Principles and Practices of Leadership and Management - Coursework Example

? Principles and Practices of Leadership Management #QUESTION Contingency Theories of Leadership Introduction Contingency theory is a category of behavioral theory which asserts that there is no perfect way to organize, lead or make decisions in an organization. It stresses on specific variables which are related to the environment that may determine a particular pattern of leadership best fit for certain situation. According to this theory, no particular leadership style is deemed the best in every situation. The success of an organization largely depends on a number of factors that include the leadership style, characteristics of the followers as well as the aspects of the situation on the ground (Smith, 1984). In this paper, there are several contingency models which have been discussed to outline the theories of leadership in the society. Contingency Theory of Decision Making As per this model, the success of a decision procedure is contingent upon a number of instances of the situation. This involves the significance of the decision attributes and acceptance, the extent of relevant information owned by the leader and subordinates. Also, there is the possibility that subordinates will admit an autocratic verdict or cooperate in attempting to make a good decision when allowed to participate. In addition, there is the degree of disagreement among workers with regard to their favored alternatives. Path–Goal Theory The theory suggests that the leader should assist explicate the path for workers to achieve the group goals. This is where the leader employs particular behaviors in particular situations to intensify follower satisfaction as well as motivate efforts in the direction of task accomplishment. The theory recognizes four kinds of leader behavior which includes supportive, directive, achievement oriented and participative leader behavior. In instances where the task is taxed, the theory forecast that supportive behaviors of leadership may increase the workers' interest in task completion and encourage workers' expectations for an effective outcome. On the other hand, in instances where the task is complicated, then the directive behaviors such as explaining the task and emphasizing on rewards on good performance may increase the workers positive expectation (House, 1996). Normative Decision Model This theory exclusively focuses on providing prescriptions to enhance the decision-making process of the leader. It gives out a set of 5 different strategies of decision-making that range from directive decision making to a participative one. The finest strategy for making decision situations may be arrived at by answering “yes/no” to 7 questions based on a decision tree which may characterize the situation for decision-making. The significance of decision quality, the probability that workers would accept to execute the decision as well as the quantity of available information required for the decision amounts to some of the examples of situational considerations (Smith, 1984). Situational Leadership Theory The theory proposes that the effectiveness of leadership depends purely on the ability of the leader to customize his/her behavior to the necessity of the situation. For instance, the workers’ level of maturity. The function of the leader is to constantly evaluate and modifies his/her behavior to each workers’ task and psychological maturity to accomplish the task in sight. For example, when a worker happens to have lower maturity, then the leader should assist the employee on how to carry out the job. However, when a worker is more mature, then probably he/she does not require much assistance to have the work done. In this situation, it would be proper to delegate the task to the employee. Studies back the theory's hypothesis that low maturity workers mostly take advantage of the directive behavior. The theory has however been disapproved for its limited focus on only a single situational element, but it has played a part in the understanding of the effectiveness of leadership by underlining the necessity for leaders to modify their behaviors with regard to various situations (Hersey & Blanchard, 1969) LMX Model The model is largely about building the relationship process between the worker and the leader. From an application point of view, perhaps the greatest limitation of LMX is its opaque idea of not describing the particular behaviors that brings high-quality connection exchanges between the worker and the follower. Situational Favorability The other significant variable in the model of contingency is the situational favorability. It is basically the amount of dominance and power that the leader posses over his/her followers. It is a presumed that the more dominant a leader is over the workers, the more promising the instance is, especially from the perspective of the leader. Fiedler included 3 sub-elements in the situation favorability. They include; leader vs. member relations, position power, and the task structure. Conclusion In summary, the complicated nature of contingency theories has however drawn several criticisms for its lack of parsimony. In addition, contingency theories have largely been depicted as a mere robotic approach that disregards considerations of situations of extraordinary leadership as well as group processes. In spite of that, contingency leadership theories still remain an essential contributing factor to the understanding of effectiveness in leadership (Smith, 1984). References Hersey, P., & Blanchard, K. H., 1969. An introduction to situational leadership. Training and Development Journal, vol. 23, pp. 26–34. House, R. J., 1996. Path–goal theory of leadership: Lessons, legacy, and a reformulated theory. Leadership Quarterly, vol. 7, pp. 323–352. Smith, M. J., 1984. Contingency rules theory, context, and compliance behaviors. Human Communication Research, 10, 489-512. #QUESTION 2: Critical Evaluation of Contemporary Leadership Skills Introduction Leadership simply refers to the ability to organize a given group of people in order to achieve a common objective. In its simplest form, leadership can be portrayed as the capacity to direct, inspire, encourage and motivate others positively to reach the common goal. Large and modern organizations require a good leader with the right leadership skills who is able to practice the modern leadership theories and styles (Smith & Foti, 1998). Therefore, this essay critically evaluates the contemporary leadership skills, theories and styles required in a modern organization. It also examines the challenges of leadership and the structure of modern organizations. Countable people have been great leaders overnight. It actually takes time and practice so long as you are open to learning and working with your members. Since the contemporary society is constantly changing, modern leaders and managers have to improve on their skills continually and to gather the right knowledge that is crucial for their organizations. To be a successful contemporary leader you require the uncommon behaviors and essential skills so as to reignite staff contribution, enhance influence, in addition to building lasting results. Some of the skills include; Leading by example; you should not be an unapproachable leader, someone who is unfriendly, never around and not getting involved the organization’s day-to-day activities. Successful leaders are down to earth and lead by example. They chip in when and where needed, lend a helping hand, and also make sure that whatever work they carry out is well understood from his/her team (Lussier & Achua, 2010). Being passionate; A leader with no passion isn’t a good leader. Passion generates a lot, and you can motivate your team through your passion and enthusiasm. The members should portray you as someone who believes in what you do and loves what the company is doing. But that should not be mistaken to mean being a cheery and tolerating failure. Being organized; A leader who is disorganized isn’t leading but chasing his/her own tail. As a leader, if you’re frayed and messy then your team will as well follow that trend. Productivity is associated with orderliness and being organized, if you are productive and so will everyone else in the organization. Also, a leader can never do everything, therefore you should be able to delegate some work. You let the employees to owner the work you assign them to do Taking ownership and responsibility; despite delegating work to your team and having given them the ownership, you should always be on top of everything and being responsible at all times. Your members have to acknowledge that you are always there for them both at good and bad moments. That doesn’t necessarily mean that you tolerate failure or crappy work from your team but being responsible for every action that your team undertakes (Smith & Foti, 1998). Effective communication; it is widely perceived that great leaders are known to be skillful communicators. You should adopt proper channels for communicating with your team. The mode used should be simple, exact and clear to be comprehended by all the members. However, there are some aspects of communication that leaders forget to communicate. For instance, it is critical that you inform the employees about their success, they would wish to be acknowledged that they did some good job (Lussier & Achua, 2010). Being brave and honest; leaders who are coward tend to shy away from facing a number of issues that arise within the organization head on. A good leader should be in a position to face his/her team and issue a directive without fear or favor. When an issue crops up that needs your guidance, do not ignore it but be sincere enough to explain this to your team. Being brave do not mean that as a leader you are rigid and not open to their contributions, but being in a position to put your house in order. As a leader, you have to present things to your members in an honest and balanced manner (Lussier & Achua, 2010). Most managers tend to consider themselves as leaders, which may not be the case. When a manager is in a position to persuade his/her team to complete certain tasks without exerting his authority, then he is portraying good leadership qualities. While a leader may be a manager, a manager may not necessarily be a leader. To be in control of a team do not automatically qualifies you to be a leader. There are several leadership theories that have been put in place to guide us in understanding the concept of leadership. They include; Great man theories presume that the position of leadership is innate and that successful leaders are not made but are born. These theories oftentimes portray successful leaders as great, mythic, heroic and destined to ascend to leadership when required. The phrase "Great Man" initially had been used since at the time, leadership was acknowledged primarily as a position for the males. However this theory has been contested in the modern times as women have proven to be good and effective leaders as well. Some people have actually been groomed and made to be leaders despite not being born with such qualities. Trait Theories are somehow similar to the great man theories. It assumes that people tend to inherit some qualities and traits which make them provide better leadership. Trait theories oftentimes attempt to identify some unique behavioral qualities and personality traits that leaders share in. This theory is however debatable because if specific traits are primary features of quality leadership, so then how do you explain the fact that some people have those qualities but have never been leaders? This question raises serious concern in using these trait theories to describe leadership (Lussier & Achua, 2010). Contingency theories emphasize on specific variables which are related to the environment that may determine a particular pattern of leadership that is best fit for the situation. Going by this theory, no particular leadership style is deemed the best in every situation. The success of an organization largely depends on a number of factors that include the leadership style, characteristics of the followers as well as the aspects of the situation on the ground. Situational theories argue that leaders are permitted to choose the best alternative formula and procedures based upon the situational variables. According to this theory, particular styles of leadership are considered appropriate for certain kinds of decision-making. For instance, in some situations where the leader is acknowledged to be an experienced and a knowledgeable member of the team, then the authoritarian style of leadership may be the most appropriate. In other situations where the members of the team are experts and have experience, then a democratic style of leadership would be the most effective (Smith & Foti, 1998). Participative theories of leadership propose that the perfect leadership style encourages the input and contributions of others into consideration. The leaders promote the participation and involvement of the members in during decision making. In such an organization, the members tend to work freely and feel a sense of belonging. However, the leader still has the sole responsibility in determining and allowing the input of the members. Leadership Styles Different instances in an organization call for various leadership styles and the style that is adopted should optimally achieve the stated objectives while also balancing the individual interests of its members. In an urgent situation where there is little or no time to converge and agree and where the leader has significant experiences or expertise compared to the rest of the members, then an autocratic style of leadership would be the most effective. In a motivated and a united organization where there is a homogeneous level of experience and expertise, then a democratic or free-rein style of leadership would be more effective. This style provides room for more creativity and innovation (Judge, 2002). In providing a collaborative leadership where as a leader you engage your employees in comprehending the situation at hand, then the engaging style of leadership is the most effective. This style collectively helps in addressing the rising issues affecting the employees and the organization at large. Therefore, as a leader, you should try as much as possible to shy away from the Narcissistic style of leadership so that your team does not portray you as someone who is arrogant, selfish and egotistic. This would lower productivity in the long term. For the well being of the Organization as well as that of the workers, you should try to draw a balance between the task-oriented style of leadership and Relationship-oriented style of leadership. Besides ensuring that the tasks and objectives are attained within the stipulated timeline, you should also ensure that the well-being and the motivation of the workers are put into consideration (Judge, 2002). Leadership Challenges Leadership regularly presents challenges to the leader as well as to the Organization at large. No matter how good you are at something, you cannot completely avoid them. The way a leader handles such challenges is important for the well being of the whole organization he works with. Some of the challenges include: public criticism, disasters, opposition from powerful forces, insecurity, indecisiveness, inability to be concise and direct when faced with a problem, not being objective and being impatient with others as well as inability to tolerate some situations. For a good leader, there are several solutions and ways to cope with challenges, which include: being proactive and creative, facing the issue squarely, constantly searching for a common position, possessing your objectivity, listening actively to workers responses, reaching out for extra help, avoiding burnout, and maintaining effectiveness all through (Judge, 2002). Conclusion In summary, modern organizations require a good leader with the right leadership skills who is able to practice the modern leadership theories and styles. Also, it is about being in a position to organize and adequately coordinate the resources, such as time, skills, relationship with people, finances and expertise to attain a common goal for the better good of all. A leader should possess good leadership skills to be able to direct and guide his/her team towards accomplishing the common tasks in an organization (Mumford, 1986). References Judge, T.A. et al., 2002. Personality and leadership: A qualitative and quantitative review. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 765-780. Lussier, R.N., & Achua, C.F., 2010. Leadership, Theory, Application, & Skill Development. (4th ed). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. Mumford, M. D., 1986. Leadership in the organizational context: Conceptual approach and its application. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 16 (6), 508-531. Smith, J.A., & Foti, R.J., 1998. A pattern approach to the study of leader emergence. The Leadership Quarterly, 9, 147-160. Read More