How Theories of Leadership Provide Practical Advice on How to Be an Effective Leader - Coursework Example

Leadership, Innovation and Change essay Name Course Tutor Date Leadership, Innovation and Change essay How theories of leadership provide practical advice on how to be an effective leader Leadership is one the aspect of life that has existed as long as human existence. In fact it is one of the most debated topics among people and theorists in the field of politics and organization management. It influences every aspect our relationship with family members, friends, and colleague at workplace. Every successful organization or institution today can be attributed to the kind of leadership embraced by its top management. Therefore, it is right to argue that leadership aspire people towards a common and desired goal. However, with change forces of life and business environment, managers have been prompted their leadership styles over time so as gain competitive in the market (Jing & Avery, 2008, p.68). This is a culmination that there are many theories of leadership. Based on the topic of leadership, this essay will discuss how theories of leadership provide practical advice on how to be an effective leader. To put this essay into perspective the paper will define leadership and discuss various theories of leadership such as “great man" theory, trait theory, contingency theory, behavioral theory, situational theory, and management theory among others. Leadership has more than 350 definitions but only one is universally accepted. Therefore Daft (2005) defines leadership as social influences a person has over the other which include support and aid to realize a common goal. Managers and entrepreneurs are normally considered leaders in their workplace due to their influences towards organizational goal. This typify why definition of management and entrepreneurship is synonymous with that of leadership. However, some researchers claim that these three aspects of an organization are distinct in their own way. Dubrin, Dalglish & Miller (2006, p.335) contends that entrepreneurship needs only skills that are related to business especially in the new ventures. Management experts argue that management deals with interpersonal element of human including the administrative roles of planning, organizing, controlling and directing (Chan & Chan, 2005, p.417). Leadership considers a personal collection of skills which can be used in different circumstances. These skills can be used to align people, provide motivation and aspiration, and driving change. Leadership thinker Warren (1997) claims that a while a leader must be innovative and come with new ways of doing things manager may copy is strategies used by other companies. The advocates of transformational leadership presume that leadership enhances the performance of an organization through influence an action of leaders which create platform for change (McNichol, 2007). For example, many management experts today cite Steve as a transformational leader who steered Apple to greater heights. Asher (2011) claims that Job’s innovative skill and contribution towards the development and production of iPhone Smartphone made the company to be regarded as a technology giant today. Some of the attributes of Steve Jobs such as passion for technology has been argued to be intrinsic. Such notion can be linked to Great man theory which postulates that effective leaders are actually born but not made. According to Lussier & Achua (2004) this theory claims that leaders hold an inborn ability to rise to an occasion when required by means intelligence, charisma, wisdom and other consideration and not just to influence. The hypothesis that put forth some of great leaders of the world have assisted in supporting the school thought that highly rated leaders are in fact born but not made. Some of the leaders in this category consist of Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, Napoleon, Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar among other (Lussier& Achua, 2004). For instance, Alexander the Great was a military leader who never lost any of his battles. These leaders did not just inspire but also changed the way we think. However, the theory is faulted for it hypothesizes that leadership is a man’s “thing”. Leadership needs a strong personality which can influence decision in a group or within an organization. Daft (2005) believes that a significant characteristic of leader is that use of his talents to hence performance in an organization. Such talents come from trait. Just like Great theory, trait theory hypothesize that traits are inborn and can be inherited. Traits actually shape the personality and behavior of a leader, which influences their conduct including attitudes and insight. According to Lussier & Achua (2004) understanding personalities assist in explaining the behavior and performance of others. The traits of a leader to enable employees to act can be analyzed through The Big Five Model of Personality (Nohria, Khurana, 2010). This model evaluates whether a leader is strong enough in terms of in agreeableness, surgency, conscientiousness, openness to experience and adjustment. Nohria & Khurana (2010) argue that surgency encompass the extraversion traits in which a leader enjoy power and competition and do not like to lose. A person who like competition and does not like to be defeated will always try to work hard, be innovative and implement change. Pless (2007, p.439) posits that extraversion traits are considered outgoing, talkative and sociable. In this way, they can acquire new ideas which they communicate to the employees. Innovation entails new using new ideas to improve the existing model or concept in organization. Obama is regarded as one of the introverted leaders today due to its outgoing, sociable and being talkative on various issues that affect humanity. A trait like agreeableness makes a leader to relate well with its followers, become compassionate, cooperative and trusting (Van Wormer, Besthorn & Keefe, 2007). Trait theory claims that to become an effective leader today one does need to be like tough leaders of the past but to get employees to trust and like them. According to Daft (2005) since agreeable also care what other people think about, they normally want to change their environment to stand out among the rest. Openness to experience trait is associated with an aspect where an individual is keen to change, attempt new ideas, creative, innovative and possessing a wide range of interest (Daft, 2005). Such leaders are keen on practical part of a new idea because they understand that is the only way to become an effective leader. The late Steve Jobs and the current facebook C.E.O Mark Zuckerberg fall into that category of leaders. Asher (2011) asserts that the curiosity of Steve Jobs made him develop and make iPhone and contribute to the design and production of ITunes and IPods. Mark Zuckerberg also brought in a new way of social networking by developing facebook. The theory trait can be summarized by Kouzes & Posner (2007) claim that effective leader must be confident, have great integrity and strong character. Such traits will to act on what they believe and “do”. Another theory offering a practical advice on how to become an effective leader is the contingency theory. This theory holds that no style of leadership is appropriate as a standalone. Experts claim that here there is no defined style and a leader uses factors which are contingent to the situation, variables and quality of subjects (Miner, 2005). Since an organization is influenced by both internal and external forces a leader must be able to adapt to the current situation. This theory is almost similar to the situational theory contingency theory because it also holds that there is no best style of leadership (Nohria & Khurana, 2010). The only difference here is that it effective leader determines the leadership style to use in accomplishing organizational goals. This aspect depends on how a leader is informed and up to date with the various form of leadership both with regard to advantages and disadvantages. Leadership encompasses behavior and how those behavior influences the follows in achieving the set objectives. Miner (2005) states that in contrast to Great man theory; behavioral theory maintains that a leader can grow to be effective leader by means of observation, training and experience. In brief it considers that behavior can be reinforced in human. As expressed by B.F. Skinner’s concept of reinforcement, leaders can become effective through training and observation on how great leader’s behavior and do (Jing & Avery, 2008, p.71). For example, When Steve Jobs was the CEO; Tim Cook worked as the chief operating officer and assumed the CEO post on when Jobs was experiencing health problems and later died. Today Tim may not be like Jobs but learnt a lot for him. Garside (2014) claims that under the Tim Cook, the company have innovated iPhone model and launched iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S in 2014. Additionally, the company launched iPhone 6 in September 2014 (Garside, 2014). Other theorists who have researched about how behavior influences leadership are Kurt Lewin and John Watson (Nohria& Khurana, 2010). The two associate three leadership styles with behavioral theory. These leadership styles comprise of democratic, laissez-faire and autocratic. As stated earlier, leadership has widely been discussed by management experts and how it influences success in an organization. Management theory Management in fact, contends that best performance is realized by the usage of rewards and punishments. Using the Max Weber management theory Zhang & Bartol (2010, p.109) claims that effective leaders use rewards such as financial incentives, bonuses and promotions to motivate its employees who work hard. On the other hand, when employees register dismal performance punishment such as pay cuts, reprimand and demotion are used by leaders. In conclusion, research has provided several leadership theories which contemporary leaders can embrace in their day-to day operations. Every theory has its limitation and using one may not work in the ever changing environment. As such, leaders are advised to try to be informed of the environment both internal and external to be able to balance leadership styles which can work for their organization. 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Linking Empowering Leadership and Employee Creativity: The Influence of Psychological Empowerment, Intrinsic Motivation, and Creative Process Engagement. Academy of Management Journal, 53(1), 107-128. Read More