Leadership is the way of making people agree to take certain actions in order to meet a given goal (Lynch 2015). A successful leader needs to be in a position to inspire people to carryout different things that he/she wants them to do. Avolio and Yammarino (2013) states that leadership is not just limited to a given aspect, but it can be used in different settings, including politics, religion, and organisations. A leader should have a personality that enables him or her influence the followers to meet the intended goal
s. A leader should also be able to see the strengths and weaknesses of the followers, and give them an appropriate assistance, to transform them into the ideal individuals who can meet the needs of the company. Burns (2010) describes the concept of transformational leadership as a leadership style that involves charisma and a shared vision between a leader and a follower. A transformational leader is able to motivate and inspire the followers.
Transformational leadership can be described can be described with two concepts, idealised influence and individual consideration. Idealised influence refers to the charismatic leadership that enables the leaders to act as role models to their followers (Aaker & Joachimsthaler 2012). The idealised influence is described in terms of attributes and behaviour influences. The attributes refer to the traits of the individual, while the behaviours relate to the actions of the individual based on the given attributes (Aaker & Joachimsthaler 2012). On the other hand, inspirational motivation is a characteristic that refers to the ability of a leader to motivate the team through communication. A transformational leader is able to demonstrate optimism, commitment, and dedication to the goal. The transformational leader is able to unveil the creativity of the followers and use their abilities to solve problems. They are also able to assist their followers through personal development, which is mainly promoted by two-way communications that occur between a leader and a follower.
Transformational leadership is the most effective and it provides different ways to inspire followers. Famous business leaders such as Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are considered transformational leaders. These leaders established visionary IT companie
s, and they tapped into the knowledge of their employees to develop modern Apple Inc. and Microsoft. They were able to transform their followers into individuals who understood their visions, which promoted their ability to innovate. If given an opportunity to lead an organisation, I would embrace the transformational leadership style. I would infuse the knowledge of the people and the vision of the organisation to develop products or services that will succeed in the market. As Schein (2010) states, the current business environment requires looking for innovative ways and new ideas as opposed to sticking with the same old approaches. A transformational leader also possesses a clear vision, which guides him/her and prevents from deviating from the path. Moreover, the leader is also able to guide his/her team towards the realisation of the vision. I support the transformational leadership style due to the nature of engagement that takes place between the leaders and the followers. Their relationship enables them to understand what needs to be done, and to identify the ideal candidate to conduct the specific activities.
Reference List
Aaker, DA & Joachimsthaler, E 2012, Brand leadership, Simon and Schuster, New York.
Avolio, BJ & Yammarino, FJ 2013, Transformational and charismatic leadership: the road ahead, Emerald Group Publishing, Somerville.
Burns, JM 2010, Leadership, Harper Perennial, New York City.
Lynch, M 2015, ‘Adopting a transformational leadership style’, The Advocate, viewed 28 March 2016, <http://www.theedadvocate.org/adopting-a-transformational-leadership-style/>
Schein, EH 2010, Organizational culture and leadership, John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken.
The change can be internally or externally motivated, and can turn out to be major or minor. In addition, change can be expected or it may happen unexpectedly. Leadership is a broad term that can refer to different things, people, and various scenarios. Leadership may happen at the community level, religious level, or organisational level. In the contemporary business world, leaders are concerned with changes, and ways to handle it within their organisations. It is also important to understand the positive and negative impacts of change on organisations.
he status quo. Most people resist it, as uncertainty often comes with change. Modern organisations are looking to reshape their activities in order to suit the demands of customers, and it is the role of leaders to make it happen. Clarke (2013) realised that change management is one of the biggest problems that managers and leaders face within organisations. In most cases, the change will face resistance, as the employees may not understand it, or to see its purpose. Therefore, the management has to introduce the change in an intelligent manner in order to prevent resistance.
ed the just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing model within its operations, introduced the Toyota production system, and the Total Quality Management strategies at the management and staff level (Jayaram, Das & Nicolae 2010). When implementing the change, the company used the Lewin model to ensure that personnel accepted the transformation (Jayaram, Das & Nicolae 2010). It incorporated different learning and training programs regarding the change in order to motivate its employees to embrace the change. The change process in Toyota was success, as it was able to maintain its operations and develop a strong image among the clients (Jayaram, Das & Nicolae 2010).
In this regard, the manager is defined as an individual who tends to focus more on structure, systems and strategy, while the leader focuses on style, skills, staff, and shared values. Kent (2005) also highlighted differences between management and leadership, and stated that managers influence their subordinates while leaders influence the subordinates. Kent (2005) also added that management creates stability while leadership creates change.
Despite the differences between leadership and management, both aim to achieve goals, processes, products, and purposes. In addition, researchers highlight how an individual ought to exhibit both managerial and leadership traits as the attitude of a manager is based in the personality of a person. This personality assists in the accomplishment of their visions as leaders to achieve the successful performance of an organisation. Through the incorporation of the leadership traits, an individual develops the vision and motivates the subordinates, and the managerial traits enable them to find the right alternative and effective approach towards the achievement of goals. Adair (2006) presents the Action model that bridges the relationship between management and leadership. According to Adair (2006), management entails the achievement of tasks while leadership involves the satisfaction of individual needs and the development of teams. After exploring the views of the different researchers, it is easy to conclude that an individual needs to develop both managerial and leadership skills to be effective.
The autocratic style entails a situation when the leader or manager makes all the decisions alone, and he/she has the power to reward or punish (Mullins 2010). The democratic style of leadership involves a situation when the manager is a part of the team, and he or she involves the subordinates in decision-making, as well as, the implementation of policies. Finally, Laissez-faire is a style in which the manager gives the subordinates freedom to act as they think is correct. In such case, the management does not get involved, and the subordinates make the decisions that affect them (Mullins 2010).
Two leaders that fit the ideal leadership style are Sir Richard Branson and Steve Jobs. Branson operates a wide array of businesses throughout the world, and he has a proficient way of selecting perfect candidates to whom he delegates duties. Therefore, they feel that he trusts them, which acts as a motivational factor. Raymundo (2014) states that Branson believes that by putting the employees first, all the other stakeholders benefit. On the other hand, Steve Jobs had a similar approach to leadership when he was at the helm of Apple Inc. He was a transformational leader who demanded to see continuous excellence from the subordinates, and he made sure that they had the ideal environment to meet his demands (McInerney 2011; Cluett 2013). It is perfect for the leader, who is a team member, to offer opportunity to participate in the decision-making processes. Therefore, the democratic style of leadership is considered the most effective.
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