Effective Leadership in an Organisation - Coursework Example

Table of Contents 1.0. Introduction 02 2.0. Leadership 02 3.0. Leadership Theories 03 3.1. The Trait Theory 03 3.2. Behavioral Theory 05 3.3. Contingency (Situational) Theory 07 4.0. Article on Leadership 09 5.0. Conclusion 10 6.0. References 11 1.0. Introduction Leadership with efficient management are the two main requirements of any organisation. Efficient leadership qualities of a person give him recognition within an organisation. A leader is required to be strong and confident in character with good communication skills and a clear vision of his activities. Besides this the leader should have a positive attitude and focused on achievement of goals. He should be a risk taker, ambitious and honest. In this assignment we discuss about leadership and the qualities of an efficient leader. Further three different theories on leadership has been discussed, namely, the trait theory, behavioral theory and the contingency theory. A current article on the topic is also elaborated which was reported on the media. 2.0. Leadership Leadership is an important and pivotal role in an organisation, irrespective of its size. It is essential for organisations to achieve their goals and management of their employees. Without leadership the organisations move too slowly and stagnate and more often lose their way or fail to attain their goal (Kinicki, Angelo and Kreitner, 2006). Leadership is a process by which the thoughts, attitudes and behaviours of others are influenced by one individual. Leaders visualise the future for the organisation and they set the direction for the rest. They also encourage and inspire the others in the organisation. Leaders synchronise the employees to perform together and give their effort a direction. Leadership in an organisation involved the following few: Establishment of a clear vision. Sharing the vision with others for them to follow. Providing the information, knowledge and methods to realise the vision. Coordinating and balancing the interests of all stakeholders and members. A leader should have the ability to react in times of crisis and take steps according to the situation. Leadership qualities are something that is inbuilt and cannot be taught to individuals unlike management as both leadership and management are the two essential functions of business (Mills, 2005). Organisational leadership is often manifested in the owner or executive directors of the company. Effective organisational leadership helps in prioritizing of objectives for subordinates and provides guidance toward achieving the overall organisational goals. Leadership has been often considered as an art and sometimes a science. Organisational leadership is a blend of the art and science which gives the organisation direction. Those people have the ability to convert opportunities into advantages (Graen, 2006). 3.0. Leadership Theories Leadership is something which helps in creating a way for people to contribute to result in something extraordinary. Leadership cannot be taught but understanding the theories of organisational leadership assists in the growth and development of leadership skills and also helps in identifying and hiring the potential leaders. 3.1. Trait Theory The trait theory considers that a leader is different from the average person in respect of personality traits like intelligence, perseverance, adjustment, self efficiency and ambition (Yukl, 2006). There are certain assumptions that have been made while deriving at the conclusion of the theory. They are: People are born with inherited traits. Some of the traits are particularly suited to leadership. People who become good or efficient leaders have the right or sufficient combination of traits. Some qualities or traits that a leader should contain are (Fletcher, 2004): Ability of adapting to situations. Alert to social environment. Ambitious and goal achiever oriented. Assertive, cooperative, decisive and dependable. Dominant, energetic and persistent. Self confidence should be on the higher side. Willingness to assume responsibility (Judge and Bono, 2000). The trait theory is basically a psychological approach and they were discovered by studying successful leaders. The theory has some advantages and limitations that can serve a manager in an organisation (Hersey, Blanchard and Johnson, 2001). Advantages of trait theory: The theory is naturally pleasing. The theory is considered valid as a lot of research has validated the foundation and basis of the theory. It has served as a yardstick or a benchmark against which an individual can be assessed for his leadership traits (Vroom, 2000). An elaborate knowledge and understanding of the leader element in a leadership process is described. Apart from the benefits there are certain limitations to the theory which must be evaluated before considering a person as a leader. They are: The theory is bound to some subjective judgement in determining a person as a good or successful leader. The list of possible traits is too long as more than 100 traits of successful leader have been identified. The descriptions are mere generalities. A degree of disagreement lies in approach towards considering one trait over the other as an important criterion for effective leader. The model links physical traits like height and weight to effective leadership whereas they are more aptly related to situational factors. For example the height and weight factors are more applicable in military leadership position. In a business organisation they are not required to be specific for an effective leader. The theory is a very complex one. The trait theory gives rise to the questions that weather leaders are born or made and weather it is an art or science. Even if a person has some inborn qualities to be a good leader, the same has to be encouraged and developed. 3.2. Behavioral Theory This theory addresses leadership as a set of behaviours and style rather than set of traits. There have been few studies regarding the behaviour of the leader in different situations and a result has been made comprising of three different types of leaders as per this approach. 1. Autocratic Leaders: They are those leaders who make decisions without consulting their team. This leadership is appropriate in times requiring quick decision making, no requirement of input and when team agreement is not required for a successful outcome. 2. Democratic Leaders: They allow the team to provide input before any decision is made and the degree of input varies from leader to leader. This style is very must required in situations requiring team agreement but becomes very difficult in times when there are many perspectives and ideas. 3. Laissez-faire Leaders: These leaders do not interfere and allow people within the team to make different decisions. This is highly suited when the members of the team do not require close supervision or are highly motivated and capable. This leadership style usually is a failure as it is a result of lazy or distracted leader (Peretomode, 2012). There are certain assumptions that have been made while deriving this theory. They are: Leaders can be made rather than only born. Successful leadership is based upon definable and learnable behaviour. This approach has concluded that there are two broad categories of behavioural leaders. i. Task oriented leader behaviors: This involves structuring the roles of subordinates, rendering them instructions and the behaviour that shall increase the performance of the group. They are the directions given to the employees within an organisation to complete things as per organisational goals. ii. People oriented leader behaviors: This involves showing concern for the employees and feeling and treating them with respect. This form of leadership cares regarding the well-being of their employees and demonstrates concern in their actions and decisions (Trautmann, Maher and Motley, 2007). Like other approaches this too has its own advantages and limitations. The Advantages are that the theory shows concern for production as well as people thus increasing productivity as well as job satisfaction. The result of this approach was the Managerial Grid which was based upon behavioral approach to effective leadership. The limitations are: Like the trait theory, this too fails as it did not consider the environment in which behaviors were demonstrated (James. 2010). The approach was unrealistic to consider that a set of behaviors would deliver under all circumstances. Specifying the condition under which the behaviors would have been more effective was a better way than the approach made. Thus, it is a very much advisable theory for the managers to add to their management to make better production and employee job satisfaction. 3.3. Contingency (Situational) Approach The contingency or situational theory of leadership propose the organisational or work group context up to which extent the leadership traits and behaviors shall be effective. It is based on the idea of the most appropriate leadership style depending on the situation. The theory is different from other the theories based on characteristics or reward system. The theory describes that the managerial decisions of an organisation are affected by factors like working environment, kind of task at hand and the position of the manager at the time of decision making (Northouse, 2007). The theory makes an assumption like; the appropriate action of the leader basically depends on a range of situational factors. Further there are not much fixed set of assumptions to be made as this theory based upon situation and they might differ at times. For instance, when there is a requirement to make some quick decisions then the approach is the best. The situational favourability can be assessed by the following three factors: i. Leader-member relation: This signifies the level of trust and confidence a team has in its members. A more trusted leader has more influence with the group and in a better position as compared leader who is less trusted. ii. Task structure: It is the type of task that a leader is doing. It may be cleared and structured or vague and unstructured. iii. Position power: This factor signifies if the manager’s level of authority is based on punishing or rewarding the behaviour. The theory has various advantages and bindings which the manager of an organisation should take into consideration in an organisation. The advantages are: The approach is an empirical research as many tests have proved it to be valid and reliable for achieving leadership. The broadened understanding of leadership helps focusing on the impact of situations on the leaders. The data collected through this theory is also helpful in development of leadership profiles. Being predictive helps in providing useful information regarding the type of leadership. By reacting to situations helps in getting the maximum benefit out of it rather than sticking to strict and static policies (Lorsch, 2008). Helps avoiding conflicts between management and employees. The limitations of the theory are: The theory fails to explain why people with certain leadership styles are more effective in some situations than others. The theory also does not explain what the organisation should do in times of mismatch between the leader and the situation at the workplace. 4.0. Article on Leadership An article was issued on 2nd July 2014, by James Heskett, named as: Are today’s business heroes challenging our ideas about leadership. The article brings out the fact that our belief in traditional leadership values should not be challenged by new leadership style. The article stated that the leaders of today like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, etc. should not challenge or cause a change to the old time ideas about leadership. These people are special, entrepreneurs first and then leaders and their leadership importance represent only one phase. They are brilliant in their work but after a certain phase the excitement reduces and there rises a need for a different type of leadership. The leaders of today just debate on the constituents of leadership but there is a need for better evaluation of leaders. The need for maintaining an open mind on the subject is a major required proposed by many. The studies of today portray those individuals as leaders who are not short on vision. The recent educations on leadership like MBWA, servant leadership, authentic leadership, etc. are more suited for the type of leadership shown by Steve Jobs as their leadership skills were challenging people, to complete their work, in a demanding manner. The belief in traditional leadership values should not be attacked by the modern way of approach (Heskett, 2014). 5.0. Conclusion Effective leadership in an organisation is very critical and the most required aspect of the organisation. A leader is required to be having some additional qualities and characteristics. The assignment has discussed the same in details and also the theories related to it like trait theory, behavioural theory and contingency theory. These theories are very helpful for a manager in an organisation to take decisions regarding organisational behaviour. 6.0. References Fletcher, J. K. 2004. The paradox of postheroic leadership: An essay on gender, power, and transformational change. The Leadership Quarterly, 15 (5), 647−661. Graen, G. 2006. New leadership sharing as a key to understanding organizations. In G. Graen, & J. A. Graen (Eds.), Sharing network leadership (vol. 4., pp. 269−279). Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing Heskett, J. 2014. Are Today’s Business Heroes Challenging Our Ideas About Leadership? 02 July, 2014, Working Knowledge: the thinking that leads. Retrieved on 20-09-14 http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/7563.html Hersey, P., Blanchard, K. H., & Johnson, D. E. 2001. Management of Organizational Behavior: Leading Human Resources. Eighth Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc James. 2010. Summarising the Trait theory and limitations of Behavioural theory, retrieved on 20-09-14 http://jseaford.wordpress.com/2010/08/01/summarising-the-trait-theory-and-limitations-of-behavioural-theory/ Judge, T. A., & Bono, J. E. 2000. Five-factor model of personality and transformational leadership. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85, 751–765. Kinicki, Angelo and Kreitner, R. 2006. Organizational Behavior. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Lorsch, J. 2008. A Contingency Theory of Leadership, May, Harvard University. Mills, D.Q. 2005. The importance of leadership: Leadership, How to lead, how to live. Northouse, G. 2007. Leadership theory and practice. (3rd ed.) Thousand Oak, London, New Delhe, Sage Publications, Inc. Peretomode, V. F. 2012. Theories of management: Implications for educational administration. Benin City: Justice Jeco Publishing Global. Trautmann, K., Maher, J. K., & Motley, D. G. 2007. Learning strategies as predictors of transformational leadership: The case of nonprofit managers. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 28(3), 269-287. V. Vroom. 2000. “Leadership and decision making process”, Organizational Dynamics. Vol. 28 Nº 4, pp. 82-94. Yukl, G. 2006. Leadership in Organizations. 6th Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Read More