Managing Work and People - Research Paper Example

? Table of Contents Executive Summary 12 Leadership: The Concepts and Issues 13 The Conceptual Definition of Leadership 13 Traits of an Effective Leader 13 Charismatic Leadership 15 Contingency Perspective of Leadership 16 Path-Goal Theory 17 Personal Leadership Experience and Reflection 18 Conclusion 19 References 22 Executive Summary Leadership has been a point of debate for years now. There are a number of different perspectives and views pertaining leadership and leadership styles. These perspectives and distinct views gave rise to the question on leadership as an inborn trait or a learned skill. Leadership plays an important role in the modern business environment. The leaders have long been considered as the ruling personality in the business and working environment. However, the theories of leadership provide different grounds to leadership styles. Leadership is now believed to be a more flexible and dynamic approach to lead a team than ever. This paper aims to provide a more logical and less rigid perspective of leadership in the context of business environment. The theories related to leadership involving charismatic leadership, contingency perspective and path-goal theory are discussed in this paper. The paper also provides an account on the challenges that leaders face these days due to modern concepts like globalization, technological advancements and diversity. This paper also provides a personal reflection on the practical application of leadership styles and forms a conclusion based on the discussions on different topics related to leadership. The leadership approach that is being supported in this paper is ‘the contingency leadership approach’. Leadership: The Concepts and Issues The Conceptual Definition of Leadership The concept of leadership is no longer a mystery. Leadership is not associated with the business field only but it is a concept that helps individuals in reaching their goals using a cooperative and collaborative approach to follow. Leadership in politics, sports, teaching and other professional careers guides towards the importance and significance of this concept. Leadership is defined in different ways by different authors, however, an easy definition may be “the process whereby an individual directs, guides, influences, or controls the thoughts, feelings or behaviours of other human beings” (Rost 1993, p.52). This paper analyzes the perspectives and styles of leadership and aims to form a conclusion based on the research on authoritative and participative leadership styles. Traits of an Effective Leader A leader is the person who puts forward the plan, explains success, and confirms the capability of success. It is clear that a leader who assures these things will be more competent than other leader who desires to put the idea but refuses to accept any work in the managerial part (Clark, Clark & Albright, 1990). Hence, effective leader is the one who have power over people and whose decisions are binding on others. Everyone possesses leadership potential. Effective Leadership can, & normally does, emerge from the inside. Effective leadership requires the leader to take the whole group along. It is not necessary to involve the whole group in decisions regarding the group’s success however; the members of group are ‘helpers’. These ‘helpers’, if motivated and encouraged to work together, may quicken the process of success. This is what my experience led me to realize. The first experience as a night shift manager of a small hotel was the most difficult phase of my life. I hardly knew how to handle the staff and motivate them to work speedily and accurately. Leaders in the service industry need to be more attentive since the customers and workers are in a direct contact. The motivational theories helped a lot in running the business successfully from the very beginning of my professional career. Challenges to the Organizational Leaders: The five challenges as described by Yukl (2001) involve the challenges in achieving ethical leadership, gender discrimination avoidance, cross cultural management, issues brought in by globalization and technology and management of diversity. Ethical leadership is the ability of the leader to exercise and promote such practices that do not involve unethical and illegal activities. It is a challenge for the leader to use the powers in an ethical way without harming the individuals, groups, organization or the society. An attitude and power exercise which controls and manages the team effectively rather than promoting violent, aggressive and illegal attributes in the group members. Gender discrimination is another important factor that poses a threat to effective leadership. The leader must ensure that all decisions are made for the benefit of the organization and workforce. A zero tolerance attitude for gender discrimination must be exercised to fight with this challenge effectively. Globalization has brought in many changes in the workplaces and workforces of the modern era. Leaders often come across situations where they have to manage culturally diverse workforces. There is an increasing risk of leadership failures due to different cultural backgrounds of the workforces. Diversity management is another challenge for the leaders. The increasingly diverse workforce on the basis of religion, culture, gender, qualification, race and ethnicity poses a challenge for the leaders to manage the workforce according to their expectations. Globalization and technology has made it difficult for the leaders to manage the workforce and train them for the latest technologies. Theories of Leadership Many researchers have been struggling to define and explain the leadership traits, theories, challenges and related affairs. The importance that has been given to this area of research is the importance of leadership on employees, performance and overall success of the organizations. There have been a lot of facts and myths associated with the concept of leadership. Charismatic Leadership In the past, leadership was linked by people with the superhuman characteristics bestowed by God to various leaders. This idea was further developed by Weber and named as Charisma by him. The leadership charisma involved the qualities and special characteristics that leaders posses. The leaders having leadership charisma are Charismatics. The concept of Charisma actually directs towards the special power and influence of Charismatics over the followers (Rickards & Clark, 2006, p79). In addition to the concept of charisma in leadership, it has been a point of debate if leadership skills are inborn or they can be taught. Researchers have been struggling to find an appropriate answer to this. However, it is not unjust to say that the answer to this question contains an equal portion of both statements. The answer to this question has been given attention for the reason that it may help organizations have effective leaders. Brainpower is the only thing that requires being in a person naturally. Knowledge can be gained, skills can be learnt but intelligence cannot be generated. A person needs to be intelligent and sharp in order to gain knowledge and utilize it. Leadership requires certain traits in a person. These traits include strength of mind, interest to resolve issues, ready to face challenges, power to proceed with plans, will to succeed, determination and passion (Levicki, 1998). Contingency Perspective of Leadership Leadership is considered as a controlling power that is bestowed on a person to achieve certain aims. The leader, having specific aims, is now responsible to achieve those aims. There are a number of leadership perspectives available to individuals. A true and successful leader, however, is the one who realizes the suitability and effectiveness of certain leadership style on the team and environment he is working with. Contingency perspective of leadership provides such a mechanism where leaders have to be flexible in their attitudes, working and demands. This perspective involves the analysis of situation on which the leader has to decide on things. The contingency approach of leadership is associated with the path-goal theory more closely than others (Dubrin, 2001 pp. 32-34). Path-Goal Theory The path-goal theory follows the same idea as defined in the expectancy theory of motivation. The main idea is the relationship or connection between the leaders behaviours on employee participation and performance in achieving the tasks assigned to them. The path-goal theory is more inclined towards the rewards in order to attain higher motivation of employees and higher performance efficiency. Path-goal theory emphasizes on servant leaders, who are less dominating and more helpful. The leaders working under the contingency perspective of leadership are more like coaches, facilitators and guides to the employee team. The path-goal theory of leadership is the basis of contingency leadership perspective (Yukl, 2001). This theory defines four distinct leadership styles as follows: Directive leadership which points towards the task-oriented leadership. The leader explains the task clearly, provides a framework to follow and describes the standards against which the performance would be measured. This style of leadership use rewards and payments as a tool of motivation. Supportive Leadership may also be termed as people-oriented leadership. The leader following this style is supportive in actions, words and behaviours. A supportive leader is respectful, honest and pleasant with the employees. Having a friendly attitude, a supportive leader provides a less wearisome environment to the workers. Leaders use social support and gentle manners to motivate the staff. Participative approach is more motivating for the staff as they feel more incorporated in the working environment. The leader takes their suggestions and arguments under consideration while making decisions. Hence, it provides decision making and idea sharing power to the subordinated to some extent. Achievement oriented leadership refers to the style when leader sets challenging goals and motivates staff by showing his concern and believe in their abilities to achieve those targets. The contingency leadership, hence, provides these 4 leadership styles to the leader (Valenzuela). The leader may choose one or more of these styles in order to achieve his goals successfully. The leader may choose from these leadership styles depending on the skills and experience, locus of control, task structure and task dynamics. A closer look to these variables helps in choosing the best practice for particular instances. Personal Leadership Experience and Reflection No one is born with any talent, not even a great singer or a great player. Everyone, however, is born with a potential to do a certain thing. If leadership means having a challenging personality then a leader requires being demanding and a bit stubborn in the early stages of life. This nature of a person may help him in future to be a good leader or an aggressive loser. It all depends on the perception, teachings and guidance provided to a person from his childhood to his adulthood. Nature provides us with certain qualities and we need to utilize them correctly (Harvard Business Review, 1980). However, it will not be just to say that ‘Leadership is an innate quality’. It is just some natural features that give people a starting point. A person who is shy enough to discuss his own needs and requirements cannot be taught to lead a group, team or nation. The fact to notice is that natural features count a lot on the career or position a person wants to achieve. A person, who does not have controlling qualities, may still be taught to become a leader. He can still be chosen as a leader but his soft tone and compromising nature may affect the team’s performance and may divert the group away from the goals (Casse & Claudel, 2007). I had a friendly, shy and perplexed personality but as I moved on with my professional life I realized that these traits are posing a threat to my professional success. I left the first job and in my second job with the construction company, I kept a dominating, strict and rigid behaviour with the staff. It was difficult to go against your nature but I was quite successful in making it a habit. It is however, important to discuss that a certain change in my nature affected my life a lot. My extremely rigid behaviour was leading to staff dissatisfaction and I soon realized that it will affect staff performance. This is the point where I learned to manage and exercise balance between my rigid and flexible behaviour. Conclusion A leader must be inflexible on the issues that may harm the achievement of goals but must act as a flexible and friendly person for the team so that he may be able to know and solve the team problems. Moreover, suggestions of team members are not always flawed and must be heard and considered for increased staff motivation and job satisfaction. The modern environment and the challenges that leaders face include the differences of culture, globalization and diversified population in the working environment. The participative leadership style may help in reducing the extent and scope of such problems. The participative approach to leadership helps in motivating the staff by making them comfortable with the workplaces and incorporating them in the organization by emotional or psychological assurance and authority given to them. They are given the chance to speak up and share their ideas and suggestions. Their calls and requirements are kept in view when making decisions. They feel more interested in taking part in the organizational decisions and feel close and involved in the environment that they work in. On the other hand, the authoritative style of leadership brings the cultural differences and discriminatory decisions in to question. For instance, any changes in the duties of employees or in the working style may be beneficial for some groups but it may also be less beneficial or problematic for others. In this way, authoritative leadership leads to employee dissatisfaction. The authoritative style also decreases the level of satisfaction with the work environment and communication gap between lower staff and management. Moreover, my personal experience reveals that authoritative decision making leads to staff dissatisfaction and disintegration which poses as a threat to the success of the organization. The traits of an effective leader provided in this paper also give some useful information on the concept of authoritative and participative leadership styles. An effective leader must possess the qualities of both leadership styles and use them simultaneously as per the needs and situations. References ROST, J. C. (1993). Leadership for the twenty-first century. Westport, Conn, Praeger. CASSE, P., & CLAUDEL, P. G. (2007). Philosophy for creative leadership: how philosophy can turn people into more effective leaders. London, Athena. YUKL, G. A. (2009). Leadership in organizations. Upper Saddle River, N.J., Pearson Education. (1980). Paths toward personal progress: leaders are made, not born. Boston, Mass, Harvard Business Review. VALENZUELA, K. The Path Goal Theory. Be a Leader. bealeader, 05/08/2010. Web. 9 Apr 2011. . YUKL, G. (2001). Leadership in Organizations. National College of School Leadership: 1-4. Web. 9 Apr 2011. . DUBRIN, A. J. (2001). Leadership: research findings, practice, and skills. Boston, Houghton Mifflin. CLARK, K. E., CLARK, M. B., & ALBRIGHT, R. R. (1990).Measures of leadership. West Orange, NJ, Leadership Library of America. RICKARDS, T., & CLARK, M. (2006). Dilemmas of leadership. London, Routledge. http://www.netlibrary.com/urlapi.asp?action=summary&v=1&bookid=144367. LEVICKI, C. (1998). The Leadership Gene: Leaders are born not made. MANAGEMENT TODAY -LONDON-. 85. Read More