Ways to Enhance Sustainable Leadership in the Organization - Coursework Example

SUSTAINABLE LEADERSHIP Name of the Class Professor Name of the School City and state Where it is Located Date TABLE OF CONTENTS. PAGE Abstract 3 Introduction 4 Complexity Theory 4 Relevance of the Complexity Theory 5 Chaos Theory 6 Eco-Leadership 7 Features of Eco-Leadership 9 Effective and sustainable Approach to Leadership 10 Redressing Gaps That Are Present During Change in Culture of Leadership 12 Conclusion 15 References 16 ABSTRACT Change is inevitable in today’s world and is sometimes deemed as being rest from the normal routines that people follow on a daily basis. In organizations change needs to take place so as to keep up with new trends and ways of conducting business. Eco-leadership comes about as a new strategy for governing the organization that focuses on new ideas, innovations and new ways of managing of the organization in light of the new trends. Eco leadership is discussed with a focus on ways to enhance sustainable leadership in the organization while addressing the gaps that arise when redesigning the culture of leadership in organizations. SUSTAINABLE LEADERSHIP Leadership in organizations often takes on many forms and models depending on the kind of people appointed to lead the organization and the kind of organizational goals that have been set. There are many occasions where leadership is influenced by changing factors in the industry and the emergence of new trends leading the organization to make changes in their leadership to avoid being phased out from the business world. This paper discusses the relevance of the complexity theories of leadership, the features of eco leadership, what constitutes an effective and sustainable approach to leadership in an organization keeping in mind the ever changing business environment and how any gaps might be redressed in adapting to redesigning the culture of leadership in an organization such as Nestle Limited. Complexity Theory The complexity theory of leadership indicates that there is a hidden order to the behavior of complex systems such as an organization, the eco system, the national economy and even a production line (Avery 2011, p. 5). In this theory there is the belief that most complex systems share specific traits where the systems act as individual units where they respond to the environmental changes. In regards to organizations the systems respond to issues such as the changing stock markets and changing economies. The theory attempts to explain how large numbers of independent units show a pattern of behavior without actually knowing it and that the patterns are part of the overall system but not part of the single units. Founding of the theory came about as a result of the attempt to try and understand the behavior of large systems that are complex in nature and were not understood by the normal rules of nature (Hargreaves 2012, vol.60.p10). It attempts to understand how many separate systems work together to shape the overall systems and its outcomes and how many of the components change over time. It is a science of huge interactive networks and non-linear cause and effective. It addresses the limitations of the chaos theory and accounts for the logical and intended changes that systems make to their environments. Relevance of the Complexity theory. The relevance of the complexity theory is that in business it helps prompt innovative thinking and the real time response to change to allow for units in business to organize themselves (Hind et al 2009, p.7). Supporters of the theory are of the opinion that the modern day businesses and organizations move in a non- linear manner and as such there is no continuity of the flow in competitive events. For the theory to have the best results in organizations leaders need to give up on the strict control of the systems from top management. A lot can be learned from steeping away from micromanaging everything that takes place and actually observing the properties and patterns that emerge from day to day activities of the organization (Baumgartner 2009, p. 102). The conditions that are found to bring about the best effects and solutions to problems should then be preserved when possible. Managers are also urged to allow the organization to progress in response to the feedback they get from their clients. In today’s fast changing and unpredictable business environments management has become cumbersome. The best forms of management models do not adapt to the changing ways but rather they emerge from the changes experienced. Having this in mind means that leaders in the organization should be at hand to formulate the best guidelines and visions for the company, to give the best kind of leadership, to show and also encourage strong values and organizational beliefs while also creating new gateways for open communication (Geraldi 2008, p.348). Leaders should understand and know how to maneuver to keep the system from going into chaos and also to keep it from being too rigid. Strategies in the organization need to evolve depending on the kind of feedback they get and the changes occurring internally and also externally. Chaos Theory. The chaos theory is also one of the principles being practiced in today’s fast paced and ever changing business environments. The theory describes the unpredictability of systems and offers that systems sometimes live in chaos and generate energy but lack direction or predictability (Avolio et al 2009, p. 421). The chaotic systems appear random but can be defined by way of mathematical formulas where we find they have order and finite boundaries. Traditional science attempted to explain the predictable and dismissed whatever was irregular until researchers found that there were universal patterns in the irregularities. The theory is relevant in that it helps to show how chance takes place in a deterministic world and that to predict anything one must have knowledge of the universe and the laws of nature that surround us. The theory when used in organizations offers the explanation that no matter how much leaders understand and know the current situation of the organization there is little information offered about the occurrences of tomorrow (Nahavandi 2016). The more complex that an organization is the less predictable it becomes. The theory is weak in that it does not account for intelligent behavior or adaptation but only accounts for things in environmental systems. Since organizations are non-linear in nature the theory allows leaders to sit back and observe the shape that the organization takes from a distance. The expectations for acceptable behavior in organizations and the level of freedom people are given at work shapes the way people handle challenges and the problems that arise. However applying the chaos theory to organizations goes against the formal management practices found in most places (Bass et al 2009). Eco-Leadership. Eco leadership is a term that describes new patterns of leadership in organizations that reframe the purpose of the organization. Ethics, sustainability, connectivity and distributed leadership are the main tasks found in eco-leadership. The theory recognizes that in an organization there are different parts that make up the whole structure which is about connectivity, sustainability ad interdependence that is then guided by an ethical and socially responsible attitude. Internally eco leaders connect the people and motivate people to flourish everywhere in the organization (Gilley et al 2009, p.75). Externally the eco leaders steer their attention to the political trends, the stakeholders, competitors and makes sure the organization adapts to the changes in the external eco systems. The four major qualities found in this theory include connectivity and interdependence, organizational belonging, leadership spirit and systemic ethics. Connectivity and interdependence is based on recognizing how the network of the society has changed their social relations and the interdependence found in each other and the environment. Systemic ethics is concerned with acting ethically and taking care of the environment and its natural resources. It addresses issues that are greater than morality such as the conditions of outsourced workers and issues such as climate change (Day et al 2012). Leadership spirit focuses on the relevance of the human spirit and its attention does not lie solely on material gain but rather on spirituality creativity and imagination. Organizational belonging focuses on being part of a bigger picture. In this case we find organizations are part of the social fabric of the community they are based in and they cannot function as separate bodies and for them to belong they need to reconsider their purpose and meaning. This type of leadership integrates other approaches to leadership so they can adapt to the current situation of the organization (Mccann et al 2014, p.373). Nestle Limited which started as a small operation has been able to keep up and adapt to the ever-changing external environment of the business by making use of eco-leadership strategies. They are committed to making shared value while emphasizing on the importance of behaviors that support continuous improvement. Personal responsibility of one’s duties is emphasized which falls in line with the features found in eco leadership (Nestle 2017). The complexity theory is seen to be at play here with the company embracing new ways of conducting itself in light of the changing business environment. There are many categories of foods in the company ranging from confectionaries to baby food all having a varied range of customers that have different needs and also preferences. In order for them to understand their clients needs they are constantly in communication with their customers to find out what they prefer and what is trending and as such they are able to conform to the changes in consumer trends. The organization progresses in regards to the feedback they get from their clients. With recent global changes taking place where people are increasingly fighting for food, land and even water the company has taken upon itself to conduct research on how they can make their foods healthy. People are increasing looking to consume foods that are fortified with nutrients and as such the company has launched several research centers where they are liaising with medical practitioners to find how they can best incorporate the right kind of nutrients into their foods to promote healthy living and lifestyles. The emergence of new trends leads to new ways of managing the company where they are more interested in motivating their employees to be more innovative in light of the changes taking place in the organization and also in the outside environment (Nestle 2017). Here we see the leaders of the organization working to formulate the best policies to propel the company ahead. Features of Eco-Leadership. Eco leadership takes on a more autonomist model of leadership instead of a classical nature of handling matters. In classical leadership we find that there are three basic concepts which include the person, position and the authority while the autonomist approach concentrates more on spontaneity, autonomy and mutuality. Spontaneous leadership here comes forth spontaneously and keeps of when not needed; leadership in this case is not static but is found to move between people. Autonomous leadership here applies to both leaders and followers where anyone can take on the role of leadership as it is not hierarchical in nature, none of the parties are forced into the role but it is autonomous. Mutuality often takes place in this setting where leadership is put in place with the best interests of the entire group (Rainey 2010). New social movements based in organizations have four characteristics in common which include purpose, form, skill sets and mindset. Purpose is where the group as a whole is motivated by purpose where they have values to follow, authentic engagement and their identities are strongly connected. Form includes non-hierarchical characteristics in their leadership with autonomy taking place. Skill sets include communication skills, social media expertise, conflict resolution, teamwork and understanding of technology, which leads to new innovations. Lastly there is the mindset where we find collective wisdom and open thinking (Linnenluecke et al 2010, p.357). In Nestle Limited we find that their core values are centered around eco-leadership where management is more concerned with motivating people to add value to the organization and the society instead of concentrating on formal authority (Nestle 2017). The company believes in achieving its objectives by way of compliance and use of sustainable practices. Change is embraced where they are able to implement them and manage their consequences. Personal commitment to ones work is encouraged while importance is placed on continuous learning and improvement. Effective and sustainable Approach To Leadership. Analyzing the current situation in an organization is the best way for managers to ensure that they implement effective and sustainable approaches to leadership. Here they need to look beyond the short term gains achieved and look at the role the organization plays in a larger setting. For them to set strategies and ensure that there are results to be seen they need to foster relationships of a long term nature with both internal and external stakeholders. It leads to corporate sustainability whereby the organization is able to meet the needs of its direct and indirect stakeholders (Quinn et al 2009, p.21). For corporate sustainability to exist the organization must have sustainable leaders who are able to promote the company’s vision whereby they come up with long term strategies that are focused on serving the triple bottom line. They also develop policies to meet these goals. The leaders are expected to turn policies into actions by incorporating them into the daily procedures and processes in the company. Support from top management is needed to ensure the sustainable approach to leadership and the leaders in action are on the same page and working towards the overall organizational goals amidst the changes taking place in the business environment. Engaging diverse stakeholders is important to help position cultures and the systems in the organization to allow for balanced relationships based on responsibilities, commitments and benefits. Communication with stakeholders should be upheld to develop the culture of sharing information about corporate sustainability (Metcalf et al 2013, p.369). Measuring performance by way of holding people accountable after collection of feedback is important. Appraisal and reward policies are incorporated to ensure there is accountability. Ethical standards are set that promote behaving with integrity on both personal and business levels. Sustainable leadership requires leaders that have competencies that would allow them to manage and introduce new cultures of leadership while considering the changing times and trends in economies. For leaders to do this they need to have 1sustainable mindsets that move from thinking on an individual level to thinking in a collective manner from “me” to “we”. Their internal sense of purpose should be aligned with the mission in the organization whilst being motivated to meet the triple bottom line of environmental social and financial performance (Galpin et al 2012, p. 40). The interests of stakeholders need to be valued more in this setting. Focusing on long term goals is required and cannot be achieved without having to fulfill the short term goals that have been set. The leaders should inspire other people and work together to achieve the organizational goals. A combination of cautious observation, response to feedback, quiet reflection and taking decisive action when it is needed is all important. Maintaining momentum towards the desired goals and the courage to make informed decisions is required from such leaders (Schein 2010, vol 2). Displaying honesty and integrity in the professional setting leads stakeholders to viewing these leaders as role models. Open-mindedness comes in handy to be able to adapt to the new ideas and beliefs that come with sustainable leadership while transparency allows disclosing of the good and also the bad news and paves the way for positive and critical feedback. 2 Systems thinking is required of the leaders where they strive to look at the bigger picture and are aware of other complex systems that are not part of the organization and as such are able to handle the competing demands of different stakeholders (Smith et al 2011, p.73) They should be in a position to delve in and find the root cause of a problem and also equally as fast come out and regain their attention of the bigger picture having a clear outline of what is going on internally. Minimizing complexities where possible serves to make the day to day processes and functions of the organization much more easier which in turn increases efficiency.3 Leaders are required to build relationships, connect and collaborate with stakeholders by way of dialogue to enhance the results. Understanding of cultures comes in at this point where one should be in a position to recognize, interpret and react appropriately to people hailing from different backgrounds and unfair treatment should be eliminated (Orsato et al 2014, p. 23). Networking takes place by acknowledging suitable business opportunities. Enhancing the methods of communication allows for better understanding between colleagues and also between employees and the managers. Autonomy should be practiced by allowing stakeholders to tackle problems in new ways that require intellectual stimulation. Measuring of improvements is fine tuned to accommodate various dimensions that are beyond the bottom line results. Nestle limited has a large board of governors that liaises with the chairman where they regularly review aspects of governance in the organization while also giving advice on financial matters in the company. There are committees that handle remuneration while others are nominated to ensure that there is smooth succession of governance while focusing on the long term goals of the organization. They liaise with the stakeholders to ensure matters regarding the organization in aspects of governance are properly outlined while also taking in their demands. Redressing Gaps That Are Present During Change in Culture of Leadership. When leaders want to redesign the leadership culture in their organization, there are three variables that must be represented when brining about change (Cummings et al 2014, p 10). They include the mindset, structure and rewards. Mindset involves having a common understanding with members of the organization which would lead to showing the sense of urgency needed to bring about the culture change. Getting people to be on the same page about change is the initial step to help encourage commitment and involvement of employees in the culture change. Structure involves formal hardwiring of the change into structures of the organization. In this case structure is defined as the design of the organization in terms of pecking orders, roles and accountability (Kotter 2008). Having structure helps employees to work effectively and also as a team to bring about the change. Rewards are regarded as incentives put in place to give augmentation for the new culture. If the organization is found as being weak in any of the three variables then instituting a change in the culture of leadership becomes difficult. The variable that is most underestimated is the mindset. Mostly when changes are being made to the culture of leadership in an organization, leaders need to step in and take ownership of the change. If it is something to do with compliance they need to be the ones to show people that they are committed to bringing about change and hence set the first example for others to follow through. When people are not very open to change talking to them and demonstrating the need for change is the best way to go forward (Hamel 2008, p.6). In light of the ever changing times it is best to explain to employees that change is good and also inevitable to be able to keep up with the times and the changing trends in business. Organized and informal guidance is important to help transfer knowledge on the major topics such as business development and culture to the employees and the management together to expedite the process of change. Outsourcing new talent to fill in the gaps that cannot be addressed is an avenue that can work when trying to bring about changes (Burke 2013). New talent also serves to show the existing employees that there are other ways of handling matters and performing the daily tasks in the organization. New talent also comes with new innovations that serve to show the changes taking place in the business world and it acts as motivation to the employees who are against sustainable leadership. Gaps are also filled by ushering in new leaders from members of the organization that have been going through mentoring programs in preparation of taking upon leadership roles. Since they are mentored following new cultures and ways of running the organization they can go a long way in showing the organization that it is possible for the change to take effect with the best interest of the organization and the employees in mind (Donaldson 1996, p.57). Hiring back retired leaders as consultants and advisors helps fill in the gaps while also allowing for operations in the organization to continue without hindrances. In doing so advice is offered that allows the organization to function better and more effectively. Moving away from the annual performance reviews and starting regular reviews on performance allows the management to spot any gaps and address them before anything goes wrong. Training and develop serves to help employees grow professionally and accumulate their knowledge on matters relating to leadership and allows them to cover the gaps that are found (Gleick 2008). Positional leadership has become a thing of the past and now people are paid by their contribution to the organization. Due to this people are more willing to make their contributions to the organization and even work better as a team. Moving away from hierarchical leadership enables workers to feel more motivated allowing for progression in careers based on what skills one has and alignment with the values of the organization. When people are aware of the benefits of embracing these changes in the leadership culture they are more open to them and are ready to embrace them as they would allow for their careers and skills to grow further. Collaboration becomes more common and the bosses’ authority becomes less popular (Goleman 1998,p.93). Looking at Nestle Limited we find that sometimes they go through changes in light of the changing trends and customer preferences, as such they have put in place annual compliance risk assessments to check on the risks that might be present in the organization as they try to conform to new ways of conducting business. Since they depend on client feedback it is very easy for consumers to spread the wrong word regarding their foods that might put the company in bad light and as such they have put in place policies and regulations to handle these kinds of matters. To fill in the gaps that are found when they are conforming to these new ways they bring in fresh talent and concentrate on motivating their employees to become more innovative looking at global trends while also having real time responses (Nestle 2017). In conclusion we find that in most cases gaps are always found when change is taking place in an organization. To tackle this leaders have to put it upon themselves to spot the gaps and find ways of dealing with the situation having the best interests of the company and the employees to ensure the business processes in the organization are efficient. 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