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Leadership, Innovation, and Engineering
Introduction
The engineering field requires that one possess technical expertise and leadership skills in order to succeed. This paper looks at the utility of various leadership theories and styles in the context of engineering leadership and innovation management. In particular, it discusses Transformational Leadership, Servant Leadership, and Agile Leadership, and in so doing it argues that these theories are particularly suited for engineering leaders who are tasked with driving innovation and leading high-performing teams.
Transformational Leadership
Transformational Leadership focuses on inspiring and motivating team members through buy-in, communicating vision, and leading by example. The goal of transformational leaders is to get a team to exceed its own limitations and contribute to the greater good of the organization (Bass & Riggio, 2006). These types of leaders usually possess high levels of influence, the ability to be inspirationally motivating, the ability to be intellectually stimulating, and a sense of how to show individualized consideration.
In engineering, complex projects often arise that require problem-solving skills and a high level of creativity. Transformational Leadership can be effective here because leaders who can inspire their teams to think outside the box are more likely to achieve innovative solutions. They can inspire teams to be creative without fear.
Transformational leaders can also help to set up an environment where new ideas...…as it encourages flexible operations and oversight. It fuels communication and makes sure information is not lost. It is perfect for engineering projects that often require quick pivots to address feedback.
Because Agile leadership encourages feedback and iterative development, it is very useful in the innovation process. It allows engineering teams to test new ideas quickly and make adjustments as needed.
Conclusion
Transformational Leadership, Servant Leadership, and Agile Leadership each offer advantages in the context of engineering leadership and innovation management. Transformational Leadership can inspire and motivate engineers to push boundaries; Servant Leadership can create a supportive environment that facilitates collaboration and long-term growth; Agile Leadership supports adaptability and flexibility, important…
References
Bass, B. M., & Riggio, R. E. (2006). Transformational leadership (2nd ed.). Psychology Press.
Cohen, D., Lindvall, M., & Costa, P. (2004). An introduction to agile methods. Advances inComputers, 62, 1-66.
Greenleaf, R. K. (1977). Servant leadership: A journey into the nature of legitimate power andgreatness. Paulist Press.
Siebelink, S., Voordijk, H., Endedijk, M., & Adriaanse, A. (2021). Understanding barriers toBIM implementation: Their impact across organizational levels in relation to BIM maturity. Frontiers of Engineering Management, 8, 236-257.
Servant Leadership Even though servant leadership is in most cases associated with the Bible and Jesus Christ it is quite compatible with most religions and theories of philosophy. This paper is a comparative study using Greenleaf's characteristics of servant leadership which is based on Christianity against other philosophy and other leadership theories. "…The great leader is seen as servant first…"-Robert K. Greenleaf. This is a fragment from a sentence in an essay
Servant Leadership At the center of servant leadership is a leader's ability to transform a team, department or entire organization by concentrating on their specific needs for direction, individualized coaching, development and recognition. A highly effective servant leader will also have a correspondingly high level of Emotional Intelligence (EI) and exhibit the traits of transformational leadership (Washington, Sutton, Feild, 2006). A highly effective servant leader will often create unique development and
Servant Leadership Defining Servant Leadership The principles of Servant Leadership were laid out by founder Robert Greenleaf in his important 1970 book, The Servant as Leader. Greenleaf, to his great credit, wanted to stress the point that leaders should first serve, and later lead through service. The leaders who have power but have not led, and use the power to push his or her own viewpoints and agenda, are not the kind
This is why the journal article advocated more empirical research that is still lacking ten years later (Russell & Stone, 2002, 145). B. Servant Leadership-Greenleaf The primary aspect is that a servant leader is first a servant who feels a natural need to provide for the needs of others (Greenleaf & Spears, 2002, 27). A concrete example of this would have been a leader such as Martin Luther King Jr. who
Therefore, the servant leadership theory reflects the need for analyzing this type of leadership. Servant Leadership Cons There is also certain criticism addressed by some to this theory. It seems that servant leadership provides a too soft approach that does not favor the development of competitiveness within the company. The increased competition in the business environment requires that companies also build a competitive environment within them in order to help employees
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