Leadership Theories and Their Applicability to Leadership - Literature review Example

LEADERSHIP THEORIES AND THEIR APPLICABILITY TO LEADERSHIP By Module Word Count: 1763 Supervisor Introduction Dynamic and effective leadership is one major concept that sets apart a successful organization from an unsuccessful one. As such, leadership is a significant concept in an organization or firm. Leadership can be primarily defined as the process of influencing activities of a group or individual to reach a common or set target in a particular situation. This definition illustrates that leadership greatly depends on the situation. A lot of scientists agree with the validity of this definition and illustration. Organizations have been going through a lot of reforms and restructuring in the last few decades. With these transformations, various leadership theories and models have been applied or used. Researchers and experts do not unanimously agree on a solitary leadership style that should be implemented in organizations to achieve success. Rather, they have argued that using or combining different theories based on the wants and needs of an organization will give out the best results. This paper will depict how leadership theories and models provide practical advice on how to be an effective leader. Moreover, transformational leadership theory and path goal theory will be incorporated in the essay. Body Philosophers and Researchers have studied or engaged in lengthy discussions about the nature of leadership. However, no conclusive facts and evidence exist as to what makes effective leadership (Judge, T. 2004, 36). The different perspectives advocated by researchers on leadership have led to examination of various variables. For example, characters of good leaders, the use of power, leadership models and theories, and the various leadership styles (Gillespie, N. 2004, 600). Historically, leadership definitions majorly focussed on the behaviours of leaders (Yukl, G. 2002, 56). For example, the conduct, values and behaviours of popular ancient Greek and Roman leaders were described in Plutarch’s Parallel Lives. The behaviours of these leaders were used as part of leadership training to subsequent leaders. Machiavelli provided Lorenzo de Medici in the early 16th century with a detailed prescription on how to become an effective leader in his book the prince. Lorenzo de Medici was a leader in an Italian state/city. James Macgregor examined the leader follower relationship in his book leadership (1978) during the 20th century. Transformational leadership theory The main goal of a transformational leader is to “transform” an organization or people (Nell, E. 2005, 98). The leader changes their heart, mind, insight, understanding and vision. Furthermore, transformational leaders bring about change that is mostly self-perpetuating, permanent and congruent with their beliefs. Thus transformational leaders’ behaviours can be described as being intellectual stimulation, individualized consideration, inspirational motivation and idealized influence (Brookfield, S. 2000, 125). For example, Sir Richard Branson is a transformational leader. He advocates for a better world by trying to change the lives of many people. Through his various charity programs, Sir Richard Branson gives back to the community. In addition, he transformed the virgin brand into a successful company. The Branson centre of entrepreneurship provides real life business skills, access to business networks and mentorship to local business men and entrepreneurs. Through this program, he has changed their mind, visions and insight. Like a transformational leader, he has made changes to make sure the growth, outcome and effectiveness benefits the virgin group and the people. A transformational leader identifies the necessary change. Next he or she creates a vision which will guide the transformation via inspiration. Lastly, the leader executes the plan with the group member’s commitment. Northouse (2007, 176) defines transformational leadership style as the process where the leader engages his subordinates hence creating a connection that elevates both the morality and motivation in both the follower and the leader. John F. Kennedy & Martin Luther king are two of the most transformational and inspirational leaders of this century. Martin Luther king is hailed for his, “I have a dream” speech which inspired and motivated the civil rights movement. On the other hand, John F. Kennedy the President’s mission of landing man on the moon inspired the 1960s and 70s space race. These two leaders were transformational leaders with their charisma, confidence and popularity, they inspired people to transform from their ancient ways into modern social, political and national improvement. The subordinates of a transformational leader are influenced by his policies to change and better their lives (Dvir, T. 2002, 736). In order to effect change, the leader applies robust moral ideals and values. The leader convinces the juniors by acting as a teacher, coach and mentor (Avolio, B. 2013, 79). These leaders are often found at any level of a firm or organization. This leader possesses the ability to influence subordinates, peers and even superiors. Daft (2005, 25) in the leadership experience stated that “transformational leadership develops followers into leaders and brings about significant change by elevating leaders and followers to higher of motivation and morality”. One must be in line with himself before becoming a transformational leader (Kaiser, R. 2008, 96). He/she must give special attention to the surroundings, followers. Moreover, he or she must be creative and innovative. Steve jobs through his creativity made apple a successful company. His inventions revolutionized the mobile market. He understood the needs of his customers. As a result, he designed technically complex electronics but simple to use for the mass market. Under his watch, apple transformed to be among the most successful firms in the world. With his designs, he guided the company and subordinates to reach their goals and visions. For transformational leaders to be successful, they must possess some key characteristics. These are self-confidence, charisma, and vision, environmental sensitivity, intellectually stimulating, interpersonal considerate, inspirational and they should make morally upright decisions (Judge, T. 2000, 76). This theory can provide practical advice on how to be a transformational leader. The major objective of transformational leaders is to change their respective organizations, group or units into a more profitable organization (Vecchio, R. 2008, 73). These leaders have to be able to make tough choices, take on risk, and also unite the employers to their organization’s visions and goals (Piccolo, R. 2006, 330).Seeking new ways and ideas of accomplishing tasks in order to succeed is a basic characteristic for transformational leaders. Shifting and exceeding the expectations of the status quo gives the transformational leaders time to focus on their future. Challenging old perspectives, methods of doing tasks and ways is a trait that ensures the leader is successful. Additionally, these leaders must be passionate about their commitment to the people and task at hand. Passion is a defining characteristic for a transformational leader. In order for a leader to have honest and willing followers, he must possess robust commitment to his goals and visions. Transformational leaders with the right ethical predispositions tend to do the right thing always. Ethics should be cultivated in the decision making processes as well as in the end results. Commitment to always doing the right thing must be practiced for a transformational leader to be effective. This theory can be applied practically in real life. For someone to be a transformational leader, he has to emulate the characteristics discussed above in the essay. With the current harsh economic strains, transformational leaders are in demand to transform and streamline organizations to achieve success or to perform better. A lot of organizations need to re-invent themselves to survive in the present markets. According to Horn (2002, 76) any observant person will view the metamorphosis taking place in virtually each and every profession or industry. This metamorphosis requires transformational leaders to steer the companies in the right direction. Therefore, any leader can learn from the transformational theory on how to be a prosperous leader. Path goal theory The path goal theory tries to decipher the relationship between subordinate satisfaction or performance and leader behaviours. Northouse (2010) implies that It basically looks at how leaders encourage subordinates to accomplish certain goals. This theory can provide practical advice on how to become an effective leader. Since effective leadership is based on performance or profitability, a leader should be more worried about job satisfaction (House, R. 1975, 254). Therefore, the leader has to offer incentives to subordinates based on their performance (Silverthorne, C. 2001, 153). This theory lists four leadership styles or characteristics that make one to be a successful leader. These include directive, participative, achievement oriented and supportive leadership. Directive leadership style tries to boost subordinate morale when the task at hand is ambiguous (Dixon, M. 2010, 53). A participative leadership style should be adopted when the job is unstructured and the rewards offered by the organization seem to be incorrect. According to Dubrin (2007), this style is best applied to well-motivated subordinates undertaking non repetitive work. On the other hand, achievement oriented style is appropriate when ambiguity and variety characterize the tasks. This style results in much more satisfaction especially when the tasks being tackled are uncertain (House, R. 1971, 323). Leaders with this type of style remunerate and reward their subordinates for satisfactory performance. Thus leaders must change their behaviours to different tasks by assisting, removing hurdles, guiding and rewarding subordinates in order to achieve the set goals. Herb Keller’s leadership style leans towards this theory. The participative and supportive characteristics relate to Keller’s style. Keller as the CEO of southwest airlines has managed to build a successful organization in a very competitive market. He shows honest concern for the personal and work related wants of his subordinates. As such, he acts as a supportive leader. Furthermore, he is a participative leader. He mostly consults which his subordinates before making significant company decisions. Due to this habit, he actually develops a personal relationship with most subordinates. These strategies have enabled him to be an effective leader in the business world. Conclusion Behaviour and traits of leaders have been investigated to identify the personal traits of leaders, and their skill sets associated with good leadership. Additionally, their work traits have been taken into consideration (Vroom, V. 2007, 17). Work traits include decisiveness, stress tolerance, ability to be responsible, persistence and dependability. Personal traits include cooperation, energy, self-confidence, decisiveness and dominance. Finally, skill traits were found to include creativity, intelligence, persuasiveness, organizational ability and diplomacy (Kark, R. 2003, 247). As such, the various leadership theories and models can provide practical advice on how to be an effective leader. Leaders delegate, plan, motivate and coordinate (Avolio, B. 2007, 25). They often focus on persuading and influencing their subordinates to accomplish firm goals. Also, they focus their energies on developing the potential of their subordinates. These theories can be applied in real life to make effective leaders. Bibliography Avolio, B. J., 2007. Promoting more integrative strategies for leadership theory-building. American Psychologist, 62(1), 25. Avolio, B. J., & Yammarino, F. J. (Eds.)., 2013. Transformational and charismatic leadership: The road ahead. Emerald Group Publishing. Brookfield, S. D., 2000. Transformative learning as ideology critique. 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