Exploring Effective Leadership Theories and Practices

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Leadership and Management
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Table of Contents
Q1.What is involved in being a successful leader?.........................................................................3
Q2. Can good leadership be developed, and if so, how?.................................................................6
Q3. What distinguishes leadership from management?..................................................................8
Q4. What have you learned about leadership from your own experiences, on this course and
elsewhere?......................................................................................................................................11
References......................................................................................................................................14
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Q1.What is involved in being a successful leader?
Leader refers to the person that holds a superior or dominant position within the area of his field
and he is able to influence others or exercise control of high degree. A successful leader is the
one who can motivate or inspire and get the best out of his team. He should possess the
following five traits of personality-
1. Extroversion- It is characterized by the sociability, assertiveness, excitability, high
amount of emotions expressiveness and talkativeness. A person can become a successful
leader if he has high extroversion as he becomes the center of attraction. They tend to
seek opportunities for interacting socially. They have a good comfortability with others
and are prone to actions.
2. Openness- Leader should have good insight and imagination. If he has openness
characteristics then he has broad interest’s range. They are creative enough and are open
in trying new things.
3. Conscientiousness- A leader with this trait has a thinking of how his behavior can affect
his team members. He tends to act dutifully, display self-disciple, and are curious for
achievement.
4. Agreeableness- Leaders having agreeable traits are kind, trustworthy, generous, social
harmony and are willing to compromising their interest with others. Such leaders tend to
help others and have empathy feeling.
5. Neuroticism- Successful leader should have low Neuroticism as they are emotionally
stable and can easily deal with the stress (Cherry, 2019)
A successful leader follows the situational leadership approach as per which there is no single
style of leadership that can be considered as best because the adoption of the leadership style
depends on the situation and cues are looked at by the effective leaders such as group nature,
task’s type, and other factors that contribute in getting the job done. They simply adapt to the
different ways which are considered most appropriate such as organizational culture, follower’s
maturity level, organizational culture, and goals that are required to be achieved. Four basic
styles of leadership are outlined by Hershey-Blanchard model including directing or telling,
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supporting or participating, coaching or selling and delegating are the four style of the situational
theory that is followed by the effective leader (Kokemuller, 2019).
Path-goal theory can be followed by a successful and effective leader. As per this model, the
main goal of the leader is to motivate his team members, empower them and satisfy them so that
they can become an organization's productive member. Specific behavior is selected by the
leader that suits best as per the needs and working environment in which the employees work.
The four styles are included in this leadership theory among which the directive path goal style
focuses on the situations where the employees are told about the expectations made from them
and how they need to perform the tasks. The achievement-oriented behavior of the leader is
adopted in the situation challenging goals are set by leaders for employees and they are expected
to perform at their best level and in order to meet with such expectations the leader shows
confidence in the ability of employees. In participative leader behavior, the employees of the
organization are consulted by the leaders and suggestions are asked from them before taking any
decision. This behavior proves predominant in the case where the high involvements of
employees are there (Saeed, et. al, 2014).
Figure- Path goal theory
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In supportive behavior style, the leader shows his concern for the psychological well-being of
employees. This style of leadership is adopted by the leader when relationships or tasks are
physically or psychologically distressing.
The transformational leadership style is the one in which leaders motivate, inspire, and
encourage for innovation and creating change which will help in growing and shaping the future
success of the company. A successful leader should possess the following attributes being a
transformational leader such as adaptability, self-management, making the difficult decisions, the
ability to take the right risks, entertainment of new ideas, and sharing of the collective
consciousness of the organization. The committed relationship is established between the
followers and their leaders in this leadership style. They act as the role models and charismatic
personality is displayed by them that influence others to become the leader like them. A clear
vision is articulated by the transformational leader for the future and group expectations are
communicated by them and commitment is demonstrated to the goals that have been laid out.
Superb skills of communication are required by them as the message is conveyed by the leader
with sense and power of authority, and precision (Du, et. al, 2013).
Lewin’s leadership style includes three types of leadership autocratic, Laissez-faire, and
democratic. The autocratic leaders become successful when they are quick at making the
decisions, they motivate the managers, managers become less stressful. Such leadership style is
best suited in case of short duration projects that are highly complex or the projects that have a
hard deadline. Democratic leadership is adopted in the cases where the continuous process is
practiced by the organization as everyone is indulged in encouraging the continuous process
improvements. The good working environment should be provided by the leaders as this allow
the employees to enjoy their work and to work with full productivity. Due to the consultation
with the employees before taking decisions there is less chance of taking disastrous decisions. In
Laissez-faire leadership, the groups are allowed for entirely directing itself instead of being
directed by the leaders which provide them with the flexibility (Saeed, et. al, 2014).
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Q2. Can good leadership be developed, and if so, how?
Leadership refers to the art of motivating individuals or group of people for acting towards the
achievement of common goals (Ward, 2019). The good leadership can be developed and the
skills of leadership are considered as the essential traits that help the students to be at the top in
the carrier field and help managers in the system operations and working in the organization by
motivating and encouraging their employees. For becoming a good leader discipline should be
practiced as the development of the discipline in the personal and professional life is much
required for becoming an effective leader. Discipline should be demonstrated at work by meeting
with the deadlines, ending meetings on time and keeping an appointment. For the development
of the good skills of leadership, they are required to take more responsibility. Situational
awareness should be developed as this can help in handling complex projects with hard
deadlines. The ability to foresee and providing suggestions so as to avoid potential problems is of
great value for the leaders.
An individual should develop the passion as without it the stagnate and innovation ceases. The
strengths and weakness should be examined and the proper use of them should be made.
Shortcomings should be addressed as this leads to true growth. Time should be invested in
clarifying the objectives and goals and solidify them. Right plan should be formulated and
meaningful benchmarks should be set. For becoming a strong leader, the communication skills
should be developed as sound communication is the base of the accomplishment of the task on
time. the course of leadership building can be taken online that will add professional facets. The
speech footage of great leaders can be watched online as they are the good source of inspiration
in developing the leadership skills, the leadership personality test can also be conducted which
help the individual in analyzing the weaknesses and strengths (Nanjundeswaraswamy, and
Swamy, 2014).
Instead of ignoring the interpersonal conflicts take the initiative to resolve them and in case the
conflict cannot be resolved to be open in reassigning the team members. The significant trait of
an effective leader is good listening so this trait should be developed by the individual by
listening to ideas, suggestions, and feedback from other people. After the analysis of himself or
herself, the areas where the improvements are required should be identified. The leader should
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follow the democratic leadership style, autocratic or transformational leadership style as per the
requirement of the situation. In the case where the tasks are required to be completed within the
deadline then the autocratic approach should be adopted and in case of making the continuous
improvements, the democratic approach should be adopted as this approach allows the team
members to make the active participation in the decision-making. This help in building a good
leader-follower relationship and all the team members work with full productivity (Du, et. al,
2013).
Trait theories cover the characteristics and skills that should be possessed by the leaders such as
the ability of good listening, flexibility, decision-making. Technical, conceptual and human skills
should be learned as they enable the leaders to influence their team members or group members
to work together in order to accomplish the goals and objectives of organizations (Yahaya, and
Ebrahim, 2016).
Figure: Skills Theory
The skills of enthusiasm and positive behavior should be developed as this will help in creating a
better environment and willingness to trust.
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Q3. What distinguishes leadership from management?
Management
The function of management includes all those essential activities which help the business
managers in setting up & formulating an effective as well as an efficient business strategy within
the business organization for the purpose of coordinating all the employees’ efforts in an equal
manner & achieving the defined business goals & objectives. The business managers while
performing the function of management effectively utilize & enhance the application of all the
limited available resources within the business organization, such as the financial, human,
natural & technological resources.
Management includes four main functions including planning, organizing, directing &
controlling which helps the business managers to achieve the group & overall organizational
goals & also directing all the group efforts of each & every organizational employee. The
business managers with the help of management function effectively arrange the factors of
production & organize all the resources along with integrating them towards the achievement of
pre-determined organizational goals. The management function helps in the achievement of
group goals, reduction in the overall amount of organizational cost, establishing the sound
business organization, establishing in the higher level of equilibrium & enhancing the essentials
of organizational prosperity (Choudhary, et.al. 2013).
Leadership
The process of leadership includes the area of deep research & enhancing the practical skills
leading towards the ability of the whole business organization towards the accomplishment of
common goals & objectives. It is defined as an effective ability to highly influence the behavior
of all the organizational employees for the accomplishment of the goal in the standard manner.
Apart from leading the whole business organization, organizing all the followers into one
common group is also an essential function of effective leadership for the purpose of handling all
the necessary tasks effectively & efficiently.
The main role of leaders is to identify the different abilities & capabilities of different members
working within the business organization. The leadership process helps in prioritizing the
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organizational tasks on the basis of organizational importance. It not only helps in taking
appropriate action but also in executing & implementing the innovative plans as well as the
business ideas for accelerating the higher amount of organizational sales. Ensuring, enhancing &
possessing the unique skills of leadership are very essential for all the business owners. Some of
the effective leadership skills include the strong level of communication, passion & higher level
of commitment, the higher level of positivity within the business organization, innovation &
collaboration (Den Hartog and Belschak, 2012).
Key differences between leadership & management
Basis of comparison Leadership Management
Meaning This process leads the whole
business organization into one
common direction
It is the function which
organizes & coordinates all
the organization's activities in
a systematic manner
More emphasis on Inspiring & motivating the
organizational employees
Managing all the small & big
organizational activities
Highly focus on Encouraging organizational
change
Bringing & enhancing
stability within the overall
business organization
Perspective This process requires good &
effective foresightedness
The management function has
a short range of perspective
Though, both the processes of leadership & management lead towards the accomplishment of
common goals & objectives, but they both are different from each other. The higher level of trust
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is required of all the followers for their respective leader, whereas, the manager ensures full
control over all the subordinates. Also, leadership is proactive in nature & management is
reactive. Under the process of leadership, principles & guidelines within the organization are
being established & enhanced; on the other hand, management executes & implements the
effective policies & procedures.
Figure: Key differences between management & leadership
Source: By CULC, 2017
Effective examples
The management function is task-oriented & its main focus is to achieve the overall objectives in
the effective as well as in an efficient manner. The management is highly responsible for
enhancing & running the smooth operations within the business organization. The main goal of
the management function is to ensure & enhance a higher level of productivity & organizational
proficiency. For example, different members are being hired by the management team on the
basis of their unique abilities for the purpose of fulfilling certain responsibility or some specific
roles and the organizational leaders directs their personal goals with the overall organizational
goals & hence lead them towards the effective accomplishment of both the personal as well as
the professional goals in the standard & suitable manner. The process of leadership is the people-
oriented approach whose mission is to help all the people working within the organization to
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adjust their behavior & overall working according to the changing circumstances or the changing
business environment.
Q4. What have you learned about leadership from your own experiences, on this course
and elsewhere?
I have learned about various unique & effective theories which can help both the business
managers as well as the organizational leaders in leading, organizing, directing & controlling the
whole business organization in the effective as well as in an efficient manner. On the basis of my
work & professional experience, I have noticed & identified that the business managers & the
business leaders implement or executes the unique approach so that they can ensure & enhance
the sustainable business development for the longer period of time. Following are some of the
effective theories of management which are being applied & implemented by the business
managers in a suitable manner:
 Theory of scientific management: This theory was developed by Frederick Taylor which
helps the business managers in improving the overall efficiency within the business
organization along with ensuring the higher level of labor productivity. According to
Taylor, the business managers should provide their employees with fair remuneration so
that they can result in the sustainable business outputs. As per this theory, the managers
implement the concept of "differential piece rate system" for paying the number of
salaries to their organizational employees.
 Administrative management theory: This theory was developed by Henri Fayol who laid
down the essential principles of management, namely division of work, discipline,
authority & responsibility, stability of tenure, unity of direction, scalar chain, equity,
initiative, esprit de corps, remuneration, subordination of individual interest to the general
interest, unity of direction, centralization & unity of command.
 Bureaucratic theory of management: This theory was enhanced by Max Weber who
made an effective distinction between authority & power. According to him, three types
of power are being found within the business organization, namely, traditional power,
bureaucratic or legal power and charismatic power (Kacmar, et.al. 2013). The essential
functions of bureaucracy include the division of labor, selection on the basis of technical
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experts, written documents, formal as well as the informal relations, formal hierarchical
structure, management by rules & the higher importance of legal power.
 The behavioral theory of management: This theory was established by Elton Mayo
which is also called as the human relations movement as the main purpose of this theory
is to effectively address the human dimension of work. With the help of this theory, a
better understanding can be ensured & enhanced of the changing behaviors of human
such as the higher level of motivation, increasing level of conflicts, higher level of
expectations, changing group dynamics & improved level of productivity & efficiency.
Figure: Importance of management
Source: By Smriti Chand, 2018
Apart from all the effective managerial theories, certain standard styles or theories of leadership
are also being implemented within the business organization by the efficient leaders, effectively
& efficiently:
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