Leadership Strategies for Changing Management Theories

Question: Describe about the Leadership Strategies for Changing for Management Theories. Answer: Introduction The modern technological advancement and modernization of all aspects of business and organizational performance are currently in progress. How things operate has changed especially with different management theories and technology evolving leadership. Therefore, leadership has become a great challenge especially for the managerial personnel in balancing both the internal and the external factors that define a successful leadership. This paper is an in-depth research on the leadership strategies needed to cope with the ever transforming world. Leadership as a major issue in modern workplaces In any place of work, the success of the operations is attributed to the workers while the failures are attributed to the management team (Hajisoteriou Angelides 2014, p. 69). Going by their assertion, most leaders always try as much as possible to ensure that everything is done perfectly so as to avoid on them. In the modern workplaces, leadership has posed a great challenge to leaders who have to cope with lots of diversities in line with achieving the set objectives and to safeguard the reputation of the organization at the same time. For this reason, it is a fact to say that leadership is and will still be among the critical issues in any workplace. As a modern leader in a modern organization, one would not expect to find life easy going by the requirements and situations facing leaders. The leader, therefore, faces both the internal and external issues that require his/her attention to be successful. Within the organization or the workplace, the leader is charged with the responsibility of leading and motivating a diversified group of people as denoted by Kavanagh (2015). Furthermore, as a leader, it is expected of you to break all the organizational boundaries just to ensure the improvement of efficiency and achievement of growth. On the other hand, the external environment requires the leader to be able to face the complex and globalized environment and still attain success. Externally, as a leader, you have to develop strategies for keeping up with the competitors, manage and maintain the requirements of the government, and also meet most if not all the expectations of the stakeholders. In addition to that, the leader has to cope with the cultural diversification especially when dealing with people from different cultural background (Ahmadi 2011, p. 150). Therefore, many leaders are truly faced with difficult challenges, and preparing or finding leaders who can face the challenges with the positive approach is tricky. This always calls for some further training of the leaders by some organizations. Challenges faced by leaders Whether external or internal, any leadership challenge has a traceable origin with each having the probability of prevention only if identified timely according to Bosari (2012). Even though there are many factors, there are some common situations that are evident in most workplaces and organizations to cause leadership challenges as follows: New Things Leaders face challenges when it comes to starting or incorporating something new which is entirely different from the existing. Furthermore, stepping up an initiative or conducting a total overhaul in any program or situation is the moment when one can tell whether the leader is a leader or not. Starting something new at all levels is a great challenge, for instance, hiring a new manager poses the challenge of performance since one can never be sure how the new man would perform. New things result to new achievements; sometimes impressive sometimes not, but the unexpected future results. Besides, the result of the new situation is pinned on the leader, whether successful or not according to Chang and Kang (2016). The End The end situation is known to cause leadership challenges at all levels. Most ends are characterized by anxiety especially when the push to complete develops. Also, the question of what next? Become an issue of concern. For instance, and end of the contract for the employees subjects the manager to the new challenge of getting new hires who might not start at the same pace as the former employees. Irrespective of all the reasons, the greatest challenge is the leader to be able to adopt the best skills that can lead to a successful ending of a project. The movement to the new phase would probably cause some distress (Busari 2012, p.78). Tough Times It reaches a time when the organization faces tough time especially financially. In such situations, the team can experience public criticism. At that moment, the leader will have to try and solve the problems at all costs either by reducing expenses or finding other financial aid. According to Sincar (2013), the type of leadership qualities in a leader is revealed during difficult times. Transition An organization or a group can undergo a change in various ways. For example, the organization can change from stocking to production or restructuring. Besides, changing of leaders is also a form of transition that an organization can go through. Keeping up the pace of the group and ensuring stability through the period of change can be very challenging to any leader. Therefore, going by the assertion by Shangase and Gerwel (2014), it is a fact that when it comes to leadership, the weight of the challenges is of no significance but the way and how to overcome the challenges. According to Hajisoteriou and Angelides (2014) one of the most renowned Singaporean managers once said this in an interview concerning his leadership challenges, To motivate a group of 70 staff who had been working with the organization for more than ten years. Some of the staff has been in the same position without promotion for more than 6 to 8 years has always made me feel unworthy manager and leader." Opposition and hostility from powerful forces At times, the leaders in the organization can face opposition from the so-called powerful forces. For instance, the government and politicians can influence the decision that a leader makes. Many a time the school heads in most parts of the world have complained of influence from the community. On the same note, other more powerful and related organization can have great influence on decision making of another organization. How a manager can use leadership theories to inform their leadership in a modern organization The most common question that one would encounter in any leadership forum is, why are some leaders successful while others fail? According to Chang and Kang (2016), there is no magic combination of traits that produces a successful leader, but different circumstances call for different character traits. Therefore, it is important for the leader to understand the leadership theories, determine his/her stand, and try to incorporate and try the good one that is not part of his/her traits. The bottom line is that some effective leadership traits can be learned provided that one understands the best approach to take by understanding the leadership theories. Trait Theories The trait theories point out that effective leaders have a common combination of the personality trait. Going by the earlier trait theories, it is believed that leadership is an innate and instinctive quality that a leader has or don't have (Chang Kang 2016, p. 79). With time, the trait theories have advanced to a level where consideration is given to what one can do to develop the best leadership qualities within oneself and others. It is believed globally that the best leadership traits are integrity, assertiveness, empathy, likeability, and excellent decision-making skills. However, none of these traits discussed in trait theories or any specific combination guarantees success to a leader (Ahmadi 2011, p.213). Given that the traits are the substance of the inner being of one's mind expressed outwardly, sometimes it can be hidden to give a wrong and inaccurate conclusion. Behavioral Theories What a Good Leader Does The focus on how leaders behave when it comes to decision making have a significant impact on how the leader is portrayed. As a leader, your decisions impacts on the ease or difficulty in your day-to-day operations within your area of jurisdiction. The main concepts within the behavioral theories revolve around decision making by the leader. The main question is, therefore, do the leaders make the decision solely or incorporate other employees views and support? Kurt Lewin developed the framework based on a leader's behavior in 1930 and argued on the three types of leaders as follows; autocratic, democratic, and laisse-fair leadership (Paletta and Bezzina 2016, p. 230). Autocratic leaders engage themselves solely in decision making without further consultation with the team. Most people confuse this style with dictatorship while sometimes it becomes necessary to adopt the style especially whenever there is a need for a quick decision making. It becomes an issue when the result is unsuccessful because all the blames would be directed to the leader as every other person would distant himself. For a democratic leader, he allows the team to take part in bringing input during decision making. With this style, it can be easy or difficult depending on the agreement level of the team. For instance, if the team has varied ideological differences on a certain issue then decision making can be a nightmare (Sincar 2013, p. 1280). However, if the team has a similar view of matters, then the democratic leadership can be successful. Laissez-faire leadership is a total no-interference leadership that allows people within the team to fully contribute to decisions making. Laissez-faire leader leaves the team at liberty to take part with the leader just following the proceeding. The method has been proven to be effective especially when the team is highly motivated, highly capable, and do not require any close supervision. However, this leadership style can fail if it is affected by laziness of the leader. Therefore, it is a fact that how leaders behave directly affects their performance. However, going by the findings in Shangase and Gerwel (2014), many of the leadership behaviors tend to be appropriate at a different time. It is, therefore, appropriate and advisable for a leader to apply the many different behavioral styles and choose the right one depending on the prevailing situation. Contingency Theories Contingency theories revolve around how the situation can influence good leadership. This theory confirms that there are no proper and static leadership style but differs with the situation. The theory, therefore, tries to predict that different circumstances need a different leadership style. As a leader, you have to be sure with the best leadership style to apply in different situations. The theories therefore tend to find out whether the leader is task-oriented or people-oriented. What to do to overcome leadership challenges as a leader As a leader, the first thing you must do is to come to terms with the reality. Never ignore the fact that a disaster can strike at any given time and be always prepared. On the same note, regardless of the situation, as a leader, one must do something whenever something needs to be done. Even when the going is very tough, the leader must act just to make the group confident. From the study of Busari (2012), it is evident that the former President of the USA, Franklin Roosevelt, was once in a similar situation of leadership mix with lots of challenges. However, he acted a lot by creating programs, agencies, and much more just to control an awful situation during his first term. Even though most of his strategies never worked, at least his pro-activeness instilled confidence in the people about the possibility of achieving the goals. Therefore, the following are the needful for a leader whose aim is to challenge the leadership challenges. Be creative Creativity will enable a leader to reason in line with the challenge. The best approach of uprooting the problem is to identify the cause of the problem first. As a leader, one should never emphasize on why it has happened but on how it has happened. You will be seen as a leader the moment you will turn what looked like the end of everything to la new beginning of good things. Retaining objectivity At all levels, most leadership challenges come as a result of conflicting issues or ideas. As a good leader, it is advisable to maintain neutrality with an objective of solving the issue. This calls for not taking sides even if you are sure that the other side is the wrong one according to Kavanagh (2015). Even if the main issue is the workers against you, you need to establish the reasons for disagreement and work on the concerns rather than dismissing, suspending, or firing an employee. Therefore, integrity, understanding, and open-mindedness become very fundamental aspects at this stage. Find an individual or group to share and discuss realities of leadership How different people approach various issues are very different and what works for one may not work for the other. However, getting the different versions of how things can always be done leads to sophistication. Keeping calm with your challenges and getting used to them is the worst thing a leader should do. Listening to past experiences from other leaders can give you the morale to face future challenges with confidence. Importance of having the knowledge on Leadership Strategies Many scholars consider leadership as a hard to walk and a lonely road. Others say it is an exciting collaborative trip that leads one to a new place. However, all depends on the approach that an individual takes in dealing with the challenges. As Hajisoteriou and Angelides (2014) points out, the more useful strategies a leader can learn in line with coping up with challenges the better leader he would be. Most importantly, it is advisable for one to understand the leadership models fully in preparation to challenge the leadership challenges. The Leadership Process Model For one to be a successful problem solver leader, the knowledge of leadership process model is necessary. In the model designed by Randall B. Dunham and Jon Pierce, there are four aspects that a leader must be aware of. How the four relate leads to either success or failure. These key factors are the leader, followers, the context, and outcome. As a leader, you must be capable of taking the charge to direct the group's performance and the followers to take the directions given. The context in this model refers to the environment or the situation where the work is to take place. Therefore, the context should be favorable enough for the followers to bring the best outcome that would make the leadership success as donated by Hajisoteriou and Angelides (2014). The outcome can also be the respect and relationship between the leader and the followers depending on the leader treats the followers. Therefore, a successful leader must consider looking at all the aspects of the leadership model with lots of considerations to succeed. Conclusion Leadership poses lots of challenges. The challenges, whether internal, external, or stemming, are there to be faced and challenged by any leader. The problems arise over periods of change or instability. Some of the challenges are concrete and limited hence need patience. However, most are more abstract and continuous and requires great focus to achieve the vision of the organization or group. List of References Ahmadi, H 2011, 'Challenges facing women leaders in Saudi Arabia',Human Resource Development International, 14, 2, pp. 149-166, Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 3 September 2016. 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