Essay Sample on Empowering Leadership: Deciding the Acting Chair Through Different Types of Power

Introduction

In leadership, there are different types of power that aids in vital decision making. In the case of deciding who the acing chair becomes, the individuals involved in determining the best approach are guided by different types of power. People in power can influence others when making decisions, and the influence may affect the quality of the decision made. There are five types of power, namely; expert, legitimate, coercive, reward, and referent.

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One type of power that is in play in this scenario is referent power, where the leader enjoys acceptance and approval. The employees admire the leader, and he/she is a role model for many. The leader with this type of power is liked, and people are comfortable being associated with him/her (Bass, & Bass, 2008). In the scenario presented, Dr Dawn Severide enjoys such power the reason why he has been leading in different capacities for 20 years. Her colleagues like and respect her, and he knows every individual in the organization. Expert power is also presented in the scenario where Dr Dawn Severide knows adult education. She also has reward power hence the reason why she had delegated the responsibilities she cannot fulfil due to sickness. Dr Montgomery was rewarded with a $500K research grant.

One of the things that are not clear from the information presented in the scenario is the succession policy of the company. An organization must have a well-established succession plan to help in filling positions with the right personnel as soon as they fall vacant. As per the policy of the organization, what happens when someone is incapable of carrying out the duties assigned to them should be clear. Through succession planning employees are trained, mentored and equipped with the skills required in effectively delivering in a superior position.

To avoid the conflicts that arise due to succession, organizations should have a clear guideline on how to appoint new leaders (Schmidt, & Yelich 2016). The appointing process should be fair to ensure that the leaders are appointed based on their credentials and not because they are friends to the outgoing manager or the appointing members. In the scenario, there is insufficient information regarding the measures that would be undertaken to ensure that the voting is confidential. The appointed candidates are not supposed to know who voted or did not vote for them. Also, there is a lack of information on the qualifications that the appointed candidates should have. There is also insufficient information about how Dr Worthers and Dr Montgomery would decide who the next chair becomes.

In the scenario, there are concerns about trust. Dr Charles Adams does not believe that letting Dr Worthers and Dr Montgomery decide who between them succeeds severide is a good idea. On the other hand, Dr Charles does not trust that the results of the voting exercise will be welcomed. This is because it will be easy to know who voted for each of the candidates. This is likely to create an unhealthy working environment.

Dr Dawn Severide represent the departmental values that many learning institutions endeavor their employees to have when it comes to having values that will promote the development and motivate the employees to work as a team. Dr Dawn Severide was not selfish in terms of the desire to retain power even at the time when she was facing health-related challenges. Instead, she decided to delegate her work to colleagues to head various departments within the university.

The other departmental value is professionalism, where the employees perform their responsibilities per standards set. Dr Dawn Severide played her roles even when she was facing health challenges by attending meetings either through phone call or through Skype. She remained dedicated to serving the university to complete all the assignments she was supposed to perform no matter the circumstances. There is also teamwork values within different departments at the university where employees work as time in delivering various responsibilities assigned to them. Dr Dawn Severide was able to unite employees working for the department.

Ethical leadership entails staff of the university demonstrating conduct that is good and acceptable by the institution that the employees are working for. The employees have the values that organizations want for the organization to fulfil its objectives and goals. Dr Dawn Severide has ethical leadership in her conduct and how she does the roles has the head of the department. Ethical leadership entails employees being accountable for all the activities that they engage in. Dr Dawn was willing to delegate responsibilities when she felt not capable of delivering the responsibilities that come with different departments at the university.

Conclusion

In conclusion, education institutions such as universities need to have leaders that have ethical standards that will ensure the organizational dream is achieved. Leaders of the various department should know how to handle power on being in charge of other people within their departments. The leaders need to create trust among the employees to create a good working environment. Ethical leadership at the university create an environment of activities of being done in the right way.

Reference

Bass, B. M., & Bass, R. (2008). The Bass handbook of leadership: Theory, research, & managerial applications (4th Ed.). New York, NY: Free Press

Schmidt, S. W., & Yelich Biniecki, S. M. (2016). Organization and administration of adult education programs: A guide for practitioners. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing. ISBN: 9781681236353.