Case Analysis Analysis Essay Example

leadership style involves motivating people through social influence in order to achieve common goals. This highlights the importance of leadership in guiding human interactions, particularly in terms of group visions, inspiration, and individual intelligence. By volunteering and assisting his colleagues in their tasks, Bill demonstrates the characteristics of a functional leader. The functional theory of leadership focuses on guiding a team towards specific goals, with leaders performing functions such as organizing, planning, controlling, and monitoring. According to this theory, a leader's performance is measured based on the team's achievements.

This involves motivating the team and providing guidance, as demonstrated by Bill before his promotion. One reason for Bill's failure and difficulties in making changes and maintaining discipline, when he was first promoted to a leadership position, was his inability to effectively communicate. For instance, he exhibited an authoritarian attitude and insisted harshly on implementing new work methods. Communication refers to the exchange of information between parties and plays a crucial role in determining the leader-follower relationship. Additionally, by failing to inform and involve employees in decision making, Bill encountered challenges in managing leadership tasks. The informing function of leadership involves communicating to clarify tasks and the methods to achieve objectives, which relies heavily on the communication process.

An effective feedback mechanism is necessary to ensure proper communication. This includes the choice of words, physical actions, and tone of voice. If Bill had implemented these elements, employee resistance could have been minimal. Additionally, Bill failed to consider the diversity in the workplace. He treated all situations equally, disregarding the need for unique interventions based on each situation's task requirements and the team's technical and overall competency. According to

the Contingency theory of leadership, each situation requires a specific intervention that calls for the application of distinct leadership characteristics.

Under this theory, there are other inherent principles such as the strategic theory and principles related to the least preferred co-worker model. Moreover, Bill faced challenges when it came to ensuring proper control and coordination. This includes planning, taking into consideration social factors, providing information, and evaluating progress. Leadership involves establishing the social structure of the team, which is crucial for enhancing communication and efficiency within the group. Most importantly, this social structure facilitates the generation of synergy and achievement of objectives. Unfortunately, Bill struggled with executing controlling functions, which involve maintaining group standards and keeping the team focused on goals. Leadership also demands motivating a team to take action.

Bill faced difficulties in influencing employees due to his inability to distinguish between authority, responsibility, power, and friendship. This resulted in his inability to motivate teams and ensure they were on schedule to achieve desired outcomes at the specified standards. Bill's leadership abilities were tested by assessing the consequences of proposed tasks, evaluating capacity for task completion, and supporting individuals to achieve more. Unfortunately, Bill failed in one of the fundamental functions of leadership, which involves exerting influence over a group or team to meet desired goals. Additionally, Bill was not able to utilize his social influence power to align employees with the company's objectives. Leadership is primarily based on character and individual behavior rather than personal attributes, emphasizing the importance of trust, confidence, and effective communication. If Bill had applied this power effectively, he would have been able to understand employee behavior and address their

social aspirations.

The team leader must have an understanding of each team member and be aware of their strengths, weaknesses, and the overall strengths and weaknesses of the team. The leader needs to evaluate the motivation, competence, and communication process of each individual on the team. It is also important for the leader to use legitimate power to enforce organizational goals. According to Petress (n.d., 2), legitimate power comes from being elected, selected, or appointed to a position of authority. This was the case with Bill's appointment. However, even though Bill had all the legitimate powers, he was unable to effectively motivate his employees and juniors.

Understanding the concept of legitimate power is essential for a leader to have a comprehensive grasp of their own identity, knowledge, limitations, and potential actions. The leader must acknowledge that their ability to lead the team is determined by those they lead. Unfortunately, Bill made an error by using coercive power, leading his colleagues to resist his managerial skills. By adopting an authoritarian and harsh approach, Bill failed to meet his subordinates' expectations. To become an effective leader in his new role, Bill needs to work on developing a leadership vision. This can only be achieved through self-awareness of one's abilities and opportunities for self-reflection on strengths and weaknesses. Such introspection is crucial for creating a clear vision that accurately represents what Bill and his followers can accomplish. It's important to note that although understanding personal abilities is vital, it alone isn't sufficient for developing a vision that will result in successful leadership goals.

Bill should continue his on-the-job training to acquire new skills and competencies, as this is essential for his

leadership abilities and understanding of business issues. The transformational theory emphasizes the importance of leadership development through training and mentorship. Developing a vision that has an impact on followers is another important consideration. Both personal and organizational visions are crucial for creating motivation and excitement. Leaders must have a clear understanding of the organizational vision and its implications in order to effectively lead an organization.

In addition, Bill needs to find a way to communicate his managerial practices and supervisory vision to his subordinates. The success of transformational leaders is greatly influenced by their ability to sell their vision to others.

Bill should recognize that selling a vision is an ongoing process as long as there are leaders and an organization. He should be flexible and delegate responsibilities proactively. Delegating tasks to his subordinates and giving them the authority to make decisions when necessary is crucial. Utilizing teamwork, where decisions are made collectively and responsibilities assigned to a team, is also recommended. This team should have autonomy and take responsibility for their actions. Additionally, Bill can use his strong social skills and practice positive aspects of charismatic leadership. It is important to accurately assess the role of charisma in driving leadership goals. While charisma is an important trait for leaders, it is not sufficient on its own to ensure goal achievement.

The impact of charisma in transformational leadership is to elicit emotions that make followers desire to be associated with transformational leaders (Hacker ; Roberts, 2003, 129). It is important to note that the effectiveness of charisma in adding value to an organization depends on whether a leader's values align with the achievement of organizational goals. Leaders who

effectively plan and execute successful initiatives exhibit the same or even greater charisma compared to leaders who assist organizations in meeting their predetermined milestones. The difference lies in the value that these leaders possess, which ultimately influences the direction of their followers' motivation. In order to enhance his leadership vision and improve the organization's revenue streams, Bill can leverage technology. One possible approach is implementing computerized work scheduling, assigning tasks to employees while indicating deadlines and responsible supervisors. Furthermore, automation of systems can facilitate integration of information systems and the establishment of a shared database between departments. This will encourage interdependence, resource sharing, interactions, and ultimately foster organizational cohesiveness. However, it is crucial to implement such technological changes carefully to avoid potential drawbacks such as resistance to change.

Technology can assist in the communication process by enabling electronic and fast messaging, sending reports and feedback, and promptly addressing employee queries. Through the use of advanced communication systems, an Internet service provider (ISP) can create an electronic data interchange that facilitates "collaborative transaction processing, database management, and data warehousing, mining, and knowledge management," ultimately automating their system (Andriole 2006, 9). Additionally, rapid communication can aid in receiving timely alerts and resolving potential tensions efficiently.