The Applicability of the Kouzes-Posner Model of Leadership - Essay Example

KOUZES-POSNER MODEL OF LEADERSHIP The Applicability of the Kouzes-Posner Model of Leadership James F. Quarles Mountain State University The Applicability of the Kouzes-Posner Model of Leadership Leadership has always been an important issue in organizations. Managers and CEO's need to be good leaders so that their organization can prosper. In order to make them model leaders it is extremely important for them to analyze Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner's model of leadership, as it can serve as a guide to success for them. In this paper I shall analyze Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner's model of leadership by means of examples and Kouzes, J., & Posner, B's book 'The Leadership Challenge". Analysis Analyzing how leadership power can influence/motivate subordinates to perform well. A leadership model is needed if the leadership focus is on aligning, motivating, and supporting people to achieve organizational goals. Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner's research focus on the high-tech and specialty-manufacturing industries associated with knowledge workers. Kouzes and Posner (2002) remark that leadership experiences are "voyages of discovery and adventures of a lifetime and they are challenging explorations under rigorous conditions" (p174). While this may be true, it is often in an extreme crisis situation that leadership is ultimately tested. They have developed a framework identifying five specific practices critical to effective leadership in organizations. These include the following: a) Challenging the Process Includes actions like seeking challenging opportunities for themselves and employees in pursuit of company goals, pushing new approaches inside the company, looking for ways to improve, experimenting and taking appropriate risks, creating a learning environment inside the work units, exercising initiative to overcome obstacles. The search for opportunity begins when leaders take on meaningful challenges, and thus experience conditions that test their capabilities. Leaders should be able to assess and take risks. From those experiences, they can learn to lead a team to accomplish extraordinary achievements (Kouzes and Posner 2002). Example The CEO of Dell Michael Dell challenged the processes used to sell computers to consumers Michael Dell definitely broke the rules and continues to do so. He was able to bring others into accepting his vision of a better way to sell computers. He was the first to sell directly to the end-user and he was the first to use the Internet so effectively to sell his computers. b) Inspiring a Shared Vision Focuses on talking about future trends, communicating a positive view of the future, appealing to others to share in their vision of the future, demonstrating to others how future interests can be reached through the company, being enthusiastic and positive about the future, speaking with positive conviction about the meaning of work. To enlist the support of a team for a common purpose, leaders must effectively convey their own vision. Furthermore, leaders need to cultivate a shared sense of ownership of that vision; only then will team members mobilize for the greater good of the team and its common goal (Kouzes and Posner 2002) Example A good example of this is Milton Stewart now represents Davis Wright Tremaine, LLP as the director of business development. Along with managing over 400 attorneys, his responsibilities in the firm include forecasting, planning and communication with his clients. Milton has been able to inspire a shared vision by being consistent and staying on message. He truly believes that you can win at business ethically thus this is one of the visions he shares with his employees, and thus wants them to be ethical in their dealings. Milton hates to leave things unfinished, never leaving the ball in his court. Milton responds to every email, letter, or phone call, exemplifying his belief that who you are and what you do, are one in the same. Mr. Stewart another vision which he shares with his employees is "Doing well as well as doing well all at the very same time." c) Enabling Others to Act Includes developing cooperative relationships with both employees and follow managers, listening to diverse points of view, respecting others opinions and ideas, supporting others' decisions, allowing others to choose how they will carry out their tasks, ensuring people grow in their jobs. Leaders need to create a collaborative team that is built on trust. In this environment, team members are more likely to develop feelings of commitment and personal ability. This is realized when followers have the confidence to take a leadership role (Kouzes and Posner 19). Example The CEO of EKATO, Mr. Zeiler is an example of enabling others to act as he believes that the leadership has to do with the personality style, values and assumptions. The CEO concentrated on the company internal matters and problems. He focused on his workers by delegating responsibility to them and empowering skilled employees. He implemented the trust and openness culture within the organization by allowing staff to learn from mistakes. To prevent classical labor problem, the CEO implemented communication and sharing the information culture by having open discussion on the company's numbers, problems and goals. This was made possible by holding two annual meetings between management as well as employees where the workers council along with the CEO report to the workers. Beside that, top managers meet weekly and senior managers engage in cross-functional weekly problem solving meetings. Top management set the company plan and individual departments' goals. These goals are communicated to departments' managers and then discussed within department staff. Senior mangers then meet quarterly to discuss the direction and review the strategy and areas of innovation. Each department manager is required to present results, costs and innovation capability. The outcome of these meetings are fed back to top management and then shared with staff. d) Modeling the Way Includes setting a personal example of what is expected, confronting people when they do not live up in standards, following through on promises and commitments, being clear on a philosophy of management, ensuring goals and milestones are set, breaking up goals into achievable parts. Leaders earn respect by setting an example through behavior and actions. The examples provided by leaders must be based first on clearly established values, and then by aligning actions with these values (Kouzes and Posner 2002). Example Richard Branson, the CEO of Virgin group can be branded as a transformational leader. This type of a leader changes the beliefs and the attitudes of the followers by providing them with a new direction to follow. And thus become a role model to his employees. Branson is an in born leader, who is a role model and should be used as an example in all leadership roles. e) Encouraging the Heart Focuses on building the positive morale of employees (as related to organizational achievements) by praising employees for achievements, expressing confidence in their abilities, creatively rewarding people for accomplishments, recognizing employees for their commitment to common values, finding fun and high-energy ways to celebrate accomplishments, providing team members with appreciation and support. Kouzes and Posner assert the majority of executives have not mastered the particularly soft-management skill of "encouragement" that gives rise to the above mentioned behavior. They believe in mutual respect as well as acknowledgment of accomplishments in order to motivate and encourage their followers to do the best they can. More notably, they put forth principles, practices, and examples that could guide one how to rejuvenate people to do extremely well and then achieve even greater heights. Kouzes and Posner suggest that people will perform better when they are truly valued for their commitment and openly recognized for their amazing achievements. And by means of inspirational stories of average people in leadership roles, the authors show exactly how this is done. They also propose more than one hundred and fifty ways readers can instantly apply the procedure themselves. An important aspect to keeping the morale and commitment of followers is the recognition of individual and group successes. Leaders should find ways to celebrate the contributions of team members in meaningful ways (Kouzes and Posner 2002). Example Jack Welch, the CEO of general electric has truly redesigned the way an organization treats and values their employees. His focus was on people all throughout his career, and his main focus was on having the number one people, because with the number one people a CEO can have the number one company. Welch once stated that they build great people, who subsequently build great products and services. Richard Wagoner and Kouzes and Posner Model Richard Wagoner the CEO of general motors has acted on each and every aspect of the Kouzes and Posner model, thus making him an ideal example. In an interview with a former General Motors executive, GM's sheer size as well as the sense of complacency developed after years of success was cited as the chief challenges GM would have to overcome. In a sense GM has been derailed, the strengths that once made it successful are the same forces that have led to its current flaws. Thus, the CEO of general motors Richard Wagoner is proposing to go against GM's years of tradition and "Challenge the process." Wagoner has acted on Kouzes & Posner's model He has already "Modeled the way" by cutting GM inefficiencies so that the company now competes directly against the streamlined Japanese automotives. Part of this streamlining includes enabling the correct management to act. Furthermore, our interviewee attested to the fact that all GM employees were Inspired to share a number of Wagoner's visions for the company. The remaining question is whether or not Wagoner will be able to encourage the heart of General Motors. Conclusion Kouzes and Posner's model of leadership is a model that is extremely reliable. It gives a complete picture of how a leader should be like, what he should do and what should be his attitude towards his followers. Therefore, to conclude it can be said that Kouzes and Posner's model has given a new prospect to the concept of leadership. Reference Kouzes, J., & Posner, B. (2002); the leadership challenge. (3rd ed). San Francisco: Jossey Bass. Read More