Researching Values and Culture for Effective Leadership
Introduction

Organizations that are not focused on change management will inevitably fall into a static or stagnant spell—a period of inertia in which the energy, morale and stamina of the workforce flags or at least appears to lack the original zest and sense of urgency that existed at the outset. Change is important to pursue because the world itself is always changing and the culture of an organization should reflect the world and the people it serves, their values and their aspirations so that it can effectively meet their needs. In order to achieve this constant state of becoming, the organization will need to rely on leaders who have the appropriate leadership styles needed for overcoming periods of inertia. This paper will discuss leadership styles within a student services office including describing and applying the styles of pragmatic, idealist, steward, and diplomatic to the office. It will also discuss why organizations fall into patterns of inertia and detail what critical pragmatic leadership skills leaders need to regain organizational momentum. Finally it will apply and discuss the best leadership theory for a standard student services office and the leadership styles to avoid.

Leadership Styles

Pragmatic

The pragmatic leader is practical in style. He has a utilitarian philosophy, which means he is interested in helping all stakeholders to achieve the greatest common good. The pragmatic leadership style focuses on the processes involved in accomplishing tasks. The leader who adheres to this style often looks to best and most effective ways of achieving an objective and then concentrates all his energy and implementing that process. It is not always associated with the most humane of leadership styles, as the pragmatic leader can become more consumed with processes and tasks and fail to take the time required to commiserate with staff. In an office trying to work its way out of its inertia and ennui, a leader may need to adopt a style a little more invigorating than pragmatic style.

Idealist

Idealist leaders are like Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon. He has charisma and vision; he also professes to believe in the best in people. He sees only the positive potential in others. The idealist leader is one who has an ideal of the way things should be and then dedicates himself to achieving that ideal. He inspires with his vision and in some regards is like a transformational leader because his approach is supportive, positive and encouraging (Nawaz & Khan, 2016). The drawback of the idealist leader is that he does not see the reality of the situation in every case. Sometimes there are some very real negatives that have to be considered. The idealist believes that by focusing exclusively on the positive and on the ideal these negatives can be pushed out. However, as servant leaders will testify the negatives can sometimes be turned to positives simply through a little care and attention that a servant leader will be an expert at providing.

Steward

The steward leadership style is one in which the leader acts as the servant of the worker. The prototypical servant leader is Christ, Who washed the feet of His apostles to demonstrate his service to them and the humility required of the office of leader. The steward leadership style demands that the leader possess humility and so this style is the exact opposite of the autocratic leadership style which is essentially founded on ego. The steward takes care of all the things that make the office run well. The steward puts the cares and concerns of the office before all else. The steward has no concern for self: his actions are not oriented towards benefiting himself. His aim is only to benefit the office and to get it going. His method is to identify the needs of the members of the office and to make sure those needs are fulfilled. In many ways, the steward leadership style is complementary to the transformational leadership style, as they both focus on transforming the office by lifting it up through attentive devotion to the personnel working there.

Diplomatic

Diplomatic leadership style focuses on representing all sides fairly and evenly. It is a style useful for when there is conflict in the office. In a situation in which the...…is a leader who is asking for trouble. The distant leader is one of the worst kind of leaders imaginable. The hands-off leader is typically not well-regarded (Asrar-ul-Haq & Kuchinke, 2016; Cheung, Yeung & Wu, 2018). At least the micromanager is paying attention: the distant leader does not even want to get involved. He sits in his office, closes the door and does not talk to his employees. He communicates via memos which are taped to the wall or bulletin board when no one is looking. He is never seen and never heard from. The only feedback workers get is when a memo is posted—and then they feel that the communications are so impersonal and unfair (because the workers never get to give feedback) that the workers begin to revolt. A distant leader inevitably breeds contempt and that contempt can turn into sabotage. The quickest way to sink an office is to adopt a distant leadership style.

Conclusion

Leadership styles can vary. Leaders can be practical, idealists, servants, and diplomats. They can try to lead by using micromanagement tactics, or autocratic style; they might seem themselves as being overly-friendly or as wanting to get as far away as possible. At the end of the day, the leader needs to be engaged with his workers, but he also needs to recognize the fact that he is the leader. On an NBA basketball team, there is always going to be a leader on the floor, showing the way forward from the team. He does not take away from anyone else’s position: everyone on that floor has a role to play and each role is important. The same is true for the office. Every person in that office plays an important role and the leader has to recognize that fact and be able to acknowledge that fact. The leader should be inclusive, be supportive, and have a vision that he can articulate: it is that vision of where to go from here that will help to get the office out of its funk into growth mode so that it is firing once more on all cylinders.