THEORIES AND MODELS OF LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT
BLOG 1
Research has consistently shown that diverse teams produce better results, provided they are well led. The ability to bring together people from different backgrounds, disciplines, cultures, and generations and leverage all they have to offer, therefore, is a must-have for leaders (Ibarra and Hansen 2011:71).
Mullins (2010) defines leadership as “getting things done through the effort of other people”. The term leadership comprises provision of information, knowledge and to realise vision, setting up a clear vision and share it with people who are ready to follow then balance and harmonise the problems within the stakeholder (Business dictionary 2012). Leadership is “the movement, taking the organization or dome part of it in a new direction, solving problems, being creative, initiating new programs, building organizational structures, and improve quality” (VanDerLinden &Eddy 2006).
“Leadership is more about change, inspiration, setting the purpose and direction, and building the enthusiasm, unity and staying-power for the journey ahead” (Scouller, J. 2011). In my point of view, some people are born to be leaders but are not helful. For example the President of Nigeria is born to lead because he was a lecturer in a university when he was appointed to be deputy governor, the governor was impeached and he became the governor. More so he was appointed as vice president, the president died and he became the president of Nigeria. Another example is Harioto Nelson. It can also be learned by teaching, recruiting, training, coaching and communication to develop employees to tackle challenges, tailor their needs and solve problems themselves. It has to be experienced too because experience is the best teacher.
Mangement is defined as an art, science, magic and politics (Watson T J. 1986). Management is the responsibility of things such as money, IT, equipments, advertising, promises etc. Management is less about change, and more about stability and making the best use of resources to get things done (Scouller, J. 2011).
The purpose of this blog is to indicate the model and theory, the feature, the benefits and limitations.
The transformational leadership supports the Ibarra and Hansen debate because the leader carries up his followers’ confidence, high needs and values. He inspires the followers with fresh possibilities to the followers desire and persuation to attain a specific purpose (Burn’s 1978). Transformational leadership is clasified into four I’s namely: idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration (Bernard Bass and Avolio).
Idealized influence is the building ability of confidence in the leader, his followers admires and appreciate him which brings about a radical change in an organization. If a tranformational leader does not possess confidence in his aims, he may encounter big resistance when he tries to redirect the organization. Followers believe and appreciate transformational leaders when leaders performs very well in their duties or job which will make followers ready to follow. Transformational leaders are role models to their followers so the biggest success of a leader that has obtained high level of appreciation with his follower is through imitating their leader.
Inspirational motivation is the transformational ability to inspire and motivate followers to believe and appreciate the leaders’ behavior, such as stimulating team work and followers, bringing hopeful results out, showing great interest and assurance of followers.
They are visionaries who express the future and successful state of an organization.
Intellectual stimulation helps transformational leaders to arouse their followers to creativeness and innovativeness, for ever rethink of the present assumptions.
Individualized consideration of a transformational leader means that leaders must understand the motivating factors of their followers individually for example their needs and values. Leaders or managers cannot disconnected from a successful organization because visionary leaders can guide diverse teams to success so transformational leaders are the main success in managing organizational changes.
Divers teams consists of different professions, skills, age, culture and gender which has affected the performance teams individually as such the behavior of leaders ought to be transformed to promote the effectiveness of teams as well as bringing individuals together for innovations and solutions from their views (Ibarra 2006, Holtzman 2011:76). The management of team diversity can be executed through networking of the individuals who are combined into a dynamic work force (Mullins 2010:152). Different ideas, information and experience from different employees will lift the organization to a greater height when they bring together their different ideas.
A transformational leader have the knowledge to retain customers, gives their subordinates training (corporate learning) and makes employees to be aware of their full potential through empowering to make changes in themselves.
There are limitations of transformational leadership. It lacks ideological clarity in the sense that its boundaries are not clearly defined because of its numerous characteristics.
This type of leadership abandons the sense of challenge and does not share power which means it is totalitarian. According to Bass & Steidlmeier (1999) it lacks morality and ethical values to make followers not to be just morally. Because their purpose is to change, inspire and motivate, they do not involve in the real every day execution which might make them to be unaware of the nature of the task in theory (Johnson W (ND).
In conclusion transformational leaders stimulates emotions of their subordinates which will arouse employees to perform more than expected but transactional leaders only realize the link between employees effort and reward. Transformational leadership is more effective than transactional.
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