Leadership Issues - Research Paper Example

Leadership Issues Leadership is a weighty responsibility that presents a realm of challenges. Leaders face the compulsion of ensuring that they exhibit personal growth through constant reflection and development of additional skills. The type of leadership adopted by any leader has the potential of affecting the employees, stakeholders and the customers. It is important for leaders to exhibit effective leadership and foster the growth of the organization. This paper will highlight some leadership issues and potential strategies of addressing them.

Many leaders fail to recognize the need to offer motivation to the employees (Adair, 2009). Ideally, a leader should allow and influence others to take up leadership challenges in order for an organization to grow and achieve the desired results. Leadership does not only happen in small businesses, but it also applies in large organizations hence presenting the need to carry this aspect with the weight that it requires (Cameron, 2012). Ideally, everyone within an organization is having their own personal contribution to the benefit of the organization and given the opportunity, they can help an organization to turn around its financial performance.

Motivated employees will register exemplary performance, leading to customer satisfaction. Moreover, stakeholders find pleasure when organizations they are affiliated to exhibit remarkable performance (Scott and Middlebrooks, 2013). It is highly depressing for an employee who handles tasks that do not exhibit full utilization of all the skills in possession. In the workplace, acquiring additional skills translates to new set of responsibilities, a factor that has makes me feel useful and resourceful in the organization.

As Hertzberg highlighted in his two-factor motivation theory, it is evident that both motivational and hygienic factors contribute to a high level of motivation in employees. According to this theorist, leaders should strive to offer employees a job that captures the use of all the skills in possession to ensure that the employee receives challenging tasks that can accelerate growth (Adair, 2009). In addition, a leader has the mandate to scout for talent and motivate those with potential as necessity may give birth to situational leaders.

Motivation can also be in monetary form or in terms of giving promotion to those that deserve the post, which is also part of ethical practice. This influences employees to work harder in order for them to attract additional benefits that are deserving of rather than working hard for no gain. When employees feel that a leader appreciates and motivates them to continue contributing towards organizational success, then they will be having high chances of engaging themselves with the operations of the company.

Strategic planning is a critical aspect of leadership because it determines the resilience of any organization (Manion, 2011). Evidently, many leaders engage in strategic planning without involving the employees, stakeholders, and customers. It is critical for any organization to recognize that dynamism and technology have redefined the business front. In modern day business, the opinion of the customers is critical. The products and services of any organization should conform to the needs of the customers.

Moreover, the decisions made by an organization affect its relationship with stakeholders (Maxwell, 2008). Since employees form part of the team that will implement any strategies adopted by the organization, they deserve to contribute in the formulation of strategies. Therefore, leaders should ensure a rigorous interaction with employees, stakeholders and customers in strategic planning (Sirisetti, 2011). Leaders have registered challenges in embracing diversity (Jauhari & Singh, 2013). The workforce exhibits a high level of diversity that needs harnessing as a critical resource for any organization.

However, embracing diversity has presented unique challenges in many organizations. Many leaders have failed in their ventures to ensure those cross-cultural teams are functional. Compliance rules that forbid any form of discrimination have been contravened often. Leaders intending to overcome this challenge have to adopt effective strategies of embracing diversity. One of these is through the institution of a diversity committee under the human resource department that ensures that deployment offers equal opportunity to all people.

Leaders should also strengthen the compliance department to reinforce the rules that prohibit discrimination (Kouzes & Posner, 2012). Offering employees and managers training on the benefits of diversity and the process of embracing diversity is essential in any organization (Berkowitz, 2010). Embracing diversity has the potential of increasing productivity, representing all the customer needs in the workforce, and maintains a good reputation with stakeholders (Acker, 2006). Evidently, leadership presents certain challenges that compel the leader to develop strategies of addressing them.

With the positive reception of transformational leadership, leaders have to strive to offer the relevant motivation to their employees. Moreover, involving customers, stakeholders, and employees in the strategic planning process can yield exemplary results for any organization. The new business front requires leaders to propel their organizations towards full embracing of diversity. Although it may prove a challenge for some, the strategies described above are effective guidelines. References Acker, G. (2006). Inequality Regimes – Gender, Class and Race in Organisations.

Gender and Society, 20 (4), 441 – 464. Adair, J. (2009). Effective leadership: how to be a successful leader. London: Pan Books. Berkowitz, E. (2010). Inventing Equal Opportunity (review). Journal of Social History, 44 (1), 254-256. Cameron, K. (2012). Positive leadership: strategies for extraordinary performance. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Jauhari, H., & Singh, S. ( 2013). Perceived diversity climate and employees’ organizational loyalty. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, 32 (3), 262-276.

Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2012). The leadership challenge : how to make extraordinary things happen in organizations / James M. Kouzes, Barry Z. Posner. San Francisco, CA : Jossey-Bass, c2012. Manion, J. (2011). From management to leadership strategies for transforming health care, San Francisco, Jossey-Bass. http://public.eblib.com/EBLPublic/PublicView.do?ptiID=675124. Maxwell, J. (2008). Teamwork 101 what every leader needs to know, Nashville, Thomas Nelson. http://www.contentreserve.

com/TitleInfo.asp?ID={D064B743-C445-4EF0-8922-18968FB0E487}&Format=50. Scott, A., and Middlebrooks, A. (2013). The Challenge of Educating Leadership Expertise. Journal of Leadership Studies, 6 (4), 84-89. Sirisetti, S. (2011). Quality leadership in the public sector: strategies and challenges. Journal of Commerce (22206043), 3(4), 45-48.