Leadership and Leadership Style of Mark Zuckerberg - Essay Example

Global Leadership Name Course Name and Code Instructor’s Name Date Introduction Technological inventions coupled with the continued technological improvements have rendered the world to be a dynamic global village. Individuals and organization at large with intention to gain a competitive edge in the corporate sector must strive to conform to unending improvements in technology (Rost, 2009). Leadership is not about personal needs rather it is about the organization and the people you are leading (Dalglish & Miller, 2010). Leadership style that any leader decides on should be adaptable to the prevailing particular demands of a situation; for instance, requirements that involve the people you are leading, and specific challenges facing the organization. For any leader to be effective in his undertakings he/she must have the ability to tap people’s potentials by understanding their sincerity to serve. Furthermore, a good leader must have personal mastery that supersedes his competence and skills. Through unending aspirations to change the status quo, a good leader leads his team to create products that change lives across the globe. This paper will discuss the way that leadership has changed within the context of a globalized environment over time. In order to bring out a clear understanding the founder and CEO of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg leadership style and how it has transformed the world particularly in the social media will intensively discussed. In this regard, Zuckerberg’s leadership and communication styles will comprehensively be discussed. Leadership and Leadership styles Leadership is the ability to influence a group of people towards the achievement of objectives and goals that contribute to a worthwhile purpose (Burns, 2010). Through history, leaders carry the mantle for change that might be for the better or for the worst (Rost, 2009). They manage to accomplish this through a myriad of ways; their actions are always inclined towards establishing direction where their followers should go and inspiring them to pursue success notwithstanding obstacles that they might encounter on the way. These leaders have a rare ability to motivate, instruct, and inspire their followers to do anything they command (Rost, 2009). Organizational leaders set the firm’s pace by creating the vision and strategy while also remaining alert and cautious to discover new opportunities within the environment they operating in. Furthermore, a good leader creates a shared culture within the organization that is aimed at helping others grow. It is also imperative for leaders to focus on the team they are leading to inspire and motivate them. They act as facilitators or coaches (Dalglish & Miller, 2010). Leadership entails emotional connection with your team, having an open mind, being a good listener and communicator, and courageous with an insightful character. Additionally, leaders create change and culture of integrity (Burns, 2010). Various theories have been put forward to try to explain the leadership styles that different leaders have used to influence their followers. Leadership Theories Great Man Theory: this theory is based on the belief that leaders are unique people with exceptional traits and qualities and destined to lead. For a very long time in history, leadership was something that was purely male dominated (Barker & Coy, 2005). They were born with leadership traits, and with capabilities to influence people. It is worth to note that in the twentieth century, organizations were lead using the great man theory. For instance, leaders were different from their followers as they were born and meant to lead. Trait Theory: this theory postulates that traits and qualities of leadership exist in abundance and are continually being produced. Consequently, it is claimed in the theory that effective leadership comprises of a combination of the traits of the leader and the requirements of the leadership situation (Barker & Coy, 2005). With this regard, some traits are key to leadership success: for example, dominance and extraversion, sociability and warmth, achievement orientation and organization ability, self-acceptance, and self-control. Behavioural Theory: This theory is mainly about what the leaders do rather than their leadership qualities. It is claimed that comparing effective leaders to ineffective leaders; their behaviour differs greatly. However, behaviours that work well in one situation might be inappropriate in another (Barker & Coy, 2005). Contingency Theory: this theory focuses on ideology that leaders can adapt their leadership style to the situation or context within which they are leading (Dalglish & Miller, 2010). In regard to this, the theories allude that leaders can analyse the situation and tailor their leadership style/behaviour to improve performance. In addition, contingency theories states that for leadership to be understood effectively it must not be separated from the situation. Influence Theories: these theories are aimed at examining the leaders and followers influence process. For instance, how the leader influences his/her followers based on his/her personality. Consequently, the theory identifies how leaders behave, how they differ together with underlying factors that give rise to different types of leadership (Cox, 2007). Taking authentic leadership for example, it is derived from personal integrity and credibility; it is all about a trusting relationship between the leader and the followers. This kind of leadership is based on commitment to moral and ethical values. The allegiance of leaders is earned from their followers; the leaders build, nurture, inspire, and empower their followers. In this regard, the leader’s main role is stewardship and service. Relational Theories: here the main concern is to understand how leaders and followers interact and influence each other. Leadership in this essence is a relational process where all parties are engaged thus enabling them to contribute towards achieving the team’s vision. The two types of leadership that these theories explain are transactional and transformational leadership (Cox, 2007). Transactional leadership: the emphasis here is the importance of the relationship between the leader and followers where mutual benefits are derived from a form of a contract (Cox, 2007). The leader recognizes his followers for their commitment and loyalty. Transformational leadership: this type of leadership is characterized by the leader’s ability to bring about significant change. The leader’s role is to envision and implement the transformation of organization performance (Cox, 2007). Transformational leaders have the capability to spearhead change in organization’s vision, strategy while also promoting innovation in products and technologies. This leadership is where leaders take actions that are aimed at increasing the awareness of what is important and right, motivating their followers to go beyond self-interest for the good of the organization and the society at large (Cox, 2007). Leadership in the globalized environment Changes in the corporate world are significant and early work on leadership styles can no longer explain the current leadership (Dalglish & Miller, 2010). Some researchers argue that the today’s leadership behaviour varies along a continuum: in this perspective as one move away from the old autocratic style of leadership, inclusion, participation and involvement in decision-making increase (Edwards, 2004). Currently, the world is highly dynamic and businesses have expanded leading to global corporations that demand for global leadership for them to be effectively managed. Globalization is a significant factor that has and still is propagating change in leadership together with other disciplines. The unexpected and continued technological growth, transportation infrastructure together with the increase in electronic media and affordable communication networks has transformed the world into a global village (Edwards, 2004). Improvement in technology has increased the capacity to drive change; information can be send across the world in a matter of seconds, transport costs have been substantially reduced, organizations have been transformed into flexible entities to conform to the global demands, and the realization that knowledge is a mobile asset are vital factors that today’s leaders must understand. Based on this crucial evidence, products, services and finances are easily moved from around the world (Blackler & Kennedy, 2003). Following this dramatic improvements, legal, social, and corporate environments have been greatly impacted. With regard to this, laws, social and economic movements are being formed to international levels (Dalglish & Miller, 2010). As aforementioned, the global corporate environment is dynamic and so are the globalized economies and trading systems. These forces directly or indirectly and/or positively or negatively impact the society. With regard to this, global protocols, standards and watchdog organizations have been developed to monitor and control the effects of globalization (Blackler & Kennedy, 2003). The explanation above clearly displays a myriad of challenges that leaders in a globalized environment are likely to face. The increased communication, high speeds of transportation, increased access to infrastructure, and the ability to work across time zones has enabled the creation of cosmopolitan population and workforce across the globe. Following this, leaders are prone to face distance challenges, cultural challenges, technological challenges, and the problem of working across time zones (Blackler & Kennedy, 2003). Communication is imperative for any leader both in the local and global perspective. The social phenomena have been integrated following the increase in technological innovations (Dalglish & Miller, 2010). For instance, due to technological abilities communication has been made affordable across different media (Bass & Avolio, 2008). Leaders and followers a like must be cautious in their actions and words particularly during their interaction. The messages delivered must be clear and able to be understood across all cultures within the organization (Bass & Avolio, 2008). Global leaders must have the ability to create a vision for their organization, empower their followers, and create and align organizational structure and systems that work well for their organization (Bass & Avolio, 2008). They should be team builders, rewarding for example they must be able to provide feedback, they must also be able to cautious about the external forces that affect the organization, and for them to attain greater achievements they must be global minded. Accordingly, global leaders must be courageous to take risk by pursuing business goals and objectives regardless of the complexity of the environment (Dalglish & Miller, 2010). Emotional intelligence is necessary for a global leader; he should be able to develop trust, show empathy, and develop sound relationship with his followers. In addition, for his on personal good, he/she must be able to balance the personal/work life. Global leaders are either transactional or transformational. As already explained in the previous section, transactional leadership is based on an exchange relationship where ideas and loyalties are exchanged at a fee for service. (Dalglish & Miller, 2010) Accordingly, once the service has been executed, the product developed, and the expertise utilized the service is not required a gain. After honouring the transaction, the business relationship is over. On the hand, transformational leadership is aimed at transforming the organization through a series of procedures that are focused on changing the status quo. Transformational leaders have exceptional communication skills, have vast knowledge of the firm’s current focus of the organization and are able to visualize the future and develop structures that will improve the current trends (Gosling &Mintzberg, 2003). They are knowledgeable with capacity frame and reframe the future in order to provide a clear understanding to their followers. They leadership has greater effects on organizational culture and performance. They have confidence, respect and loyalty of their followers and at times, they are considered as a change powerhouse. Leaders and organizational culture in a globalized environment Globalization is a critical factor that is currently affecting the culture within organizations particularly the multinational organizations. Therefore, leaders must take into consideration and understand how to create a multinational cultures of staff and occupational cultures within their work context for them to succeed (Gosling &Mintzberg, 2003). A multicultural organization is characterized by seven vital factors that leadership must wholly understand for them to reach greatest achievements (Dalglish & Miller, 2010). For instance, leaders must be able to create pluralism within the organization by including people from different cultures. They must also create an enabling environment that allows for leadership diversity; for instance, there should be a cultural mix in leadership positions (Hamlin, 2002). Nonetheless, they must create full structural integration where the job status is not related to the cultural background. In the same line of discussion, they should fully integrate informal networks by ensuring informal activities are included the organization’s culture. Additionally, a bias-free organization should be created by eliminating all activities of exclusion with regard to ethnicity and religion. The organizational culture should be one that all ethnic groups can identify with. In addition, they should minimize intergroup conflicts by ensuring that the organization is fully aware of cultural sensitive issues (Hamlin, 2002). Adhering to these recommendations, any leader will thrive and succeed in his/her endeavours. Mark Zuckerberg’s leadership style Zuckerberg has not only created a company that has left marks on the Silicon Valley, but has also developed products that have transformed the lives of millions across the globe. He falls under global transformational leaders (Carlson, 2012). The most admirable character of Zuckerberg is his primary goal of connecting people across the globe, for instance, initially, Facebook was not meant to be a global company but rather to accomplish a social mission; getting the world to be open and connected. His desire is not just money but social wellbeing of the larger world. Furthermore, Zuckerberg is extremely courageous always persisting in ensuring that organizations objectives are met regardless of the dynamic global environment. Sometimes he is described by employees as someone who is fearless when it comes to trying on new ideas. Professionally, Zuckerberg is determined to get it done and he does not tolerate emotional fragility particularly in individuals that he needs to help him execute company’s mission (Carlson, 2012). His focus is to ensure that Facebook’s mission succeeds. He is a demanding a leader, analysts describes Zuckerberg’s demands as those that are needed to drive a global enterprise to become a global leader. Facebook culture has put people first, the CEO has ensured that the company continually transform into an organization that connects people in a variety of ways. He is visionary working to make sure that the society gets an exceptional experience in the social media (Carlson, 2012). The organizational culture of Facebook is a high-energy culture that encourages interaction between leader and followers to weigh in on products. This has helped the company to increasingly expand. Zuckerberg is a sharing leader; he encourages communication and interaction with his subordinates. He is a CEO that is focused to the future, he has managed to incline his followers to “the way of the future” making the company to offer unique products of networking people (Carlson, 2012). Zuckerberg carry’s the company’s mantle, spearheading and changing how we live; he has managed to create customer loyalty, Facebook has become part of many cultures across the globe. Zuckerberg’s recent idea of creating a culture of “More about engaging that selling” has helped his followers to broadcast where they are to their friends (Carlson, 2012). This has added uniqueness to the company and transforming it even further. The CEO has made the company a leader in the global environment. Conclusion Leadership is critical in propelling exceptional ideas, products, and services to greater levels. The traditional discussions with regard to leadership were shallow and could not exhaustively bring out what leadership entails. Various theories were put forward to try and explain what leadership is; for instance, great-man theories, trait theories, behavioural theories, situational or contingency theories, influence theories and relational theories explains how leadership has evolved over time. Technological advancements have resulted into speedy communication, faster transportation, and easy access to transportation infrastructure, while also enabling people to work across time zones. Globalization has lead to change in leadership styles across the world. Mark Zuckerberg is an example of greatest leaders in the global environment. His determination, courage, and the desire to connect the world have made him an exceptional leader across the world. He has initiated organizational culture that is focused on maintaining company’s global leadership while also transforming the company into a unique kind of company. References Barker, C. and Coy, R. (Eds). (2005). Understanding Influence for Leaders at all Levels. 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