Effective Leadership and Decision Making

This assignment delves into the essential characteristics of a good leader, focusing on transformational leadership, emotional intelligence, and decision-making abilities. It also explores the importance of ethical leadership behavior, global leadership skills, and cross-cultural management. The provided text discusses various research papers and articles that support these key qualities, making it an ideal resource for students looking to improve their understanding of effective leadership.

Running head: LEADERSHIP AND DECISION MAKING
Leadership and Decision Making
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Body.................................................................................................................................................3
Leader Background..........................................................................................................................3
Observation and Interview Overview..............................................................................................4
Power and influence........................................................................................................................4
Observation......................................................................................................................................5
Responses to power.........................................................................................................................5
Interview..........................................................................................................................................6
Ethical leadership behavior..............................................................................................................7
Observation and Interview Overview..............................................................................................7
Observation......................................................................................................................................7
Interview..........................................................................................................................................8
Global leadership Skill....................................................................................................................8
Observation......................................................................................................................................8
Interview..........................................................................................................................................9
Recommendation...........................................................................................................................10
Self-reflection................................................................................................................................11
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................12
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References......................................................................................................................................13
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Introduction
A good leader has to have a large number of qualities in order to lead his entire band of
followers along with him. However, there is a fine line of distinction between a leader and a
manner. A manager can manage all the activities but a leader is someone who will not only be
managing but will be leading the followers. The followers will always look upon their leaders
before each and every step. In the modern day business scenario, a large emphasis is being given
to the cross-cultural leadership as well. This is because the employees are coming from so many
different backgrounds and ethnic classes (Oreg and Berson 2015). So, it is for this reason that the
leaders need to make sure that the sentiments and the emotions of all the employees are being
taken care of. An ideal leader has to make sure that there is no disparity being made in between
his followers and he will have to ensure that all the followers are working together as a team for
the overall production of the organization (Mo and Shi 2017).
Body
Leader Background
I have been working with a leader whom I look upon as my role model. My chosen leader
is the CEO of Matrox a well known Indonesia based retail company. It is the owner of several
other brands like the Paul n Frank, Sperry and Rimowa, Wakai and several other such brands. I
have an immense admiration for her because of many and varied reasons. Firstly, she is really
very hard working. She has achieved many different positions in her entire job like that of a
director, assistant director and also a restaurant owner. She has about 50 employees working
under her as per her current job role and she also makes sure that she is putting forward her
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100% effort. She looks after the interest of all the employees who are under her so that she can
ensure that all of them are working together as a team.
Observation and Interview Overview
Power and influence
As per my perceptions, she is really a very powerful follower. She makes sure that she is
able to exert her power in the right way possible so that she can bring about a change in the
employees and can strive towards the common goal of an overall improvement for the company.
However, there are also several variations in this power as well. As per as her personal power is
concerned, she is an expert in her area of expertise. She has brilliant skill about the task related
issues of the employees. However, in order to be an ideal leader, she must try inculcating with
her the referent power as well (Ojo, Ree and Carretta 2016). She must be able to develop some
kinds of developments or changes within her character that will help her to attract the attention of
the employees and will make them respect her. This respect will be based on the characteristics
of the leader and not merely on the professional position or the task knowledge that she
possesses (Ghasabeh et al. 2015).
Observation
Responses to power
One important thing that I have observed about her is that she is very strict and believes
that compliance is perhaps the best method by which she can get the works done by her
employees. Whenever there is an urgent situation or an urgent need in the business she makes
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sure that she is able to somehow get the task done by her subordinates, she often does not like to
go into any second round discussions with the employees. She considers her own decision to be
final.
She also narrates a story that once she was in charge of a very important business
project and the entire team was really under a huge pressure for that. As a leader, she always
tried her level best to make sure that all her followers or the employees are working properly.
During that time her major concern was to somehow get the business deal. She was mainly
focusing on the quantity and the quality of products that were being put forward by the
employees. She really worked hard and made sure that there is no error or any drawbacks present
on the part of any of her employees. It so happened during the ongoing preparation of that
business deal that one of her employees wanted a short leave for at least 2 days as he was unable
to bear the long official pressure and was often suffering from mental breakdowns. So, he had
applied for a leave stating this reason of his health issue. After seeing this leave request, she was
really quite angered and she rejected the leave request for that employee. She not only rejected
the leave but also said that it is his work obligation that he will have to deal with this work
pressure and give his best rather than asking for leaves. She believed that being a leader she has
to act as per the situation and get the work done by any means possible even if her way is not
well accepted by the employees. However, this proves that though she worked as per the rules of
situational leadership but she could also behave in a different way and take a different decision.
She got the work done by the employee with force. Though she could get the job done which at
that time was the business requirement she lost the respect or the commitment that this employee
earlier had for her. She could have opted for other options as well. Instead of behaving roughly
with the employee she could have behaved with him empathetically, try to know what issues is
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he exactly facing and then taken a decision. She could also have granted him the leave by placing
another employee at his place temporarily as a backup. Though apparently, she got the work
done by displaying the powerful and the authoritative nature within her at the same time, she lost
the good relationship and the rapport that she actually should have built up with the employee.
Else she could have supported the employee morally and get the work done by him (Klein 2014).
Interview
So, after narrating this incident she said that she could pinpoint this drawback of hers’
that she as a leader must be more patient and more empathetic towards her followers. She must
not make the unnecessary usage of her power. She must also never take undue advantage of her
position to dominate her followers or her employees. She also lacks the ability of crisis
leadership. This is evident of the fact that she needs to inculcate the charismatic leadership
qualities within her so that she can support her employees during distress. Though she gets the
work done by compliance often there is also a resistance that is created among the employees
because of her strange behavior. So, she said that she must try to change her attitude and built the
feeling of commitment among the employees. As per the discussion that I had with her, she
seemed to have recognized all the loopholes that are present within her as a leader. Though she is
able to manage her responsibilities she needs to work on herself a great deal for becoming an
ideal leader in the future.
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Ethical leadership behavior
Observation and Interview Overview
Leadership is largely associated with that of business ethics. A true leader is one who will
always be concerned about the ethics and will value the ethical considerations as well.
Whenever any business decision is being taken, the leader has to constantly check his own
decisions and ask him constantly is the decision taken by him is correct. Is this right for all the
employees? Will it hurt the emotions and the sentiments of any of the employee? A leader will
have to constantly question his or her decision and intuition as well (Gower 2017).
Observation
I have observed this that my role model is very much concerned about the ethical
considerations of the business that she is undertaking. She never thinks about her own personal
benefits. She makes sure that whenever there is any profit for the business; it gets evenly
distributed among all the employees. Another very important trait that I have observed about her
is that she is brutally honest in all the business affairs that she undertakes. She never overlooks
the interest of any of her employees or her followers for the purpose of fulfilling her own money
or any other interest. She is also very much open to promoting the social responsibilities. She
makes sure that her business organizations are also extending their services to the society, even
beyond their clients.
Interview
On interviewing the leader, she agreed with my observation that she pays due importance
on the ethical considerations of her companies as well. She makes sure that every year; a certain
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portion of the profit made by her restaurant venture is going to the charity funds for helping the
orphans. On the other hand, she also takes care of the internal ethics of her organizations. She
makes sure that some extra benefits are given to the disabled employees along with their salaries
and their incentives.
Global leadership Skill
One of the most important skills that have to be present in an ideal leader is that he or she
must be open to the large diversity in culture. In the modern times, the workforce is becoming
highly diverse and is including people coming from all the ethnic races and from many different
linguistic, cultural and socio-economic backgrounds as well. So, it is the duty of the leaders to
make sure that there is no discrimination being done among the workers on the basis of their skin
color, their language, their religion, their social belief and many other such differences. A leader
must be able to treat all the employees equally and also motivate them (Osland, Mendenhall and
Li 2017).
Observation
I have observed this that my chosen leader that she exhibits some qualities of an ideal
global leader whereas lacks the others. She does not follow any kind of favoritism or any kind of
biases while recruiting people from different religious or ethnic backgrounds. She is flexible in
setting the recruitment policies of the organization in such a way that they can open a good
platform for all the people to come and work together. However, the qualities that she highly
lacks is being patient, having the willingness to learn the local customs and the native language
of the people that her companies are recruiting from the cross-cultural boundaries (Muenjohn
and Armstrong 2015).
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Interview
She has accepted that being very authoritarian and egoistic in nature she is often never
able to go out from her own familiar boundaries. This is more because right from her childhood
she has been brought up in a very strict conservative environment. She has often seen racial
discriminations being done among people in her neighborhood however not that she is in favor
of these racial disparities but she is very reluctant in learning the language of any other
communities rather than her own. She is also aware of the fact that she is not having a good
command over her second language. This also hinders her from speaking fluently in some of the
cross-cultural business meetings. She also shares that being a leader or a business entrepreneur
she often has to travel in several countries where she needs to speak in many other tongues apart
from her own native tongue. This not only becomes a problem in addressing those audiences on
the business meeting but also it hinders her abilities as a leader to motivate and look after the
needs of many of her employees who belong from some other linguistic and socio-cultural
backgrounds. Though she promises at the beginning of every business year that she will be
conducting the programs like the diversity training and the cross-cultural training sessions but
she often forgets them or becomes reluctant about them but the mid of the year. Particularly
because she somehow gets more involved in the other business issues and neglects these issues.
So, I have got this observation that she is having the CQ or the cognitive (head) as she is good
in maintaining all the business meetings and completing all the scheduled works within the given
deadlines. However, she lacks in the physical CQ (Body), as she is reluctant and ignorant
towards understanding the local customs and the conventions of the employees that she is hiring
from some different ethnic backgrounds. She also lacks the Emotional or the motivational CQ
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(Heart) because she lacks the willingness or the desire to understand different cultures (Mujkić
et al. 2014).
Recommendation
The transformational leadership says that the leaders must strive in bringing a change in
the employees. A leader must create a particular vision and lead all the followers towards the
same. As an ideal leader, she tries her level best to get 100% efficiency from her employees but
she is very autocratic in nature. She has to give up this autocratic nature and trust the employees
as well. It basically talks about shifting the focus from oneself towards the group or from the
personal interest towards the collective interest. However, she should start following this
principle only after she has built within her the
Thus, after conducting this session I have learned that there are several complications that
one has to face during his or her terms of leadership. As per my perceptions I have seen that the
leader is honest and goal oriented. She strives to make sure that all the goals and objectives of
the company are being met with. This is indeed an essential quality of a leader to make sure that
all the employees are giving their best and are helping in achieving the goals and objectives of
the company. However, she is an autocrat and does not really count on the decision of the
employees. She is mostly governed by her own decisions. She supports all the employees with
the professional support that they need but she often fails to support them emotionally. She is
concerned about the company’s profit but she must try and be more empathetic to the employees.
She also needs to build the charismatic qualities of leadership within herself. I would also
recommend that she must include more employees in the decision-making process. She must be
more friendly and understanding towards the employees so that the employees develop a
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commitment towards her advice and directions rather than a resistance or a compliance. She
must also develop within herself the willingness to learn other languages particularly the
languages of the employees recruited from the cross cultural boundaries. She needs to nurture
her social and corporate responsibility to give it a further boost in the upcoming days. She is
already taking up the ethical consideration and the CSR side by side, so she must carry on doing
the same. As a global leader, she must make sure that she is being able to embrace employees
equally. Equality is one of the most important things that she must promote in her organization.
In order to do so, she has to develop the willingness to learn the local customs, the language of
the employees coming from different cultural backgrounds.
Self-reflection
I have found that in order to be an able and a successful leader; I must know how to shift
my concern from myself to the collective interest of all the employees or the followers. I have to
know that being a transformational leader is not sufficient in itself. I can bring a change in the
organization only if I bring a change within myself. I must always practice what I intend to
preach. I will have to inculcate within myself the aspects of charismatic leadership. I will have to
be empathetic towards the employees and will make sure that I can provide the employees moral
support when they are in distress. One of the most important thing that I must follow as a leader
is keeping a strong self-confidence and an optimistic attitude. I must be able to accept my
drawbacks freely and work upon them. Being a charismatic leader will also be very helpful for
my career. I must be able to stand by the side of the employees when they are in need. Another
important thing that I must inculcate within myself is that I must try and boost up my self-
confidence. This is indeed very essential for creating a proper leadership skill. If I am not
confident enough then I will never be able to take up the responsibility of my subordinates or my
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followers. As a leader I will have to look at the needs and demands of all the subordinates I will
also have to take part in many meetings where I need to address a large number of people. So, if
I am not sure enough about myself during such situations then it will be really tough for me to
cope up. I will also work on my language skills. I will try to work on learning of the different
languages so that I can speak with all the employees, including them who are recruited from the
different ethnic classes and backgrounds. I will make sure to listen to and solve all the problems
of my followers at every instance. I will guide them through every single step and will help them
not only with the professional support but with the moral support as well. I will always make
sure that there is an equality that is being maintained throughout the organization. I will make
sure that the sentiments of the employees are not being hurt. I will always try to create a clear
understanding between me and all the employees or the followers.
Conclusion
Thus, it can be concluded that a leader needs to have very good adapting and adjusting
skill for the purpose of being successful. He needs to look after the needs and demands of all the
employees. He must inculcate the feeling of empathy within himself. An ideal leader is who
practices what he preaches. He must always make sure that he is being able to support his
followers during their distress.
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References
Ghasabeh, M.S., Soosay, C. and Reaiche, C., 2015. The emerging role of transformational
leadership. The Journal of Developing Areas, 49(6), pp.459-467.
Gower, K.K., 2017. Legal and ethical considerations for public relations. Waveland Press.
Klein, E., 2014. Desired leadership styles in classroom and court: Comparing ideal coaching
and teaching styles of collegiate student-athletes. West Virginia University.
Mendenhall, M.E., Osland, J., Bird, A., Oddou, G.R., Stevens, M.J., Maznevski, M.L. and Stahl,
G.K. eds., 2017. Global leadership: Research, practice, and development. Routledge.
Menges, J.I., Kilduff, M., Kern, S. and Bruch, H., 2015. The awestruck effect: Followers
suppress emotion expression in response to charismatic but not individually considerate
leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 26(4), pp.626-640.
Mo, S. and Shi, J., 2017. Linking ethical leadership to employee burnout, workplace deviance
and performance: Testing the mediating roles of trust in leader and surface acting. Journal of
Business Ethics, 144(2), pp.293-303.
Muenjohn, N. and Armstrong, A., 2015. Transformational leadership: The influence of culture
on the leadership behaviours of expatriate managers. international Journal of Business and
information, 2(2).
Mujkić, A., Šehić, D., Rahimić, Z. and Jusić, J., 2014. Transformational leadership and
employee satisfaction. Ekonomski vjesnik: Review of Contemporary Entrepreneurship, Business,
and Economic Issues, 27(2), pp.259-270.
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Ojo, A., Ree, M.J. and Carretta, T.R., 2016. Leadership Style and Leader Power. Leadership &
Organizational Management Journal, 2016(1).
Oreg, S. and Berson, Y., 2015. Personality and charismatic leadership in context: The
moderating role of situational stress. Personnel Psychology, 68(1), pp.49-77.
Osland, J.S., Mendenhall, M.E. and Li, M. eds., 2017. Advances in global leadership. Emerald
Group Publishing.
Zhu, W., Treviño, L.K. and Zheng, X., 2016. Ethical leaders and their followers: The
transmission of moral identity and moral attentiveness. Business Ethics Quarterly, 26(1), pp.95-
115.
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Appendix (Interview Questions)
Good and Effective leader
As a young and strict leader do you ever become impatient and have fluctuations in your
behavior? Pease explain how would you manage them and what measures will you take?
Power and Influence
How would you utilize your power and your position to manage your employees?
Ethical Leadership Behavior
As a leader and a company owner, you have so many responsibilities and so many important
decisions to make. How do you manage business ethics at the same time? How do you look after
the welfare of the employees? Is CSR important according to your take on ethical business
considerations?
Global Leadership skill
What do you think must be your take on cross cultural recruitment in your company? How would
you initiate equality among all the employees who are being recruited from other cultural
backgrounds? What do you think are the loopholes in your own personality that you must work
on in order to support the employees from other ethnic backgrounds?
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