The Importance of Effective Leadership

As an individual, I have always believed that there is no single style of leadership that may be described as the ‘best.’ I believe that different situations would require specific styles of leadership to suit the task. Effective leadership in any situation is often relevant to the task ahead, and as such, the most successful leaders are those who can adapt to the changes of the conditions around them. Besides, proper leadership is often adaptable to the ability and willingness of the group or individual that they are bidding to influence or lead. In this regard, it is prudent to state that effective leadership is not only dependent on the person or persons being led, but also the function or job as well as the goal that needs to be accomplished. As a leader, I believe in motivating the people I am attempting to lead at any particular time. In so doing, I reckon that it is essential to develop the level of commitment and competence of the people to produce individuals who are self-motivated and independent. In consideration of all my preferences in regards to leadership, my style of leadership suits the situational leadership theory by Ken Blanchard and Paul Hersey.

Reflection on the Seven habits profile

            After filling the seven habits profile, there are several aspects of my leadership style that emerge. The practice has helped me understand some aspects of my leadership style that I overlook and I believe it has been an important exercise for me. I think as a leader I aspire to create balance with all my staff and try my very best to motivate them to meet the goals of the organization while giving them their personal space to meet personal development and growth goals. I take time to listen to my staff and consider their opinions in the decision-making process and follow an open communication approach as I believe this leads to a more productive workplace. Completing the profile has helped me understand that I am focused on completing tasks and meeting organizational goals while ensuring a close relationship with employees is maintained.   

Evaluation of Leadership Practice

            The fundamental underpinnings of the situational theory are based on the style of leadership based on the situation and the consideration of the willingness and commitment of the people being led (Lerman and Summer 2010). These principles are the main platforms of my strengths in my leadership style. As I lead, I often consider the willingness of the people below me. In this light, I can consider their strengths and their ability to carry out the specific tasks at the intended moment. According to Hersey and Blanchard (2007), it is essential to consider the maturity levels of the people being led and their ability to take up responsibility. These are aspects that I put into focus when designating tasks in my leadership style. My other strength is ensuring that all employees under me are highly motivated. While designating tasks and responsibilities, it is obvious that there is a need to ensure the staff is given space to express themselves and as such are made independent. Besides, communication is a major aspect that comes into perspective in this regard. Setting realistic expectations implies that the individuals perform better and remain committed to the course. While delegating, decision making is often a shared aspect of the entire process and throughout the task to be carried out.

            While my leadership style is in often in line with the task and considerate of the aptitudes of the people being led, it is quite apparent that there are several weaknesses in the same regards. Lerman and Summer (2010), assert that being that this leadership style is often pegged on the delegation of duties and the assumption that the people being led are capable and willing, it is prone to minimum supervision. As a leader, this aspect is my greatest undoing in the application of the situational leadership model in my style. Lerman and Summer (2010), describe this model of delegation as low relationship and low task whereby the intervention from the managers and leaders is quite low based on the assumption that the subordinates are willing, confident, and competent enough to perform the tasks at hand. These facts underscore my weakness. I often assume that my subordinates are always willing to and confident to accomplish the jobs assigned to them thus giving minimum supervision. In most cases, this aspect implies that the duties to be performed may be below the expectations of the entire situation or may not meet the intended deadlines. The measurement of job readiness, in this case, is only subject to the two factors underpinning this theory, i.e., job ability and job confidence. The unintended result may be the likelihood to wrongly gauge the readiness of the individuals to perform a certain task. 

            Perhaps another weakness in regards to this leadership style is based on an insistence on delegation; I often forget my position as a manager. Lerman and Summer (2010) suggest that in this age, leaders no longer feel like bosses but like partners. In this sense, as a leader who prefers to motivate the subordinates by delegating tasks to them, I understand that despite providing the employees the platform to perform the tasks and make decisions, all responsibility in case of mistakes comes to me. I, therefore, endeavor to partner with employees and other decision-makers in the organization but try my best to provide elaborate guidance to reduce chances of mistakes and promote the achievement of the end goal. The implication of this weakness is that I am often left with the pressure of having to constantly analyze the decisions by my staff in their tasks.

            To transform my weaknesses to conform to situations, it is important to consider the significance of communication and shared responsibility. Meese and Ortmeier (2004) suggest that effective leadership is often premised on the effectiveness of the communication strategy. Communication is an aspect that underscores every leadership strategy. The essence of communication is to bring about a platform for understanding. In the case of leadership, communication is for understanding the values, and visions of the projects as well as the strategic direction that the program intends to take. Communication is also essential to inform, motivate, excite, and build trust between the leader and the subordinates. In this light, one way of dealing with the weaknesses identified is by creating a better platform for communication. An emphasis on effective communication would put all the subordinates in line with the intended goals of the heart program.

            Besides, to create the conceptualization of hierarchy, it would be important to have a centralized system of leadership. The boss would remain the overall authority, and the subordinates would understand their position without having to feel inferior. Besides, it would also be prudent to create an open decision-making process that creates a platform where all the members of the heart program have a mutual responsibility in the decision making process. In this regard, the hierarchy of leadership is maintained, and the decision making is shared.

            In addition to the strategies mentioned above, it would also be prudent to ensure that the strengths and weaknesses of the subordinates are thoroughly scrutinized. Thorough scrutiny would ensure that the responsibilities and tasks allocated are only within the abilities of the assigned individuals. Besides, it would help in reducing the likelihood of improper implementation of tasks, and the deadlines would be met in time. In addition to that, constant evaluation and supervision of tasks would help in ensuring that the jobs are being undertaken in line with the vision of the organization. Additionally, it would help in eliminating mistakes earlier and adjusting the strategies to ensure that what is being implemented is in line with the visions of the program. Additionally, monitoring and evaluation would help in adjusting decisions to suit the changing conditions.

            Poppes et al. (2002) imply that the intrinsic importance of setting goals lies in their ability to give direction to any organization. The efficiency of goals towards realizing the dream of an institution lies in the fact that it meets the SMART principles. The principle requires that the goal must be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound. In my endeavor to ensure that I get the most from my leadership practice, I have come up with two goals in this line.

i. To provide more avenues of communication for every stakeholder by creating a sustainable program-wide communication and feedback culture within the next two weeks.

ii. To conduct a weekly supervisory round every Friday afternoon to ensure that at least 99% of the tasks being undertaken are in compliance with the vision and mission of the organization and within the abilities of the responsible individuals.

            To accomplish the first goal, perhaps it would be prudent to ensure that there are more suggestion boxes for all the stakeholders to air their complaints as well as recommendations on time. The feedback on the information would be communicated promptly through the available channels. Besides, a team media site would increase the interaction between the subordinates, the managers, and the clientele of the company. The main advantage of this aspect is that the information would be shared in real-time. Likewise, holding weekly meetings would increase the participation of subordinates in the leadership process as they all have the opportunity of interaction between members of within the heart program.

            To achieve the second goal, a supervisory round from the managers would imply that the weaknesses of the subordinates would be seen in time to eradicate any possible mistakes at the end of the project. The supervisory round will be done physically and through face-to-face interactions between the managers and the subordinates. The feedback would also be in real-time and adjustments did promptly.

            In a nutshell, the situational leadership style may not be perfect, but it is quite obvious that it serves the best interests of the stakeholders in any given situation. This style of leadership appreciates the fact that leadership needs to be tailor-made to meet the prerequisites of a particular situation. However, this style insists on the commitment of the subordinates and their willingness to carry out tasks. In this light, it is important to understand the abilities of the subordinates. In addition to that, it is essential to put into place effective communication channels to ensure that the decision making process is both inclusive and in line with the objectives. Besides, it is essential to ensure that the goals of the organization are communicated. Since this theory does not seem to place much insistence on the role of supervision, perhaps taking up a supervisory role and thorough scrutiny of the abilities of the subordinate would be appropriate. By so doing, it would be easier to achieve the goals of the organization more seamlessly.

References

Hersey, P., Blanchard, K. H., & Johnson, D. E. (2007). Management of organizational      behavior (Vol. 9). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice hall.

Lerman, A., & Summer, O. (2010). Situational Leadership Theory.

Meese, E., & Ortmeier, P. J. (2004). Leadership, ethics, and policing: Challenges for the 21st         century. Prentice Hall.

Poppes, P., Vlaskamp, C., de Geeter, K. I., & Nakken, H. (2002). The importance of setting         goals: the effect of instruction and training on the technical and intrinsic quality of    goals. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 17(3), 241-250.