Leadership and Communication - Term Paper Example

Leadership and Communication Introduction This paper will explore the topic of leadership and communication while paying a special focus on the influence of effective communication on organizational leadership and culture. Furthermore, this paper will explore numerous motivation theories, leadership styles and philosophies, leadership tactics and techniques, as well as my personal leadership style and how I can make a positive contribution to my organization. Motivation theories Motivation has been understood to be the extent to which an individual is willing to commit themselves to accomplishing a given task as in the case of employees accomplishing organizational tasks (WYSIWYG, 2011). Different individuals are motivated differently and knowing factors that motivate individuals most is crucial for enhancing performance levels since it is in the interest of every employer to positively influence the behavior of his/her workers. Many employers use different motivational techniques to enhance the performance of their workforces such as work design, rewards, and employee involvement, among others (Kamery, 2004). Given the centrality of motivation and performance levels of the individual employers and the overall organizational output, several types of motivational theories have attempted to explain the basis of motivation in individuals. Motivational theories fall into several categories namely content, process and reinforcement theories; whereas content theories profile the various needs that individuals possess, process theories dwell on cognitive processes while reinforcement theories focus on controlling behavior. Generally, content theories propose that motivation arises out of an individual’s attempt to satisfy needs and they include the Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs theory, the ERG theory, the Acquired needs theory as well as Herzberg’s Two-factor theory. The process theories emphasize the thought processes as the main determinants of individuals’ alternative courses of action and they include the Equity and Expectancy theory while reinforcement theories perceive the administration of consequence as the source of behavior. Effective communication is necessary to promote motivation of employees using any of these motivational theories; for instance, an employer must constantly demonstrate an awareness of the basic and occupational growth needs of his/her employers through effective communication to promote their motivation. Motivational theories are crucial in present day leadership and organizational culture at the workplace since they provide the fundamental framework for effective leadership that establishes a highly committed and motivated workforce that is essential for the effective functioning of high performing organizations. Leadership styles and philosophies Each leader possesses a unique leadership style and/or philosophy and communicates in a particular way depending on numerous factors such as their individual personalities, their levels of experience, education, or training, which greatly determines how followers react to leadership (Hersey, Blanchard, & Johnson, 2013). Three major leadership styles that have persisted over the years include the Authoritarian, Democratic as well as Laissez-Fair; the autocratic leader establishes clear guidelines specifying tasks and procedures for accomplishing the given tasks thereby providing guidance for his or her followers. Nonetheless, the autocratic leaders make their independent decisions without involving their followers and are viewed as controlling, bossy and dictatorial thus may undermine the motivation of the workforce in accomplishing their specific tasks. Unlike the autocratic style, the democratic style of leadership (also referred to as the participative style) entails a consideration of group input in the decision-making process; precisely, democratic leaders value the need to engage followers in decision-making by listening to their suggestions. Consequently, the democratic leader makes his/her followers to feel more engaged, valued and respected, which eventually makes them even more creative and motivated to contribute to the success of the organization (Kouzes & Posner, 2006); nonetheless, this style may also undermine performance due to disagreements and long consultation sessions. Unlike the other two leadership styles, the Laissez-Fair (the Delegative style of leadership) is suitable for work environments that have responsible group members that can work productively on their own without any form off supervision. The delegative leader does not bother to give any guidelines to group members and instead leaves the responsibility of decision-making to each participant in the group, thus, members make their own choices and decisions. In as much as this leadership style grants workers the autonomy to make their own independent choices, the state of lawlessness it breeds at the workplace may grant employees excessive freedom that may also be destructive in the end, particularly where they are not adequately motivated. Effective communication is necessary for the success of each of these leadership styles since it mediates between employees and their employers; an autocratic leader depends on effective communication to specify tasks and procedures while the democratic one relies on it for consultations that seek consensus on courses of action. Leadership tactics and techniques Effective leaders must deploy creative tactics and techniques in their leadership and management of employees and vary them accordingly, depending on the situation rather than contending with the “one-size-fits-all” view of management. Notable management gurus Blanchard and Hersey advanced the situational management style under the assumption that there is no single best way of leadership and that successful leaders should be able to adapt their leadership styles to the changing situations accordingly (Chiris, 2014). Several management-leadership tactics and techniques are recommendable for the situational leader, including coaching, directing, delegating and supporting; generally, all these techniques and tactics are crucial for effective leadership or management of the organization for optimization of individual performance of the employees as well as the overall performance of the firm. Coaching is a significant management-leadership technique because it seeks to optimize the competence of the workforce by targeting to improve the weaknesses of individual workers at their performance level (Hersey, Blanchard, & Johnson, 2013); thus, managers Coach Employees to help them become better at their task performance skills. Coaching is most effective when an employee acknowledges his/her weaknesses and demonstrates a willingness to learn to become better at his/her performance; an effective leader must spend time coaching his/her employees to improve their performance. Unlike coaching, directing is a leadership-management technique that entails taking over a complex situation and applying appropriate knowledge as well as experience to right the situation; firms often contract professionals or consultants with the requisite experience and training to provide direction in specific areas of difficulty (Chiris, 2014). For instance, if an organization is having trouble establishing a powerful brand that is easily recognizable among the existing competition, it may bring in an experienced marketing manager to steer the entire process of branding to create awareness of the product or service being offered. The directing-type of manager will not only establish clear goals, but also set precise objectives for the task at hand and for their followers, thereby enabling the firm to achieve its intended objectives. Unlike coaching and directing, which involve the leader to a large extend, delegating entails placing responsibility on the employees and limiting the managers’ contribution to the provision of guidance in specific situations as need arises in a more consultant capacity. Nonetheless, this technique works best in the context of a more experienced workforce that can work independently since it promotes autonomy and creativity in the manner in which employees approach their tasks (Hersey, Blanchard, & Johnson, 2013). The supporting technique entails a motivational role whereby the leader attempts to instill confidence in the workforce to encourage their self-sufficiency as well as productiveness. The leader constantly reassures the workers that they have the potential and capacity of accomplishing the tasks at hand and persuades them to complete the tasks assigned to them on time. The underlying factor for all of the afore-mentioned leadership-management techniques is effective communication, without which leaders cannot articulate their expectations of the workers. The effectiveness of coaching, directing, delegating and supporting techniques depends on the effectiveness of communication; for instance, a manager must rely on effective communication in coaching their employees and delegation of roles to be performed by each of the workers. Similarly, effective leaders rely on effective communication in their motivational role by constantly persuading employees that they can perform their tasks thereby promoting the overall organizational performance. Personal leadership style I am an avid supporter of the transformational leadership style that entails causing change in individuals and social systems (Aydogdu & Asikgil, 2011); I consider myself to be a transformational leader as well because I believe in establishing positive change in followers with the aim of eventually transforming them into leaders. As a transformational leader, I understand that people need to be inspired to follow, vision and passion are essential aspects of leadership; I also believe that raising the enthusiasm and energy of people is the most effective way of winning their commitment and sustaining their motivation (Kappusamy, Ganesan & Rosada, 2010). At the core of my transactional leadership style is the focus on enhancing the motivational, morale as well as performance levels of my followers by linking their sense of identity and selves not only to the entire mission, but also to the identity of the organization. Similarly, as a transformational leader, I provide the model of behavior for my followers to emulate while challenging them to feel great pride and to own their work; most importantly, I am patient with my workers, and understanding their strengths and weaknesses, I assign them tasks that match their potential to maximize their performance. Given that different situations at the workplace require different approaches, I would consider enhancing my personal leadership performance and capacity by adapting my leadership style to the workplace environment. Precisely, my personal leadership style would be biased more towards situational leadership since I will employ a blend of leadership styles as the situations at the workplace may demand, as the most successful leaders often do. The fact that different leadership styles may have varying levels of merits and demerits implies that some may be more appropriate in specific contexts than others, thus, applying the most appropriate leadership style in varying situations ensures effective performance of leadership and the organization respectively. Effective communication will be necessary to express the vision and objectives of the organization at all levels while precisely outlining the specific expectations required of each individual at the workplace (Kouzes & Posner, 2006). Most importantly, effective communication will come in handy in inspiring the workers to buy into the vision of the firm and in persuading them to be committed and motivated in their work in support of the organizational mission. As a transactional leader, the effectiveness of my persuasion relies heavily on my ability to communicate effectively and to articulate not only my vision, but also the specific guidelines towards the stated vision; furthermore, effective communication is necessary to boost the enthusiasm and energy levels of my followers. Contribution to my organization Organizations in today’s highly complex and ever-shifting global business environment are experiencing a massive leadership challenge due to numerous market uncertainties compounded by harsh market forces (Kouzes & Posner, 2006). One positive way through which I can contribute to my organization is by constantly striving to improve my expertise and experience through routine learning; remaining open to the process of bettering myself through the various opportunities at my disposal at the workplace will greatly enhance organizational performance. Knowledge management in the prevailing global business environment calls for constant upgrading and reinforcement of knowledge bases to match the fast-changing situations at the workplace for effective leadership. In that case, a learning workforce is able to remain abreast of changes in systems and information that is crucial for effective organizational performance in today’s highly complex and dynamic global business environment. Effective communication is essential in facilitating the learning process at the workplace since effective leadership needs to clearly outline its knowledge needs and areas of weakness that need to be improved through learning; this way effective communication enables the employees to understand the expectations of their employers and how to meet them effectively. References Aydogdu, S., & Asikgil, B. (2011). The effect of transformational leadership behavior on organizational culture: An application in pharmaceutical industry. International Review of Management and Marketing, 1(4), 65-n/a. Chiris, J. (2014). Four Basic Leadership Styles Used by Situational Managers. Chron. Retrieved from: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/four-basic-leadership-styles-used-situational-managers-2982.html Hersey, P., Blanchard, K., & Johnson, D. (2013), Management of Organizational Behavior, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Kamery, R. H. (2004). Employee motivation as it relates to effectiveness, efficiency, productivity, and performance. Allied Academies International Conference.Academy of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues. Proceedings, 8(2), 139-144. Kappusamy, J., Ganesan J., & Rosada, S.A., (2010). Leadership Styles and Management Techniques: An Analysis of Malaysian Women Entrepreneurs. Communications of the IBIMA 2010: p1-10. Kouzes, J., & Posner, B. (Eds.), (2006). Christian reflections on the leadership challenge, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. WYSIWYG. (2011). Motivational Theories in Differing Cultures. yahoo Retrieved from: http://voices.yahoo.com/motivational-theories-differing-cultures-10354775.html Read More