Leadership Analysis: Traits, Effectiveness, and Ethical Considerations

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of leadership, exploring various theories and styles through real-world vignettes. It delves into the significance of leadership traits and attributes, examining how these influence individuals within an organization. The report investigates the development of leadership effectiveness, highlighting the importance of adapting leadership styles to different situations and fostering employee growth. Furthermore, it discusses leadership power and ethics, emphasizing the need for ethical considerations in decision-making and interactions. The report uses case studies to illustrate leadership concepts, including transformational and transactional leadership. It also examines the individual differences framework and the importance of employee development. Overall, the report offers valuable insights into the multifaceted nature of leadership and its impact on organizational success, with a focus on practical applications and ethical considerations.

LEADERSHIP
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Table of Contents
Introduction..........................................................................................................................................3
Assessment Brief .................................................................................................................................3
Traits and Attributes that have influence.........................................................................................3
Developing leadership effectiveness................................................................................................5
Leadership power and ethics............................................................................................................7
References ...........................................................................................................................................9
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INTRODUCTION
Leadership is the art of getting the work done through other people of the organization and it
especially requires direction from leaders. In the concept of leadership, leaders needs to have
influencing power so that followers can consider all the directions and specifications given by the
leaders (Northouse, 2015). Leadership is one of most important aspects of management where in
leader plays chief role in providing directions to the subordinates so that they can perform all the
tasks and practices in effectual manner (Fairhurstand and Connaughton, 2014). The present research
study has been discussing different theories and styles of leadership on the basis of diverse
situation. The main aim of conducting the research study is to have brief analysis about the impact
of leadership on others. Further, researcher has also discussed leadership power and ethics and how
they influence people for diverse work aspects. Moreover, along with this discussion, researcher has
stated why managers and leaders need to develop effectiveness. Hence, considering all such aspects,
researcher has mentioned diverse vignettes which are discussing important elements of leadership
and management.
ASSESSMENT BRIEF
Traits and Attributes that have influence
Vignette 1 Fore alarm in Bucharest
Trait theory
Trait theory is an approach which studies the nature of human personality and the theory
primarily focuses on measuring the traits. These traits can be defined as habitual patterns of
behavior, thought and emotion. Traits are considered as relatively stable over time and it also differs
among individuals (Avolio and Yammarino, 2013). The theory also states that there are certain
people who are born with special characters and traits and who innate the qualities and features
possessed by strong leaders. The theory also states that people born with special traits that helps
them to acquire success.
Traits of General Manager
As per the case, it can be said that general manager has the personality to make others listen
to his speech. This is evident from the scenario because instead of listening fire alarm, no body
stood up from their respective places which also states that they were highly active in following the
directions of the higher authority (Aaker and Joachimsthaler, 2012). Hence, as per the situation, it
can be said that Trait theory is seen in the present case where in the leader has used his personality
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in such a way so that each and every member can listen to his speech. As per the situation, all the
people paid attention towards the speech of leader; therefore this depicts autocratic behavior of
leader's personality.
As per the scenario, it is clear that all the managers were paying attention towards the speech
of the boss which represents that they are highly dependent on the directions of the leader. Boss of
Munich worked as a leader here as all of them were paying attention to his speech. Further, without
his instruction, no body stood up even after hearing the alarm sound (Avolio and Yammarino,
2013). Hence, considering the case scenario, it can be said that leaders (boss of Munich) have the
traits to manage people through the autocratic style of leadership. The boss has the traits to direct
others and this has been observed from the scenario. The managers were following the boss;
however no one gave their opinion in between the session. Contradicting this, it can be said that
boss should not always direct others and sometimes, he should listen to the supervisors as well so
that to enhance the level of work productivity. Moreover, the situation could have hampered the
people who were sitting there; hence it can be said that when it comes to all the employees, then in
that situation, manager has to consider views of all the employees.
Individual Difference Framework
The framework includes diverse dimensions that helps the leader to become competent and t
that also aids in changing behavioral aspects of employees. Leaders must emphasize on ability and
skills so that each and every situation can be managed prominently (Aaker and Joachimsthaler,
2012). In terms of skill development, leader must focus on personal characteristics, social
characteristics and work related characteristics. The below mentioned table has been describing all
the major skills of leaders.
Personal characteristics Social characteristics
Leader should be energetic and passionate about
work.
Leader must cooperate others so that diplomacy
can be avoided.
Work related characteristics Personality
Leader must be intelligent and knowledgeable
person and he must have the capability to handle
all the responsibilities in pursuit of goal (Klibi
and Oussii, 2013).
Self confidence, Charisma and desire to lead are
some of the factors that needs to be there in the
leader.
Vignette 2 Michael is an excellent analyst. Its time for him to become a manager
From this case scenario, Michael has been handling a team of analysts in a large company.
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Since, he joined the company 11 years ago; therefore he knows how to give quality output to the
organization (Black, 2015). There are several people who appreciates Michael and his work;
however there are few people who do not consider Michael effective performer. Michael's
performance has been motivating others since he handles the most complex projects in his
organization. Recently, one employee broke her leg and had to stay in the hospital; therefore this
has enhanced the burden of work and as a result, Micheal had to look on to such tasks. He also
conducted performance review session, where in he acquired outcomes about his performance from
other managers of his company.
Some of them appreciated his work and recommended him to be a manager now; however
some disagreed with that and they said that delegation aspects of Michael is not good
(Boezemanand and Ellemers, 2014). This will also assist the leader to influence others. Since,
Michael is performing same type of job roles; therefore he needs to perform multiple functions so as
to depict others also about the capability level. He must have to perform all such activities which
are a part of his job and he should not restrict himself in doing same kind of work always.
The major strength of Michael is that he always manages the work and tasks in adequate
manner; therefore he is considered a reliable source who knows how to complete and finish the
work in limited time period. People always appreciate his work; hence he has the personality to
influence others from his work and performance (Robles, 2012). Instead of handling complex
projects, Michael is self motivated. However, due to same sort of work, people sometimes criticize
him. Most of the colleagues said that Michael is not good in delegating duties properly. They also
said that Michael do not distributes work evenly because a few people are managing all the
workload, while others are sitting idle without any work. Hence, from the scenario, it is clear that
leader is always criticized from several points; therefore he needs to emphasize on continuous
development (Tannenbaum, Weschler and Massarik, 2013).
Vignette 4 Training lessons that did not work
This particular case is representing the need of diverse leadership styles in different
situations. Leader should not stick to particular leadership style and according to the situation, styles
of managing the work and people should be changed. The leader should always take the employees
so that decision making process can be improved and through this, motivation of employees can be
raised (Chhokar, Brodbeck and House, 2013.). At the same time, it is also vital for the leader to
raise the responsibilities of employees so that proper decision can be taken. The manager should
always consider the interest of employees so that they can help the organization to produce
optimum outcomes. Since, the business wants to build relationship with new supplier; therefore
opinion should be taken from all the employees regarding the new business deals.
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However, from the case it is also articulated that when manager and leader do not acquire
opinion from the employees, then in such situation, employees never pays attention towards the
work and they remain disinterested in all organizational procedures (Fairhurstand and Connaughton,
2014). Issues and constraints in the organization should be managed in proper manner as per the
legal procedures and functions. Leaders should always show enthusiasm while directing roles and
responsibilities to others as through that, people will willingly follow him towards his directions.
Vignette 6 Developing employees
Margarita has been developing employees through delegating them different roles and
responsibilities. As per the case, Margarita performed the role of leader in which she always
considers her employees to do the best in their job so that they can reach to great heights of success
and prosperity. She gave opportunity to Nicholas for the purpose of enhancing the responsibilities
and scope of growth and she found that Nicholas has been paying more attention towards the
additional roles and responsibilities (Klibi and Oussii, 2013). Thus, she paid more interest in
training Nicholas for other tasks and job roles. Further, she also started to compare efforts of
Nicholas with other employee Eugene and she put the same efforts on Eugene. However, she did
not find the same response from Eugene because Eugene do not have learning attitude. Therefore,
through this, it is clear that behavior of employees changes the mindset of leaders and as a result, it
changes the level of support.
Developing leadership effectiveness
Vigntte: 3. Conflicts in Prague
As per this case study, there is a conflict situation arisen between production manager and
commercial manager in Prague (Sharma and Jain, 2013). Therefore, company's senior manager is
going to Prague with a view to resolve this issue. It reflects that manager (company's senior
manager who is going to Prague) is following transformation leaderships theory in which one
person interacts between others to build a strong relationship between them. At the airport, one of
the traveller is talking to the senior managers and as he know the real situation, he replied that it is
ridiculous that they can't resolve their issues without involving you. Why you need to spend your
time and energy in solving their conflicts? On this, manager replied that no, they both are good guys
and they recently they are too much stressed due to work load. Last few months was very tough for
our company because we just started for gaining new orders and attracting competitor's clients also.
However, in the high competitive pressure, one of our key suppliers in the Czech Republic went
bankrupt. It resulted in declined production due to delays with the supply of the components
(Northouse, 2015). Both the managers faced high pressure from our London headquarter and
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demanded to provide quick results. Due to this, there is some conflict has been resulted between
them so it's my job to help them in order to overcome from this issues.
Transformational leadership
Transformational leadership is defined as a process in which leaders and their followers raise
one another to higher level of morality and motivation. In such leadership theory, leader develops
high expectations and he also provides support and recognition to others. There are four major
components of transformational leadership such as intellectual stimulation where in the leaders
encourage followers to explore new ways of doing work. Further, the theory also consider offering
support and encouragement to individual followers (Venus, Stam and Van Knippenberg, 2013). The
policy of open communication is followed up under this theory and along with this, it also fosters
supportive relationships with the employees. Transformational leaders have a clear vision that they
are able to articulate to followers. In the present case, company's senior manager is playing the role
of a transformational leader because he seems to consider other employee's interest on the
workplace.
Transformational and Transactional Leadership
Transactional Leadership Transformational Leadership
Transactional leader focuses on day to day
activities and such leader also emphasizes more
on exchanging values and information between
leader and followers. It is based on motivational
benefits where in leader gets rewards in
exchange of the performance (Sharma and Jain,
2013).
Transformational leadership focuses more on
change aspects and here in this style, leader
emphasizes on bringing more changes to the
organization.
This can be very much productive as employees
get the opportunity to exchange their views with
the respective leaders. Further, transactional
leadership is more about involving leaders in
correct processes so that negativity can be
avoided.
It is based on individualized consideration where
in leader actively listens others and identifies
personal values. Leader typically believes in
facilitating intellectual stimulation where in
leader emphasizes on developing new ideas
from the employees (Tourish, 2014).
Here in this style, leader involve himself with
the employees so that to get negative feedback
Leader believes in creating a sense of purpose in
which all the employees are allowed to present
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from the employees. However, generally, leaders
fail to develop better commitment among the
employees because of directing approach
(Northouse, 2015).
their views and opinion in decision making
procedure. Employees get suitable support from
the leader which particularly influences the
employees to develop their confidence level.
Thus, it has been clear that by adopting transformational leadership theories, company's
senior manager intending to involve in the conflicts that took place between both the managers
because of work pressure (Oliver, 2013). According to the theory, senior manager will influenced
both production and commercial manager through his inspirational nature and charismatic
personality. It will lead to create a strong relationship between the followers and maintain trust
between them. With the help of following this leadership theory, manger will show his integrity and
guide and motivate his followers to achieve their targets through working together without any
conflicts. This in turn, both the managers will provide their best efforts to the company for FY and
accomplish strategic goals.
Vignette: 2 “Michael is an excellent analyst, It's time for him to become a manager”
In this case study, Michael is the person who hold the analysts team in the merger and
acquisitions department of a large company. He is very intelligent and reliable professional who
always completes tasks with highest quality through putting best efforts. In the given case, Michael
analysed his own performance on the basis of 360 degree assessment model (Robles, 2012). In this,
analysis have been done through gathering information from all the other managers who are
working at similar level of Michael. As derived results, it has been founded that some managers
replied that Michael is excellent analysts because he is always busy with his work so it's time for
him to become a manager. On the contrary, some replied that skills in relation to work distribution
is not good in Michael. It is because some of his team member are overloaded while others have no
work to do.
Michael has the ability to manage things; hence he is entitled to become manager now. For a
manager, it is very much essential to have management ability and Michael has all such abilities.
However, from theoretical point of view, it can be said that manager must delegate duties
effectually among all the employees so that work processes can be managed adequately (Fairhurst
and Connaughton, 2014). At the same time, evaluating the responses of colleagues of Michael, it is
evident that in the leadership of Michael, work is not properly distributed among people.
Power in leadership depicts all the authorities and power that leader has with him and on the
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basis of which he can undertake suitable decisions. Michael is using personal power due to having
expert knowledge of his field. On contrary to it, positional power includes legitimate, reward and
coercive (Robles, 2012). Power should be used in those areas where it is required; however there
should be ethical use of such power so that employees can support the employees in all the areas.
As per the present case, Michael has been using his power in adequate and ethical areas.
Delegation should not be same like participation
Delegation is the way of transferring duties and responsibilities to a specific employee in the
absence of another employee in a particular situation. While delegating duties, leader entrust
someone who has the responsibility to deal with such situation. Delegation is beneficial since it aids
leaders to release the burden of tasks. It also provides opportunities to employees so that they can
learn more (Tannenbaum, Weschler and Massarik, 2013). This is suitable in terms of developing
their potential level. Proper delegation is a contributory aspect in succession planning where in each
and everything is determined in effectual manner. While delegating duties and responsibilities,
leaders must provide support to the followers regarding completion of work. Goals and expectations
should be clarified on the basis of assigned tasks so that it could assist leaders to conduct the work
in prominent manner.
The case reflected that power and influence theory is adopting by him in which Michael is
using his position as well as personal power and influence his team member to ensure that work
must be completed on time (Sharma and Jain, 2013). This leadership theory suggests that using
leading power is the best way to complete the targets within allotted time. Furthermore,
transactional leadership theory also employs power and influencing behaviour of the leaders to
manager their subordinates. As per this theory, Michael is leading his employees on the basis of
work and reward relationship in which highly skilled and efficient employees will be best rewarded
by the organization and will be punished as well for adverse performance.
On the basis of above mentioned theories, it can be said that leaders need to change the way
of working as per the situations so that conflicts and other issues can be avoided. At the same time,
in order to develop leadership ability, one must emphasize on developing varied skills so that
success and other growth aspects can be encouraged (Tannenbaum, Weschler and Massarik, 2013).
Trait and Participative leadership theories are the most useful theories that can be applied in the
business situations for the purpose of managing the interest of work forces. Every leader needs to
consider the interest of employees as that will assist the leader in reaching towards the aims and
objectives.
There are diverse methods through which leaders can be developed such as coaching,
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mentoring, experience level, outdoor challenge and through feedback intensive program. Leaders
must get classroom education so that specific ways of managing followers can be adopted.
Feedback is must to attain so that the areas of improvement can be identified; moreover through
this, leaders can also develop their competency level (Black, 2015).
GM is lacking knowledge of skills; therefore there must be suitable training programme for
him so that he can develop his own potential. The steps included in the action plan are discussed in
the below mentioned section:
 In order to develop trust ability and strong relationships among others, there should be
suitable communication. Lack of communication and interaction may generate other issues.
 Further, every individual should get the opportunity to present their advice in decision
making process (Aaker and Joachimsthaler, 2012).
 GM should emphasize on ethical and legal work processes.
 He should acquire timely feedback from the employee so as to analyze the areas of
improvements.
Criteria for effective training
 Training session can be effectively organized through developing more opportunities to
practice and also through emphasizing on individual personal potential factors.
 Training session should be integrated with the specific organization so that suitable
knowledge can be delivered to the respective persons.
 While imparting training, it is suitable for the trainees to includes role models in terms of
developing impact on trainees (Boezeman and Ellemers, 2014).
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 Training session should include rich and challenging experiences so that employees can give
positive responses towards learning these aspects.
 There should be suitable feedback system under organizational training session so that
trainees can also specify the areas where they want more changes and modifications.
 While organizing training for the employees, it is essential for the trainers to acquire support
and assistance from the management and from the organization as well.
Leadership power and ethics
 Ethics are termed as the standards, beliefs and values that guide and conduct behavior and
activities of employees and according to ethical standards, employees get the right way to
manage their job roles. In such manner, business ethics also aids in conducting
organizational work processes in right manner (Klibi and Oussii, 2013). Ethics directs the
employees to involve themselves in organizational work processes.
 Leader who has the power typically integrates with superiority and is also overly concerned
with power. In such respect, power abuse and corruption are those dimensions that affects
employee morale and behavior. Abuse is the form in which one take advantage of his own
personal power to gain benefits; however the way of taking advantage may differ.
 Corruption is the state where in one person abuses others for any certain benefit in both legal
and unethical manner (Aaker and Joachimsthaler, 2012).
 As per the present case, the managers should not be fired because they are unable to work
together. From the case approach, it is clear that due to stress and organizational issues, two
of the managers of the organization are having issues with one another which leads the other
manager to move towards to Prague. This states that the manager is highly concerned about
the interest of the work forces and due to that only, he preferred to work as a mediator in
conflict resolution process (Tourish, 2014.). This first case is of ethical leadership which
reflects the importance of ethics within an organization. Suggestion of firing the two
conflicted managers is not the solution at all. Company should focus on adopting an
appropriate conflict solving approach for solving the raised issue. Despite of firing both of
them, efforts can be made to listen what both the parties are saying. Listening to each
viewpoint will help in identifying the root of the problem. If they are not working well
together, then focus must be paid on achieving coordination between them. Their needs and
requirement related to working must be fulfilled. Further the manager is required to display
a sign of ethical leadership to solve the problem. This also depicts that there should be
adequate conflict management system in the organization so that internally all the issues can
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be resolved appropriately.
 The second case reflects the sign of abusing their power. It means the senior VP is making
inappropriate use of his powers and duties. He does not want the company to act as supplier
for the business (Venus, StamVan and Knippenberg, 2013.). However other people in the
management are quite satisfied with the services of the supplier. In that situation, senior VP
is not required to make unauthorized use of his powers. The services of the supplier are very
crucial from the business point of view. This will have an impact on the reputation of the
company. It is needed that every organization should maintain long term healthy relations
with their suppliers. Every business decisions is required to be taken with mutual discussion.
This facilitates good decision making and bring more effectiveness within the operations.
The powers are given to make sure that there is not any kind of biasness and favouritism.
Unethical use of duties is not correct and is not accepted within the business environment.
The Senior VP must focus on discussing this decision with the other members of the
management. Hating them is not what is required, apart from that there is a need to identify
what is right for the business. In such situation, democratic style of leadership could be more
appropriate (Sharma and Jain, 2013). This approach will involve the suggestions from all the
people. A more suitable and relevant measure can be discovered within this style of
leadership. However there are possibilities of loss of control and discipline. Senior VP here
is required to act accordingly. The pros and cons of every action are needed to be discussed
so that more sound decisions can be made. The goals and objectives are not to be affected.
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