Importance of Leadership

Questions: 1. Write about the importance of Leadership nowadays by providing the real life example such as Apple.2. Discuss about the Leadership Theories supported by journal articles. In details, discuss about the "Trait Approach", "Behavioral Approach", "Contingency Approach".3. Discuss about different types of Leadership. In details, discuss about the "Charismatic Leadership", "Transformational Leadership", and "Transactional Leadership". Answers: Leadership is the process of influencing the behavior, thoughts, and attitudes of others in the process of setting direction to help others to rise to the challenges to what lies ahead. Leaders thus see the potential in an individual, encourage, and inspire them to greater heights of their responsibilities (Belias Koustelios 2015, p. 103). A good leader should thus lead by example as poor leadership tends to degenerate to conflicts as every individual sees things differently and will tend to lean towards different solutions. Leadership is thus important as it helps everything work together for the good of both the employees and the organization (Zydziunaite, Lepaite Suominen 2013, p. 231). Leaders have the responsibility of training the staff as well as monitoring their progress and completion of responsibilities as he garners enthusiasm for the organization and brings the best out of the employees. The objectives can thus be achieved only if the employees feel supported and safe in their working environment. Leadership is thus important in the following aspects; Helps followers to fulfill their needs In the process of establishing a personal relationship with the followers, a leader helps individual in fulfilling their needs. For example, Belias and Koustelios (2015, p. 106) suggests that an individual will only be considered as a leader and will be followed by particular people if they feel the individual is beneficial to them in certain ways. For instance, the leadership of Apple Company is effective as it provides the employees with the security they need to access opportunities that will enable them earn wealth and give them the right to work. The employees of the organization hence see their leaders as people who meet such needs for them and hence they willingly accept their motivate skills that enables them to work with enthusiasm and dedication. Introduces the required changes in an organization Kereem (2016, p. 10) suggests that with the rapid change in the current business environment, organizations tend to introduce many changes in the organization so as to cope up with the ever-increasing competition. For instance, Apple Company adopts ever changing innovation skills in the mobile and technological industry. The leadership thus readily influences individuals to make relevant changes so as to be able to effectively compete with other organizations in the market. Any opposition to such changes will thus be eliminated depending on the strength and leadership ability of the organizations management. Essential for effective conflict resolution Depending on the weight of the influence of leadership, conflicts between the employees or even the employer and the employees can be solved effectively. Effective leadership in an organization thus allows the employees to express their views, understands the nature of the presented conflict and provides a timely solution thus minimizing possible adverse results that may arise due to the conflict (Zydziunaite, Lepaite Suominen 2013, p. 229). Development and training of the subordinates Effective leadership in an organization will ensure the employees are regularly given the relevant training from time to time so as to develop their performance skills in the particular areas of their performance. For instance, Vrontis and Iain (2013, P. 300) reports that the success of Coca-Cola Company is as a result of effective leadership of the organization. The leadership ensures that the employees are equipped with the relevant information on the modern working techniques such as new methods of marketing, distribution, and product advertisement. The organization has thus currently adopted technology which has seen the company maintain a record of success as one of the best soft drinks company globally. Such development steps when effectively adopted enables organizations to equip their employees to be good leaders as well. Influences the behavior of individuals Effective leadership brings the subordinates into control and motivates them to put their best effort in achieving the goals and objectives of the organization so as to achieve effective results (Belias Koustelios 2015, p. 110 and Shao 2016, p. 133). From both Apple and Coca-Cola Companies, it is evidenced that leading by example creates cohesiveness in an organization thus making the staff be more engaged with trust and respect to the leadership Question two: Theories of leadership Trait approach Trait theory believes that people are either made or born with particular qualities that support them to excel in leadership roles. Qualities such as creativity, intelligence, sense or responsibility, and self-control among other good characters contribute to good leadership qualities in an individual. As a result, trait approach focuses on the analysis of social, mental, and physical characteristics so as to gain more understanding of the combination of characteristics or traits found among leaders. However, Walker and Aritz (2016, p. 460) note that many studies tend to focus on low-level managers as other studies to do clearly explain the relation between the impact on leadership and each characteristic. Therefore, studies on the trait leadership approach tend to focus less on the context of qualities of leadership in different organizations. Behavioral approaches The behavioral leadership approach focuses on the leadership behavior as opposed to their mental, social, and physical characteristics. Here, with psychometric evolution, studies such as Belias Koustelios (2015, p. 110) and Shao (2016, p. 133) measure the cause as well as the effect of the relationship of particular human behavior from leaders. The two reviews focus on the questions such as do leadership involves dictation of what needs to be accomplished or does it involve other employees in the decision-making so as to encourage support and acceptance? The results of the review report three different types of leaders depending on their behavior i.e. autocratic, democratic, and laissez-faire leaders. On the other hand, Solaja, Idowu and James (2016, p. 100) in their study evaluate the behavioral patterns observed in successful leaders. For example, a leader who motivates the desired behaviors on employees by scolding the individuals that arrive late at work and show appreciation as well to the employees that arrive at work on time. The behavioral theory thus focuses on the behavior of a leader in the process of delegating their roles and duties within an organization (Kareem 2016, p. 10). Contingency approach According to Monzani, Ripoll, and Peir (2015, p. 449), contingency approach argues that there is no particular way of leading as every leadership style is based on particular situations. According to the theory, the environment has a great influence on the performance of leaders as some people can perform best under certain conditions and still perform worst under certain circumstances. At some point, Lili (2013, p. 420) notes that contingency theory is related to trait theory as the environment or situation in which a leader exercises their role is dependent on their human trait. The same idea is supported by Azar and Asiabar (2015, p. 4) who in their studies conclude that contingency theory thus focuses on predicting the best leadership style that can be adopted for particular circumstances. Therefore, contingency theory has no set of traits or psychological profile that has a direct link with leadership (Martin 2015, p. 235). However, it is the interaction between the individual traits and the prevailing conditions that lead to the creation of effective leadership. Fielders model of contingency leadership thus focuses on the situation and the interaction of the leadership style in relation to the authority of leadership and the structured aspects of the tasks to be achieved (Zydziunaite, Lepaite Suominen 2013, p. 237). Question Three: Different types of leaderships Leadership plays a major role in the successful performance of an organization as every organization is created with a purpose to achieve particular objectives. As a result, effective leadership is essential in ensuring the organization coordinates its activities so as to achieve the set goals and objectives. Good leadership is hence the backbone to the success of any organization as the performance of the workforce is solely dependent on direction and motivation from the leadership (Walker, Aritz 2015, p. 458). Therefore, there are different types of leadership styles that can be experienced in a workplace each of which has its advantages and disadvantages. The types of leadership styles adopted are dependent on the goals and culture of the organization as well as the task to be completed (Solaja, Idowu James 2016, p. 101). These include transactional, charismatic, transformational, participative, and autocratic types of leadership. Transactional Transactional type of leadership is where the leader allocates the task to be performed by those under him and finally give rewards or punishments based on the results of performance. The team members and the managers together set predetermined goals which the employees agree to follow under the direction of the leadership to accomplish the goals (Martin 2016, p. 335 and Tristan 2016, p. 24). On the other hand, Lili (2013, p. 442) notes that transactional manager has the power of reviewing the results as well as the training and correcting the team members or employees in case they fail to meet the set objectives and goals. The employees are given rewards such as promotions, bonuses, payment increase when they accomplish the goals. Transformational According to Arnold et al., 2015 (p. 485) transformational leadership is dependent on the high level of communication from the leadership or management on guidance and instructions of meeting the goals and objectives of the organization. Tristan (2016, p. 25) also notes that such leadership enhances efficiency and productivity by motivating employees through high visibility and communication as the style involves the management in order to meet the goals of the organization. Leaders tend to delegate smaller tasks to the team in accomplishing the goals of the organization as they focus on the big picture of the organization. Charismatic According to Kareem (2016, p. 10), charismatic type of leadership involves the creation of a powerful self-image depending on the level of his charm and persuasiveness. For example, a business leader having charismatic leadership skills can be enlisted to launch a new product line or orchestrate a turnaround. Charismatic type of leadership is thus driven by the commitment and conviction of the leader towards achieving their cause (Arnold et al., 2015, p. 453). They tend to use powerful oratory with an engaging personality as well as a unweaving commitment toward a positive change in the organization. The charisma in leadership tends to be identified during the crisis as the leaders as seen to exhibit a unique or exceptional devotion and expertise in different facets of positive change and development (Monzani, Ripoll, Peir 2015, p. 450). Participative It is also known to be the democratic leadership style where the leaders give high priority to the input of the members as he has the responsibility for final decision making. Monzani, Ripoll, and Peir (2015, p. 450) note that involving the employees in decision-making processes boosts the morale of the employees and makes them feel that their opinion also matters in the organization. In the case of the need of making changes, participative leadership enables the employees to easily accept changes as they play a role in the changes (Tristan 2016, p. 28). List of references Arnold, K, Connelly, C, Walsh, M, Martin Ginis, K 2015, 'Leadership styles, emotion regulation, and burnout',Journal Of Occupational Health Psychology, 20, 4, pp. 481-490, PsycARTICLES, EBSCOhost, viewed 13 June 2016 Azar, F, Asiabar, A 2015, 'Does leadership effectiveness correlates with leadership styles in healthcare executives of Iran University of Medical Sciences',Medical Journal Of The Islamic Republic Of Iran, 29, pp. 1-5, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 13 June 2016. Belias, D, Koustelios, A 2015, 'Leadership Style, Job Satisfaction and Organizational Culture in the Greek Banking Organization',Journal Of Management Research (09725814), 15, 2, pp. 101-110, Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 13 June 2016. 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