Learning Leadership for Application in Business Organisational Context - Coursework Example

Learning Leadership for Application in Business Organisational Context Name: College Name: Leadership has been an aspect of human civilisation from time immemorial and has been exercised in ruling tribes to nations and in winning wars and facing adversities of natural disasters. Expectations placed upon Leaders yesterday and today will be more or less the same though the context may differ. Although some schools of Leadership theories believes in people being born leaders, there is sufficient evidence to note that leadership, at least to a certain degree can be learned and that the environment and the nurturing of the leadership skills plays a key role in the development process of leadership qualities of a person. Leaders emerge at all levels and in varying environments under differing circumstances and in management context, organisational leadership should not only be attributed to management personnel but to all employees across the organisational hierarchy. Organisations which have identified the need for leadership development through encouraging all employees to learn and exhibit leadership behaviour have succeeded in staying ahead in the competitive business environment. Leadership Defined Mescrn, Albert and Khedourn define leadership as “the ability to influence individuals and groups to work toward attaining organisational objectives” and this perspective of leadership is well aligned with the aspects of leadership in the context of today’s Organisational and Business Leaders (Weiss 2000). Leadership is also a social influence process in which the leader seeks the voluntary participation of subordinates in an effort to reach organisational goals. (Kreitner & Kinicki 2001) This definition highlights how leadership plays a key role in shaping an organisational culture and how founders such as Michael McKnight at 3M had inculcated winning corporate cultures that has placed the company at the industry forefront even after decades of his absence from the organisation. As its evident there are different perspectives to leadership, it is important to clearly understand what dimensions make up a leader in order to acquire and demonstrate leadership. Different Perspectives of Leadership Basic approaches to Leadership takes either a universal or a contingent perspective and the theories and models extended falls under trait theories, style theories, behaviour theories, and contingency theory (Handy, 1993). Trait Theories Trait theory assumes that “certain people have inherent characteristics which enable them to be leaders” (Rollinson, 2005, p. 350). The theory identifies several traits that are inherent in leaders which include, energy; desire to lead; honesty and integrity. However the validity of trait theory has been questioned by many and subsequent leadership studies have established that leadership is more of a behavioural aspect than a set of personality traits. In the context of learning leadership, the trait theory offers little support of the possibility of learning to be a leader instead of being born a leader. However, it is important to realise that those who strive to improve their leadership qualities can also give consideration to demonstrating leadership traits which they may posses but superseded though circumstances and environmental constraints. Behavioural & Style Theories Following the inadequacy of trait theories in explaining leadership, subsequent studies focused on different styles and behaviours associated with leading. Kurt Lewin and his colleagues (1939) presented three major styles of leadership which included Autocratic, Democratic and Laisser-Faire. Autocratic leaders are those leaders who strongly control subordinates and decide major strategies, without involving their followers while Democratic leaders involved followers in their decisions and delegate more responsibilities to the group team. The Laissez-faire leaders chose to render their leadership role and empower their followers whom they saw as self-motivated and autonomous. (Rollinson, 2005 p.353). In today’s organisational context, it is essential to apply the appropriate style of leadership and behaviour to ensure workforce moral and motivation are enhanced. As human capital has become the most important of all assets within the knowledge economy of today, managing and leading employees effectively is the key to organisational success. With growth of service sector and importance of knowledge workers, autocratic management styles are no longer effective and needs to be replaced with democratic or laisser-faire styles. Self managed autonomous work teams are the norm of today’s dynamic organisations where leadership is situational and shared by team members. Therefore, when learning to lead, one must identify the context and environment within which leading has to be done and the nature and profile of the followers so that the appropriate styles and behaviours can be learned and applied. Tannenbaum and Schmidt represent their leadership model as a continuum ranging from “boss-centered” end, where the manager makes decisions and forces the followers to obey his command and “followers-centered” end, where the manager gives the follower the freedom to function within limits defined by the manager (Rees and Porter,2001; Rollinson, 2005). The continuum shows the relationship between the boss’s authority and the followers’ freedom. This model carries a high level of practical applicability as effective leaders need to delegate and allow autonomy to followers in order to develop the followers confidence, capabilities and creativity. Appling a follower centered style of leading also carries merit in making decisions jointly and executing them through followers who were involved in the decision making process. Blake and Mouton’s Managerial Grid would also be a model of importance to those who are interested in learning to lead as it explains how much attention leader’s pay to their people and how much they are concerned to get the work done (Rollinson, 2005). The balance between concern for people and concern for task is of critical importance to an organisational leader unlike a social or religious leader who may place a greater importance upon people at the expense of task. The Managerial Grid model discusses five different styles of organisational leadership. Country club Management, where considerable attention is given to the employee needs to develop satisfying relationships, and a comfortable, friendly atmosphere in the workspace. Team Management style is where the task is achieved through committed people. Impoverished Management is an unproductive approach to avoid work as much as possible, which uses minimum effort by people to complete the work and remain members of the organisation. Authority-compliances style focuses on work and arranges work so that human element does not interfere with its completion. Lastly the Middle-of-the-road Management yields adequate organisational performance through balancing the need to end the work and maintain a reasonable level of morale. The relevance of the Blake and Muton model to leadership learning is that with different styles of leadership, the productivity levels of the organisation may differ and the effectiveness of leadership may depend on the style practiced. Therefore, it is important that a one who strives to learn and practice leadership should not follow a wrong example of leadership such as improvised or middle of the road style but select a style which takes in to account the task as well as the people. Contingency Theories Further exploration of leadership studies led to the consideration of the contexts in which leadership is exercised - and the idea that the leadership needs changes from situation to situation. In contrast to the style theories, the Contingency theories does not assume that there is only one best style to be used, but that the style or approach chosen will depend on a number of contingency factors (Porter et al., 2004). The central idea was that effective leadership was dependent on a mix of factors. For example, Fred E. Fiedler argued that effectiveness depends on two interacting factors: leadership style and the degree to which the situation gives the leader control and influence. The model attributes the effectiveness of the followers to the leader’s acts and group motivation. Rollinson (2005) presented three key contextual variables that affect the appropriateness of a particular style. These included Leader member relation: the quality of relationship between the leader and his followers; Task structure: to what extent the task is clear and organized and Leader position power: the formal organisation authority vested in the leader role. In acquiring leadership skills one should therefore take in to account the temperament and disposition a leader should demonstrate within the boss- subordinate interactions (Weiss 2000). Transformational Leadership Alternative approaches to leadership from above classical models have emerged in the form of Transformational theories vs. transactional approach to leadership. Transformational style occurs when one or more people engage with other in such a way that leaders and followers raise one another to higher level of motivation and morality (Trofino, 1995). This model is based on the intrinsic motives and inner, less tangible needs of the followers being met (Rollinson, 2005). Bass and Avolio (1990) stat that there are number of researches on leadership have produced evidence that transformational leadership has a positive effect on the employees' effort and satisfaction. In transformational leadership, the leader is seen as a change agent. They are courageous, believe in people and are value driven. They are also life long leaders and have the ability to deal with complexity, ambiguity, and uncertainty. They are visionaries that sees where to steer the organisation and its people towards (Weiss 2000). Emotional Intelligence in Leading As per Daniel Golman, although a certain degree of analytical skill is a minimum requirement for success, what is called “emotional intelligence” may be the key attribute that distinguishes outstanding performers from those who are merely adequate. Therefore, it is important to incorporate EQ dimensions such as Self Awareness, Self Regulation, Motivation, Empathy and Social Skills in becoming an effective leader. By doing so, a person stands to be more effective within today’s team oriented organisational configurations where success is achieved through the high level of employee moral and commitment. Leading Vs. Managing An essential requirement in learning leadership would be not to confuse it with being a manager. Although research still does not offer a clear borderline between leadership and management (Rees and Porter, 2001), the two roles should not be mistaken as one as there are marked difference between leaders and managers in their approach to work, people and problems. Derek Rollinson (2005) defines a manager as" a person formally appointed to have a role in the organisational hierarchy associated with which is the formal authority (within prescribed limits) to direct the actions of subordinates. The main differences between leaders and managers have been identified under four dimensions of agenda creation, network development for agenda achievement, execution and outcomes. Leaders establish strategic direction while managers plan and budget. Leaders are capable of aligning people with the strategic goals where managers are only able to organise staff. Where leaders are able to motivate and inspire, managers control and supervise. The outcomes of leaders are dramatic and large scale while managers produce predictable and ordered results (Weiss 2000). While leaders, usually have an answer for every problem, the managers identify problems in every solution. Managers tend to become preoccupied with systems and details, and stability while leaders advocate change and fluidity in status, which promotes growth and innovation. Organisational leader derive their power through personal charisma while the managers resort to the authority, which their position grants them. People management of leaders and managers differ in the aspects of how ideas are communicated. Leaders sell their ideas and make them become people’s ideas, thus gaining commitment and inspiration in pursuing the ideas and goals associated. On the other hand the managers tell people what to be done, sometimes refraining from giving full details of the situation and fail in inspiring and motivating the people. Another marked distinction between leaders and managers in their subordinate handling is that managers take the blame for errors while managers blame others. This often allows for higher workforce moral when leaders are present in organisational setting. Leaders foster innovation and encourage risk taking. Managers on the other spectrum avoid risks and aim at attaining set targets. In forging ahead and setting directions, the leaders have expansive thinking patterns and look at unmarked territories while managers prefer to explore already covered business potentials and markets. Finally the leaders are distinctly set apart by their transformational style of leading people, where people are committed and transformed in to high performing and inspired group of people directed towards achievement of a common goal. Managers use transactional style in dealing with people, using remunerations, penalties and discipline as means of trying to gain commitment towards set objectives. With leaders, organisational goals become shared visions and a cause which appeals to the heart and pursued with passion, while with managers they remain number games and mere annual targets (ChangingMinds Org. 2005) Leadership and Organisational Culture Another key role played by leaders in an organisational setting is the impact they make on the organisational culture. Every organisation has its own unique culture, which would have been probably created unconsciously, based on the values of the top management or the founders or core people (Schein 2004). Culture of an organisation influences the decision-making processes, it affects styles of management and what everyone determines as success. As the founders and CEOs of organisations has much influence on the initial learning process of the group in their facing of problems from external and internal environment, the leader has much influence in molding the culture of an organisation. Hewlett-Packard is a company that has, for a long time, been conscious of its culture (The HP Way) and has worked hard to maintain it over the years. Hewlett-Packard's corporate culture is based on 1) respect for others, 2) a sense of community, and 3) plain hard work. These values have been espoused by their co- founders Hewlett & Packard and have formed the foundation for its growth and success over the years. (Fortune Magazine, May 15, 1995). Therefore, it is a leaders responsibility to model the way by being a role model; inspiring a shared vision though crafting strategies, communicating them to the employees and gaining commitment; challenge the process by fostering innovation and learning environment; and enable others to act through autonomy and empowerment. Therefore a person who wishes to learn leadership and exercise leadership within an organisational context must first learn to create a work environment where people can contribute to the organisational objectives. This can be done through empowering people, promoting innovation and learning and having simple non-hierarchical organisational structures. Leaders should therefore, emphasize achievement and excellence, p 3.2.1.1 romoting a 3.2.1.2 results-oriented culture. 3.2.1.3 3.2.1.4 Treating employees with dignity and respect and encourage employees to use initiative and act with autonomy. Secondly leaders should create a learning environment where changes for better are encouraged and learning from within as well as from outside experience is promoted through practices such as benchmarking and application of best practices. In conclusion, it can be noted that leaders have a big responsibility in driving organisational success and leading the people towards the achievement of a common goal. It is also evident that leadership should be present at all levels within an organisation and employees whether or not of managerial carder should be encouraged to acquire leadership skills and apply them in their day to day work. In the knowledge economy scenario of today where people have become the most important asset, it is important that leaders choose the correct approach to leading. The concept of super leadership which identifies that leaders while becoming self leaders should also facilitates the followers to become self leaders is applicable for today’s agile and autonomous self directed work team structures. Therefore, the need for learning to lead has to be recognised as success of an organisation will not be possible through few senior level organisational leaders but leaders at every level. References: Leadership vs. Management, Changing Minds .Org. (2005) Retrieved on January, 27, 2006. from http://changingminds.org/disciplines/leadership/articles/manager_leader.htm Handy, C., (1993) .Understanding organisations. 2nd ed. London: Business Press. Rees, D. and Porter, C., (2001). The skills of management. 5th ed. London:  Thomson Learning Rollinson, D., (2005) .Organisational behaviour, and analysis an integrated approach. 3rd ed. London: Prentice Hall (financial times). Porter, K., Smith, P., Fagg, R., (2004). Leadership and management for HR professional. Oxford: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann. Trofino, J., (1995). Transformational Leadership in health care. Nursing Management Journal.26 (8) Weiss, J.W. (2001) Organisational Behaviour & Change, 2nd ed. Ohio: South-Western Collage Publishing. Schein, E.H. (2004). Organisational Culture and Leadership. 3rd ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Read More