Leadership in the Workplace: Skills, Styles, Theories, and Impact

This essay provides a comprehensive overview of leadership in the workplace, analyzing essential leadership skills, diverse leadership styles, and prominent leadership theories. It begins by examining the importance of leadership skills within organizations, using Bestway Group, UK as a case study, and highlighting cognitive and motivational traits crucial for effective leadership. The essay then delves into various leadership styles, including autocratic, democratic, laissez-faire, transformational, bureaucratic, charismatic, and transactional approaches, discussing their applications and implications. Furthermore, it explores significant leadership theories such as the Great Man theory, trait theories, contingency theories, and behavioral theories. The essay also covers the positive and negative consequences of leadership in the workplace and concludes by emphasizing the role of human resource managers in implementing high-performing work practices.

Leadership in the workplace

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................3
Leadership skills in Bestway Group, UK........................................................................................3
Importance of Leadership in workplace .........................................................................................4
Styles of Leadership adopted by various organisation....................................................................5
Theories of Leadership ...................................................................................................................6
Positive and negative consequences of leadership in the workplace ..............................................7
CONCLUSION....................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES...................................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
The scenario of workplace has been constantly changing from one generation to the another
because no employee wants to be confined to a specific job or no longer wants to work in complete
anonymity (Avey, Wernsing and Palanski, 2012). Instead, they want the organisation to realise that
employees of the companies are important assets. The role of leaders is not only to increase the
figures of employee retention but they also focus on improving the productivity so that
organisation's growth and development is enhanced. Traditionally, the term leadership is
conceptualised as skills that are necessary to be displayed so that organisation's performance is
increased (Derue, and et.al., 2011). The study will mainly focus on leadership skills that are needed
to improve the culture of the organisation, Further it will also discuss styles of leadership, positive
and consequences of leadership in workplace. Lastly it will also include the roles of human
resource managers in implementing high performing work practice in organisation.
Leadership skills in Bestway Group, UK
It is very necessary for a leader to maintain specific skills so that they are able to respond to
the requirements of Bestway Group, UK in a effective manner (Hallinger, 2011). Bestway Group,
UK is a conglomerate company that manages wholesale, cement and banking sectors in UK. It
accounts for more than 6000 employees in the organisation, hence, it is very necessary develop a
cluster approach so that leadership skills can be regulated in the company. For example if a leader
develops the skills of self- regulation, self-monitoring and motivation then will help in building the
abilities which can define emotional intelligence in a leader (Kalshoven, Den Hartog and De
Hoogh, 2011). Different leadership skills that are needed in Bestway Group, UK are discussed
below.
Cognitive skills:
 To maintain a positive impact of leadership in the organisation it is very necessary for the
leader to develop some cognitive skills so that they are able to perform various business
activities with effectiveness (Moran, Abramson, and Moran, 2014).
 Information processing skills are the most important cognitive skills that should be
inculcated in leader so that they can critical think on various situations and cases in the
organisation. For example written and verbal reasoning skills will help in increasing the
knowledge to a certain level (Ruiz, RuizMartínez, 2011). Good communication skills are also equally important because the main job of leader is to
communicate various information to all the employees who are working in Bestway Group,
UK (Walumbwa, Morrisonand Christensen, 2012). Effective communication skills helps in
promoting a free flow of necessary information in the organisation.

Motivational Traits:
 To implement successful leadership it is very necessary for the leaders to be highly
motivated so that they are able to focus primarily on aims and objective so of the
organisation.
 On other hand the term motivation can also be used comprehensively so that leaders have
the tendency to achieve effectiveness by self monitoring and self regulating themselves
(Leatherman, 2008).
 Motivational traits are important because lack of those traits will not help in convincing the
workers to work hard in Bestway Group, UK. This will hamper the quality of output which
is produced by the employees of the organisation (Puccio, 2010).
 Self-efficacy allows a leader to understand that, efforts are needed to accomplish various
tasks. It also describes confidence level, determination and direction so that different tasks
can be performed.
Importance of Leadership in workplace
For effective working of an organisation it is very necessary to have leadership because
employees in Bestway Group, UK requires leaders who is efficient enough to understand the needs
and requirements and who can genuinely motivate all the workers so that best results are produced
(Effective Leadership in the Workplace. 2016). Leadership is necessary because if employees are
failing to deliver quality services to the customer then leaders should be able to empower and
encourage them so that discover ideas and ideals. It is the duty of leaders to allow all the employees
to explore their talent and unleash the passion within them so that they are able to furnish desirable
results to the company (Cravens, 2014). A recent study conducted by Deloitte stated that
engagement from the employees is not enough for enhancing the performance of the company, but
is also required for all the workers to be passionate towards their work so that they are not confined
to immediate roles and responsibilities.
Secondly, it is also necessary for the leaders to build teams at workplace which last long.
Leadership is very necessary for a team to work together (Caldwell, 2013). In 21st century
workplace environment a leader should focus on identifying the interconnections that exists
between cluster groups so that they are able to initiate the thinking abilities of all the workers. In the
changing market place it has become very important for the employees to engage in discovering
their abilities and talents so that they are able to produce better results. This can be achieved by
empowering them to think, act and innovate in different ways. Communications plays a very
important role in visioning the aims and objectives of the organisation (Dransfield, 2012).
Communication certainly helps in defining methods that can help in meeting the expectations of

Bestway Group, UK. Communication between employees can also be enhanced by organising
formal and informal meetings. This can be beneficial because it helps in identifying real leaders
which are needed in the company so that productivity of the organisation is enhanced (Khanand,
Sheikh, 2012).
Styles of Leadership adopted by various organisation
A detailed description of various leadership styles adopted by various organisations have
been discussed below.
1. Lewin's leadership styles: This leadership style has been broadly divided into three major
categories such as autocratic leadership, democratic and laissez-faire leadership style. Autocratic leadership style: In this type of leadership style the leaders take various
decisions without consulting the members of their team (Lou, 2007). This is not
appropriate in all the cases but it proves to be beneficial when a company wants to make
quick decisions in certain conditions. This leadership style is not effective and can
increase the staff turnover rate. For example UK fuels uses autocratic leadership styles. Democratic leadership style: Most of the organisation which are conglomerate
companies adopts democratic leadership style because it is very important to focus on
ideas and views of employees who are working in their organisation (Zack, 2012). In
this type of leadership style the employees are also encouraged to make decisions which
increases the creativity in all the workers. This style is effective as it leads to high job
satisfaction and high productivity. But this is generally not effective in the case when a
company wants to make quick decisions (What Are the Advantages & Disadvantages in
Leadership in a Company or Business?, 2016). Laissez-faire leadership style: This type of leadership is adopted by many companies in
UK because they feel, all employees who are working in there firm are significant assets
and should be involved in decision making (Avey, Wernsing and Palanski, 2012).
Leaders provide complete liberty to the employees so that they are able to manage their
work in given deadlines. This results in high job satisfaction but it can also lead to
negative consequences if employees are not equipped with talents and skills. This is
generally noticed in the organisations where managers do not have any control over the
work and the employees (Derue, and et.al., 2011).
2. Transformation leadership : This type of leadership style is completely based on integrity,
high emotional intelligence, motivation, self regulation and self monitoring. The leaders

encourage the team members to give their best so that companies performance is enhanced
to maximum level (Hallinger, 2011). All the employees are held accountable for their
actions which helps in maintaining high productivity. But this type of leadership style do not
fits in for all the organisation, hence, it is very necessary to analyse different leadership
styles before adopting any one of them (Kalshoven, Den Hartog and De Hoogh, 2011).
3. Bureaucratic leadership: In this leadership style, rules are implemented rigorously and the
employees have to follow them precisely. Bureaucratic leadership style is effective for the
organisation who deals and handles heavy machineries, toxic substances and perform
routine tasks (Moran, Abramson, and Moran, 2014). This style is not effective when
different tasks are performed by developing teams and the organisation focuses on
flexibility, creativity and innovations.
4. Charismatic leadership style: This style is somewhat similar to transformational leadership
style because in both the cases, leaders focuses on inspiring and motivating team members
so that productivity can be enhanced (Ruiz, RuizMartínez, 2011). But there is a difference
in intent. Transformational leaders mainly focuses on transforming their team and
organisation so that they can work in a better way, but in charismatic leadership style the
leaders often pays more attention on own ambitions and objectives and do not tend to bring
about any changes in the organisation. The leaders feel their actions will not produce any
negative consequences but this can severely damage the image and reputation of the
organisation (Walumbwa, Morrisonand Christensen, 2012).
5. Transactional leadership style: This style is adopted with the idea that all the team
members have to obey their leaders and they will be paid for the service or job that will be
performed by the employees of the company (Leatherman, 2008). The leaders also have the
right to punish the workers who are not able to perform their task in appropriate manner.
This style is adopted by large and small organisation and it also produces different benefits
if it is adopted properly. For example Tesco has adopted transactional leadership style so
that it is able to clarify the roles and responsibilities of all the employees. This leadership
judges and rewards employees on the basis of performance. But one of the major
disadvantages of this style is that it can result in high turn over rate of employees (Puccio,
2010).
Theories of Leadership
Different leadership theories have been explained which has mainly focused on different
variables and skills that are required to become successful leader (Zack, 2012). Various theories are

stated below.
The Great Man theories: According to this theory it is stated that leaders are not made they inherit
the trait from former leaders. This is used to portray mythic and heroic leaders in history which ave
shown effective leadership skills when it was required. The term Great man is used to denote the
qualities possessed by males to become a leader (Cravens, 2014).
Traits theories: This theory is somewhat similar to Great man theory but it assumes that some traits
of leadership are inherited and some traits are developed with time (Caldwell, 2013). Trait theories
often focuses on personalities and behaviour which is exhibited by individuals. But it is very hard to
justify that if they all these qualities are already present in them then why they are not successful
leaders. This theory is not able to justify this question hence, this is less effective.
Contingency theories: This type of theory mainly focuses on the factors related to the environment
which helps in understanding that which leadership style is more effective for a particular
organisation (Dransfield, 2012). Based on this theory it can be stated that no leadership style is
equally effective in all the situations. Hence, not only leadership style is important for organisation
but there are many other factors that affects leadership at workplace.
Behavioural theories: This theory contradicts the Great man theory and states that leaders are not
born they are being made. They tend to become leaders by the actions they perform in the
organisation. According to this theory, leaders can be made if they inculcate the habit of learning to
observe things with effectiveness (Khanand, Sheikh, 2012).
Relationship theories: This theory is also known as transformational theory which focuses on
building relationships between leaders and the employees in the organisation. The leaders help in
increasing the motivation level and guiding them properly so that they are able to perform task
successfully. Transformational leaders not only focuses on the performance of team members but
they also help individual team members to meet their potential (Lou, 2007).
Positive and negative consequences of leadership in the workplace
There are both positive and negative consequences of leadership which can be produced on
individual, group and organisation level. Both positive and negative consequences have been
discussed below.
1. Positive consequences
 If, leadership is implemented in proper manner then it can bring about positive changes and
can improve attitude, thinking and behaviour of a person (Zack, 2012). This can also help
in shaping the culture of organisation and revising the policies.
 By exhibiting proper leadership styles, the manager can maintain high level of engagement

in employees so that they can perform all the task with effectiveness and vigour.
 In many organisations it has been noticed that if effective leadership style is not adopted
then it can lead to increase in turnover rate (Avey, Wernsing and Palanski, 2012). But this
can be reduced by adopting suitable leadership styles. This will also increase the
motivation level of all the workers.
 Apart from outcomes produced on individual basis there are many outcomes produced on
group and organisational basis as well (Derue, and et.al., 2011). Effective leadership helps
in maintaining positive team climate than can encourage the team members to work
properly. This will also improve the quality of work and productivity.
 Learning is also increased because different team members are able to impart knowledge
and ideas to other team members. This will also help in formulating various strategies that
can help in meeting the aims and objectives of the organisation (Hallinger, 2011).
 The level of absenteeism is also lowered because employees starts building interest in the
job which has been assigned to them. This will in turn increase motivation level and
effectiveness in work.
 If, proper leadership style is adopted then it can also help in developing more common
communication between team members and other officials of management team. This will
automatically enhance the way of working in the organisation. Organisational outcomes and consequences can be increase in productivity and financial
performance (Kalshoven, Den Hartog and De Hoogh, 2011). If, the leaders will guide all
the employees in proper way then they will work more efficiently so that productivity is
enhanced. Moreover, if productivity is enhanced then the financial performance will also be
maintained which is one of the major positive outcome that can be produced on an
organisation.
2. Negative consequences
There are many factors that can lead to negative consequences if leadership style is not
implemented effectively (Moran, Abramson, and Moran, 2014). The negative outcomes are likely
to increase if the employees think that leaders are not treating them fairly and are undermining
them. Hence, destructive leadership can be conceptualised when either the employees develop a
perception that they are not treated equally or when the leaders starts behaving in destructive pattern
(Ruiz, RuizMartínez, 2011). Negative consequences of destructive leadership style has been
mentioned below.
 If, proper leadership style is not adopted then it may lead to damage the attitude and
thinking abilities of all the employees (Walumbwa, Morrisonand Christensen, 2012).
Further, unscheduled absenteeism, theft and disobedience is likely to hamper the quality of

work in the company.
 Absence of organisational citizenship behaviour is also one of the major issue that can be
noticed if leaders do not follow proper leadership style (Leatherman, 2008).
 It is also very necessary to maintain a proper goodwill in the eyes of other organisation so
that business flourishes to the maximum level. But if leaders are not able to guide or train all
the employees then it will automatically reduce the good will. Further, this will affect the
productivity and financial performance of the company (Puccio, 2010).
 If, the perception of the employee changes then it can also lead to increase in the high
turnover intentions. This can also provoke a person to develop negative attitude towards a
leader.
 Destructive leadership style can also decrease the level of job satisfaction and the employees
might not take interest in doing various activities related to work. This can also lead to
weakened commitment towards goals and objectives of the company (Zack, 2012).
 Rating of the performance is also affected by ineffective leadership styles. If, proper
leadership style is not adopted then it will certainly produce a negative consequence on
rating of the work (Cravens, 2014).
 A reduced sense of well-being and trust is also noticed if employees are not working in
proper organisational culture.
 Negative consequences can also be noticed on groups and organisational level. According to
different organisational studies it has been reported that destructive leadership produces a
negative impact on the behaviour of employee at group level which results in damaging the
performances of the organisation (Caldwell, 2013).
 The negative impact is generally associated with high level of customer dissatisfaction.
When, employees get demotivated they are not able to perform effectively which increases
the customer dissatisfaction level to maximum leve (Dransfield, 2012)l.
 High turnover levels is also seen when leaders are not able to implement effective leadership
styles in the company.
 Counter productive work behaviour is also likely to increase if leaders are not able to
support the employees. If, they will not guide them properly then they will not be able to
perform different tasks with effectiveness (Khanand, Sheikh, 2012).
 Hence, it is very necessary to analyse different types of leadership styles that best suits the
organisation so that performance and productivity is not decreased. This will also help in
maintaining job employee retention (Lou, 2007).

CONCLUSION
The entire assignment has been prepared on leadership in the workplace. It is very necessary
to have various leaders at workplace because if they are not present then the decorum of the
organisation will not be maintained. The study included various aspects of leadership such as
importance of leadership at workplace, different leadership styles adopted by various organisations,
theories of leadership and consequences that can be produced due to leadership. Leadership styles
can be broadly divided in five types. All the organisation adopts various leadership styles depending
upon the suitability. If, organisation is not able to adopt effective leadership style then it can lead to
negative consequences.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Avey, J.B., Wernsing, T.S. and Palanski, M.E., 2012. Exploring the process of ethical leadership:
The mediating role of employee voice and psychological ownership. Journal of Business
Ethics. 107(1). pp.21-34.
Caldwell, R., 2013. Change leaders and change managers:different or complementary? Leadership
& Organisation Development Journal. 24(5). pp.285-293.
Cravens, X. C., 2014. The cross-cultural validity of the Learning-Centered Leadership framework
and its assessment instrument for principals. Journal of Educational Administration. 521(1).
pp.2–3
Derue, D.S. and et.al., 2011. Trait and behavioral theories of leadership: An integration and meta‐
analytic test of their relative validity. Personnel Psychology. 64(1). pp.7-52.
Dransfield, R., 2012. Human Resource Management Studies in economics and business.
Heinemann.
Hallinger, P., 2011. Leadership for learning: Lessons from 40 years of empirical research. Journal
of Educational Administration. 49(2). pp.125-142.
Kalshoven, K., Den Hartog, D.N. and De Hoogh, A.H., 2011. Ethical leadership at work
questionnaire (ELW): Development and validation of a multidimensional measure. The
Leadership Quarterly. 22(1). pp.51-69.
Khan, M. and Sheikh, N., 2012. Human resource development, motivation and Islam. Journal of
Management Development. 31(10). pp. 1021-1034.
Leatherman, D., 2008. Quality Leadership Skills: Standards of Leadership Behavior. Human
Resource Development.
Lou, X., 2007.Continuous Learning: The Influence of National Institutional Logics on Training
Attitudes. Organization Science. 18(2). pp. 280-296.
Moran, R.T., Abramson, N.R. and Moran, S.V., 2014. Managing cultural differences.
Routledge.Robbins, S. and et.al., 2013. Organisational behaviour. Pearson Higher Education
AU.
Puccio, G., 2010. Creative Leadership: Skills That Drive Change. SAGE.
Ruiz, P., Ruiz, C. and Martínez, R., 2011. Improving the “leader–follower” relationship: Top
manager or supervisor? The ethical leadership trickle-down effect on follower job response.
Journal of Business Ethics. 99(4). pp.587-608.
Walumbwa, F.O., Morrison, E.W. and Christensen, A.L., 2012. Ethical leadership and group in-role
performance: The mediating roles of group conscientiousness and group voice. The
Leadership Quarterly. 23(5). pp.953-964.
Zack, D., 2012. Managing for People who Hate Managing: Be a Success by Being Yourself.
Berrett-Koehler Publishers Beinecke, R. and Spencer. J., 2007. International Leadership
Competencies and Issues. International Journal of Leadership in Public Services, The. 3(3).
pp.4-14.
Zack, D., 2012. Managing for People who Hate Managing: Be a Success by Being Yourself.
Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Online

Effective Leadership in the Workplace. 2016. [Online] Available through:
<http://www.tnj.com/career/career-advice/effective-leadership-workplace>. [Accessed on 19th
July 2016]
What Are the Advantages & Disadvantages in Leadership in a Company or Business? . 2016.
[Online] Available through: <http://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-disadvantages-
leadership-company-business-35547.html>. [Accessed on 19th July 2016]