vision and this requires a leader who is dedicated otherwise the vision and goals may never be accomplished. The leader is bound to face many difficulties in the way but being dedicated, he becomes a role model to followers who follow suit that achieving the desired results. Another quality required of good advocacy leaders especially in social work is humility. Humility entails treating everyone equal and not using one’s position to oppress others (Schein, 2010). One of the principles of macro level advocacy according to Kirst-Ashman and Hull (2012, p. 406) is increasing accessibility to social services to clients and working to ensure equal access to all who are eligible. They also have to promote service delivery that doesn’t compromise the dignity of the groups served. This role thus requires a lot of humility if success is to be achieved. Some leaders take advantage of their position to humiliate others or seek favors but an advocate needs to be humble to achieve his goals. Besides these qualities, an advocate leader must possess certain attributes that make him or her good leader. First, he/she must be flexible (Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2012). It is good to be sometimes difficult and other times soft depending on the situation so as to accomplish goals. The leader must select an appropriate behavior at the appropriate time. The leader also accepts that it is not always that one wins; sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose (P. 407). A s such, the advocate can use his/her efforts to stop bad changes from occurring although he /she may not achieve the ultimate goal and live to fight another day. Moreover, use of different strategies to accomplish goals makes the leader more effective. For example, a social worker can engage in negotiations, mediation and collaborative work to ensure whatever mission is to be accomplished is delivered. They do not give up if one strategy fails but push on. For advocacy leadership style to work, a variety of skills are required. First, they must identify the target for change be it policies and procedures. This helps to set the vision and strategies to achieve that vision hence set right direction for followers. Another key skill is the capacity to inspire followers (Burke & Cooper). They inspire people by setting firm direction and acting as a role model. Furthermore, they are very committed to their work and this has capacity to inspire others. The leader should also be able to bring in new perspectives and ideas especially use of technology. This widens the scope of knowledge hence can gain expert power and great following and trust. Being self-aware is vital as it enables the leader to evaluate own ideas and modify them if necessary. Another crucial skill is effective communication and conflict management. Every leader must be able to communicate his ideas effectively so that others can understand and buy in (Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2012; Neldaspinks, 1995). The clarity of ideas is very important as it determines which ideas will be put into action. The leader in this case, must also listen to others and accept other people’s opinions so they can feel valued and gain ownership of the innovations or changes taking place. Conflicts are inevitable in any organization especially where the leader is very firm. Being able to manage conflict and create a balance between differing interests makes an advocate a good leader. Conclusion Leadership is the ability to influence others towards accomplishment of a set goal. It is very important in any organization aspiring to be successful and competitive. Leaders apply different styles while leading and the type of leadership determines the amount of following one gets and how goals are accomplished. A leader can be an idealist, diplomat, achiever, innovator or advocate. Advocacy is mostly used in the social work field where clients’ needs need to be fully taken care of. Various theories try to explain what makes a leader good or effective. Some believe it is the traits, others the behavior and others attribute it to certain skills. There are various traits, behavior and skills that make a good leader using the advocate leadership style. These include assertiveness, dedication, humility, and flexibility, being able to use different strategies to accomplish goals, good communication skills, leading by example, self-awareness and good conflict management skills among others. References Burke, R. and Cooper, C. 2006. Inspiring Leaders. New York: Routledge. Kirst-Ashman, K.K and Hull, G.H (2012) Generalist Practice with Organizations and Communities. 5th ed. Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole. Neldaspinks, W.B. (1995). Quality Communication: A Key to Quality Leadership. Training for Quality Journal. Vol. 3(2) pp.14-19. Northouse, P.G (2010) Leadership: Theory and Practice. 5th ed. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage, Inc Schein, E.H (2010) Organizational Culture and Leadership. 4th ed. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons. Stanfield, A.W (2009) Defining Effective Leadership: Lead in Whatever You Do. Oklahoma: Read More