Organization Behaviour and Leadership Development Scenarios - Essay Example

 Organization Behaviour and Leadership M Part 1 The First Scenario The first scenario is where I was posted as a new manager and the idea was to make Oli comfortable in the organization so that he can come with new ideas, the effective steps I took to resolve the situation was expressing satisfaction and confidence in oli as means of making him feel free, I also focused attention on going beyond self interest and I actively listened to oli talking and encouraging him to speak more about himself and his expertise, I went further and emphasized his importance of having him in the organization. I also supported the good ideas that were proposed by oli and facilitating completion of oli easier task. The key learning point in this scenario was to make good first impression with employees to ease their tension ,extracting good ideas from employees by encouraging them to talk more in relaxed atmosphere and delegating a leadership style that that make employee comfortable in their working. From this scenario leadership component is important component in business dynamic , where leadership skill are useful in influencing people to follow desired direction . in this scenario post – heroic leadership skill are essential ,where leader want others to take personal responsibility and gain knowledge , post heroic eldership style is characterized by encouragement of innovation and active participation even in situation which are ambiguous, they also seek consensus in decision making and also encourage other to grow even at expense of being dispensable (Bradford & Cohen, 1998). According to (Bradford & Cohen, 1998) Post heroic leadership style has been used to describe concept of conceptualization that refuse top down focus leadership The Second Scenario Scenario two setting involved unifying two competing junior employees i.e. Rosa and oli by finding common and unifying ideas, hence unifying them is of great importance in meeting the company objectives. The objective of this scenario was to get oli and Rosa to agree on maintaining customer retention in call centre at 65 % and also getting every one to agree on using automated phone system. The steps I took to resolve this scenario were, actively listening to oli and Rosa, encouraging oli and Rosa to communicate to help reach an effective agreement, through asserting my leadership power toward ending the squabbles between them. Using work strategies tactics of constantly reminding them the goal of the organization in addition of using tension strategies where I introduced relaxing ideas that aimed to eliminate tension created by oli and Rosa The key learning point that emerged from this scenario was that tension in at work place can lead to little work being accomplished, it is of great paramount to stay neutral where employee friction is involved in order to help them out, through focusing on goals of organization and constant reminder help people to work harmoniously, effective communication within organization facilitate dialogue that help to resolve dialogue between employees and creating a kind of numeration system that help employee to cooperate and work together to achieve set goals in addition to engagement in team building exercises. Supporting theory and academic insight for this scenario can be derive from democratic leadership , which is characterized by emphasizes in group participation , where decision and discussion are encouraged by leaders hence giving team member a voice in decision making (Goleman, 2000). Democratic leadership style builds flexibility and responsibility in an organization which in turn help in generating new ideas. . (Goleman, 2000).Through listening to team members in an organization which is encouraged by democratic leadership, leaders learn to resolve dispute between employees and in decision making. (Goleman, 2000). Third Scenario The third scenario set up was learning to manage up, where it is critical important for a leader to mange his juniors but at the same time have abilities to guide and correct his superiors when they are likely to falter. In this scenario the problem was compounded when Will a senior put a cap on the call centre idea of funding it, where this will translate to company continued dismal performance and other future problems. The steps I took in this scenario involved supporting Herman idea of cutting expenses by raising it, since this will create a faction that would facilitate call centre funding in addition t o this strategic idea and tactic I raised Herman tension by exciting him ,since this would make him raise call centre funding idea. While Addressing this scenario using power strategies and tactics I let Herman introduce the call centre funding idea and support him in addition of supporting Rosa on the sales calls idea and also support oli in order to build strong faction. Work strategy that I use to address this scenario was to pass call centre funding, call centre and cutting expenses ideas and also preventing Will from passing sale retreat idea. From this scenario key learning point emerges they include, collaboration with authority is critical in creating ability to go against other senior employee ideas. From this scenario the idea that ought to be pushed and passed are those that will help the company reach its goal In financial performance in long run and customer satisfaction also building of factions is of great help for ones idea to be passed Academic insight and supporting theory for this scenario can be inferred from shared leadership style , this is kind of leadership is characterized by dynamic and interactive influencing processes among people in an organization, (Pearce & Conger, 2003).the objective of this style is to is to lead one another toward achievement of the whole group or toward organization goals(Pearce & Conger, 2003). The shared leadership influence process involve peer, lateral and both downward and upward hierarchical influence. (Pearce & Conger, 2003). Scenario Four This scenario was about merging people with diverse cultures, it was a case where I was leading people without having a formal authority to do so. The main power strategy I applied in this scenario was to use my leadership position to build strong alliance together with working closely with authority. the tactics I employed to achieve the goal in this scenario were supporting Allan , the vice president through introducing his idea of who is to be downsized, also using my power imposed by my leadership position, I supported Will and Herman also through supporting consolidated IT and more client ideas. The work strategy to resolve this scenario was to identify crucial ideas , whereby the steps I took to resolve this scenario was passing consolidated IT ideas., more client idea , with more vendors idea ,keep human resource idea and combine sales idea , also by not letting senior either meeting and fire nortic vendors idea pass. Also in this scenario I employed tension strategy where I kept tension at productive levels. From this scenario the key learning points that emerge out include, it is critical to help others other pass their ideas since they are more likely to reciprocate the same kindness, building strong factions which have common agenda is crucial, from the scenario it is also possible to manage up as well as managing down, positive attitude exhibited by all team members of an organization is of great importance in passing objective idea in addition it is important to use effective communication for purpose of persuading others. This scenario four it supported by academic theory of interpersonal skill. Which is related to interactions which influence others such as negotiation and persuasion skills in particular? This interpersonal category of leadership also pertain to coordination of oneself action and action of others. (Mumford,Marks, Connelly, Zaccaro, & Reiter-­Palmon, 2000). Scenario Five This is the scenario which is represented as areal crises situation where adequate leadership style is in dare need to steer organization toward target goals. In this almost cynical scenario the strategy I employed was remaining relaxed and calm while facilitating sound judgment, the key tactics action I took was to support either Will or Allan to talk to the press and discussing ideas that lower tension In addition I used work strategy that involved passing ideas that are facilitative in company rebuilding and that will enhance future productivity of the company. The key lesson that can be inferred from this scenario are: blending of politics and power can work toward achieving organization goals , also effective communication in time of crises has positive impact in addition of persuading and influencing others. This scenario is supported by academic insight related to strategic skills which is regarded as highly conceptual skills, (Burns,1978) strategic skill is strongly associated with visioning and problem solving which are often needed in time of crises to take system perspective and understanding complexity of the situation , hence solve cynical crises in an organization.. (Burns, 1978) Part 2 Leader Self Insights Leadership is the influence one has on people that causes necessary change (Daft, & Lane, 2008, 4). 1) How often do you find yourself focused on your on your agenda rather than that of others? 4 How often should you be focused on your agenda rather than that of others? 5 2) How often do you look for ways to praise others? 7 How often should you look for ways to praise others? 6 3) How often do you specifically try to access new ideas and thoughts from others? 7 How often should you specifically try to access new ideas and thoughts from others? 7 4) How often do you look for the signs of buy in to a new initiative? 5 How often should you look for the signs of buy in to a new initiative? 6 5) How often do you discuss differences of opinions openly? 7 How often should you discuss differences of opinions openly? 5 6) How often do you express your thoughts assertively? 4 How often should you express your thoughts assertively? 5 7) How often do you direct others towards goal directed work? 6 How often should you direct others towards goal directed work? 7 8) How often do you display stubbornness and inflexibility? 3 How often should you display stubbornness and inflexibility? 1 9) How often do you remain calm when presented with different points of view? 5 How often should you remain calm when presented with different points of view? 4 10) How often do you advance the attitude of dealing with others as equals? 7 How often should you advance the attitude of dealing with others as equals? 6 The above diagram shows the self assessment test ranging from scale 1-7, that is 1 for never and 7 for always and the centre number 4 for sometimes. Together with this self assessment there are two behaviors that need change. Behavior 1 As a leader I am not very assertive which make the subjects to over shadow my superiority. This makes the leadership job that I have seem weak. In addition I seem not to be competent enough since I cannot keep my subjects in order. Behavior 2 I am always looking for other people’s opinion so much that my opinions seem of little significance. As a leader I think I should have more prudent thinking and decision making abilities. Assessments There are six assessments that I feel are insightful in the continuation of leadership development plan. The assessments include:- How often do I look for ways to praise others? How often do I specifically try to access new ideas and thoughts from others? How often do I discuss differences of opinions openly? How often do I express your thoughts assertively? How often do I remain calm when presented with different points of view? How often do I advance the attitude of dealing with others as equals? These six assessments are significant in that they demonstrate the kind of leader I aspire to be and the way to achieve that leadership style. This leadership style is the democratic leader (Daft, & Lane, 2008, 362). As a democratic leader I should learn to praise my subjects, access new thoughts from my workers, discuss opinion differences openly, be assertive sometimes, remain calm when there are conflicting opinions and advance the attitude of treating others as equals (Daft, & Lane, 2008, 364). Part 3 Personal Leadership Development Model The above chart shows my personal leadership model. It shows my factors influencing my personal approach to effective leadership and also what I aspire on becoming as I continue with my leadership development plan. Explanation of All Elements of Personal Model There are various factors responsible for influencing my personal approach to effective leadership. Being in a new century, virtual team building helps in a selecting the necessary factors responsible for the distribution of knowledge in my area of expertise. This is because most teams are successful because of the effective sharing of knowledge between team members. A team that does not share knowledge is prone to failure as it is disorganized in its activities and decision making process. Success factors are responsible for most team buildings and I strategically analyze this to determine my personal progress to effective leadership (Adeniyi, 2007,p.171). Experience is a significant factor in creating a effective leadership style within various fields that requires managerial experience. Most organizations select individuals for various positions because of their experience in other different organizations or departments that directly relates to the vacant position to be filled. The essence to this decision is that experience serves as a factor determining the efficiency and effectiveness of the individual to be selected for a particular post within the organization. I value experience because it will assist in making many difficult decisions and as a result the performance within my team will be immensely improved. Also, experience helps in thinking quickly on steps take when faced with a situation or in the process of decision making. Past experiences always assist in making current judgments as I avoid the decisions that I hag earlier chose and had a led to a wrong a choice within my team or organization. Moreover, experience also suits my task of motivating individuals within my team or organization because I have the knowledge of what they require to feel motivated in their different fields within the organization or team (Tracy, 2008, 90). Support is also a key factor influencing my personal approach to effective leadership. I prefer to have the support of my employees or team members to help in fulfilling the various leadership insights that I may have. Support also assists in my being selected as a leader by the various officials concerned in an organization or in a team. Effective leadership is only achieved when a manger enjoys the support of employees or team members because the process of decision making will be quick and effective as there will be no barrier in the decision making process. I also value support as it will beneficial to me in accomplishing new responsibilities in my new area. This is because without it, I might find the responsibilities difficult and might sink in the cause of trying to achieve them. I achieve support in my team or organization by being nice to my employees or team members in different fields (Tracy, 2008, 90). Characteristics are also important in influencing my personal approach to effective leadership. This is because good leaderships must always have the best of natural characteristics to motivate their leaders and promote effective development within their various fields. Personal characteristics are responsible for my motivation to productivity within my team and organization because when not motivated in my work or position, id employ halfhearted working styles which would lead in efficiency in the production process within the team and the organization and to the general goal of effective leadership development. My personal characteristics are also important in achieving practicality and to the achievements of goals and objectives’ within my team and organization (Mayer, 2008, p. 35). Economics are also responsible for influencing my personal approach to effective leadership within my team or organization. I use economics to make predictions of my choices and decisions within the organization or team. An example is that when economies are flush, I easily predict the opening of many positions as a leader in my company or team. This greatly improves on my personal approach to effective leadership despite the situation I might find myself engrossed. My current skills and ongoing developmental activities in improving my personal approach to effective leadership development involves identifying leadership gaps present within my team and organization and making changes to the areas I feel are ineffective or requires changes. Accurate identification of leadership gaps within my team or organization wills significantly assist me in improving my current and future requirements as a leader. Secondly, I will be able to effectively analyze the requirements of attaining an effective leadership development plan and compare them with the existing qualities of my team members or employees to effectively achieve the set goals within my organization or team. Secondly, I am focusing on building a succession plan for various critical roles within my team or employees to better assist in achieving effective leadership development. This will be significant in increasing productivity within my team or between my employees. Succession plan will help in avoiding disruptions and employees trauma because it will lay a plan for parties concerned to follow in their cause of action within their various duties post. Thirdly, I am planning on developing career goals for potential leaders. This will be important in effective leadership development by retaining team member and employees within the organization, engaging them in various tasks that will yield to production within the team or employees. Lastly, I am also developing a skill roadmap for future leaders to improve my personal approach to effective leadership. This is because in my absence, there should be someone with a potential to continue managing the team or employees. Developing skills for future road map will assist me in selecting individuals within my team who are competent enough to handle various matters within the team or amongst employees. My personal mission is ‘ I believe in putting my clients first. And my aim is to advance the understanding, practice and development of leadership for the benefit of my clients.’ My personal visions are exploring new leadership approaches available through research and other available tools. I also plan in venturing into skills and resources required to meet the demands of this vision by incorporating various strategies towards the mission, personal goals and objectives too. Personal Theories of Leadership I have adopted the autocratic theory as personal theory in my leadership development plan. This leadership gives me extreme powers over my team members and employees. I believe that a different situation requires different strategies to successfully accomplish the provided task. This is because effective leadership requires appropriate level of development plan I strongly believe that an individual behavior greatly determine the type of leadership quality to apply to team or group of employees. I believe that leadership is something that individuals learn with time. The common myth that leaders are born and not made is wrong because I believe that an effective leader only requires effective training to achieve skills of effective leadership. Leadership is a process and all process requires formulae to learn new ways of achieving the set goals or objectives. Commitment is an important aspect in effective leadership because good leaders are well organized and this is proved on the leadership qualities and virtues. Effective leadership is a mix-up of different knowledge, values and skills, however, not all leaders have the same qualities and in different organizations will find effective leaders but with different behaviors and values. Effective leadership also requires a good knowledge and understanding of the essence of his post and responsibilities within a team or organization. Awareness on the different leadership’s aspect is responsible for effective leaderships in a team or organization. In addition, effective leadership also requires good skills and communication to easily understand and be understood in a tea or by employees. The skills and communication aspect is essential in helping a leader clearly and confidently express themselves. An effective leader should also be vision oriented. However, vision alone is not enough for a leader because there must be strong action plan to implement the vision. Good leadership also requires that the leaders involve the team or employees in the process of decisions making to it a collaborative effort. I apply theses qualities to help me become an effective leader because they form part of unconscious leadership behavior (Blazey, 2008, P.34). Despite situational leadership being my espoused theory, I have adopted democratic leadership theory to help me achieve effective leadership qualities. This involves involving my team members in the decision making process to help in the formulation and achievement of goals and objectives within the team or organization. This has allowed me to achieve goals and objectives since it has presented with an interaction platform where my team or employees are highly motivated for their work. Democratic leaderships integrate all members of a team or employees working in an organization. Despite using autocratic theory and democratic theory, there exist various gaps between the two types of leadership approaches. The theories are effective depending on the circumstances within a team or organization and are eminent with distinct defined characteristics. In autocratic leadership model, the process of decisions making is quicker compared to the democratic theory. This is because autocratic leader are responsible for the process of decision making within an organization since they do not involve in consultations to find choices of the decisions to take within a team or in an organization. In democratic leadership, consultations are done by leaders to find the most appropriate leadership quality; therefore, they arrive at solutions after a long period (Daft & Lane, 2008, P.44). Autocratic leaders are prone to making poor choices in team or organization than democratic leaders. This is because, in the process of making decisions, various salient points are left out as the problem in question is over looked by autocratic leaders. Democratic leaders make decisions with a more preset perspective as they take their time in making decisions than their counterparts who make hasty decisions in the decision making process. Democratic leadership style also leads to a happy work environment compared to autocratic leadership. This is because team members or employees under autocratic leadership do not feel part of the company because they do not have opinions regarding how things are conducted in the system. Gaps between Espoused Theory and Theory in Use Democratic leadership also provides its employees with a high dependency ratio compared to autocratic leaders because they are provided with more opportunities to develop themselves than those under autocratic leadership theory where they have little to effectively develop themselves. In correcting the gaps existing between autocratic and democratic leadership models, I would recommend the following: Autocratic leaders should allow their team members more opportunity to add input in the decision making process within the organization or team. Autocratic leaders should not charge themselves all the work or decision making process. Leaders should not be the only ones responsible for making decisions within the team or organization. Autocratic leaders should always focus on long term results rather than short term results. References Adeniyi, M. A. (2007). Effective leadership management: an integration of styles, skills & character for today's CEOs. Bloomington, IN, AuthorHouse. Blazey, M. L. (2008). Insights to performance excellence 2008: .an inside look at the 2004 Baldridge Award criteria. Milwaukee, Wis, ASQ Quality Press. Bradford, D. L., & Cohen, A. R. (1998). Power up: Transforming organizations through shared leadership. Chichester, England: Wiley. Burns, J. M. (1978). Leadership. New York: Harper & Row. Daft, R. L., & Lane, P. G. (2008). The leadership experience. Mason, OH, Thomson/South Western Daft, R. L., & Lane, P. G. (2008). The leadership experience. Mason, OH, Thomson/South- Western. Goleman, D. (2000). Leadership that gets results. Harvard Business Review, 78(2), 78–90. Mayer, T. (2008). What makes a good leader & how might the performance of leaders be measured. 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