Why Is Leadership Critical - Coursework Example

Leadership Challenge Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Name Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Course Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Lecture Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Date Introduction The role of leadership in organizations has been the subject of debate in organizational management for a long time. Lately there has been increased focus advocating for a shift from managing organizations to leading them. This then brings up the questions of why is leadership so critical in modern organizations. Why do organizations need to have adequate leadership in place to succeed?. This paper deals with the question of leadership in modern workplaces. First, it tackles the questions of why leadership is important in a modern workplace. Secondly, it analyzes the factors that contribute to the increasing leadership challenge in organizations. Thirdly, it proposes two management theories that can be applied in practice to make more effective leaders and also offers various strategies leaders can use to overcome their leadership challenge. Towards the end, the paper presents the implications of the research on management practice. Finally, the paper concludes that leadership is a critical ingredient for the success of modern organizations. Why is Leadership Critical In modern organizations the focus has changed from managing organizations to leading them. According to Deanne and Hartog (2001), the modern workplace has become a complex demanding environment where people need to guided rather than commanded. In the modern business environment organizations have to contend with intense competition while adhering to a number of regulations. The performance of an organization is dependent on the relationship of the organization to its employee. Ultimately the most important cliché of employees are knowledge workers and organizations are in intense competition to attract and maintain the most talented. An organization also needs leaders to inspire employees to work towards the goals of the organization. Jones, George and Hill (2003) notes that knowledge workers are becoming increasingly important to an organization’s success than innovation, capital or the physical assets of the organization. Organizations now rely on talented workers to come up with new ideas and products that drive growth. Leadership in an organization is thus a key ingredient in the attraction and motivation of key workers in realization of the organizational goals. According to Robbins et al (2011), leadership is all about getting the job done while making sure good relationship are built. A leader knows getting the job done, but a breaking relationship is a sure way of lowering the morale of workers. Good relationship with employees is important as they are the production capacity of the company (Brown 2001). Therefore, a good leader takes care to preserve good relationships in the workplace and these have a direct bearing on the production capacity of the people he is leading. In order for organizations to achieve their goals tasks have to be completed. For tasks to be completed stalemates in between team and teammates in the organizations should be resolved as soon as possible. In an organization where everybody offers his ideas as solutions conflicts over which direction to take will always occur (Laudon and Laudon 2011). Leadership is therefore needed in organization to resolve these stalemates so that team work can remain fluid. Normally, employees are not motivated to do more for an organization than what their job descriptions ask them to do (Brown 2001). To motivate them to do more than just their call of duty, an organization needs quality leaders who behave in a way employees want to emulate. In essence leaders have to lead by example for others in the organization to exhibit similar behavior. Leading by example leads to the creation of a positive organizational culture that is critical to the success of modern organizations. According to Hallinger and Snidvongs (2008) poor leadership is a detriment to an organization. First, poor leadership causes a high turnover of skilled employees in the organizations. Secondly, it negatively affects the performance of employees in the organization by demotivationg them. It is therefore important for organizations to develop the right type of leadership in their organization through an appropriate leadership development system. Factors contributing to Leadership Challenge In today’s workplace, the composition of the workforce is changing greatly. More than ever before the workplace is more and more diverse. Leaders must possess the interpersonal skills to manage this diversity. The generation that is joining work shows a disregard for the Hierarchical system of authority and prefers to work in collaboration with their leaders. Accenture, a global consultant company decentralized its management and allowed its workers to make the most of their own decisions (Jones, George and Hill 2003). After flattening its structure Accenture was rewarded with increased creativity and better performance. On the other hand people of different cultural background are present in organizations all over the globe further contributing to the complexity of the leadership challenge. The modern economy is shifting from an industrial economy to a knowledge and service based economy (Jones, George and Hill 2003). Information management and innovativeness are now the crucial areas for the survival of any organization. Contemporary employees need to be innovative and are eager to learn new ideas. It is the responsibility of the leader to facilitate a learning and risk taking culture in their environment. On the other hand leaders must realize the importance of utilizing and transferring the information available to the business (Laudon and Laudon 2011). Globalization is one of the other factors that has contributed to the increasing challenge of leadership in organizations. According to Jones, George and Hill (2003), businesses are becoming integrated into a globalized world presenting new leadership challenges. Leaders must possess skills to manage the diverse workforce if they are to operate in foreign nations. For example, leading Japanese employees is different from leading Australian one as the Japanese have a collectivist worldview that emphasizes on group performance over individual performance. Leaders in contemporary workplace have to also deal with the problem of sustainable business. The ecology of the world faces several threats top among them being global warming. Leaders must lead their followers in developing and implementing organizational practices that not only achieve the organization's objectives but do so in a sustainable way (Jones, George and Hill 2003). Leadership in organizations is also faced with continuous change. In a competitive business environment success nowadays is guaranteed by how fast an organization can change to align its products with the needs of the market (Caiozzo, M n.d). Employees are thus forced to learn to change faster and perform better raising stress levels in the workplace. According to Caiozzo, M (n.d) leaders are the consistent factor in the organization and must be resilient in be ready to thrive on the change in the organization rather than be threatened by it. Finally, there is increased focus on efficiency and effectiveness in organizations. Organizational resources are limited and leaders are expected to make the best out of what is available (Drucker 2007). Consumers put pressure on the organization by constantly looking for the best deals and sharing their service experiences. Organizations thus have to enhance their value offering to customers. This in turn means employees are pressured to perform more than ever before. Leaders therefore have to motivate employees while at the same time emphasizing the need for optimum performance. Theories to enhance leadership effectiveness Leaders in organizations can apply various theories of management to improve their management practice. One of these theories includes the Blake/Moutons leadership Grid which is behavioral theory. According to behavioral theories, leaders should exhibit the behavior they expect from their followers. According to Brown (2001) leadership in organizations has two dimensions “Concern for people” and “Concern for Task”. An interaction of the two dimensions as axis on a grid produce 81 different leadership styles. Blake and Mouton identifies the a management style referred to as team management as the ideal leadership style in a successful organization (Brown, 2001). According to Brown (2001) the ideal manager must show more concern for people than a task to be successful. The Blake/Mouton approach emphasizes on the development of trustful and respectful relationships between leaders and their followers in the organization. According to (Deanne and Hartog 2001), team management enhances productivity in employees as there is interdependence through a common goal. Through team management leadership can be able to reduce turnover of its valuable talent and the satisfaction of employees is guaranteed. Johnson and Johnson is an example of an organization that uses the concern for people approach in its human resource management practice. Johnson and Johnson HRM philosophy emphasizes respect and dignity for its employees and in turn the firm enjoys a competitive advantage over rivals through better performance of its workforce (Jones, George and Hill 2003). A leader may also enhance their leadership practice by applying the situational theory of leadership. According to the situational theory there is no one ideal style of management and leadership style must match the management situation. According to Jones, George and Hill (2003) situational theories leaders have the concern for people is critical. In situational theories, leaders have to be better listeners, coaches, motivators and risk takers. One of the dominant situational theories is the contingency theory proposed by Fiedler. According to Brown (2001), the effectiveness of a leader is rooted in an individual ability to lead in various situations. According to Fiedler identifies two sets of leaders; the relationship motivated leaders who have an emphasis on good interpersonal relationships, and the task oriented leader who prioritizes tasks over interpersonal relationships (Brown 2001). Drucker (2007) shows either style of leadership is effective depending on the leadership situation at hand. Strategies to overcome the Leadership Challenge Leaders in organizations can overcome their leadership challenge in a number of ways (Robbins et al 2011). First, leaders must become better at influencing followers. In leadership techniques have to be informed by values, emotions or reasons and should induce enthusiasm for the realization of the task ahead. Leaders must also be superior in communicating and should be clear in the ideas and opinion they convey to their audience, just as important listening and reaction to what is being said is important. Finally, leaders must exhibit high levels of self confidence and act on their own convictions in order to gain the respect of their followers. Implications for management From the discussion above, the need for leadership in the organization has been clearly set out. Leadership is needed in organizations to attract, retain and align the best talent in the labor market with the organization's goals. Consequently, Organizations must make sure they recruit and develop an appropriate leadership style to survive the turbulent modern business environment. Conclusion Through effective leadership organizations attract and motivate their knowledge workers to achieve their organizational goal. Having the right leadership translates to having the right workforce that is focused on meeting the organization's goals. On the other hand, inadequate leadership means top talents ignore or leave an organization therefore leading to its decline. References Brown, A 2001, Biographical Dictionary of Management, Thoemmes Press, New York. Caiozzo, M n.d, What is Leadership and Why is it Important, accessed 30th April 2012, http://www.mattcaiozzo.com/what-is-leadership-and-why-is-it-important/ Deanne, N & Hartog, D 2001, Leadership in organizations; Handbook of Industrial, Work & Organizational Psychology, Organizational Psychology, Vol 2, pp. 166. Drucker, P. F 2007, Management challenges for the 21st century, Routledge, London Hallinger, P., & Snidvongs, K 2008, Educating Leaders Is There Anything to Learn from Business Management?. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, Vol 36, no. 1, pp. 9-31. Jones, G. R., George, J. M., & Hill, C. W 2003, Contemporary management, McGraw-Hill/Irwin, New York: Robbins, S., Millet, B., Boyle, M., and Judge, T. 2011, Organisational Behavior, 6th Edition, Pearson Education, NSW Laudon, K. & Laudon, J. 2011, Managing Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm, 12th Edition, Pearson, NSW Read More