Mao Zedong: Leadership Styles - Essay Example

Mao Zedong: Leadership Styles Mao Zedong: Leadership Styles Background Many will look at the society based on the leadership chosen to represent the people. In most cases, the leaders are a reflection of the issues the citizens are going through. In some cases, the dictators make use of what they view as a vacuum to provide leadership. Others seek the participative nature to provide people with an opportunity to be better than they think. The goal, in the end, is to make people understand that leadership is a process that involves the people, the leader, and the ideologies that radically change the society for the better (Shuyun, 2006). The story of Mao Zedong is one the Chinese reflect on to date. People understand that the situation of his growth to a national figure started by the decision to make a difference in the society. The idea was to allow people to understand they had rights. He wanted to show the society that even peasant farmers have a voice when it comes to making the choices within the society. He was born to wealthy farmer. From the beginning, Mao took up the nationalism sceptre as his guide towards the issues taking place within the organization. In many sessions, Mao was willing to lead the people towards a revolution and create a platform that would give them a say in the issues of the society (Shuyun, 2006). However, upon taking the leadership, he created the People’s Republic of China and stated that one party, the Communist Party of China, would control it. This reduced the participation of the people because only those accepted at the party level would have a chance at the leadership levels in the country. He played a psychological card that made it easy for him to consolidate his leadership in the country after taking up his position as the leader of the new republic (Shuyun, 2006). He wanted to see the country develop and his idea of the great leap forward was to see the country better managed, developing, and increasing its appeal to everyone across the world. People would get a chance to participate in the growth by learning new skills that would be essential for the general improvement of their lives. This set the country apart towards the achievement of greatness (Chang, & Halliday, 2005). Leadership styles A variety of leadership styles can be used to define the life of Mao as a leader of the great country of China. At the very start of his journey towards meeting the ideals of his people as a revolutionary, Mao was using a contingency theory of leader. Here, the leader knew that the only way of making it work in the country was by changing the leadership styles to suit the challenges (Lutans, 2011). He needed the people to support him and the peasants were the majority. He knew that being a son of a wealthy farmer made it difficult to gain acceptance to the peasants who were living in deep poverty. However, he went and identified with them, mobilized them and made good use of his skills to unite them against oppression (Chang, & Halliday, 2005). Though Chang and Halliday portray a different picture all together, Mao managed to make good use of his position to mobilize as many people as he could. Mao knew that the restlessness amongst the people was due to the upheavals taking place, and he went ahead to set up an institute to train people on how to become revolutionaries. At this time, it was quite easy to deal with the considerations aspect of contingency. The leader at this time provides platforms that assist in building the right the behaviours and good rapports with the subordinates (Lutans, 2011). The goal is to ensure that the subordinates understand their position and then choose to support the leader at everything that is being done. The rapport consolidates the people, brings the leaders to the level of the subordinates, and harmonizes their struggle towards their common goal (Eubanks, 2015). Upon taking leadership, Mao knew that a weak leader would lose the support and respect of his subjects. He had to consolidate the country behind him and fight off his enemies by having the whole country understand that the country was bigger than everyone else was (Chang, & Halliday, 2005). This leads to the second level of behaviour amongst contingency leaders. The initiating structures behaviour that leaders come up with will be greater determinants. The idea is to let the people realize that the leader has the power to delegate, plan and commission different roles for the sake of attaining the immediate goals. Uncertainty at this time in China made it easy for Mao to give people hope by planning on how to deal with some of the issues that were making China lag behind other better countries. Leaders need to be foresighted and willing to make sacrifices to achieve their goals (Eubanks, 2015). A leader must be willing to give up the comfort to push employees to attain their goals. The main idea is to achieve that which seemed impossible before by allowing people to maximize on their skills and talents provided the goals are achieved (Lutans, 2011). Mao analyzed the country’s situation and came up with a general feeling that to satisfy the internal needs of the people, there was a need to adapt to the environment circumstances. The idea is to ensure that the management of the country does not upset the balance expected at the end of it all. The idea is to create a new platform for the people to make use of their skills and achieve the empowerment that would drive them towards reaching their goals (Eubanks, 2015). The participative leadership many hoped for was no longer an issue Mao considered. He knew that being an authoritarian was the ideal way of bringing everyone to the same line of thought. According to Buckingham (2009), the only way a leader can manage to lead a people and maximize on their potentials is by knowing what is universal and capitalizing on the same. Mao knew this well because he wanted to rally people towards the future. Leaders need to be charismatic enough to offer a voice to those who need it the most and ensure every goal attains the required outreach to the most affected. By airing views, people show their belief in the leader and that provides legitimacy (Eubanks, 2015). If the accounts given by Chang and Halliday are true, there are different attributes that discredit Mao as a good leader. For instance, in chapter five, the conniving aspect of Mao comes to focus when the authors focus on his tactics. He wanted to get more people into his army and that meant using all available means to attain his goal. He talked to diplomats from Russia to have them bomb the area and then runs 100 kilometres way in hiding (Chang, & Halliday, 2005). This left so many people dealing with the issues that define the growing national movement and had to go back to him to seek for protection and vengeance. He knew that the only way of getting people to one’s side is by using all possible tactics. Like the implicit leadership characteristics, he knew that traits were mere treatments of what is real or abstract. He wanted to show them that he could provide schemas that all would use to interpret managerial behaviour across the platform (Lutans, 2011). If the main ideals of leadership are to be sought, Conger (1989) argues that leadership is an art of empowering others. It is a platform for lifting people to make the right decisions at the right time. It is the ability to make people respect leadership and explore different practices to make it easier to deal with the issues as they arise. The goal is to be the best in meeting the demands of any moment rather than create a situation for selfish benefits (Kotter, 2001). Leaving people to die and wage war as the leader hides farther away is an act not reminiscent of a true leader. The skills of leadership are based not only on performance but also on empowerment of all followers (Eubanks, 2015). Mao was quite clever when it came to formulating armies. Using the LMX theory, he was able to create a new platform that would enhance the discipline of the army officers. After being expelled from the Central Committee, he did not lose hope. He went to Jinggangshan and set a base there. Here, he managed to unite five villages and ensure that each understood his ideologies. The goal was to create a new means of dealing with the subordinates without having a rebellion (Graen, & Uhl-Bien, 1995). To set the pace, he instigated his army officers into a strict disciplinary system that would see all the 1,800 troops adhere to the laws set (Chang, & Halliday, 2005). This made it easier to control them. Mao had a feeling that the having a base that would be based on such rules would be easier to deal with since it would stop any rogue officers. As a leader, it is always important to have control over one’s subjects and dictate the way things will go for the benefit of the society. A leader must ensure that everything work towards the end goal, allowing them to make good use of the various opportunities for the sake of growing the society. The idea is to ensure that the subordinates share in the vision that the leader possesses and the roles set match the skills (Graen, & Uhl-Bien, 1995; Kotter, 2001). Just like the LMX theorem states, Mao knew that he had to show the people his strength and beliefs when it came to making decisions. This would improve relationships with time. This allowed for the greater utility of his well-adjusted instincts of meeting the main demands of the people even later on when he had to deal with issues of integrity as the chairman of the PRC (Chang, & Halliday, 2005). He understood that the growth of the society was based on the ability to maximize on the few strengths present and help each person magnify the inherent possessions to bigger additions to the fight against the common enemy. He was a foresighted leader who knew the impact of having a great team behind him. He was a transformational force across the country, looking for the different methods of attaining what the previous regimes had failed to come close to in the past (Lutans, 2011). He knew that the different strengths of each team player would be efficient in achieving a different feat altogether. He knew that he had to force his way sometimes and act like an authoritarian when there was no other option. His dream and vision for China led to the laying of a strong foundation for the grate economy that has managed to create a large economy competing with previously feared industrial nations. The best way of growing an economy is by choosing the ideals that define and refine the society. Health reforms were a good way of understanding the plight of the people. A leader provides solutions where many would see nothing (Lutans, 2011). He understood that the growing society was only as privileged as the solutions he would provide for them. Eventually, only those who believe in making changes to their daily life can attain a better understanding of what leaders envisioned when they look at their subordinates. They are wise enough to understand the impact that a simple transformation in one department will have in the society, and the demerits of taking any other route towards meeting the problems within the society (Eubanks, 2015). In conclusion, Mao was a great leader, though he had his shortcomings as well. The idea of a leader is to present the best options for all those who follow him. He understands that the society needs someone strong enough to use all resources available for the sake of development. He uses a myriad of leadership styles to meet his goals. He has an agenda and a vision that he wishes to share with everyone. The goal is to provide the world with a model that can be traced back to his country. He knows it is possible and does everything at his disposal to make sure people understand that progression and change are inevitable. From a transformational to contingency and implicit leadership qualities, Mao understands that the only way of maintaining growth is by growing the poorest in the society to understand the various rights and liberties that they need to protect at all times. References Buckingham, M. (2009). ‘What Great Managers Do’. In How to Lead in Uncertain Times. HBR, 1-17. Chang, J., & Halliday, J. (2005). Mao: The unknown story. New York: Random House. Conger, J. A. (1989). Leadership: The Art of Empowering Others. The Academy of Management executive, III (1), 17-24 Eubanks, D. (2015). Lecture notes. Warwick Business School. Gao, M. (2008). The battle for Chinas past: Mao and the Cultural Revolution. London: Pluto Press. Graen, G. B., & Uhl-Bien, M. (1995). Relationship-based approach to leadership: development of leader-member exchange (lmx) theory of leadership over 25 years: applying a multi-level multi-domain perspective. Leadership Quarterly, 6(2), 219-247. Kotter, J. P. (2001). What Leaders Really Do, HBR, 3-12. Lutans, F. (2011). Organisational behaviour. Michigan: Tata McGraw Hill Olivola, C. Y., Eubanks, D. L., & Lovelace, J. B. (2014). The many (distinctive) faces of leadership: Inferring leadership domain from facial appearance. The Leadership Quarterly 25, 817–834 Shuyun, S. (2006). The long march. London: HarperCollins. pp. 161–165. 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