To What Extent Does Leadership Research Support the Idea That There Is One Best Way to Lead People - Essay Example

To what extent does leadership research support the idea that there is "one best way" to lead people in organizations? In essence there is ‘one best way’ to lead people within organizations. This is through a policy that shall dictate how well employees are treated and what measures are enacted to make sure that they work towards achieving their goals and objectives. In this day and age, it is imperative to understand that leadership comes together with motivation and job satisfaction, team formation, resolving conflicts, managing negotiations, realizing diversity, understanding individual differences, sound decision making and a number of significant tangents that are necessary in the long run. This paper touches upon these key areas to establish where leadership reigns supreme, be it a democratic form of leadership or autocratic one, and how that ‘one best way’ to lead the employees within organizations is made proper. Both democratic and autocratic forms of leadership can give rise to motivation which is the basis of knowing that employees will time and again fall down and then get up to make sure that they are positively driven to achieve the organizational objectives through research, analysis and evidence. This is bound to happen because there are times when frustration runs high and people need support from a number of directions. However, on the same token, what is most important is the self-motivation construct that wins many favors for the employees who are looking to solve a problem (Axley, 1996). Motivation is therefore dependent on the people for whom it is coming into play. An employee who is not motivated enough will perform worse off than a person who is motivated to go out there and do something on his own (Fulton, 1998). Under leadership, the seniors also enforce their say through different programs and teamwork exercises. When employees feel that they are being properly led by, job satisfaction is bound to happen. When job satisfaction is ensured, leadership comes about in full circle and hence the leaders are able to lead people easily. When employees are satisfied with their jobs, the task of the leader becomes easier. The leadership knows where to instill confidence and in what quantity this has to be done to derive sound results. Also what needs to be understood is the fact that more productivity will be achieved once leaders are able to do their jobs well (Butkus, 1999). Leaders are inclined to exercise restraint over employees who are motivated enough to perform their respective tasks, thus coming directly under the authoritative leadership realms. What this implies is the fact that since they are motivated enough to work their way towards achieving goals and objectives, it would not be a hurdle to ask them to do something additional for the sake of attaining new objectives that a business might seek to explore at a given time (Creech, 1995, 98). This is the basis of knowing how organization derive success through motivation and job satisfaction of their employees. Leadership inherently is an important function within any organization. Further, it states the manner of attaining harmony through the related ranks since employees need to be managed well. Leadership provides that required push for getting the work done which is intrinsically so very pivotal (Goldsmith, 2001). The most necessary change that leadership brings in is motivation on the part of the employees, and that the employees consider themselves worthy of attaining new heights and breaking new grounds. Leadership decides the course of success or otherwise for a business and how well its employees have been managed in the long run. It is also the basis of knowing how well the resources have been employed for the sake of the employees and essentially the organization itself. Leadership is intrinsically a course which outlines where and when value can be created through motivation, persistence and hard work (Storey, 2004, 77). It touches quite a few tangents – and all of them in the right vein. It can be rightly said that leadership holds the forte for being the one best way to manage people within any organization. It decides the course of finding out where anomalies are and how these can be done away with at the very earliest. It is also a good omen for finding out how success shall be envisioned with people managing their relevant domains in the most righteous manners (Ibrahim, 1996, 124). When leaders lead by example, their predecessors know what to expect. When they are unable to do so, there are problems of differing proportions. On the whole, it is important to comprehend how value can be built along the way. This decides the pattern upon which success shall be realized and achieved in due course of time, both for the employee and the organization that he is a vital part of. When it comes to groups and team formation, it is usually observed that these lead toward success if group members connect with one another, relate to each other’s aspirations and work towards a common goal or objective – one which is fitting enough for the sake of the organization. If the organization allows the formation of teams and groups, then the employees must realize that it is for their own good. The symbiotic relationship that exists amongst the group members eventually benefits the organization as a whole. What is even more crucial to know is that groups and teams bring together combined strengths to a single platform. It is the basis of discerning where employees might go wrong and where different anomalies can be resolved amicably (Beebe, 2006, 67). If it lets the senior management decide their own path, then this is something that does the trick and a general approval on the part of the employees because they then know that someone is looking after their interests and leading them properly. They start respecting the organization even further. It allows the employees to feel secured and gives them the room which they richly deserve. This is in terms of their personal and professional growth which keeps happening. Also groups bring in shared resources which stand as an important element for growth and development. It gives the employees something to ponder upon deeply and thus gain professional acumen that remains pivotal. Hence formation of teams and groups remains a steady task at hand and should always be seen within the relevant scheme of things. This is because employees are being trained about something that shall ask them to deliver the goods within the professional circles. Conflicts and disparities do arise at the workplace and it is the duty of the leaders to make sure that these remain away from the shores of an organization. The need is to know how these conflicts pose a problem and how these can be done away with – the sooner the better for everyone. Conflicts can be reduced if negotiations are held. What this does is to make sure that disparities go down and hence people coming from different perspectives sit together on the negotiating table. When they negotiate, they talk about things which are shared between them and hence pose as a common denominator. It helps in resolving the conflict that thus exists (Drucker, 1999). Negotiations open the window for many new things that might just have been left unexplored and undiscovered. Management queries disallow any form of conflicts from taking place because they believe that it leads to problematic scenarios at the workplace and that employees have a grudge for one another which essentially hurts the organizational environment. This can be covered when there is a dire attempt to set things right and that too within related equations. What is needed now is a vision to bring harmony within the related ranks and this can only be done through leadership (Sims, 2002). It is the due role of the leaders to make sure that any problems at their end are resolved amicably and that their employees believe in negotiating more than anything else. It will take care of all the issues that might arise from time to time within an organizational setting. Hence conflicts can always be taken care of by having proper negotiation mechanisms in place as has been proven through due research and evidence (Olmstead, 2002, 61). Within any workplace around the globe, it is imperative to comprehend that there will be individual differences amongst employees and hence diversity will prevail. Diversity is a much appreciated entity all over the world because it gives everyone a chance to be a part of the professional domains (Marcus, 2006, 99). This is diversity that is required by businesses all over the world. It is a much sought after undertaking by the organizations, and people look up to such business hubs who allow for growth and development across the board. This gives rise to the important element of finding strengths within different sets of people, not all of which belong to a particular locality or region. This is the way which tells all and sundry of how organizations are making the right move to tackle uncalled for criticism since they are being represented by people from varied regions of the world who speak distinctive languages and showcase their respective cultures in more ways than one (Cross, 2000). This is why many businesses have started to advertise the element of being fair to people irrespective of their demarcations in terms of gender, region, strata or any other facet that one can think of. In this day and age, leadership which believes in having diversity and which appreciates individual differences amongst the people is the one which receives all the accolades and hence such organizations have a better word of mouth than the others in the business. When it comes to decision making, it is the primary undertaking of the leaders. Since leaders are always taking decisions for the professional growth of the people, it requires their significant role to reign in decisions would have lasting impressions on the basis of the business. On the other hand, if decisions do not come about naturally, these organizations end up having serious problems in the long run for the employees and the organizational resources. Indeed the one best way to lead people within organizations is to make decisions which are for the benefit of everyone and which have a long lasting impact and impression on the basis of the business (Lawson, 2007, 145). This will be a good thing for the business and make the leaders stand out in the end. Those leaders that have a say within the organizational discourse usually receive the positive feedback because they are doing something worthwhile – for just about everyone. In essence, it is the pertinent role of the leaders whilst making decisions that makes them stand out as has been discussed earlier. In the end, it would be sound to state that leadership research supports the idea behind the one best way to lead people within organizations. It is always pertinent to comprehend that the one best way is built upon the ideology that leaders have to do something that has a lasting impact on the organizational fabric. Having said that this is not an easy job and requires immense patience, understanding and knowledge to achieve the difficult tasks that have been outlined (Saunders, 2006). This paper has highlighted some of the more quintessential aspects like motivation and how it leads to job satisfaction for the employees, leadership, formation of groups and teams, resolving conflicts and believing in negotiating for the good times, exploring diversity and appreciating the individual differences amongst the employees and lastly the very important tenet of decision making. This paper has also focused on how leaders come into their own and showcase their true skills through dedication and commitment to get the job done whilst growing and developing the employees under them, at all times. It would be correct to state here that they are doing a job which plays a significant role in the overall context of the organization itself. Bibliography Axley, S. (1996). Communication at Work: Management and the Communication-Intensive Organization. Westport, CT: Quorum Books Beebe, S. (2006). “Interpersonal Communication: Relating to Others”. Pearson Education Canada; 4th edn, p. 67 Butkus, R. (1999). Motivation, Beliefs, and Organizational Transformation. Westport, CT: Quorum Books Creech, R. (1995). “Employee Motivation”. Management Quarterly, Vol. 36, p. 98 Cross, E. (2000). Managing Diversity – The Courage to Lead. Westport, CT: Quorum Books Drucker, P. (1999). Management Challenges for the 21st Century. Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann Fulton, R. (1998). Motivation, Emotions, and Leadership: The Silent Side of Management. Quorum Books Goldsmith, M. (2001). “The Leadership Investment: How the Worlds Best Organizations Gain Strategic Advantage through Leadership Development”. AMACOM, p. 67 Ibrahim, H. (1996). “Leader or Manager?” JOPERD--The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, Vol. 67, p. 124 Lawson, K. (2007). Successful Conflict Resolution. Barrons Educational Series Marcus, E. (2006). The Handbook of Conflict Resolution: Theory and Practice. Jossey-Bass; 2nd edition Olmstead, J. (2002). Leading Groups in Stressful Times: Teams, Work Units, and Task Forces Quorum Books Saunders, D. (2006). Essentials of Negotiation. McGraw-Hill/Irwin; 4th edition Sims, R. (2002). Organizational Success through Effective Human Resources Management. Quorum Books Storey, J. (2004). Leadership in Organizations: Current Issues and Key Trends. Routledge Read More