Executive Leadership - Coursework Example

EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP By Location Executive leadership Introduction In order for any organisation to succeed in achieving its organisational goals and objectives, it is important for it to have a leadership team that is able to steer the organisation towards the achievement of these elements. Leadership can be defined as the process in which a person influences others with the aim of achieving certain goals and objectives. In essence, a leader has to be reliable and trustworthy in order for them to gain the confidence of the people that they are supposed to be leading because this is these are the only things that can motivate them to be committed to the process of achieving goals and objectives. From this, leadership can also be the process of motivating people within an organisation and also organizing them with the aim of achieving a common goal, meaning that leadership can be all about providing guidance. Over the years, researchers have developed theories that revolve around the traits, behaviour, values, power and vision among a list of other elements that helps in explaining leadership. This has also led to the search of the characteristics that leaders should have, which began during the time of Plato and various philosophies have been coined about what leadership entails from that time to date. With this, the essay will be a self evaluation paper by a leader of an organization who will also be the writer seeking to give readers insights on what leadership is based on the theories that exist and also help in solving the challenges presented using these theories. Focus by the writer will also be on the classical theories of leadership with a keen interest on the traits, styles and behavioural attributes for each of the theories and how they can be applied for one’s personal development. Secondly, the writer will evaluate the situational and contingency approaches to leadership for the classical theories and also evaluate the role of power and power politics and how these two can affect the work environment. The various leadership styles, traits and types when combined in order to make a leader shall also be addressed by the writer. Lastly, Goleman’s five point framework shall be used by the writer order to evaluate what a leader is made of in terms of emotional intelligence in an attempt to state the executive leadership problems. The writer is a Chief Strategic Officer of a leading Microfinance institution whose responsibilities include developing, initiating, communicating, implementing and sustaining strategic initiatives within an organization. Other responsibilities attached to this executive are: i. Facilitating the decision making process for both short, medium and long term improvement. ii. Implementing a company’s strategy both internally and externally iii. Networking and partnering with relevant institutions or consultants that can help an organization to execute its key initiatives and goals iv. Monitoring of how the execution process should go as per the strategic plan that they put in place v. Organizing various teams within an organization and ensuring that they increase cohesion among them so as to ensure that they execute the strategies that they are charged with effectively Classical theories: Traits, behavioural and styles For many years, many have held the notion that leaders and managers can be one and the same, but this view is slowly changing because people understand that not all managers are leaders and that not all leaders are managers. With this understanding, literature on leadership have ascertained that there are four main generations of classical theories, namely; trait, behavioural, contingency and transformational theories associated with leadership to which this writer seeks to address. Trait theories For one to be a leader, they have to be able to express themselves effectively and they also tend to know what they want in order for them to motivate others towards the achievement of the desired goals and objectives, which is what the writer also beleives. The ability for leaders to express themselves effectively to other people helps in influencing support and co-operation from the people they lead because of the confidence that comes with being knowledgeable. From this, the assertion presented is that leaders have to have certain qualities in order for them to be viewed as effective leaders within the organisations that they have leadership posts in (Martin 2006, p. 44). The writer believes that qualities and traits are what differentiates leaders from followers meaning that the characteristics that a person portrays is what influences them to become effective leaders while those that do not have these differentiating qualities cannot be distinguished from the followers. According John Gardner’s study on leaders, he noted that certain qualities and attributes that leaders portrayed insinuated that this leader can be able to lead from one situation to the next as effectively as possible. The writer asserts that some of these traits include task competence, action oriented judgment, intelligence, stamina, people dealing skills, the ability to understand the needs of the followers, the need to achieve and their ability to motivate their followers. Adaptability, flexibility, assertiveness, self-confidence, decisiveness, trustworthiness, and courage are the other traits that help identify that an individual is a good leader. One fact is that when a leader lacks any one of these characteristics, it does not necessarily mean that they are not good leaders because this is not the threshold for the traits associated with good leadership. Some of Gardner’s traits are behavioural, others are skills while others are related to intellectual ability and an individual’s temperament. However, the writer writes a challenge that has emerged in his organization over the application of this theory as most people view it as one that is only applicable to men indicating that women are not good leaders making this theory to be questionable. The conclusion that the writer comes to in this case is that it is impossible to make a list that contains all the traits that make a good leader and one that is not gender biased making it to be a not so conclusive theory. Behaviours theory When the trait theory failed to provide conclusive arguments over leadership requirements, researchers turned to behaviour where the focus became on what leaders did that made them to be viewed as effective. In the 1950s and 1960s, theorist moved from the leader based approach to the leadership based approach as the dominant approach to viewing leaderships within organisations (Bowerman & Van Wart 2014, p. 11 ). This led to the grouping together of different behaviour patterns and labeling them as styles, which was a concept that became popular in management training. The writer highlights the four styles that categorize behaviour for leaders as directive leadership, concern for people, participative leadership and the concern for the task. In the concern for the task, the writer discourages this style because the focus tends to be on the achievement of the solid objectives, meaning that leaders with this behaviour are always in pursuit of increasing the productivity levels. They also tend to organize people and influence activities that are focused more on achieving this function for the benefit of the organisations that they serve under. In the concern for people style, the writer suggests leaders tend to look at their followers and their needs, problems, interests and progress instead of just focusing on increasing the productivity levels within an organisation. To the writer, this seems like the ideal approach because it is a people centred approach that increases the chances of influencing productivity, organizational loyalty and job satisfaction for employees. The participative leadership style on the other hand, involves leaders engaging their followers in the decision making process of an organisation rather than them being the sole decision making organs within the same, which the writer also thinks is an ideal leadership approach. The last style is that of directive leadership, which the writer also discourages because it is one where leaders tend to make decisions for other people. The people are mostly their followers and their expectations tend to be that these followers will adhere to the instructions that they have given. In most cases, the writer asserts that these styles can be paired up in order for them to produce the best results and also to help leaders to become more effective in their leadership practice. For instance, the writer pairs participative style with concern for people or concern for the task with directive leadership in order for them to work as desired and also depending on the situation being addressed. The challenge that this approach presented is that its application varies depending on the environment that a leader is working in meaning that one style cannot be substituted for another in certain instances. Situation theories/ Entrepreneurship and leadership According to the writer, researchers turned to situations and instances where leaders tend to be created from that facilitated them to exercise leadership duties because the situations required for leaders and one had to emerge. The logic behind situational leadership is that leaders are created out of different circumstances, especially during moments of crisis or when there was a power vacuum that has to be filled. Some researchers also view this theory from a basis of how leaders and followers view each other, which illustrates the hierarchy of leadership. Certain researchers share the view that situation theory also could be coupled with style depending on the particular context of leadership that is at hand. The implication of this is that some people can emerge as leaders because of their ability to manoeuvre different situations by having to change their styles to suit the situation, which the writer believes every good leader should be able to do this. This paved way for the contingency approach in which Fred Fiedler argued that effective leadership depended on leadership style and the level to which a situation enables a leader to have control and influence over the situation and the followers (Briggs 2008, p. 30). In order for this approach to work position, power, the structure of the task and the relationship between followers and their leaders were the most critical factors at play. In essence, the writer asserts that when a leader is respected by his followers, chances are that he will have the support of his followers because the followers like him. A task has to be clearly presented in terms of the goals that should be achieved, the expected performance standards and the ways in which it is executed in order for the followers to follow through and also allow leaders to execute their role. Thirdly, the writer insists that organisations tend to give powers to individuals that have leadership qualities with the main purpose being that of making sure that the organisational task are completed in good time. When a leader has such powers, then this increases their influence over the followers because their instructions become unquestioned and have to be followed to the latter. In this case, the writer being a leader in his organization works with the interest of the organisation at heart, though at times personal ambitions can also get in the way in terms of gaining mileage in their careers. In situations where leaders have to have a job done, followers tend to told what they are supposed to do by leaders rather than doing what they are supposed to do making it important for a leader to choose how they can get the work done. In essence, the writer tends to tell followers what to do, which tends to be a high task and low relationship behaviour between his followers and him because it is more about providing the direction that the former needs the task in order for them to complete the same. The writer recommends this style for leaders to use when they are dealing with new employees or in cases where tasks have to be completed within a very short time. The view that leaders hold in this style is that the followers are not able to perform tasks without being forced to do them because they are not willing to perform them. Secondly, leaders can use the selling approach where the focus tends to be high on the task and also high on the relationship behaviour. The leader can be the one giving all the directions on the tasks that should be executed while they also strive to influence the followers to buy into the idea of the task should be handled. In most cases, this writer can choose to motivate the followers when selling the idea to them in order for them to buy into the way in which they should execute the tasks assigned to them. This in turn makes them more than willing to help in the process of handling the tasks effectively. Leaders can also opt to delegate duties to followers whereby the relationship between them and the followers is low while the behaviour of the followers towards the tasks assigned to them is also low (Daft 201, p. 419). The writer agrees that in order for a leader to effectively delegate, they have to be competent enough to identify the problem that has to be fixed because only competent leaders know what should be done. Alternatively, the writer uses the participating approach where there is a high relationship between them and the followers and the task behaviour tends to be low also. In this approach, the decision making approach is a collective approach that he stretches to include the followers and the leaders in which the leader plays the role of communicating and facilitating the process. Followers here tend not to be mature enough so as to be willing to participate, but are able to contribute to the process where the writer being a leader has to provide direction on how the decision can be arrived at. As much as there exists several approaches to leadership and various styles, the application tends to differ across cultures where the writer argues that it can be gender affiliated in terms of women viewing leadership from a caring and nurturing perspective while men are only task oriented. The implication of this is that females are likely to serve in sectors that are people centred while men are likely to work in industries that are performance oriented. Transformational leadership and charismatic Essentially, transformational leaders tend to be leaders that have a vision who focus more on appealing to their followers by nurturing them towards the place where they should be as individuals making them to be the agents of change (Kelly & Tazbir 2014, p. 12). A charismatic leader can be involved in team leadership, act as a catalyst for change within an organisation or are viewed as the strategic visionaries within an organisation. This type of leader tends to raise the level of awareness for followers, helps them understand the value of the expected outcomes, and still helps the followers to devise ways on how to achieve them. Additionally, the writer insists that this type of leader helps in bringing the needs of the followers to the light and focuses on how best to achieve them in order for the leader to capture their loyalty and commitment towards the organisational goals at hand. The writer as a transformational leader tends to apply the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs framework in order for him to address the needs and wants of his followers based on their priorities for the good of the organisation. Based on the leadership styles discussed above, a leader can be seen from either of these approaches as long as they accomplish the organisational tasks through the help of their followers for the good of their organisations. The role of power, politics, and influence in the work environment Power is described as the ability of a group of people or a person to influence other people to which the people that have power might be aware or not aware that they have this ability (Daft & Lane 2007, p. 362). The writer insists that people that can influence others have power and also the people that have knowledge that other people do not have also do have power. Influence on the other hand, refers to the behaviour that a group of person performs in an attempt for them to change the attitudes and behaviours of other people. In an organisational setting, there can be the silent authority that does not demand influence, but their mere presence is enough to influence others. Silent authority can be a business owner or the top brass management, which the writer is part of it in which their influence is known and is given simply because of the positions they hold within an organisation. Another type of authority that can create influence is the assertiveness type in which a manager uses confrontation, issue threats and reminders as a way of changing the behaviour or attitudes of the followers or employees. The writer is not in agreement with this type of authority because it influences poor relationships with followers and also at times creates conflicts that can be avoided. This in turns makes the work environment not to be conducive because people work in fear rather than being committed to the organizational goals. Persuasion is the other influence type that the writer applies where he makes use of facts and logic when trying to convince or influence others (Vigoda-Gadot & Drory 2006, p. 338). Others use the transactional type where they issue rewards and in turn gain the influence that they desire or the desired behaviour. On the contrary, the writer intimates that some leaders or employees within his organisation can form coalitions as a way of influencing a managerial decision, which should be one that would protect their interests. He agrees that some people might use this to gain influence by impressing the management team in order for them to get promotions within an organisation. When either of the types of influence is applied, the results and behaviours exhibited, tend to be different because they may either provoke resentment or benefits to both the individuals applying them and the organisation that they work in. The writer illustrates that he has met resistance, which made him to develop poor working relationships with his colleagues while compliance can be a positive outcome from influential behaviour. In an organisational setting, the writer has seen people choosing to comply because their noncompliance leads to non desirable consequences or they can comply based on the benefits that they are likely to reap out of their compliance behaviour. Working relationships can only remain intact if the influential behaviour attracts commitment from those being influenced, which can occur if the people agree with the ideas that the influencer brings forth that are likely to bring change and happiness within the work environment. When it comes to workplace politics, most people tend to harbour the desire to rise through the ranks within an organisation in order for them to get to the top and might do so by playing politics. From the writer’s experience, the desire to climb to the top is not only pushed by the desire to have more money, but it is usually propelled by the desire to have more power. This brings about the issue of workplace politics, which tends to have a negative aspect attached to it because the influential behaviour used tends to be negative or manipulative. In essence, the writer acknowledges that a person can achieve their goals of being at the top of an organisation through persuasion while the ones that bring a bad name to work place politics can use unethical behaviour in pursuit of their interests. The implication of this is that every employee within an organisation engages in workplace politics at some point, meaning that this behaviour might not be a negative approach to gaining power. Politics can also come to play when a person wants to remain in the same position and not seek for any promotion post meaning that they use strategies that will make them not viable for managerial posts, which can also be a form of workplace political because of harbouring an agenda. Emotional intelligence and Goleman’s five point framework Emotional intelligence as a concept was developed by Salovey Peter and Mayer John in 1997, which denoted the ability to access, perceive and produce emotions in order to assist in thinking as part of understanding emotional knowledge with the aim of regulating emotions and promoting both emotional and intellectual growth. Based on this theory, Daniel Goleman developed the five point framework in an article that was published in 1999. The five point framework includes: Self awareness- which the knowing of a person’s emotions, weaknesses, drives, values, goals, and strengths and ascertaining their impact on other people through the use of gut feelings as the guide to making decisions (Crow & Semmens 2008, p. 120). Self regulation- which requires that a person manages and redirects their emotions that are disruptive emotions and them adapting to the changing circumstances. Social skill- the managing of the emotions of others in order for people to move towards the desired direction Empathy- understanding, recognizing and factoring in the feelings of people when it comes to decision making Motivation- a person motivates themselves and are driven to attain the set goals for the sake of achieving them According to Goleman, the emotional intelligence competencies are not talents that lie within individuals but are usually learned capabilities that must be constantly be worked on n order for the outcomes to be astounding. Goleman’s belief was that humans are usually born with general emotional intelligence that serves as determining factor for them to learning emotional competencies. An example of a situation where the writer applied the Goleman’s framework would be when he asked to describe a time when he failed to achieve the goals and objectives that he had set. He gladly does so because he is self aware because he understands that the failure was part of him achieving growth and it can happen to anyone. However, it would be inappropriate to discuss the failure if he did not take the necessary actions that would have prevented this because taking a back seat while things are going cannot be an application of Goleman’s framework. Psychodynamics & leadership The psychodynamic leadership approach is based on the understanding that leaders have to have an insight into their psychological make up and also understanding the psychological make up of their colleagues in order for them to become more effective. The advantage that this approach brings is that it requires that a leader does not rely on assumptions about their personality or characteristics but should have an insight into their emotional responses and habits. The key to becoming an effective leader based on this approach is that a person has to understand that they cannot change their personalities, which influences their characteristics. Additionally. Leaders should also understand that the people that surround them tend to encourage them to have an insight their personalities and helps them to understand the responses to both the leader and each other. Bibliography Bowerman, KD & Van Mart, M 2014, The Business of Leadership: An Introduction, London, Routledge Press. Briggs, DG 2008, The relationship between leadership practices and organisational effectiveness outcomes a public transit agency study, Thesis (Ph.D.)--Capella University, 2008. Crow, I & Semmens, N 2008, Researching criminology, Maidenhead, Open University Press. Daft, RL & Lane, PG 2008, The leadership experience, Mason, OH, Thomson/South-Western. Daft, RL 2010, Management, Mason, Ohio, South-Western Cengage Learning. Kelly, P & Tazbir, J 2014,Essentials of nursing leadership & management, Boston, CengageBrain Press. Martin, B 2006, Outdoor leadership: theory and practice, Champaign, Ill, Human Kinetics. Vigoda-Gadot, E & Drory, A 2006, Handbook of Organisational Politics, Cheltenham, Edward Elgar Pub. Read More