Effective Leadership (Essay Sample)

ABSTRACT
The difference between success and failure in business today has been attributed to leadership therefore, effective leadership styles are key in order to influence individuals and groups efforts towards the achievement of organizations’ objectives.
The objective of this paper was to identify effective leadership styles in organizations today and if it is possible for someone to transform into a leader they desire to be.
This paper is presented in four parts. Part I covered: the introduction: background and definition of leadership, the most effective leadership models (democratic and consultative) and the reasons why the mentioned leadership models are considered to be the most effective. Part II covered: Leadership styles that I have used in the past giving specific situations on where I had to use a different style of leadership. Part III covered: an example of a leader I would like to become describing why I admire his leadership style. Part IV covered: how I will transform myself to a leader I would like to become.
An effective leadership style has to be one that involves the people being led, build an effective communication system as well as create a supportive environment that provides employees opportunities to seek fulfillment of their personal goals and a sense of growth. It should be one that gives the people being led a feeling of ownership in the organization. And for that reason democratic/participative and consultative leadership styles were considered to be the most effective.
On the other hand, as much as participative and consultative leadership styles are considered to be the most effective there are other situations that require other leadership styles in order to make things work. One of these situations is when there is an urgent decision to be made and for this instance autocratic leadership style will be the ideal one.
Therefore, different leadership styles may be used in an organization depending on a specific situation but the ones that improve performance and productivity will be used more often. It is good to note that leadership is a process thus it needs patience too.
Introduction
In spite of seeming discontent at least with the traditional approaches to leadership theory and practice, throughout history, the differences between success and failure, whether in a war, a business, a protest movement, a sports etc. have been attributed to leadership. Leaders conquer the context – the volatile, turbulent, ambiguous surrounding that sometimes seem to conspire against us and will surely suffocate us if we let them.
Leadership is the art of inspiring subordinates or followers to perform their duties willingly, competently, and enthusiastically. It is a social influence process in which the leader seeks voluntary participation of the followers in order to achieve organizational objectives.
Leadership is about responsibility; it is not a rank, privileges, titles, or money but it is about responsibility. Leaders do not start with "what do I want" but rather start with "what needs to be done" Then they ask "what can and should I do to make a difference”. It happens at all levels – whatever level you are, whatever your job, you can bring new insight, new leadership, to your team or to your group
1 The Most Effective Leadership Models in Organizations Today
Based on personal experience and observations, we might expect to find consistent differences between effective and in effect leaders, however if we consider a large number of leaders, we reach different conclusions. For example; leaders are generally observed to be outgoing and socially assertive, yet some outstanding leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Abraham Lincoln were relatively shy and withdrawn.
Rensis Likert (New York, 1967) regards leadership as central and most important component of management; in his view, organizational effectiveness significantly depends on the manner in which managers provide leadership to their subordinates. He proposes that the most effective way to lead people is to:
* Involve them in decision making as a group
* Build an effective communication system
* Create a supportive environment that provides employees opportunities to seek fulfillment of their personal goals and group needs and realize their sense of personal growth
Because of the above ways that have been proven to increase productivity and effectiveness in organizations the below leadership modes are highly considered to be the most effective.
That said, it does not mean that the other modes are not applicable in the organizations today. Therefore there are situations that will at times call for a different mode of leadership style.
1 Democratic/participative
In democratic leadership style, the leader:-
* Involves subordinates as individuals and as groups in decision making, relating to their goals and plans. By doing so he is able to:-
* Asks for and uses suggestions form subordinates but still makes the decision
* Permits them to take initiative and judgment
* Emphasis groups efforts
* Exercise broad supervision
* Motivates employees to higher level of performance
* Uses influence rather than authority
* Builds a two way communication
* These leaders are called employee centered, consultative, permissive, equalitarian
2 Consultative
In consultative leadership style, the leader:-
* Displays substantial confidence in their subordinates
* Consults them before making decisions, but makes decisions themselves
* Usually seeks and uses their ideas
* Motivates them by giving reward and occasional punishment
* Engages in both downwards and upward communication
* Makes important decisions themselves and delegates routine ones to the subordinates
3 Reasons why the above leadership Styles are Considered Most Effective
The main reason why these modes are considered the most effective is because they involve everyone in order to meet the organization’s objectives.
These makes employees feel like they are part of the organization and this will encourage them to own it thus performance will increase and the organization’s goals will be met more effectively.
2 Leadership Styles that I have used in the Past
Mostly I have been using a participative leadership style although some situations call for a different mode of leadership.
Below are examples of different situations where I had to use different leadership styles;
* In situations where urgent action was needed I have mostly used autocratic leadership style because in this case allowing a participative style would have delayed the issue. One of these situations is where there was a machine breakdown in the factory and we needed a spare part for the factory to continue running.
* In this situation I was very effective in the sense that we used very little time to get what was needed thus, we did not incur too much loss.
* In situations where there was unnecessary resistance to change by some employees I also used autocratic leadership style so as the organization can move forward one of these situation is when we were advancing in our technology some employees felt that their jobs will become redundant despite my constant assurance.
* This situation turned out to be very effective because the employees who were resisting to the proposed change eventually adapted to the new methods and everything went on smoothly.
* In situations where there was process improvement more especially in the factory, I used the consultative leadership style because I needed their ideas in order to be able to come up with a process that will create a conducive working environment for them.
This was very effective in the sense that performance greatly improved and the subordinate staff was well motivated.
Based on the knowledge I have gained in this course I could have improved performance by, apart from being a participative leader I would have also been supportive so as to motivate the subordinate staff more and also support their initiatives and nurture them to grow and feel as part of the organization and this am sure could...