Not All Leadership Is About Changing or Challenging Peoples Vision of the Future - Essay Example

NOT ALL LEADERSHIP IS ABOUT CHANGING OR CHALLENGING PEOPLE’S VISION OF THE FUTURE Name: Institution Affiliation: NOT ALL LEADERSHIP IS ABOUT CHANGING OR CHALLENGING PEOPLE’S VISION OF THE FUTURE Stanley 2011 discusses various issues that revolve around leadership in the contemporary society. One of the most significant issues in his work is the quote that “Not all leadership is about changing or challenging people’s vision of the future”. The above assertion can be broken down further and analyzed critically to come up with the most appropriate descriptions and conclusions implied by the author. However, first of all, it is imperative to comprehend what leadership is all about. Leadership is the process by which an individual influences others in ways that help attain group or organizational goals. Therefore, leaders in the healthcare sector have a huge role to play. For instance, there are leaders such as nurse leaders who are in charge of several other personnel and programs such as patient care and records. They are dedicated to influencing others in the organization with the primary objective of achieving the goals set by the company. As a result, a leader is an individual who is obliged to exercise control over a group of people. One of the most imperative parts of the quote states that not all leadership is about changing people’s vision of the future. In this case, the author tried to imply that there is a lot more issues that leadership is concerned. “Leadership can be defined as a multifaceted process of identifying a goal or target, motivating other people to act, and providing support and motivation to achieve mutually negotiated goals” (Arrey, 2014). Therefore, in the health sector leaders are responsible for identification of the primary objectives that the organization ought to achieve. One of the most significant common goals in healthcare organizations is the provision of quality services. To achieve this, there are a lot of strategies that can be used by the leaders. One of the most profound strategies is to employ qualified, competent and reliable employees. Most of the organizations in this and other sectors have been successful because of the use of this approach. Secondly, leaders ensure that the required facilities such as computers of record keeping, X-ray machines, and other equipment are available. This gives the personnel such as doctors and nurses humble time to deliver their services efficiently (Roach, 2002). Moreover, successful leadership does not need to change people’s vision of the future but enable them to work as a team. However, for team building to be successful there should be guidelines and frameworks for management. Such structures ensure that the policies of the organization are followed. Multilevel analysis designated that the degree of teamwork at the organization level of analysis moderated the relationship between individual perception of supervisor and job satisfaction. As such, it shows that team building has an influence on employee’s job satisfaction. As a result, it affects the company performance (Aguins & Kraiger, 2009). It is argued that “Team building is the process of helping a work group become more efficient in accomplishing the task and in satisfying the needs of the group member” (Arrey, 2014). This is a clear indication that through team building, organizational problems are amicably solved. Therefore, leaders, especially in the healthcare sector, should encourage employees such as nurses to work in teams so that the objectives of the organization can be achieved efficiently. Also, management and development of human resources are becoming a hard task to every organization. Presently, there has been a significant advancement in technology that has led to the expansion and growth of organizations. Organizations, therefore, require a lot of human resources to keep running in the daily activities. To overcome the challenge of sourcing human resource domestically, organizations are shifting focus to global sources. However, this international human resource issue has both merits and demerits. Cummings at el asserts that “human resources management is a vital function in organizations. It engages everyone, and it takes time. Managing human resources effectively requires that the particular expertise of Human Resources professionals in the human resources department be used by, and in partnership with, line managers and other employees” (Cummings, 2012). However, it is profound to note that it is the role of the leaders to control all the human resource and other resources available in the organization. For instance, in the healthcare sector, leaders are responsible for ensuring that all nurses arrive at work on time. On the other hand, they are the custodians ensuring that all the protocols and codes of conduct are followed effectively. Furthermore, several qualities make a leader outstanding and impressive. One of the most imperative conditions is that leaders should be creative and innovative. Research reveals that innovative leaders in the health sector and other sectors have been crucial in the growth and development of these institutions. Thus, instead of challenging people to change their vision of the future leaders should use innovative strategies to ensure that success is achieved. Secondly, leaders should be motivational in all the aspects. It has been noted that motivated workers perform extremely well as compared to an employee that lacks morale. Several implications can be experienced due to lack of motivation. One of the most significant impacts is that there will be low production in the workplace. For instance, when the nurses are not inspired the patients will not be attended to effectively. Some of them that require close monitoring or emergencies may end up with complications or death. Therefore, to achieve success leaders should ensure that they motivate their employees always (Miller, 2012). On the other hand, it is profound to note that there are several leadership theories and styles. One of the most common leadership styles is the democratic style of leadership. This is characterized by commitment through group management in decision making. This means that the employees are given full participation in the decision-making process. There are several decisions that nurses can make together in the workplace. For example, issues such as quality service delivery, emerging issues, and other problems affecting them in the workplace. Nurses can make decisions such as to priorities on quality service delivery to the patients. As such, each nurse will work with the goal and objective of ensuring that this is achieved. In addition to the above, these types of leadership listen to employee’s ideas and appreciate teams rather than individuals. Thus, it is a clear indication that it emphasizes on consensus. The next form of leadership is authoritative whereby it involves mobilizing people towards the organizational vision. Also, standards are set, and monitoring of performance is ensured. Other styles include situational and transformational leadership styles. Thus, leaders in the healthcare sector should choose the best style that well suits the vision of the organization. Presently, most organizations are utilizing the democratic leadership and management style since it emphasizes on consensus. Everyone in the organization is involved in the critical decision-making processes leading to the development of quality decisions. Leaders as well play a crucial role in setting up the organizational culture. King and Lawley (2012) argue that “Organizational culture for an organization is the ways in which the members of the organization behave.” This could be the workers, the managers, and all the other stakeholders. Any organization has its unique values, beliefs and also principles. These are unique characteristics that differentiate one organization from another. Organizational culture is composed of various components of the organization. This includes the style of management and the leadership forms of the organization. Weinzweig (2014) concluded that “There are only two main ways to build an organizational culture: either with consideration and conscious intent; or, by contrast, to let the culture come together as it does, giving it little thought in the process.” However, setting up organizational culture is a broad term that involves several tools and techniques that must be applied to ensure that organizational culture is achieved. First of all, one of the most significant ways in which leaders can set up organizational culture is to teach it. Weinzweig (2014) argued that the more people are taught about culture, the more they become a reality to them. Leaders can, therefore, take the responsibility to teach its members of the culture. The managers have the responsibility to teach its members issues such as customer satisfaction and service delivery. For instance, they can show them the need to ensure that they deliver best services to their clients. Secondly, the culture can be set by living it. The managers should act as role models to their subordinates. What they do, how they do it will constitute the organizational culture. For example, a manager who arrives at the workplace punctually will motivate the employees to arrive early. Punctuality, therefore, will be part of the organization culture. Every member of the organization will therefore work and live by this culture. Employees that fail to live by the organizational culture will prove unfit for the society. Leaders can, therefore, consider ensuring that they cope with the culture or leave the organization. In conclusion, the success of any organization is largely dependent on the leadership in place. In the health sector, leaders play a crucial role in ensuring the set goals and objectives are achieved. One of the most significant ways of achieving this is to make sure that the employees are motivated. Also, it is the responsibility of the leaders to ensure that the working environment is conducive. However, to achieve all these best leadership theories and styles must be applied. One of the most significantly used techniques is the democratic management and leadership style since it emphasizes of teamwork. Additionally, it ensures that all members of the organization are participating fully in the decision-making process. This leads to the making of quality and highly accepted decisions in the organization. References Arrey, O. B. (2014). Team Building as an Organization Development Strategy. Global Journal of Management and Business Research, 14(3). Retrieved from https://globaljournals.org/GJMBR_Volume14/11-Team-Building-as-an-Organization.pdf King, D., & Lawley, S. (2012).Organizational behavior (3rd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Miller, J. W. (2012). Supervision in the Hospitality Industry (7th ed.). New Jersey, John Wiley and Sons. Roach, M.S. (2012) Caring, the Human Mode of Being: a Blueprint for the Health Professions. Ottawa: Canadian Hospital Association Press. Stanley, D. (2011). Clinical leadership: Innovation into action. Palgrave Macmillan: South Yarra. Cummings, G. G., MacGregor, T., Davey, M., Wong, C. A., Lo, E., Muise, M., & Stafford, E. (2012). Leadership styles and outcome patterns for the nursing workforce and work environment: a systematic review. International journal of nursing studies, 47(3), 363-385. Weinzweig, A. (2015). Five Steps to Building an Organizational Culture. Retrieved April 8, 2016, from http://www.zingtrain.com/org-culture-steps Read More