Applying a leadership theory to the Qatar Fencing Federation - Essay Example

Applying a leadership theory to the Qatar Fencing Federation BY YOU YOUR SCHOOL INFO HERE HERE There is a substantial lack of motivation and minimal team cohesion within the Qatar Fencing Federation. What the group requires, most primarily, is to become part of a unified team sustaining a set of norms, values and beliefs in which every group member becomes an active and valued contributor to the team and its goals. In order to accomplish this, the Federation requires a leader with the ability to create unity whilst also encouraging, stimulating and inspiring all group members (inclusive of the President, coaches, managers and players) to work diligently to achieve objectives of the Federation. The most viable leadership ideology to assist in renovating this unmotivated group is the transformational leadership philosophy. Why transformational leadership? The situational approach to leadership suggests that there is no universal methodology of leadership and suggests that each unique situation requires a distinctive set of strategies which are appropriate for a particular problem or issue (Knights and Willmott 2012). In this particular case of the Qatar Fencing Federation, there is not only a need to gain commitment and followership, but also establish a productive and dedicated organisational culture willing and motivated to achieve long-term goals as a coherent team. Transformational leadership is an ideology of leadership which is designed to motivate individuals at the psycho-social level and works to develop such a culture where all individuals feel like valued contributors to the organisational model. Organisational culture is best defined as a set of beliefs and group values which serve as the underpinning for behavioural norms that drive actions of organisational members. Attitudes of employees and managers alike determine the culture of an organisation. When a group has established an organisational culture where all group members share similar sets of convictions, it is easier to create a team-focused organisation. When there is a culture where there is disparity in thinking and values, it can obstruct the achievement of goals and objectives (Yilmaz and Ergun 2008). This is why transformational leadership is the most effective solution for the Federation. With the President, coaches, managers and players all having different personal objectives for what drives their actions, there is no ability to get everyone in the group to begin thinking and behaving along a set of established norms. According to theory of culture development, to create such an organisational culture, leaders must be teachers, illustrate visionary behaviours, and inspire others to achieve greatness (Fairholm 2009). Cohesive culture development requires routine communications between all group members, regularly remind the group about the organisation’s vision and mission, which in turn creates loyalty and support for the transformational leader (Fairholm). This is the essence of transformational leadership: ensure active participation and consultation between all group members, establish and consistently reiterate a mission and vision for the team, and use inspirational dialogue to motivate others to work cooperatively as a team; rather than just as a group. The individual within the Qatar Fencing Federation that would be most viable as a transformational leader is one of the coaches. These individuals have much more routine contact with the players and, as established in the case study, already have influence over managerial beliefs and focus. The selected coach should create a solid and inspirational mission and vision statement which evokes positive feelings of team togetherness and victory; which is the ultimate goal of the Federation. This mission should be regularly publicised using contemporary, internal marketing strategies and be communicated regularly so that players, the President, the coaches and managers all begin to become used to this ideology and adopt team togetherness as a routine cultural norm. The transformational manager is also responsible for role modelling desired behaviours and, through this illustration, earns the trust and commitment of followers. This is critical is all members of the Federation organisation are to begin adopting and emulating important team-based and inspirational behaviours. Additionally, to develop a team-focused organisational culture, individuals must feel empowered and feel as though they have a sense of belonging. When group members are given these opportunities it sends group members the perception that they are instrumental human capital contributors toward achieving strategic organisational goals (Spreitzer 1995). In the current situation of the Federation, there is such disparity between all group members (which is transparent), therefore there is no emphasis communicated to the team that they can be participative members of the group. As a result, motivations have been depleted which forbids the attainment of important Federation goals. The transformational leadership model takes into consideration the psychological needs of employees and establishes a sociological environment where all members legitimately feels as though they fit in and creates a desire to work cooperatively with others. In order for the Federation to be successful, motivated and achieve a unified team structure, the bureaucracy of management needs to be broken down and the organisational structure decentralised to allow for more shared decision-making through all levels of group membership. In the role of transformational leader, not only is there mutual respect and trust, but the leader becomes a sort of mentor/teacher which encourages high performance, building mutual rapport between leader and all other team members of varying ranks and responsibilities. Over time, this model builds that important solidarity and collaboration where all members begin sharing the same set of values and social ideologies, thereby setting a norm of team togetherness and builds motivation that is so necessary for the current problem at the Federation. In the current situation within the Qatar Fencing Federation, there would be nothing lost by adopting an appropriate transformational leadership philosophy. Managers, the President and the coaches each having their own agenda and set of behaviours is likely frustrating and confusing to the players who genuinely want to achieve positive goals. Transformational leadership begins accustoming all group members to being part of a team with an expectation of mutual consultations and inter-group participation. All of these factors are currently lacking in abundance at the Federation and this is the proper solution for turning around this difficult scenario. References Fairholm, M. (2009). Leadership and organisational strategy, The Public Sector Innovation Journal, 14(1), pp.26-27. Knights, D. and Willmott, H. (2012). Introducing Organizational Behaviour & Management, 2nd edn. London: Cengage Learning. Spreitzer, G. (1995). Psychological empowerment in the workplace: dimensions, measurement and validation, Academy of Management Journal, 38(5), pp.1442-1465. Yilmaz, C. and Ergun, E. (2008). Organisational culture and firm effectiveness: an examination of relative effects of culture traits and the balanced culture hypothesis in an emerging economy, Journal of World Business, 43, pp.290-306. Read More