Discussion Board 3
Effective Leadership Improves Employee Morale
Introduction
This research paper is written on Chapter 12, Basic Approaches to Leadership. My
organizational issue is, “How Leadership Behavior Can Affect Job Satisfaction.” This research is
based on my direct work-related experience from working in a Hospital. I will be analyzing my
organizational issue using the following two core concepts: Employee-Orientated Leader and
Consideration.
Organizational Issue
My experience on the issue of how job satisfaction is dependent on leadership behavior,
comes from working in a city hospital as a Lead Respiratory Therapist. As the study of
leadership and organizational behavior has evolved, there has been an increasing trend on the
belief that by accessing the insights, skills, and talents of employees not only motivates
employees to become more involved in the organizational process, it also maximizes
productivity (Fischer, LP-6, Slide 6). In my 10 years of experience in healthcare I have seen
many types of leaders, but I’ve been privileged to work under a director who takes personal
interest in making sure staff members stay motivated and dedicated. This research will discuss
how an atmosphere where employees’ inputs are acknowledged by leaders, can bring unity to
produce successful results. Space should be provided for people to create good ideas and turn
them into practice (Rezayimanesh, Vaezi, & Alavi, 2015).
Employee-Orientated Leader
An employee-oriented leader is one who emphasizes interpersonal relations, takes a
personal interest in the needs of employees, and accepts individual differences among members
(Robbins & Judge, 2009, p. 391). In 2010, we had an interim CEO who did such a fantastic job
of making staff needs his primary interest during his short term. If we describe leadership as the
ability to influence, the case can be made that any human being willing to mature spiritually and
emotionally into an individual willing to take ownership of the situation around him and care for
others can be said to be a leader (Fischer, LP-6, Slide 2). By having weekly meetings with
different departments, the interim CEO gathered the different staff opinions and executed a plan
to resolve the issues of importance. One of the issues we had success with was about having a
longer lunch break. We went from 15 minute breaks to 45 minute ones, and this improved the
productivity of employees during their 12-hour work shifts. People empowerment means
encouraging people for more participation in decision making effective on their activity
(Rezayimanesh, et al., 2015).
Consideration
Consideration is described as the extent to which a person is likely to have job relations
that are characterized by mutual trust, respect for employees’ ideas, and regard for their feelings
(Robbins & Judge, 2009, p. 389). There was an incident recently in my hospital, and one of our
patients had complained that they did not receive a therapy treatment from our department. Upon
investigation, we found out that her doctor had never written the order for the treatment to be
implemented. The complaint however had caused damage to the image of our department before
they found out the truth of our being unaware of the whole incident. Our director fought the
administration of the hospital for us even when everyone had said we were guilty, and his faith in
us kept us stronger as a group to work harder every day. We were acknowledged for our work
within the hospital thus far despite the increasing workload, and a public apology was made to
us. From a covenantal perspective, a wise leader understands the importance of meaningful
relationships and accountability to employees (Fischer, LP-6, Slide 3).
Conclusion
When working in an organization that cares about their staff members’ morale, an
encouraging scripture to remember is in Proverbs 27:23 (NIV) and it states “Be sure you know
the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds.” There are all types of leaders
who may or may not be Christians, but having a trait of genuine concern for others will allow
leaders to influence those that work under them. It is important for leaders in every organization
to consider their staff in all decisions that may affect them, and understand that they are also
servants as much as those who serve them.
REFERENCES
Fischer, PhD, K. (2012). LEADERSHIP. Audio Presentation, Liberty University Online.
Robbins, S. & Judge, T. (2009). Organizational Behavior (13th ed.). New
Jersey: Prentice Hall.
