Category: Leadership Styles

The Theory Of Leadership Styles

Kurt Lewin’s theory identifies three leaderships styles: autocratic, democratic or laissez-faire. The leadership style at Dream Homes is Autocratic. It’s directive, the leader makes all decisions, task orientated, the leader provides clear objectives and tells individuals how to achieve them. During the change process this style will be required to manage the Roberts staff in order to have them trained to the new systems and processes of Dream Homes because they will be inexperienced and will need more guidance. The two service agents with 3 months experience need to be managed similarly, with more direction and not as much support. “This is excellent when quick decisions and change need to be managed, however in the long term can be frustrating and demotivating as seen at Dream Homes where staff feel they need more autonomy” (ILM, 2017).

“Democratic leadership is a person based approach focusing on building relationship, collaborating with team members to provide input in decision making. Experienced staff at Dream homes with five and six years experience could be managed using this style as they have already expressed their frustration with the current autocratic style of their existing leader and want more autonomy. This will engage, motivate and make them feel that their ideas are valued. A disadvantage is that less confident leaders may not make decisions when needed and too much time can be spent building relationships that the focus on tasks slip” (ILM, 2017).

“The current leadership style at Roberts is laissez-faire. It relies on trusting staff and allowing them to get on with objectives with minimal direction or guidance, day to day decisions are made by experienced individuals and the leader only provides input when necessary” (ILM, 2017). Once the initial change process has been completed, this style can be used to manage the team at Roberts as it mimics their existing leader, trust has been developed for more than ten years and staff are very experienced and motivated in their work. “This style frees up the leader from having to make day to day decisions in order to give attention elsewhere. It builds individuals within the team to take ownership and responsibility of objectives and to use their initiative and improve their problem solving capabilities” (ILM, 2017). Using this style it can be hard to change people’s ways and they can be slow to react to instructions.

There’s many different leadership models which encompass the above styles. Hersey & Blanchard’s situational leadership model explains there are 4 leadership styles: S1. Directing / Telling, S2. Coaching/ Selling , S3. Supporting/ Participating, S4. Delegating.

Leadership style is selected based on four leadership situations (D1, D2, D3 & D4). The leadership situation, described as developmental levels which are decided based on the task, individual’s competence and their commitment to that task. The style is chosen by deciding how much direction and support a particular situation needs. Direction is the amount of instruction, training, decision making, providing clear objectives, feedback and monitoring that is required by the individual to complete the task. Support is about the leader helping the individual build motivation and confidence as their competence levels increase.

Directing/Telling style (S1) focuses on the leader proving clear task objectives, clear instructions of how to complete it, will closely monitor the progress and is very directive. The level of support required is low. Those who have low competence and high commitment (D1) need more directive behaviour where individual are told what to do and how (S1).

Coaching/ Selling style (S2): leader defines the objectives and makes the decisions, however this is based on the suggestions and concerns provided by individuals about the task. Leader provides support where required to help increase the individual’s confidence and motivation. As individual’s competence and commitment develop (D2), this style is adopted, where there is still some level of direction, however there is increasing level of support.

Supporting/ Participating style (S3), As individuals moves to a moderate/ high level of competence and commitment (D3), leadership style is less directive and more supportive (S3), it’s more collaborative and individuals can help with decision making. Leaders support/guide individuals to think and reflect on the objectives and provide further input which helps build confidence and motivation.

Delegating style (S4), is when individuals have high competence and commitment (D4), leaders are able to delegate tasks (S4). Little to no direction and support is required. The leader is encouraging individuals to develop themselves to take on leadership roles.

The selection of leadership style using this theory is based on the level of competence and commitment towards a task and not necessarily the number of years an individual has worked with the organisation.

Comparing And Contrasting Leadership Styles Of Steve Waugh And Sourav Ganguly

This paper compares the leadership styles of two cricketing giants, Steve Waugh from Australia and Sourav Ganguly from India. This paper throws light on their leadership effectiveness, how they increased motivation among their team members and, what would they be remembered for in the business history. The paper also talks about how they used their communication skills to get buy-in for their strategies towards the game and, how they compared in their decision-making skills. Throughout the paper parallels have been drawn between the two leaders across various leadership traits.

Leader Effectiveness of Steve Waugh and Sourav Ganguly

Yukl (2011) presented the idea that effectiveness of a leadership is measured by the extent he /she has been able to enhance the performance and job satisfaction of the team. This factor was clearly seen in two of the world’s best cricketing captains. Steve Waugh was one the most important successful captain of Australian cricket team. Steve Waugh led the Australian cricket team from 1999 to 2004 (Banerjee, and Shankar, 2017). His leadership skill was phenomenal. Under his leadership Australian cricket team won sixteen consecutive test matches and became the worlds number cricketing nation in both text match format and one-day format (Kerr, 2002). Sourav Ganguly took over the leadership of the Indian cricket team as a captain at a very difficult point of time in Indian cricket. Lot of big players had been terminated from cricket due to match fixing issues. Mohammad Azharuddin the former Indian team cricket captain had himself confessed of accepting money from bookkeepers to intentionally lose matches (Ashok, 2008; Bose, 2000). Sourav Ganguly became the captain in 2000 and was very successful to getting the team back on track by instilling harmony among the team members. Under his leadership the Indian cricket team won ten consecutive matches in away games and reached the world cup final in 2003 against Australia.

Steve Waugh

Yukl (2011) presented the idea that the effectiveness of a leader is measured by perception of the leader and follower attitude. The effectiveness of a leader can be measured by the quality his/her team possesses and how does his/her followers perceive the leader. Steve Waugh had all such qualities. He was an effective leader during his captaincy of Australian cricket team because of his risk-taking abilities. Not only was a great batsman but also a very tactical risk taker. One example is when he launched his rampant attack on England’s faster bowler Darren Cough leaving the opponent clueless. Self-confidence was another important quality of his effective leadership. One example for this is when Darren Lehman from Australia told in a press conference that how Steve Waugh instilled confidence among new and younger players in the dressing room. Another important trait that Steve Waugh exhibited was leading by example. Steve Waugh made sure that he was only an excellent leader but also a very good player himself. It in 1999 semifinals of cricket world cup when Steve Waugh single handedly helped his team win the match.

Sourav Ganguly

Kernis (2003) presented the idea that an effective leader is the one that invests in relational transparency since transparency helps to build trust and hence eliminate unhealthy emotions. Sourav Ganguly was an effective leader during his tenure as Indian cricket team captain because he was supportive. Sourav Ganguly always backed new and young players and stood by them when their cricket form was not at its best. One example is when he backed Yuvraj Singh as a young player and later Yuvraj Singh went on to become one of the best batsmen in Indian team of all times. Another aspect of his leadership skill was his Authoritarian nature. Before his captaincy the Indian cricket team used to be very timid, but he made sure to bring in players with strong character. Team-builder was also one of this very strong quality as a leader. When he joined the team there was miscommunication and mistrust among the team members. He made to sure to bring everyone together and build a string world-class team.

Increasing Motivation

Lussier (2010) presented the idea that an effective leader engages in transformational leadership , trying to find problems in the current system and having a vision of how the new organization would look like. Hence to motivate one’s team a leader requires skills like technical skills, interpersonal and , decision-making skills. Steve Waugh was the kind of leadership who motivated his team by pushing their limits and putting new challenges and targets in front of them. Since he had an unchanged team from the previous Australian captain, he developed new qualities in his existing players. On the other hand, Sourav Ganguly motivated his team by his emotional intelligence. He supported his team during their bad times, and this motivated his team to go above and beyond to deliver for the nation. Sourav Ganguly was an emotional captain and he did not shy away from exhibiting his emotions on the field. This quality of his motivated his team because they could see that cricket is not just a game for that captain but much mire than that.

Steve Waugh

Kontodimopoulos, Paleologou and, Niakas (2009) presented the idea that motivation is the driving force in pursuing and satisfying one’s needs. Steve Waugh was a testament to this fact. Steve Waugh was limit pusher in true sense when it came to motivate his team. He never let his team be satisfied with their current performance and always motivated them to aim for something bigger. His ideology was to win at all the matches at any cost and go down in flames trying one’s best. Giving up was not a word in leadership dictionary. Other then pushing limits he motivated his team by helping them realize their true potential. He was the kind of leader who helped the team members look for qualities which would have gone unnoticed otherwise. For instance, he helped a lot of players like Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting improve their performance. He helped players excel in their game. His motivational skills are testament to the fact that when Steve Waugh retired as Australian team captain , Ricky pointing took over the leadership and was a very successful captain as well.

Sourav Ganguly

Olusola (2011) presented the idea that the work behavior of employees is fundamentally driven by motivation. Sourav Ganguly did the same for his team. His motivated his team by sticking by their side when their form wasn’t good, and they were not able to perform well as the filed. He did not give up on players when their performing bad in games and ultimately helped them turn their game around. He further motivated his team by treating them in harmony. His motivation tactics were seen in his strong team building capabilities where in built team like a family. Changes were seen during his captaincy. The team would form huddles at regular intervals of the game to talk to each other and pumping fists to motivate one another. There was cheering seen for each other on the field and off the field. Ganguly was an emotional captain wherein he had removed his shirt on winning the final game at Lords against England. This showed his team members what the game meant to him and motivated them to perform beyond expectations.

How Steve Waugh and Sourav Ganguly Will be Remembered in Business History

Ganta and, Manukonda (2014) presented the idea that leadership is a unique quality wherein one person can “change the values, beliefs, behavior and attitudes of another person”. It is because of this change management ability that leaders are remembered for their successes in the years to come. Steve Waugh will be remembered in the years to come for his result oriented and strong-willed leadership quality. On the other hand, Sourav Ganguly will be remembered for tactical and strategy driven approach to the game of cricket.

Steve Waugh

Northhouse (2009) presented the idea that a strong leader is a person who can direct his/her team in the right direction to achieve the goals set by the management. Steve Waugh was no stranger to this research finding. Waugh via with his result oriented and gutsy leadership was able to direct to his team in the wining direction on multiple occasions. Waugh will be remembered in history for his result focused leadership quality. He did not bother if the opposition was weak or strong, he always prepared his team for the toughest match possible. His worst win to loss ratio against England and West Indies was 11 to 3. This showed he won 11 matches for every 3 losses which proves that he has driven by results. Other than that, Waugh will be remembered in history for his gutsy decision-making skills. This gutsy behavior was seen during the test match against England. He had muscle tear in his left leg but still walked out to bat hitting 21 boundaries and helping Australia to in the test match.

Sourav Ganguly

Jackson and, Parry (2008) presented the idea that via strong leadership a manager can help the team to work in a direction which is in alignment with company’s long-term goals. This is what Sourav Ganguly showcased during his captaincy. He will be remembered in history for his tactical decision-making quality. He changed the batting order very tactically at every occasion depending on the opposition and pitch conditions. The opposition had no idea to predict on the batting order. He will be remembered for his surprise element. Other than that, Ganguly will also be remembered for amazing strategy that be built for the game. He would like eye-to-eye to his rival captains specially Steve Waugh. Ganguly was very smart at playing mind games with this opponent captains and bring them under pressure. Ganguly will be remembered for his mind game quality as well.

Communicating to Support Ideas

Hao and, Yazdanifard (2015) presented the idea that change management can help gain competitive edge and, every employee should be allowed to accept change management at their pace and style. For change management communication is the key factor. Steve Waugh was well equipped with this trait. Waugh used his rational reasoning and to the point communication skill to get support for his ideas. Sourav Ganguly on the other hand used his performance appreciation skill to get support for his ideas. As everywhere appreciating someone for their work one can draw his/her attention to get support for their ideas.

Steve Waugh

Towler (2003) presented the idea that communication is the key to effective leadership. Steve Waugh was very rational when it came to communicate his ideas to his team. He was very straightforward when it came to communicate his ideas on how the team should progress in the years this come. He was a leader with no attitude fuss, he had just one goal in his mind that was to have his team on a continuous winning streak. His team related to his idea of this and their superior performance showed in the game. Another way via which Waugh got support for his ideas was his self-confidence and unfazed attitude under any situation. Steve Waugh was a leader who had immense self-confidence. Seeing this his team had strong belief in his plan towards the game and hence for him communicating his ideas was not a difficult task.

Sourav Ganguly

Atkinson (2015) pointed out that communication is an integral part of an effective leader and without effective leadership change cannot happen. Sourav Ganguly was more on the authoritarian and aggressive side when it came to communicate his ideas and getting buy-in for this strategy towards the game. This approach was important when he took over as the captain of Indian cricket team. This was because when he joined the team as the captain there were issues of match fixing and mistrust within the team . It was important for some one to take up the role of a disciplinarian in the team and that’s exactly what Ganguly did. Though Ganguly was a strict captain but at the same time he also appreciated his team members whenever they performed well to keep the communication channel running from both the sides. Whenever the team members had their back against the wall and their performance and motivation was low, he supported them . So, via the right balance of discipline, support and, appreciation Ganguly was very successful to clearly communicate his strategy towards the game.

Techniques for Problem-Solving, Generating Solutions, and Decision Making

Steve Waugh and Sourav Ganguly had some common ways to problem solving and decision making. This includes traits like practical attitude, strategic brilliance and continuously raising the bar when it came to performance.

Steve Waugh

Du Plessis (2007) presented the idea that an effective leader always makes efficient use of competitive advantage and implements and adapts to the changing market conditions. Steve Waugh approached the problem by analyzing the strength and weaknesses of the opponents. He approached the problem of slow batting with a winning formula of fast scoring. He always had 2 to 3 pinch hitters on the team who would score at average of minimum 80 to 90. Steve Waugh took the advantage of first mover when it came to efficient decision making. HE was always driven by results and his style of leadership can be compared with path goal theory of leadership.

Sourav Ganguly

Azzam (2014) presented the idea that an effective leader motivates his employee when making tough decisions via rewards or position. Sourav Ganguly approached problem by with lot of aggression. Unlike his predecessors he was driven by strong will and never back down nature when it came to decision making. Ganguly knew how to sledge his opponents off the filed and get them under pressure on the match day.

Summary and Conclusions

Steve Waugh and Sourav Ganguly have been very successful cricketing captains for their respective nations. They both have helped their teams touch new heights in the game of cricket. They laid a strong foundation of many more cricketing years texas come for their countries. Steve Waugh had an exceptional winning rate of 72% while Sourav Ganguly also had a good winning rate of 42%. In summary it can be conclude that bot the players were exceptional leaders. They both had their unique management styles and were instrumental in making cricket a popular sport around the world.

References

1. Atkinson, P., & Mackenzie, R. (2015). Without leadership there is no change. Management Services, 59(2), 42-47
2. Ashok, R. (2008, July 7). Leadership lessons from cricket. The Hindu Business Line. Retrieved from http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/manager/2008/07/07/stories/2008070750691100.htm
3. Azzam, A. M. (2014) Motivation to learn: A Conversation with Daniel Pink. Motivation Matters, 72(1), 12-17
4. Banerjee, P., & Shankar, S. (2017). A content analysis of the leadership styles of Steve Waugh and Sourav Ganguly: Leadership lesson from the game of cricket. The Qualitative Report, 22(5), 1284-1296. Retrieved from Retrieved from http://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol22/iss5/8
5. Bose, M. (2000). Azharuddin confesses all. The Telegraph, November 02, 12:00 am GMT, available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/4774886/Azharuddinconfesses-all.html
6. Ganta, V. C. and, Manukonda, J. K. (2014). Leadership during change and uncertainty in organizations. International Journal of Organizational Behavior & Management Perspectives, 3(3), 1183
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8. Kernis, M. H. (2003). Toward a conceptualization of optimal self-esteem. Psychological Inquiry, 14, 1-26
9. Kerr, P.L. (2002). The iceman cometh: Steve Waugh’s inside edge. Australian Psychological Type Review, 4(3), 13-20
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12. Olusola, 2011. Intrinsic motivation and self-efficacy as predictors of job performance of individual workers in Ijebu Zone of Ogun state. The Journal of International Social Science Research, 4(17): 570-577
13. Towler, A. J. (2003). Effects of charismatic influence training on attitudes, behavior, and performance. Personnel Psychology, 56(2), 363-381. doi:10.1111/j.1744- 6570.2003.tb00154.x
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Differences In Management And Leadership Styles

Managers and leaders in organizations often have a unique approach in the execution of their roles, as indicated in the case of the Iron Oxide Mineral Corporation (IOMC). The case study describes two distinctive approaches to management, as depicted by the Chief Operating Officer, James Joner Javier (JJJ), and the Chief Operating Officer, Mike Brewmaster. The differences in management style have the potential to cause conflict in the senior management committee and affect overall organization performance.

The current problem between the CEO and the COO can be attributed to the differences in management style, which causes conflicting views and approaches in making key organizational decisions. The CEO, Brewmaster, adopts a consensus approach to management that involves other senior management in decision-making processes. Meanwhile, the COO, JJJ, is opposed to the CEO’s approach to decision making and argues that he should adopt an autocratic approach; as such, Brewmaster should make one-sided decisions without involving everyone. The COO accuses the CEO of pretending to listen to the suggestions of other managers. In the end, he makes decisions that are contrary to the consensus arrived at during deliberations. Further, JJJ accuses of proposing mining methods that do not take the employees into consideration. For instance, he claims that the underwater mining strategy that was proposed by the CEO is beyond the company’s capabilities at present and it may not yield adequately.

The differences in management and leadership styles may result in conflict. As such, employee motivation and productivity are likely to be affected. The CEO proposes strategies such as underwater mining that do not take into consideration the roles and contributions of the current employees. The COO adopts a transactional leadership style that rewards employees who perform well and punishes those that perform poorly. Therefore, failure to consider the human dynamic may affect individual and organizational productivity. The clash between the CEO and the COO demonstrates that there are major differences regarding the direction that the firm should pursue. If the conflict continues, it will lead to a divided company.

Evidently, the CEO is concerned that if the company does not explore new technologies and mining methods, it may be surpassed by other firms in the sector. Then, the identification of a new direction for the company seems to the most viable option. However, the COO is of the opinion that the company does not have the capacity to explore a new direction at present. JJJ faults the CEO for failing to take into consideration the current role and impact of employees in generating revenues for the company. Treating employees well is not only the right thing to do, but it is also good business.

Conclusion

The positions of the two managers have their own merits since the CEO recognizes that the firm must adapt to changes in the industry in order to remain competitive while the COO believes that protecting human resources is critical for a firm’s efficacy in attaining its goals. The two managers should take into consideration the position of each other and consider developing a strategy that integrates their views. If they can work together to build the company’s future, it is possible for both to be satisfied, and each of their views regarding the firm’s future will be taken into consideration in determining the optimal course of action. If the dispute between managers are not mediated, they may have unexpected outcomes including other competing firms taking advantage of the situation.

Leadership Styles In Business

Leadership, a process of social influence, which maximizes the efforts of others towards achievement of a goal. (Ward 2019). In simple terms, leadership is the art of motivating a group of people to act towards achieving a common goal. In context of business, leadership can mean directing workers and colleagues with a strategy to meet the company’s needs.

There is never a one-size-fits-all leadership style for every business – all companies operate differently and certain traits will be more successful in some environments than others.

Out of the common referred leadership style, my leadership style was autocratic leadership style. I as a leader by virtue of following autocratic leadership had always being the leader who makes decisions without taking input from anyone who reports to them. I made choices based on my ideas and judgements and never considered nor consulted my employees prior to giving them any direction and expected to adhere to the decision at a time and pace stipulated by the leader.

Following this leadership style, I was able to take decisions quickly especially in a stress-filled situations. Through this leadership style, I had clear chain of command & oversight on the work assigned ahead. I thinking this leadership style, was very good in terms to be followed when my reportees needs to a strong leadership for getting the work done.

Leadership principles that I would always keep:

Autocratic leadership comes with characterises as mentioned below.

1. Retains all power, authority, and control, and reserves the right to make all decisions.
2. Distrust of their subordinates ability and closely supervise and control people under them
3. Involve themselves in detailed day- to- day activities and rarely delegate or empower subordinate
4. Follow one way communication. Do not consult with subordinates or give them a chance to provide opinions
5. Assumes that employee motivation comes not through empowerment, but by creating a structured set of rewards and punishment.

From the given characterises, I as a leader would not be willing to give away by power, authority, control & decisions making rights. As a leader, I need to know where my team stands in terms of working style, process following, work allocation and taking ownership of work and completing it. Also I need to take proper control of the situation and always ask my team to take my consent before preceding to any concrete decision.

The impact of personal beliefs on my leadership approach

The role of religion in uniting and guiding humankind is one that cannot be ignored. Leadership styles is a key area where religion displays itself indicating that there is a significant relationship between religion and the dimensions of leadership styles. The influence of religion on leadership roles takes many shapes. Religion serves as the backbone of ethics, values, and morals, thus corner stone of societies. The essence of religion is to guide spiritual and personal beliefs. According to an authoritative study by Phipps (2012), he explores links that influences spiritual beliefs of leader relating to the leadership. A research findings by Phipps (2012) states that religion plays dominant roles in leadership mentioning leaders tend to impose their religious beliefs in their leadership styles. In autocratic leadership style, the autocratic leader finds in religion a match made in heaven. Governing people by following autocratic leadership style takes us back into history & politics world -wide. Autocratic leadership is exercised by various leaders in the Bible including King Solomon and King David. According to Hage and Posner (2013), Christians use their religious beliefs and practices to model, encourage, enable, inspire and challenge, key dimensions of leadership styles. Under Christianity, followers are expected to be submissive to leaders while leaders are advised to exercise responsibility. In Kenya, autocratic leaders have emerged in times of crisis riding on religion. Autocratic leaders such as Daniel Arap Moi kept invoking the name of God to cultivate legitimacy of their actions. Autocratic political leaders keep asserting that they are chosen by God and thus their policies and actions should not be challenged. Influence of religion comes into politics from the history. The experience of Europe in 17th & 18th centuries shows strong importance of a strategy based on strong identification with a particular religion and on the ruling principle “cuius regio eius religio” according to which a citizen should have the same religion as the sovereign.

Key experiences that have informed my leadership approach

With my past experience of being a leader and following an autocratic leadership style has let me know that I being an autocratic leader had both good and bad experiences.

Starting with my good experience was a situation when my company was into a transformational phase of merger, I was an individual contributor and because of some internal changes within the department, I got an opportunity of being a leader by getting a team assigned of 3 employees. Seeing the phase we were in the company and that my team was cue-less in terms of managing work. I opted to be an autocratic leader and the first and foremost thing I did was taking control of the work and giving direction to each of my team member. With taking control of work of my team members, my seniors within the department were able to see work getting completed and task getting achieved.

However, being an autocratic leader was not a piece of cake. There were many difficulties being faced of same. One of them was not no connect with team. As the situation demanded to follow an autocratic leadership, it build a communication between me and the team member. I was always in a directive thought process to take control of the situation which resulted in a huge gap occurring between me and my team.

Identifying key leadership issue from personal experience that requires to make critical decisions.

Leaders are not born, they are made was the statement quoted by one of my senior. In my previous organization, I attended workshop named “School for effective and aspiring leaders”. This workshop made me learn different styles of leadership and during this workshop, I took one survey to check my leadership style and my style of leadership was Authoritative leadership style which focuses on task. Once an individual employee gets substantial experience in a company, you start to get various perks and incentives, same happened with me when I was asked to manage a team of 3 members. This happened immediately after business restructure of my company where lot of transitional changes were happening and work load was very high. There were few changes in our department as well which created an opportunity for me to lead a team of 3 members. I was clueless how to do so, as this team management and leadership was all together a new thing for me. I suddenly from an individual contributor was asked to keep up in the new role. To overcome my anxiety of handling a team and leading them, I did some research about the team their work profile, work types, skill index tracker, service level agreement and their early warning system ratings. Basis my research, I found that there were many issues with the team and I was worried as there were many leadership issues in that team.

Brief overview of these issues

My research findings showed a glimpse of issues with the team. All team members were not trained in all the activities and there was a huge knowledge gap within the team as they were not following the standard operating procedures. The entire team was direction less which was an important leadership issue. The previous manger, managing the team was on exit mode from the system. Not much attention was given by him on the work allocation, process following by team etc. Company being in merger phase, made it important for us to manage our day to day operation with due diligence and utmost care which in actual scenario was far from reality. Being the new leader of the team, I had got various complains from other department member on the work delivery style of my team. In day to day operations, lot of inter-department data sharing, report sharing and works take place in an organization which is a routine job. The existing team was not delivering or doing their routine job which as a leader you would expect to be basic requirement of their job. But, the existing team would only deliver the work that you as a leader would allocate them and nothing more. The sense of ownership towards their daily work was equivalent to zero. I would consider the issues to be a leadership issues, reason being the previous leader himself showed no responsibility attitude towards the work. Getting work done from team members was part of his responsibility.

The situation and my style of handling the same

The identified issues were critical for me because I as the leader was answerable. So, to take control of the issue, I shared the procedural changes and update in an email ordering them to follow. Also, I made sure that I do work allocation to each and every team member which gives me an insight of work allocated to each team member. To bring the entire team on one page, the solution to the problem was micro management. Micro management considered at this point of time with the expectation that the team shall start delivering the basic requirement of their job and shall do their routine job. I as having the traits of an autocratic leader, started with clubbing up all daily work which was expected from each team member. Now, my each team member on daily was expected to do a series of set target drive jobs and report back to me with set matrix which were my control strategy and gauge their performance, eventually team also understood what is expected and how things were in control. Once all these activities were completed, the team member was expected to send data and reports required by other department on mail with a CC to me. My autocratic style of leadership worked out well in this situation as the team which was earlier direction less now got a direction and was made aware in terms of expectation from his role. Things came on track eventually and a structure was creating to follow set processes any deviation would require my consent. The team was but uncomfortable with the process but we were able to deliver results with this process so I continued to have such strong checks in place.

Conclusion

Going forward I have to find replacement for one of my team member as the individual was not comfortable with my style of leadership, in an internal interview he stated that he was not getting creative liberty to work in this structure/working style. For which I agreed as my leadership style was not letting the individual to experiment a lot. However my opinion was, transactional job profiles does not require creativity, but requires repetitive and consistent approach. I was able to deliver results with this style of leadership, so management also agreed and my team member for shifted to another role after finalising a replacement which best suited this transactional role.

Referencing

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Leadership And Management Styles

What are leaders and what are managers?

Leadership is having the ability to influence, inspire, motivate and enable others to contribute toward the effectiveness and success of the organization. Therefore, leadership is an important and necessary skill for managers. It is an essential ability to create change and It plays an important role in affecting change and promoting development and consequently the achievement of good quality care for patients. (Gopee, N. 2014)

A Manager is someone that has the responsibility of getting things done and whos aim is to achieve the goals and objectives focused on the service users outcomes. In health and social care, their duties are to plan, organize, execute and control all the activities by using all available resources to ensure the delivery of high quality care. (Betts, P, 2000.pg,144)

What are the different styles of leadership?

Contemporary styles (Daniel Goleman’s Styles).

• Commanding – Get things done and they want them done quickly. Used correctly it is better style to use when fixing problems and its faster.
• Visionary – Inspiring those around them to become invested in the vision. They seek to motivate and get everyone on the same page.
• Affiliative – Portray their leadership traits through promoting harmony and conflict resolution among teams.
• Democratic- Is where leaders display a wish to consult and work with individuals and teams. Encourages collaborative teamwork. Also seeks the views of all relevant parties.
• Pacesetting – Sets extremely high performance standards and exemplifies them themselves and is also obsessive about doing things better and faster and they also ask the same of everyone around him. They quickly pinpoints poor performers and demands more from them.
• Coaching – Means giving lots of orders, but leaders also give lots of support (Gaille, B. 2019)

Traditional styles of leadership.

• Autocratic – Are linked to transactional X theory(McGregor theory) and typically make choices based on their ideas and judgments and rarely accept advice from followers.
• Democratic – Are linked to transformative Y Theory( McGregor theory). Is a very open and mutual style of running a team. Ideas move freely amongst the group and are discussed openly. Everyone is given a seat at the table and discussion is relatively free-flowing.
• Delegative (Laissez-faire) – Are also linked to Transformative theory. involves taking a hands off approach where leaders allow group members to make majority of the decisions. (Moulder, P, 2015) and (Posnick, S, 2016)

Transformational leadership styles;( theory Y)

• Visionary by modelling the way. Being a futurist.
• Attend to each follower’s needs.
• Empower their followers to perform beyond normal expectations.
• Excellent role models. Enabling others to act.
• Use intellectual stimulation to motivate followers to think outside the box.
• Influencing beliefs , attitudes and behaviours.
• Give more ideas and creative solutions.
• Group member commitment.
• Inspiring group vision. (Gopee,N. 2014, pg. 83)
• High productivity
• Transactional Leaders

Transformational management. (theory Y)

• Can lead to Communication failures.
• Poor decision-making by unskilled groups.
• Minority or individual opinions overridden. (Towler, A. 2019)

Transactional management; (Theory X)

• It eliminates confusion within the chain of command.
• It is a simple process to implement.
• It creates a system that is easy to follow. (Kendra, C.2019)

Transactional management style drawbacks are;

• It creates more followers than leaders.
• It limits the amount of innovation that is achievable.
• It tends to focus on consequences instead of rewards.
• It places zero value on empathy.
• It places success within the hands of the leadership only.
• It eliminates individuality from the production process.
• Lacking in vision. (Towler, A.2019)

How leadership styles are changeable to situations.

By changing leadership styles the leader can take different developmental phases into account. By not categorizing all employees into one general group, the leader can take into consideration individual situations and use their Leadership styles as a tool kit. Their goal is to evaluate the ability of each worker, to lift motivation levels centring on the style which is most useful for that person. This approach enhances the effectiveness of a team and boosts the productivity of each member of the team. Because this leadership style permits changes to be made, leaders can switch between the different styles that are most effective for each skill level of its employees. (Gaille, B. 2019).

What is the importance of motivation within a team?

Motivation is the internal force to stimulate people from being lethargic into action. The importance of being motivated working within a team is so that people do not become irritated and depressed by unsuccessful attempts at making improvements to situations. This leads to a lack of inspiration in the workforce (Betts, P. 2000. pg. 150)

In Maslow’s (1943) Hierarchy of Needs model, Maslow made assumptions that people need to satisfy each level of need, before elevating their needs to the next higher level.

• Advantages of this model- Gets Managers to consider the needs and aspirations of individual staff.
• Disadvantages of this- studies show that people do not rank their needs. Other theories say that not all people

search for self-actualization – Whilst this research provides a basic framework, life is complex. (Phast, 2017).

Proactive is a behaviour, Which is learned . Being proactive is something you have to make yourself do. It takes practice. Nobody is perfect; everyone has a bad day. But, you can’t always have a bad day.” “Practice proactively and become the person they want to be”.

What happens if your team is not motivated?

The cause of poor performance in Healthcare settings, involves a number of complicated factors that are connected, this is comprised of the challenges concerning competing demands in patient care. This can add to job dissatisfaction and low motivation among healthcare professionals. For example, in healthcare organisations which are lacking in equipment and management infrastructure, can lead to poor productivity, limiting focus and abilities to perform. Consequently often resulting in the delivery of poor quality care to service users. Dagne, T. et al. 2015. 25(3)pg. 231)

How does supervision and management help with in the workplace?

Coaching is mostly for a short-term intervention aimed at performance improvement or developing a particular competence. A process that enables learning and development to occur and consequently performance improves.

Mentoring can help and support people to manage their own learning in order to maximise their potential, develop their skills, improve their performance and become the person they want to be. Evidence suggests that mentoring is useful(KingsFund.org.UK, 205)

It is important that employees are supported in being able to reach their goals. This may include skills or knowledge training and workplace coaching or mentoring. In the workplace people must feel it is very important to try and that are supported and, where necessary are assisted directly in building their skills (Bureau. D. A, and Lawhead. J.2018).

There is clear evidence from robust studies in literature, suggesting that supportive management and staff perceptions of having effective leaders creates an environment that is associated with healthcare excellence. (Kingsfund. Org.UK,2015)

How does management effectiveness impact upon the quality of care to service users?

There is clear evidence of the link between effective leadership and a range of important outcomes within health services.

• Patient satisfaction
• Patient mortality
• Organisational financial performance
• Staff well-being
• Turnover and absenteeism
• Overall quality of care provided
• Engagement (Kingsfund.org.uk, 2015)

For example, the Winterbourne View scandals, due to their management failings the impact on quality of care to the service users was so shocking and had gone on for far too long, it sparked causation to initiate significant changes to be made within the NHS framework to improve the quality agenda.

Leadership style that is used in my workplace.

Democratic leadership: Everyone is given the opportunity to participate, ideas are exchanged freely and discussion is encouraged. Whilst the democratic process tends to focus on group equality and the free flow of ideas, the leader of the group is still there to offer guidance and management. The democratic leader being the chief executive is primarily in charge with deciding who is in the group and who gets to contribute to the decisions that are made. The most important goal is that the service users are put first and that they are safeguarded at all times.

If I was the manager how would I change things?

I would Manage using a transformational leadership style. Because, this style works best when working in healthcare and is in need of big changes and improvements.

• Build trust and improve leadership communication by sharing regular updates and give reasoning behind my decisions and changes.
• Share organisations goals and objectives and announcements regularly.
• Regular updates for your team members by creating status feeds so that my team could contribute to the team’s goals of the week or if anyone had any obstacles and provide guidance and feedback.
• Create automated scheduled questionnaires to ask staff ‘How do they think can we improve?’
• Spend less time on meetings by making them more productive because everyone is on the same page at all times.
• Share meeting agendas and meeting summaries with anyone.

References

1. Betts, P.W. (2000). Supervisory management. Seventh ed. Essex , England: Pearson Education Limited, pp.55–255.
2. Dagne,T., Beyene, W and Cerhanu, N (2015). Motivation and factors affecting it among Health professional’s in the Public Hospitals, Central Ethiopia. Ethiopia Journals of Health Sciences. 25(3)pg. 231.
3. Gaille, B. (2019). Daniel Goleman’s – Commanding Leadership Style. [online] Secrets to Their Success. Available at: http://secretstotheirsuccess.com/leadership-styles/daniel-golemans-commanding-leadership-style/. Accessed 22 February 2020
4. Gopee, N. and Galloway, J. (2014). leadership and management in healthcare. 2nd ed. London: sage publications Ltd, pp.4–260.
5. Kendra Cherry (2019). What Are Prominent Leadership Styles and Frameworks You Should Know? [online] Verywell Mind. Available at: https://www.verywellmind.com/leadership-styles-2795312#additional-leadership- styles-and-models. Accessed 25thFebruary 2020.
6. Posnick, S. (2016). 5 Nursing Leadership Styles You Need to Utilize as a Nurse. [online] TheJobNetwork. Available at: https://www.thejobnetwork.com/5-nursing-leadership-styles-utilize-122016/. Accessed 2nd march 2020.
7. Secrets to Their Success. (2019). Daniel Goleman’s – Commanding Leadership Style. [online] Available at: http://secretstotheirsuccess.com/leadership-styles/daniel-golemans-commanding-leadership-style/. Accessed 3rd march 2020.
8. Sfantou, D., Laliotis, A., Patelarou, A., Sifaki- Pistolla, D., Matalliotakis, M. and Patelarou, E. (2017). Importance of Leadership Style towards Quality of Care Measures in Healthcare Settings: A Systematic Review. Healthcare, 5(4), p.73.
9. Status Guides. (2019). What Is Visionary Leadership? 7 Traits of a Visionary Leader – Status Guides. [online] Available at: https://status.net/articles/visionary-leadership/. Accessed 3rd march 2020.
10. Towler, D.A. (2019). The qualities of transformational leaders and what distinguishes them from transactional leaders | CQ Net. [online] CQ Net – Management skills for everyone! Available at: https://www.ckju.net/en/dossier/qualities-transformational-leaders-and-what-distinguishes-them-transactional-leaders. Accessed 20th February 2020.
11. Moulder, P. (2015). What is Theory X and Theory Y of management? Theory. [online] toolshero. Available at: https://www.toolshero.com/leadership/theory-x-and-theory-y/ [Accessed 5 Mar. 2020].
12. Status Articles. (2019). How to Communicate During an Organizational Change [7 Best Practices] – Status Articles. [online] Available at: https://status.net/articles/change-management-communication/ [Accessed 24 Jan. 2020].
13. Frost, S. (Nd). How does coaching and Mentoring work to empower Employees? [online] Smallbusiness.Chron.com. Available at. https://smallbusiness.chron.com/coaching-mentoring-work-empower-employees-37534.html
14. Bureau. D. A, and Lawhead. J (2018) Assessing Student leadership development from mentoring coaching and advising. New direction for student Leadership 2018(158). Pp 6.
15. The Health Foundation. (2013). Nursing a safer future: How nurses are using proactive approaches to manage patient safety. [online] Available at: https://www.health.org.uk/publications/nursing-a-safer-future-how-nurses-are-using-proactive-approaches-to-manage-patient-safety Accessed 5th March 2020.
16. Maggs, D., Brooke, B. and Morrison, K. (12015). Leadership and Leadership Development in Health Care: The Evidence Base. [online] Available at: https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/sites/default/files/field/field_publication_file/leadership-l eadership-development-health-care-feb-2015.pdf.

The Impact Of Leadership Styles On Business Effectiveness

Leadership style impacts any business by influencing employee morale, their profitability, dynamic speed, as well as measurements. Leaders who are successful cautiously analyze issues, evaluates employees aptitude level, think about other options, and settle on an educated decision. A compelling leader gives an enduring effect by picking the most appropriate style of leadership following the circumstance. The leadership style of senior leaders in the company can have a profound impact on the success or failure of every business (Judge, Bono, Ilies, and Gerhardt, 2002). Management isn’t just about making decisions but also about the kind of culture you create in the workplace, and how you handle problems and issues of employees (Antonakis, Day, and Schyns, 2012). Hence, the personality traits of senior leaders play a vital role in the success of the company.

Given the results of the IPIP-NEO personality questionnaire, these managers have shown positive indicators of agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness, and extraversion. Management styles affect everyone from senior management down to newly hired employees. They create a corporate culture that influences the company and its performance. Communication and flexibility are important aspects of being a leader, and understanding the personalities of every employee can help improve both the managers and subordinates. Knowing how your subordinates are probably going to adapt in various circumstances will permit you to place them in positions where they are prepared to succeed. A common view is that managers possess a special set of qualities that are intrinsically part of their personality. While these depictions surely catch something about leadership, they don’t find a workable pace of it. Hogan and Holland (2003) state that effective leadership is neither a product of having the right characteristics nor about having the right expertise, but it’s certainly something that can be enhanced and learned over time, with the right dedication and effort. Indeed, it is conceivable to enable and create successful leaders at all levels inside a company and fulfill the authoritative basis for a compelling initiative that is a counterpart for a company’s most basic business challenges.

In our company, the democratic leadership style is currently being practiced by the senior leaders in accordance with their personality traits results. The democratic management style depends on shared regard. It is often combined with participatory management because it requires collaboration between leaders and employees guide.

The perceptions of their subordinates’ are significantly important. Although in the hospitality, the management is described as a ‘being there’ style, which provides stress, intervention, and control of operations and interactions between employees at all levels in the company. Furthermore, Hersey, Blanchard and Johnson (2017) stated that managerial management style ‘being there’ or ‘hands-on’ is considered as a prevalent management style in the hospitality industry, this style could be more compelling than different styles to obtain employees’ job satisfaction, since the managers work all the time with their subordinates and therefore leaders give more concern to employees’ problems at work. Managers clearly distribute responsibility and lead democratically among his group to facilitate participation in decision making. These senior managers also empower group members to accomplish tasks and provides training for development. Another management style used in the company is the Coaching style management approach to deliver better engagement, communication, and bottom-line results. Collaboration and partnership is described as a coaching style of management and external motivators are transformed into self-motivation when leaders behave like coaches. Also, a Coaching Style delivers huge benefits to individuals and company’s such as providing a good balance of support and challenge and reduces the stress of employees.

Making a large leap toward greater success as leaders and a company depends on the management style applied to every situation. Set aside the effort to allow the circumstance to disentangle and afterward apply the correct management style to the right circumstance. Understanding this approach enables everyone involved to see things with greater clarity. They will comprehend themselves better and will see each other in a manner they didn’t previously. It is a situation where everybody wins.

A Look at the Behavior of Transformational Leader Using Nelson Mandela as an Example

Leadership is the process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal (Northouse, 2007). Leaders’ persistent efforts aiming at improving the organization is called organizational change (Abbas & Asghar cited by Hirlak & Kara, 2018). Important element for a successful change in any organization is ‘leadership’. There are various leadership styles as put forward by different theorists, and each style has its own impact on change management (Ajmal et al., nd). Researches show that the leadership style, which may keep up with the changes that may occur around the business while keeping its organizations at the top level in terms of efficiency, is called ‘Transformational Leadership Model’ (Hirlak & Kara, 2018). Transformational leadership brings about change and organizational effectiveness (Bass Avolio, waldman & Eistein, and Yammarino & Bass cited by Ellis, 2007).

In this paper, it is illustrated how transformational leaders bring changes and make them sustainable. Specifically, with reference to Nelson Mandela as an example, the behavioral components of inspirational motivation, idealized influence, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration are used to show how transformational leaders brings about changes and make them sustainable.

Transformational leaders show behaviors that can be classified into four different styles: inspirational motivation, idealized influence, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration (Hughes, 2014). It is through these four identifiable components that transformational leaders can bring change and sustain them. The following is the description of each component and how it facilitates transformational leaders to bring about changes and sustain those changes with reference to Nelson Mandela as an example.

A leader with idealized influence (charisma) makes his/her followers tend to try to be like their (transformative) leader. This is because of the leader’s high standards of moral and ethical conduct. The followers deeply respect and trust transformative leaders. Transformative leaders provide followers with the sense of mission and a vision (Northouse, 2007). An example of such a leader is Nelson Mandela, who is considered as a leader who possessed elevated degree of ethical standards. Nelson Mandela set South Africa Free from the system of racism and intolerable violence and healed the whole nation. Mandela frequently said that “Courage is not an absence fear but it is inspiring others to move beyond it”. This is one of the components of transformational leadership, which is an ability to inspire others and it is through this that Nelson Mandela brought change to South Africa and united the entire nation. Nelson Mandela is still a role model to many today.

With inspirational motivation, transformational leaders are willing and devoted to accept legitimate power and it is with this power that they bring about and control the process of change. The transformational leaders are perceived as being the best in leading. Their commitment and passion to their vision inspires their followers and enhances the process of change towards positive outcome (Lowder, 2009). By considering Nelson Mandela as an example of a transformational leader, and showing how transformational leaders bring and sustain change, inspirational motivation is one of the ways. For example, in 1943 to avoid African National Congress (ANC) from being alienated Nelson Mandela and his close allies convinced the President of ANC that as ANC they have to form a youth division. The vision came to be shared in the ANC and it became the whole group’s vision and everybody was committed to achieving it. This shows how Nelson Mandela as the transformational leader used inspiration to change ANC and the followers towards the struggle for South African Independence which resulted to its independence in 1994.

Another component is intellectual stimulation. This is the capacity of the leader to motivate followers to ‘think out of the box’, when finding solutions to various challenges, in that way resulting in creativity and innovation (Bass, as cited by Agyemang, Boating & Dzandu, 2017). With intellectual stimulation followers are encouraged to try new approaches to problem solving. This increases followers’ awareness and interest in problems and enhancing their ability to find other ways of dealing with problems (Griffin & Rafferty, 2004). Literature shows that one of the most intellectually stimulating leaders was Socrates (Reza, 2019). In connection with Nelson Mandela as a transformational leader, he made ANC members and those following him believe that their sacrifices and decisions would lead to South African independence. Nelson Mandela’s determination, audacity, and patience were shown when he was imprisoned by the colonialist and this was an important drive for motivation of South African towards the fight for independence.

Individualized consideration involves the leader’s degree of providing support, instructions, and encouraging followers. Under this component according to Bass and Riggo, as cited by Gonfa (2019), there is an individual interaction between a leader and a follower. A leader walks around the working environment, which as a result will help the leader to know the followers, examine problems stumbled upon, spot the gap and help to give solutions (Gonfa, 2019). This component can be connected with Nelson Mandela as an example of transformational leader. After being freed from jail, in the process of making a government he formed a cabinet composed of even people who jailed him. He did this because he believed that leadership is not about helping those who already trust in a leader, but it is about convincing those who have doubt on a leader so that he can be trusted. This proves how a transformational leader can bring and sustain change through individualized consideration as Mandela did, by considering his interest but the greater good.

Conclusion

There is undeniable connection between leadership and change and its sustainability. This paper has shown there is the relationship between the style of leadership and the process of change. Transformational style of leadership is the style of leadership that has shown to be the fitting style in bringing change and sustaining the change. Based on this paper transformational leaders can bring changes through idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration. Nelson Mandela has been used as an example of transformational leader and how he applied the four components in bringing change and sustaining change in South Africa.

References

1. Agyemang, F. G., Boateng, H., & Dzandu, M. D. (2017). Examining intellectual stimulation idealized influence and individualized consideration as an antecedent to knowledge sharing: Evidence from Ghana. Knowledge Management & E-Learning, 9(4), 484–498.
2. Ajmal, S. Farooq, Z. Sajid, N & Awan, S. (2012). Role of leadership in change management process. Vol. 5(2), 111-124.
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7. Hughes, Tawney A., ‘Idealized, Inspirational, and Intellectual Leaders in the Social Sector: Transformational Leadership and the Kravis Prize’ (2014). CMC Senior Theses. Paper 906. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/906
8. Lowder, T. (2009). The best leadership model for organizational change management: transformational versus servant leadership.
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10. Nasir, M. Rafi, M. Akmal, M. (2013). Laissez-Faire Leadership Style.
11. Nelson Mandela a Transformational Leader. (2017).Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/nelson-Mandela-a-transformation-leader/
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13. Rafferty, A. Griffin, M. (2004). Dimensions of transformational leadership: conceptual and empirical extensions. 10.1016/j.leaqua.2004.02.009. A.E. Rafferty, M.A. Griffin / the Leadership Quarterly 15 (2004) 329–354.
14. Reza, M. (2019). Components of transformational leadership behavior. Volume 5(3) EPRA Publishing.
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17. Washington, C. (2019). Rules of engagement: my road to leadership. Lulu.com, 2019.

Analysis of Katherine Watson and Elizabeth (Betty) Warren’s Leadership in the Movie ‘Mona Lisa Smile’

The aim of this paper is to show how two contrasting characters, Katherine Watson and Elizabeth (Betty) Warren, from the movie ‘Mona Lisa Smile’, can be seen as leaders. With different approaches, personalities and overall life prospects, they have intrinsic characteristics some types of leaders possess. On one hand, Katherine Watson is showing how she can inspire and transform the vision of her students at Wellesley, taught by the conservative driven society, making them believe that they can become whoever they want in the future. They can aspire to be more than just a wife and have a household, and that by having one, they do not necessarily need to give up their further education. By doing so, she demonstrates characteristics of a transformational leader. On the other hand, Elizabeth Warren, born and raised in a very traditional and conservative family, always tries to keep a position of command. Regardless if she needs to manipulate, bully or terrorize, her aim is to keep the control of the situation and make others believe that her truth is proper. With this behavior, she demonstrates characteristics of a coercive leader. Katherine and Betty have different visions about the future and ways of affronting situations and confronting others, which they both believe to be correct. However, only one of them is really developing the characteristics of a true effective leader.

Katherine Ann Watson: Transformational Leader

Throughout the movie, the new art history professor Katherine Watson, developed a sense of connection and empathy with her students, that showed them they could think for themselves and decide for their own future. She wanted her class to change their narrow vision of what awaited them after graduation -sometimes even before- and realize they can achieve greatness, when they decide to do it. “But Katherine Watson didn’t come to Wellesley to fit in. She came to Wellesley because she wanted to make a difference” (‘Mona Lisa Smile’, Newell, 2003, 00:02:12-00:02:20). In this manner she demonstrates from the beginning, characteristics of a transactional leader, which she continues to develop during the movie. These types of leaders are believed to be effective leaders, due to the fact that they can impact people’s lives in a matter that is not imposing and that promotes personal satisfaction. Bernard M. Bass referred to transformational leaders as ones who want to broaden the interests of their followers, by creating self-awareness and acceptance of purposes beyond self-interest, they also act in different ways to get to the attention of others. They can generate intellectual stimulation and give individualized consideration, and be inspiring and charismatic (Bass, 1990). These individual characteristics will be further analyzed into Ms. Watson’s character in the following sub-sections.

Intellectual Stimulation Through Art

As a first significant characteristic, in order to keep follower’s interests, a transactional leader must stimulate them intellectually; this means promoting intelligence, rationality and problem solving (Bass, 1990) in diverse ways to maintain attention. During the movie, this distinctive feature can be seen in various scenarios. After Katherine Watson, the new art history professor coming from California, gave her first lesson she realized in order to get to her students, she needed a different approach of teaching. By the first lesson, every one of them without exception, knew by heart the whole year’s syllabus. The students learned things by the book but they lacked freedom of thinking, independence and their own voice. It is then, when Ms. Watson tried different approaches to help them speak out, formulate their own opinions and think for themselves. She started by developing different modalities of class, and trying different methods in order to stimulate the interest of her students and to keep them involved. By the second class, she brought a set of slides which contained a piece of art, a drawing done by herself as a gift to her mother and her mother’s photograph. This time, her students were shocked as the initial class program was not being followed, and it was the first time Ms. Watson asked them to speak out their thoughts. “Is it any good? – Come on, ladies. There’s no wrong answer. There’s also no textbook telling you what to think. It’s not that easy, is it?” (00:16:10-00:16:29). Skeptical at first, Wellesley girls started to answer positively to the teaching method, and began to express what they thought.

Later on, to keep the class interested, Katherine decided to take them outside the classroom where she presented a masterpiece by Jackson Pollock. “Do me a favor. Do yourselves a favor. Stop talking and look. You’re not required to write a paper. You’re not even required to like it. You are required…to consider it. That’s your only assignment today. When you’re done, you may leave” (00:46:11-00:46:30). In this occasion, she did not pressure them to have an opinion and discuss it, she just wanted them to take different things into consideration, see a bigger picture. In that way the professor would promote rationality and intelligence among her students.

Individual Consideration

Another relevant characteristic of a transformational leader is approaching differently their followers, and Bass describes individual consideration characteristic in a transformational leader as giving personalized attention (Bass, 1990). An example of this situation can be seen when Katherine gave a C to Joan, one of her students, and she came to her looking for an answer about why she obtained such a low qualification. She gave a second chance for Joan to submit the assignment, but this time she asked for her opinion, to dig inside and come with ideas of her own. “- Miss Watson, with all due respect… – Bruegel was a storyteller. Find the stories. Break them down into smaller pieces. You might actually enjoy it. – You’re giving me another chance? – So, it seems” (00:33:13-00:33:29).

After directing her to reason, Katherine started looking at her file, still in the presence of Joan, to identify the correct manner to approach the situation and be successful to deliver the message. By that time, Ms. Watson also realized Joan is pre-law in her file and interrogated her into which law school she would be applying, to which she responded none due to the fact she would be married and she has not really thought about it. Katherine then made a hypothetical situation, asking once again where would she apply, and Joan’s response then was well structured, pre meditated and concrete. “- Yale. They keep five slots open for women, one unofficially for a Wellesley girl. – But you haven’t really thought about it” (00:34:19-00:34:29). With that in mind, Ms. Watson encouraged her to apply to Yale, because she believed there is no need to choose between having a family and a career; women were allowed to have both. These are two examples of how Katherine treated her students in different ways in order to gain their trust and to carry her message as a leader.

Inspirational Speech

According to the financial executive article ‘Challenging Times Demand Inspiring Leadership’, “Inspirational leaders present themselves in widely differing ways. Some are soft spoken, while others are highly extroverted. Some connect with subordinates because they are viewed as possessing great nobility, while others make that connection from the sheer force of their passion to ‘take the hill’. Regardless of personal style, an individual can be inspirational for a good portion of colleagues” (Zenger, 2009). Characteristics to which Katherine Watson fits completely, and this applies to the third transformational leader consideration.

After Elizabeth Warren wrote an editorial article about her, Katherine gave a class like no other: this time she would be the only expressing her opinion, and every other person in the room should remain silence. She was full of emotions, and presenting great disappointment on the wasted potential of her students when they decided not to broaden their vision. “What will the future scholars see when they study us? A portrait of women today? There you are, ladies. The perfect likeness of a Wellesley graduate. Magna cum laude, doing exactly what she was trained to do: A Rhodes Scholar” (01:09:28-01:09:50). This was the first time she really expressed by words that the change she was proposing was not only related to her own interest. She expected greatness in order to help the development of the leaders of tomorrow, but at that point all she had was disappointment. “I give up. You win. The smartest women in the country. I didn’t realize that by demanding excellence, I would be challenging…What did it say? What did it say? ‘The roles you were born to fill’ Is that right? The roles you were born to fill? It’s my mistake. Class dismissed” (01:10:32-01:11:42). Katherine was not imposing, she had a vision and it faded in front of her eyes, while she read what was written about her, after giving her class. At the same time, the Wellesley students showed themselves being uncomfortable for what was written, because in most of their minds, they already realized that what her professor was trying to achieve was real, had power and was somehow already embedded in their new beliefs. Through that example, it is the clearest proof of Katherine’s inspirational side, where she influenced people without forcing them, relaying in the fulfilment of her leadership skills.

Charismatic Inclusion

At this point, in order to allude the attention and real connection with their followers, transactional leaders must possess charisma. Meaning confident, generating trust and capturing in a significant way their attention (Nikezi, Purić, & Purić, 2012). In a way, every action developed in this section, contributes with Katherine’s charismatic characteristics. However, it is not until her students asked her to swear an oath and be part of their secret society, that she truly gains their trust and support. “- Every year, the ARs nominate a member of the faculty to be our guest. -The what? – You’ll see. Come by tonight at 5:00. -Adam’s Ribs. A very secret society. Wait here. First, the oath. Please raise both hands. Do you swear not to repeat what you see, hear or smell tonight? – Smell? – Keep your hands up! Yes, smell. – I do” (01:02:42-01:03:22). This meant her students trusted her enough to talk to her regarding personal matters, and she trusted them to answer, creating a bond between them which results in a complete leadership portrait.

Betty Warren: Coercive and Autocratic Leadership

The second leadership style to be discussed in this paper is the coercive or autocratic and Elizabeth Warren is a great example of that. Unlike the struggles Katherine had to overcome from the beginning, having the privileged position of being the daughter of one of the members of the academic committee, Betty Warren had the power of making her voice being heard. She published editorials in the Wellesley newspaper with her own opinions, usually very drastic and following a very traditional conservative storyline. In this way, she in her hands the control to manipulate messages given and keep herself in a superior status position. Contrasting the effects shown by Katherine, Betty Watson was seen throughout the movie as a character who was always looking a position of power. She did not care if she needed to manipulate information, bully her classmates or threaten the professor in order to keep a position of command. She possesses the characteristics of a sub-style of leadership, a coercive leader which accomplishes tasks through manipulation, terror or bullying (Goleman, 2012). This sub-style will be further explained by exemplification in this section.

When I Write, They Listen

Using manipulative information to make a difference is a common characteristic of coercive leaders (Goleman, 2012) In the movie, believing she represented the school best intentions and traditions, which she tried to follow in detail, Betty Warren wrote several editorials in the internal school newspaper expressing her narrow opinion in a matter that made others believe it was the right thing to follow. After she found out Amanda Armstrong, Wellesley’s nurse, was distributing contraceptives in campus, she made her mission to call her out through that mechanism, and it resulted in the termination of Amanda’s years of service in the school. “By providing contraception on demand, our school nurse is little more than a cheerleader for promiscuity” (00:23:52-00:23:59). This example shows how Betty was not afraid to manipulate or distort information to conduct to power, which makes her a representative of this type of leadership.

My Way or the Highway

A coercive leader has a mentality of do it my way or else (Goleman, 2012) and due to her privileged stand in Wellesley, Elizabeth Warren believed to have the right to confront her superiors when if they represented a threat for what the conservative era and school represented. After her marriage Betty started missing classes, due to the fact that she was in her honeymoon, arranging her new home and taking care of domestic labors. Most of the faculty members ignored that behavior, but Katherine was not an ordinary professor, she expected more from her students. When Betty returned to class she was questioned, by her professor, on her absence. To this regard, she answered in a way to let others around her know she was in position of power. “- Don’t disregard our traditions just because you’re subversive. – Don’t disrespect this class just because you’re married. – Don’t disrespect me just because you’re not. – Come to class, do the work, or I’ll fail you. – If you fail me, there will be consequences. – Are you threatening me? – I’m educating you” (01:01:26-01:01:49). As it can be seen in the dialogue, Betty has a strict policy to follow her methodology as a typical autocratic leader would do; making her a significant figure of this leadership style.

Change in Wellesley-Graduates Mindset

Regardless of the leadership style, in order for a person to become a leader, he or she must have at least one follower, before that they are just lone nuts (Sivers, 2014). During the movie, it is visible how the Wellesley graduates start responding positively to Katherine’s narrative. As they begin believing what she is saying as part of their truth and engaging in different attitudes, with a sense of ownership, making Katherine Watson an effective leader (Dunk, 2019). The results of followership can be represented in diverse events in the conclusion of the film, despite only two will be described briefly. In spite of having very different characteristics, the same unique outcome is achieved: Wellesley women being able to speak for themselves and take their own decisions.

The first glimpse that showed a complete straightforward decision from one of the students, was seen when Joan decided to marry and give up the pursuit of law school. At first Katherine could not understand why she was quitting her dream and tried to convince her otherwise, that she could have both, a family and a career. However, it soon became clear that Joan’s dream was to raise her family not graduate school, standing up behind her choice and making it clear to Ms. Watson (01:31:28).

Furthermore, another significant event, was after Betty Warren realized her husband was being unfaithful to her. Beyond what she taught was true, and despite her previous behavior towards the current society norms, she stood up to her mother, who was imposing her to stay in the unhappy relationship, and filed for divorce (01:48:49).

This ultimately showed, how profound and beyond self-interest was the message that Katherine was trying to deliver, highlighting her as a real transformational leader. And consequently, giving her the followers, she needed.

Conclusions

In the course of this paper, different characteristics of leaders have been described, as well as how effective is the impact on the followers when a given leader approaches them. Despite that Katherine’s and Betty’s leadership styles deferred in significant ways, they both had a very narrow vision and interpretation about how women should behave, this decreased the range of influence to others. In other words, having a one and only concept for the future, they can attract less people to their narrative and make them believe it is their own. These two characters, showed how human and vulnerable they were for moments, and how that vulnerability made them more influencing. Nonetheless, they could be ruthless and reactive in given periods, which help us remember they are human before they are leaders. It is clear that transformational leadership impacts in greater and more concrete ways their followers, as they do it for a good beyond themselves, and can have long-term impact. However, a coercive or autocratic leadership style is also effective if the situation must be solved in an urgent manner, as it is immediate in action.

References

1. Bass, B. (1990). From Transactional to Iransformational Leadership: Learning to Share the Vision.
2. Dunk, C. (2 de 2019). How To Be A Successful Leader: Being a Leader Is Not About Having Authority Over Others, It Is About Inspiring Them. Leadership Excellence, 36(2), 11-12.
3. Goleman, D. (2012). Leadership That Gets Results. Harvard Business Review, 80,82-83.
4. IMDB. (2019, 10 23). Mona Lisa Smile (2003) – IMDB. Retrieved from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0304415/
5. Newell, M. (Director). (2003). Mona Lisa Smile [Motion Picture]. United States.
6. Nikezi, S., Purić, S., & Purić, J. (2012). Transactional and Transformational Leadership: Development Through Changes. International Journey for Quality Research, 6(3), 288-289.
7. Sivers, D. (Director). (2014). How to Start a Movement [Motion Picture].
8. Zenger, J. (7 de 2009). Challenging Times Demand Inspiring Leadership. Financial Executive, 25(6), 18-22.

Essay about My Leadership Style

Introduction

The essay will synthesize, evaluate, and apply concepts, theories, and strategies related to leadership and organizational change. Within this final paper, a summary and analysis of the surveys and questionnaires from this term will be used to discover how each leadership approach and theory relates to my leadership style. An explanation will be given of which method closely resembles my style and personal experiences. Next, a description of which approach would most likely be adopted will be given along with steps to enhance this style. Then, three other theories not to be selected will be explained. Finally, a research article that discusses organizational change will be described, and what changes could be used to guide further organizational change.

Analyze the personal leadership style

My leadership philosophy is to lead by example by inspiring others to achieve. An example would from my experience as a classroom teacher. When students can see how I enjoy mathematics and the applications needed outside the classroom, students are motivated to achieve. They are encouraged by the teacher’s leadership role in supporting their learning and the patience required for their achievement. I also want to help not only students but other teachers to develop their strengths and motivate others to achieve their goals. Through my leadership style, my colleagues and students can see the passion I have for my subject matter which motivates and inspires them to improve as a teacher or as a student.

Leadership Style Closely Aligned to Personal Leadership Style

Transformational leadership focuses on the process used to transform followers by emphasizing intrinsic motivations (Northouse, 2019). This style of leadership focuses on personal characteristics and charisma demonstrated by the leader associated with decision-making and moral actions. I want to help others develop strengths and motivate my followers. Within transformational leadership, I need to focus on inspirational leadership and intellectual stimulation. Additionally, an effective leader that uses the transformational leadership style goes beyond self-interest and hopefully plans for the future considering both moral and ethical decisions.

Leadership Style Most Likely to Adopt (and steps)

As a leader in the education field, I have two leadership roles. One role is as a classroom teacher where the followers are my students and the second is as a lead teacher where the followers are other teachers. Northouse (2019) explains that servant leadership values the followers and produces opportunities for interdependence and growth even over the leaders’ own interests. McKinney (2000) defines leadership as a selfless act requiring leaders to consider the needs of others even over personal needs. This concept is a goal that I hope to be able to accomplish as a leader.

There are three outcomes of servant leadership: follower performance and growth, organizational performance, and societal impact (Northouse, 2019). The third outcome measures the effects of servant leadership on society in a positive way (Northouse, 2019). The result of my leadership style is to influence others to improve not only the organization (school) but society altogether. As a lead teacher; there are a few steps that would align with this leadership approach. I can encourage other teachers to meet standards, assist in planning practical lessons, and be a mentor to each student as they work on skills to become active and hopefully influential members of society.

Northouse (2019) discusses that servant leaders perform ethically without compromise and conceptualizing means that the leader has an understanding of the complexities of the organization and can address any issues. A servant leader puts the interest and needs of the followers first while an empowering servant leader allows the followers the power to work independently building confidence and shifting control to the follower (Northouse, 2019). The seven leadership behaviors of servant leadership produce results that will ultimately not only increase performance for any organization but provide effective leaders for the future that will positively impact society.

Three Approaches or Theories Not Likely to Adopt

One approach studied in this term that I would not adopt is the trait approach. Leadership described as a trait is not the same as a process because it indicates that individuals have characteristics that make them a leader differentiating them from others (Northouse, 2019). Deegan explains that in today’s diverse workforce there are often trade-offs between a job with a salary and a career that has meaning (2009). As a school teacher, the pay is not the best but there is job security, and the work has meaning. Therefore, some leadership roles require more than just traits to be successful.

A second approach studied in this term that I would not adopt is the Leader-member exchange (LMX) theory. The LMX theory focuses on the relationships between leaders and followers by emphasizing a prescriptive approach and promoting the effective building of dyads (Northouse, 2019). This theory uses role behavior in which the leader recognizes the effort, and the follower in turn earns specialized rewards or recognition (Omilion-Hodges & Baker, 2012). This theory would not be as effective in the role of a classroom teacher. If students only achieve because of the rewards or recognition they can gain, they will not learn to be intrinsically motivated to make which could harm them further in their educational careers. A leader that uses LMX theory builds relationships to promote productive relationships but does not change the follower’s beliefs or emotions. Additionally, an effective leader that uses the transformational leadership style goes beyond self-interest and hopefully plans for the future considering both moral and ethical decisions.

The last approach studied in this term that I would not adopt is the path-goal theory. The path-goal theory gives directions on when to emphasize certain behaviors based on the characteristics of followers and recommendations on appropriate leadership styles that match those characteristics (Northouse, 2019). There has been research regarding how path-goal theory is used within a school; however, further useful research could be used on how varying grade levels could depend on more specific leadership styles. Öqvist and Malmström (2016) discuss the path-goal theory used to motivate students in becoming productive members of society and how teachers can help students achieve goals by using the four styles that best reach students’ needs. The leadership styles needed from elementary teachers are different from the leadership styles required as a high school teacher which could ultimately be confusing for some leadership roles.

Organizational Change

The article “NSF Advance and gender equity” by DeAro, Bird, and Ryan (2019) highlights the mission of NSF (US National Science Foundation) and their need to support the advancement of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). This article discusses the barriers this program has had with gender inequality; specifically, women are underrepresented within STEM faculty (DeAro, Bird, & Ryan, 2019). NSF has created several programs and taken steps throughout the US education system to create a more diverse workforce (DeAro, Bird, & Ryan, 2019). The barriers or labyrinths that women encounter need to be removed to ensure equal opportunities and reduce the gender gap. According to Kaptein, Huberts, Avelino, and Lasthuizen (2005), two significant challenges to the ethics of public organizations are reinforcing awareness and improving the impact of the organizational climate. NSF has begun this process by incorporating programs to create a diverse environment within the STEM community.

This article highlights the need for the gender-leader association theory. The success of women in leadership can produce change by creating an awareness of gender roles. Cheung & Halpern (2010) explain how women have redefined their roles integrating their family and work roles. They accomplished this by evaluating their norms of being a good mother and leader by making them more compatible (Cheung & Halpern, 2010). Culture can be defined as a unique group that is established from a communicated pattern of mutual status, outlooks, and practices (Ayman & Korabik, 2010). The impact on the STEM workforce will be to create opportunities for young female students to find role models that could open up new pathways for students no matter their gender. Women are stereotyped as having characteristics such as sensitivity, helpfulness, and caring while men are characterized as self-assured, assertive, and decisive (Northouse, 2019). Changing these stereotypes will help overcome boundaries for both males and females.

Conclusion

In conclusion, transformational leadership most closely resembles my leadership style within the educational field. An approach that I would most like to adopt is servant leadership. This leadership approach puts the needs of others first while empowering their followers to build confidence. Three approaches that are effective but will not adopt are the trait approach, LMX theory, and path-goal theory. Each of these approaches and theories has its benefits in becoming an effective leader; however, other methods are aligned with my leadership style. The research article highlights the need for the gender-leader association theory in overcoming barriers to ensure equal opportunities for both genders.