Effective Leader and Organizational Change - Essay Example

Student Name: Tutor: Title: Effective Leader and Organizational Change Course: Institution: Date: Introduction Organizational change will always be part of any company at one time or another. The changes can be due to new strategies or external factors caused by the changes in the global economic scenes. The organizational change may have negative impacts on the organization if it is not handled well. It is for this reason that an effective leader is required to steer the company to success despite the organizational change. Successful organizational change is closely linked to effective leadership (Kreitner, 2004). Several theories have been put forward to explain the characteristics of an effective leader and the role that the leader is supposed to play during organizational change. The success of the organization will also depend with the decisions made by the leader during times of change in the organization (Montana, 2008). The leadership style will also define how the employees of the company will relate with the leader. The paper with thus discuss three theories of leadership and how they affect the implementation of organizational change. The theories that will be analyzed includes; contingency theory, path goal theory and authentic leadership. Several examples of organizational change in organizations will also be analyzed alongside the leadership theories. Leadership theory Contingency theory of leadership Several theories of leadership have emerged over the years. The earliest being during the time of Aristotle. It is thus evident that several people have tried to define effective leadership since the earlier times. Several theories have also been put in place to explain who an effective leader is only for new ideas to disprove the theories. However, the contingency theory which came up in the 1970s provided most of the answers concerning an effective leader (Suetake, 2007). This was mainly because the theory came up after the economy had witnessed a lot of changes both stable and unstable and thus it gave rise to the trait and characteristics of an effective leader and how they should conduct themselves in times of changes within the organizational environment. This theory is thus based on the flexibility in terms of leadership due to the constant changes in the markets and the organization itself (Zaccaro, 2001). An effective leader will therefore ensure that the company is not caught of guard due to changes in the market environment or internal issues (Klimoski, 2001). This theory puts a lot of emphasis on the environment which is ever dynamic and the leader needs to take note of it. In some instances, the organizational change might be in terms of the employees. The employees form the main pillar of success in the company depending on how they are managed. Most employees are usually resistant to change. The resistance is usually caused by being used to certain organizational behaviors and cultures. This theory puts more emphasis on the flexibility of the leader. A flexible leader will know how to handle the employee at any time depending on their demands. This will play a big role in saving the company from collapse due to poor attitudes towards the company by the employees. A leader who has only one trait like being ethical or understanding may end up loosing the respect of the employees incase he or she decides to go against their wishes at such a point (Zweifel, 2008). The practical aspect of this leadership theory is at Nissan Motor Company in Japan which experienced organizational change. The company was aiming at being the best in the motor vehicle industry. It made several innovations but the company was faced with a financial crisis in the late 1990s (Suetake, 2007). It had to join Renault and many analysts believed that the company would collapse as a result of the huge debts it had. The chairman sacked the CEO and a new CEO by the name Ghson was appointed. He made a lot of changes to the company and was credited from rescuing the company from collapse. He put in place structures that ensured that the company was able to be back at the top again. The CEO brought back the glory to the company by changing the management styles, reducing the production plant, reducing the number of personnel, reducing the debts, cutting costs and reducing the number of partners. These measures were able to steer the company forward and ensured the company was able to manage change. This is considering the losses in which the organization had suffered. The losses amounted to millions of dollars which was not good for the company. The organizational management at the management level was thus necessary. A completely new team was formed and measures put in place to ensure that the company is able to meet its goals and objectives. It was later reported that the company was able to emerge at the top again after the changes were made. In the year 2003, the company had paid off all its debt and it was ranked second in terms performance. This example therefore proves that an effective leader makes a lot of contributions towards the success of the organizational change. However as witnessed in the article, a leader who is not effective cannot implement organizational change which automatically leads to the failure of the whole company Path goal theory This theory tries to put forward the fact that a leader should always act in a manner that satisfies and motivates the performance of the subordinates. This theory also suggests that the leader should be able to choose the right path that will ensure that the subordinates are able to achieve their own goals as well as that of the organization (House, 1996). This theory also emphasizes the fact that leaders should not be rigid but flexible. This is mainly for the purpose of ensuring that they respond to any situation regardless of its nature. If a leader is rigid, then it will be quite challenging for them to be able to respond to different situations. This theory also suggests that it is the responsibility of the leader to guide his or her followers to attain the goals of the organization as swell as their own goals. This theory also recognizes the fact that a leader should be achievement oriented, directive, participative and supportive to his or her followers. It is very important for the leader to guide his or her followers for the purpose of ensuring that they are successful. This is because the followers will always develop good attitude towards the organization once they feel that they are part of the company. When the leader takes the initiative of guiding the employees, then they will feel that they are not left out and are relevant to the organization. This will lead to the employees giving their best since they will not want to disappoint the leader. The commitment by the employees will always lead the organization to success. When a leader creates such an atmosphere in the organization, then the employees will also be free to talk to the leader and express any problems that could be hindering their performance. This will provide a solution to the leader and in areas that require improvements and decision making. Incase of organizational change, the leader will be able to explain the process to the employees and it will be easy for them to understand since they have always enjoyed a good working relationship with the leader. Using the concepts of this theory it is evident that an effective leader will guide the organization to success during changes. The leadership at IBM ensures that the company moves forward in times of changes. The CEO encourages the employees to be more innovative and respond to changes positively (IBM, 2012). Innovations and organizational change has been made as one of the objectives of the company. The leaders at the company are quite supportive to the employees when changes are being implemented. The company has thus gained recognition for better leadership styles that supports the employees to adapt to changes. The company leadership also has strategies that enable it to deal effectively with external factors that cause changes within the organization. This proves that leadership is directly related to effective change management. The company is also considered one of the best in the world in terms of effective leadership. The close association of the leaders at the company and the employees is a concept of path-goal theory which suggests that when the leader is in control of the followers, then it will be easy for them to adapt to changes. This has made the company successful. Authentic leadership This theory of leadership encompasses other facts that need to be put into consideration by the leaders. The theory puts in place issues that surround the ethical; values as compared to the practical aspects of a leader. This theory suggests that a leader should be able to stand alone whenever they believe that they are right in doing certain issues that are ethical (Cohen, 2011). A leader according to this theory should also be fearless and make decisions that are right regardless of the situation. Incase of a resposibility, the leader should be able to take full responsibility for his or her action regardless of the outcome. A leader should also be firm enough and should not fear any situation regardless of how bad it may be. Any situation should be faced with courage and solution be put in place. When it comes to decision making, the leader should never personalize issues regardless of the outcome. This theory therefore explains that a good leader should be able to follow the mentioned steps and attributes. When it comes to organizational change a leader will only be successful if he or she is determined and follows the ethical steps in the theory (Hyatt, 2012). An effective leader will always ensure that he or she is not compromised and that if an issue has to be done then it should be implemented. This trait will be very useful in cases of internal organizational changes. In case some employees or the members of the management are hindering changes meant to benefit the company, the leader will act according to the rules of the organization regarding the issue. This will ensure that the leader is working with the right team which will ensure that the company moves forward. When the leader is fearless regardless of the situation facing the company, then the leader will be able to combat any situation or changes facing the company. Any decision he or she makes will only be for the interest of the organization. Organizational change will therefore take place when the leader is principled and ethical. The World Bank is an organization that has undergone a lot of changes. This is caused by the leadership of the organization. Whenever a leader takes the position of the CEO, then changes are usually made (Denning, 2007). When a leader called James Wolfsohn took over the control of the company as the president, he effectively implemented organizational change. He believed that the company required decentralization and a new vision he had passion, consistency, compassion and connectedness He implemented the changes without any fear or favor and the bank made a lot of improvements. The president also believed that the issues of ethics define a company. He made a lot of independent decisions and was able to steer the company to success in terms of managing the changes that were facing the company. Through his effective leadership style, he ensured that change management was successful. This proves that an ethical and principled leader will be able to handle change management and steer the company to glory and success. Conclusion In conclusion, an effective leader will always be very instrumental in times of organizational change. Several theories in the paper have been put forward for the purpose of explaining the characteristics and roles of an effective leader. According to the contingency theory of leadership, a leader is supposed to be flexible enough to respond to any organizational change. The situation at Nissan Motors is an example of flexibility in leadership during organizational change. The path goal theory puts emphasis on the ability of a leader to have good relationship with the employees. This attribute was important in promoting innovations at IBM and encouraging the employees to move forward even when changes are being witnessed. A leader should also be able to stand alone and make firm decisions in times of implementing changes. This is according to the authentic leadership theory. This attribute of leadership was applicable in instituting changes at the World Bank. . References Montana, P, et al, 2008, Management: Leadership and Theory, Barron's Educational Series, Inc., Hauppauge, New York, 4th English edition, 2008. ISBN 0-7641-3931-2. 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