HR essay on: Leadership
Leadership is explained as a process for influencing the group of individuals in order to attain common goals. The goal can be easily achieved through mutual cooperation and cohesive behaviour. A leader is the one who infuses the positivists and even directs the individual towards the specified goal (Lussier and Achua 2009). There are various theories that examine and define the traits of a leader. There are certain traits of a good leader such as, extraversion, intelligence, adjustment, general self-efficacy, and conscientiousness. In organization, a leader is the one who stands for taking the responsibility and even motivates the other individuals, so that they could give their best performance in the work. Leadership is not a quality, but can be defined as an individual’s behaviour (Draft and Lane 2008).
In order to address the emerging trends and fulfil the requirements of the society, the interpretation of the leadership is changing dramatically in the organizations. Leadership is identified in terms of the personal traits. Contemporarily, leadership is recognized as the contractual relationship between the followers and leaders in the transformation of an organizational performance. In the present time, many technological changes are occurring in high pace that is moving the knowledge based economy from the industrial economy.
Globalization is also playing a crucial role in bringing changes in an organization. Nowadays, leadership is focusing over the interdependence, interactions, innovation, relationships, and complex learning in which collaborative functions are distributed within an organization (Komiyes, Lucas and McMahon 2009). Emerging models of leadership are addressing the volatile issues in order to provide the techniques of leadership for the coming future. There are three arguments related with leadership, such as practice, skills, and research findings. These three arguments oppose the formal leadership, leader irrelevance, complexity theory, and substitutes of the leadership. There are few arguments that states that leadership is irrelevant for the organizations, rather it is a situation that should be analysed carefully.
The environment is referred as the prevailing conditions and the factors in which one learns and develop. It includes formal education and the entire context of one’s life that significantly affects the similarities and differences in situations. The environment player’s important role in shaping the leaders through their past experiences that impacts their success and failures (Martin 2006). Environment also affects how the leaders interact with the present and future situations. In order to have a successful development of an environment, it should be ensured that it should teach about the requirements.
For developing a good environment in the organization in order to enhance the leadership practices, it is important that requirements of the environment should be fulfilled, which means it should be conducive in learning, should include scientific techniques and experiential settings for enhancing the learning. For practicing the leadership, the main objective of an environment is to develop the good leaders that provide fitting environment and support (Winkler 2009). Environment should be supportive and nurturing and enables rich experiential learning opportunities. The preliminary evidences from the behavioural genetics leadership define that 30% of the variance in the leadership emergence and style is accounted through the genetic predispositions. There are different environmental factors that should be considered in an organization, such as technology, strategy, position, organizational structure, and physical distance.
Leadership theories
Transformational Leadership Theory
It is increasingly important to create the high performance workforce; therefore, it is important that business leaders should inspire the members of an organization to focus beyond the requirements of a task. Along with other concept of the leadership, the concept of transformational leadership has also emerged and is popular in many organizations. At every level of an organization, transformational leadership is found, whether it is team, divisions, departments, and organization as whole. These types of leaders are visionary, daring, inspiring, thoughtful thinkers, and risk-takers. Their leadership has captivating appeal. But only attractive image is not sufficient for their leadership in the changing the way in which organizational activities are operated (Bass and Riggio 2005).
Model of Transformational Leadership
Transactional Leadership
Transactional style of leadership is often used by the managers. It focuses over the basic process of management that includes controlling, short-term planning, and organizing. Example, of the leader’s uses transactional technique covers de Gaulle and McCarthy. Transactional leadership includes directing the followers and motivating them through appealing their own interest towards the work. The inspiration of motivation of transactional leadership comes from the formal authority and responsibility within an organization. The leaders following the transactional leadership believe in motivating through the system of punishment and rewards. The exchange between the followers and leaders takes place for achieving the performance goals.
Trait Model of leadership
The trait model of leadership is entirely based over the characteristics of a leader. The theory is used for both successful and unsuccessful leadership, which is used for predicting the effectiveness of leadership (Northhouse 2009). The list of traits is compared with the potential leadership in order to assess the likelihood of success and failure of the leadership practice. The model or approach is quite supportive in searching for the intellective, decision, demographic, functioning, and personality, and social characteristics with the emerging leaders along with their effectiveness of the leaders. For successful and effective leaders traits, such as personality, interests and ability are very important. These traits are not responsibility and are not enough for searching about a person, whether they are successful or not, because many preconditions are applied with the leadership potential.
Great Man Theory
There are some persons who are born as leaders, which are Julius Caesar, Abraham Lincoln, Napoleon, Queen Elizabeth, and Alexander the Great, who are different from the ordinary people in every aspect. This same is applied on the contemporary leaders, such as Mahatma Gandhi and George W. Bush. These leaders possess high level of ambition, which is coupled with the vision of precisely, in which ever activity they do. These leaders were naturally great, who are born with the personal qualities that makes the effective. The true great leaders are born, which is believed by today’s mangers. In comparison to the contemporary theory of leadership, leaders are not like other people. According to the theory of great man, these people don’t have to be intellectually genius for succeeding, but they require possessing right stuff that is not present in other people in equal proportion (Yuki 2007).
Continuum Leadership
The continuum leadership suggests possible leadership behavior, which is available to the manager and along that it uses leadership styles. According to this theory continuum leadership presents the different actions that are linked with the authority degree. It is also used by the managers along with the area of freedom that is available with the non-managers for depicting the outcome. There are many range of styles associated with leadership that shows the continuum between the two level of free rein and autocratic.
Comparison and contrast of the leadership theory
Trait theory/behavioural theory
Trait theory is the virtual theory of the leadership that was started with an idea, which has specific virtues that a leader should have in them. These are known as inborn traits, manifesting themselves within the born leaders that can be supported but can take control and guide the situations. Behaviour theories reject the inborn potential or virtue approach of the leadership, Behaviourism reduces leadership for establishing an action, in which leaders undertake the relative or specific situations in an organization. There are no born leaders in the behavioural theory, rather in this theory leaders are given training in which they are taught and developed. Therefore, in the leadership theory of trait, anyone can be an effective leader, but it is important to possess relevant environmental conditions along with quality (Marshall 2010).
Behavioural theories like Trait theory place significance on the characteristics and ability of the leaders. The main difference includes the follower. This creates every situation of leadership but slightly different and depends on the situation, relationship behaviour, task behaviour, and combination of the two could be easily applied. This depicts a shift from the scientific approach, due to the changing environmental factors, which determines how best to lead. Theories in this time are more concerned with the willingness, motivations, and preferences of the employees, along with the traits of the leader should be similar to the situation. Behavioural theory is more democratic in nature. According to the school of behavioural thoughts, it is explained that for becoming an effective leader, it is important that proper training should be provided. While in case of trait theory leaders have inherent and inner qualities that makes them successful leaders. Example, about the two individuals, in which one person is born in a house having very weak skills and is popular take others advantage. Another person took birth in a house in which they have powerful skills and are known as the born leaders. Theoretically explaining, an individual coming from the first house will most likely to develop servility habits, while the person coming from second house wills most likely develop habits of assertiveness. The main similarity between the two theories is that it emphasizes on the identified actions that are capable of undertaking the certain situations. Trait theory is also known as behaviourism, which holds that leaders should have certain personality, habits, and markers within them. The theory also provides an argument that this theory should be elicited from time to time and other person has high potential in comparison to others.
Advantages/disadvantages of theories with justification
Trait Theory
Advantages
One of the most pleasing theories is the theory of trait, which is proved valid by many researches, and it is also provided valid from the foundation. The theory also provides a yardstick in place of trait leadership in order to explore an individual. Detailed knowledge and explanation is provided by the trait theory along with the elements of the leaders that are possessed within the leadership process (Trait Theory of Leadership 2012).
Limitations
The trait theory model attempts to link with the physical traits such as weight and height for attaining the effective leadership. Most of the traits factors are related with the situational factors. This theory is very complex and has subjective judgement in exploring about the successful leaders. The theory also has some disagreement traits that are significant in becoming a successful and effective leader.
Behavioural Theory
Advantages
The major strength of theory of behaviour is that it highlights about the behaviour that can be easily observed and manipulated by others. Therefore, in this regard, this approach is considered as very supportive in the case of experimenting under the laboratory conditions. Behavioural approach can be manipulated by others, in context of variables, such as, independent and dependent. The principles of behavioural leaders can be tested, under which learning outcomes can be studied. The theory of behaviour entirely focuses here rather than focusing over searching for past and person’s history (Woods 2010).
Limitations
The approach of behavioral theory cannot include the behavioral causes, because it assumes that behavior occurs with the certain time period. Treatment of behavior, such as systematic desensitization is quite effective in the specific situations of disorders. The theory of behavior is usually criticize, because it suggest about the behavior of human, which is implied with the stimulus response behavior of a product, this attitude is sometimes looked as reductionism.
The study has clearly defined about the leadership practices followed in the present organization. It has been analysed from the overall study that leadership practices are very important in the organization in order to enhance the work productivity and performance of an employee. For following the leadership practices in the organization, leaders paly an important role. They motivate and encourage the employees to give their best outcome. The study has justified the importance of leadership through different theories. Differences and similarities between the two most popular leadership theories are explained in the study which is trait theory and behavioural theory of leadership that are applied in many organizations. Trait theory is the virtual theory of the leadership that was started with an idea, which has specific virtues that a leader should have in them. These are known as inborn traits, manifesting themselves within the born leaders that can be supported but can take control and guide the situations. Behaviour theories reject the inborn potential or virtue approach of the leadership, Behaviourism reduces leadership for establishing an action that any leader should take relative to the situations within an organization. Advantages and disadvantages between the two theories is also explained in the study.
If you want HR management Assignment Help study samples to help you write professional custom essay’s and essay writing help.
Receive assured help from our talented and expert writers! Did you buy assignment and assignment writing services from our experts in a very affordable price.
To get more information, please contact us or visit www.myassignmenthelp.Com
