Team-Building Related to the Individual - Essay Example

Running head:LEADERSHIP Team-building and its relation to the individual __________ ________________________ ________________ Team-building and its relation to the individual Any functional unit of organization be it a nation, institution, company or government need critical managerial inputs in order to ensure that they do work towards their set objectives and meet them through day to day systematic operations which are lined as part of the overall strategic blueprint. Since organizational tasks, processes and their sequences of steps are growing complex with heightened budgets, global dimensions and revolution in information and communication technologies there has been a felt need to review an important input to any organizational unit's management task viz. that of leadership. While a view holds that executive and policy determining managers should assume and nurture leadership roles; it is the view here that management and leadership are two distinct functions and should be developed as such. This paper looks at definition of leadership function in the any organization's management milieu and in the direct context of team building, at the same time keeping intact applicability of drawn constructs to broader organized units such as nation and government. In order to do this the paper draws from the examples of biographies and writings of Franklin, Emerson and Melville and discusses how the responsibilities as a leader can be met in order to develop an effective team for the accomplishment of the organizational goals that in the presence of dissent and disagreement. The paper rests its theoretical arguments on the three important conceptual frameworks i.e. of the leadership authority, empowerment of people, and the quality imperative assumed by the leadership. In course of discussions the leadership function is distinguished from the management function and theoretical types of leaderships are summarized. Leadership versus Management A view holds that leaders are people oriented and their main task is to inspire people. Here the leaders are somebody who is responding to a call to serve and motivations limiting altruistic expanse of usual executive managers are bounded only by the limitations of such leaders in respect of their personal abilities. The primary functional output for leaders is a change and their capabilities are assessed in terms of controlling the process of this change. This is the approach theme to leadership assumed in this paper. That is to mould and control change to suit organization's objectives. Whereas managers are task and process oriented and their main task is to organize such tasks and processes. Management's main output is task done in target time at target cost. In plain language Management is assigned the task of producing and maintaining a degree of predictability & order. Leadership on the other hand assumes the function of producing change under a constantly updated schemata of direction and vision. According to Bennis "They(leaders) offer people opportunities to create their own vision, to explore what the vision will mean to their jobs and lives, and to envision their future as part of the vision for the organization," (Bennis, 1997). Leadership is the process of motivating others to work to meet specific goals and objectives. This direction and motivation are the practical steps that a leader can take to empower others and develop a high-performance workplace. Leadership is deliberately causing people-driven actions in a planned fashion for the purpose of accomplishing the leader's agenda which is often a superset of the organizational agenda. In the fast paced information technology based changed commercial scenario the leadership role is best summarized by (Vaill, 1997) as," One is looking at a human being (Leader) facing in real time a condition that is problematic for the organizational objectives the person is pursuing. The objectives themselves may be changing, and the problematic condition may be changing as well. The person's intent is to understand this evolving problem well enough so that human, financial, and physical resources - themselves undergoing various kinds of unpredictable and barely controllable change - can be organized and mobilized (that is, led) to address the problem." "To a sensitive being, pity is seldom pain. And when at last it is perceived that such pity cannot lead to effectual succor, common sense bids the soul be rid of it." (Melville, 1853).An attitude our leaders must adopt. Leadership Authority Several sources of leadership authority are explained in traditional theories of leadership. Those who accept the verdict, that leaders are born and not made, maintain,"... that there are certain inborn qualities such as initiative, courage, intelligence and humor, which altogether pre-destine a man to be a leader ... the essential pattern is given at birth" (Adler, 1991). Two leadership theories based on this view are the Great man/woman and the Trait theories. The great man/great woman theory, accordingly to Wrightsman, involves its followers believing that major events, both nationally and internationally, are influenced by those persons in power." A sudden act by a great man could, according to this theory, change the fate of the nation" (Wrightsman, 1977).The trait theory concentrates on the personal characteristics of the leader. The theory cites traits believed to be qualities of leaders to include all aspects of physical, personality and cognitive factors, including height, intelligence and communication skills. "The research on trait theories of leadership has shown that many other factors are important in determining leader success, and that not everyone who possesses these traits will be a leader" (Adler, 1991).Benjamin Franklin (1909) lists out some of the virtues that emerge out of these traits as: "Silence- Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling; Order-Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time. Conversation; Resolution-Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve; Frugality-Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing; Industry-Lose no time; be always employ'd in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions; Sincerity-Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly and Moderation-Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve". Behaviorist theories like the Managerial Grid approach explain that there, was one best style of leadership, by various combinations of two factors regarding a concern for production and people. The situational approach suggested that the traits required of a leader differed, according to varying situations. To put it simply, the leader was a person who was in the right place at the right time. Resulting from this theory was the view that leaders are both born and made. Thus, one can learn how to become what Cohen has called an "uncrowned leader," a person who exerts influence over others but lacks positional authority (Cohen, 1990). Empowering with Dissent "Empowerment forms the backbone of many approaches to organizational change, such as total quality management, reengineering, and self-managed teams. The concept is straightforward: Organizations push down decision making responsibility to those close to internal and external customers, and employees take charge of their own jobs. The promise of empowerment is that associates will be motivated to higher and higher levels of performance and productivity"(Howard, 1997)."In order that staff are empowered they need to be responsible and in agreement with the organizational objectives as understood by the leader. "In some measure, the advanced industrial societies have spawned a stratum of value-oriented intellectuals who often devote themselves to the derogation of leadership, the challenging of authority, and the unmasking and delegitimation of established institutions, their behavior contrasting with that of the also increasing numbers of technocratic and policy-oriented intellectuals"(Crozier et al,1975). This is true of intelligentsia within an organization as well. These set of people may present a potentially upturning challenge to any leadership. An empowered staff in opposition is likely to work against the organizational objectives as well as attempt to redefine objectives. However as Emerson might say ,"A man(leader) is to carry himself in the presence of all opposition, as if every thing were titular and ephemeral but he"(Emerson,1841).Leaders must also keep in mind that quality and objective orientations are not easy to achieve. Men are by nature resisting any change even if it is for good. This is different from opposition noted above which is far more structured and it refers more to a natural inertia for change. "Men do what is called a good action, as some piece of courage or charity, much as they would pay a fine in expiation of daily non-appearance on parade. Their works are done as an apology or extenuation of their living in the world, - as invalids and the insane pay a high board".(Emerson,1841).This inertia has to be overcome before any empowerment can be envisaged. A leader should have "all that evenness of temper, and that cheerfulness in conversation, which makes his company still sought for, and agreeable even to his younger acquaintance"(Franklin,1909).They have to motivated with material and psychological cues to shrug off this inertia. "In general, with the idea of empowerment we are talking about ways of acting by leaders that result in more initiative and responsibility-taking by subordinates or "followers;" more willingness to take risks and make mistakes; less preoccupation with clearing everything "up the line" before acting".(Vaill,1997) Best way to win over the opposition is to learn from opposition." I had the advantage of my antagonist in correct spelling and pointing (which I ow'd to the printing-house), I fell far short in elegance of expression, in method and in perspicuity, of which he convinced me by several instances. I saw the justice of his remark, and thence grew more attentive to the manner in writing, and determined to endeavor at improvement" (Franklin,1909).This attitude to learning may be thwarted by tactical opposition moves in an effort to wrest power but a good leader need not be disheartened." It is not seldom the case that when a man is browbeaten in some unprecedented and violently unreasonable way, he begins to stagger in his own plainest faith. He begins, as it were, vaguely to surmise that, wonderful as it may be, all the justice and all the reason is on the other side. Accordingly, if any disinterested persons are present, he turns to them for some reinforcement for his own faltering mind"(Melville, 1853). Leadership has to persist in its efforts to take on the criticism of dissent in a constructive and learning manner. "If you wish information and improvement from the knowledge of others, and yet at the same time express yourself as firmly fix'd in your present opinions, modest, sensible men, who do not love disputation, will probably leave you undisturbed in the possession of your error. And by such a manner, you can seldom hope to recommend yourself in pleasing your hearers, or to persuade those whose concurrence you desire."(Franklin,1909). This would definitely imply that leadership is flexible and tolerant to opposition opinion and maintains a sole focus on objectives and corrections of even tactical mistakes and errors. Benjamin Franklin ,himself, was of the view," ..when another asserted something that I thought an error, I deny'd myself the pleasure of contradicting him abruptly, and of showing immediately some absurdity in his proposition(Franklin,1909);leader should deliberate on logic of argument before abruptly concluding error.Then a leader should not neglect or derogate his team member , "George Croghan, our Indian interpreter, join'd him on his march with one hundred of those people, who might have been of great use to his army as guides, scouts, etc., if he had treated them kindly; but he slighted and neglected them, and they gradually left him(Franklin,1909). Given this the production line would become sleek, robust and quality oriented. "These changed circumstances suggest that there finally may be synergy between the interests of employers and employees. The need for speed in a rapidly changing marketplace has led organizations to empower frontline workers to reason and make decisions on the spot."(Howard, 1997) Reengineering inevitably leads to empowerment of individuals and self-directing teams because executing whole processes requires people to think, interact, use their judgment, and makes decisions (Hammer & Champy, 1993).A quality culture would be spawned and gather root within the organization which would be self reinforcing. Gradually organizational success would win over the opposition to align with the leadership as well. A leader must have a "fresh, creative response to here-and-now opportunities," and not much concern with how others have performed them. (Kouzes, 1987). Thus instead of a sharp, intelligent and technocrat leaders who has sensitivities for slightest opposition typically successful leaders are those that are shrewd, solid and people oriented. "For the rest, with little or no sharpness of faculty or any trace of the wisdom of the serpent, nor yet quite a dove, he possessed that kind and degree of intelligence going along with the unconventional rectitude of a sound human creature, one to whom not yet has been proffered the questionable apple of knowledge . He was illiterate; he could not read, but he could sing, and like the illiterate nightingale was sometimes the composer of his own song".(Billy Budd) References . Bennis, W. (1997).Learning to Lead. MA:Addison-Wesley. Vaill Peter B.(1997). The Learning Challenges of Leadership in The Balance of Leadership & Followership Working Papers James Macgregor Burns Academy of Leadership Press. Adler, R.B. &Adler, R.B. Rodman, G.(1991). Understanding Human Communication. Fort Worth, Texas :Holt Rhinehart & Winston. 1991. Wrightsman, L.S.(1977). Social Psychology.2nd Edn. Monteray, California :Brooks/Cole. Cohen, W. A.(1990). The art of the leader. Englewood Cliffs, NJ. Howard,Ann.(1997).The Empowering Leader: Unrealized Opportunities in The Balance of Leadership & Followership Working Papers James Macgregor Burns Academy of Leadership Press. Crozier Michel, Huntington Samuel P. and WatanukiBennis Joji.(1975). The Crisis of Democracy .Task Force Report #8. Trilateral Commission 1975, New York University Press Emerson,Ralph Waldo.(1841).Self Reliance. Essays: First Series (1841). Franklin Benjamin .(1909).Benjamin Franklin his autobiography 1706-1757. Edited by Charles W Eliot Lld.P. F. Collier & Son Company, New York Melville,Herman.(1853). Bartleby the Scrivener: A Story of Wall-Street. Prepared by Ann Woodlief, Virginia Commonwealth University. Hammer, M., & Champy, J. (1993).Motivation Through the Design of Work: Test of a Theory. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 15, 250-279. Kouzes, J. M. The Leadership Challenge. CA :Jossey-Bass Publishers. 1987. Billy Budd. Chapter 2 Retreived on October 3, 2006 from http://xroads.virginia.edu/HYPER/bb/bb_main.html Read More