Leadership Styles Essay Example

a strategic change initiative.

Classically “leadership is the influencing process of leaders and followers to achieve organizational objectives through change. ” (Leban and Stone, 2007) Today’s leaders must also set the stage, they challenge, inspire, enable, model and encourage. In addition today’s leaders must influence individuals to behave in a manner that respects the organizations core values, beliefs and culture. The role of a leader is to identify the need for change, to clearly communicate to the group the vision, answering questions when there are times of confusion.

According to Hammer and Champy The leader’s primary role is to act as a visionary and motivator by fashioning and articulating a vision of the kind of organization that he or she wants to create, the leader invests everyone in the company with a purpose and a sense of mission. The leader must make clear to everyone that reengineering involves a serious effort that will be seen through to its end. From the leader’s convictions and enthusiasm, the organization derives the spiritual energy that it needs to embark on a voyage into the unknown. ” (Hammer and Champy, 1993) Management is often mistaken for leadership.

Management is directing, organizing, completing tasks and supervising individuals. One definition is “the attainment of organizational goals in an effective and efficient manner through planning, organizing, leading, and controlling organizational resources. ” (Daft, 2003 ; Toor and Ofori, 2008) The OED’s definition is “a person who organizes, directs, or plots something; a person who regulates or deploys resources; a person who manages a department of a business, organization, institution, etc. ; a person with an executive or supervisory function

within an organization, etc.

When it comes to both they may play the role of the other; however a leader may not be a great manager and managers don’t always make good leaders. (Mowson, 2001; Toor and Ofori, 2008) For a successful change initiative to happen both leadership and management are necessary to plan and implement change. The most important being leadership because they provide guidance and direction. (Lecture, wk 4) Our text focuses on the transactional and transformational leader. The transactional leader is one who is bound by structure. This type of leader is goal and task oriented.

They typically work by chain of command and the way they motivate their peers is through a system of rewards and punishments. The transactional leader limits the options and choices of the individuals they work with. This leadership style in my opinion is not an effective way to lead change because this type of leader pays more attention to the daily operating structure of the organization and is not focused on the future. The transactional leader does not form relationships with their peers, often neglecting the needs of their followers.

These leaders are best suited for incremental changes. Leban and Stone, 2007). Transformational leaders are individuals that are mission orientated, are able to sell the vision and need for change to the group. This type challenges existing ideas, look for new ways to address problems, encourage and inspire which motivates the group to accept the change. Transformational leaders are known to produce positive outcomes by establishing commitment and gaining trust from his employees. While the transformational type is highly effective when implementing a

change initiative it is not the only type that can create success.

There are many different styles of leadership that can play an important part during the stages of organizational change. The style that a leader uses relates to their ideas, principles, partialities and the organizational structure in which they are involved in. (Reardon and Rowe, 1998) Kurt Lewin established three basic leadership styles based on decision making. The autocratic; one who makes decisions without consulting others, the democratic; this leader allows the input of others however the final outcome is usually determined by the leader and the laissez-faire leader, this individual takes a less is more approach.

Out of these three Lewin found that the best style of leadership is Democratic, Autocratic leads to an upheaval where the Liaises-Faire approach creates unmotivated individuals who lack effort. (Lewin, LIippit and White, 1939). Other forms of leadership styles that are known to exist derive from the Leadership Style Inventory (LSI) developed by Rowe, Reardon, and Bennis (1995). The inventory identifies four basic styles; commanding, logical, inspirational and supportive. The differences in style used by leaders are based on the following two questions: How adaptive are leaders when dealing with the issues they face?

How do leaders communicate with, persuade, and energize employees in the process of change? Leadership is critical when executing a strategic change initiative. By differentiating leadership and management, leadership styles and the key factors of change we can better understand what should be done to successfully lead change. Success is not obtained through leadership alone but by developing a group of individuals from all levels of the organization who work

together as a team. (Leban and Stone, 2007)

The change models discussed in class provide a pattern for change and presents a picture of what will occur during planning and implementing change. These models help leaders create a climate for change. Using the models organizations can position leaders that are best suited for stages of change. Based on the models we learn that first we must create a sense of urgency. As leaders this is essential to leading change. We must ask tough questions and be mindful of the emotional aspect that change can bring. This stage understands why we should change and how.

Stage two is creating teams to help plan and initiate change. Kotter provides us with four key characteristics for developing a strong team; position, expertise, credibility and leadership. “Without competent leadership, the change management initiative can flounder, fail or at best produce unsatisfactory results. ” The third step is to create a vision and strategy. The vision helps us to see where we are going, who we are and what we want to establish. The vision is intended to motivate us to move towards our future state. Strategy is how we intend to reach the vision.

Having a vision allows leaders to obtain successful change. These first three stages are also known as unfreezing. Transformational leaders use their abilities to challenge existing beliefs. This means that leaders must understand the affect change has on people and must work towards breaking old behavior patterns. (Kotter, 1996) The next few stages of change are what Lewin calls change/movement. (Lewin, 1939) In my opinion I feel this is when leaders have

the most impact in leading successful change. Stage four of Kotter’s model states that leaders are to communicate the vision.

This is where the transformational leadership style is highly effective because this leader is selling the vision to the people. He is motivating, gaining commitment and trust from the team. A buy-in must happen for the change initiative to move forward. The leaders’ responsibility is to weave the vision into the fabric of the organization by continually communicating to the team. The fifth step is empowering employees. Leaders should make sure that individuals have the skills, resources and systems to move through change.

Empowering employees’ with-in boundaries, helps get more resources committed to and working to help change evolve. This also enables the organization to have leadership at all levels. (Lecture, wk 4) Leaders must be able to let go at this stage, allowing the individuals to work at their full potential. The use of change agents can be helpful during this stage of the game.

Change agents are able to adopt various roles; entrepreneur, coordinator, mentor, advocate and visionary. Change agents can create change by providing an attractive and satisfying vision to the people. Leban and Stone, 2007) These individuals assist the group in managing change. Their ability to adapt to several roles is what leads to successful change. The leader at this stage must continue to create excitement and momentum. This momentum continues into the next step of generating short term wins. It is easy for us to get burned out quickly which leads to slowing down the efforts. Transformational leaders are able to support the efforts by motivating us

to push through. The leaders’ role is to establish short term wins so the players have a sense of accomplishment.

The use of a system of rewards and benefits is a fantastic way for leaders to praise efforts. (Kotter, 1996; Leban and Stone, 2007) The final stage of Lewin’s theory is to refreeze. Refreezing occurs when changes are modeled. People have started to grasp the idea. Refreezing fastens the changes into the company’s culture. (Lewin, 1939) Kotter indicates that many change initiatives fail because victory is declared too soon. Leaders should continue to improve. Improvement allows you to build upon what you’ve learned and further imbeds the system.

What leaders can do at this time is analyze the wins and look for ways to improve, continue to create momentum by setting goals, learn new ways to improve and bring in new ideas. Lastly leaders must anchor the change into the company’s culture. Company culture is what determines what will get done. We must continue to model change in every area of the organization. Continuous support from the leaders enables the change to hold. Leaders can remind everyone of the accomplishments, incorporate the new ideas into new hire programs, recognize contributions from persons and replace positions when existing members move on.

In addition to the two concepts there are other thoughts that I found to be useful. “Leadership styles for the five stages of radical change” (Reardon and Rowe, 1998) indicates that certain leadership styles are better suited for stages of change. The idea is to add upon Kotter’s model for change. By utilizing specific leadership types we can place appropriate people to

lead specific stages of change. I believe this makes sense. People have definitive characters and abilities. The concept of the leader being suited to the task is found throughout leadership literature as far back as Plato.

He argued that while it’s appropriate to turn to a physician to solve medical problems, a philosopher-king is needed to resolve problems of public policy. (Reardon and Rowe, 1998) Each stage of the process is different therefore it should require a leader capable of handling that process. By employing the right leader for the stage the odds of successful change increase. A few paragraphs ago I listed four leadership styles that were from the Leadership Style Inventory (LSI) developed by Rowe, Reardon, and Bennis (1995). First is the commanding style; this type is goal and task oriented and much like the transactional leader.

However this individual is highly productive and produces excellent results. Second is the logical leader; the logic wants to cover all boundaries. This individual sets long term goals, analyzes and questions. They are the voice of reason. The third leadership style is inspirational. Inspirational leaders learn by experimenting. This type assures group cohesiveness and encourages others to follow the vision. Lastly is the supportive leader. Supportive leaders are the facilitators. They observe outcomes and the reactions of others. It has been stated that most leader posses more than one style of leading.

When moving through change leaders should adapt styles according to circumstances. (Reardon and Rowe, 1998) Much like the other stages for change the five stages are similar. However these stages place leaders with-in their capabilities. For instance the first stage is

planning; planning is gathering data, plotting the course. This stage is similar to the other models because you are asking questions, creating vision and strategy and creating ideas. According to Reardon, Reardon and Rowe the leadership styles most useful here would be logical and inspirational. The logical leader constantly seeks new information, identifies obstacles, generates alternatives, and considers pros and cons in the final selection. Inspirational contribute to this process by encouraging employee input in the search for creative plans. ” (Reardon and Rowe, 1998) Next stage two: enabling and three: launching. Enabling is when the plan is delivered to the persons involved. The enabling stage empowers individuals and prepares them for take-off and frames. Frames are schemata used to interpret events (Goffman, 1974; Reardon and Rowe, 1998).

They can assist leaders in explaining to others how change efforts should be interpreted. The type of leaders recommended for this stage are; logical: to help develop, inspirational: to aid and supportive: to help adjust. launching, this part is change/movement. Launching involves meeting goals, achieving results and evaluating progress. This part of the process is best suited for the commanding and logical styles because they provide determination and clear explanation of the goals.

This stage is where resistance to change is likely to occur. To lead effectively is a matter of clear thinking on the part of the leader. Leaders must be clear about their own beliefs, they must have thought through their assumptions about human nature, the role of the organization, the measurement of performance, and so on” (O’Toole, 1996; Reardon and Rowe, 1998) This means that leaders must think through the change and

internalize in themselves. By putting themselves in the shoes of others they are better able to move people towards the goal. The commanding style is able to focus the change movement. The fourth stage: catalyzing.

Catalyzing is defined as a people oriented stage. This is when individuals want to feel they matter and it is important that they are recognized for their efforts. The inspirational and supportive leaders work best and can enlist the assistance of the commanding and logical. The inspirational leader is able to push people by motivating. The inspirational is able to reward the members and create a sense of accomplishment. On the other hand the supportive leader can manage the stress of the situation. This individual provides the guidance and feedback to keep everyone on track.

The assistance of the commander and logic can be useful to thrust towards the goals and to clarify the need to take a certain path. (Reardon and Rowe, 1998) Finally is to maintain. Maintaining is similar to step eight of Kotter’s change model. This part is making it to the finish line by guiding and monitoring the process. This stage also geared towards people. It is best suited for the logical, inspirational and supportive style. The logical are able to relate to the people. Logics are able to tune in to what the people are saying. This style helps individuals to feel valued.

Jack Welch states “If you don’t find a way to make every person feel more valuable, then you end up with wasted minds, uninvolved people, and a labor force that’s angry or bored. “ Involving and persuading people enables

the leader to produce quality work. (Welch, 1993) The inspirational and supportive individuals are important at this time because they can help the people to maintain change. Maintaining change is critical to the success of the organization. This view of leadership through stages of change enables organizations to employ varying types of leaders for the different stages of change.

An important source of power is the match between style, skill, and capabilities and what is required by the situation. ” (Pfeffer, 1992) By adapting this principle organizations can spread the influence among its members rather than relying solely on one. My level of experience as it relates to this topic is minute. I worked in management for many years and learned nothing about being a leader. However I am. It is inherent to who I am. My leadership qualities are what enabled me to obtain management positions. This study has helped me understand that there is a difference between the two.

Somehow in my heart I knew because I eventually left management. My current career utilizes my management skills; however the environment helps me grow as a leader. Since my hiring our department has undergone a tremendous amount of change some of which has been lead mainly by initiating and then adopting. Although our changes are incremental, using the steps would have allowed us to plan and prepare. The information gathered can assist those leading change by helping them to understand how to plan, initiate and maintain it with-in an organization. Knowing how to use the steps will insure that the change process is managed and successful.

Leaders can use the information

regarding varying styles to help become effective leaders. It allows them to focus on what style will work best during the stages of change. In addition leaders can assess their readiness to lead change alone or if they should enlist others as well. Success comes by understanding the changing environment and adapting. Adapting is a sure way to secure your survival. Those who are not willing to change eventually lose out. Changing helps us to grow by learning new things and stretching our capabilities. It can be painful but in the end it reaps great rewards.