Transformational, Charismatic Leadership Theory - Coursework Example

Leadership Theories Name: Institution Affiliation: Course: Course Code: Date: Executive summary The contents of this paper seek to enlighten the reader on the several aspect of leadership as well as the few theories behind leadership. The paper will look at the models of leadership that are provided by some selected theories in order to see how they can make one a successful leader. The theories will be discussed from the point of how they make one as successful leader. The paper will also take the liberty to look at several theories on leadership but mainly focus on two major one and extensively discuss the examples of leadership models in the theories. The two major theories that will be discussed by the paper will be the transformational leadership theory and the participative leadership theory. The aspect of both theories discussed will be looked at in depth and at least an example of a leadership style from the theory will be looked at in depth in order to give the reader a clear understanding of what the theory means to bring into play. The paper will mainly seek to show the reader how the selected leadership style or model drawn from the theory helps in making ones leadership effective. Introduction Leadership can be defined as the way one person can use his character or ideas to make another person or a group to conform them[Bak13]. It is also said be the way a person has influence over how others make their decisions be it personal or in an organization or in a country. Other scholars that leadership is the ability to move a person, organization or a nation to the point of aiming to achieve one purpose or goal[Bak13]. A leader is therefore defined as a person who has influence to affect the decision making of a certain group or a person. Related definition state that a leader is a person who other people follow since they conform to his ideas or policies. The efforts to fully understand and explain leadership what it entails have led to many theories being formulated in order to get a rough view of what makes one a leader and what constitutes to successful leadership. The contents of this paper seek to look at the theories and give examples of leadership styles that are suggested by the theories. Since time in memorial there have been studies trying to look for the factors that make one a leader and which ought to produce the most effective leadership. Authors like Thomas and Galton were one of the pioneers of the researches on leadership and they focused their efforts to find how the talent, skill and the characteristics of a person may lead to the point of them becoming quality leaders[Off94]. The two scholars looked at the influence of family line and genetics in relation to how they might make one become a leader. It was later concluded in their studies that leaders were born with leadership and that is their place in the society. More and more studies were conducted some in conjunction with the theory of the two scholars while some sought to oppose their motion. The diversity in the studies is what led to the development of the many theories of leadership that we have today. The theories of leadership and their examples on how they make ones leadership successful will be discussed below to give a broader view of the topic. Transformational leadership theory Transformational leadership theories seek to explain how the leader becomes successful and how his or her influence is increased to the followers making them willing enough to follow[Bak13]. Transformational leadership theory states that most people are inclined to follow an individual or a group that inspires them. The theory assumes the fact that any person who has a great vision for something can achieve anything they want in life. Some of the major scholars who have written in support of this theory include; Bass, Burn, and Posner. Three scholar have given their view on what transformational leadership is and hence a few examples on some major model of transformational leadership. According to Burns most of the transformational leaders focus on making their follower better persons by motivating them and making them feel that there is hope for the best in every circumstance[Off94]. Burns says that transformational leadership is all about morality and engagement between the leader and the led. Burns also states that transformational leadership focuses on the spiritual and the belief aspects of life in order to connect more with the people led. The other scholar who conform to the same idea of transformational leadership who is Bass states that this form of leadership focuses on motivating the employees and making the work better by articulating their visions well and building trust[ORe86]. According to Bass these kind of leaders build trust and admiration from their teams in order to make them achieve the common goal that they have[Bak13]. The main example of transformational leadership is charismatic leadership which will be discussed below in order for the reader to get a clear understanding of how these kind leaders are successful and how they gunner so much support from the organization. Charismatic leadership Charismatic leadership can be defined influential leadership. In other studies charismatic leadership has been defined as influential or transformational leadership. The most elaborate definition of a charismatic leader is one who connects with the people emotional and influences them to conform to his beliefs and works with the people to achieve the objectives he has in mind[Con88]. Charismatic leaders are focused on the improvement of the organization and also on the positive impact to the people who are led. Charismatic leaders are considered to have a positive influence over the people who are led and at most times they are inclusive in their leadership style. The charismatic leaders influence their subjects through their ideas, their inspiration, their intellectual and also how they are concerned with the welfare of the individuals they lead. The persons who follow these kind of leaders are mostly focused on the moral characteristics of the leader and the values and beliefs that the leader thinks will be helpful. The success of charismatic leaders is highly dependent on how they connect with the persons they lead and the level of influence that they have on the persons that they lead. Below are some of the ways that makes this form of leadership successful; Articulation of future goals and visions Charismatic leaders are considered to less calculative but use more of their emotions to get the required response. Charismatic leaders always get unquestioned loyalty from their followers. Charismatic leaders also get all their followers to always support their cause with commitment and devotion. Charismatic leaders always tell their team of what their plans are for the future and are always clear in stating and articulating them[Hun99]. In the stating of his goals for the organization or the nation and his team the leader always exudes confidence in the achievement of the goals. Through the exhibition of self-confidence from the leader in his plan the follower are hence also confident and motivated in achieving the goals and standards set by the leader. From the charisma of the leader the followers feel motivated and able to achieve the set goals. When a 360 degree review of charismatic leaders was conducted it was indicated that whenever these kind of leaders stated out a goal or objective to be achieved all the team members felt that they have the capability to meet the objectives or even set a higher standard. Through the clear articulation of goals and visions for the nation, group or organization most charismatic leaders inspire confidence and high levels of motivation among the people who follow him. The aspect is consistent with what Burns states about transformational leaders being connected by belief to their follower or the organization. Outspokenness on innermost beliefs and values Since most charismatic leaders are not calculative but the emotional kind of leaders, the mostly tend to inculcate their plans in what they believe to be morally right. At most times they always state their values of society in order to connect with the society more and have the influence over the people. They articulate their values and beliefs to fit with what society wants and what the followers feel is the need for the organization or the society. They articulate their ideas in a way that they have an influence on the behavior of the followers[Cho05]. Though this aspect most of the charismatic leaders are considered as agents of change to the society. In most cases the followers conform to the beliefs and values of the leader and make sure they align their beliefs to those of the leader. In this sense the leader and his followers all seem to heading in the same direction towards acquiring the same objective. The outspoken part of the leader is consistent with Bass’ theory on transformational leadership that states all transformational leaders have the ability to clearly state their vision and missions for the organization that they work with or the people that they lead. The need for affiliation Charismatic leaders make their followers feel it is necessary to be affiliated. Charismatic leaders become an object of identification among their followers[ORe86]. Most of the followers feel proud to be associated with them. The fact is because of the impact and effect they have in the organization or society. The other reason is because most people want to emulate the leaders and take them as their role models, for they have high influential attributes. This is one fact that has helped in the success of many charismatic leaders. The connection that the leaders create with their followers make the follower find them easy to connect with and also associate with. Participative leadership theories Participative leadership as the name suggests is the form or type or module or system of leadership where the persons led have an involvement in the decision making process and other aspects of the organization[Bak13]. The theories behind participative leadership state that the involvement of the led people in the decision making processes help in making sure that the led people have a clear idea as to why some decisions are made. Most of the studies on participative leadership indicate that the people who are led get more committed to the course since they initially had a say in the decision making process. Participative leadership believe on the theory that people have to work as a whole unit aiming to achieve one objective or goal rather than single units aiming at the same goal[ORe86]. The other aspect of the theories on participative leadership state that the success of leaders who use the participative leadership skill have the advantage of making better decision since it is said that two heads are better than one. Some of the major scholars of the participative leadership including Lewin and Likert have done research to ascertain the fact that the use of participative leadership is successful in the running of ant organization or team[Bak13]. According to Lewin most of the leadership skills that use this form of theory give the people who are led the liberty to choose what is right and what is wrong. The person led are also include in the decision making that the leader makes and they have a say in all the decisions. Likert on the hand states that the forms of leadership that conform to this form of leadership are mostly one where the use of votes and other methods that require the will of the people are used[Off94]. The author continues to state that participative leadership is commonly used in political position and matters that concern politics. Conclusion Leadership is considered to be a very integral part of the society of which without it the pillars that hold the society will crumble and it will be chaos all over[Daf14]. Leadership is the only thing that makes law and order effective since the society has one focus point in the case of any issues a fact that helps in the reduction of venting the issues to one another but waiting in faith on leadership. From the paper it can be said that leadership is the only thing that helps to hold in place the morality and sanity of the society because from all the theories morality has proven to be baseline. The contents of the paper clearly show that there are different types of leadership that are based on different theories put forth by different scholars. The theories seek to substantiate their claim by giving a few examples of the leadership skill and types upheld by the theory and why they have been successful. It can be concluded that all forms of leadership are successful depending on how the method used in leadership has been executed by the person in authority. It can also be said that all the leadership skill come down to the one fact and that is the leader in place. If the leader does not have the skill needed then the no matter the method used no good will come out of them. References Bak13: , (Baker, 2013), Off94: , (Offermann, 1994), ORe86: , (O'Reilly, 1986), Con88: , (Conger, 1988), Hun99: , (Hunt, 1999), Cho05: , (Choi, 2005), Daf14: , (Daft, 2014), Read More