How Leadership Can Influence Organizational Success

Introduction
Leadership is a diverse discipline which can be viewed from different contexts. However, leadership is inevitably an individual characteristic. This paper explores the individual background of the two leaders, Interviewee A and Interviewee B, their character styles and differences, personality styles and differences as well as leadership vision. It also dissects through their relations with their followers, how they have handled challenges and change, ethics, integrity and social responsibility, similarities and differences between their leadership styles.
Leadership Style
Leadership style determines the manner in which an individual uses his or her power to lead other individuals. The style of leadership can have a significant influence on the direction that the organization takes (Sadler, 2003). According to Fiedler’s contingency theory, efficacious leadership is reliant not just on the style of leadership but also on the control of a particular circumstance or situation. Basically, this implies that there is a need for proper relations between the leaders and the members, undertaking with proper objectives and practices, and the capability for the leader to allocate and give out rewards and punishments. The incapability of having these three elements in the fitting mixture and framework will give rise to failure in leadership. Being a form of contingency theory, it generally outlines that the efficacy of leadership is reliant upon the circumstance, and there are different elements, for instance, the kind of tasks and jobs, the personality of the leader and composition of the team being led (Hickman, 2009).
Both Interviewee A and Interviewee B describe themselves as democratic leaders in that they incessantly listen to and value the opinions of their staff, colleagues, subordinates, or personnel. In particular, democratic leadership style, also referred to as participative leadership style is a form of leadership that acknowledges and perceives the significance of the input of the team members and associates. However, the responsibility of the final decision-making lies with the democratic leader. One of the key advantages of this leadership style is that it increases employee self-confidence for the reason that personnel make contributions to the process of decision-making. In ensures that all personnel have the sense and feeling of being important to the organization and that their opinions matter (Johnson, 2017). On one hand, Interviewee A practices his style of leadership by presiding over board meetings and “allowing members to freely give their opinions.” On the other hand, Interviewee B outlines that she practices her style of leadership by conducting several meetings and “by coming into a new leadership position and not changing the old way, but modifying and implanting needed changes in order for the work and the work environment to be good.”
Both leaders have been effective in their styles of leadership. This is largely for the reason that on one hand, Interviewee A is able to conduct and preside over meetings that permit the opinions of all members, allowing them to speak freely and chart the way forward in terms of the direction of the organization. On the other hand, Interviewee B has experienced success in the democratic leadership style for the reason that she has created an organizational setting that makes personnel feel comfortable in conveying their concerns and problems as well as a variation in the prevailing perceptions.
Leadership is intricate and necessitates new methods, new frames of mind and new skills. Notably, what might have been effective and functional in the preceding periods may not be as effective in the forthcomings tasks or in solving the subsequent challenges. In this regard, it is imperative to learn from the challenges and difficulties experienced in order to facilitate effective and successful practicing. One of the key lessons outlined by Interviewee A is the significance of carrying out plans and holding individuals liable for their different tasks and duties, as well as their level of dedication. In addition, the intricacy and challenge that she has experienced while practicing leadership is to finding and recruiting individuals that have the similar level of passion as necessitated by the organization as whole. On the other hand, Interviewee B outlines that the key challenge experienced is having to tolerate other personnel for the reason that not all employees have a similar work ethic.
Important Characteristics, Traits, or Values Associated with Effective Leadership
Effective leadership is known when it is seen. Despite the fact that some of the prevailing great leaders have innate competencies and abilities, there are a number of traits that successful leaders have in common that any individual can learn, practice, and espouse to become more efficacious. According to Economy (2013), some of these traits include inspiring action, being optimistic, having integrity, supporting and facilitating teams, having confidence, communicating and being decisive. It is imperative to point out that not all leaders can have all traits. Interviewee A considers the important characteristics and traits to include active listening skills, being approachable, having the ability to budget resources, as well as time management. The main way in which these skills and traits have improved her leadership is to augment the level of transparency with colleagues in the workplace, particularly, with respect to finances and their allotment. In addition, the communication skills have made it much simpler for subordinates and work mates to be able to approach her with their problems, ideas and differing perspectives.
On the other hand, Interviewee B considers such traits of effective leadership to include properly listening to personnel, considering and taking into account such employee concerns with their significance and at the same time being able to make adjustments. In particular, the leader has pointed out that communication skills and charisma have improved her leadership within the organization as it facilitates the sharing of mutual and core values with personnel and increasing the ability of being more personable. In line with Economy (2013), Interviewee A agrees that these traits can be learned and once they become proficiencies can make any individual a good leader. However, despite the fact that Interviewee B admits that a number of these traits can be learned and understood, this undertaking could prove to be significantly challenging for the reason that not all individuals can be approachable and possess personable skills.
Important Actions of Behaviors Associated with Effective Leadership
A leader is considered to be as effective as his team. The behaviors of a leader are important because they influence the attitude, perspectives and actions of the team. Therefore, it is imperative for a leader to espouse and carry out behaviors that constructively influence the team members. Interviewee A considers active listening and transparency to be the most important behaviors associated with efficacious leadership. This is because it gives rise to honesty and transparency between the leader and team members, and the organization as a whole. On the other hand, Interviewee B considers listening skills, integrity, and professional communication to be the most significant behaviors. This is largely for the reason that when personnel are listened to and experience proper communication from their leaders they gain a sense of value of importance. There is also a significance in acknowledging the actions and undertakings of personnel as they feel appreciated and celebrated within the organization.
Failed Incidences and Situations
As outlined by the Hersey-Blanchard's Situational Leadership theory, it is imperative to note that every kind of leadership is dependent upon the specific situation being faced by an individual. Moreover, there is no single leadership style of form that is deemed to be the best (Bass and Stogdill, 1990). Both Interviewee A and Interviewee B have experienced different instances where they did not perform as effectively as expected and as a result may have failed their subordinates and organization as a whole. On one hand, Interviewee A had failed instances owing to fear and lack of confidence. In particular, as a leader in such a circumstance, she lacks self-confidence and therefore fails to communicate to other leaders for distinctive needs and wants, simply because of the fear of getting no response and being turned down. This was also linked to the failure of ensuring that implementations come to an end or completion. There was also the problem of lack of communication to other members of the team and to the organization at large. This is a perceptible instance where such lack of communication and pursuit of assistance can lead to failure. No leader is able to accomplish all tasks at once or is perfect at doing all tasks. External assistance is necessary and more so delegation not only aids in facilitating effective leadership, but also helps in the development of subordinates (Bass and Stogdill, 1990).
Interviewee A outlines that the main reason why she experienced such failures is owing to three key factors including time constraints, economic constraints, lack of morale. Time is one of the constraints faced by organizational leaders. Abiding by a specific schedule is not merely an aspect of making certain that all aspects and undertakings are completed by the set time. It also necessitates reaching particular milestones at particular times, making certain that specific tasks that are vital to the organization are not delayed and ascertaining that the labor and resources required are available when needed. Therefore, time constraints as well as economic constraints implies that the leader cannot be effective enough owing to lack of the required resources (Berman, 2017). On the other hand, Interviewee B delineates that the failed instances and situations were linked to the conflicts within the working schedule and also allowing personnel to be free and take time off devoid of adequate cover in labor. In this regard, it can be noted that the leader can bring about failure within the organization owing to a lack of sufficient labor for the reason that tasks, assignments and important undertakings cannot be accomplished devoid of personnel.
Taking this into consideration, effective leadership takes into account being able to adapt to individual situations, rectify the situations being faced and accomplish the tasks that were initially set out. With respect to Interviewee A, in order to make the situation better, she took part in regrouping, conducted additional meetings and also had better communication with other members. On the other hand, in order to resolve the problem of poor scheduling, Interviewee B modified the work schedules and also rectified the prevailing mistakes. Proper scheduling implies that the leader is able to ensure that all the tasks and objectives to be undertaken are allotted out to personnel at the right time and there is sufficient labor for such work. Notably, both of the leaders did not fail to make the situation being faced better. Nonetheless, there are key lessons that were learnt from such experiences. On one hand, Interviewee A was successful in rectifying the situation faced. The key lesson that she learned is that as a leader, the lack of a proper follow-up of tasks and activities coupled with lack of confidence gives rise to a climate of self-doubt. This is an imperative element for the reason that subordinates and other members of the organization follow the direction of the leader. In contrast, Interviewee B learned the lesson of the significance of adjusting and modifying the situation required in order to provide a more effective and suitable plan of action.
Innovative Leadership Approaches
Innovative leadership takes into account a viewpoint and approach that amalgamates various styles of leadership in order to impact personnel to generate creative notions and ideas, products, and services. When questioned on the different approaches or solutions established and implemented in order to generate moral, augment teamwork, cultivate a common vision or also encourage change and innovation, the two leaders had conflicting responses. On one hand, Interviewee A believes that there is nothing that a leader can communicate or mention that can be deemed innovative. From her own point of view, the only way of facilitating innovation within the organization is by holding a greater number of meetings and conference calls, having a new and fresh mindset and also holding hard and serious conversations devoid of having the fear of being told “NO”. In contrast, Interviewee B does believe in innovative approaches and techniques. One of the ways in which she accomplished this as a leader was by carrying out a praise system within the organization. The main objective for this approach was to ensure that all individuals within the organization experience a sense of appreciation and value.
Another aspect taken into consideration is the manner in which these strategies were effective in making the two leaders successful. On one hand, Interviewee A outlined that the strategies were successful for the aspects of regrouping and restructuring and the sustained endeavors of carrying out the stated goals and objectives and writing down the changes. On the other hand, Interviewee B considered the strategies to be successful as they gave rise to increased morale within the work setting and also encouraged comradery. Nonetheless, there are a number of strategies that were not effective and failed to work, which served as very significant lessons for the leaders. From the standpoint of Interviewee A, the strategies proved to be ineffective and failed to work largely owing to lack of dedication, fear, as well as financial and monetary support. With respect to Interviewee B’s perspective, the fundamental aspect that failed to be effective is poor scheduling. However, subsequent to the modifications that were undertaken, the plan proved to be more effective. Two key lessons were learnt from the whole ordeal. From leader A’s standpoint, the main aspect understood from it all is that obtaining “NO” as a response does not imply that all is doomed but rather can work as a learning lesson and as a form of development for organizational growth. From B’s standpoint, with respect to having a system of praise, through the basic activities such as handing personnel accreditations like certificates and also being acknowledged in meetings helped in facilitating motivation and employee self-esteem.
Innovative Solution to Non-Traditional or Unusual Organizational Problem or Crisis
In line with innovative leadership, the interview also took into consideration the different instances where the leaders came up with an innovative solution to a non-traditional or unusual organizational problem or crisis. This is purposed to analyze the capability of the leaders to apply their level of innovation to different aspects and activities to generate better and superior outcomes. On one hand, Interviewee A delineated that an innovative solution that was successful was the instance of helping a foster youth that has been struggling and has been placed within a detention center. “I knew that the Foster child had never had a birthday party, and one of my outreach is to have a birthday party for those who have never had that personal experience. This Foster was behind bars, I tried to get a present to her, but red tape prevented me from doing so, so I created an avenue and reached out to therapist, and therapist was able to get it through the red tape”. On the other hand, Interviewee B outlined that she “created a system for bus monitors to ride the bus to correct an ongoing issue with students on bus”.
As noted, these innovative approaches employed resulted in effective solutions for suitable outcomes and can serve as significant lessons for the forthcoming period in such similar or different circumstances. Interviewee A considers the key basis for the successful solution is persistence and perseverance. Basically, through her tenacious efforts despite the numerous instances of hearing “NO” the leader opted not to give up and eventually this gave rise to successful outcomes. Taking this into consideration, the main lesson that was learnt was that as a leader, the fear of rejection can serve as a hindrance to the main endeavors of becoming a successful and great organization. In addition, the leader points out the importance of “learned protocol prior to thinking something can be done”. On the other hand, Interviewee B points out that the key basis of success is that it drastically decreased the number of incidents. The key lesson learnt from the experience is not to wait for someone to point out the prevailing problems or systems that do not work but rather it is essential to conduct a thorough evaluation of such systems to determine if any new or fresh approach will be more suitable.
Handling Conflict Resolutions
Conflict is an aspect that is inevitable. It is bound to take place at some point in time while conducting business. There is a high likelihood that a leader will experience conflicts while practicing leadership. The leaders analyzed specific instances of difficult cases of conflict in which they were requested to resolve and also elucidate the manners in which they employed to attain such resolutions. One important aspect that Interviewee A learnt is that it is impossible to undertake everything and accomplish success. Basically, she “enlisted Interns from local College who have knowledge of Grant writing, for funding my organization. Although a board member is a Grant writer, procrastination and lead to no funding for my organization. So I have used an alternative route, and hopefully I will start to receive funding”. On the other hand, Interviewee B’s instance of conflict included two teachers being at odds and insisting on having a meeting and dialogue in order to talk it out. In the end, all the parties were able to come up with a resolution for the issue. Notably, the approaches undertaken by all leaders resulted in successful outcomes.
Imperatively, having a leadership style that is flexible and adjustable can aid in resolving issues. This is for the reason that flexibility offers better timeliness in superseding in conflicts in addition to other state of affairs that necessitate a leader to change the course of action (Vaari, 2015). In addition, it is a fundamental constituent in swaying a person’s motivation, sense of importance and individual growth. Flexibility helps a leader to function more efficaciously and in an appropriate manner in different conditions (Vaari, 2015). As an effective leader, it is also vital to come to the aspect of acceptance at times that a wide range of options exist and there is not merely one solution or approach of undertaking the change process. Most of all, flexibility is having the ability to acknowledge that one may not always be correct and that there may be other strategies of conducting things that the individual is unaware of (Vaari, 2015).
Influencing Colleagues, Employees, or Subordinates to Follow Organizational Strategic Vision
There is a distinctive difference between a manager and a leader. Notably, one of the key traits of an effective manager encompasses the ability to influence other parties, including colleagues, employees, or subordinates to follow your strategic vision for the organization. An effective leader has to have the ability to sway other individuals into following his direction and vision of where to go and how to accomplish such a goal. Both leaders have been effective and successful in influencing others. On one hand, Interviewee A has been able to consistently influence other individuals to buy in. That is, she has incessantly swayed different people to become inclined to give monetary resources or donations as well as influencing volunteers to join the organization. On the other hand, Interviewee B has been effective in influencing other people within the organization to follow her direction. She considers the method of inclusion to permit other personnel to have a sense of being part of the solution and success to the organization. Moreover, she outlines that when a leader demonstrates his or her dedication to the projects being undertaken, it makes the employees interested in following their direction and not being in opposition of it. Basically, this gives rise to minimal resistance to any change within the organization.
Different leaders utilize different approaches and techniques to influence people and subordinates into their way and direction. The main strategies that have been effective and successful for Interviewee A are communication and transparency. In contrast, the approaches that did not work for her included sitting and becoming laid back with the thoughts and opinions that individuals will have a similar work ethic owing to your vision of the organization. With respect to Interviewee B, the main strategy that proved to be efficacious is open communication with all other members within the organization. However, the approach that proved to be ineffective and unsuccessful for this leader was dictatorship and autocracy while practicing leadership. To accomplish different outcomes, Interviewee A believes that greater community engagement and better communication would have been suitable whereas B considers better communication skills to have generated dissimilar results.
Continuing Training and Development for Employees
The interview also took into consideration the leaders’ perspectives regarding continuing training and development for personnel. Both leaders considered this aspect to be significantly necessary. On one hand, A outlined that she is a major advocate and supporter of continuing training and developments. She also outlines the importance of encouraging members to visit and attend workshops, networking and building healthy relationships within the community. Similarly, B considers such continued training and development for personnel to be an exceedingly necessary and important element for facilitating growth within the work setting. In addition, both leaders consider training and development of the workforce to be an important strong suit for the development of their individual organizations. Both leaders have also made individual strides and endeavors to encourage continuing education, training, and development. To begin with, Interviewee A not only provides encouragement to all personnel to attend workshops, but at the same time also attend and become part of them so as to demonstrate to all personnel that it results in growth and also that learning does not cease. On the other hand, Interviewee B has personally gone ahead and signed up personnel for different trainings and workshops immediately after she perceived their potential for growth within the organization.
Notably, in their endeavors of facilitating continuing training and development of employees, there are a number of things that have worked and others that have proven to be successful. As for Interviewee A, the one thing that has failed to work is partaking in the attendance of too many workshops and in the end failing to put work and effort in the organization, which in turn hindered the development of the organization. As for Interviewee B, the one thing that has proven to be successful is the numerous endeavors to facilitate the growth of personnel and ensure they comprehend the leader’s plan for growth in order to accomplish betterment of the job.
Organizational Change
Change is an inevitable phenomenon. Organizations prevail in an incessantly changing world and therefore leaders are tasked with having the ability to instigate and adapt to change. Nonetheless, managing change might time and again not be a stress-free task for organizations. If inappropriately managed, change may not produce the desired outcomes. In actual fact, numerous change initiatives have failed owing to ineffective management. Change leaders have to be inclined to leading a change initiative and fully comprehend the roles they play in such change. Effective change management is important for thriving in a rapidly changing environment. Organizations experience progressively more intricate change, underlining the need for efficacious change management. In this sort of setting, there are those who succeed and those who do not. The difference between successes and failures is effectiveness. It is not just enough to implement a change initiative. An effective leader must understand how to effectively implement that change. It is not rare for organizations to implement change for the sake of it, or basically for the reason that every other person is doing it. Failures implement change devoid of a proper understanding of what the change should achieve and, most outstandingly, how to go carry it out. What results is a failed change initiative, which is the kind of change that does not bring about the expected results. Ineffective change management may, as a result, preclude an organization’s capability to prospect in an incessantly changing environment (Nehar, 2013).
One of the key elements of change includes getting out of one’s comfort zone and undertaking things that one may not wish to do (Cawsey et al., 2011). Interviewee A outlines that this approach in tandem with not having fear of hearing "no" are some of the imperative changes instigated to the organization. In contrast, Interviewee B delineates that the most important change instigated to the work setting includes empathy and listening skills. These are competencies linked to emotional intelligence. In accordance to Myers et al. (2012), emotional intelligence is required to precisely distinguish demonstration rules and to manage emotions so as to be in compliance with such limitations. With respect to organizational change, emotional intelligence capabilities play a fundamental role in attaining successful contravention of emotional display guidelines. In using these skills, there is a great likelihood of building organizational agility, which is the ability of adapting to change (Myers et al., 2012).
The introduction and implementation of change within an organization can be a daunting task. More often than not, all individuals are inclined to continue with the status quo. Therefore, it is imperative for leaders as change agents to consider and come up with different strategies that will be prove effective while introducing change. On one hand, Interviewee B employed meetings and different actions that had deadlines put in place. On the other hand, Interviewee A made use of one-on-one meetings as well as taking time to listen to employee worries and concerns. What helped the leaders to make them succeed in bringing out the necessitated organizational change is meetings, and discussions with board for Interviewee A, whereby all of the members came to an agreement. For Interviewee B, adjustments and modifications were undertaken where necessary.
Looking back at your career and practice as a leader, what important tips or suggestions would you give to developing leaders in any type of organization, and why?
With Interviewee A being an Executive Director of Non-Profit Organization and Interviewee B being an Assistant Principal at an Elementary School, both leaders have enjoyed successful careers. Such vast experience can provide important recommendations and suggestions that can aid in the development of leaders in any form of organization. In accordance to Interviewee A, the main recommendation is for an individual to embrace and practice transparency. This is largely for the reason that all leaders are constantly looked upon by subordinates and therefore a lack of transparency might mean the subordinates will choose not to follow them or the plans and visions for the organization. The main suggestion given by Interviewee B is “not going in a new position and changing things, and not listening to the needs of the employees, especially those tenured employees at the school”. This basically implies that a leader should not undertake organizational change devoid of listening to the needs of personnel and also devoid of proper communication on the importance of such change.





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