Taking Up the Role of Leader - Essay Example

Determining your perfect position July15 2009 Taking up the role of leader is a difficult and complicated task. The study of leadership requires a vital knowledge and understanding of human behavior. This allows them to develop their leadership qualities and work to the best of their ability. Not only will this leader have to understand the individual needs of all those employed under him to but also have to create an organizational structure that best suits the needs of a team. The knowledge of interpersonal skills and diversity can also be included in the various demands that have to be met by this leader. However, as challenging as the position of leader might be, it can be best fulfilled by an employee who has a lot of experience working for the organization. If the restructure allows them to assume this position then along with the problems, the perks of this job will also be great. Deciding on a specific style of leadership will be a difficult task, thus it is best to switch on the situational leadership role. The advantage of such an approach is its ability to be highly effective. It switches the need to choose one specific style and try to run every part of the organization in that mode. This will allow a larger number of people under different departments to be efficient and effective under the leadership of one individual. By using various different modes the leader can ensure the full participation of each member in their team. The most important aspect of this method is the motivation and capability of the employees. The leader needs to recognize three forces when dealing with his employees when involved in this situation: the force of the situation, forces in the follower and the forces of the leader (Tannenbaum and Schmidt). Authoritarian approach is one of the most empowering and extreme forms of leadership used. Here the leader uses his high level of power to control their team members. The employees aren’t allowed to express their opinion about any decision made by the leader. They have to agree to it without making any suggestions. This has to be done even if the employee has an idea that will be of great use to the organization. However, this mechanism was flawed; many people resent being treated with such control. This can lead to many employees choosing to be absent rather than appearing for work or even a staff turnover. The benefits of teamwork are lost as the most experienced employees choose to leave the team. This method is useful and is still a preferred mode because the control ensures all the work is done. This leadership skill is most importantly effective when the work that is being done is routine and unskilled: thus the loss of experience is not seen as a huge disadvantage. This autocratic method will be most useful for any new employees who join the organization as part of the new task force. The leader can be competent in explaining the job and thus poses as a competent coach. This environment is new for the employee and thus more easily accepted in the beginning. But, the leader should ensure this method is only employed for new employees. Democratic or participative method is another method employed by leaders to run the organization. This method can also be employed because it allows a form of control to exist within the power of the leader. The only difference between this method and the autocratic method is that while the leader still continues to make the final decision, other members of the team are asked to give their thoughts or contributions for the decision-making process. The advantage to this method is the amount of job satisfaction it brings to all the employees involved. Employees feel like part of the organization and feel themselves to have a greater control of the work being done in the organization. The leader will use this method to encourage the employees to work for themselves and not just the financial reward. The drawback of this approach is the time that is spent making the decisions. Often, work is done far slower than it would be in the authoritative leadership mode but it ensures that the employees pay more attention to the quality of the work rather than the quantity. This style is perfect for the leader if they have former employees in the restructured organization. Not only will the old employees assist in the decision-making but they also use their experience to ensure the organization is run effectively. Also, with this method while the impression allows employees to feel their contributions are of importance, it also allows a huge amount of power to reside within the hands of the leader, thus allowing him to make any important decisions he feels to be right. Employees are less competitive and seek to collaborate their efforts for the team which is of great use when the organization seeks joint goals. Instead of the decisions being made by one person, a group of people can come up with far better decisions and commitment to the organization. The participative form of leadership is perfect for employees who know their job and be a part of the team. By using the Lassiez-Faire method, the leader allows the employees to continue as they are without exerting any control over the work they do. This situation is vital when dealing with employees who have been working for a very long time. Such employees are aware of the work that needs to be done and are able to fulfill goals. Employees set up their own tasks by analyzing the situation and acting accordingly. It allows the leader to prioritize the most important tasks and leave the rest to the team. Another advantage is that the specific employee is responsible for any mistakes they make. But, the leader employs this style only with his most trusted employees. Though the leader does not interfere in each employee’s work he must ensure to check on them from time to time to monitor their achievements and communicate on a regular basis with his team. Sometimes this method can be considered as allowing employees too much freedom and the leader not exerting enough control. However, this method is perfect with skilled and experienced employees as it allows the leader to be in different situations if needed and gives the employee the satisfaction of controlling their own position. The leader in any situation needs to understand certain aspects of the organization. These include the time that needs to be put in, the stress levels of the job, the training of the employees and the type of task that has to be performed. The methods employed during the leadership process pay vital attention to the conflicts inside the workplace and the respect the employees pay to the leader himself. While running the organization the leader has to be sure that each decision made is not only efficient and profitable for the institute but also suitable and pleasing to the employees. This can be done by using positive feedback for the employees with rewards such as independence which helps to motivate employees. By enforcing negative penalties such as cutting down pay or reprimanding in front of fellow employees can lead to drastic lowering of enthusiasm and efficiency in the work place. Thus the employee needs to ensure that they pay specific attention to both positive and negative feedback. While both are essential, an extreme of any one can be of great consequence in the work place. A mixed style of leadership has a lot of advantages. It can work to motivate employees at different levels: goal motivation, reward motivation or recognition motivation. Each has its own reward: opportunity, materialism or social status. If the leader uses all three carefully he is sure to have a workforce that is moved into being efficient and effective in the quality and quantity of their production because of their set goal. The leader has to understand the human needs of their fellow workers. They have to understand their problems and work as a team. Also, the leaders at the same time should not allow their workers to slack off by encouraging them to work and urge them to produce the best results. These leaders end up being higher performers and being far more satisfied with their jobs. Using a situational form of leadership is especially useful because the leader not only understands the value of a suggestion but undertakes it upon him to get it done (Maier 1963). Thus, if a difficult situation arises, the leader has to be directive in his approach if need be to ensure the organization gets the best form of work. The situational form of leadership will be ideal for most organizations no matter what the set-up is. It allows the leader to understand the situation and employ specific methods to solve it. The resources, cooperation, organization and sub-ordinate effort can be altered to fit the workspace environment. References Maier, N.R.F. (1963). Problem-solving discussions and conferences: Leadership methods and skills. McGraw-Hill, New York. Tannenbaum, A.S. and Schmitt, W.H. (1958) How to choose a leadership pattern. Harvard Business Review 36, 95-101 Read More