Types of Leadership Styles in Fire Service (Research Paper Sample)

TYPES OF LEADERSHIP IN FIRE SERVICE
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE ……………………………………………………………………………………1
TABLE OF CONTENTS ………………………………………………………………………..2
INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………………………………………. 3
PROBLEM STATEMENT ………………………………………………………………………3
IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY ……………………………………………………………….3
LITERATURE REVIEW ………………………………………………………………………...4
Effective leadership ………………………………………………………………………………4
Leadership styles ………………………………………………………………………………….5
Transformational leadership ……………………………………………………………………...7
HYPOTHESIS ……………………………………………………………………………………9
RESEARCH METHODS ……………………………………………………………………….10
Research design ………………………………………………………………………………... 10
Procedure ………………………………………………………………………………………..11
Reasons for the methodology ……………………………………………………………………11
CONCLUSION ……………………………………………………………………….………....11
References ……………………………………………………………………………………….13
INTRODUCTION
Since the 911, fire services have required extra leadership from their executive fire officers (EFOs). The United States is susceptible to both manmade and natural disasters and this vulnerability has therefore increased demand for emergency responses, yet capable responses necessitate coordination of the United States fire departments including the Saint Paul Fire and safety services (National incident management systems, 2004). Increased terrorism threats on America have resulted into improvement of fire services by implementing new strategies. One of the main challenges observed in the fire service department if leadership and the various ways in which the people lead. There are also several leadership styles, each of which with its own merits and demerits. Fire service is transforming towards a transformation style. We try to identify reason or reasons for this. Could it because of the nature of the new recruits? Could be because of society and acceptability?
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Various leadership styles exist in the fire service and they also affect each department in a number of ways, in most cases negatively. We ask the question; ‘is there a right leadership style? What qualities should best equip the fire service leaders?
IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY
The purpose of this study is to clearly identify but also explore some of the most occurring styles of leadership for the benefit of fire services. Through the experience that I have generated in my work with fire services, there have been different types of leadership styles in the department I belong. It has also become almost obvious that there is a separation between a fire chief and the regular employees when it comes to communication, initiatives, work ethics as well as accountability although leaders appear to work well with some of the employees and not all of them. I believe that a strong leader should have the ability to effectively manage all the employees under them, including those that may possess different qualities from what the leader possesses. In this study we ask if there are main leadership styles and if they exist, we ask the question if there is best one which works better than other others. In a nut shell we note that collaborative and healthy working environment normally leads to increased productivity as well as higher performance due to satisfaction of the workers.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Leadership behavior within organizations has been found to be responsible for some if not the overall performance of organizations and leadership styles have been identified to be important areas of interest. Related to leadership styles, performance measurements are found to consist of quantitative indicators which are used by management to determine how well an organization is completing their tasks (O’Regan and Ghobadian, 2004). On the other hand, the definition of leadership is dependent on whether emphasis is put on leadership behaviors or on the results of such behaviors (Jex, 2002). While O’Regan & Ghobadian define leadership as influence on people to strive willingly and enthusiastically towards achieving a mission, Jex defines leadership as a series of functions that should be carried out for a group to be effective.
Effective Leadership
Leaders who are effective understand the traits of their organizational culture and so develop strategies like problem solving and communication styles which they apply to influence the performance of their followers so that they strive towards achievement of objectives and goals of the department (Katz and Miller, 2006). Besides leading their own organizations, effective leaders may be required to work with other organizations. An effective leader with appropriate leadership style for any situation and problem can improve their follower’s performance and this is demonstrated by influencing as well as guiding the team activities towards achieving goals (Judge, Colbert and Ilies, 2004). Leaders may therefore need to be intelligent to be to enable to make decisions, dominate and convince others. They also need to achieve so that they motivate others as well as other traits to engage as leaders to be seen as effective.
By application of effective implantation of transformational leadership which is also passionate, several leaders are able to discover striking balance that exists between autonomy of employees and control from executives. According Hendricks, implanting six simple tasks can be a great of cultivating an empowered but also a decisive team of workers. In brief, the six simple tasks involve the provision of constructive feedback which is immediate, sharing of information which concerns the wider picture often used to align goals of organization to increase motivation of the team, stretching the comfort zones with new challenges and opportunities but being mindful to take care not to force an employee beyond their reasonable capabilities, encouraging effective contributions of team members through the increased flexibility where it is possible and appropriate as well as cultivating a sense of trust among the team members through provision of space to the team when they need to expand and grow.
Leadership Styles
Various leadership styles are known to produce different results in different times and situations. As early as 1940, three leadership styles were used namely autocratic, democratic and laissez faire (Vera and Crossan, 2004). While autocratic style was a controlling type with managers making all decisions for employees with orientation to how work was done, the democratic style exerts little control over the employees, involving them in decision making (Stowell, 2004). On the other ha...