Assignment Task:
Task:
1. Literature Review on Effective Leadership
Leadership continues to be one of the most misunderstood concepts. The most important element for a successful organisation is leadership style and competency. Leadership is defined as someone who can direct or influence others to achieving set objectives, an individual who can identify the strengths and weaknesses of followers to improve areas of weaknesses CITATION Kav14 \p 165 \l 1033 (Suresh, 2014, p. 165).
An effective leader can change their styles based on a situation; they can adapt which is what makes them effective. According to CITATION Tri09 \l 1033 (Junarso, 2009) “an effective leader possesses the skills to motivate, evaluate, problem solve, resolve conflict and most importantly produce extraordinary results’’. An effective leader needs to be knowledgeable, possess excellent skills, display a great attitude, and create value CITATION Tri09 \l 1033 (Junarso, 2009). They need to demonstrate the ability to draw others into the active pursuit of the strategic goals of the organisation. Becoming a great effective leader starts with the person first before others as one can’t lead others if they fail to lead themselves. Character is extremely important for effective leadership, but this also needs to be enhanced by competence and talent CITATION Kol14 \p 54 \l 1033 (Kolzow, 2014, p. 54). Leaders need to continuously check themselves, their competencies in this forever changing world to see the impact on their embracing or resisting change. Effective leadership is complex and comprises different but related behaviours which are integrated together.
An effective leader doesn’t boss people around, they lead people. An effective leader ensures the effectiveness of the organisation which is very important because it measures quality and ensures that things are done right. An effective leader is self-aware, they are clear about who they are and what they stand for which is what enables them to lead others CITATION Tri09 \l 1033 (Junarso, 2009). Leaders deal and must bring together a diverse group of people, and this requires leaders to have emotional, spiritual, physical, and social competence. Ethics are one of the most important things that a leader needs to have as leaders with ethics end up having good behaviours. An effective leader needs to be a person of sound character, someone with a strong personality, and communicates effectively CITATION Tri09 \p 4 \l 1033 (Junarso, 2009, p. 4).
Effective leaders need to achieve or accomplish results which means that they need to have a vision and be authentic which increases trust as well as inspires their followers/employees/customers CITATION Wil12 \p 11 \l 1033 (William Mobley, 2012, p. 11). Leaders are able to create organisations that turn strategic aspirations into sustained actions. A leader needs to be agile and respond to ever-changing needs CITATION Wil12 \p 15 \l 1033 (William Mobley, 2012, p. 15). Effective leaders help employees become fully productive by developing them through different formulas. An effective leader not only focuses on building individual commitment but also organisational capability which refers to the processes, practices, and activities that are going to create value for the organisation CITATION Tri09 \p 5 \l 1033 (Junarso, 2009, p. 5).
An effective leader needs to practice certain behaviours which are the following: simplicity, time, accountable, resources, tracking, meliorate, and emotion CITATION Wil12 \p 32 \l 1033 (William Mobley, 2012, p. 32).
Simplicity refers to leaders focusing on few key behaviours that have a high impact on the most important issues. Finding simplicity where there is a lot of complexity by developing concept clutter with simple resolve. Leaders need to invest their time carefully, in the most important activities which will likely make change happen; and this is where time comes in. accountability refers to leaders not only making promises but also delivering on those promises which build on trust and commitment. A leader who can take account can create sustainable leadership. Resources refer to leaders being able to dedicate resources to support their aspirations. This refers to coaching and infrastructure. Tracking refers to leaders measuring their behaviours and results in specific ways. Effective leadership must use a matrix that is transparent, easy to measure, timely, and tied to consequences. Leaders meliorate when they improve by learning from their mistakes and failures while showing resilience. A sustainable leader learns from all experiences and becomes a master with improvements. Emotions are important for a leader to have. This helps leaders find meaning in what they do by drawing on their deep values, it allows for action with passion CITATION Wil12 \p 31-32 \l 1033 (William Mobley, 2012, pp. 31-32).
Effective leadership has highlighted collaboration as very important, but it’s important for leaders to also engage in conflict management. Conflict management skills have become especially important for today’s leaders where organisations are very diverse which at times causes a lot of conflicts. Conflict in organisations can reduce productivity, lowers morale, and may create continued issues which ultimately defeats the leader’s effectivenessCITATION Tri09 \p 6 \l 1033 (Junarso, 2009, p. 6). A highly efficient leader creates more opportunities, generates higher productivity, and lowers costs.
Introduction: Five Themes
Leadership effectiveness has several themes and for the purpose of this paper the following five themes have been selected which are the following: empowering others, recruiting and selection of great people for the organisation, communicating effectively, IT savvy and capable of operating in a digital world, and demonstrating empathy.
Empowering others
Leadership continues to be a very important topic in organisations. Empowering leadership is seen as a form of leadership and its main characteristics involve enhanced individual motivation at a workplace through delegation of responsibilities. Empowerment leadership involves the transferring of power from top management to knowledge workers who take initiatives and make decisions on daily activitiesCITATION Ste14 \p 6 \l 1033 (Amundsen, 2014, p. 6). An effective leader is expected to inspire and motivate followers CITATION Nat09 \l 1033 (Hakimi, 2009). The field of empowerment is based on the need by organisations to promote the productivity of employees CITATION Ste14 \l 1033 (Amundsen, 2014). Effective and productive leaders see their greatest success through the successes of their employees CITATION Kol14 \p 256 \l 1033 (Kolzow, 2014, p. 256). Empowering people means allowing them to bring in their knowledge, their experience and working with them in investing resources that will aid them in ensuring that they come on top. Empowerment cannot simply be the delegation of tasks without providing guidance, a leader must ensure that they support employees with the necessary tools needed to complete tasks CITATION Tri09 \p 258 \l 1033 (Junarso, 2009, p. 258).
People that are empowered are given more ownership and responsibility for their own work. Empowering people is shown through a leader’s traits and behaviours which proves how effective the leader is. Empowerment is seen as a form of development of employees which ultimately creates an effective workspace for everyone because people are much more flexible. Studies show that the empowerment of employees is beneficial to both the organisation and employees because people are more adaptive to different work situations CITATION Nat09 \l 1033 (Hakimi, 2009).
A leader who empowers can do so by having the following empowering behaviours: delegation of authority, accountability, self-directed decision making, information sharing, skill development, and coaching for innovative performance CITATION Nat09 \p 13 \l 1033 (Hakimi, 2009, p. 13).
The first behaviour which is delegation of authority focuses on the core of empowerment where leaders grant others power. This granting of power makes employees/followers accountable for what they have been given which is the second part of empowering behaviour. The third dimension allows employees to be involved in decision-making processes, it increases self-confidence and allows people to be independent. A leader may be deemed empowering if they share information with others which will also contribute to the growth of the organisation. Employees who are kept in the dark have low-performance levels as they don’t feel included. It is important to share information with everyone because it also allows for people to bring in new ideas for the success of the organisation. Developing skills is also part of empowerment because leaders facilitate people’s growth, ensuring they have the rights skills for the better of the organisation. The last dimension looks at the leaders’ behaviour that encourages ideas and risk-taking, giving people room for mistakes for growth CITATION Nat09 \p 15 \l 1033 (Hakimi, 2009, p. 15).
Sharing of power with others comes with its own risks and therefore it’s important that leaders trust their employees in that they will not make decisions that will go against the organisation. Followers/employees make decisions based on the characteristics of the leader which is why it’s important for a leader to have high ethical levels CITATION Nat09 \l 1033 (Hakimi, 2009).
Leaders that empower others can do so also by delegating meaningful tasks, building the visibility and credibility of junior people by discussing their accomplishments, helping others refine their career development plans, and giving honest feedback in a helpful way CITATION Kol14 \p 105 \l 1033 (Kolzow, 2014, p. 105).
Be able to show employees your hard work so they can be motivated to also want to achieve more
Open the organization for employees to be able to take advantage of self-development opportunities
Constantly encourage staff to take ownership of their jobs/tasks
Create an environment where employees can network with other industry partners
1.1.2 Recruiting and selection of great people for the organization
Effective leadership is about having effective organisations and part of that is ensuring that there are people with the right skills and qualifications which will add value to running of the organisation. Leaders are proactive, not reactive, they need to get this done and produce results. The best way for leaders to think of employees is them being part of an investment portfolio or human resources portfolio as they play a crucial role in the growth of any organisation CITATION Ahs18 \l 1033 (Ahsan, 2018). It is important to align organisational culture with the selection process as all organisations differ. As much as attraction of employees is good for organisations, it is also important for leaders to develop strategies that will allow for the retention of people to ensure that taught skills are not lost through to other organisations. Bad leaders are corrosive because they can drive out anyone who is good, this means that the lack of effective leadership is the main reason why many talented workers leave the organisation CITATION Kol14 \p 7 \l 1033 (Kolzow, 2014, p. 7). Effective leadership in recruiting and selection of great people is about having the will to pursue a path that builds competency and capacity.
Explore each individual theme. For example when is a leaders communication deemed to be effective
A leader must be able to keep up with the latest trends for the industry to recruit the right people
Recruiting great people allows for the organization to have the best people who will drive the organizations growth
Having the right people at the right place and not mismatching people’s skills which doesn’t benefit the organization
1.1.3 Communicating effectively
An effective leader is constantly aware of how important it is to have good communication skillsCITATION Kol14 \p 78 \l 1033 (Kolzow, 2014, p. 78). Although communication can be improved by acquiring of certain skills, it is important to also note that communication is affected by attitude. It is important to communicate one’s feelings towards employees/followers, so they know the leader cares about them and the work they do. A leader who communicates doesn’t just do so by talking with others, but they also seek for others inputs, they take action to help ensure that strategies, goals, and plans are understood by everyone. Leaders who effectively communicate provides information to others quickly and accurately to keep everyone abreast, acknowledge and address problems, they motivate others. A leader who communicates effectively and is transparent, can build trust with employees/followers. People that feel they are being listened to are more likely to trust you as a leader. The interest in communication involves a lot of dimensions which can be the following: ears (I hear what you are saying), eyes (I see how you are saying it), mind (I am trying to understand what you are saying, and heart (I value you and what you are saying) CITATION Kol14 \p 82 \l 1033 (Kolzow, 2014, p. 82).
Communicating effectively is about caring for others which also means respecting others, one cannot lead without knowing anything about the people they intend on leading. Some leaders have the tendency to hoard and control information from everyone as a way of control which isn’t how effective leaders should lead. Transparency creates a clear picture for everyone which shows respect for people in the organisation.
Explore each individual theme. For example when is a leaders communication deemed to be effective
Communicate the organizations policies and procedures clearly
Setting a clear purpose
Engaging with employees in a way that they find you approachable
Open and transparent about the affairs of the organization
1.1.4 IT savvy and capable of operating in a digital world
An effective leader embraces change and accepts the challenge to improving a situation. An effective leader is an innovative thinker, someone who doesn’t depend on pat experience but is able to adjust and adapt to new technology CITATION Kol14 \p 86 \l 1033 (Kolzow, 2014, p. 86).
Explore each individual theme. For example when is a leaders communication deemed to be effective
Organizations need to understand what technology can do
Use technology to increase performance and productivity
The use of technology to gain dominance and increase market share
Leaders need to understand the organizations technology and be the driving force
1.1.5 Demonstrating empathy
Empathy is defined as “seeing the expressed idea from the other persons point of view, to sense how it feels to him”CITATION Kol14 \p 145 \l 1033 (Kolzow, 2014, p. 145). Most of the times people confuse empathy and sympathy where sympathy is feeling sorry for and empathy is feeling with another. Leaders need to be able to put themselves in the shoes of others and be empathetic. Leaders need to show emotions and be emotional, show sensitivity which makes them human and relatable to others. It has already been mentioned that effective leadership includes conflict management and without empathy or caring for each other it would be difficult to resolve conflicts. Most orgaisations are diverse and leaders need to respect these differences that exist, they need to embrace these differences. The respect for others by a leader shows them that you care and this in turn draws people to you because human beings are drawn into leaders who have the ability to remember aspects of their personal life as it shows interest CITATION Kol14 \p 83 \l 1033 (Kolzow, 2014, p. 83). An effective and true leader will have self-discipline to express sincere care about others. Showing empathy is about nurturing all connections that have been made with others. A leader who has the ability to connect and show interest in others also builds that culture within the organisation which ultimately eliminates people working on their own, it builds a community within an organisation.
Explore each individual theme. For example when is a leaders communication deemed to be effective
A leader who has real interest in her/his team members lives
A leader who is compassionate and puts himself/herself in the teams’ shoes
A leader who can show empathy is able to connect and understand the team’s perspective
1.2 Conclusion
Conclude each of the sections of the literature review with a summary of what the literature suggests leaders should do to be effective after the first section in terms of each of the five themes that you have identified
2. Literature Review on Models of Personal Change
Different models/approaches to intentional personal change and suggested processes for translating goals or priorities into practical actions
Why is intentional personal change important for leaders
How does one come to an understanding of his or her ideal self as a business leader
What triggers or initiates personal change’
What are the stages of international personal change
How should one operationalise goof intentions, prioritising and planning (self/time management
Why do some people persist with their change efforts and others quit after a short period of time. There’s foe what must one do to remain committed to ones personal action plan and daily priorities
2.1 Introduction: Personal Change
2.3 What triggers or initiates Person Change?
2.4 Time management for Personal Change
2.5 Conclusion to Models of Personal Change
Summary of what the literature suggests is the best approach to intentional personal change. This summary must include what you have reviewed in terms of self/time management. The second conclusion should be a blueprint based on literature on literature of how leaders should go about operationalizing intentional personal change
Need Help Writing an Essay?
Tell us about your assignment and we will find the best writer for your paper.
Get Help Now!Welcome to Our Online Academic Writing Service. Our online assignment writing website provide various guarantees that will never be broken. No matter whether you need a narrative essay, 5-paragraph essay, persuasive essay, descriptive essay, or expository essay, we will provide you with quality papers at student friendly price.
Ask for Instant Writing Help. No Plagiarism Guarantee!
