The Norfolk Department of Human Services: Leadership

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Identification Leadership
Identification of Sources of Power
Analysis of Saint Leo Core Values and Leader’s Respect
References

Introduction

Power plays an important role in any kind of relations people can develop. Power may interest people in the creation and support of romantic relationships, as well as in the workplace. Some leaders find it normal and justified to spend their lives acquiring power and controlling people. To be a leader is not an easy task in any facility. It is not enough to believe that power is integral for leaders. It is important to know how to use power, follow ethical standards, and choose correct positions. The role of power in leadership cannot be neglected because it is the ability to influence other people, and its absence or overuse may define a future existence of an organization (Lunenburg, 2012).

Sometimes, leadership and power are defined as the terms that can be similized, meaning that power is the ability of a leader to develop their influence potential. Successful leadership is an appropriate use of power and the recognition of sources, positions, and personal traits (Oc & Bashshur, 2013). In this paper, the analysis of leadership on the example of the work of the Norfolk Department of Human Services and the values and goals of Saint Leo University and the discussion of the role of respect in the development of professional relations in a family will be developed regarding the existing definitions, factors, leadership theories, and influence tactics.

Identification Leadership

Leader Identification

Hughes, Ginnett, and Curphy (2009) confirm that effective leadership may depend on numerous factors, including employee loyalty, demographics, talents, and technology. The choice of a leader in the choice of a direction that has to be followed by an organization and all its people. At this moment, I am currently working at the Norfolk Department of Human Resources. I am lucky to have a good leader, who understands the importance of this role and the necessity to develop leadership skills and knowledge. This person can combine the traits of a great leader, who gives clear orders and rewards, an effective supporter, who motivates and clearly explains everything, and a good example to be followed when certain tasks and instructions are given. My current boss is a successful transactional leader, who knows how to supervise and organize people and make them being focused on performance.

Leadership Definition

Today, many definitions of leadership can be given. The current leader may have certain strong and weak points, and the task of this paper is not only to identify the characteristics of a leader but to explain what it means to be a leader. Leadership is not a male or female quality or the roles individuals may occupy. Leadership is a group process that includes the development of influence and inspiration (Platow, Haslam, Reicher, & Steffens, 2015). Leaders have to understand that their task is not only to control people but also to investigate the opportunities for each employee and a company as one single body. Therefore, leadership is difficult, and leaders have to be ready to complete many tasks in a complex global environment (Latham, 2014).

Leadership Theory Application

Regarding the fact that the current leader belongs to a group of transactional leaders whose goals are to develop professional relations between the leader and the followers and to ensure positive outcomes at the motivational and rewarding levels. This type of leadership can be analyzed in terms of transactional leadership theories developed by Webber or Bass during the 1970s (Hughes et al., 2009). The examples can be offered as properly developed punishment and reward systems.

There is a clear hierarchy of needs with the help of which leaders and employees can establish their relations. According to Bass (as cited in Hughes et al., 2009), followers have to demonstrate their admiration, trust, and respect of transformational leaders, and leaders, in their turn, have to increase their followers’ awareness of values and task importance and activate human needs and abilities. This theory promotes quality improvement and high performance of a company (Latham, 2014). Regarding the main aspects of the transactional theory, power turns out to be a factor that helps leaders gain control over their employees.

Identification of Sources of Power

Sources of Power

Power in leadership is the level of influence a person may gain on another person. There are five main sources of power, including expert, legitimate, referent, reward, and coercive (Hughes et al., 2009). Each source of power has its characteristics the recognition of which helps to improve organizational performance and develop an understanding of employees. Expert power is based on knowledge, referent power includes the promotion of interpersonal relations, coercive power is based on threats and sanctions, reward power is anonymous to coercive example and is based on salary increases and other types of support and recognition, and legitimate power is the example of positional power where hierarchy gains a serious meaning.

The current leader’s source of power is a hierarchy (legitimate power). There are different departments with certain tasks and several people who have to understand their roles and their jobs’ positions (Lunenburg, 2012). If necessary, followers can resist their leaders defining their positions and responsibilities.

Leader’s Need for Power

Power is a great motivator for leaders and their followers. Power and influence are the components that leaders use to explain their expectations and their demands from their employees. The current leader under analysis expresses the need for power in several ways. The need for power has expressed the observation of performance ratings and regular meetings during which leaders explain to their followers what is expected from them and what goals have to be achieved. The leader helps to solve various situations and show how to stay active and efficient. Finally, our leader involves all employees in regular questionnaires to gather opinions and recognize personal progress in the workplace.

Influence Tactics Identification

Nine main types of influence tactics can be used by leaders in their work. The leader under analysis finds it beneficial to use rational persuasion and inspirational appeals as the main influence tactics. On the one hand, rational persuasion helps to choose logical arguments and introduce them to employees in a clear way. For example, all employees are informed about the core values of the company and the goals their departments have to meet. On the other hand, rational persuasion maybe not enough for a good leader to rely on. Therefore, the leader relies on inspirational appeals to motivate employees and arouse their enthusiasm (Hughes et al., 2009).

Influence Tactics Evaluation

Each tactic of the leader is a significant contribution to the development and improvement of an organization. Rational tactics help to investigate different aspects of the work that has to be performed. The inspirational appeal is a part of soft tactics when the leader demonstrates kind and fair relations to every employee. Choosing such an approach to evaluating employees’ abilities and steps, leaders can control, support, and promote the development of their people using their best skills to hide possible shortages of work. Both tactics remain to be successful in our department.

Reciprocal Influence

The offered tactics promote the development of reciprocal influence in the organization. The leader determines the conditions under which employees have to work and identifies the measurements and goals that have to be met. However, the leader’s tasks and abilities are not enough to promote the development of the facility. Employees’ interest, enthusiasm, and desire to work are the factors that play a role in the organization.

LFS Model

The LFS model is frequently used to explain the relations that have to be developed between the leader, the followers, and the situation (Hughes et al., 2009). In our organization, the results of the work can be properly investigated through the LFS model. For example, the leader introduces the task and defines the directions that have to be followed. These gestures may have no meaning in case the followers play their role and complete the task demonstrating various approaches and enthusiasm. Finally, only when the situation is taken into consideration, the task can be performed regarding the abilities of employees and expectations of the leader.

Analysis of Saint Leo Core Values and Leader’s Respect

Respect Definition

Successful performance of an organization depends on how well employees and leaders comprehend their organizational values, the constructs that represent behaviors and norms (Hughes et al., 2009). When leaders identify values, they can distinguish between right and wrong, helpful and harmful, clear, and suspicious. One of the practical suggestions given to leaders is to treat their employees with dignity and respect (Lunenburg, 2012). Respect is integral in leadership because leaders have to gain it to become successful and recognizable, and employees have to demonstrate and deserve it to earn for living. Respect is easy to lose and hard to deserve. Therefore, our leader never regrets of the achievements made and the recognition and respect obtained.

Respect Examples

There are many examples of how the leader uses respect. Our team is always eager to support our leader. It is because of respect the leader has already obtained. In our turn, every employee is ready to complete the task, demonstrate new approaches, and investigate new areas. Our leader appreciates the sacrifices employees can make in the name of the work, and employees can make various decisions because they know that the leader can see the level of respect, trust, and recognition.

Respect Assessment

There are many ways of how to assess a leader’s use of respect in the facility. For example, a questionnaire can be offered to employees and ask them to share their attitudes to their leader. It is impossible to obtain all positive questions because it may become a fake as not all leaders can be perfect for all employees. Still, if more than 70% of employees demonstrate their positive attitudes, the success of the leader is evident. Besides, the evaluation of a leader’s success and the level of respect can be defined by the readiness of employees to do their work on the conditions offered by the leader.

In general, I find out leader a successful professional in the field of management and education because this person explains everything, supports in cases of emergency, and motivate to expect positive results. Our leader is a good example of a transactional leader that can become a perfect transactional leader with time.

References

Hughes, R.L., Ginnett, R.C., & Curphy, G.J. (2009). Leadership: Enhancing the lessons of experience (6^th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill Irwin.

Latham, J.R. (2014). Leadership for quality and innovation: Challenges, theories, and a framework for future research. Quality Management Journal, 24(4), 11-15.

Lunenburg, F.C. (2012). Power and leadership: An influence process. International Journal of Management, Business, and Administration, 15(1), 1-9.

Oc, B., & Bashshur, M.R. (2013). Followership, leadership and social influence. The Leadership Quarterly, 24(6), 919-934.

Platow, M.J., Haslam, S.A., Reicher, S.D., & Steffens, N.K. (2015). There is no leadership in no-one follows: Why leadership is necessarily a group process. International Coaching Psychology Review, 10(1), 20-37.

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