Essay Sample on Leadership in Business

Introduction

In business, leadership is essential in ensuring that an organization is steered towards achieving its ideal goals. Leadership allows the creation of a visionary approach, sharing the vision with other persons in the organization, and providing the relevant approaches that can be used in enabling the realization of this vision. However, there are a lot of definitions and perspectives that have been availed in describing what leadership entails. Furthermore, several leadership theories have been developed over time and have been used in discussing leadership from different viewpoints. One of these theories that will be discussed in this paper is the transformational leadership theory. Additionally, it is important to assess the effect that power and influence of the leaders have on the organization. Thus, this paper will address the application of a relevant leadership theory, the issue of power and influence, as well as well as other leadership perspectives.

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Relevant Leadership Theory

An applicable theory that can be used in explaining the leadership at Apple Retail is the transformational leadership model. As a relatively new approach, the transformational leadership theory necessitates that leaders should work towards creating positive and valuable change in their organizations through inclusion of the employees. As such, the leader works with teams created in the organization in the identification of necessary changes and a visionary pathway to follow in order to effect these changes (Weiss, 2015). This is the kind of leadership that I have witnessed at Apple Retail for the time I have been working in the premises. Transformational leadership theory also necessitates that the leaders' main focus should be changing the personnel to support one another as well as the organization at large (Weiss, 2015). As a result of the application of this transformational approach, the employees or followers often respond by feeling respect, loyalty, trust, and admiration of the leader besides working harder which benefits the organization.

At my workplace, I have witnessed transformational leadership whereby supervisors and other personnel who hold senior positions interact with the rest of the employees. For instance, when making the choice of team leaders in the various groups, rather than the store manager dictating the leaders, the employees are left to make this decision. Furthermore, in case there are any changes that are being introduced in the store, the supervisors and team leaders ensure to mention this to the employees. Also, in many occasions, I have witnessed that rather than making abrupt changes, employees are mostly included. For example,

Effect of Power and Influence of Leaders

Being in a leadership position gives an individual the privilege of having power and influence over the organizational followers. Power and influence enable a leader to steer the organization in the direction that they deem suitable as well as imparting proper changes. Furthermore, being in a position of power and influence ensures that the leader can exercise control over the followers (Lunenburg, 2012). However, the approach that the leader pursue in exercising power and influence may determine the failure or success of the organization. Power can be defined as the capacity to impact and direct the behaviors of others towards attaining a particular position. On the other hand, influence is perceived to be the ability to steer people to a direction that is thought to lead to the attainment of organizational goals (Lunenburg, 2012). It has been noted that leaders who do not exercise power and influence are often weak and can be unable to scale the organization to greater heights.

As such, I have witnessed how power and influence are utilized by making observation of the various leaders in the workplace. For instance, in some cases, the store manager assigns certain responsibilities that are not within the duty roster of an individual but regardless of this, the individual has to attend to them when requested by the leader. Furthermore, I also find the leaders to be influential when requesting for various changes in the store. For example, during the festive seasons when there are large queues of customers in the store, the manager often exercises influence over the general management at the headquarters to see that there are additional employees who are brought into the store to help in the sales. Internally, I have also witnessed incidences whereby the supervisors' decisions are overturned by the manager if the situation is deemed right. For instance, in several occasions, some teams in the organization have been disseminated and re-structured by the management in the case that they perceive that the group members are not attaining what is expected of them. As such, the leader has to disregard the actions pursued by other persons and implement what they feel is appropriate. On the other hand, there are incidences whereby the manager will appoint sales representatives rather than waiting for the headquarters to appoint them which is an indication of the powers that have been bestowed on him as a leader.

Leadership cannot prevail without being influential to the followers since it is through influence that the individual can lead (Lunenburg, 2012). However, it should be noted that there is a great difference between being a leader and a manager. Not all leaders are managers but managers need to act as leaders. For example, the supervisors and team leaders in the retail store are not managers but are leaders. At the same time, those serving in the capacity of management are required to act as leaders and possess the right qualities so that the followers can positively respond. The latter is the case in the retail store whereby, through the possession of excellent qualities and skills, the leaders are inclusive of followers hence creating a mutually beneficial relationship that benefits the organization. Furthermore, it is important to acknowledge the fact that most leaders incorporate power and influence in the way they plan and execute their roles. However, the primary aim of a leader when exercising the use of power and influence is to accomplish the set organizational objectives (Lunenburg, 2012). For example, at the Apple store where I work, the primary aim is to ensure that the good and services offered to the clients is not only satisfactory but also of high quality. Therefore, every purchase made in the store must be verified for quality and ensure that the client leaves the premises satisfied.

Role and Effectiveness of Transformational and Transactional Leadership

On the one hand, transformational leadership allows the leader to be inclusive of the followers while on the other hand, the transactional leadership style utilizes rewards and punishment (Nazim, 2016). In the case of the transactional approach, the leader focuses on the organizational, performance, and supervision. As such, it can be perceived that transactional leadership is focused in the daily progress of the organization towards the attainment of the set goals (Nazim, 2016). On the other hand, transformational leadership is focused on enhancing the motivational levels of the followers as well as engaging them in propelling the behavior of the organization by developing a shared vision. In most cases, an organization may witness a mix of both types of leadership whereby some leaders use one method while others focus ion utilizing the other.

In the case of my workplace, transformational leadership is mostly portrayed by the group leaders. Most of these individuals always involve the team members before making any crucial decisions regarding the group. For instance, before a group proceeding to conduct a sales drive out of the store, the group leader requests the members of the team to make suggestions of the location they would wish to go. As such, members are motivated and encouraged to participate in the group endeavors. On the other hand, the store manager often dictates some of the areas where sales drives will be conducted and offers rewards for groups that hit the given target. In other cases, the manager will often withdraw the extra earnings of sales representatives who fail to attain their targets. As such, most of these representatives will work hard to ensure that their allowances are not reduced as a result of the failure to hit their monthly targets.

Traits and Characteristics of Effective Team Leader

An effective team leader must possess a variety of traits and characteristics that encourage other members to emulate them. While some of these qualities of the team leader are natural, others have to be earned as the individual continues to grow career-wise. Some of the common traits that effective leaders possess include integrity, dedication, compassion, and leadership (Bachiochi, Rogelberg, O'connor, & Elder, 2000). All these skills and qualities are gained through immense experience as well as learning from others in the group. These traits and characteristics of the team leader inspire respect and trust among the team members which, in turn, allows the team to bring out effective results. Furthermore, effective team leaders must possess excellent communication skills both verbally or written. By having these exceptional communication traits, the team leader can clearly connect with the members to deliver exceptional results (Bachiochi et al., 2000). These are some of the emphasized qualities that the leaders must possess in order to drive the sales of the group towards the given target.

Another effective characteristic of an effective leader is that they must possess excellent organizational skills. Organizational skills help the leader to strategize and plan for the group which makes the team members perform exceptionally. Furthermore, an organized team leader ensures that systems are structured in a manner that ensures that all the team members work towards attaining the group goals as well as those of the firm. In this case, within the retail store, the team leaders always ensure that the followers are organized in such a manner that allows them to attain the overall expectations of the management. Moreover, a good team leader must be confident about their capabilities and skills. Confidence in a leader ensures that they make rigid decisions and assures the followers he is authoritative in the organization (Bachiochi et al., 2000). At the same time, the character of being influential is emphasized by the Apple Retail management. Therefore, all group heads are expected to exercise power and influence in their groups which ensures that they inspire obligation and commitment towards the attainment of the groups' objectives and goals. Also, influential team leaders help in the management of changes within the workplace through gaining the followers' confidence.

Leadership Support of Mission, Vision, and Strategy

The mission and vision of an organization are essential in shaping the strategy that it pursues as well as influencing the internal operations that the leadership structures. Some of the structures created by the leaders in the organization are supposed to propel the firm towards attaining its main objectives and goals. However, to attain these objectives and goals, the vision, mission, and strategy of the organization should align and act as a guide towards attaining enhancing its productivity. Nonetheless, it should be noted that the mission and vision act as a guide of strategy development, as well as communicating the overall purpose of the organization. For the mission, vision, and strategy adopted to bring the anticipated results, the leadership must offer the necessary support.

As a retail store, we follow and adhere to the mission and vision of the parent company, Apple Inc. By so...