How Leadership Can Influence Organizational Success Term Paper

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Introduction

Leadership is a diverse discipline which can be viewed from different contexts. However, leadership is inevitably an individual characteristic. This paper explores the individual background of the two leaders, Interviewee A and Interviewee B, their character styles and differences, personality styles and differences as well as leadership vision. It also dissects through their relations with their followers, how they have handled challenges and change, ethics, integrity and social responsibility, similarities and differences between their leadership styles.

Leadership Style

Leadership style determines the manner in which an individual uses his or her power to lead other individuals. The style of leadership can have a significant influence on the direction that the organization takes (Sadler, 2003). According to Fiedler’s contingency theory, efficacious leadership is reliant not just on the style of leadership but also on the control of a particular circumstance or situation. Basically, this implies that there is a need for proper relations between the leaders and the members, undertaking with proper objectives and practices, and the capability for the leader to allocate and give out rewards and punishments. The incapability of having these three elements in the fitting mixture and framework will give rise to failure in leadership. Being a form of contingency theory, it generally outlines that the efficacy of leadership is reliant upon the circumstance, and there are different elements, for instance, the kind of tasks and jobs, the personality of the leader and composition of the team being led (Hickman, 2009).

Both Interviewee A and Interviewee B describe themselves as democratic leaders in that they incessantly listen to and value the opinions of their staff, colleagues, subordinates, or personnel. In particular, democratic leadership style, also referred to as participative leadership style is a form of leadership that acknowledges and perceives the significance of the input of the team members and associates. However, the responsibility of the final decision-making lies with the democratic leader. One of the key advantages of this leadership style is that it increases employee self-confidence for the reason that personnel make contributions to the process of decision-making. In ensures that all personnel have the sense and feeling of being important to the organization and that their opinions matter (Johnson, 2017). On one hand, Interviewee A practices his style of leadership by presiding over board meetings and “allowing members to freely give their opinions.” On the other hand, Interviewee B outlines that she practices her style of leadership by conducting several meetings and “by coming into a new leadership position and not changing the old way, but modifying and implanting needed changes in order for the work and the work environment to be good.”

Both leaders have been effective in their styles of leadership. This is largely for the reason that on one hand, Interviewee A is able to conduct and preside over meetings that permit the opinions of all members, allowing them to speak freely and chart the way forward in terms of the direction of the organization. On the other hand, Interviewee B has experienced success in the democratic leadership style for the reason that she has created an organizational setting that makes personnel feel comfortable in conveying their concerns and problems as well as a variation in the prevailing perceptions.

Leadership is intricate and necessitates new methods, new frames of mind and new skills. Notably, what might have been effective and functional in the preceding periods may not be as effective in the forthcomings tasks or in solving the subsequent challenges. In this regard, it is imperative to learn from the challenges and difficulties experienced in order to facilitate effective and successful practicing. One of the key lessons outlined by Interviewee A is the significance of carrying out plans and holding individuals liable for their different tasks and duties, as well as their level of dedication. In addition, the intricacy and challenge that she has experienced while practicing leadership is to finding and recruiting individuals that have the similar level of passion as necessitated by the organization as whole. On the other hand, Interviewee B outlines that the key challenge experienced is having to tolerate other personnel for the reason that not all employees have a similar work ethic.

Important Characteristics, Traits, or Values Associated with Effective Leadership

Effective leadership is known when it is seen. Despite the fact that some of the prevailing great leaders have innate competencies and abilities, there are a number of traits that successful leaders have in common that any individual can learn, practice, and espouse to become more efficacious.

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According to Economy (2013), some of these traits include inspiring action, being optimistic, having integrity, supporting and facilitating teams, having confidence, communicating and being decisive. It is imperative to point out that not all leaders can have all traits. Interviewee A considers the important characteristics and traits to include active listening skills, being approachable, having the ability to budget resources, as well as time management. The main way in which these skills and traits have improved her leadership is to augment the level of transparency with colleagues in the workplace, particularly, with respect to finances and their allotment. In addition, the communication skills have made it much simpler for subordinates and work mates to be able to approach her with their problems, ideas and differing perspectives.

On the other hand, Interviewee B considers such traits of effective leadership to include properly listening to personnel, considering and taking into account such employee concerns with their significance and at the same time being able to make adjustments. In particular, the leader has pointed out that communication skills and charisma have improved her leadership within the organization as it facilitates the sharing of mutual and core values with personnel and increasing the ability of being more personable. In line with Economy (2013), Interviewee A agrees that these traits can be learned and once they become proficiencies can make any individual a good leader. However, despite the fact that Interviewee B admits that a number of these traits can be learned and understood, this undertaking could prove to be significantly challenging for the reason that not all individuals can be approachable and possess personable skills.

Important Actions of Behaviors Associated with Effective Leadership

A leader is considered to be as effective as his team. The behaviors of a leader are important because they influence the attitude, perspectives and actions of the team. Therefore, it is imperative for a leader to espouse and carry out behaviors that constructively influence the team members. Interviewee A considers active listening and transparency to be the most important behaviors associated with efficacious leadership. This is because it gives rise to honesty and transparency between the leader and team members, and the organization as a whole. On the other hand, Interviewee B considers listening skills, integrity, and professional communication to be the most significant behaviors. This is largely for the reason that when personnel are listened to and experience proper communication from their leaders they gain a sense of value of importance. There is also a significance in acknowledging the actions and undertakings of personnel as they feel appreciated and celebrated within the organization.

Failed Incidences and Situations

As outlined by the Hersey-Blanchard's Situational Leadership theory, it is imperative to note that every kind of leadership is dependent upon the specific situation being faced by an individual. Moreover, there is no single leadership style of form that is deemed to be the best (Bass and Stogdill, 1990). Both Interviewee A and Interviewee B have experienced different instances where they did not perform as effectively as expected and as a result may have failed their subordinates and organization as a whole. On one hand, Interviewee A had failed instances owing to fear and lack of confidence. In particular, as a leader in such a circumstance, she lacks self-confidence and therefore fails to communicate to other leaders for distinctive needs and wants, simply because of the fear of getting no response and being turned down. This was also linked to the failure of ensuring that implementations come to an end or completion. There was also the problem of lack of communication to other members of the team and to the organization at large. This is a perceptible instance where such lack of communication and pursuit of assistance can lead to failure. No leader is able to accomplish all tasks at once or is perfect at doing all tasks. External assistance is necessary and more so delegation not only aids in facilitating effective leadership, but also helps in the development of subordinates (Bass and Stogdill, 1990).

Interviewee A outlines that the main reason why she experienced such failures is owing to three key factors including time constraints, economic constraints, lack of morale. Time is one of the constraints faced by organizational leaders. Abiding by a specific schedule is not merely an aspect of making certain that all aspects and undertakings are completed by the set….....

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