Leadership effectiveness and styles for the twenty-first century

Leadership

Our persistent approach to the initial years of the twenty-first century, necessitates to recall the crucial incidents of the previous century and to foresee the events to be come across in future more specifically in the ensuing years. The commercial class considered to constitute the largest section in the society much concerned bout the future events. Taking all the technological advancements that took place during the past century in to consideration the corporations are to strive for maintaining the competitiveness in the international market relentlessly. Taking together all the factors one can visualize the extraordinary variations that have profound impact on the global trade and commerce. The veracity of global economy combined with the dissemination of the information technology provided adequate impetus to the corporations large and small to compete in a new dimension. This lays emphasis of the effectiveness of management and leadership skills as a determinant for the endurance of a corporation. (Leadership Effectiveness for the Twenty-First Century)

It is worthwhile then to define leadership. It is considered to be a quality which can be perceived to being observed yet quite hard to narrate. Several definitions have been put forth along with equally large number of critics. Several persons relate the leadership with the person that pilots. Four elements are observed to be associated with it. Piloting other is similar to motivate others. Secondly, the supporters exist simultaneously with the leaders. The leaders thirdly are at the forefront at the time of disaster. Alternatively speaking they are more active at the time of need for a pioneering reaction. Finally, the leaders seem to be of distinguished personalities having transparent ideas of what they desire and try to attain and the reasons for the same. The leaders are persons capable of thinking and performing creatively in an extraordinary circumstance and come out to motivate the activities, faith and feelings of their followers. (Classical leadership)

This emphasizes on the personal qualities of the leader. The leadership thus stems from the personal traits and behaviors. Moreover, it is also associated with some other activities as a manager or a specialist. (Classical leadership) Leadership is defined as a complicated system with which a person persuades other to achieve a particular assignment, job or goal and leads the organization in a path that makes it more consistent and rational. The distinction between the leadership and boss stems from the fact that while the former requires the people to attain higher goals and objectives while the latter is concerned with performance of a particular job or objective. (Big Dog's Leadership Page - Concept of Leadership)

Leadership styles

The leadership styles are associated with a varied circumstances where the necessity for the managing others is being felt. The efficacy of job execution is dependent upon a number of factors inclusive of a number of the managerial traditions in which the person is working. (Leadership Styles) The means of influencing and safeguarding the followers in attainment of the pre-determined goals and objectives through the transparent and easy paths is prescribed by the Path-Goal Theory of Leadership. More specifically, the leaders pave the way for the followers so as to make them clear of the ambiguities to adopt the right choice eradicating the inhibitions that deter them from reaching their goals and enhancing the incentives on the way. The leaders are found to attain an enforced and confined strategy in such activities. In specifying the right way they sometimes are seen to be instructive and provide hazy clues.

In eliminating the obstacles they may polish the way or assist the followers to become capable of moving across still more difficult hindrances. In their efforts to enhance the incentives often they seem to provide stimulation and make the path gratifying. Such changes in the strategy will rely upon the circumstances including the capability of the supporters and motivations as well as the hardness of the assignment and other related determinants. Four approaches to the leadership are described by House and Mitchell in 1974 viz. supportive, directive, participative and achievement oriented. Supportive leadership respects the necessities of the followers visualizing anxiety for their well-being and ensuring a collaborative working condition. This involves enhancing the self-respect of the followers and makes the work more stimulating. This approach is considered useful in case of the jobs considered to be traumatic, tedious or unsafe. (Path-Goal Theory of Leadership)

The Directive leadership is the approach that involves taking up of decisions by the leaders on behalf of others and anticipating the supporters and the subordinates to follow instructions. (Classical leadership) It is educating the followers about the way they are required to perform the job and provides the required assistance on their path of execution. This also specifies the time frame of the performance of the particular jobs at the specified times. The incentives are to be enhanced as per the requirement and there should be reduction in the ambiguity about their responsibilities. This is to be applied effectively when the task is considered to be formless and complicated and the supporters are taken to be novice. This safeguards the feelings of the followers as secured and regulated and therefore is suitable to the circumstances. (Path-Goal Theory of Leadership)

The Directive leaders are identified with having the compact ideas of the particular time and the method of performing the jobs. Therefore, they seem to provide little scope for their subordinates to exhibit autonomy and take for granted that the subordinates are acting as per the pre-fixed time frame and following the determined methodology. Being much more inclined towards the attainment of pre-fixed goals and being particularly associated with the consequences the Directive Leader involves in close assessment of the activities and performance of the followers. This results in viewing themselves as a little calm and isolated. Such ideas are more strengthened with the fact that they are guided by their own views rather than taking into consideration the positive aspects of the views of others. More staunch self-directed leaders results in expulsion of the thoughts of others even at the cost of their own. However, this is turned into complicacies and the efficacy of their own abilities and judgment are put under suspicion. (Leadership Styles)

The participative leadership is involved in the collaboration and consultations with the supporters and inclusion of their ideas into account while taking up decisions and taking up of the specified actions. This method is considered better when the followers have specializations and there exists a necessity for their opinion and they are even capable of delivering the same. (Path-Goal Theory of Leadership) Participative leaders are more concerned with accumulating the best out of group as a whole. As a result of his they stimulate enhanced participation from all its followers of the group and are impressed by the view that the best solutions automatically flow with amalgamation of ideas and arriving at an agreeable conclusion. They are not prone to pursue their own ideas and views on the other members of the team but their concern is to supervise the democratization of the system. This is associated with guaranteeing to each of its associates a natural scope to extend their opinion and that no single member exerts a disproportionate impact on the team resolutions. (Leadership Styles) The achievement-oriented leadership is fixing the demanding objectives both in respect of the assignments and also in sphere of the self development activities. There are anticipations exhibitions of the achievements of high quality. The leader assumes the required competency of the followers to accomplish the job. (Path-Goal Theory of Leadership)

Leadership effectiveness

It is also equally important to explore the meaning of the leadership effectiveness in the context of next million. The investigation into the different viewpoints with regard to effectiveness in leadership and integration of the best characteristics of each person a blending of philosophies and experiences crop up that continues to modify with the variations in time. An assessment of the available texts on this indicates innumerable expositions on the total quality management, effective management, quality controls, employee reinforcement and servant leadership. The expositions have been made in form of essays and editorials demonstrating application of these views in the subjects that include everything from the education. What is the actual indication of all these events? What the philosophies and approaches have in common. Primarily all these views swivel around few terminologies. Firstly, it is required that the management personnel are always to behave like leaders within their organization. (Leadership Effectiveness for the Twenty-First Century)

It has been emphasized by the writers that the leaders are required to fetch comprehensive stringency to their faiths and their activities are directed towards the well being of their followers and organization. They are also required to bear the responsibilities for their actions. The managers in order to be leaders should involve in the creation of quality products and have a positive communication among the employees to restore a favorable working circumstance on the basis of faithful interdependence. Moreover, the leaders are also required to afford to bring out the inherent qualities considered the best among the people and stimulate for persistent growth of each and every individual within the organization. Further the leader is liable and should take the responsibility of demonstrating the same standards like that of the employees. With enhancement of a clear vision with regard to the organization and the people and then inducing the followers to take adequate steps for achieving the predetermined objectives and goals the leaders can make the business thrive in the ensuing periods. (Leadership Effectiveness for the Twenty-First Century)

Alternatively, Scholtes opined that when the leaders are not aware of and engaged in piloting the systems, the organizations and the communities are destined to weaken for all time to come and are prone to vanish. Broadly speaking, the leadership indicates to the transparency of the ideas and the secular guidance of the leader. This also involves organization through a coaching or participatory method. Moreover, the leadership also embraces the lessons like strengthening of employees and the designing and execution stage of transformation. The element of persistent development leads to the reformation of vision and particular developments are required to be infused to the end product or service. Additionally, the teamwork is required to be mutual among the individual workers and the group of the co-workers. The aim of cooperation in the end should be applied to form an organizational structure where the entire functioning of the organization is viewed from the angle of trust and not threat. (Leadership Effectiveness for the Twenty-First Century)

Employee Satisfaction

To most of the companies the objective of enhancing the customer service standards is regarded as mandatory. There is also necessity for the same since the studies have enough evidences to prove that creation of customer loyalty has a profound influence on the profitability of the company. Moreover, as per a study made on 46,000 business-to-business surveys-it is evident that the contributions of the totally 'satisfied customers' are considered 2.6 times more than that of the 'somewhat satisfied' customers. Apparently, considerable advantages are visualized in attempting to enhance the service quality of the company. This is considered to be the rationale behind spending so much of time and money in the training programs that train the worker on the mode of dealing with the customers. Many managers however are not aware of the fact that such efforts are largely superficial. The actual enhancement in customer service imitates with extension of excelled service and support to the workers themselves. Improvement in the extension of service to the customers widely depends upon the personal that actually provides the services. This only occur with the volunteerism -- "the desire to cross the limit of requirement -- "of personnel serving at the front end. (Customer Satisfaction is a Reflection of Employee Satisfaction)

The movement from ordinary to extraordinary performance occurs with the volunteer attempts of front end personnel that decide the means to deal with the demands in a positive manner. Such keenness, loyalty and devotions are not to be imposed upon the workers. It only occurs through an attitude of commitment through which the frontline personnel actually demonstrating the intense pride and ownership they are confronting within the company. (Customer Satisfaction is a Reflection of Employee Satisfaction) Thus employee satisfactions have to be emphasized by leaders within an organization. When each of the employees at a business concern concentrates on exerting their best efforts and committed to their work then it is natural to rail the corporation at the optimum level and emphasize on the production of qualitative products. While the leaders deals every workers with regard and attempt to form an environment of faithfulness, then workers will be impelled to work for persistent improvement, personal growth and training. No workers will be discontented. The customer loyalty will increase with the feeling of being cared by the company by receiving the quality and standardized products in return to cater to their needs. (Leadership Effectiveness for the Twenty-First Century)

Leader acceptance

Most of those that are involved with management are eager and desirous of accepting the advantages of their positions; however, all are not anxious to accept the complete responsibilities of leadership. More frequently, it is evident that the modern leadership appears to be expedient with the necessity and attitudes of the leaders over emphasizing the necessity of the followers and the clients and customers. The actual leadership, however, is required to be advantageous to the supporters rather than the leader. The basic entity for which the leaders lead and the supporters follow is the attainment of the predetermined objective and therefore both are considered primarily to be similar in nature. Every manager at each of the levels has his own boss and similar is the case with every leader that has its own followers. In reality the true leadership quality with the managers is visualized with the sacrifice of self-interest in view of the objectives, necessities, of the workers and organizations, in their endeavor to assist the workers in put their efforts more intensively so as to perform the job more effectively. (Accepting leadership responsibility: preparing yourself to lead honestly, humanely, and effectively)

The leaders keen on disseminating their own knowledge and experience with their followers positively thrive for betterment of the organization as well as the growth in leadership quality. The capability to teach by the leader effectively is considered crucial for the growing needs of the prospective leadership of the organizations in view of the rapid changing circumstances. (What is the Future of CEOs?) And a leader who motivates and provides employee satisfaction to its employees will be accepted by the employees.