Leadership: the Five Big Ideas

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Table of Contents

Introduction
The Interpretation of Leadership in the Context of Allio’s Scholarly Study
Leadership Roles
Leader’s Behaviors
Leaders Who Are Capable of Empowering Others
Conclusion
Work Cited

Introduction

Leadership is a relatively recent term in business circles, which has only been used for two centuries now. It has become a common practice among scholars to define this notion according to the spheres it is applied to and researchers’ individual perspectives. There are numerous studies on the concept of leadership, the roles of leaders in a business setting, and specific behaviors that put emphasis on empowering the working staff. In his research, Allio highlights the five major principles placing leaders above the mediocre managers (5). The latter are known to develop strategies but never implement those properly. The present paper will consider these principles to give a strict definition to a leadership process, specify the leader’s roles, and figure out behaviors that best fit to motivate employees.

The Interpretation of Leadership in the Context of Allio’s Scholarly Study

As derived from the term, the main responsibility of a leader is to lead the company’s staff in matters of the most efficient use of an organization’s resources. Regardless of the sphere of interest, a leader’s activity involves interaction with employees and improving their performance. The way this individual influences the working process often determines how successful the implementation of a business strategy will be.

Allio views leadership in the context of the five major constituents: leader’s character, his/her constant self-improvement, collaboration, adaptability, and self-determination (4). According to the researcher, the concept of leadership comprises such traits as competence, professional integrity, and character features combined with the key goal to effectively manage the workforce and improve a company’s performance (Allio 4). The given goal is achieved through changing the existing behavioral patterns within a target community.

A notable fact about leadership is that the acquired knowledge and inner qualities may influence a person’s views and attitudes toward the staff management duties. Depending on an individual’s competence and his/her character features, Allio identifies the four types of managers: leaders, scoundrels, impostors, and fools (5). The mix of high competence and a strong character forms a true leader. The lack of character traits, however, turns a person into a scoundrel, who is unable to properly utilize the extensive knowledge he/she possesses.

A strong personality combined with low competence generates the third type, which is called a fool. An insufficient amount of both factors creates the fourth category identified as an impostor. No matter which of the four types a person belongs to, Allio stresses that there is always enough room for one’s professional growth since none of the managerial strategies can be treated as the best (6). The given concept lies at the core of the author’s research.

It should be also stressed that leadership is heavily dependent on external circumstances tending to interfere in the process of management. When obstacles arise, particular leaders refuse to adapt to the occurring changes and switch from idealistic views to more radical opinions. These individuals often abandon their initial visions of a correct business strategy and succumb to tyrannical ideas and judgments. Allio emphasizes that their choice is, to a greater extent, conditioned by the situation and not by some specific character features or psychological factors (5). However, skipping the principle of self-determination and changing priorities usually evoke an imbalance between managing and leading, forcing a leader to delegate a part of duties to teammates and thus, admit his/her inability to lead.

Leadership Roles

Every organization needs a willed and competent leader to foster employees’ devotion and to influence their commitment to working tasks. By sharing a certain vision of the future with their followers, leaders create a favorable environment for steady financial growth and the company’s wellbeing. There are strictly defined roles that leadership fulfills in a working setting, and these roles often differ from those of the managers’ staff.

One of the fundamental differences lies in the fact that leaders take a long project view, while managers usually operate with short-lived ideas aimed at eliminating some transient obstacles in business (Allio 6). Also, the former not simply make plans and calculate budgets but formulate visions and strategies to share with their teammates. It is essential for a leader to introduce a business model, which would inspire employees to contribute to a company’s faster prosperity.

Another role leadership plays in business is evaluating and taking risks. What makes a leader distinct from a conventional manger is that the latter avoids risks focusing maximum attention on the existing patterns rather than exploring new territories (Allio 6). In the meantime, the former is not scared of being involved in new projects and motivates the employees to combine efforts in conquering new horizons.

With reference to Allio’s thesis, the major task of a leader on that stage is to help employees to adapt to changes faster (6). A justified risk, in this case, creates new opportunities for increasing revenues and fosters creativity within a working community. People express higher interest and devotion to the sphere they are engaged in, as one starts treating a chosen course as a profitable strategy to follow. With that kind of approach, a project’s success rates start to gain in percentage too.

As to the other duties a leader fulfills, he/she initiates changes within a working environment, empowers his/her teammates to work with the maximum quality input, and appeals to one’s passion. Obviously, a person cannot fully concentrate on a given project without a passion factor being involved; a wise leader considers this dependency and sparks people’s interest through collaboration with the staff of workers (Allio 7). Moreover, in contrast to managers enforcing uniformity, this man or woman inspires diversity within a company’s setting, while still acting morally and avoiding the policy of connivance. Only a true leader can transform self-commitment into a community’s trust and wellbeing, which is also one of the roles he/she plays in business.

Leader’s Behaviors

With regards to the fact that a healthy organizational life is linked to the presence of a sensible and pragmatic leader, one can conclude that a leader’s behavior forms backgrounds for creating a company’s culture. In his research, Allio admits that leaders “do make choices of style” (6). By the style, the author means the combination of behavioral and character traits that help these individuals to develop a unique managerial system assigned to manage the working staff more effectively.

The researcher also stresses that a leader must exercise power. However, tyranny should never be the instrument of achieving one’s goals (Allio 7). Wise leadership involves collaboration with the key stakeholders, considering conflicting interests, and cultivating a friendly atmosphere. Thus, an ideal leader combines the qualities of a lion (ruthless and strong) and those of a fox (sly and duplicitous) and never allows any of the two to dominate.

There is always a point of time when a business model is subject to changes, and new projects require an introduction. One of the key ideas of Allio is that leadership comprises adaptability (8). A leader should be able to adapt to an occurring situation and, moreover, be capable of diminishing the impact this situation or change makes on a company and employees in particular. It is his/her direct duty to uncover the benefits of a new strategy and explain why it is needed. At this phase, a leader is expected to deal with multiple objections and resolve conflicts if they occur. However, the researcher stresses that “the process of managing change is one that few have mastered” (Allio 8). Therefore, the concept of adaptability is tightly correlated with self-determination and constant self-improvement.

The idea of self-improvement lies in the belief that a person should evolve to the status of a leader by constantly altering his/her behavioral traits. For that purpose to be achieved, an individual should be persistent, result oriented, and directed toward performance excellence since the very start of his/her career. Setting challenging goals is never an issue for a true leader. It is encouraged that he or she experiments with alternative approaches to business modeling and slowly integrates the most successful techniques into a personal management style (Allio 9).

Allio’s key message is that leadership is not an inborn quality; it is acquired through practice and experience (9). If a person sets forward the principles of building a supportive environment and satisfying subordinates’ needs, he/she then learns to think from a holistic perspective and becomes more disposed to trying on a leader’s role.

Leaders Who Are Capable of Empowering Others

Among the four types of managers described earlier in this research (leaders, scoundrels, fools, and impostors), a leader is the most amenable to adopting empowerment. In order to explain why the representatives of this category have higher chances to motivate their subordinates and to improve their performance, one needs to carefully examine the qualities they possess. First, these individuals have strong character features and high professional integrity (Allio 4).

The given traits allow them to have a clear vision of a company’s course and to plan both short- and long-term strategies correctly. Second, they face no obstacles in communication with their subordinates, which allows them to share the occurring ideas, comment on objections, and resolve conflicts. With all these traits combined, it is usually much easier for a person to cope with the tasks of a leader.

Owing to their high competence and excellent collaboration skills, managers of a discussed group fulfill some of the essential roles in a company’s operation. By skipping the concept of tyranny and prioritizing the idea of friendly office atmosphere, these individuals foster more open communication and faster data exchange within a working environment (Allio 7). No matter what sort of a project is being developed or launched, a leader who cares of the wellbeing of his/her subordinates gains their full support in the vast majority of situations.

In its turn, it eliminates all possible discrepancies among the key stakeholders and leads to the more efficient use of a company’s resources. Moreover, this tactics allows leaders to provide their front-line specialists with authority to make decisions and thus, be more creative. Apparently, these principles lie at the core of an employee empowerment theory.

Although employee empowerment appears to be a common practice these days, it is often treated as a challenging task to complete in particular working environments. Managers who lack confidence and the required coaching skills may face a serious issue when the need to transfer information arises. It is precisely the fact distinguishing a competent leader with extensive work experience from simply an impostor: the former can arrange collaboration, which would foster an effective transition of knowledge, while the latter cannot.

Finally, the specific behaviors of a person belonging to the discussed type of a leader assist him/her in creating a favorable environment for employees’ empowerment. When an individual is guided by the techniques involving self-determination and constant improvement of the existing skills, he/she usually has a clear vision of how to stimulate workers’ devotion and enhance their performance (Allio 4). People who realize that there is no such concept as the best leading practice treat learning as the only method to achieve steady growth, either in business or personal matters. A leader with a given mindset can motivate employees to openly discuss the emerging issues and then focus on closing the existing skill gaps. His/her coaching techniques are mainly targeted at an effective teamwork.

Conclusion

Summarizing the research outcomes, the concept of leadership comprises such aspects as competence, professional integrity, and character features. The main goal of a leader is to introduce and integrate changes into a working setting, while still diminishing their impact on a company’s operation. The given goal is only possible to achieve if a person who leads the staff copes with the roles and duties imposed on him/her.

The mentioned roles may include formulating both short- and long-term strategies, discussing visions, taking risks, exploring new territories, initiating changes, empowering employees, and more. Whether the roles will be fulfilled or not also depends on a leader’s behavior and his/her desire to collaborate and share information with others. Thus, a course one takes often determines a firm’s competitiveness.

Work Cited

Allio, Robert J. “Leadership – the Five Big Ideas.” Strategy & Leadership, vol. 37, no. 2, 2009, pp. 4-12.

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