Leadership and Governance

This article discusses the importance of good leadership and governance in public and civic organizations. It explores different leadership theories, such as the great man theory and trait theory, and explains the stages of team development. The article also delves into ethical theories and the significance of diversity in the workplace. Lastly, it touches on the importance of change in leadership and highlights the leadership qualities of Robert Hawke, a former Australian prime minister.

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Leadership and governance
Name
Institution

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Leadership and governance
Introduction
Without good leadership and governance at all levels in public and civic organizations, it
is impossible to achieve goals, provide first-rate services and sustain effective leadership
(Aleksandar, 2017). In his leadership, Robert Hawke showed a lot of compassion and this made
him be one of the most creative and innovative leaders in Australia (Melissa, 2010). Robert
Hawke was a former Australian politician who served as 23rd prime minister and a leader of the
labor party from 1983-1991. Hawke was born in 1929 in South Australia but later moved to
Western Australia. According to Ken (2014), He is the only person who served the longest time
as labor party prime minister in Australia.
Literature Review
Leadership theories are studies which try to explain why certain people are chosen
leaders (Aleksandar, 2017). In most cases, people tend to think that leadership skills are not
acquired rather inborn. A leader is important for the success of every team. These leadership
theories emerged so that they can give answers to question like what makes leaders who they are
and what makes some people to be selected leaders while others followers (Williams &
Muenich, 2013). In this case, there are a number of theories which gives answers to these
questions.
One of these theories is the great man theory. This theory states that leaders are born with
the right skills and abilities for leading like good communication and social skills, intelligent and
confidence (Busse, 2014). The theory, therefore, suggests that leaders are born but not made.

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This theory has sense in it because most leaders lack the traits and behaviours of a good leader
whereas some non-leaders have them.
Great man theory is similar to trait theory. Trait theory tries to look at the characteristics
of both successful and unsuccessful leaders (Hamid, 2015). It is therefore used to foretell
effective leadership in a particular leader. If the characteristics or traits of a certain person does
not match those of a potential leader, it means that he or she cannot have effective leadership and
vice versa. The researchers of this theory identified leadership characteristics from various
backgrounds (Busse, 2014). These include physiological traits like height, weight and
appearance, demographic attributes like family background, age and intelligence.
Another theory that explains why some people are chosen leaders is a behavioural theory.
This theory focuses on particular behaviours and actions of a leader rather than his or her
attributes/characteristics (Aleksandar, 2017). The theory suggests that a person needs technical,
human and conceptual skills to lead others. Technical skills include leaders understanding of the
process or technique, human skills are the ability to interact well with others while conceptual
skills enable a leader to come up with ideas for running the organization smoothly.
Teamwork plays an important role in the success of a business. It means a group of
people working together to achieve a common goal with each member positively contributing to
it (Chao-chien, 2010). According to Joy & Tanya (2013), Bruce Tuckman came up with four
team stage models which have been applied in various organizations since 1965. These four
stages occur in a team development hence performance. The first phase in team development is
formation. In this stage, members of the group try to work where they fit (Semiral & Zehra,
2013). This includes being in a group of people where one would like to be. In this stage,
members try to figure out who their members are and their areas of specialization. This is the

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stage where the manager gives direction to the team, clearly define the objectives of the project
and makes sure that every member understands their roles and responsibilities for the success of
the team.
The second phase of teamwork development is the storming stage. This is the most
challenging stage for the team because it is characterized by conflicts since every member want
to position themselves as a leader (Melinde, 2018). As a project manager, one should understand
that these things are common in teamwork and apply necessary measures for the success of the
business. In this case, some skills which would help the project manager build his or her team are
relationship building, conflict management and active listening. It is advisable for the project
manager to always remain firm even if some of the group members are challenging his or her
leadership.
As the conflicts tend to become less and members start to understand each other, the
group will have moved to the third phase which is the norming stage. In this stage, group
members try to come together and start focusing on the objectives of the project (Chao-chien,
2010). The project manager should focus on ensuring that every member is moving in the right
direction. Communicating well with the members and giving them feedback on what they ask
can help in achieving all this. Also, the project manager can organize social activities for their
group like team building to ensure there is a strong relationship between the members.
Performing is the last phase in team development. In this stage, people are willing to
work with each other and the group norms have been recognized (Melinde, 2018). Also, personal
conflicts have been solved and everyone is focusing on the achievement of the objectives hence
high performance. Since everyone is focusing on the goals of the team, project managers start

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focusing on leadership rather than supervisory activities. As Tuckman suggest, any team aspiring
to achieve its goals should apply these four phases in order to be successful.
Ethics is a set of moral rules governing how business should operate, how they make
their decisions and ways in which employees should conduct themselves within the business
environment. It also shows some of the behaviours which are not accepted within the workplace.
Ethical theories explain how people in organizations translate from their normal way of
behaviours into rules governing their behaviour (Shirley, 2013). In this case, there are three
theories which explain the reason behind this.
One of these theories is the utilitarian theory. This theory brings out the concept of the
greatest good for the greatest number (Jason, 2013). In coming up with organizational ethics,
managers should ensure that they do not affect employees negatively. They should come up with
rules which are good for all employee and before suggesting any, it’s advisable to look at the
possible outcomes. This would help in creating a good relationship between employees and the
managers hence achievement of the organizational goals.
Deontological is also another ethical theory which explains how people shift from their
normal behaviours and behave according to the company’s rules. This theory brings the idea that
employees should be treated with dignity and respect (Shirley, 2013). This way would make
them behave well and do what is expected because they are not taken for granted. Also, by
identifying one’s duties and taking actions accordingly helps to stop blames on employees for
mistakes they have not done. This helps in improving employee’s motivation at work.
Lastly, there is virtue theory which states that it’s good for managers to consider what
virtues makes a good work relationship (Jason, 2013). This includes defining roles and

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responsibilities for every employee to avoid blame games at work. They should also engage
employees in their decision making because some of them are creative and innovative and could
help in coming up with better solutions.
Diversity is empowering of the employees and helps for the effectiveness of the
organizations by putting together their strengths (Mai, 2015). Leaders should embrace diverse
workplace by creating values of the employees. An organization without a diverse top
management team cannot employ the same to the employees. Theories of diversity developed in
the 1980s with the aim of increasing diversity within the future workplace. Most of these theories
are better than others but understanding their weaknesses, strengths and application can lead to a
better performance in the business.
For example, people in India work together with those in Chicago and this offers great
performance in their businesses (Roshni, 2017). Also, China has joined with London in doing
most of their businesses. They believe that diversity of perspective can result in rebranding your
business, creativity and innovation. However, there are organizations which do not believe in the
diversity of perspective. They believe that employees from different backgrounds can offer
certain things in their business and feel that people enjoy working with those who resemble
them. For example, most corporates in America are operated by white males and do not employ
people from different backgrounds.
Diversity should be viewed as a way of increasing organizations productivity (Mai,
2015). People from various ethnicities come up with different ideas which can help the
organization in many ways. Diversity is important and it should be employed at all levels of the
organization.

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Change in leadership is the ability to influence others through vision and drive and to
access resources and build a solid platform for change. Theories of change try to describe and
illustrate how and why a change is essential for effective leadership (Elisa, 2018). One of the
theories that explain why change is important in an organization is DFID evaluation department
theory change. This theory states that everything which is being implemented for the better
performance of the organization should be in line with the context. Before implementing any
change, managers should look at the objectives and goals of the organization to know if the
change will bring any improvement.
Critical study
In his leadership, Hawke portrayed all the traits and behaviours of a true leader. This is
one of the reasons why he served the longest term as a labour party prime minister. He was able
to lead people and showed good communication skills while working with people. During the
year 1979, Hawke was awarded the companion of the order of Australia (Melissa, 2010). He was
a very compassionate leader and related well with the people despite their ranks.
Also, Hawke believed in the power of teamwork as a tool for achieving organizational
goals. During his term as prime minister, he organized people in the office and ensured that
everyone understood their roles (Robert, 2011). He encouraged people to always work as a team
because it will help them improve their skills. He also grouped his people according to their
capabilities and ensured that each group worked towards the achievement of the ministry goals.
In trying to come up with the code of ethics of the office, Hawke ensured that they do not
affect the organizational goals. He also ensured that what was laid done was for the benefit of the

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ministry but not in favour of the leaders. This made him be given a lifetime membership of the
Australian labour party in the year 2009 (Ken, 2014).
Moreover, during his time as a prime minister for the labour party, Hawke ensured that
people who work in the same office came from different backgrounds (Melissa, 2010). He
argued that employing different people would bring ideas from various backgrounds and this
would make people be more creative and innovative. He ensured that diversity has been
employed at all levels. He also believed in the power of change and would drive all the
employees in adapting to it. He argued that change is important for it helps in coming up with
new ideas of doing things which would be more comfortable to the people you are serving.
Conclusion
A leader is a person who influences others towards the achievement of organizational
goals. Various studies show that leaders are born but not made. For someone to become a leader,
he or she should have human, conceptual and technical skills. During his time, Hawke portrayed
characteristics of a good leader and this made him achieve many awards including being given a
lifetime membership of the Australian labour party. One of his weakness was that he did not
engage his subordinates in decision making. Hawke should have included other employees in the
decision making because some are creative and would have made his leadership even better.

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