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week_2_participation.docLeadership in Organizations, Ch. 1
Discussion on this Learning Activity
Tip
posted by JAMEELAH NEWTON-JONES
Dec 19, 2013, 10:52 AM
Our article on Leadership Styles explores common leadership styles that have emerged from these core leadership theories. These include the "transformational leadership" style, which is often the most effective approach to use in business situations.
reference : www.mindtools.com
Re: Tip
posted by Susan Frear
Dec 19, 2013, 6:40 PM
Class,
From our readings, which leadership style do you think is most appropriate for your workplace and why? Explain your answer.
Susan
Leadership
posted by JAMEELAH NEWTON-JONES
Dec 19, 2013, 10:48 AM
In all things that are done/ created I believe there needs to be a leader. Leadership is so important because their are people out her who needs the guidance and direction of others. Being a leader doesn't mean you have to be controlling but you do need to know how to control certain situations.
Re: Leadership
posted by Robert THOMAS
Dec 19, 2013, 3:00 PM
It seems so simple about leadership as without control there would be chaos with employees working without any clear direction. This could cost a business thousands of dollars and sometimes put a company out of business if they do not have good leaders and specific goals to attend to. A leader possesses so many different qualities and skills to me that range from being able to influence employees that do not report to him or her. To me this is someone that will influence his or her boss and people at all levels of an organization motivating them to follow by example. In our book this is categorized as indirect leadership
Re: Leadership
posted by MICHAEL BLACK
Dec 19, 2013, 6:17 PM
Hello Jameelah. There is a distinct difference between being in control and being controlling. Being in control means that you are able manage the situations you are in. One can be in control without bossing his or her peers and/or subordinates around. Being controlling is basically bossing people around! This is sometimes related to bullying. Among the various leadership styles, an effective style (which I have witnessed and used in my own life) is to lead by example. A leader that knows what he or she is doing, is not afraid to do the work themselves or with the rest of the team, and is honest and fair will always attract followers. This style allows the leader to guide the rest of the team without provoking any negative emotions and reactions! Whenever one earns respect as a leader and a person, then others willingly follow. Controlling situations (as much as is really possible) is not the same as controlling other people.
A person who is controlling comes off as not knowing how to do the job/task at hand (even if this is false, the perception prevails). Controlling people create rifts in relationships and negatively affect team dynamics. There are situations that call for this style of leadership (War, Disasters, etc...) but most commonly this style is not effective. Most of the time, whenever a person is told what to do, they react negatively and grudgingly perform the task (if they do anything at all!)
Re: Leadership
posted by Susan Frear
Dec 19, 2013, 6:45 PM
Class,
To be somewhat of a devil's advocate, in today's rapidly changing environment is control possible? If it is more difficult to maintain, what other qualities of a leader are necessary in our current environments?
Susan
Re: Leadership
posted by Susan Frear
Dec 19, 2013, 6:43 PM
Class,
Are there individuals in your organization that would be considered leaders that do not have an official managerial role? If so, what is it about them that causes them to be leaders?
Susan
Leadership Theories
posted by MICHAEL MILIOTO
Dec 17, 2013, 1:24 PM
I believe that it is important to understand the different styles of leadership and theories. I worked in many different industries such as military, private, and now the federal government. There are different types of leaders, and there are just managers. I feel that there can be a huge difference when caring for employees and subordinates. At my current occupation at the Pentagon, we have a level of leadership that likes to micromanage the employees in our agency. For instance, they do not encourage critical thinking within the agency, even though there is so much experience between military, civilian, and prior law enforcement. People with college degrees and past leadership roles in other police departments are not encouraged to apply and not be put into leadership roles here. It is very discouraging for many here that have so much to offer the agency that officers are not being used to their fullest potential. I believe that this is why there is such a high turnover rate at this agency. As I said before, being in the military, I have seen how leaders should treat their employees and give them the tools they need to succeed. This, to me was an important chapter to understand and how I can improve on my own skills as a leader.
Re: Leadership Theories
posted by JAMEELAH NEWTON-JONES
Dec 17, 2013, 2:48 PM
What exactly makes a great leader? Do certain personality traits make people better-suited to leadership roles, or do characteristics of the situation make it more likely that certain people will take charge? When we look at the leaders around us - be it our employer or the President - we might find ourselves wondering exactly why these individuals excel in such positions.
Re: Leadership Theories
posted by MICHAEL MILIOTO
Dec 18, 2013, 12:28 PM
I think that it is important to understand the important qualities that make up a leader. In the military, it is the ability to lead soldiers into combat areas and complete the mission. Having an accountability of your people and making sure that they receive the best training to prepare them for different situations is an important quality. Also, preparing them for the leadership role is necessary while in the military. When it comes to being the President of the United States, I feel that that job comes with a ton of responsibility and must be the spokesperson for a country is a big pair of shoes to fill. I think that it all depends on the organizations and what is expected of them is what separates them from a leader and manager. At my job now, there are some supervisors who are just simply in charge of officers, and there are ''leaders'' who can take officers and prepare them for the next level.
Re: Leadership Theories
posted by Robert THOMAS
Dec 18, 2013, 6:42 PM
There are several definitions of leadership in our readings and although they are all good I think the one that sticks out to me is the last one that says "leadership is the ability of an individual to influence, motivate, and enable others to contribute toward the effectiveness and success of the organization". My boss is a big influence on me and encompasses these qualities that help me become a more efficient and valuable member to my team and organization. I've also had managers who didn't work well with other people in general and just cared about getting promoted themselves. There's an obvious big difference between the two when working under someone and taking daily direction for the organization.
Re: Leadership Theories
posted by Susan Frear
Dec 19, 2013, 6:47 PM
Robert,
I would have to agree with you! There is certainly a huge need for individuals that are capable of bringing out the best in their direct reports and in nurturing potential. And, I am glad that you have a boss that takes on that role for you.
Susan
Re: Leadership Theories
posted by CYNTHIA CHRISTENSEN
Dec 19, 2013, 5:37 PM
I think when you don't have a clear leader with the capabilities of leading it can become a stressful environment and be challenging to what the main goals or focuses are of the organization. Where I work at, we have a leader that cannot lead and it makes things more stressful as there are no guidelines or really rules as to how to do things and you are expected to take care of a lot of problems on your own yet when you do it's not the way the "leader" would have done it yet they want you to be empowered to make the decisions to fix the problems or solve them.
Leadership
posted by TERISA BARANOSKI
Dec 17, 2013, 12:55 AM
Wikipedia defines leadership as " a process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task". I think of leadership as a way to help others accomplish a goal by guiding and coordinating activities or removing obstacles. Leadership is the go to person who can motivates the team and make things happen.
Reference:
wikipedia.org/wiki/leadership.
Re: Leadership
posted by BILLY GUZMAN
Dec 17, 2013, 10:20 AM
Just an FYI Terisa, but wikipedia is not an accepted source to cite at UofP.
Re: Leadership
posted by TERISA BARANOSKI
Dec 17, 2013, 11:59 PM
Billy,
Thanks for the information I'll choose a different source going forward.
Re: Leadership
posted by Susan Frear
Dec 19, 2013, 6:49 PM
Class,
To piggy back on this comment, Wikipedia is not a recommended source because there is no guarantee that the date has been validated. Since it is maintained through volunteer contributors, you should always treat the information with some suspicion.
Susan
Re: Leadership
posted by JAMEELAH NEWTON-JONES
Dec 17, 2013, 2:49 PM
Why are some leaders successful, while others fail? The truth is that there is no "magic combination" of characteristics that makes a leader successful, and different characteristics matter in different circumstances. This doesn't mean, however, that you can't learn to be an effective leader. You just need to understand the various approaches to leadership, so that you can use the right approach for your own situation.
Re: Leadership
posted by MICHAEL MILIOTO
Dec 18, 2013, 12:35 PM
Hello Jameelah. I agree that there are different approaches to becoming a leader and it all depends on the situation at hand. At the Pentagon, there are so many different backgrounds that we all have, whether it is from prior military or prior law enforcement. I think that in order to be able to become a leader in a law enforcement agency, it is important to understand where many have come from and to use them to make your agency better.
At my agency, the supervisors here, well some of them, feel threatened by the variety of education and expierence that officers have. Although they are supervisors here, there are some that prefer that you do the bare minimum so that you do not pass them up when it comes time for promotion. I agree that there is no magical combination of characteristics that make a leader successful. There is only so much that can be taught, you either possess the ability to lead and help others, or you don't. It can be difficult to try and excel here at my agency. A lot of the upper command here is scared of change and look to promote only the ''yes men'' that will not ask questions or fix what is broken.
Re: Leadership
posted by MICHAEL BLACK
Dec 18, 2013, 5:20 PM
Hello Jameelah. I agree with you that a person can learn to be an effective leader. In fact, there are books, programs, and even college classes that teach leadership skills to anyone willing to learn. There are also those born with innate leadership abilities (like a talent or gift). While there is no right or wrong approach for defining what is the best type of leader, I would propose a combination of the two (teach those with innate traits the teachable skills) for a great leader.
Circumstances can dictate who leads just as necessity is the mother of invention! There is a time and place for "trained leaders" and born leaders. Both types have their own pros and cons. A person can be a born leader and still reject his or her calling (much like an artistic person never using his or her skills). Likewise, a person can be trained to be a leader and lack certain traits like confidence and creativity making them an average to sub-par leader!
As Michael posted above, there are numerous learning styles and techniques. I liken this to golf. (I do not play nor am a fan, except for miniature golf!). There is one objective: get the ball in the hole in the fewest number of strokes possible! Like learning styles, there are numerous types of golf clubs (putters, wedges, 9 irons, etc...). Each club is designed for a specific scenario and excels under these conditions. However, any club can be used for every stroke (this is not very effective but it is possible). Knowing which styles and techniques might be an art form more so than a science and there is no one perfect answer (the combinations are practically limitless!)
Re: Leadership
posted by Robert THOMAS
Dec 18, 2013, 7:07 PM
I think understanding the different approaches to leadership can help someone become more well rounded so they can adapt to various types of situations in the business world. Although some organizations are very rigid with how they control their types of leadership throughout the company and expect things to be ran a specific way. For me personally I like a leader who will push me to become better, educates, empowers, and motivates me as well. When I am working closely with someone who possesses these types of qualities we form a solid professional bond and working relationship that increases my job satisfaction.
Re: Leadership
posted by AMY ANDERSON
Dec 18, 2013, 6:08 PM
Terisa,
Although University of Phoenix does not accept wikipedia as a source, i is interesting that they had a definition of it. According to Chapter One of Leadership in Organizations, it is very hard to actually define the term leadership. It can be used in so many different ways the term from our everyday vocabulary to management to scientifically. Our text brought out that "it carries extraneous connotations that create ambiguity of meaning." It was also brought out that "researchers usually define leadership according to their individual perspectives and the aspects of the phenomenon of most interest to them." So when it comes to the definition of leadership it can mean different things to different people.
Reference:
Yuki, G. (2013). Leadership in Organizations (8th ed.) Prentice Hall.
Leadership in Organizations, Ch. 7
Discussion on this Learning Activity
Briefly explain the path-goal theory.
posted by TERISA BARANOSKI
Dec 17, 2013, 12:17 AM
The path goal theory of leadership is a tool to encourage and support member's in achieving goals by outlining the path member's should use. The leader should set a clear path so member knows what is expected, remove all roadblocks and increase rewards for achieving the goal. On a daily bases I help production teams set production goals; as for an example my glass line is scheduled for 646 walls this week and I make out a report that tells them with their crew size how many production hours are needed to complete the walls and hit the productivity goal of 65%. I will meet with the team to find out how they want to handle the schedule if they feel there might be issues and what plan we can put in place for them to achieve their goals. I'll run interference for issues with suppliers and support the teams efforts. In the past 3 months this team has increased their productivity by 22%, the team member will enjoy a larger bonus in January do to the increase in productivity.
Re: Briefly explain the path-goal theory.
posted by MICHAEL MILIOTO
Dec 17, 2013, 1:31 PM
Hello Terisa good post. I agree that the Path Goal theory is an important part of molding and creating future leaders. During my time in the military, I had a Squad Leader who would offer and educate us on what is expected to be nominated for the promotion board. There were some soldiers that had no interest in wanting to be promoted, but there were some like myself, that worked very hard and put in that extra effort to be offered the opportunity for the promotion board. I believe that in order to achieve success within a team, the leader should be encouraging and supporting members of the team to achieve goals.
After I was promoted, I carried on that responsibility as an effective leader and I sought to help others as I was taught. It should be a cycle that should repeat to ensure that employees can transform into managers and leaders. In my opinion, this is a necessary element allowing others to achieve success and follow their own goals. Just letting employees know that they are valued and appreciated by the company or team can go a long way.
Re: Briefly explain the path-goal theory.
posted by Robert THOMAS
Dec 19, 2013, 3:08 PM
Having a clear path or plan helps people stay on track when they plan goals out and also provides a way to keep track of productivity. I think the path goal theory is a valuable tool for any organization as it can increase productivity and efficiency. Performance measurement is a great tool to see where a company is excelling and also shows areas that need attention where the organization can make the necessary adjustments to move forward. Rewards are a great motivational tool for all the hard work it took to achieve any goal or goals, and this also helps with motivating a team or individual employee to start all over again when working toward new goals.
Re: Briefly explain the path-goal theory.
posted by CYNTHIA CHRISTENSEN
Dec 19, 2013, 5:34 PM
I agree that using the path goal theory can be useful. I used to have several goals as to what I wanted to do and where I wanted to be but I do think life circumstance can contribute to putting your goals on hold or switching them because of the different circumstances that you are faced with. I had a plan of what I wanted and where I wanted to be and my dad was diagnosed with cancer in March of this year. He passed away at Thanksgiving. My goals are still relevant but a little blurry as the experience has changed me as to what is important as well as what I really want to do with my life. I have determined I need to time to heal and just go with the flow for the time being and I am guessing things will naturally fall into place when the timing is right or at some point I will realize that I need to reevaluate my goals and switch them up or end up working harder to achieve those goals. Has anyone else had a life changing experience that has changed their goals? I am guessing this is normal....
Re: Briefly explain the path-goal theory.
posted by MICHAEL BLACK
Dec 19, 2013, 6:47 PM
I am in agreement with you when dealing with this subject. I particularly liked how the Path-Goal Theory deals with situational variables. Not only does this allow for subordinates to have a clear path laid out before them, but it also shows the leader where he or she needs to make improvements. This information is invaluable! As in everything in life, moderation is the key principle.
This theory helps us to plan our goals, take the necessary steps toward reaching them, modify them (if necessary), and planning new goals once the original ones are achieved. A great benefit to this theory is the building up (edifying) of the subordinate's confidence level. Once this is achieved, the production levels increase proportionately and everyone benefits.
At my job, the packing lines are rewarded for their efforts. Whichever line produces the most packaged goods (in a set time limit) with the fewest errors is rewarded with an extra half hour for lunch! This is a great incentive as most of our employees are from Temp agencies and we only hire them seasonally! The supervisor illustrates how to correct their problem areas and increase their efficiency ratings! More pay is another great motivator/reward. None of these rewards are possible when the employee does not see clearly the path that he or she must follow. This theory allows everyone to see the path clearly.
