Leadership Factors that are Needed to Deliver Organizational Success - Research Paper Example

 CRITICAL EVALUATION OF LEADERSHIP FACTORS THAT ARE NEEDED TO DELIVER ORGANIZATIONAL SUCCESS Abstract Leadership is very important in deciding the success of any organization through infusing the element of confidence, clarity and motivation among the team workers. Leadership also provides accurate direction to the total team members regarding the decision making process and action implementation for attaining the final objectives of the organization. It also acts as a cushion to the organization against the barriers of the development process during product development and marketing. Several qualities of the leaders like participatory nature, communicating ability and transparency make them front runners of the developmental process and they help the organization in keeping the efforts of the total team united and coherent which in turn would lead to highest quality output. Several theories also explain the way in which leaders aid in organizational success through dealing with the odd situations and by providing contingency planning and strategic management. The successful leadership examples like Bill Gates of Microsoft Corporation and Donald John Trump of Trump illustrate that the leadership is an integrated process of leading from the front, dynamism, motivation, confidence, risk bearing ability and participatory team work and hence they could make their organizations superior in the World and they become inspiring persons for the young people who would become leaders of the organizations in the future. Introduction Leadership is a vital component that decides the success of any organization. Leadership is nothing but the process of making a forward leap in decision making and guiding the other members of the team towards fulfilling the objectives of the organization or mission (Grey, 2009). The main factor that helps the organization through leadership is the infusion of element of motivation in the minds of the team members because of which all the members would work with highest level of energy and enthusiasm leading to the higher level of organizational efficiency. Leadership in general contributes to the success of an organization by making the team members more confident about the tasks performed in their jobs (Malphurs, 2006). This makes them more understandable with higher level of clarity about the direction of operation of work for attaining the maximum productivity of the goods and services. Leadership also ensures higher level of quality in the final products as it allows more free flow of information among the members and tries to minimize the element of error (Thompson and McHugh, 2009). In this process, it adds the element of precision leading to the best quality produce and hence there by providing competitive advantage in the market (Smart and Wolfe, 2003). Many people believe that leadership is simply being the first, biggest or most powerful. Leadership in organizations has a different and more meaningful definition. Very simply put, a leader is interpreted as someone who sets direction in an effort and influences people to follow that direction. How they set that direction and influence people depends on a variety of factors that we'll consider later on below. To really comprehend the "territory" of leadership, you should briefly scan some of the major theories, notice various styles of leadership and review some of the suggested traits and characteristics that leaders should have. The rest of this library should help you in this regard. Leaders carry out their roles in a wide variety of styles, e.g., autocratic, democratic, participatory, laissez-faire (hands off), etc. Often, the leadership style depends on the situation, including the life cycle of the organization. The following document provide brief overview of key styles, including autocratic, laissez-faire and democratic style. The salient qualities of any successful leader which contribute to organizational success are as follows: 1. Lead from the front: A leader must set himself as an example in showing the process of organizing an event and completing the task successfully (Rima, 2000). For acquiring this quality, self leadership principles have to be inculcated by the ideal leaders in all organizations. People like Late Dhirubhai Ambani of Reliance Group, India started their life from the basic level and dealt with the odd situations efficiently, led the team from the front in the sector of textiles and petroleum and strive hard in emerging as the global leaders. 2. Efficient communicator: A leader must express his views very clearly and efficiently so that all the team members would be in a position to understand the total process of organization with utmost clarity (Lencioni, 2000). If the team members are confused about the direction of developmental process, the productivity would be reduced and hence the leader would facilitate the transmission of ideas of top management to the team members so that quality product development would be encouraged. 3. Good motivator: Leader should always provide a fresh breeze of air through encouraging team members and motivating them to complete the task successfully in any organization (Lencioni, 2002). The target production of any organization would be made possible if the available human resources are tapped in an efficient manner. The leader would certainly infuse the motivation among the team members and hence leads to the organizational success tremendously. 4. Extrovert in personality: A good leader must always try to express his feelings openly to all the members so that the understanding about the issues of the organization would be at higher level. For doing this, he must be having an extrovert type of personality. Due to this nature, the team members would feel the highest level of satisfaction and they wouldn’t hesitate to express their feelings to the leader resulting in faster correction of defects and higher organizational efficiency. 5. Participatory style of functioning: The feeling of egos and prejudices operates in all the organizations and an effective leader must address the ego management which certainly facilitates the overall participation in the development of an organization. In other words, the participatory style of management must be preferred by the leaders for attaining higher productivity of any organization (Collins, 2001). 6. Decentralized approach in decision making process: There will be a space for dissatisfaction if all the ideas of the group members are not taken in to consideration while decision making, hence the leader should follow decentralized approach i.e. providing authority in taking certain decisions at middle and lower tiers of the organization (McIntosh and Rima, 2007). This would also make the employees to feel more attachment with the organization and they would strive for excellence in product development and quality. 7. Sincere and honest in duty: An ideal leader must be very sincere and honest in discharging his duties so that other team members will take him as a role model in following the same and hence contributes tremendously for the organizational efficiency (Cloud, 2009). 8. Positive approach: A good leader must be very positive in self thinking and should interact with all the team members also very positively (Fincham and Rhodes, 1999). He should try to inculcate the feeling of positive attitude in other team members so that the entire team works with full dedication towards the success of their organization. 9. Critical analysis of team members’ attributes: An ideal leader must be very critical in assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of all team members so that he can reduce the constraints and consolidate the strengths of the team members which would in turn aid in enhancing the organizational productivity (Thomas, 2003). 10. Resourceful and skilful nature: The leader must be well aware about the technical, administrative and managerial aspects of the organization in which he is associated. The clarity and confidence would come only if the leader is fully accessible to the technical knowledge. Moreover, the followers or the team members would respect the leader only if he is knowledgeable on the operations carried out in any organization. Various theories of leadership explaining the role of leader to the success of an organization The understanding of the various theories about the leadership would certainly explain regarding the positive role of the leadership in the success of the organizations. Though theories like “Greatman theory” don’t explain the contributory role of leaders for the success of the organizations, other leadership theories like situational theory, behavioural theory, contingency theory, trait theory, participatory theory, management theory and relationship theory give us the idea regarding the emergence of leadership based on the need of the hours and hence aid in the success of an organization. Behavioral theories of leadership suggest that the great leaders are made, not born as the basic qualities can be very much acquired based on the exposure to the situations in the life. Practically acting upon the field situation is more important than the theoretical framework and conceptualization. For doing this, the leader must acquire the basic management qualities to organize the events in the need of the hour and the leaders can very much develop the management skills through teaching and training. The similar good qualities acquired by the leaders must be percolated down to the team members through series of training programmes from time to time. Participative leadership theories mention that the ideal leadership style is one that considers the input of other team members into account. These leaders certainly encourage participation and motivate the other team members by giving them importance in decision making process. Hence, the team members feel more committed and dedicated to their organization. As mentioned earlier, the participatory approach of leadership makes efficient way of communication among the team members and leader and hence the clarity of the performing nay task would be maximum and the product quality would be high leading to the success of an organization. The trait theory states that the leaders may inherit some specific attributes and traits that make them better suited to leadership. Trait theories in general recognize specific behavioral characteristics shared by leaders. The contingency theories of leadership suggest that the leader must be well prepared to face any sudden change in the market forces and should lead the organization efficiently towards the quality product development in odd situations (Donaldson, 1995). In other words, it gives emphasis to spontaneous development of attributes or traits of a leader depending upon the need of the hour. This is very useful for the organization as several unforeseen consequences may arise from time to time and the leaders must face them with accuracy and brevity. Management theories or Transactional theories also help in emphasizing the importance of the leaders in organizational success. These theories state that the traits like supervision, organization, and group performance are most important elements for the success of leader in making organization more productive. The leaders may follow the carrot and stick policy i.e. encouraging group members who perform better and punishing the members who have become dysfunctional. But the most important aspect of this theory is that the essence of transformation of team members from non performer to performer through efficient organizing principles of the leaders. For doing this, the leaders must make accurate assessment of strengths and weakness of the team members and start working on them gradually from time to time. Situational theories state that the leaders have to operate the principles of strategic management based on the situation in which they work (Weekley and Ployhart, 2005). Some times, the situation changes suddenly and leader has to suggest alternate management plan for making the product of the organization more competitive in the changing environment. The team members should be directed to work towards the fulfillment of alternate management plan so that the organization would be in a position to develop a quality produce that suits the changing situation in the world. Other key aspects of leadership and organizational success The leaders must always be in touch with both national and international developments so that their plans and strategies would be readjusted according to the necessity of the situation. This helps the organization to compete well in the domestic and international markets relative to other players. They must be well aware about the financial management aspects including the budget and accounts and must make a road map for the organization so that the productivity of the firm would be sustainable on long term basis. Team empowerment and spirit making among the group members are also very crucial roles of the leader that aids in success of an organization. The empowerment of the team can be achieved by communicating them properly about the management principles and technical aspects through regular interaction meetings and series of training programmes. This also aids in strong coherence among the team members and leader in fulfilling any task in the organization. Staff selection also plays vital role in deciding the success of an organization for which leader is instrumental. While selecting the team members, the basic attributes should be judged properly and the preparedness for the contingency and managerial ability and technical expertise must be given higher emphasis. The right team must be mixture of experienced and energetic employees and management and technical people so that the preparedness for any unforeseen situation would be maximum leading to the success of an organization. Successful leaders of some organizations: The way in which Bill Gates led the Microsoft is really splendid and forms the best example of how a leader can achieve the organizational success. The growth of Microsoft is largely due to the fact that Bill Gates made it sure that most computers that shipped out came with Microsoft software pre-installed which resulted in diminishing any desire by consumers to purchase any other type of software. Due to his foresight and risk bearing ability in addition to has vast practical knowledge, the Microsoft has become number one company in software development in the world and by April 2006, Bill Gates became the richest person in the world with a net worth of approximately US$51 billion. We should also give emphasis to his leadership traits like encouraging team members through participatory decision making process and delegation of powers to the lower and middle management tiers and establishment of Microsoft centres through out the world which made Microsoft a giant in the software development sector. It is also heartening to note that Bill gates is the co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a charitable institution, which has donated billions of dollars to help eradicate illiteracy, poverty and diseases. In this way, he sets an example of a dynamic leader with combination of great qualities of strategic management and highest affection for humanity. Another successful example of a strong and ideal leader is in the form of Donald John Trump of Trump Organization. He led the trump Organization one of the best in the World in the field of construction and real estate. He is extremely self-assured and has high knowledge on how to create and market a brand and undeniable risk taker. He has also developed a concept of coherence among the team members through participatory decision making, delegation of the powers and encouraged successful workers through reward system and his staff selection style is highly accurate and hence the organization became successful in short period. Conclusion Leadership plays vital role in success of any organization through inculcating the basic principles of motivation, confidence, clarity and participatory decision making among the team members. This would also facilitate the better understanding about the contingency planning based on the type of situation and risk bearing ability of the team members. A successful leader must always communicate well with the team members and must try to reduce the egos and other inhibitory factors among the team members and hence he would highly instrumental in success of the organization. The successful leadership examples like Bill Gates should become inspiring stories for the young people who would become leaders in the future. References Cloud, H. (2009). Integrity: The Courage to Meet the Demands of Reality. Harper Paperbacks publication. P:304. ISBN-10: 006084969X. Collins, J. (2001). Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't. Harper Business publication. P:300. ISBN-10: 0066620996. Donaldson, L. (1995). Contingency Theory (History of Management Thought). Ashgate publication. P:448. ISBN-10: 1855214369. Grey, C. (2009). “A very short, fairly interesting and reasonably cheap book about studying organizations”, 2nd Ed. Sage, London. ISBN 9781--84787-342-2. Lencioni, P. (2000). 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