Ways through Which Effective Leaders Earn Authority through Influence - Coursework Example

Effective Leadership Student Name: Institution: Date: Introduction The concepts of authority, power and leadership styles are interconnected. Although a person may exercise power without necessarily being a leader, it should be noted that an individual can be recognized as a leader only if he or she has the power to direct others towards the intended goal. Contemporary organizations use complex structures that make leaders to demand for formal authority to control and direct their subordinates so as to achieve organizational goals. It is common to assume that power belongs to a leader. However, studies in leadership and power show that depending on a particular situation, power is a function of both the leader and subordinate. This indicates that authority and power are functional relationships where the subordinates give their leader opportunity to lead, while a leader derives his or her authority and power from the members under control. Leaders become effective in their leadership styles if they stop focusing more on their power (Kouzes & Posner, 2002). Understanding the Role and Functions of Leadership Leadership as a role means a position of authority that a person holds in the organizational hierarchy. On the other hand, leadership as a function involves the activities and processes that make people and the organization to move towards the achievement of their goals. Therefore, the ability to influence others can also been seen as a significant function of leadership. In order to be considered effective in their influence, leaders should be able to overcome the greater resistance by subordinates to their directives, orders or requests. However, it is not necessarily that influential leaders will at all times lead to successful achievement of the organizational goals particularly if he or she decides to influence the people in the directions against the members’ success. This implies that ineffective strategy used or poor decisions are made but not an attribute of ineffective influence (Iles & Preece, 2006). Leadership is considered as process through which authority and power are used to achieve interpersonal influence. Therefore, the most fundamental question is to determine why leaders must become successful in influencing the behavior of their subordinates at the place of work. Leadership concerns the ability to influence others to accomplish what they may not be interested in. The major challenge for leaders is getting others to accomplish what is needed so as to achieve the set organizational goals. Leaders who exercise authority alone limit their abilities to make effective solutions for issues that arise in the organization (Kouzes & Posner, 2002). This provides the view that, effective leadership styles is required to encourage people in the organization to look beyond the common goals and think innovatively so as to reach radical solutions. Developing Personal Power to increase Organizational Power Leadership involves exercising power, and thus leaders are required to develop their appropriate organizational power standards so as to effectively influence the people whom they lead. Leaders who recognize the significance of developing their personal power, increases their organizational power. This can be achieved through effective planning and organizing, budgeting and staffing as well as controlling and appraising of the individuals whom the leader relies on. It is important to note that controlling others solely by influencing their behavior based on the authority of the position a leader holds in the organization rarely becomes effective. Thus, effective leaders often count on people whom they do not have formal authority. Power should be considered as the condition of building social relations (Knights & Darren, 1999). In today’s management world, few employees enthusiastically accept and obey authoritative leaders who issue endless commands because they are superior. Therefore, leaders can increase their organizational power only if they demonstrate an attitude of trust among other members of the organization. Additionally, subordinates will show respect for leaders who develop a highly level of expertise in the organization. This implies that effective leaders focus on creating an environment in which their subordinates develop a positive attitude toward their leadership styles. A leader, who fails to recognize the importance of developing his or her personal power in the organization, makes the subordinates resist more to change or direction (Ward, 2001). In today’s complex organizations, leaders no longer rely on formal power only as a way of influencing behaviors among people to ensure that the organization becomes competitive and responsive to the global needs. A number of leaders are working in socially complicated organizations where the support of not only their subordinates, but also of the superiors and external entities is highly required to achieve their goals. In order to accomplish the goals that directly affect the performance of the organization, effective leadership must be associated with strong power bases as well as successful influence strategies. Generally, when people discuss issues related to power, their minds often focus on the control that top leaders exercise from the positions they hold on the organizational hierarchy. The power of a leader should be considered far beyond his or her formal authority linked to the title of that particular person (Vidula Bal & Kyle Meddings, 2008). Ways through which Effective Leaders earn authority through influence Bases of power concern the approaches that leaders use to influence their followers. Therefore, when considering the bases of power, it is crucial for the leaders to also to take into account the concept of authority because the two are interconnected attributes that reflect the behaviors of superiors or people in power over their subordinates. Basically, leaders are found in positions of power but the most important way is to develop authority with individuals whom they lead. Authority is considered as the ability of getting people to willingly behave as per the will of a leader because of his or her personal influence. This clearly shows that effective leaders earn authority but not because of their titles as leaders. Therefore, successful leaders earn authority through influence in terms of how they serve others by caring of their respective needs, build healthy relationships as well as become role model, inspire and allow themselves to be influenced by other people. Great leaders should be able to differentiate between power and authority that helps to achieve results (Knights & Darren, 1999). Leaders need to focus on motivating people effectively rather than just showing authority over them. It is important to note that leadership is a complex task that comprise of charismatic leaders, empowering leaders, visionary and value-based leaders. This means that for the associated leadership style, there could be circumstances in which a particular style may be or not effective. Leaders need to value the legitimate power irrespective of their leadership style or situations. Empowering the people they lead is also a key style of effective leadership because by empowering their members it means that leaders trust them. It is necessary to point out that when people in the organization feel trusted, they become naturally responsible for their individual and overall organizational performance. The significance of effective leadership in today’s management world, therefore, is not only about exercising power and authority, but also requires the leaders to consistently link their specific leadership styles with leader effectiveness (Iles & Preece, 2006). Basically, leaders in organizations have formal authorities but they are required to exercise informal authority on the people they lead so as to influence them. It is crucial for the leaders to realize that their judgment determines how much people will trust and respect them based on their level of expertise and integrity. Formal authority and the associated power alone may not successfully influence people to work towards the desired direction or goal particularly during crisis and in difficult situations because people tend to see it as coercion. Leaders who exercise a level of authority rarely receive feedback, views or constructive criticism of the people under their authority. Similarly, leaders who deal with adults cannot rely on authority alone to direct or discipline such category of people. This implies that effective leadership styles play an integral role in creating a friendly working environment through building long-term relationships with the followers (Knights & Darren, 1999). Conclusion Based on the above discussions, it can be concluded that effective leadership cannot be solely achieved by exercising authority and power over others, but also demonstrating effective leadership styles to influence people to achieve organizational goals. Leadership involves the authority and power to achieve interpersonal influence. The major challenge for leaders is getting people in the organization to accomplish what is needed so as to achieve the set organizational goals. Leaders who value the importance of developing their personal power, increases their organizational power. Today, few employees freely accept and obey authoritative leaders who issue so many commands because they have powers as leaders. Successful leaders earn authority through influence by servers others, building healthy relationships, inspiring and accept to be influenced by other people. It is important for leaders to focus on empowering the people they lead because by it is the best way to trust them. The importance of effective leadership in today’s management world not only involves exerting power and authority over other people, but also requires the leaders to continuously link their specific leadership styles with leader effectiveness. References Iles, P. & Preece, D. (2006). Is it developing leaders, or developing Leadership? The Academy of Chief Executives’ Programmes, Leadership, 2(4), 317-340. Knights, D & Darren, M. (1999). Should there be limits to Authority? Total Quality Management and Organizational Power. Organizational Studies, 20(2), 197-122. Kouzes, K & Posner, B. (2002). The Leadership Challenge. San Francisco. Jossey-Bass Wiley. Vidula Bal, M.C, Kyle Meddings, J. (2008). The role of power in effective leadership. Center for Creative Leadership. Ward, E. A. (2001). Social power bases of leaders. The Journal of Industrial Psychology, 14(1), 144-147. Read More