Leadership Potential

Leadership

According to Kruse (2013), leadership is a process of social influence, which maximizes the effort of others, towards the achievement of a goal. According to Miller (2014), defining leadership is difficult and there are many terminologies or definitions for it in Google. According to him, defining the actions of leadership is the hardest and most crucial part, which involves inwards thinking of a person’s abilities and tendencies.

Similar definition by Tannenbaum et al (1961), described leadership as an interpersonal influence, exercised in a situation, and directed, through the communication process, toward the attainment of a specified goal or goals. Another definition by Cribbin (1981), defined leadership as an influence process that enables managers to get their people to do willingly what must be done, do well what ought to be done.

Leadership Styles

 

Trait-Based Leadership Perspective

According to the trait based leadership approach leadership is defined based on pure personal perspective, such as personal qualities, characteristics and personalities. In other words, according to this theory leader are born, and the theory focuses on identifying behavioral characteristics which are common in leaders (Educational Business Articles, 2016). Here some of the most common leadership traits identified are,

·         Intelligence and action oriented judgment

·         Eagerness to accept responsibility

·         Task competence

·         People skills

·         Capacity to motivate others

·         Flexibility

·         Creativity

·         A need to accomplish

·         Courage and resolution

·         Assertiveness

·         Trust worthiness

Using this theory corporations or organizations can identify natural leaders at early stages and target them as second layers for development or grooming. Therefore, the management can groom these leaders in a manner which befits the corporate culture and its strategic goals and objectives.

 Transactional and Transformational Leadership

This theory defines leadership by the manner in which leaders get the work done from their employees or followers. According to Ingram (2018), transactional leadership is defined as a style more concerned with maintaining the normal flow of operations. According to this, transactional leaders use disciplinary power and array of incentive to motivate employees to perform their best. In other words, it is a bargain between the leader and the team, where leader motivates subordinates by exchanging rewards for performance. This type of leadership is crucial for companies where strict following or adhering to guidelines is a must.

According to Ingram, transformational leadership on the other hand is defined a style which goes beyond managing day-to-day operations. It involves crafting strategies for taking the company to the next level of performance or success through team-building, motivation and collaboration of employees at different levels of the organizational hierarchy.

  

According to this theory, a leader is identified by his or her behavior and patterns of doing things. In order to better explain this managerial leadership grid can be utilized.

The Blake Mouton managerial grid was developed by Robert Blake and Jane Mouton to describe different styles of leadership based on common behavioral attributes. According to this model there are five distinct leadership styles.

·         Impoverished Management: This refers to managers who are mostly ineffective, with low regards to creating systems that get the job done and with little interest in creating a satisfying or motivating team environment

·         Authoritative-Compliance Management: Managers who believe that their teams are a simple means to an end. The team needs are always secondary to productivity. These managers are basically autocratic with strict work rules, policies and procedures with punishments serving as a main motivation factor for team members.

·         Middle of the Road Management: Managers who are status-quo, and tries to balance the needs of the people with the results of the organization or company. Here only mediocre performance is achieved due to inability to highly motivate team for performance and failing to meet the needs of the people fully.

·         Country-Club Management: Are managers who are accommodating to their team members, always concerning themselves with the members’ wellbeing, needs and feelings. Work environment with this leadership style tends to be relaxed and fun, and is good for inspiring creativity and self-directed teams. But productivity generally suffers due to lack of control and direction.

Team Management: According to this model, team management approach is the most effective approach. This leadership style reflects leader who is passionate about his or her work and does the best he or she can for his or her team. This type of managers, commit to their organizational goals and objectives, motivate the people to work hard and stretch themselves to achieve greater feats of productivity 

References

 ·         Mind Tools, 2018. The Blake Mouton Managerial Grid. [Online] 

Available at: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_73.htm
[Accessed 24 July 2018].

·   Page, M., 2018. Top 11 benefits of networking. [Online]
Available at: https://www.michaelpage.com.au/advice/career-advice/career-progression/benefits-networking
[Accessed 19 April 2019].

·         R. Tannenbaum, I. W. F. M., 1961. Leadership and organization. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Zhu, J., 2019. What is Self-Awareness and Why it is Important?. [Online]
Available at: https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/self-awareness-matters-how-you-can-be-more-self-aware/