Leadership Challenges: Analysis and Recommendations (BUMGT5970)

This essay delves into the multifaceted challenges faced by leaders in contemporary organizations. It begins by outlining the core issues, including managerial effectiveness, employee motivation, team development, change management, and stakeholder management, emphasizing the complexities arising from globalization and diverse workforces. The essay then explores potential changes in leadership approaches to overcome these challenges, advocating for a shift from hierarchical structures to collaborative environments, and emphasizing the importance of self-awareness and ethical leadership. It recommends leadership development programs that focus on real-life experiences rather than theoretical knowledge, and highlights the need for leaders to prioritize employee satisfaction and transparency. The essay concludes with a call for leaders to inspire rather than direct, and to foster a more friendly and internally motivated work environment, particularly in light of technological advancements. This assignment provides a thorough analysis of leadership challenges and proposes practical solutions for improved organizational performance.

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Leadership in business

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Table of Contents
Leadership in business...............................................................................................................1
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Challenges of leading an organization.......................................................................................3
Managerial effectiveness........................................................................................................3
Employee motivation.............................................................................................................4
Team Development................................................................................................................4
Change Management..............................................................................................................5
Internal and external stakeholder management......................................................................5
Changes to overcome challenges...............................................................................................6
Recommendations......................................................................................................................9
Conclusion................................................................................................................................11

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Introduction
The entire process of being directed by someone to others for accomplishment of task and
meeting the desired objectives is termed as Leadership. The person who directs is known as a
leader. Process leadership, trait leadership are various forms of leaderships (Sharma and Jain,
2013). Adequate skills and knowledge of a person make him/her a prominent leader. The
world has witnessed various prominent leaders. Organisations across the world are arranging
leadership development program which is focussing on building prominent leaders to run the
organisation. Leadership development program varies in type and desired outcomes
(Komives, Dugan, Owen, Wagner & Slack, 2011). The aim of this essay is to find out the
various challenges that are being faced by the leaders in the organisation and it will also
discuss about the way in which the frame of leadership can be changed in order to deal with
the challenges that are being faced by the leaders in the organisation. The essay will also
discuss about few recommendations which can change the entire program which has been
built for the development of leadership qualities.
Challenges of leading an organization
In today’ world the competition among organizations has increased to a significant level.
Objectives of most of the organization is sustainability of the business in the market. The
work of a leader of an organization is not considered to be easy one. A leader or a manager of
an organization needs to handle people in the workplace who comes from diversifies culture.
The globalized environment is considered to be one of the main reason of complexity for the
leaders. The various challenges which are faced by the leaders of an organization are
discussed in the following part of the report.

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Managerial effectiveness
Development of managerial effectiveness is considered to be one of the major challenge that
is faced by leaders in an organization. Management of time, thinking strategically and
decision making are all tough responsibilities of a manager or a leader (Gentry, Eckert,
Stawiski & Zhao, 2014). It has been seen that in most of the organization, the working
environment is very diverse. People from different part of the country are now coming
together and actively involved in one particular organization. Leaders often find it difficult to
manage these kind of workforce because most of them are culturally very different.
Grievance handling in an organization is very important. It is sometimes difficult for the
leaders the exact problem in the workplace which leads to dissatisfaction of the employees.
Employee motivation
In today’s business environment the objective of each and every organization is to become
successful and increase the market share. Thus, the effectiveness of the organization can be
increased with the help of motivating the best employees of the organization. Thus,
motivating employees of the organization is one of the major challenges that is being faced
by the managers or the leaders of the organization. In the organization it is found that
employees are always competing with each other instead of focusing on collectively
improving the performance of the organization. The needs of the employees are very different
from each. It is difficult for the managers to study the behavior of each and every employee
and then motivating them (Dobre, 2013). So, it can be said that motivating the workforce to
behave and work smartly in the workplace is one of the major challenges that is faced by the
team leaders and the managers of the organisation.
Team Development
The third challenge faced by leaders of organisation is building a team. Effective team
building is one of the main skill of transformational leadership and it is the main cause of the

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success of the project (Aga, Noorderhaven, Vallejo, 2016). Developing a team with skilled
employees, managing the team effectively and leading the new team to improve the
performance of the organisation are the major responsibilities that has to be taken by the
managers. Employee skills and background are two important traits that has to be considered
while building up a team. Employees with similar thinking process should be kept in one
particular team. So, it can be said that sorting employees according to their behaviour is one
of the major challenge that leaders of organisations face each and every moment.
Change Management
In today’s world the business environment is experiencing a huge change every now and
then. This nature of constant change in the business environment has become very difficult
for the leaders to handle. Innovation is a new concept which has been introduced in the
business environment and integrating technology in the business is considered to be the major
change that is being witnessed by each and every business across the world. Leaders who are
managing multigenerational workforce often finds it difficult when it comes to integration of
technology in the business activities. Gen X who are born before 1980 are not accustomed
with technology and they often like to work in the traditional manner whereas the millennials
or the workforce who belong to Gen Y are known as Digital natives and they are more likely
to work with advanced technology. Gen Y are the set of population who has born between
1980 to 1990 (Bolton, Parasuraman, Hoefnagels, Migchels, Kabadayi, Gruber, Komarova
Loureiro & Solnet, 2013). Therefore, it can be said that millennials welcome the change in
the work environment with more enthusiasm whereas the workforce from Gen X does not
like to work in a change work environment.
Internal and external stakeholder management
Customers and suppliers are the external stakeholder of a company and board members,
management executives are the external stakeholders of a company. When a new product is

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introduced in the market the leaders of the organization often face challenges in increasing
the sale of the product because the customers do not often want to accept the changes in the
product or services. Similarly, managing the internal stakeholders of the company is also
equally difficult. Taking decision with the approval of each and every member of the board is
the major challenge that is being faced by the manager or the leader of the organization.
Sometimes conflicting solutions to a single problem is being received by various
stakeholders. To filter the solution, it is important for the leader to be efficient.
Changes to overcome challenges
The main objective of a leader is to simplify the complexity which exists in an organization.
The main responsibility of the leader is reacting to an environment which is complex. Thus,
leaders should be developed in such a way that so that he/she can overcome all the challenges
coming on their way (Lindsay and Woycheshin, 2015). There are various leaders who are
born. The required leadership skills are built within. On the other hand, leaders in various
organizations are often built with the use of leadership development program. In the next part
of the report changes in development of leaders to overcome challenges are discussed.
Leaders often tend to set up his/her own set of rules while managing an organization. Leaders
of every team has the right to approve as well as change the decisions that has been taken by
the team (Lorinkova, Pearsall & Sims Jr, 2013). This mindset of a leaders need to change in
order to overcome challenges. In today’s business environment employees tend to work in a
collaborative environment instead of following a set of rules which is communicated by the
leader. Organizations follow two structures while operating. One is the hierarchical structure
and the other one is the decentralized structure. It has been found out that the level of
satisfaction of the employees in the decentralized structure is more than the hierarchical
structure. This means leaders or other top level managers in an organization should

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collaborate with the employees and take decisions instead of commanding on them. Thus, a
change in the structure of leadership can help the leaders to overcome a lot of challenges.
Organizations often organize leadership development program to produce upcoming leaders.
In such programs corporate trainers give theoretical lessons to the participants in the program.
This process should be changed. Leaders cannot be made with theoretical knowledge. The
innate qualities of a person make one a person a successful leader (Riaz and Haider, 2010).
They should experience real life situation in order to understand the complexities of
leadership. In most of the cases it has been that leaders or top level management authorities in
an organization is over-confident with all the skills they possess. This over-confidence
creates a lot of conflict in an organization. Leaders should introspect their ability with
immense importance. Leaders should be self-aware and he/she must understand all the
potential deficiencies in their skill. The ethical awareness of the leaders should also be
identified by the leader himself/herself (Lakshmi, 2014). Thus, before controlling an
organization, controlling oneself is important. This is known as self-leadership. Thus, various
development programs which is based on self-awareness can help the leaders to change their
perspective towards the skills they possess.
Another major in the structure of leadership should be changed to erase conflict in the
organization. In most cases it has been seen that leaders often start taking advantage of their
position. This is one of the main causes of conflict. Leaders often faces challenges due to this
reason. It is important for the leaders to understand that the position which they are enjoying
is meant for looking after the need of the employees. Leaders should behave in such a way so
that the grievance of the employees are handled. The organizational hierarchy is influenced
by the leader (Detert and Treviño, 2010). So, Leaders should only focus in increasing the
satisfaction of the employees along with the organizational performance.

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There are various forms of leadership style. Few fall under the charismatic style and few on
the introverted style. Sometimes the organization faces problem in every aspect because of
choosing a wrong leader. Managers or team leaders in an organization is often chosen on the
basis of their experiences in a respective field. This is one of the major wrong decisions that
are taken by companies. Leaders should be chosen not only on the basis of their experiences
but they should also be chosen on the basis of the characteristics they possess. Sometimes a
person who has solid experiences but is introvert may not be able to control the needs and
demand of the employee in the organization. Sometimes collaboration with the employees
and top level management authorities is required in order to solve a problem. An introvert
leader may fail to arrange for a collaborative environment in workplace.
Top management authorities of a company often think of creating financial stability and
increase the profit generation of the company. It has been found leaders often become
socially irresponsible because they focus on profit generation of the company. Various
unethical measures of the leader effect the external stakeholders of the company in a larger
way. Leaders should shift their thought from generating profit for the company and should
also focus on the well-being of the customers. Increase in sales and profit of the company not
only makes a leader great but increase in the level of satisfaction of the customers is equally
important.
Leaders should be more transparent in his/her activities. Leaders should also focus on
inspiring the team leaders instead of directing them with the work. It is believed that the top
level management authorities of organizations are very strict. This should change. Leaders
should be more friendly with all the employees in the organization. Internal motivation by the
leaders to the employees can help in resolving a lot of challenges that are being faced by the
organizations in today’s business environment. Since, technology has become a very
important part in today’s business environment, therefore, use of technology to communicate

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with all the members of the organization. This may help in solving critical problems of the
organization. Leaders can also use various social media platforms in order to communicate
with the customers and try to understand the desires of the customers. This can increase the
performance of the organization in a more efficient way.
Recommendations
Leadership is considered as a process in which a relationship is built among followers. The
outcomes and the purposes of leadership is considered to be equally important along with the
process of leadership. So, it is important to enroll individuals in to leadership program. This
program can help individuals to transform in to efficient leaders. The formal program of
leadership helps an individual to undergo various activities of leadership (Komives, Dugan,
Owen, Wagner & Slack, 2011). Though Leadership development programs are helping
individuals to transform themselves in to efficient leaders but there are many aspects which
needs to change in the development program so that the effectiveness of the program
increases.
While conducting a leadership development program it is important to identify the exact
leadership need of the company. Leadership development program should be structured in
such a way that it can synchronize with the objectives of the organisation. Leadership
development program focusses on transforming an individual in to a leader. A slight change
should be done in this program. Leaders should be made in such a way that he/she fits with
the environment of the organization easily. It has been seen that leadership development
programs focus on manufacturing leaders. It is very important to understand that leaders
cannot be manufactured. The programs should focus on nurturing and developing leaders.
Proper training and mentoring should be provided to the leaders.

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It has been seen that most of the leadership program enrol candidates abruptly. It is important
for the mentor to understand the innate skills of the candidate who are being selected for the
development program. A person can be transformed in to a leader if he/she possess the basic
problem solving skills and critical thinking skills. A leader must have the ability to solve a
problem very rapidly. There is another very important recommendation which if integrated in
the leadership development program can help a person to become an efficient leader. It has
been found out that organisations who conduct leadership development program primarily
focuses on classroom training. The corporate trainer tries to teach the theoretical knowledge
of leadership to the candidate. Apart from this it is important for an individual to experience a
real life problem which requires leadership skill to get solved. A practical situation can teach
a person how to react to the situation and how to overcome the challenges in a more efficient
way.
After the implementation of leadership development programs, it is important to measure the
results or the outcomes from the program. Good quality of leadership preparation helps has a
strong relationship with the practice of leadership (Orphanos and Orr, 2014). Organisations
should see how many employees completed the program successfully. After the training gets
completed it is the work of the top level management authorities to monitor how the
candidates are behaving in the team post training. Since, employees who are selected for the
program possess few leadership skills it is the responsibility of the top players of the
organisation to involve those employees in decision making activities of the organisation.
This will increase the confident of the employee. This will also help the top level
management authorities to understand whether the employees can be promoted as a future
leader of the organisation or not. The workplace activities in order to learn the leadership
skills is of utmost importance. The individual should initiate to do a new project with a group

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of team members and should focus on influencing the team leaders for completion of the
project.
In most of the leadership development program it is important to teach to the participants
how to build trust. Trust possess a positive relationship between the psychology of the
employee and the perception of the team leader or the manager. If the psychology of an
employee is effected it reduces the trust of the employee towards the managers or the team
leader of the organisation (Kelloway, Turner, Barling & Loughlin, 2012). The followers
should trust the competencies of the leader. Leaders should be taught how to build
relationships with the followers. Followers should have faith with the decision that has been
taken by the leaders. It has been reported that across the world in various organizations
employees fail to trust the leaders or the top level management authorities. This is one of the
biggest cause of all the problems that are being faced by the organizations. When all the
employees of the organisation trust the management team of the company it becomes very
easy to work towards the objective of the company.
Conclusion
The essay focussed on the challenges that are being faced by the leaders of an organisation.
From the report it has been found out that to carry out business activities in today’s business
environment it is important for the leader to change their leadership style. The current
workforce focusses on collaborative way of working rather than working on order from the
leader. The essay also discusses about the changes that should be followed by the leaders in
order to overcome the challenges that are being faced in today’s business environment. Few
recommendations on changing the traditional style of leadership development has also been
provided. The leadership development program should focus on providing practical learning
to the participants. The essay has discussed about the fact that instead of theoretical

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knowledge it is important for an individual to experience practical situation in order to gain
leadership skills in a more effective way.
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