My Vision of Leadership

Earlier in my first blog on leadership, Yukl defines leadership as “the action of influencing others to understand and accepts what needs to be done and who to do it, and the process of facilitation individual and collective efforts to achieve a shared objective (Yukl 2006).

 Few things are more important to human activity than leadership. Effective leadership enables countries go through hard times. It makes a business successful. It helps a non-profit organization to achieve its aims and objectives. The effective leadership of parents helps children grow strong and healthy and become productive adults (Mills 2005).

The absence of leadership will result in extreme detrimental effects. Without leadership, organizations will react quick enough to change, stagnate and lose their way (Mills 2005).

We all identify the importance of leadership when we vote for political leaders. We realize that in order for the economy to go towards the direction we want, we must choose a competent leader to effectively administer the change.

 Leadership does not have a secret formula, rather all genuine leaders approach tasks in their own way. It is an individual’s inept ability to think “outside the box” that sets them apart, and that helped Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs to establish one of the most profitable brands in the world (Telegraph 2011).

Picture 1: Transformational Leadership (Small Business Blog 2015)

 

I strongly admire transformational leaders, as I like an approach to leadership that moves employees to transcend self-interest for the good of the organization. The major premise of the transformational leadership theory is the leader’s ability to influence the employees to achieve more than they had planned to accomplish (Krishman 2005).

 

Picture 2: Transactional vs Transformational leadership (Haiku 2015)

Researchers illustrate that there is a positive correlation between transformational leaders and their follower satisfaction (Hatter and Bass 1995) and commitment to the organization (Barling et al., 1996). Scholars also claim that transformational leaders have a positive impact on employee commitment to organizational change (Yu and Jantzi 2002) and organizational conditions (Lam and Chan 2002). Due to the significant impact it has on personal and organizational outcomes, transformational leadership is a necessity in all businesses (Tucker and Russell 2004).

Richard Branson is a good example of a transformational leader. He has inspired my understanding of what an effective leader should be. He pays attention to his employees’ personal concerns about the organization, expresses confidence in his follower’s ability to perform at a high level, and sets forth a goal that is clear and engaging to members of the Virgin group. Branson is a firm believer in the art of delegation, recruiting the best candidates for Virgin and giving them the freedom and encouragement to flourish. Branson’s hands off approach forced others to call the shots, which in turn improves their leadership skills, builds their confidence and improves overall performance of the organization (Telegraph 2011).

 

 

Picture 3: Richard Branson and Steve Jobs (Telegraph 2011)

 Whatever approach a leader adopts, it is essential to recruit individuals who take roles seriously, are inventive yet organized, focused, creative and determined to succeed. An organization should be like a family who grow together and achieve together (Branson 2011).

Steve Jobs’ on the other hand adopted an autocratic style of leadership; he had a meticulous eye for detail, and surrounded himself with like-minded people to follow his lead. Even though he demanded a lot from his employees, he was not the best delegator, as he wanted to be involved with the most insignificant detail.

 Based on the feedback I have received from group members in the seminar, my peers consider me to be a good leader, well organized, enthusiastic and pro active individual who always gets the work done effectively. Some of the group members consider me to have Laissez-faire qualities. Their reason was that when I got to lead the team to prepare for presentations, I tend to have a “hands off” approach towards the presentation and minimize the amount of face time required. It worked well for our team because we were highly motivated to get the task done.

However, some group members were able to point out several flaws in my leadership abilities. Firstly, they claim I get nervous during presentations in the seminars and I have poor time management. These are two key skills required to be a successful leader and manager in the workplace. However, I feel that regular presentations in class will gradually increase my confidence and make improve my presentation skills.

In regards to time management, I planned a weekly schedule of activities I will engage in on a weekly basis to ensure I would not fall behind on time and also enable me develop a sense of urgency.

 Social development is also an area that I personally would like to improve on. I discovered I lack soft skills in relation to others. The significance of these skills in the workplace is crucial, and I plan to develop them by the end of my MBA in order to avoid mismatching my skills in the workplace.

I also expect to develop these skills further during my internship program in term 3. I lack work experience in the UK, so an internship with a major organization in the UK will get me on the right path in becoming a great transformational leader.

In summary, I feel I have acquired a lot more about leadership and the different styles leaders adopt over the 10-week duration of this course. It has also made me more aware about the essential skills I need to develop to become a good manager and effectively a good leader. 

  REFERENCES

Barling, J., Weber, T., and Kelloway, E. K. (1996) ‘Effects of transformational leadership training and attitudinal and financial outcomes: A field experiment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 81(6), 827-832.

Lam, Y. L., Wei, H. C. P., Pan, H. L. W., and Chan, C. M. (2001) ‘In Search of basic sources that propel organizational learning under recent Taiwanese school reforms. The International Journal of Value-Based Management 15(1) 19-33.

Mills, D. Q. (2005) ‘The Importance of Leadership’ [online] Available from http://www.cafanet.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=qwswE8roe74= [22 June 2015].

Small business consulting blog (2015) ‘Understanding the difference between management and Leadership’ [online] Available from http://highoctaneboost.com/blog/tag/transformational-leadership/ [22 June 2015].

The Telegraph (2011) ‘Virgins Richard Branson: Apple Boss Steve Jobs Was The Entrepreneur I Most Admired’ [online] Available from < http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/steve-jobs/8811232/Virgins-Richard-Branson-Apple-boss-Steve-Jobs-was-the-entrepreneur-I-most-admired.html> [24 June 2015]

Tucker, B. A., and Russell, R. F. (2004) ‘The Influence of the Transformational Leader” Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, 10(4) 103-111.

Yu, H., Leithwood, K., and Jantzi, D. (2002) ‘The effects of Transformational Leadership on Teachers’ Commitment to change in Hong Kong. Jounral of Educational Administration, 40(4), 368-89.

 Yukl, G. (2006) Leadership in organizations. Pearson/Prentice Hall.