Leadership Styles and Organisational Performance

This report analyzes the impact of leadership styles on organisational performance and employee motivation. It discusses different leadership styles and their effects on the work culture within an organisation. The report also highlights the importance of effective leadership in motivating employees and driving organisational performance.

MGMT803 Organisational Behaviour and Management
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1 Introduction
Leadership is considered as one of the most vital factors that contributes to the well-being of
an organisation. It is the efficacy of the leader that determines the achievement of the strategic goals
of a company and motivation that is instated in an organisation. However, the inability of the leader
hinders the performance of organisation. It has been found that the nature of leadership determines
the overall organisational performance and determines the level of motivation within the latter. The
report will analyse literary works regarding that have similar themes and critically evaluate the
viability of the same in modern managerial context.
2 Overview of Leadership style and organisational performance
2.1 Styles of leadership and gaps in leadership
The main aim of the articles was to discuss the style of leadership that exists. The aim of the
article by Anderson and Sun (2017) was to critically evaluate the styles of leadership that exists and
the impact of the same on the work culture that exists within an organisation. It has been highlighted
in the article, that the culture within an organisation and the performance of the organisation as a
whole varies and it depends on the style of leadership that exists in the framework of the
organisation that determines the same. In the article, ‘Impact of dysfunctional leadership, the author,
Savas (2019) argued that literary articles often emphasise more on the leadership styles that are
functional in nature and neglect the dysfunctional styles of leadership. The former stated that the
impact of the dysfunctional leadership shapes the way the organisations behaves which ultimately
determines the efficiency of the organisational performance. Anderson and Sun (2017) stated that
leadership styles that are focussed on are general leadership styles such as transformational or
transactional leadership. The authors stated that the leaderships styles can be broken down into
many more categories and are named after their functionality. The leadership styles that have been
mentioned by the authors are ideological, pragmatic, authentic, ethical, spiritual, distributed and
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integrative public, and servant leadership. It has been stated that these leadership styles can be used
to gain a broader image of the leadership and its effects on the functionality of an organisation. On
the other hand, Savas (2019) stressed on the negative styles of leadership such as Authoritarian,
narcissistic, Machiavellian, unpredictive and abusive leadership and stated that they are
dysfunctional styles of leadership. It was also stated by the author that the leadership styles should
not be tolerated as they are responsible for hindrances in functionality in an organisation.
2.2 The impact of leadership style on employee motivation
Naile, I. and Selesho, J.M., 2014. The role of leadership in employee
motivation. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 5(3), p.175.
The above article highlights the role that the style of leadership plays in motivation of
employees. Thirteen schools participated in the study and over one hundred and eighty teaching staff
from the schools took part in the study. The schools that took part in the study were supposedly
performing well below the established benchmark and thus, the study was undertaken in order to
find out whether the leadership style of the schools determined the motivation of the staff which
would ultimately be responsible for the performance of the students. The study was undertaken
using questionnaires that were developed by the clerical staff of the schools. The variations in styles
of leadership were stated in the study, the differences between transformational and autocratic
leadership. It was stated that transactional leadership takes into consideration motivation,
communicates values effectively and employs optimism while trying to solve problems. On the
other hand, the dysfunctionalities of autocratic leadership where highlighted. It is a style of
leadership that is characterised by the leader displaying selfish behaviours, treats the subordinates as
mere workers and not human beings and makes decisions that are considered to be unilateral in
nature. The authors mentioned that motivation is a continuous and a complex process that does not
only depend on monetary rewards. In order to motivate the employees, the needs of the employee
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have to be identified and policies and frameworks should be implemented accordingly. The
objective of the study was realised when it was found that factors such as relationships characterised
by trust, creation of a shared vision, creativity and the development of positive aspects determine the
motivated the staff of the school. The analysis inferred that transactional leadership cannot raise the
level of job satisfaction. It was identified that commitment of the leaders towards the teaching staff
of the schools can increase their level of motivation and job satisfaction which would ultimately lead
to better performance of the students and the schools as a whole.
2.3 The effect of leaderships styles on organisational culture
Mohelska, H. and Sokolova, M., 2015. Organisational culture and leadership–joint
vessels? Procedia-Social and behavioral sciences, 171, pp.1011-1016.
In the paper, the authors wanted to test the viability of organisational culture and how the
style of leadership affects it. The research question that was undertaken in the study was to
determine whether there is any interdependence between culture of an organisation and leadership.
In the study, it has been stated that the correlation between leadership and organisational
performance has been in the interest list of managers and scientists over the years. The study was
taken in consideration in order to test the efficacy of factors such as psychology, sociology,
management and economics and the collaboration of the same in terms of management of the factors
that determine the nature of behaviour of the employees of organisations. Instating leadership
among the staff is crucial when it comes to leadership in an organisation, regardless the structure of
the hierarchical system of the organisation. It has been found out in the study that effective
leadership helps in motivating the employee which leads to employee engagement. It can be said
that employee engagement leads to high levels of satisfaction among the employees, as a result of
which the commitment and trust of the employee towards the management increases. The latter has
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been termed as an important criterion for the management of the cultures that exist within the
organisations and ultimately determines the viability of the same. In the node of conclusion, the
authors stated that in order to ensure that the culture within the organisation is healthy and
productive, the managers must look into the needs of the employees. Apart from being a specialist in
their field of operation, the leader must be an effective psychologist and must have the capability to
adjudge the social aspects that affect the behaviour of the employees as it determines the nature of
the working culture.
2.4 Summary of key points from literature
Anderson and Sun (2017) stated the importance of categorisation of leadership into broader
criterion through which one can identify the style of leadership. The latter opined, that leadership is
a broader concept than just transactional or autocratic and defined the styles of leadership according
to the functionality. Savas (2019) undertook a study to determine and justify the role of negative
forms of leadership. It was highlighted in the latter’s article that the negative aspects of leadership
are not stressed enough and hence neglected. The negative aspects of the same were enumerated in
the article. Naile and Selesho (2014) undertook a study to find out and justify the correlation
between leadership and motivation within thirteen schools and their teaching staff. It was found out
that the best way of motivating the teaching staff is to inflict trust, creativity and by incorporating a
shared vision between the employees and the leaders (Zahari, Ariffin and Othman 2018).
Commitment from the part of the leaders could motivate the teacher which would result in increased
performance of the students. The final study was taken up by Mohelska and Sokolova (2015) to find
out the interdependency between the organisational culture and the style of leadership that is
incorporated into the organisation. It was found out that leadership helps in engaging the employees
and is thus responsible for a favourable organisational culture. The key concept of all the above
articles are revolving around leadership. It is one of the most crucial factors, that determine, the
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viability of the motivation of the employees, the nature of culture within and organisation and
ultimately the performance of organisations as a whole. The style of leadership is vital as it
determines the well-being of the employees and helps in shaping the performance and work culture
of an organisation (Buble, Juras and Matić 2014). Hence, the importance of the same should not be
neglected.
3 Practical implications for managers
The findings of the study are particularly important in managerial contexts. It is the role of the
managers to take care of the well-being of the employees. It is also the role of the mangers of the
organisations to lead the organisation as a whole and attain the strategic goals of the organisation.
Hence, the style of the manger determines the viability of functionality in an organisation. It should
be the responsibility of the managers to identify the needs of the employees and cultivate their
efforts of achievement of the same. This will help the employee in satiating their personal needs and
will also help in attainment of the organisational goals. Additionally, the manager of a company
should have the ability to look into psychological factors that affect the performance of the
employees. It is evident that organisational performance is the ultimate aim of the managerial level
employees. However, they should be taking into consideration that the employees are human being
and are affected by social, psychological and emotional factors and they mangers should cater to the
same.
Managers are the leaders who represent the employees and the organisations as a whole and thus
should have the ability to adjudge matter by taking into consideration every aspect of a scenario
before passing a judgement.
4 Reflection on learning about this topic from articles and lectures
I feel that is have greatly benefitted from the lectures regarding the topic. I have learnt about
important concepts such as positive and negative styles of leadership. I have also developed an idea
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regarding the role a leader in motivating the employees and driving organisational performance. I
realised that motivation plays a big role in determining the culture within organisations and the same
is responsible for the culture within an organisation. My lecturers have guided me to develop better
understanding regarding the topic as a result of which I have been able to understand the true
meaning of a parental leader. In future I would love to shape myself into a leader who is appreciated
by all the members of the organisation I would be working in and it would determine my viability as
a leader.
5 Conclusion
On a concluding note, it can be said that leadership is one of the most important factors that
one has to consider while aiming to lead an organisation towards the achievement of strategic goals
(Zacher and Rosing 2015). The leadership style determines the viability of the performance in an
organisation. It also determines the level of engagement of the employees in the organisation. The
latter determines the effectiveness of the working culture within an organisation. The managers of
companies must have the abilities to adjudge the same as that would determines performance of the
employee and the organisation as a whole.
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Reference
Anderson, M.H. and Sun, P.Y., 2017. Reviewing leadership styles: Overlaps and the need for a new
‘full‐range’theory. International Journal of Management Reviews, 19(1), pp.76-96.
Buble, M., Juras, A. and Matić, I., 2014. The relationship between managers’ leadership styles and
motivation. Management: journal of contemporary management issues, 19(1), pp.161-193.
Mohelska, H. and Sokolova, M., 2015. Organisational culture and leadership–joint
vessels?. Procedia-Social and behavioral sciences, 171, pp.1011-1016.
Naile, I. and Selesho, J.M., 2014. The role of leadership in employee motivation. Mediterranean
Journal of Social Sciences, 5(3), p.175.
Savas, O. 2019., Impact of Dysfunctional Leadership on Organizational Performance. 1st ed.
[ebook] Global Journals Inc. Available at: https://globaljournals.org/GJMBR_Volume19/5-Impact-
of-Dysfunctional-Leadership.pdf [Accessed 23 Apr. 2019].
Zacher, H. and Rosing, K., 2015. Ambidextrous leadership and team innovation. Leadership &
Organization Development Journal, 36(1), pp.54-68.
Zahari, R., Ariffin, M.H. and Othman, N., 2018, February. Influential aspects of leader’s Bourdieu
capitals on Malaysian landscape architecture subordinates’ creativity. In IOP Conference Series:
Earth and Environmental Science (Vol. 117, No. 1, p. 012008). IOP Publishing.
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