Leadership and Organizational Performance - Coursework Example

Leadership and Organizational Performance Organizations win and lose due to different strategies and policies that they adopt. This means that the long term as well as the short term basis owes strongly on the part of the leaders that are leading the team within an organization. However there are certain instances where problems do arise and hiccups are created due to mismanagement or lack of leadership qualities. One of the biggest problems that the organizations of present times face is the fact that they try to be over complex in nature and try their hands at doing many tasks all at the same time. What this does is to make sure that there is a lot of trouble with regards to various processes and activities working within the realms of the different strategies and tactics employed by the organization in the first place. These problems stem from the fact that there is a complete misunderstanding on the part of the company heads to devise proper and adequate mission and vision statements and the lack thereof suggests a thing or two concerning the enormous predicaments that have thus come up with the passage of time and a major loss of resources on the part of this organization that we are talking about here, in the general sense. Organizations have forgotten the buzzword of simplicity and doing things as and when they come. What this zig-zag motion of doing many activities at the same time has done is to ensure that there is complete lack of sequence within the organization’s activities and tasks as well as cohesiveness seems to have been lost in all this muddle. On the part of the company, this is an entirely negative picture that we are discussing here. Management is an art and it needs to be practiced in a manner that the company’s different departments work in a cohesive and unified fashion than the other way round. The organizations that are falling way behind their expected marks that they had set for their own selves have started to realize that over-management is not an art rather the same comes to haunt them at some point in time. Leadership is also a skill which is not present everywhere since being under-led means that the leader lacks in more than one quality and this can come as a huge surprise for the organization itself as the leader has to deliver when the need is to deliver. (Kotter, 2000) The values that the leader portrays are very important as this forms the bridge between him and the people who are being led under him. Values thus form the cornerstone of the term called motivation as it in essence forms the basis for a whole lot of avenues in the times to come, not only on the shoulders of the leader for his being true and straight to them but also speaks volumes about the oneness of the whole business or organizational unit as a result. This motivation goes a long way in influencing an individual’s perceptions as well as the attitudes and thus these in turn form the core basis for the fight and determination that he has and which in the end forms the root for bringing success to the whole mission. He further asserts that in order to appreciate the values found in a true leader, one needs to know how the same are communicated in the form of motivation to the rest of the clan and more importantly how the same forms the ultimate basis between success and defeat in the very end. Within the organization, it is significant to have leaders who can lead in crunch situations. This is imperative since they lead all sorts of people under their wings and are accountable for all their deeds and actions. To become effective leaders in the first place, it is of importance to discern that the importance of values are understood well in the behaviors linked with a human being. One needs to find out pertinent values and more than that focus on the aspect of assessing the similarities as well as the differences that there are in a subordinate or a common team player. (Maundy, 2001) Leading is quite interpersonal in nature. It is not just the manager in an organization that is supposed to lead. It can even exist between employees. It has to do with mutual influence. All these are normally based on different theories and assumptions. Any style that is incorporated in management can be based on combination of preferences, values and beliefs. Organizational culture also plays a big role in influencing the leadership style used by management. Leadership style used by management plays a big role in affecting the success of the organization. A leader has to clearly understand the different types of leadership styles and their impacts on the organization. Good leadership always includes incorporation of all the leadership styles. Bad leadership just sticks to one style. Leadership is a very important aspect in any organization. This is because it greatly determines the success therein. There are various leadership styles that can be incorporated in overall running of an organization. There is authoritarian leadership which involves telling the employees what needs to be done and how the task should be done. This is very effective when employees are still new in an organization and they have no experience. In participative leadership, employees or other stakeholders are incorporated in the decision making process. It is normally very effective and makes employees to feel important in an organization. In delegative style of leadership, a leader entrusts decision making to employees. This is effective when employees have experience and are qualified. Good leadership always incorporates some authoritarian, participative and delegative style of leadership. The impact of demographic diversities in an organization means that more efforts are needed to be put in place so that each of the employees knows what his duty is and whether this person is communicated about the roles that are asked of him, both in the short term as well as in the long run. Moreover, demographic changes mean that the leader has to focus more on a particular set of people or at times, the ones who are not very easy going along with the whole organization. Hard work and commitment thus form the key in this whole equation of getting the best out of even the ordinary of people in the organization. Similarly, one finds that cultural diversity can pose a number of problems for the organizational members but it is the duty of the leader of the to make the members hailing from different cultures to feel comfortable within the organization and contribute to the best capacity they can, both as an individual and in the form of a group as a whole. (Galang, 1993) At different stages of one’s career, an individual has to exhibit certain set of skills and qualities, which make him, stand out like nobody else. He has to portray the best of his character and bring out what is not present in the rest of the populace. He has to lead by example, a thing which people of present times usually lack and which is not that easily found in our society. It is extinct to say the least. Frankly put, leadership qualities are not inborn or inherent, they have to be developed with the passage of time and one needs to comprehend the fact that it requires strenuous exercise and a certain set of power that is needed by the man of courage, determination and dedication. Leadership qualities require that the leader gets the best out of the group members no matter how hard and trying the circumstances are. The odds might be tough at times but it is the leader’s tact and sheer discipline that can turn the tides in the favor of the group rather than the other side. However the role of a team leader cannot be denied its due place in the related context of things nonetheless. The basic difference between a leader and a manager is within their working domains. They are basically doing the same job of managing people but in slightly different capacities. Whereas the leader looks at forming instructions of his own which he will forward to the middle management, the middle line managers basically aim to ‘manage’ people in the real sense of the word. This means that managers have a duty of understanding the deep rooted values of the organization and the same cannot be compromised no matter what happens. These need to be aligned in a proper fashion with the activities and tasks of the team that the manager is heading. It would be fair to comment that the managers have a lot going for them and it is their will and determination to bring out the best from the whole team and indeed the entire process that they are working upon. Managers have a responsibility to play within an organization, no matter how large or small it is. Leader has to lead and that too by example. He has to show no compromise in his actions, saying and principles whereas the manager could be a bit lenient from time to time in his policies and undertakings. So the basic difference between a leader and a manager arises here on all counts. On some occasions, a manager has to take up the leadership role as well. (Newstrom, 1997) This could include his team building tactics, getting the work done out from individuals who might have pretty different backgrounds and diverse educational capabilities, smoothening of the whole process of business management within several units spread across the company’s horizon, motivating the employees and being accountable for their tasks and activities, living up to the values of the organization. But a leader would stick to his already formed principles and would not stray from the set course of action. He would have to demonstrate his oneness in decisions and actions that he undertakes and there would be no compromise on this aspect all said and done. Thus a company or an organization needs sound management framework at its top so that the staff and the employees working at different levels feel at ease with the job as well as the working environment. This indeed is very important as it builds long-term credibility of the organization that it cares about its employees and not just the customers and in cases profits and revenues only. A formal organization takes into account the role of leadership at the top and the manner in which this leadership is basically carried about, both in the interests of the people within the company as well as the company itself so that the end result is one on which everyone solemnly agree, that is to make the company thrive from a revenue-generating angle and image building aspect in the long run. Thus it is also pertinent that the top management inculcates the subject of working in team rather than being loner in different projects so that the end result is a clear manifestation of the people with their respective whole hearted efforts and dedication levels exceeding what was expected of them in the first place. (Sims, 2002) Top management needs to understand its due role here and advise all and sundry as to how the employees should work as teams and bring about the best result possible. For this to happen, the firm must make sure the reservations of the teams be met beforehand and they are shown encouragement and given support whenever need be or at times when the need is not that much. The idea is to be proactive and taking the lead than being reactive, after a problem has occurred and the solution is being found. The informal structure of an organization lays the foundation for the formal hierarchy, as people are more easily able to relate to each other as well as to the company for which they are working day in day out. This informal structure builds a sense of trust and belonging within the people and they can easily contribute to the single basic benefit on which the company has housed its attention upon, either to earn benefits at an exorbitant rate or to satisfy the customers/consumers with no holds barred. They can easily mingle and get in touch with the leadership of the organization as well as contribute towards the well-being of the organization in the long run – a fact that is pretty encouraging to state the least. References Galang, M. Carmen. (1993). Diversity in the Workplace: The Human Resources Management Challenges. Human Resource Planning, Vol. 16 Kotter, J. (2000). A Force for Change; How Leadership Differs From Management; The Free Press Maundy, L. (2001). An Introduction to Human to Human Resource Management: Theory and Practice: Macmillan, Palgrave Newstrom, W. (1997): Organizational Behavior; Human Behavior at Work; New York: McGraw-Hill Sims, Ronald R. (2002). Organizational Success through Effective Human Resources Management. Quorum Books Word Count: 2,093 Read More