Leadership Plan

Running head: LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PLAN

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PLAN

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PLAN

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Abstract

Leadership in different aspects contributes significantly to the success of the organization; there exist different theories and approaches to leadership that explains the separate application of leadership in various aspects. Leadership development entails the formulation of strategies to be followed to attain effectiveness and efficiency in leadership. Leadership skills, on the other hand, entails the application of various attributes to help in attaining the desired outcome. It is, therefore, the core objective of this work to explore the leadership development, theories in management as well as different approaches to leadership and how they affect the success of leadership. The work also evaluates the benefits of transformational and transactional leadership in the quest to attain organizational goals as well as the change in leadership and how it is attained.

Introduction

The success of an entity has a lot to do with the effectiveness of the leadership employed there as it plays an integral part in combining of different efforts and skills in an organization to drives it to attaining the organizational goals. Leadership is defined as an activity through which a person motivates and encourage an organization as well as its employees to attaining organizational goals. Just like art, leadership is manifested among different leaders in different ways as there exist various ways through which leadership is expressed. The success of a leader is highly determined by the ability to apply the right leadership style or refine of one’s leadership skills that which helps to perfect the art. A leader has, however, a duty to adopt the best leadership style that fits an institution to enhance the success rate of the leadership employed in an organization.

The role of a leader in an organization is an elaborate task that includes motivating or merely leading the way for the employees towards a given way that the leader seems it fit for the attainment of the organizational goals. A leader is hence required to have a scheme on how to enhance his or her leadership skills in the organization to ensure that the leadership style employed conforms to the organizational needs or remains the most appropriate style for the organization. As a leader, a person is anticipated to make rational decisions as the decision made can affect an entity either positively or negatively (Adair & Adair, 1983). There is a lot to do with leadership, and it is not just about showing the employees on the way to go but also entails motivating them on why a given way is the best for them and for the organization in respect to attaining organizational and personal goals.

Leadership skills

Leadership skills referrers to the qualities expressed by a leader in leading the organization to attain given goals, these skills include motivation of the employees, trustworthy, responsiveness, creativity and positivity. The skills are essential in helping a leader to face different scenarios in the organization with different approaches. For instance a leader will be able to motivate the employees where they may be seeing impossibility in chasing some set objectives, through the positivity a leader is abler to see the possibility amidst impossible elements that may be visible in a given situation. It is through these leadership skills that employees of an organization can emulate and join the team in chasing organizational goals as they are positively impacted by the qualities of their leaders (Mumford et al., 2007). Leaders may not always have these skills and lacking or one or two of these skills may not necessarily discredit one from being a good leader, there exists a room to learn new skills or perfect the existing ones.

A leader cannot be successful if he does not give a room for learning as well listen to his subjects on the issues that they may have a different point of view on the subject matter affecting them and the organization. A successful leader sits down and reasons with his subject to understand what they might have been seeing differently, this doesn’t not only improves the understanding in the reaming work but also creates a room for the leader to develop in the manner in which he sees things(Ekvall & Arvonen, 1991). Such a leader is deemed to be in a position to deal with many issues that may arise in the organization, and this is just an essential element or leading successfully in a team by enhancing understanding, employing room for improvement as well as the creation of understating in the organization.

Transformational leadership is defined as a leadership approach that entails bringing change on the individuals in an organization as well as changing the social systems. It is often seen as an ideal way of creating positive and valuable change in the organization as the followers being created to be leaders in the long run. Transformational leadership is driven towards enhancing motivation, performance and the morale of individuals working in the organization. A leader can attain this through integration of the individuals goals with those of the organization, meaning that when an individual attains the organizational goals, personal goals are as well attained, this does not only work as a motivating factor for the employees but also creates a sense of participation in the general organization’s welfare as both the leader and the individual helps each other to attain the set objectives. Through this leadership approach, a leader can understand the strengths and weaknesses of the employees and hence be able to align the followers according to their abilities hence optimizing their contributions.

Transformational leadership and transactional leadership in a way are seen to have an ability to predict the full range of performance in the organization. This prediction is anchored on the person, teams and the organizational levels. Transformational leadership is composed of the following four elements:

Intellectual stimulation: this means the levels in which a leader challenges the assumption. Solicit the ideas of his followers and takes the risk. It is through this that a leader can encourage and stimulate creativity in their followers. Leaders nurture the followers who think independent a make a significant influence in the organization.

Individualized considerations. This means the degree in which a leader addresses the needs of each one of his follower, it through this that a leader acts as a coach or a mentor in following the needs of followers. Through this, a leader shows some concerns and support to the follower’s needs.

Idealized influence: a leader employing this approach to leadership becomes a role model for ethical behavior, gain respect instills pride and earns trust from his followers.

Inspiration motivation. It is through this that a leader can articulate the vision that is appealing and inspiring to his follower. With this kind of inspirational motivation, the leader challenges the followers to employ high to employ high standards,

Benefits of transformational and transactional

Transactional and transformational leadership are an essential ingredient to a successful leadership as they mainly focus and built on the moral element of leadership. Although there exist some differences in this leadership, the two exhibits some benefits that do not only help the organization to attain its objectives but also help the followers in achieving their objectives. The following are some of the benefits of transformational and transactional leadership.

Transformational leadership

Through this form of leadership, there is an increased vision, a leader who employs this approach to leadership can quickly learn the objectives and the visions of the company and adjust quickly to the needs of the company and devise ways to chase the visions (Bass & Riggio, 2006. Transformation also enhances inspiration and motivation of the employees the leaders here can sell their visions to the employees and encourage them to move them to the same direction.

Transactional leadership

It is perceived to be the most effective form of leadership, under this leadership style, problems are clearly defined, and therefore the followers are equipped with an understanding of what is anticipated of them. Through this leadership style. There are low turnover rates, and this is directly linked to increased productivity in an organization. Through this leadership approach, the subordinates are motivated through the reward system of punishment system employed by the leader in driving them to attain organizational goals.

Transformational leadership an approach to leadership that I perceive to be very important in bringing success to the organization. According to different theorist, transformational leadership creates a conducive working environment in which leaders and the followers can understand each other in matters about the need for change in the organization. As explained by Bass & Avolio (1994) transformational leadership has a significant impact on the performance and motivation of the employees. In the application of the leadership theory, transformation leadership is deemed to be the best application of the leadership theory as expressed in the effectiveness of this approach.

Change in leadership

Change leadership is defined as the ability of a leader to influence and enthuse his followers through personal initiatives such as the vision, advocacy and the drive in the quest to access the resources to build a stable platform for the change to take place. In this dynamic world, a leader must be able to adjust to the changes that are taking place to ensure that the leadership concepts employed reflect the current trends in management and leadership.

Under the change in leadership, a leader seeks to impart change on the followers through communication and collaboration; this helps in dealing with an instance of resistance from the followers by making them understand the need for change. Change in leadership encompasses involving other people in making organizational decisions; this does not only help in building trues but also helps in creating confidence in one’s followers.

Conclusion.

In summary, leadership is an essential tool for success in the organization; it is through leadership that an organization can attain its goals through the strategies formulated by the leader in the organization. Leadership entails the application of different skills, approaches, and theories to ensure that the leadership style applied the leaders fits the structure of the organization and helps the organization goals. Transformation and transaction leadership are some of the leadership approaches that are widely used. These approaches are useful in the organization as they help in motivating the employees.

Reference

Bass, B. M., & Riggio, R. E. (2006). Transformational leadership. Psychology Press.

Bass, B. M., & Avolio, B. J. (Eds.). (1994). Improving organizational effectiveness through transformational leadership. Sage.

Adair, J., & Adair, J. E. (1983). Effective leadership: A self-development manual. Aldershot: Gower.

Ekvall, G., & Arvonen, J. (1991). Change-centered leadership: An extension of the two-dimensional model. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 7(1), 17-26.

Mumford, T. V., Campion, M. A., & Morgeson, F. P. (2007). The leadership skills strataplex: Leadership skill requirements across organizational levels. The Leadership Quarterly, 18(2), 154-166.

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