Leadership in Contemporary Organization - Essay Example

Reflective Diary Name Instructor Course Seminar One: The first seminar was about ‘Leadership in Contemporary Organization-Introduction’ which was presented by Dr. Heba Batainah. In this presentation, there were ten theories which were presented including the Great Man, trait, behavior, contingency, influence, relational, authentic leadership theories among others. In my view, these theories were relevant and vital mainly because they represent some of the key issues that are faced in the workplace. Organizational settings and management are changing, and new trends are coming up by the day. This brings about the need for the companies to change their leadership styles and approaches so that they fit in these new trends (House et al., 2002). This particular seminar did not point out exactly the challenges that are faced when applying theory to practice. However, I was able to borrow a point from Genghis Khan’s case study included in this seminar presentation. This challenge is that is rather easy for people to document the leadership approaches and theories that are or will be useful for organizational performance forgetting the underlying concepts of what these methods entail (House et al., 2002). Leaders are usually advised on the best leadership approaches to take but only a few leaders are aware of the way to implement these theories, and this is because it is a process. It is not just a one-time thing which means that they need to be taken through this process. Consequently, it becomes difficult to apply theory to practice (House et al., 2002). One of the things that have changed regarding my perception of leadership is the relationship between management and leadership. Previously, I understood leadership and management to mean one and the same thing. After this seminar, I have learned that they are not the same but complement each other. They do this in such a way that the ‘soft’ leadership skills complement the ‘hard’ management skills and that both of them are essential in the efficient running of organizations. In my view, leadership can be learned and therefore, I can change to become a better leader. This is possible because it is not a concrete entity and just like a person can work on themselves to make them better, I think it is possible for me to work on myself to become a become a leader or become a better leader as well. Seminar Two: The second workshop was about the ‘Researchers’ Perspectives on Leadership’ which was presented by Dr. Heba Batainah. In this presentation, there was a deeper analysis of the theories that had just been highlighted in the first presentation. Also, in the presentation, there were also some leadership models that were discussed. These models and theories are many because each of them tends to focus on various leadership aspects and issues and use different analytical techniques in addressing these matters. I found some of these theories and models to be rather complicated and challenging theoretically which means its application is even more challenging. The presentation also went ahead to discuss some of the character traits and characteristics which are linked to the effective leaders as well as some of the leadership styles that could be used by these leaders. This was crucial as not all these styles are suitable for all the situations and organizational cultures. As discussed above, the way companies and organizations are managed change regularly because of the new trends that they need to adapt to. Therefore, documenting these qualities and styles is critical to help the leaders and their followers to adjust to these changes. However, about the character traits, it can be rather difficult to inflict on someone as they deal with one’s personality (Nahavandi, 2016). Therefore, I think the personal qualities of a leader just have to do with who they are and what they feel they need to do to adapt to the leadership requirements (Nahavandi, 2016). Regarding the implementation of these models and theories, in my view, there is no wrong and right model and theory. This is because all of these models and theories only seek to predict leadership behavior and all of them have their strengths and weaknesses and are perfect for given situations. This, therefore, means that there are no specific guidelines for their implementation. Effective leaders just need to know how to go about the changes and analyze the best way of implementing the appropriate theory or model (Nahavandi, 2016). This presentation has expanded my understanding of the leadership styles, theories, and models and the best way of selecting the most suitable for given situations. I have learned that there is no perfect model, theory, or leadership style. All of them have their advantages and disadvantages as well as practical implications. Organizational culture and the impact in their followers is also an important aspect that needs to be taken into consideration before choosing the best leadership style, model, or theory, which is something that is usually left out (Nahavandi, 2016). Seminar Three: The third seminar was about ‘Getting Personal’ which was presented by Dr. Heba Batainah. In this presentation, the primary focus was to evaluate leadership and leaders on a personal level. It is evident that the personality dimensions of leaders will impact the way leadership approaches and the way relationships will be formed and sustained in the workplace. It also sorts to assess the personal values and attitudes of leaders and evaluate how they guide their behaviors and thoughts. Leaders are people who several other people look up to for guidance and directions. This means that their personality counts in the way their followers respond to their particular leadership styles and approaches (Ashkanasy and Tse, 2000). The presentation included some leadership styles and approaches which are directly linked to the personality traits of the leader. Some of these styles include servant leadership, authentic leadership, transactional and transformational leadership, and charismatic leadership, among others. In my opinion, one of the critical requirements for most leaders is to have an open mind about issues. Leaders are people who their followers look up to develop solutions to problems or come up with ways that will help in creating a better working environment (Ashkanasy and Tse, 2000). Therefore, it is important for the leaders to exercise emotional and mental intelligence where they need to manage relationships better, control their emotions, as well as motivate themselves and their followers (Ashkanasy and Tse, 2000). Regarding implementation of the leadership theories and styles, it is essential for the leaders to match their personality and attributes with the best styles that they can adapt so as to avoid conflicts between the two; personality and leadership approach (Ashkanasy and Tse, 2000). Additionally, during this implementation, it is critical for the leaders to combine a rational leadership approach with the concern for the followers as the particular work ethics. Therefore, in my view, implementing these theories and leadership strategies will pose more challenges if they do not match with personal qualities of the leader as compared when they are compatible (Ashkanasy and Tse, 2000). I have learned that what makes leaders competent is their capacity to use their emotional and mental intelligence to make the best out of the opportunities presented to them as well as ensuring that they keep themselves and their followers always motivated to perform. Seminar Four: The third workshop was about ‘Adaptive Leadership’ which was presented by James Kavanagh who is Microsoft’s Australia Chief Technology Officer. I found this topic to be important because the business world is changing rapidly with new trends coming up. These new trends are sources for new problems as well which is why leaders need to have an adaptive leadership mindset so that they can manage to handle these challenges. The speaker categorized the crisis leadership into acute and the adaptive phases and highlighted some leadership tasks in these two phases. I think leaders need to develop an adaptability culture which will somehow cushion them from the challenging business world and at the same time provide them with opportunities to grow and develop innovative ways to counter these problems (Heifetz, Grashow, and Linsky, 2009). However, a challenge crops up when it comes to distinguishing between the adaptive and technical work which need to be approached in different ways. It is common for organizations to confuse the adaptive challenges with the technical ones and as Professor Ronald Heifitz argues, one of the biggest failures would be treating adaptive problems like the technical ones (Heifetz, Grashow, and Linsky, 2009). Therefore, there is evidently a significant challenge and risk regarding the implementation of adaptive leadership. This is because these adaptive problems are hard to identify and need a lot of work, time, and resources in addressing them which is why they can easily be ignored or denied. The adaptive leadership seminar connected with the previous presentation on ‘Getting Personal’ as it also included the important role that the adaptive leader’s mindset plays regarding taking up the responsibility of addressing the adaptive problems. Their mindsets need to be able to take the losses in a transparent manner, improvise, conserve, use appropriate models, as well as manage to scan for the new problems in a comprehensive way. I have learned that the problem with adaptive leadership is not primarily about its implementation but rather the identification of the need for its implementation (Heifetz, Grashow, and Linsky, 2009). The implementation of the adaptive leadership is made easier through the adaptation cycle which can be followed to understand the necessary steps that need to be taken in the process. I have also come to know that being inactive is one of the things which separate the successful and the unsuccessful businesses. Seminar Five: The third seminar was about ‘Leadership and Management’ which was presented by Peter Leahy who begins by affirming that ‘leadership is earned.’ One of the emphases that were made during the presentation was the importance of being a team. Leadership entails a combination of two essential elements which are vision and personality, and it is regarded as an art. Regarding the primary difference which exists between leadership and management is that leaders are critical, but managers are necessary. I tend to agree with most of the points that the speaker is bringing across especially that which emphasizes teamwork, commanding authority, and possessing strong leadership values. In my view, a strong team is the beginning of enhanced productivity and success. For a team to be robust and willing to work together, there needs to be someone who guides them through the process, help them resolve their conflicts, motivate them, and just be there for them. In the same light, leaders need to remember that they are the authoritative figures in the teams and therefore needs to command respect from their followers (Srivastava, Bartol, and Locke, 2006). A leader can only manage to do that if they have some strong leadership values that they live by and which guides their actions and decisions as well. Just like in the other seminars, the speaker highlighted some of the qualities which good leaders need to have so that they can earn the leadership title. Well, as much as it is acceptable for leaders not to possess all these qualities, they need to strive to demonstrate most of them. Just like the adaptive leadership approach, leadership in general needs people who are ready and are not afraid of change whatsoever because change is inevitable anyway (Srivastava, Bartol, and Locke, 2006). They always need to brace themselves for what is going to happen next and be ready to address it as the need arises. Another common leadership feature is the ability to derive the best out of the team as well as being ready to innovate and grow. This will oversee the leader and their team achieving a lot within short durations because they will always be value driven as well as hands-on. From this presentation, I have gained a broader understanding of what are the elements which constitute leadership. I have learned that every person has a leadership element in them, but it is not only about having that element. Leadership is about having the ability to influence others, command respect and authority from them while at the same time being able to engage with them in a rather personal and profound level. Additionally, it is essential to have mutual trust and understanding between the leaders and their followers as well. References Ashkanasy, N.M. and Tse, B 2000, Transformational leadership as management of emotion: A conceptual review. In N. Ashkanasy, C. Hartel and W. Zerbe (Ed.), Emotions in the Workplace: Research, Theory and Practice (pp. 221-235) Westport, Connecticut: Quorom Books.  Heifetz, R., Grashow, A and Linsky, M 2009, The practice of adaptive leadership, Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing. House, R., Javidan, M., Hanges, P and Dorfman, P 2002, Understanding cultures and implicit leadership theories across the globe: an introduction to project GLOBE. Journal of world business, 37(1), pp.3-10. Nahavandi, A 2016, The Art and Science of Leadership -Global Edition, Pearson. Srivastava, A., Bartol, K.M and Locke, E.A 2006, Empowering leadership in management teams: Effects on knowledge sharing, efficacy, and performance. Academy of management journal, 49(6), pp.1239-1251. Read More