The Real World of Management - Assignment Example

Portfolio on leading, Managing and following Introduction In this portfolio, leadership, managing and followers willbe described and a proper analysis will be made. Through transformational theory, a leadership profile that is detailed will be described as well as developed. This is the most preferred to look at the performance, styles as well as effective methods employed by leaders to achieve the goals and objectives set in the organization. Furthermore, the nature of the role of the leader as well as the gain of employing this theory will be looked into. Based on various explanations, transformational theory will be defined and analysed. Leadership Leadership has been regarded as one of the most basic criteria for being a manager in any organization. It can be defined as the process through which leaders influence workers in any organization to attain the goals of the organization. It can also be the ability of any leader to offer direction towards the preferred desires and aligns the workers/followers towards attaining the desired objectives. In addition, leadership can be perceived as the process that entails directing, controlling, organizing and planning. In most instances, the activities of any group are influenced by a process whereby the leadership is involved in managing the entire process of getting the work done. Leadership is also a means through which people are induced to carry out an action in line with the leader’s purpose. Karp (2006) connotes that leadership can be said to be a group of people/followers who have been inspired by an individual to work in unity so that certain goals and objectives can be attained via the appropriate means. A great leader has the ability to make a crowd become a very significant component in the organization. Leadership can either be formal or informal. Weathersby, (1999) purports that any individual that depicts their power and authority within an approved legal framework in the organization can be said to be formal. However, it is informal whenever power and authority is employed by a person who has not been mandate to perform those tasks. There have been a lot of debates that have arisen on the differences as well as the similarities between leadership and management. Karp (2006) connotes that management is the means through which scarce resources are allocated against the objectives of any organization, the work designs as well as the set priorities of the organization. Nevertheless, in most instances leadership concentrates on the creation of a vision that is common to all. Yukl (1998) purports that while management is about doing the things that are correct, leadership is all about doing the things that are right. Both studies reveal that management is an administrative function while leadership is a visionary function. McNaron (2009) supports the argument by comparing leadership to a theatre. This means that the leader can be said to be the visible manifestation of any project or an organization’s failure or success. This means that the leader ought to engage the followers to not only believe in but also attain the outcome that is required. This can mainly be done when the leader pays attention to the desires of those they are leading and looking for solutions to the issues that they raise. This makes a leader act appropriately in the role that they have been allocated. Yukl (1998) and McNaron (2009) also placed a relational perspective on the definition of leadership. They argue that leadership is like an event that is emerging, that is as a result of the various interactions amongst the agents’ party to the agreement. This means that effective management and leadership may mean the attainment of goals. Hence, the quality of leadership is imperative in building as well as sustaining the work relationships that may be involved in the process of attaining the goals. Great leaders should be able to make people want to become better first. This is because when the individual are better, the entire organization will become better. This means that leaders known for being high performers are always skilled in not only motivating themselves but also the rest of the group in challenging circumstances. McNaron (2009) argues that a great characteristic of any leader is the ability to have a high self esteem. Karp (2006) connotes that a leader is mostly responsible in ensuring that the vision is properly articulated to the team. In addition, they ought to communicate the vision with passion and create a plan of execution so that the vision can be attained. This also makes it easier for the leader to have followers who will align behind the vision as well as shaping the team culture. This is mainly done through articulating the values that will operate in the organization. Leadership concepts can be grouped into three main factions. First, transactional leadership which is in most instances applied in circumstances that are stable. This can be employed in environments where big changes have occurred and the leadership in place has been constantly changing in chaotic situations. This means that the main difference is in the environment where all these takes place (Weathersby, 1999). A leadership that is great and effective has many aspects. For instance, there must be a great attitude towards the goals a well as the operations of the company. All these feature work together to attain a competitive advantage. However, the most significant one is the influence that the leadership has on the individuals related to the business. Leaders get their positions in many ways. It could occur by taking power by force or can be inherited. It can also be obtained through popular election, appointment or by popular acclaim. It is therefore imperative that the source of authority be investigated on to see whether the individuals will be successful or not. With this understanding, I perceive leadership as the process through which relationships are formed and maintained in a way that the followers are motivated to attain as well as hare their personal objectives. Management can be perceived as what nurtures these connections in any structure of an organization. This means that the most critical part of any organization would be the workers that are hires as well as continues to nurture and not capital (Karp, 2006). Leader’s Profile Mr. Smith is the CEO of British Insurance Company and has been working in this post for the past 15 years. This means that he is the highest ranking manager in the company. He presides over every issue in the company. Everyone in the company knows him as a hardworking man, intelligent, friendly, a great communicator, very inspiring with a personality that commands a following. Furthermore, he has great problem solving skills as well as extensive experience in the insurance world for many years. He is also an experienced man in matters relating to management and leadership. This is imperative as he has to report to the Board of directors on the affairs of the company. In any company, the role of the board of directors is mostly to advice the company. He is involved in various committees like the Quality Assurance and Staff Development Committees. This is because he has the responsibility of ensuring that other executive leaders like the directors, and managers are guided, led as well as evaluate. He also has to get advice and guidance from the board of directors on any matter that concerns the company. He has to formulate as well as execute the strategic plan that guides the course of the organization. Mr. Smith must also oversee all the operations of the company in line with the already established plans of the company. He has to ensure that the success of the organization is evaluated and plan on the future directions of the business. Mr. Smith’s role makes him be more conscious of the competitive environment that exists around the company. He looks into various ways through which the company may expand and gain more customers. Other responsibilities may include evaluation, motivation, direction, as well as controlling. Transformational Leadership Transformational theory is the most suitable theory that can be employed to look into the role of this leader, his achievements as well as his characteristic. Transformational leadership mainly looks into how the followers in any organization can be motivated, led as well as guided into attaining the objectives of the organization. Yukl (1998) places a great emphasis on how the workers can be motivated to ensure that they remain committed to the vision of the company. This in most instances is the main objective of transformational leadership. McNaron (2009) is mainly premised on the notion that the followers ought to be empowered top ensure that a collective purpose is attained in the company. This is mainly achieved by every member of the organization working together to reach the objective. Bass,& Riggio, (2006) argues that there must be four things for any effective as well as dynamic leadership to occur. There must be attention, self and meaning, trust management as well as reliability. In trust management as well as reliability, the leaders make decisions on the foundation of honesty, fairness and equity. This makes the transformational leader be honored, followed and all their decisions will be carried out by the workers. This leader in most instances is consistent and sound in their actions. When the leader has a vision and a goal, they will be able to attain attention management. Most organizations are defined by how they meet the community’s needs and how they are able to execute their vision statement. In this case, vision means attractive, trustworthy, as well as have a future that is realistic for the company. Hence, defining the meaning of self can be aid to be how a leader can be able to know as well as employ the various skills that their Workers or followers possess. Leaders develop their leadership skills by continuing their level of education in management as well as leadership develops their leadership. This makes their stress a well as their level of being burnt out to be both controlled as well as minimized. In the management of meaning, the leaders must be able to inspire the workers to be committed to their work by communicating the vision of the organization properly. There ought to be a standardized culture that is supported amongst the workers through agreements, group discussions, creativity as well as consensus building (Bass & Riggio, 2006). The objectives and goals ought to be consistent with the vision of the organization. This must be linked with the appraisals as well as rewards for the workers. Additionally, transformational leadership aims at attaining objectives that bring great gains to the organization as well as the workers themselves. This will be attained by empowering the workers to have a vision on the organization that they are working with as well as trust their leaders. Transformational leadership can be practiced in an environment that is not stable and quickly changing. Therefore, under this environment leaders can be able to acknowledge uncertainty and the workers requirements as well as values. They have to be flexible, and inspire their workers. In transformational leadership, decision making is employed by the leaders to inspire as well as motivate the workers. This will motivate them to be a part of the organization’s vision making them feel like they belong in the contribution of the company’s success. The workers can be rewarded for their excellence and quality of the work that is done. Consequently, the leaders have workers who will illustrate commitment, high quality performance as well as satisfaction (McNaron, 2009). Weathersby, (1999) has depicted a lot of inspiration and empowerment of the workers result in commitment and high performance in the company. This is mainly done through a great connection between the followers and the leaders. The leaders must have the ability to sense the various abilities that their workers possess. Secondly, they must be able to provide vision for their followers. They must be able to both manage as well as be able to take action during the various moments of crisis. Lastly, they must be able to communicate effectively with their followers. Initially, this concept was introduced by James MacGregor Burns, an expert in leadership. Burns (1978) argues that transformational leadership can be depicted in how the followers and leaders make each other to move forward in higher levels of motivation and morality. The strength of their vision and character is what motivates leaders to be able to inspire followers change their perceptions, motivations as well as their expectations in terms of the work they do. This theory is not premised on a relationship of exchange between the workers and leaders. The theory is premised on the character and ability of the leader to ensure that change occurs in the organization. It is imperative then that the vision be articulated with clarity so that the difficult goals can be addressed and solved. Most transformational leaders work towards the team’s benefit. Burns (1978) theorized that both transactional as well as transforming leadership could be said to be styles of leadership that are mutually exclusive styles. Bass & Riggio, (2006) developed Burns original notions to form the theory of leadership. Bass & Riggio (2006) defines transformational leadership in accordance to the impact that it has on it’s followers. Its leaders aim to get admiration, respect as well as trust from their workers. Bass & Riggio (2006) went further to explain Burns works by employing psychological explanations. Bass (2006) inserted the word "transformational" instead of “transforming." He added a few details to Burn’s initial concepts. This could be employed to explain how transformational leadership could be evaluated. The concept also impacts the motivations of the followers as well as the performance of their work. The leader’s transformational level cam be measured in many ways. First, it can be measured in terms of the influence and control that the leader has on his followers. The followers must be able to feel loyalty, trust as well as admiration for the leader. It is because of these features that the transformational leaders are willing to give a lot of hard work to ensure that the workers feel this way towards them. The leader is able to have such results as their attention is geared more on the followers than for self gain. They are able to give the followers a vision or a mission that is inspiring. Consequently, this gives the followers an identity. Through their idealized influence, the leader is able to both motivate as well as change the followers. The leader can also employ their personal considerations as well as intellectual stimulation to inspire their followers. Furthermore, transformational leaders encourage their followers to be creative. This means that they have to come up with new and creative ideas of how they can be able to challenge the status quo as well as change the environment to be supported successfully. Four features of leadership are introduced in transformational leadership. First, there is individualized consideration. This is the level to which any leader attends to the requirement of every follower. This can be through mentoring, coaching or listening to the concerns and the requirements. The leader gives empathy and support, keeps communication open and places challenges before the followers. In addiction, it comprises the need for respect at both levels. This will in turn celebrate the personal contribution that every follower makes to the team. The followers have a dream and a will to develop themselves as well as have an inner motivation for the work they do. Second, there is intellectual Stimulation. These leaders make their followers be more creative and innovative (Kotlyar & Karakowsky, 2006). The leaders make their followers gather new notions and may never criticize them openly for any mistake that they do. Transformational leaders look more on what in issues rather than blaming other people for the mistakes that they have done. Furthermore, such leaders ensure that any established practice that was formed by them is repelled when it becomes ineffective. The fourth level of transformational leadership is idealized influence. This is the level where the transformational leader is a role model for the people. This means that the leaders must be able to represent the values that the followers ought to be mimicking and learning in the organization. For instance, in case a leader has been known to give respect and likes to motivate people, their followers will be motivated to act in a better way. The followers will have to mimic the positive characteristics that the leaders have and then hand them over to the next leadership of the organization (McNaron, 2009). This makes them gain a lot of honor and admiration from the followers. Consequently, this places them in higher ranks of power in the organization. The core of this concept of leadership is the advancement of mission, vision as well as a set of values that every person in the organization can follow. The vision of these leaders is usually so convincing revealing their conviction in the vision. These leaders are optimistic and work with much enthusiasm to ensure that they foster a spirit of commitment and teamwork. Transformational leadership can be employed to improve the satisfaction, development as well as commitment of the workers. Other things that cane be improved include empowerment, inspiration, motivation These are motivation, inspiration empowerment, building a trusting relationship between the leader and the staff, sharing power and decision-making, and rewarding staff for quality and excellence of job achievement. Clear details have been given on Mr. Smith’s portfolio. Employing transformational leadership theory has been useful as it has made us know his objectives, characteristics as well as achievements. It has also enabled us to understand the similarities that the other theories have to each other. Mr. Smith has been able to apply transformational leadership very efficiently to the development as well as improvement of the followers. Consequently, this has enabled the productivity in the organization to increase. Many workers enjoy working with him especially during the staff meetings. He always has a motivational thought to ponder about before the meeting begins. Many workers hope that he will still be the CEO for a long time. They desire that he continues employing the same leadership skills that he has been using. This is because the followers have realized that they have become more motivated to do their work and they can now feel that they belong to the company. They also feel like they have understood a lot of goals, new ideas as well as strategies of work that have been brought forward by the organization. This makes all the workers to be part of the team and they work hard for the vision of the organization to be manifested. In most instances, leaders ensure that the followers embody characteristics like responsibility, hardworking as well as being encouragers. By doing this Mr. Smith knows that the performance as well as the level of commitment of the followers will continue. For a fact, Mr. Smith is a leader who is not only trustworthy but reliable. Most of his workers ensure that they adhere to the organization’s rules and tasks because he has a way of influencing them to do so. Mr. Smith has been able to manage and direct the operations of the company making it become very successful. Mr. Smith knows how to delegate duties based on the ability of the staff to do the work. This in most instances works as a process of motivation. Consequently, this has the ability to ensure that the relationship between Mr. Smith and his followers advances. This has resulted in an increased commitment to the jobs, quicker attainment of goals leads as well as job satisfaction. Mr. Smith has been able to develop staff knowledge as well as experience. Mr. Smith sends his followers to short abroad courses or in nearing nation states. This makes the workers to have more knowledge and educated. This will make them be able to do their work well and effectively. For instance, a leader may opt to motivate their workers by giving monthly salary to the staff that has depicted to work hard and has great achievements. This makes the staff to be able to work harder with a high level of commitment to attain the goals of the organization. This creates competition amongst the staff to work harder with a high level of performance and commitment to achieve the goals of the organization. In addition, the entire process depicts various inspirational skills and how the followers can be motive. The performance as well as the productivity will be increased when goods are delivered with high standards. Conclusion In conclusion, leadership is very crucial in the business world. From the studies, it has been noted that the interaction process between the workers and their leader influences them positively towards attaining the goals of the organization. This kind of leadership is very efficient and effective. It is premised on the notions of inspiration, motivation as well as empowerment of the workers. In addition, such leaders are required to act as role models for their workers to be accountable for their achievement, and the development of workers (McNaron, 2009 :589-560). Additionally, high competency level is attained through this leadership. Staff development, commitment and job satisfaction can be improved by using transformational leadership skills. These are motivation, inspiration, empowerment, building a trusting relationship between the leader and the staff, sharing power and decision-making and rewarding staff for quality and excellence of job achievement. Mr.Smith’s portfolio has been discussed in detail too in the portfolio. Through transformational leadership, her achievement, character as well as objectives have been recognized. In addition, the similarities that exist in them have been depicted. His transformational abilities have been employed effectively towards the improvement of workers. In addition, the skills have been employed for the company’s production. It is really a wonderful experience working with Mr. Smith and many workers desire that he continues to be the CEO for a long time. References Bass, B. M., & Riggio, R. E. (2006). Transformational Leadership (Second ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Burns, J.M. (1978) Leadership. Harper & Row, New York. Chen, J. (2006). International Corporate Highfliers: What Makes Them Tick. British Journal of Administrative Management, 52, 26-27. Karp, T. (2006). Transforming Organisations For Organic Growth: The DNA of Change Leadership. Journal of Change Management, 6, 3-20. Kotlyar, I. & Karakowsky, L. (2006). Leading Conflict? Linkages Between Leader Behaviors and Group Conflict. Small Group Research, Vol. 37, No. 4, 377-403 McNaron M. (2009). ‘Using transformational learning principles to change behavior in the operating theatre’, Aron Journal, vol. 89, no. 5, pp. 859-860. Weathersby, G. (1999). Leadership vs. Management. Management Review, 88, 5. Yukl G, 1998. Leadership in Organizations, 4th edition, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey Read More