Essay Sample on Leadership: Process or Property?

Introduction

Leadership refers to the ability of an individual to motivate and to work towards a common goal (Robbins & Judge, 2019). Leadership can be either a process or property. As a process, leadership entails influencing individuals to carry out activities by their own volition. As property, leadership is the characteristic that makes one a leader. A being with these qualities can influence others to achieve goals. These include the ability to understand, motivate, and communicate effectively. The following paper seeks to study the nature, styles, and functions of leadership.

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Nature of Leadership

Leaders emerge from situations and do not require a formal appointment. Leaders are distinct from managers. Managers receive appointments to their positions and rely on the use of force and rewards to maintain their position and motivate their subordinates. Leaders rely on their interpersonal skills to drive their followers.

Leadership aligns with motivation. An effective leader has to master the ability to manipulate the environment to motivate employees. Motivated employees are likely to follow the leader with minimal opposition. A leader also holds power in an organization. However, followers have the ability to influence activities; therefore, leaders have to coexist with their subordinates.

Leaders have to cultivate followers. Followers create leaders. Leaders project the goals and values of their followers, and present themselves as a means for the followers to achieve these dreams. Therefore, leaders have to be advocates and teachers

Leadership Styles

Leadership styles depend on the type of followers and the prevailing environment. The following is a discussion of some basic leadership styles.

Democratic leadership style: A democratic leader seeks the input of subordinates before giving direction (Demirtas & Karaca, 2020). This model is suitable for preparing assistants for future roles becomes they are exposed to the decision making process. The advantages of democratic leadership include, improving employee morale, management decisions face little opposition, it enhances cooperation between employees and management, and it minimizes grumblings from employees. On the other hand, it is time-consuming, and some compromises may be detrimental to the organization.

Autocratic leadership: An authoritarian leader does not seek employee input in decision-making. Employees have to abide by the declaration of a leader. Conversely, it creates resentment among employees and reduces morale.

Laissez-Faire leadership: This style, allows employees to work with minimal interference from management. Employees decide when to report to work, dress code, and deadlines. This style results in individual development for members. However, it results in disharmony due to lack of leadership, leading to inefficiency and chaos.

Strategic leadership: Strategic leadership merges company and employee needs to ensure an organization grows. The strategic leader often seeks the buy-in of all parties; hence, they are likely to suffer from exhaustion.

Transformational leadership: These leaders encourage employees to improve. This leadership style relies on the Kaizen principles of management and production. It is vital for companies seeking growth; however, too much focus on growth could lead to employee exhaustion.

Transactional leadership: These leaders offer rewards for meeting targets. The leader relies on incentives to motivate employees. Transactional leadership encourages employees to excel in their primary duties. However, employees might put just enough effort into achieving their targets.

Coach style leadership: This leadership is common in sports. The leader identifies the weak parties and works directly with them until they improve while amplifying team strengths. Through this strategy, employees can grow and work in teams.

Bureaucratic leaders: These leaders stick to the rules. New ideas do not stand a chance in this system. Although employees can offer input, the leadership style does not encourage innovation.

Leadership Functions

Goal setting: a leader should create goals and objectives for subordinates and encourage them to achieve these goals.

Organizing: a leader has to create a useful hierarchy within the organization. They should ensure there are clear roles and resources to achieve goals.

Initiate actions: leaders have to lead from the front. They should present solutions and ideas without relying on others.

The link between management and employees: leaders have to ensure that the interests of both employees and executives align. This link ensures that the organization is effective and efficient (Firestone, 1996).

A good leader should have a good personality, be emotionally stable, adequate academic and career experience, and a creative thinker (Mumford et al., 2007). To enhance these skills, a leader should have excellent communication skills, be objective but flexible, honest, and can teach. Techniques of good leadership include: consulting relevant parties before introducing policies, encourage cooperation and employee buy-in into plans, encourage innovation among employees, offering clear communications, and allow employees to give their input. A weak leader looks down upon employees and focuses on their weaknesses. These leaders do not advocate for employee needs and often advance the executive position.

Conclusion

Leadership is an essential skill for any organization. An appropriate leadership style ensures the success of the organization. Benefits of leadership to an organization include improving morale, providing direction to subordinates, complementing authority, resolves conflicts hence promoting cooperation.

References

Demirtas, O., & Karaca, M. (2020). A Handbook of Leadership Styles. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

Firestone, W. A. (1996). Leadership: Roles or Functions? International Handbook of Educational Leadership and Administration, 395-418. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-1573-2_14

Mumford, T. V., Campion, M. A., & Morgeson, F. P. (2007). The leadership skills strataplex: Leadership skill requirements across organizational levels. The Leadership Quarterly, 18(2), 154-166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2007.01.005

Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2019). Organizational Behaviour (18th ed.). New York,NY: Pearson.