Leadership and Manager Identity - Essay Example

Topic: Leadership and Manager Identity  Lecturer: Presentation: Introduction Leadership is one of the four functions of management which include planning, organizing, leading and controlling. It is important for any organization to thrive and achieve the capability of coping with competition in the market. It involves generating enthusiasm amongst the employees for them to be productive. It involves creating awareness amongst them to ensure that they understand the organizational goals and the procedures that need to be adhered to facilitate success. Managers need to be good leaders in organizations by acting as role models as well as persuading the employees to follow the guidelines that have been laid down. It also involves maintenance of employee satisfaction, which on the other hand is important in maintenance of consumer satisfaction. The competitiveness of an organization highly depends on the employees and therefore leadership that keeps the employees satisfied is important in maintaining productivity and competitiveness. There are several theories that explain leadership as it applies to organizations. The theories also highlight leadership characteristics, which are significant in the accomplishment of organizational goals. This paper presents a critique of various leadership and theoretical perspectives that point towards great leadership that is needed in organizations for effective accomplishment of objectives and sustainability. Organizations Need Great Leaders The willingness to be a servant of others is usually exhibited by great leaders in organizations. Their focus is to build the capacity of everyone to help the organizational workforce to accomplish the strategic goals. They believe that success is accomplished through the participation of all the individuals in the organization. They listen to others and involve them in decision making. Through their focus on generating satisfaction among others, they are able to rally followers. The functionalist perspective is that leadership involves motivating others, influence and participate in conflict resolution. Great leaders inspire a shared vision among their subordinates to ensure that the workers anticipate the best in future. They are visionary leaders who maintain credibility in their vision by presenting authentic predictions to the subordinates. They generate enthusiasm that makes all the workers motivated to work for the accomplishment of organizational goals. The participative theories of leadership explain such leaders who are concerned about the views of their subordinates. They encourage people to form effective teams whereby they assist each other in problem solving. They offer guidance in decision making as well as setting the organizational strategies (Alldredge et al. 2003). The trait theory that was applied in the 1920s has been replaced by the new perspective whereby a leader is evaluated on the basis of capabilities rather than the physical characteristics, social class and other aspects that may not offer a clear explanation of what kind of leaders are needed in the contemporary operating environments of organizations. In essence, the shift from the trait theory to leadership behaviour provides a clear definition regarding what the organizations need to accomplish goals, and the actions needed to facilitate success. With this understanding, the person whose behaviour matches the needs of the organization is the desired leader. There are various leadership styles that are based on the behaviour theory. Some leaders tend to apply the democratic approach whereby the leader allows the subordinates to participate in the decision making process and also accomplish tasks according to the style that they feel is most appropriate (Bruce, 2006). The leaders delegate the tasks and may not be focused on supervising the process. Such strategies motivate the employees to accomplish their goal, which they feel is their responsibility. They feel appreciated by the leader who demonstrates confidence that they have the capacity to accomplish tasks on their own. The Laissez-faire approach also enhances employee freedom in accomplishing tasks. Employees are allowed to contribute to the organization’s decision making process, which promotes satisfaction as well as a sense of ownership of the organizational goals. The future and success of the organization depends on the direction that the leader takes. If he/she is able to unite the people behind him/her through giving them confidence and hope of accomplishing the ultimate goal, there are no reasons why it should not be achieved. Such characteristics are exhibited by charismatic leaders who have self confidence and influence on the subordinates. The subordinates are motivated by a leader who understands the meaning of recognizing the efforts of others (Ciulla, 1998). When the organizational objectives are met through hard work, great leaders give recognition to the employees. Performance and reward management helps organization to maintain skilled employees in the organization. The relationship theory explains the character of a leader who is focused on performance and tries as much as possible to instil the minds of the subordinates with a view of the significance of improving their performance. Such transformational leaders help the employees in an organization to utilize their potential to the maximum. They ensure that the workers are satisfied and that they own the organizational objectives. Since people have different ways of thinking as well as capabilities of handling emotions, a leader who is able to understand the feelings of each person can help in offering direction regarding workplace relationships. Such a leader with a high level of emotional intelligence serves as the pillar for the success of the team. He/she is able to help the people to accomplish a shared vision as well as empowering them to take make use of the available opportunities, especially for the purpose of career and personal development. The leader with a high level of emotional intelligence is capable of maintaining satisfaction among the employees who perform better and are always ready to sacrifice some more time for the organizational tasks. Job satisfaction prevents high employee turnover. In essence, organizations undertake the expenses of employee training in a bid to upgrade their skills. If there is persistent employee turnover as a result of dissatisfaction, the organization incurs more expenses to hire and train more workers. It also suffers from the loss of the skills gained from organizational learning (Stacey, 2007). Leaders who are employee oriented have a significant impact on organizational performance. They maintain high moral and ethical standards and always show concern to the needs of their subordinates. This is accomplished through a strong emotional intelligence, which helps people to maintain close relationships that are vital in establishing strong teams in the work place (Goett, 1999). Teams whereby people share common values and objectives are likely to excel than when people work individually. However, there ought to be strong leadership in the wake of every successful team. Team oriented leaders enhance inter-personal relationships in the workplace. They encourage workplace diversity. People with diverse skills bring in new insights in the organization. It is usually possible to accomplish tasks and engage in effective problem solving when people with diverse ideas contribute towards identifying a solution to the draw backs for organizational success. The leader understands that alone he/she can not make all the decisions needed for the organization to prosper. Neither can effective decisions be made by one manager in the organization. His/her work is to pool human resources together and establish a strong focused team to accomplish the organization’s task. They contribute in the entire process to ensure that everything is accomplished according to plan. In other words, they actively participate in the process rather than delegating tasks and supervising their completion. Employees in organizations become enthusiastic by having a participating leader who shares their plight as well as success. Jim Collins level 5 leadership highlights a team leader who applies his own capabilities for the success of the team. The leader is selfless and feels as part of a large group that shares a vision. He/she demonstrates modesty and professional will, which are characteristics that are significant in organizational success (Collins, 2001). Great leaders are flexible and always reinvent strategies to improve the performance of the organization. They utilize their talents to make sound decisions for the success of the organization. They promote the utilization of skills and knowledge through establishing good work behaviours that enhance productivity. Their flexibility allows them to challenge the existing systems with new strategies of accomplishing tasks. Contemporary organizations require such leaders who are aware of the changes in the operating environment and the adjustments needed for the organization to remain competitive and to satisfy the diverse market demands. For example, many organizations in the 21st century have computerized their operations to a great extent. This has resulted in consumers changing their preferences to the organizations where their needs are met with maximum efficiency and where they are able to save time. Flexible leaders are able to adopt the new innovations to improve their service delivery (DeCenzo & Robbins, 2007). Successful organizations do not have barriers to communication between the employees and the organization’s management. Good leadership eliminates these barriers by removing the bureaucracies that prevent freedom of the employees expressing their views directly to the top management. They discourage hierarchical structures of management; hence the organization does not have some managers who might be tempted to act arrogantly because of their position in the organization’s hierarchy. In essence, as Rank (2008) observes, hierarchical structures reduce the effectiveness of leadership due to the fact that various levels of significance to the organization are created. Some employees feel less important in the hierarchy and may not participate in decision making due to the feelings of inferiority. Organizations need leaders who promote a common purpose whereby each employee has an important role to play and therefore there can be no levels of significance resulting from the hierarchical structure. The goal theory of motivation explains the significance of having leaders who are able to enhance the pursuance of a common purpose. When the employees are aware of the goal that they are intending to achieve, they are motivated to be effective in the accomplishment of tasks. The experienced employees ensure that they maintain good performance and are encouraged to make the right decisions that can facilitate realization of the goal. Leaders who encourage creativity are able to maintain a competent workforce. Employees derive enthusiasm from coming up with workable ideas that can be attributed to their ability to think critically. Failure to get such a chance to demonstrate inventiveness may cause low spirits in the workplace especially when the employees are used to rely on the leader for decisions (Avolio & Bass, 2002). Leaders who promote creativity in the workplace also promote organizational learning since workers are able to learn from the diverse inventions. They also learn together with the workers. Clients are usually attracted to the organization where people cooperate. For an organization to be successful, it is important to have a confident leader who has strong believes in his own capacity to lead others to accomplish their objectives. The subordinates usually manage to accomplish tasks when they are sure of succeeding. When the leader demonstrates to them that he is certain that the process will succeed, their enthusiasm is maintained. On the other hand, it is important for him/her to demonstrate trustworthiness and integrity especially in critical matters affecting the organization. In reality, a leader acquires followers when people trust him/her. For example, when the organization is facing difficulties, it is important that the employees understand so that they are not caught by surprise when the management decides to downsize or take actions that affect the employees’ welfare (Conger & Kanungo, 1998). Prudent leaders are good communicators and they know how to approach information in the workplace. The words of a trusted leader carry great meaning to subordinates. Leaders who communicate their expectations clearly to the subordinates enhance understanding and also get an effective feedback. Failure to communicate in the right manner generates confusion in the workplace and the strategic objectives may never be accomplished. On the other hand, feed back is important to help identify the areas that need improvements, both from the leader and from the employees. When a leader does not provide feedback for the employees’ activities, they can not change their approach towards undertaking their routine tasks. On the other hand, the leader needs to listen to the feedback from them to understand the difficulties that they may be going through and the workplace issues that need to be addressed (Bate et al. 2000). Organizations need leaders who have respect for their work and for the employees. They should be focused on earning respect from the employees through their actions. It is important for the leader to promote mutual respect, which is significant in maintaining a positive attitude in the workplace. Attitude towards work greatly affects performance. The leader needs to generate a positive attitude by being positive about his/her work and then encouraging the subordinates to follow (Sosik, 2000). Even when the organizational processes or the operating environment is unfavourable or when the organization makes a loss inevitably, the leader should maintain a positive attitude. Strong leaders do not shift blame but rather take responsibility of the situation. Blaming others does not help and may generate mistrust in the workplace. Instead, organizations need leaders who focus their efforts on ways of dealing with the problem. Sharing of knowledge is amongst the most significant components of leadership. Great leaders understand other people and ensure that they have the freedom to express their feelings. This is important in maintaining competence in an organization especially due to the fact that the employees develop a sense of ownership for the organization when the leaders promote democratic control. According to Alldredge et al. (2003), humans need freedom in their activities and always prefer leaders who are ready to listen to their views regarding the issues affecting them. Great leaders allow information sharing and also suppress intimidation of the subordinates. They share their experiences with others, which is a significant aspect of knowledge transfer in the organization. For example, new recruits learn about the organizational operations through information sharing. Effective teams enhance knowledge transfer in which all players need to appreciate the knowledge possessed by others. Leaders need to promote knowledge transfer through information sharing to develop a strong workforce. Incompetence in an organization arises when people keep what they know to themselves, which leads to the presence of vital but scattered information that can never be applied in the improvement of organizational productivity. Organizations need leaders who are capable of withstanding stress when the organization faces difficulties in its operations. Leaders ought to be courageous to face challenging situations that might affect the organizational productivity. They need to possess strong personalities that enable them to approach issues with sophistication. The subordinates look upon leaders for guidance when faced with difficulties and therefore the leader is expected to spearhead the problem solving process and oversee its completion without giving up. Competitors are usually keen on the strategies employed by the leaders to approach issues in the organization. The leader therefore needs to be tactical to ensure that the organizational strategies are not exposed to maintain the organizational competitiveness. They are able to respond swiftly to unexpected occurrences in the workplace (Robbins et al. 2008). Situational leadership facilitates the establishment of successful organizations. These are leaders who are capable of changing their strategies according to the prevailing circumstances. There are four grids in the situational leadership model that were developed by Paul Hersey. The leader can be in any one grid depending on circumstances. For example, he/she can be a coach whereby he/she plays a significant role of assigning tasks and ensuring that the subordinates understand how to tackle each task. He/she can also be supportive whereby the leader takes control of the organizational tasks together with the subordinates and always ensures that all the materials and equipment needed are offered to the employees for maximum performance. Directing is also one of the strategies in the grid that explains leaders who develop strategies for the subordinates to work with while delegating on the other hand involves the leader giving the employees the liberty to work under minimum supervision. These strategies are applied in situational leadership and are significant in upholding success especially when the operating environment is highly volatile. An example of a leader whose situational leadership has helped in the accomplishment of organizational success is Richard Branson. He is understood to employ a wide range of methods in the management style of the Virgin group while avoiding bureaucracy in all the operations. According to Reynolds (2000), Branson is a great leader who encourages participatory decision making but likes making original judgments for the benefit of the organization. He is a socially independent leader who is focused on accomplishment of tasks according to plan. Branson’s situational leadership has enabled him to develop considerably high and achievable goals for the Virgin group. Conclusion Great leadership is required for organizations to accomplish their strategic goals. Leaders need to be willing to act as servants and to enhance competence in others by promoting a shared vision. The physical characteristics are no longer significant as they used to be as explained by the trait theory. The new perspective of leadership is based on the behaviour of leaders and the manner in which they relate with others. Focusing on the needs of employees is significant for the success of an organization. Building effective teams enhances organizational performance through brainstorming and knowledge transfer. Organizations need leaders who are flexible in their approach towards developing strategies. They communicate effectively and also enhance inter-personal relationships. Effective leaders appreciate diversity in the workplace and ensure that the employees understand the ultimate goal. They believe in their capabilities and communicate their knowledge effectively. Situational leadership allows the leader to set strategies that help in maintaining organizational competitiveness even under highly unstable operating environment. References Bruce G. (2006). Taproots for Transformation: Nurturing Intergenerational Discernment and Leadership in an irrational World, Bloomington: Trafford Publishing Robbins, S. P., Judge, T. A., Millett, B. & Waters-Marsh, T. (2008). Organisational Behaviour, Fifth Edition, Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education. Alldredge, M., Johnson, C., Stoltzfuz, J., & Vicere, A. (2003). “Leadership development at 3M: New process, new techniques, new growth”. Human Resource Planning, 26, 3, p 45. Avolio, B. J. & Bass, B. M. 2002. Developing Potential across a Full Range of Leadership: Cases on Transactional and Transformational Leadership, Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Bate, P., Khan, R., & Pye, A. (2000). “Towards a culturally sensitive approach to organization structuring: Where organization design meets organizational development”. A Journal of the Institute of Management Sciences, Vol. 11, 2, p 197. Collins, J. (2001). The Triumph of Humility and Fierce Resolve, Harvard Business Review, p 70 Conger, J. A. & Kanungo R. N. (1998). Charismatic Leadership in Organizations, London: Sage Publications, Inc. Ciulla, J. B. 1998. Ethics: The Heart of Leadership, Westport, CT: Praeger. DeCenzo, D. A. & Robbins, P. S. 2007. Fundamentals of Human Resource Management, New Jersey: Wiley Goett, P. (1999). “Standards operating procedure”. Journal of Business Strategy, Vol. 20, 42 pp 15-31 Rank, O. N. 2008. “Formal structures and informal networks: Structural analysis in organizations”, Scandinavian Journal of Management, Vol. 24, 2, pp 145-161 Reynolds, L. (2000). “What is leadership?” Training Journal, Vol. 1, 2 p. 26. Sosik, J. J. (2000). The Role of Personal Meaning in Charismatic Leadership. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, Vol. 7, No. 2, pp 60-74 Stacey, R. D. 2007. Strategic Management and Organisational Dynamics, Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall Read More