Exploring Strategies for Developing Essential Skills

This report highlights the importance of developing leadership and management skills for achieving organizational objectives. It suggests that attending training programs, reading books and articles, and attending conferences and seminars can be effective approaches to improve leadership and management skills. However, the report also emphasizes the need to manage resistance to change by understanding its true nature, which is often created due to certain blind spots and attitudes. Furthermore, it highlights the importance of getting employees involved in making changes and encourages personal development for further growth.

LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................1
Leadership style of Olaf Swantee...............................................................................................1
Change models used in the takeover..........................................................................................3
Managing resistance to change...................................................................................................4
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................6
References..................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Leadership is considered as a central role which drives organization towards its
objectives. In the given case study of Olaf Swantee, chief executive of EE, leader has to
apply principles of leadership which will help the business to extend its growth in making it
successful. On the other hand, management deals in achieving goals and objectives in an
efficient and effective manner (Bassi, Ranzani and Torres, 2013). Leadership helps the
management to create a vision for future. The company undertaken in this report is EE which
is the British Telecom service company and is considered as one of the largest telecom
company in the world.
This Organization consists of wide-range of services with excellent quality and brand
image. EE has expanded its business around UK with Integration of Orange and T-Mobile
which has been a major task and it is currently having approx 6350 stores and more than
thousands of employees working in the company. This present report is based on analyzing
the impact of organizational objective on leadership style and management role. Further, it
evaluates the change model and management skills and manages resistance to change the
development which is required in achieving organizational objectives.
LEADERSHIP STYLE OF OLAF SWANTEE
The objectives, value and culture that is being followed by the firm causes necessary
impact upon the leadership and management. This is because, on the basis of given aspect
only the manager of EE has to carry out significant changes in its way of managing and
dealing with the people. In this context, from the analysis it has been identified that, EE has
the major objective to provide best and high quality of services to the buyers. The given
objective of firm can be met if manager manages and leads its employees in an effective way
(Landsberg, 2015). Thus, with an aim to carry out best from the employees’ manager of EE
have to use participative leadership style in which all the employees take part in decision
making process. This motivates the workers as they feel they are part of great family. In
addition to this, by using the given styles only opinions of the EE employees can be gathered
regarding the skill which they want to improve (Fisher and Briel, 2012). Thus, by taking the
appropriate action against the communicated skill the cited objective of firm can be met.
The different types of leadership are as follows:
1. Autocratic Leadership – in this leadership style magnitude is connected with control
and individual's representation of how much control individual should give to others.
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For instance, the laissez faire style connotes low-level control, the autocratic style
needs high control while the participative one lies somewhere in between.
2. Bureaucratic Leadership- An autocrat do not need a bureaucracy, but the dictator and
the bureaucracy are two side of the same coin. Here the reason being the compliance
to authority. Moreover, individual can make a disputation that in sizable groups such
as the multinational corporations and system agencies potency is the ordinary kind of
influence utilized (Lussier and Achua, 2015).
3. Laissez Faire Leadership- In this style of leadership minimize the amount of direction
and face time required. This style means “hands off” view which can be employed
well if the leader have extremely trained, highly impelled direct reports.
4. Situational Leadership - The importance of this leadership style cannot be
overestimated since leaders tend to have a dominant style. A leadership style they use
in a wide variety of situations. Leaders must adjust their leadership style to the
situation as well as to the employee.
For the purpose of achieving organizational objectives of EE, Olaf Swante adopts
bureaucratic style of leadership particularly.
Bureaucratic Style- Under this, leaders will make clear and intelligible policies for
their employees in order to follow procedures precisely. It is also beneficial for manpower
that performs routine tasks. It is based on fixed duties under a hierarchy of authority which
based on applying rules for management and decision making. Administrative and
management tasks are drop down into few hands who will lead to authority, responsibility
and accountability
EE must implement a bureaucratic style to achieve business goals as this style
understands business objectives, values, culture and also employee’s requirement as they can
achieve self objectives. To analyze democratic leadership styles it is essential for the Olaf
Swante to focus on team work activities and should welcome the decisions of team members
so that most effective decisions can be made (Moran, Abramson and Moran, 2014). Further,
he need to calculate how many products have been sold within a given time period. Manager
can also refer to case studies based on democratic leadership styles to improve its efficiency.
Further leader can implement these case studies and see the response and changes visible in
EE members.
Furthermore, EE gives values to the given aspect such as treating people how they
like to be treated by others. The given value of the firm forces the manager to carry out
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significant improvement in the interpersonal styles. It is due to the fact that, with the help of
this style, needs and demands as being communicated by the customers can be effectively
met. Likewise, type of culture followed by the firm also causes necessary impact upon the
leadership and management role. For example, EE compliance with the person culture forces
the manager or leader to use more supportive approach while dealing with employees.
Moreover, if EE comply with the task culture at that time, manager has to play the role of
director (Landsberg, 2015). This is because, it is the type of culture in which employees has
the major goal to accomplish the task which is being assigned to them. In order to perform
the same, they would require guidance and support from the manager in the given case.
CHANGE MODELS USED IN THE TAKEOVER
According to 7s model McKinsey showed that the change can be done for good. During
takeover of EE Company the 7S helps the company and employees to adopt change. They are
as follows:
 Strategy - in these steps the organization feels the change and so for that the company
makes strategy to adopt the change. In the given case study EE’s takeover by BT to
raise the market share. If many people start talking about the strategy those changes
EE proposes. This in turn helps the manager to know how the employees are adopting
the change.
 Structure- the change in structure can bring profits to the organization. According to
the structure the changes can be adopted easily. In the given case study the EE
company is been taken over by BT company so it brings change in structure.
 Systems- Olaf Swante convinces people that change is necessary. This often takes
strong leadership and visible support from key people within the organization
according to the system.
 Shared Values- A clear vision can help every employee to understand why he is
asking them to do something. When EE's employees see for themselves what Olaf
Swante trying to achieve, then the employee understand why he need this change as in
case study. These are the shared values that are been shared between the manager and
employees.
 Skills- Olaf Swante not only called the special meetings to communicate the
employees’ vision. These are the skills used by Olaf Swante to motivate employees.
He talks about it every chance he got. He used his vision like a great corporate leader
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to make decisions and solve problems. He keeps it fresh on employees’ minds; they
remember it and respond to it.
 Style- Olaf Swante uses different styles so to motivate employees to walk towards the
change. Regarding this case where takeover of BT made good revenue for the
employees and the staff got busy and achieved the benefits that they have been
promoting. So Olaf Swante can use this powerful style to show employees why the
change is for good.
 Staff- Olaf Swante created short-term targets like making change in the departments
and interchangeable positions of the staff not just one long-term goal. He wants each
smaller target to be achievable, with little room for failure. So he can try to motivate
employees and can make them coordinated so to work accordingly.
Finally, the McKinsey 7-S model is one that can be applied to almost any organizational
or team effectiveness issue. If something within the organization or team isn't working,
chances are there is inconsistency between some of the elements identified by this classic
model. Once these inconsistencies are revealed, the company can work to align the internal
elements to make sure they are all contributing to the shared goals and values. This in turn
helps the company to walk toward the change (Fullan, 2014).
MANAGING RESISTANCE TO CHANGE
What is resistance to change?
Resistance to change means the employees do not want to change the environment or
the situation in which they are. This means if the leader make employees comfortable and if
they are working in the same environment for longer period of time then they prevent
changes in their living. Managing resistance to change is challenging. Resistance to change
can be covert or overt, organized or individual. Employees realize that they do not the change
and resist publicly and verbally (Landsberg, 2015). Still, resistance to change happens, it
threatens the success of individual venture. Resistance impacts the speed at which an
innovation is adopted. It affects the feelings and suppositions of employees at different stages
of the adoption process. Or, they can just feel uncomfortable and resist, sometimes
unknowingly, through the actions they take, the words they use to describe the change, and
the stories and conversations they share in the workplace.
How to manage resistance to change?
In the case given where EE Company is taken over by BT Company and so Olaf
Swante plan and manages to resistance to change. It has been elaborated below:
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 To prepare the skill chart: To manage resistance to change the manager can prepare
personal skill development chart. This chart will give detailed description regarding
the area in which they are lacking. In addition to this, it is with the help of given chart
only, they can assess and target the particular management and leadership skill. For
example, on the basis of analysis they have assessed that, they do not possess good
communication skill. In this regard, it is analyzed that, the communication is very
broad concept as it have several types such as verbal and non verbal etc. Thus, with
the help of skill chart, they can target the specific type of communication skill which
requires improvement. Attending the training programs: It is another method which they can employ with an
aim to carry out significant development in the assessed leadership and management
skill. In accordance with the given context, they can select and join those training
programs which are being organized by the government of country. Thus, through this
way only they can improve varied type of skills (Snyder, 2014). Reading books and articles: they can have the opportunity to read the books and
articles which are being written by famous authors. For instance, if they want to
improve ways of negotiating with the people. Thus, in order to improve the same,
they can read the book related to the negotiation. By performing the given type of
activity, they can deliver my best services to the firm like EE. This will result in
increased profits and sales in an effective way (Moran, Abramson and Moran, 2014).
 Attending conferences and seminars: Finally, they can have the chance to attain the
conference and seminar which is being organized by the company. Overall, it can be
said that, with the help of all these given approaches they can perform necessary
improvements in the assessed ineffective skills.
 To manage the change too often when executives encounter resistance to change, they
“explain” it by quoting the cliche that “people resist change” and never look further.
Yet changes must continually occur in industry.
 To manage the change employees must be multitasking.
 They must be comfortable in role change (Lussier and Achua, 2015).
 No one of these changes makes the headlines, but in total they account for much of
our increase in productivity. They are not the spectacular once-in-a-lifetime
technological revolutions that involve mass layoffs or the obsolescence of traditional
skills, but they are vital to business progress (Bassi, Ranzani and Torres, 2013).
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 The key to the problem is to understand the true nature of resistance. Actually, what
employees resist is usually not technical change but social change—the change in
their human relationships that generally accompanies technical change.
 Resistance is usually created because of certain blind spots and attitudes which staff
specialists have as a result of their preoccupation with the technical aspects of new
ideas.
 A result which has become increasingly popular for dealing with resistance to change
is to get the people involved to participate in making the change. But as a practical
matter participation as a device is not a good way for management to think about the
problem. In fact, it may lead to trouble (Fullan, 2014).
CONCLUSION
From the above report it has been concluded that, leadership styles have been studied
to reach and attain organizational objectives. By evaluating various leadership styles in
improving the performance of employees, it is stated that, democratic style is the most
suitable for telecom organization EE. Further, this report assesses personal development in
achieving EE objective. To develop leadership and management skills by using democratic
leadership styles. Lastly, change model has been reviewed with original objective of EE and
managing resistance to change for further development by using given case study.
REFERENCES
Books and Journal
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Based Guidelines in Intensive Care Medicine: Resistance to Change is Human Nature*.
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Fisher, S. D. and Briel, R., 2012. A case study to describe and evaluate the experiences of a
final year medical student undertaking an eight-week management and leadership
placement. The International Journal of Clinical Leadership. 17(3). pp. 155-158.
Fullan, M., 2014. Leading in a culture of change personal action guide and workbook. John
Wiley & Sons.
Goetsch, D. L. and Davis, S. B., 2014. Quality management for organizational excellence.
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Hu, Q. and et.al., 2012. Managing Employee Compliance with Information Security Policies:
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Landsberg, M., 2015. The tao of coaching: Boost your effectiveness at work by inspiring and
developing those around you. Profile Books.
Lussier, R. and Achua, C., 2015. Leadership: Theory, application, & skill development.
Cengage Learning.
Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R. and Moran, S. V., 2014. Managing cultural differences.
Routledge.
Murtagh, N., Gatersleben, B. and Uzzell, D., 2012. Self-identity threat and resistance to
change: Evidence from regular travel behaviour. Journal of Environmental Psychology.
32(4). pp.318-326.
Robbins, S. and et.al., 2013. Organisational behaviour. Pearson Higher Education AU.
Snyder, R.R., 2014. Resistance to change among veteran teachers: Providing voice for more
effective engagement.
Townsend‐White, C., Pham, A. N. T. and Vassos, M. V., 2012. Review: A systematic review
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