Is There a Leadership Style that Is Most Suited to Innovative Industries - Coursework Example

Is there a leadership style that is most suited to innovative industries? Name Institution Date Leadership styles create the right environment for innovation in organizations. In addition, managers that have a strong influence on the process of innovation in companies are considered to have substantial leadership competence. Usually, leadership in innovative industries is seen as an essential management function and it based on human capabilities, such as championship, entrepreneurship and strategic direction (Ali & Ibrahim, 2014). Leaders play an important role in promoting innovation in the organization. Innovation is an outcome of individual, team and organizational efforts brought together to produce a new product or service that can attract the customers (Hemlin, Allwood & Martin, 2008). Managers in innovative industries perform distinctive leadership styles. This essay will discuss the effects of these styles on innovation in organizations that focus more on innovation. Leadership is an integral aspect on performance of innovative industries because of to two main reasons. First, in a hierarchy of the organization, leaders help manage strategic goals and activities for innovation established by the organization (Ali & Ibrahim, 2014). They set these goals and direct activities by managing facilities, resources, defining expectations for innovation, and allowing autonomy to both individuals and teams. Second, leaders create an environment that influences creativity and innovation (Denti & Hemlin, 2012). According to Agbor (2008) the structure of leadership in the organization helps produce results that promote innovation among employees. However, all leadership styles may not be effective in increasing opportunity for innovation, especially in innovative industries. In deed, investments in particular types of leadership models and styles are likely to produce results that promote innovation. Successful organizations, particularly in innovative industries have recognized that collaborative and shared leadership styles, and not authoritarian and heroic leadership, help open up the potential of organization in respect to innovation (Askenas et al., 2002). This means that Innovative organizations that operate from hierarchical, command, authoritarian and control model, where leaders at the top level control information, work, allocation of resources and decisions, are likely to end up producing employees that are less productive, empowered and innovative (Hornstein & De Guerre, 2006). Thus this type of leadership styles may not help the organization achieve its innovative goals as it has little opportunity for bringing innovation and renewal. Leadership involves different people who possess various skills and tools within the work environment and all working towards transforming the organization. The ideal leadership style in innovative industries is the one that is able to empower, inspire and apply more influence in the organization in a way that allows creation of new ideas among employees (Ali & Ibrahim, 2014). Contemporary leadership involves understanding that individuals in the organization have all the skills, ideas and time to perform complex tasks with high level of innovativeness. In innovative industries, leaders are aware that the organization may not survive when leadership is centralized to the top as opportunities for leadership exist at all levels of the organization (Bosiok & Sad, 2013). Therefore, for innovative organizations to be successful in their innovative initiatives, they must benefit from innovativeness of all its employees by exploiting all their leadership abilities. In other words, every individual in the organization in one way or another is required to take part in leadership, especially through collaborative and shared leadership styles. Raelin (2003) asserts that contemporary organizations are highly knowledgeable and require that all employees to share the experience of leadership in regard to sharing responsibility, power, aspirations and values, as well as collaborating to promote organization success. In such a situation, the innovative organization will avoid suffocating reliance of subordinates in the top leadership, which provides them the opportunity to contribute their natural potentials and innovative skills to the organization. According to Advanced Institute of Management Research (2005) many organizations that are creative and successful depend on various sources of effective leadership at different levels within the organization, and not just maintaining a dictatorial leadership model that usually prohibits creativity. Thus, the best way an innovative organization can maintain great success is by diffusing leadership to empower every individual through coaching and training so they increase their creativity and innovation. According to Long and Thean (2011) leadership involves setting a direction of the future and establishing the necessary strategies to produce required changes to achieve the organization vision. Transformational and transactional leadership styles may be effective in innovative industries. Leaders who adopt these types of leadership styles are known use different approaches to actively intervene and attempt to prevent problems from occurring in the organization (Ali & Ibrahim, 2014). There is a positive relationship between transformational and transactional leadership styles and organization innovation. According to Wang, Chich-Jen, & Mei-Ling (2010) the interaction of these leadership styles and the human resource management strategy within the organization significantly contributes to innovation. As Bosiok and Sad (2013) indicate, leadership characteristics determine the how the organization can effectively work thus increasing productivity due to employee innovation. According to the authors, the basic leadership styles in contemporary organizational environment include autocratic, democratic and liberal styles of management. Among the three leadership styles, democratic and liberal leadership are the most appropriate in innovative industries (Bosiok & Sad, 2013). However, autocratic leadership style may not work well in organizations that are highly innovative. For democratic leadership style, leaders incorporate their associates in management and decision-making processes in the organization (Kim, Hon, & Lee, 2010). This is essential when the organization is more interested in promoting innovation among its members. Leaders should be able to encourage employees to involve in setting goals, providing important ideas and suggestions, determining methods, and engage in decision making. A democratic leader does not control his or her associates and limit the number of instructions given to them. In stead, such a leader provides employees freedom to plan how to perform their work activities and often encourage and allow participative decision-making as well as team work (Bosiok & Sad, 2013). A leader that creates this type of environment in the organization would promote high level of innovation among employees. In the same perspective, liberal leadership is an essential ingredient to creating an innovative culture within the organization. A liberal leader is known to provide the required information, manage technical resources and supervise working conditions. Such a leader allows employees to make decisions with very little supervision. According to Denti and Hemlin (2012) this type of leadership style help produce better and innovative results, especially when the organization comprise of well-established groups of creative experts, professionals, individuals, who have self-control and thus require adequate freedom to express their creative as well as intellectual abilities. Therefore, it is important for leaders using this approach to have enough power so to influence associates in the right direction to mold their actions and behaviours, focused on achieving innovational goals in the organization. According to Babaita et al. (2010) innovation in the organization is based on its ability to recognize not only the market opportunities, but also its internal capabilities to respond in an innovative way. This requires building a sustainable innovation enterprise by use of the right leadership style. Sarros, Cooper and Santora (2008) argue that it is only through appropriate leadership style, such as transformational leadership style that innovative organization can truly establish environment and a culture that adapts easily to change in the organization. According to the authors, transformational leadership style is highly needed in innovative industries because it promotes good relationship between managers and employees which encourages creativity and innovation (Sarros et al., 2008). Unlike autocratic leadership style, which of course may hinder innovation, transformational leadership style is highly encouraged in innovative industries because it plays a significant role in motivating employees to perform and identify themselves with the goals of the organization. In addition, leaders who use transformational leadership style try to motivate employees beyond the levels of work performance required or set by the organization (Babaita et al., 2010). Thus, employees in such organization would feel engaged and personally rewarded through work. They could also feel personally rewarded through work outcomes and this increase their motivation to come up with new ideas and thoughts that may help achieve organizational goals. Conclusively, the type of leadership style used by managers in the innovative industries determines whether they would be successful or unsuccessful. There are different types of leadership styles, such as autocratic, democratic, liberal, transformational and transactional models or styles. These styles of leadership are applicable in different situations therefore work best in different environments within the organization. However, the most appropriate leadership styles to use in innovative industries are democratic, liberal and transformation types of leadership styles. Unlike, autocratic leadership style which is more dictatorial, the other leadership styles are more accommodating and provides an environment where employees can freely express their new thoughts and ideas which is beneficial to the organization in terms of knowledge creation. To promote an innovation organization, an environment should be created, through appropriate leadership style that involves employees in decision-making process and other important activities within the organization. References Agbor, E. M. M. A. N. U. E. L. (2008). Creativity and innovation: The leadership dynamics. Journal of strategic leadership, 1(1), 39-45. AIM (Advanced Institute of Management Research). (2005). Leadership and Innovation: Summary report from an AIM Management Research Forum in cooperation with the Chartered Management Institute. ISBN No. 0-9546885-6-2. Ali, A. Y. S., & Ibrahim, I. H. (2014). The Impact of Leadership Style on Corporate Innovation: Survey from Telecommunication Industry in Somalia. Askenas, R., Ulrich, D., Jick, T., & Kerr, S. (2002). The boundaryless organization: Breaking the chains of organizational structure. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1-3. Babaita, C., Sipos, G., Ispas, A., & Nagy, A. (2010). Leadership style and culture for innovation in hotel industry. In ISI Proceedings of the Conference Selected Topics in Economy and Management Transformation (Vol. 2, pp. 526-532). Bosiok, D., & Sad, N. (2013). Leadership styles and creativity. Denti, L, & Hemlin, S. (2012), leadership and innovation in organizations: a systematic review of factors that mediate or moderate the relationship; international journal of innovation management; vol. 16, no. 3: DOI: 10.1142/S1363919612400075. Hemlin, S., Allwood, C. M., & Martin, B. R. (2008). Creative knowledge environments. Creativity Research Journal, 20, 196–210. Hornstein, H. A., & De Guerre, D. W. (2006). Bureaucratic organizations are bad for our health. Ivey Business Journal Online, 1-4. Kim, T. Y., Hon, A., & Lee, D. R. (2010). Proactive personality and employee creativity: The effects of job creativity requirement and upervisor support for creativity. Creativity Research Journal, 22(1), 37–45. Long, C. S., & Thean, L. Y. (2011). Relationship Between Leadership Style, Job Satisfaction and Employees' Turnover Intention: A Literature Review. Research Journal of business management, 5(3). Realin, J. (2003). The leaderful organization: How to bring out leadership in everyone. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Sarros J., Cooper B.K, Santora J.C. (2008). Building a climate for innovation through transformational leadership and organizational culture, Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 15(2),145-157. Wang, F. J., Chich-Jen, S. T. & Mei-Ling,(2010), Effect of Leadership Style on Organizational Performance as Viewed From Human Resource Management Strategy. 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