Leadership in Modern-Day Organisations - Coursework Example

Leadership in Modern-Day Organisations Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Introduction The focus of this paper is on examining the current trend in leadership styles and challenges as executed in the modern-day organisations. The first section of this provides a definite discussion on the importance of leadership in modern workplace. In the next section the essay provides a discussion elaborating on the different factors that contribute to the challenges faced in leadership. The final section of the paper provides a discussion on how efficient managers can adopt theories for purposes of informing their leadership in these modern organisations. A. Need For Leadership In Modern Organisations Research indicates that leadership is indeed a complex issue that is of paramount importance within any given modern organisation (Rooke & Torbert, 1998). The current operational environment for most organisations is characterised by a dynamic; fast-paced and globalised business village; which then calls leaders to emulate distinctive leadership skills for purposes of determining effective ways for which they can manoeuvre their organisations through possible crises while still being able to maintain a succinct business culture. It is important to note that leaders are people that portray a given degree of capacity and ability to engage others for purposes of moving them forward towards realisation of organisation’s immediate goals and objectives (Rooke & Torbert, 1998). In today’s world, leaders are deemed to be an important lot since they possess the capability to formulate experiences that can later be mined for future leadership references and development and thus, leverage those occurrences that happen naturally. Notably, transformations of any sought require distinctive leadership. In fact, it is being ascertained that it is as a result of transformations witnessed in modern-day organisations that there is massive level of successes in modern business. Increasingly, transformative leaders engage in activities that seek to create organisations that have a competitive edge over the years; a crucial component that ensures profit maximisation. Considering the extensive level of transformations being witnessed in today’s organisations, it can be safely noted that the entire process is being initiated by top management leadership (Rooke & Torbert, 1998). Managers tend to perceive positive attributes related to the aspect of change in relation to the organisation since it avails an opportunity for renewal and refocusing; a definite attribute for successful business organisations. Of particular interest to note, for modern-day business organisations, leaders are perceived to be shapers of transformations or change. Leadership provides a framework that controls tasks that should be executed; set pace for junior workers; and also, ensure to ascertain that others follow them in bringing modern change of operations and especially in relation to technological advancements (Bellamy, 2015). Considering that a leader possess more influence over their respective followers, they perform a directive role and stronger sense of guidance in the event that there is any form of resistance for change. Leadership, in today’s business environment, act as an enabling factor for positive transformations. It ensures to enable the creation of an environment that encourages and re-energises people in order to contribute and grow from the overall transformation process altogether. Change-focused leadership allows for the formulation and formation of identity and relationships in organisations, which have been crucial elements in modern business environments (Bellamy, 2015). Bellamy (2015) further argues that leadership achieves change and avoid possible crises in this century by engaging in such important aspects role-modelling distinctive personnel behaviours; preparing communication of values and goals of an organisation as well as directing more focus to worker-based relationships that are deemed important for transforming organisations to the next level. Indeed, the commitment workers portray towards change is focused on emotional alignment. Leadership thus creates a platform that aligns personal interests with organizational immediate goals and objectives. It facilitates them to come up with an identity that they would easily identify with hence become emotionally attached (Rock, 2014). A perfect example is the sense of pride that is portrayed by Google employees who are emotionally attached to the organisation’s needs and goals; through their set of attitudes. The organisation’s top leadership management makes sure to connect with each and every of their employees through virtual meetings where they are allowed to share their suggestions to the top most manager. As a result, their feelings and attitudes towards leadership are thus enhanced; a factor that is later perceived in high productivity rates. In fact, it is as a result of such involving leadership that Google leadership has managed to modify behaviours of new employees so that they can easily fit and relate with others. In the modern-day organisations, leaders create emotional realignment through a number of ways that reflect the current market needs and trends. For instance, a successful leadership model would ensure to formulate and implement a successful shared vision for the future (Trapp, 2014). To avoid possibility of being edged out by close rivals, businesses are expected to come up with a vision that is jointly created and is motivational in nature. Certainly, leadership are expected to ensure that they depict the aspect of clarity especially in regards to the items of ownership of the strategies so that the organisation’s immediate vision is made a reality. Trapp (2014) notes that today’s business success is brought about as a result of fundamental research made in relation to the aspect of motivation and inspiration. A compelling and shared vision is a perfect tool for enhancing transformations and dynamic aspects facing the modern-day business environment. Following the discussion, it is worth to note that indeed plays very critical role in bringing about success of any given organisation. In essence, possible absence of effective and transformative leadership; it remains clear that there is no organisation that operates efficiently in the current ever-changing environment. Possible set of complex and non-traditional conflicts that would definitely exist in modern organisations would be easily identified and solved by effective leadership. Through their influences, successful leadership allows for junior staff to come up with new suggestions that would help foster relations and catapult productivity capacities to even higher levels. B. Factors Contributing to Challenges of Leadership It is true to postulate that effective leadership within organisations is indeed faced with a myriad of challenges. In fact, the life and times of a modern-day leader is not as easy and people might presume. Within their organisations, these leaders are expected to motivate and lead a rather diversified group of workers; improve existing levels of efficiencies and attain pre-set goals. In the external environment, the same managers are faced with a much complex and globalised operating environment like managing the stipulations put forth by the government; monitor close rivals and meet the immediate needs of different stakeholders (Gentry et al, 2016). Suffice to note, it is within this globalised modern-day environment that there is extensive levels of cultural stipulations that leaders are expected to face and solve in order to be ascertained as being effective. Thus, the below are some of the factors that contribute to this level of challenges amongst leaders across the world. First, it can be ascertained that leadership faces lots of challenges due to the need for developing managerial effectiveness. Leaders are, day-to-day, exposed to the issue related to development of such relevant managerial skills as prioritisation, strategic thinking and decision-making in order to be more effective in the line of duty (Gentry et al, 2016). For instance, modern leaders are faced with workload-related challenges that is characterised by a significant number of projects going on at a similar time with limited resources thereby posing the challenge of prioritising them effectively. To effectively suppress this issue, leaders are called to engage in proactive goal-setting exercises by way of setting the timelines and deadlines for each of these goals and objectives; they are expected to delegate even more as a way of empowering the workers and improving their productivity levels; and ensure to only work on those tasks that are able to maximise a leader’s unique value-addition (Day et al, 2014). Secondly, the ability to inspire others is yet another factor that contributes to challenges in leadership. Leaders today are faced with the challenge of identifying and implementing ways of inspiring and motivating their workers for purposes of ensuring that they attain an element of satisfaction in their line of duty and, also come up with ways of motivating this workforce on how to work best and smarter. Consequently, leaders face the challenge associated with developing workforce. As much as these modern-day leaders agree that the immediate workforce should develop in terms of their careers and promotions, such factors as efficient mentoring and coaching indeed poses a challenge. Notably, the aspect of leading a team successfully is a factor that contributes immensely to some of the challenges faced in leadership. This is particularly so because the processes related towards effective team-building, development and management poses a challenge altogether (Day et al, 2014). Some of the leaders might not have prior experiences in leading an enormous team or even taking-over a relatively newer team hence exposed to making mistakes and confusion. Modern leaders would also be exposed to the challenges related to the guiding change especially in transformation process. It is highly likely that there would be definite resistance to change and formulating efficient ways of mitigating transformation consequences in the future. Certainly, another important factor that contributes to challenges in leadership emanates from dynamic that arises as a result of managing internal stakeholders and politics. It is important that managers gain support and create efficient relationships and politics to accomplish overall organisational goals (Gentry et al, 2016). However, this is not obviously the case as organisational politics and relationships are sometimes a challenge to decipher especially in the event of a new leader. To effectively counter these factors, Gentry et al (2016) posits that there should be a division between task and relationship-oriented form of leadership. This form of leadership should put much emphasis on achieving higher productivity capacities and, also acquire the ability to demonstrate behaviours which affects interpersonal concerns. Most notably, it is important that they demonstrate possible embracing of emotional reactions to possible transformations. Human cognition and emotions are known to be a fairly-incorporated set of system. Thus, in the course of convincing workforce of probable change; there is a need for leaders to depend on rational arguments and ensure that they remain sensitive to workers’ emotions by way of showing empathy. C. Leadership Theories for Modern-Day Managers As a modern-day manager of an organisation, it is expected that one focus on identifying and impacting a distinctive form of leadership that easily befits and integrates with the nature of organisation's operations. Until recently, there has been wide acceptance and resort of managers to transformative type of leadership. This form of leaders is deemed to be motivational and possess a distinct set of vision and direction articulation within any given moment in time (Bass & Steidlmeier, 1999).They are also fairly-concerned with nurturing their immediate staff and as a result, this creates a higher sense of commitment; strengthens the underlying organisational culture and more so, improves the level of performance in relation productivity levels amongst the workforce. Transformative leadership seeks to improve on the followership efficacy amongst the workforce (Bass & Steidlmeier, 1999). Of particular interest to note, top notch transformational leadership avails a definite, realistic and reasonable sense of self, which extends to friends, families and the larger community whose immediate welfare is considered to be crucial to oneself as opposed to one’s own (Bass & Steidlmeier, 1999). A manager’s moral commitments to this leadership model lies in the extent of a wider perception of individuals positioned within a given community as well as related social norms as well as cultural beliefs. Consequently, there has been far much emphasis made in relation to collective and distributed leadership. It is crucial to comprehend the fact that distributed leadership does not necessarily mean that there is no requirement of top leadership but rather confines it to a section of a wider leadership capability for purposes of harnessing the social capital of an organisation at hand (Zacher, et al, 2014). This model of leadership ascertains that a manager’s effort is indeed a direct product of a specific organisational context, people involved as well as leaders’ thinking and behavioural ways. For instance, in school system, this form of leadership allows for the distribution of power from principal through staff; patents and the extended society as a whole for purposes of impacting positively on student’s immediate performances (Zacher, et al, 2014). The model ascertains that the powerful leadership at the top-level is willing and able to relinquish power to others within a given working framework and the aspect related to interdependency is highly favoured and distinguished. System leadership is a model that modern-day leaders can adopt to inform their roles in modern-day organisations. This model eliminates the underlying realms that exist in organisational restrictions and translates it to a leadership that assumes a multiple set of layers since the exercise of managing is conducted in distinctive manner of ways that depend on the complexity of the overall systems’ task (Tourish, 2014). Interpersonal and intrapersonal content in leadership development is a theory focused on identifying manager’s inborn and external factors that might help them mitigate challenges posed in leadership today (Fairhurst & Connaughton, 2014). Intrapersonal content in development identifies such important notions as experiences and leaning as definite aspects of effective leadership. Experiences are a manager’s prior work background and also their leadership relevance while holding the position in previous organisations. It plays a major role in establishing the degree of learning for a given leader and their rates of achieving knowledge as time go by. It also constitutes the aspect of personality, which is deemed to be an important predictor of a leader’s immediate performances. It is determined that both senior and junior staff portrays different set of personalities that fairly complement duties and organisational culture (Fairhurst & Connaughton, 2014). Another crucial aspect of intrapersonal content in leadership development lies in manager’s skills set. It is noted that people that portrays a certain set of skills will hold positions in a different way. In fact, it is argued that as managers assume high positions they will likely be required to acquire strategic and business-based skills that will be more important in effective and efficient performance. Interpersonal content in leadership development is a model that encompasses and emphasis on such attributes as social mechanisms, which calls for the formulation of a positive learning environment; and authentic leadership model that encourages both leaders and followers to acquire elements of self-awareness while still making sure to formulate and implement open; transparent and genuine relationships (Fairhurst & Connaughton, 2014). Conclusion To sum up the discussion above, the paper has successfully argued that modern-day managers or leaders play a vital role as enablers and shapers of transformations in any modern organisational setting. They are however faced with challenges related to the need for developing managerial effectiveness; leading a team; developing workforce and inspiring others. To effectively inform successful leadership, such models as transformative leadership that emphasis on shared vision and openness as well as system and distributed forms of leadership are encouraged for purposes of managing operations effectively and efficiently. References Bass, BM & Steidlmeier, P. (1999). Ethics, character and authentic transformational leadership. Leadership Quarterly, 10(2), 181-217 Bellamy, C. D. (2015). Leadership and Crisis Management in Modern Organizations. Day, D. V., Fleenor, J. W., Atwater, L. E., Sturm, R. E., & McKee, R. A. (2014). Advances in leader and leadership development: A review of 25years of research and theory. The Leadership Quarterly, 25(1), 63-82. Fairhurst, G. T., & Connaughton, S. L. (2014). Leadership: A communicative perspective. Leadership, 10(1), 7-35. Gentry, W, A et al. (2016). The challenges leaders face around the World. White Paper: Center for Creative Leadership. 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