Ongoing leadership development as organizational competitive advantage

Leadership Development and Leadership Effectiveness

Issues dealt With

Leadership development needs to be agile enough to meet the changing needs of an organization, yet stable enough to be consistent with the best practices and proven frameworks. Leadership development also needs to include employees in addition to managers, to ensure that each employee can work to create alignment and enable consensus within work teams of their organizations (Amagoh, 2009). The study also contends that leadership development programs also lead to employees, managers and senior managers have greater emotional intelligence and insight with leads to the creation of transformational leaders. Excellent leaders create trust and commitment to a common vision through by showing they are willing to sacrifice personally for their attainment, all the while being transparent and authentic in leading teams (Amagoh, 2009). Enabling an entire organization to make progress on their journey to leadership creates a culture of trust, shared commitment to goals and higher levels of productivity, and eventually profits. The link of a productive, positive culture and higher profitability is implied throughout much of the research cited in the study (Amagoh, 2009).

Despite all of these benefits and the value of a positive, productive culture on the growth of a company, the author successfully shows how many organizations don't make ongoing leadership development programs available. He argues there is a mindset of periodically doing leadership development programs and then lapsing back into routines of not paying attention to this area of an organizations' development (Amagoh, 2009).

Literature review / Methodology adopted in Data Collection

A comprehensive analysis of leadership development theories and frameworks provides the basis of the literature review of the cited article. The researcher cites each theory and analyzes their key constructs and frameworks from the context of a transformational leadership-based value set. This makes the analysis highly relevant to one of the foundational points of the analysis, which is leadership development programs need to be ongoing and oriented to every member of an organization to be effective. By using the core set of transformational leadership concepts to analyze each leadership development theory, the author successfully argues for why ongoing programs are essential and critical to the long-term growth of any organization. The analysis of institutional leadership and is planned and systematic efforts to first change leadership values and then entire cultures of organizations is a case in point (Amagoh, 2009). With the analysis of the three components which comprise a successful leadership plan, the includes self-efficacy, developing modes of motivating others, and developing specific leadership skills the author successfully transitions the article away from frameworks to the more integrative benefits of an ongoing leadership development plan. In the context of their analysis, this transition is critical because it sets the foundation for one of the most valuable points the analysis makes, which is that over time, organizations can transform their tacit and explicit knowledge into a competitive advantage with leadership programs. This is significant, because the author cites studies that indicate how organizations that have a high degree of transformational leadership skills throughout each layer of their companies are much more adept at transforming all forms of knowledge into an ongoing competitive advantage and competitive strength. By making the commitment to an ongoing leadership development program, the author contends that a knowledge-based organization emerges that is capable of interpreting and quickly acting on opportunities and threats (Amagoh, 2009).

Analysis and Conclusions Drawn

The analysis in the article successfully integrates the concepts of transformational leadership with the dominant leadership development theories to deliver insights into how organizations can transform their knowledge into a competitive advantage. It sets the foundation for how an organization can become more competitive by being more coordinated, synchronized around common goals. This synchronization of processes and systems is attained through ongoing leadership development programs.

Comment on the article vis-a-vis your opinions of leadership

This article and its concepts are entirely consistent with my view of leadership. As it supports the continual improvement and development of transformational leadership skills, the frameworks that the author analyzes and shows how over time contribute to greater organizational effectiveness have been proven throughout the studies cited.

Conclusions

Any valuable skill requires continual practice, reinforcing and focus if it is to improve. This is especially the case in the area of leadership development programs. Enabling leadership development skills and values throughout an organization, anchoring them in transformational leadership core concepts, is key. The payoff of having an organization that is capable of transforming its knowledge into a competitive strength is essential.