Motivating and Rewarding Employees - Term Paper Example

Group Development This paper seeks to help a director of school to understand the importance of involving other members of the organization in leadership; in pursuit to achieve the goals of the organization. The paper will highlight the duties of the director and ways in which the director can involve other members of staff to perform his or her duties effectively and efficiently. We shall also look at the various leadership skills that the director can employ in leading the group of organization towards achieving its goals. We shall briefly highlight the theories of groups and use them to come up with a plan for effective group leadership. This paper is mainly meant to establish a workable leadership plan that a director can employ in performing his or her duties. The paper puts into consideration works done by other scholars and how some of their ideas can help build the plan in question. The plan will have a structure that will contain the background factors to be considered in making the plan; the leadership style that the plan will capitalize on; the stages of development of the plan and the factors to consider such as the limitations of the plan and the possible critics of the same. INTRODUCTION As a director of school, one ought to follow some sort of framework or ideologies in order to perform his or her duties satisfactory. It is important that one understand the duties he is expected to perform at his or her position so that he can achieve the goal of the organization that he or she is directing as well as his personal goals. In order to fulfill the duties of school director, a director must be present at the school during most of its operating hours and shall have designated someone with sufficient authority to function as director in his/her absence. This is to say that the director should be able to delegate duties responsibly even when he or she is not in a position to make an appearance at the school (Lawson 3-4). It is therefore important for students interested in venturing into this career setting to come up with an intellectual plan to guide them in leadership and performance of their duties as directors of schools. As a director one ought to come up with a leadership style that suits his or her situation and organization. For instance, the leadership plan in this paper will be structured in a way that it will suit the duties of a director in a school. In order to supervise a school effectively, a direct should take into consideration the following: Be available during the normal operational hours of the school and have designated backup support available in the directors absence. Supervise admissions staff and certified agents to ensure that they are adhering to recruiting practices acceptable according to Education Law and Commissioners Regulations (Goleman 73-75). Evaluate the delivery of the schools educational programs. Evaluate the performance of teachers both through student feedback and classroom observation. Ensure that teachers are maintaining appropriate attendance records in compliance with Commissioners Regulations.  Ensure that the school license or registration is current and that application for renewal is submitted within the timeframe established by Education Law and/or Commissioners Regulations. Ensure that all curricula/courses offered by the school are approved and that curriculum/course re-approval requests are submitted within the timeframe established by Education Law and/or Commissioners Regulations. Ensure that all school personnel are appropriately licensed and that license requests and re-approvals are submitted within the timeframe established by Education Law and/or Commissioners Regulations. Ensure that teachers take any prerequisite training prior to the expiration of their licenses so that they will be eligible to receive the next level of licensure. Adhere to Commissioners Regulations by processing student refunds according to the terms of the approved enrollment agreement. Be responsive to inquiries from State Education Department staff at the time that the request is made. Be accessible to students and State Education Department staff in working to resolve student complaints. Have access to all student and school records which shall be maintained in accordance with Education Law and the Commissioners Regulations and make them available to the Commissioner or the Commissioners designee upon request during an on-site school inspection. This is according to the Bureau of Proprietary School Supervision (Mehrota 375-398). DUTIES OF SCHOOL DIRECTOR The school director is the one responsible for the whole school. He or she oversees all the activities, people and paces within and outside the school. He coordinates all the people and makes sure that all the rules, vision and mission are carried out the way they should be to make the school the best area conducive for both teaching and learning; and safe and protected from nay violence, drugs or pre-marital sex. A school director is expected to manage and lead school admissions process, contact interested students, recommend and develop marketing materials. He or she should also be able to work with the deserving financial aids programs like scholarship programs; as well as assist the registrar duties to make sure that the students are properly entered into the school’s system (Kochher 125). In creating a leadership style for a school director, we shall consider certain factors that may affect the leadership style suggested. Examine your motives. Your motive will determine the style of leadership that you adopt. The style should consider personal integrity and work towards building trust and respect. Consider teamwork as an important factor as it helps to ensure positive relationships in and across teams. Friedrich Nietzsche said of groups, “In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations, and epochs, it is the rule.” So, if your groups are a chaotic mess, you really do need to explore some group dynamic theories to ensure streamlined efficiency and content teams (Mehrota 384). LEADERSHIP STYLE Leadership is less about your needs, and more about the needs of the people and the organization you are leading. Leadership styles are not something to be tried on like so many suits, to see which fits. Rather, they should be adapted to the particular demands of the situation, the particular requirements of the people involved and the particular challenges facing the organization. Therefore, the leadership style proposed on this paper will take care of schools, in relation to their directors. This style will build on teamwork hence can be called ‘the group style’. This is the affiliate style of leadership the Goleman suggested in his book, ‘Emotional Intelligence’ .It is most appropriate in this case since the school needs to move in the same direction so as to achieve a common goal which will benefit both the staff and the learners involved. This style is afflictive and it emphasizes the importance of team work, and creates harmony in a group by connecting people to each other (Goleman 260-264). Mr. Goleman argues this approach is particularly valuable “when trying to heighten team harmony, increase morale, improve communication or repair broken trust in an organization.” But he warns against using it alone, since its emphasis on group praise can allow poor performance to go uncorrected. “Employees may perceive,” he writes, “that mediocrity is tolerated.” Secondly, it looks at ways of improving leadership skills. As a director, one ought to work on his/her self-esteem and that of his or her colleagues. These encompass both the teachers and students in the school. When you make someone feel important, you gain their willingness to work for you. Therefore, it is the duty of the director to boost the self-esteem of the students and the teachers so that they can give their bets in their endeavors. One can do this by seeking their advice even when it feels like the director has the answers. This makes them feel important and work even harder to prove that they are responsible. Be more willing to listen than to talk. Pay close attention, and show interest in what they are saying. This makes them feel appreciated and relevant in the school as they feel that the environment is conducive for them and they would not prefer another school. Goleman said that it is important to “create emotional bonds and harmony” with your colleagues so as to understand their personalities hence you are able to work with them as they are. Thirdly, communication is a key factor that will keep the school fraternity bonded together and enable those involved to work towards achieving the goal of the institution. People like to know what is going on, and what to expect. Therefore, keep them informed by have regular meetings to exchange thoughts and take the opportunity to advise them of what is going on around the institution. This means that you need to keep you colleagues motivated all the time. There are certain ways to encourage individual group members and keep everyone motivated to achieve the final outcome. Focus on certain theories of group work dynamics and your team will stay on the right track. One of these important theories is clarifying the goal of the institution. Highlighting the purpose of your mission is an important part of understanding why your group is together in the first place. Let the teachers and the students what has basically brought them together. If for instance the goal of the school is to produce the best writers in the world or country, state this clearly and then highlight particular details of the final picture. Another theory entails dividing tasks. Let every member of the institution know his or her core purpose in the institution then assign them duties according to their abilities and skills. For instance, let the teachers know the subjects or courses they are supposed to cover and what they will be expected to lay at the table at the end of the day (Goleman 92-98). Consider everyones skills and, if possible, assign roles that fit each individual group member to maximize your groups potential. For example, let the experts in accounting be in charge of the accounting department. This leads us to departmentalization which is a very effective way of dividing duties. Assign qualified persons the positions of heading the departments to ensure that there is close monitoring in each department. STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT As we have analyzed in the leadership plan, the following stages are to be followed and the given factors put into consideration: Effective Communications. As we have discussed above, communication ought to be one of the major things to be considered in an organization. This is the first step to implementing the leadership strategy. The secret to effective communication is 80% listening & 20% talking. Start by listening to the opinion of other people who are affected by the activities of the organization. Also communicating the goals and objectives of the institution clearly helps those involved to work better as they understand what is expected of them (Eisenberg 403). The next important stage is delegation. The secret behind effective delegation isn’t “telling some what to do”. It’s explaining the logic (thought process and philosophy) behind what needs to be done & why. The next time you have an issue you feel can be delegated. Delegating duties reduces work load and increases division of labor, hence each person performs the allocated duty perfectly. It also encourages specialization where one specializes in what he or she is best at (Rao 80). Another stage is motivation. When employees find meaning in their lives and work, this is when they are their most motivated. In order to help employee motivation, a leader must “inspire” his team. People want to be led, not managed.  Instead, leaders must manage their actions and lead by example. Follow the steps above and make sure you have time for your people, be purposeful and effective in your communications, delegate and empower your team by allowing them to understand the logic of how decisions are supposed to be made (Hiam 12). Bottom line, the role of leadership is to add value to other people and the true measure of leadership is influence, thus a great leader must have the ability to change the attitude or behavior of others. It is true that effective management practice has a lot to do with high levels of employee information. A leader should always treat people as individuals, empower workers, redesign duties, create respective work places most important, provide an effective reward system to bring the employees to work effectively as there will be a source of motivation (Tasmania 7-12). The rewards are meant to illustrate to the employees the level of appreciation for their work and thus encourage them to repeat the appropriate work behavior and better still improve on it. REFLECTION From the leadership style I have proposed above, I would recommend the style because it puts into consideration all the members of the school. Therefore, since in involves everybody in the school, it is workable as the members will work as a team to ensure that the goals and objectives of the institution are achieved. Various internal and external factors may also affect the choice of leadership style used. Internal factors include the levels of skill that employees have. Large teams may have members with varying levels of skill. This may require the manager to adopt a more directive style, providing clear communication so that everyone knows what to do to achieve goals and tasks. On the other hand, team leaders may take a more consultative approach with other managers of equal standing in order to get their co-operation for a project. This style accommodates all these making it effective and workable (Green 47-53). Also, I have identified goal setting and motivation as important stages in this style. People only stay motivated when they understand why they do what they do, how what they do contributes to the success of the company they work for, and they can measure progress toward that end. Therefore, it is important to let the members understand the goals and let them know when they have accomplished them. Works Cited Eisenberg, E. M., Goodall, H. L., & Trethewe. Organizational Communication: Balancing Creativity and Constraint. Boston: Bedford, 2007. Print. Goleman, Daniel. "What Makes a Leader." Havard Business Review (2004): 73-75. Print. —. Working with Emotional Intelligence. Great britain: Clays Ltd., 1998. Print. Green, Melody R. Contributing to working Effectively with Others. Australia: Software Publications, 2002. Print. Hiam, Alexander. Motivating and Rewarding Employees: New and Better Ways to Inspire Your People. Avon: Adams Media Corporation, 1999. Print. Kochher, S K. Secondary Schhol Administration. New Delhi: Sterlin Publishers, 1970. Print. Lawson, Karen. "How to delegate Efectively." 2007. Lawson Consulting Group. Print. 28 November 2012. Mehrota, Anju. Leadership styles of Principals. New- Delhi: Mittal Publications, 2005. Book. Rao, M. G. Rao and V.S.P. Organization design, Change and Develoment. New Delhi: Discovery Publishing House, 1999. Print. Tasmania, Victoria and. What Keeps Employees Engaged in their Work Place? Survey Report. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc., 2006. Print. Read More