Extent Leaders Influence Organisational Effectiveness - Coursework Example

Student’s name Course code+name Professor’s name University name Date of submission Introduction Leadership in an organisation has ceased from being one-size-fits-all. In as much, the aspect of leadership is still debated on ceaselessly and typically elicits a spectrum of individual opinions. While in the past, leaders’ ability to influence effectiveness in an organisation was mostly judged based on financial performance, the trend is changing and non-financial issues now form basis for effectiveness. For instance, if an organisation was to improve its effectiveness vis-à-vis the competing environment, it is the leaders’ style that will have to be analysed. A more dynamic trend has been emerging whereby understanding leadership and organisational effectiveness is now linked with leadership theories. In this regard, most organisational theorists concur that effective leadership is a fundamental contributor to overall organisational success. This essay therefore intends to critically assess the extent leaders influence effectiveness of an organisation. The assessment will review current literatures and base argument on leadership theories. Extent leaders influence organisational effectiveness A common definition for leadership embodies the process of social influence which an organization or an individual enlists the support and aid of others in the accomplishment of a mission or task (Chemers, 1997). Some key aspect inherent in this definition is that the task or the mission is not a one man’s job. Secondly, the process of leadership should be looked at as a social and interpersonal process. It is also suggests that as a leader, one should act in the service of some mission or task that can be external to the group. Looking at how leadership theories have developed (Great Man of the 1900s, Behaviour-Traits of the 1960s, Charismatic-Strong leaders and the weak followers of 1970s and the Systems leaders of the 1990s), Nahavandi (2006) argues that it has been following societal trend. That is, society mirror leadership and organization as two factors that must strive to accomplish human needs. This is where a leader should be one who sets goals for an organisation. Borrowing from Great Man Theory and Charisma, leaders were seen as special people with unique abilities and skills that helped them rise above others (Stedman 2005). Setting clear goals need to responsibility of any leader and such needs to anchor well with productivity. Stedman (2005) adds that setting clear goals needs a transformational leader who uses high energies and inspirations to motivate employees succeed through such goals. Michael (2003) adds that in as much as the goals set might be clear, if a leader does not provide all tools to accomplish such goals, the effectiveness of an organisation might not be achieved. Though servant leadership style may be blended in setting such goals, enforcing adherence to company mandates is needed and this needs to be explained to employees so that they can understand productions goals strategic direction (Michael 2003). In a different school of thought, exploring what a leader should be so as to influence the effectiveness of the organisation has been viewed in terms of conversation with employees about what makes the organisation effective (Goleman et al. 2002). And this is where ‘right man in the right job’ is utilised. If leaders are to start developing their collective leadership then they also need to start ditching the recipe-approach to their leadership styles. There are no specific ways that guarantees success because no one leader can estimate the outcome of the collective effort. This is the reason why Pasternack et al. (2001) argue that leadership is not like following the given cooking recipe as the ingredients used by leaders are not dead but alive, not complaint but resistant. This is actually what brings about team building. Good leaders conduct team-building and ensure each member feels his or her contribution is valued (Pasternack et al. 2001). For instance, an organization can realise its effectiveness if s/he uses web-based conference software to conduct virtual meetings that promotes interaction. Recent researches on quality of a good leader try to delink traits of 1920s and 1930s theories in their presentations (Chemers 1997; Baldridge National Quality Program 2003; Stedman 2005). Such studies present outstanding leaders; across many contexts, to be those that are trustworthy and extremely knowledgeable as well as sensitive to the needs of their followers and encourages growth and developments of such followers. This argument presents a shift to charismatic theories of the 19th century. Recent research was conducted to determine how leader’s knowledge, trustworthy and support for other employees impact on the effectiveness of an organisation (Baldridge National Quality Program 2003). This research investigated managers in Primary Care Trusts and realised that there two distinct and polarised styles of leaders---directive (performance focused) and facilitative (engaging and empowering). Recommendation of the research is that Primary Care Trusts needed knowledge, trustworthy and supportive leader to strike the balance as workers were feeling their personal growth and contributions were limited. In a separate study, Bass and Avolio (2003) tried to connect trustworthy and supportive leaders with employee input. They believe leadership style has direct effect on the effectiveness of employee input. An organisation having a democratic leader accepts input from juniors and uses pertinent information to improve work process. They also compare this with other leaders who dismiss employee input as such leaders are resistant to making any changes to the way things are done. This, they argue, creates procedural problems throughout the organization. A promising new direction in leadership theorising has focused on the discovery of the functions and roles of the leader confidence and collective group confidence in team performance (Schein 2004). This is the theory of individual and collective efficacy of 2000s. It argues that for organisation to achieve its effectiveness, leaders must portray self confidence which then nurture collective confidence among team members. This efficacy or confidence has association with greater perseverance, higher goals and performance. Reacting to the theory of individual and collective efficacy, Schein (2004) adds that leadership is still a process of social influence. In as much as a leader will be judged by their confidence and efficacy, they will bring effectiveness to their organisation when followers are able to accept and respond to their persuasion. Followers are able to discern whether an individual deserves leadership status. And the modern impetus is the ability to present an image against deeply held assumptions about what a credible leader should hold. Key features that currently qualify an individual to be considered a leader within the framework of theory of individual and collective efficacy are the trustworthiness and task-relevant competence (Schein 2004). The chart below can help explain the expectation of a leader is an organisation that expects to achieve its effectiveness. Leadership process Source: Baldridge National Quality Program Effectiveness in an organisation is sometimes difficult to define and therefore linking it with leadership qualities also becomes challenging (Denison 2001; Burke and Litwin 2006). This is because leadership, organisation and effectiveness depend on certain variables and characteristics influencing measurement of effectiveness. It is the reason why some scholars argue that there is no single leadership approach that can guarantee effectiveness instead, integration of theories of leadership will form basis for a quality leader (Shamir 2005). Basically, a good leader is the one who has a purpose and balanced skills and personality so as to put such purpose into action. Furthermore, the extent a leader can influence effectiveness of a company depends on the vision, integrity, creativity and openness s/he has within the organisation. Once a leader achieves the above attributes, s/he needs to ensure capacity is coordinated and applied to achieve success. However, current technological changes and dynamics of organisations require leaders with the above attributes to embrace two processes. Firstly, collective efficacy and high levels of leadership that maintain energy and attention during difficult stages of mission accomplishment. Secondly, effectiveness can only be achieved when the leader with the above attributes work coherently with deployments chosen (deployment can be decision-making processes or authority and status structures). Such deployments must be matched to the nature of organisational environment (like competition, technological changes and accuracy) (Bass 1999). Innovation is another way that can ensure organisational effectiveness if possessed by a leader. In fact, the term innovation is the modern buzz word in organisational language (probably organisations are moving away from the dominance use or application of ‘vision’). It is universally accepted as a critical measure of a leader who intends to achieve effectiveness with an orginasation (Bass, B.M 1999). “It is widely accepted that an organization intending to harmonise its operations and become effective within its environment of operation should show through its leadership; ability to innovate and utilize its knowledge source” (Goleman et al. 2002). In as much as innovative leader can move an organisation through innovations, Goleman et al. warns that there are two types of innovations; incremental innovative capacity and the radical innovative capacity. While they recommend the former, the latter is dangerous as some services in an organisation might be made obsolete. Burke and Litwin (2006) purport that an innovative leader does not only influence the productivity of an organisation but also long lasting effectiveness and dramatic shifts when dealing with competitive environment. Conclusion From the approaches and ideas presented above, it is worth concluding that a leader can contribute towards effectiveness of an organisation. However, this is not a one person task. Instead, it is a collective responsibility that also touches on the integration of various theories of leadership. Furthermore, the approaches discussed show some commonalities meaning that irrespective of the sector or specialisation of the organization, the approaches can be used. Therefore this essay provides suggestions for leaders striving to attain effectiveness within their organisation. References Baldridge National Quality Program 2003, Criteria for excellence performance. Retrieved August 27 2013, from http://www.quality.nist.gov/PDF_files/2003_Business_Criteria.pdf Bass, B. M., and Avolio, B. J. 2003,Transformational leadership development: Manual for the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire, Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press. Bass, B.M 1999, Leadership and Performance beyond Expectation. New York: The Free Press. Burke, W, and Litwin, G 2006, Causal Model of Organizational Performance & Change, Journal of Management (JofM), 18(3), 523 – 545. Chemers, M. M. 1997, An integrative theory of leadership. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Denison, D 2001, Corporate culture and organizational effectiveness. New York: Wiley. Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R., and McKee, A. 2002, Primal leadership: Realizing the power of emotional intelligence. Boston: HBS Press. Michael, J. 2003, Leadership effectiveness profile facilitator’s guide. Amherst,Mass. HRD Press, Inc. Nahavandi, A. 2006, The art and science of leadership. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. Pasternack, B. A., Williams, T. D., and Anderson, P. F. 2001, Beyond the cult of the CEO: Building institutional leadership. Strategy and business (pp. 69–79). New York: Booz, Allen, and Hamilton. Schein, E 2004, Organizational culture and leadership, 3rd ed., John Wiley and Sons. Shamir, B 2005, Leadership in Boundaryless Organizations: Disposable or Indispensable? European Journal of Work and Organisational Psychology, 8(1). Stedman, N. 2005, Leading teams. SEAL 2005—Individual Advisory Member Development. Retrieved on Retrieved August 27 2013: http://extensioneducation.tamu.edu/SEAL/LeadingTeams-LP.pdf Read More