Leadership Development Across Management Levels and Styles in Large Corporations - Free Paper

While it is indeed true that leadership is a natural ability, and one cannot be trained or morphed into a leader, maintenance of quality leadership often requires training and development. The same is true especially when the leadership position requires managerial skills. Consequently, several keys ensure one can lead effectively within an organization. However, these keys are different depending on the level of leadership development intended to be achieved (Campbell, 2016).

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First-line supervisors are rarely selected for their leadership abilities or influencing skills. Instead, they are generally promoted for their work ethic, responsibility, and productivity. Therefore, such leaders are usually pulled from the lowest levels within a hierarchical operation. Consequently, the keys to effective leadership for first-line supervisors include the ability to influence upper management concerning the day-to-day activities on the frontline. These would consist of lobbying for better equipment, such as requesting fewer hours per worker per shift, etcetera (Campbell, 2016).

Unlike first-line supervisors whose responsibilities are often centered on the frontline of an operation, middle-level managers often provide the bridge between the lowest level of employees, including the first-line supervisors, with an organization's executives. Consequently, such leaders' roles revolve around oversight responsibilities developing strategies, and researching and implementing ways of improving workers' productivity. The keys to effective leadership for middle-level managers include delegating wisely, setting attainable goals, establishing effective communication, and creating lasting solutions (Campbell, 2016).

The top level of management within an organization is the executive. Here we have the chief operations officers, the chief executive officer, and even the chief financial officers. For such leaders, the everyday activities of the organization are often not their primary concern. Their responsibility is usually in the line of providing direction for the future of the company or enterprise. Consequently, the critical skills required for effective leadership development on this management level are involved compared to the other levels, as discussed above.

For chief executive officers, some of the keys to effective leadership include the ability to make firm decisions during volatile times, the ability to foresee the future, the ability to influence the findings of the board of directors regarding future possibilities of the firm, and the responsibility of recognizing and rewarding employees for their efforts and contribution to the company. Conclusively, the factors discussed above enable any leader to develop their leadership abilities depending on the management level under their domain. By adhering to these strategies, one can be an excellent and effective leader.

Strategic vs. Operational Leadership

Strategic Leadership is defined as the managerial ability to envision, anticipate, maintain flexibility, and empower others to create strategic change depending on the environment and circumstances surrounding a business's operation (Redmond, n.d.). On the other hand, operational leadership involves making important decisions concerning the everyday operations of a business. The same would include management of employees to increase their productivity, ensuring and maintaining organizational processes, addressing constraints, and ensuring that all employees understand what is required.

Unlike operational leadership, which does not require dynamism, strategic leadership often does. In this context, top managers in an organization often have to determine the business's strategic direction. The full supervisory group should build up an unmistakable vision for the association. The turn of events, verbalization, and correspondence of an energizing vision are basic errands of the association's essential authority. They need to "paint an image" of where the association will be in 5-10 years and get staff to get tied up with and focus on this future (Redmond, n.d.).

Additionally, the senior supervisory crew's vision should plot the fundamental beliefs and philosophy that the association expects to "live by." If it is to have any effect, the vision must be imparted and fortified all through the association and after some time. Core abilities can be portrayed as the assets and capacities of a firm that fill in as a wellspring of upper hand over its adversaries; they are those things the firm has or does that permit it to separate itself from contenders. Senior administration should guarantee that the company's center skills are kept up, put resources into, and created over the long run to guarantee they stay applicable. Relatedly, senior administration needs to ensure the company's skills are essential for the structure squares of the firm's severe methodology and utilized successfully in executing that system.

Common Leadership Styles in Large Corporations

The two most common leadership styles applied by large corporations are transactional and transformative leadership. However, before defining the two types of leadership, one must consider the background information on leadership. Consequently, leadership is a social influence process in which the leader seeks subordinates' voluntary participation to reach organizational goals.

A leader can be defined as a person who delegates or influences others to act to carry out specified objectives (Redmond, n.d.). Today's organizations need influential leaders who understand the complexities of the rapidly changing global environment. If the task is highly structured, and the leader has a good relationship with the employees, effectiveness will be high on the employees. The study further revealed that democratic leaders take great care to involve all team members in discussion and can work with a small but highly motivated team.

Nanjundeswaraswamy and Swamy (2014) measured the leadership effectiveness and leadership role and its influence on performance, leadership behaviors, and attitudes. They found that high leadership indexes are not related to past performance records but are associated with the higher potentiality of enhanced performance to organizations' higher reputation, pointing in the direction of a meaningful influence of behavioral complexity and dynamics on the leadership perceived level. A mechanism of leadership styles affecting team innovation in private research centers investigated the relationship between different leadership styles.

As indicated earlier, leadership is divided into transformational Leadership and Transactional Leadership. Transformational leadership has the characteristics of individual influence, spiritual encouragement, and intellectual stimulation. They often consider individuals, establish a vision and aim inside, create an open culture, trust the staff to reach their goals, and give full play for their potential. Transactional leadership is focused on the staff's primary and external demands. The relationship between leaders and subordinates is based on the contract. They tend to attain organizational goals by pacific job roles and mission design. Their essential purpose is to maintain a stable organization.

References

Campbell, Anita. "Effective Leadership Styles in Business." Business Trends and Insights, 18 May 2016, www.americanexpress.com/en-us/business/trends-and-insights/articles/effective-leadership-styles-business/

James Redmond, B. B. S. Managing Strategic Transformation. https://www.cpaireland.ie/CPAIreland/media/Education-Training/Study%20Support%20Resources/2019%20Articles/CPA-Article-2019-Managing-Strategic-Change.pdf

Nanjundeswaraswamy, T. S., & Swamy, D. R. (2014). Leadership styles. Advances in management, 7(2), 57. https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/51993044/leadership_styles.pdf?1488433456=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DLeadership_styles.pdf