Introduction
Leadership is an important aspect in an organization’s success strategy. It is a prevalent issue in many organizations’ discussions and plans. It is defined as a process of influencing thought and behavior patterns of individuals in order to achieve certain goals and objectives (Atakpa 119). Without the influence of leadership, individuals turn to conflicts and disagreements that derail efforts to achieve certain outcomes. Effective leadership is an important factor in achievement of organizational success. Visionary leaders who synchronize organizational goals with those of employees in order to create harmony in achievement of organizational goals (Atakpa 119). Effective leadership depends on the style of leadership a leader adopts. It is important because it allows creativity and innovation at the workplace, thus giving employees freedom to make decisions on matters that affect the organization. Good leaders are an important feature of effective leadership. They encourage employee performance, guarantee job security, enhance employee and organizational productivity, create a favorable work environment, and motivate employees to exploit their full potential (Atakpa 120). Effective leadership guarantees organizational success because it fosters employee performance and productivity through deployment of resources and creation of a favorable work environment.
Qualities of effective leaders
It is important for leaders to understand the qualities of an effective leader in order to develop quality leadership that drives their organization towards success. In addition, it is important for them to possess knowledge on different leadership theories, leadership styles, and the role of employee motivation in organizational success.
Good leaders exhibit traits that enable them to lead their organizations to success through guiding and managing employees. They incorporate several aspects of management into their leadership style. Effective leaders are open to change, open minded, visionary, risk takers, and take non-conventional approaches to organizational issues (Atakpa 121). They know how to motivate employees in order to improve their performance, loyalty, and productivity. In addition, they adapt to change easily and adopt different leadership styles in different organizational contexts. According to contingency theories of leadership, effective leadership refers to the ability and readiness to adopt different leadership styles and strategies to ensure success in different contexts (Fairholm 234).
Direct leadership and organizational structuring is important in promoting effectiveness in tasks that are executed every day. On the other hand, decentralized leadership is important in achieving success in tasks that require creativity and innovation. Good leaders know when to change their leadership style and when not to. They are honest and trustworthy. Trust is one of the qualities that employees value in leaders. Employees work harder towards achievement of organizational goals when they can trust their leaders to lead and guide them appropriately (Fairholm 235). They need freedom to make decisions on matters that are important to the organization. Therefore, leaders should be open-minded in order to be able to give employees freedom to act on their own. In addition, they should be open to new ideas and change.
The modern organizational environment is changing rapidly and it is important for leaders to adopt approaches that enable their organizations to adapt to change (Fairholm 236). These approaches include encouragement of innovation and creativity in employees. Innovation is one of the sources of organizational success in modern organizations because it improves efficiency and reduces competition. Finally, good leaders understand the relationship between organizational success and employee confidence. Confident employees set higher and more challenging goals, persevere in their efforts, and exhibit high performance even during tough situations (Fairholm 236). Leaders can create confidence in employees by rewarding them, promoting them, offering free training courses, and offering other incentives such as subsidized subscriptions to fitness programs. Effective leaders foster organizational success by motivating employees and thus improving their performance and productivity.
Role of effective leadership
Capacity building
One of the major roles of effective leadership is development of policies and strategies that create a motivated team of employees (Shelton and Darling 264). This involves extensive training and guidance. Three elements of leadership are necessary in order to create a motivated and capable team. First, a leader must be aware of the goals and needs of each member of their teams (Shelton and Darling 264). This is important because training and guidance is tailored differently for each employee and should fulfill the specific needs of all employees. This approach is effective in organizations with few employees. In large organizations, leaders should group the goals and needs of employees in order to develop training courses and guidance programs that cater for all employees’ needs without bias. Secondly, leaders must be open-minded and impartial (Shelton and Darling 265). This means that a leader should not pass judgment based on assumptions or perceptions because it diminishes the feeling of value and respect. Thirdly, a leader needs to be just and fair in order to build capacity that guarantees organizational success (Fairholm 241). This is achieved when leaders explain their decisions to employees in an open and honest manner. In addition, it involves listening to the grievances of employees and responding to them in a timely way. This creates an environment of respect and mutual trust.
Resource deployment
Another role of effective leadership in promoting organizational success is deployment of resources. After creating a motivated team, a leader should provide necessary resources in order to facilitate achievement of goals (Shelton and Darling 267). This involves two processes that are spearheaded by the leader. First, the leader must encourage collective responsibility and delegate roles and responsibilities to employees (Shelton and Darling 269). This is important because it helps employees to persevere during tough times when their efforts seem futile. Secondly, the strategies that the leader chooses for achievement of goals must be in harmony with the organizational structure and culture. For example, the leader should introduce changes such as new technology and policies gradually in order to give employees enough time to adjust and adapt. Effective leaders provide the necessary resources that employees need in the achievement of organizational goals (Shelton and Darling 271).
Development of a mission and vision
Organizations achieve success when they work towards certain goals and objectives. It is the role of leaders to present employees with an organizational vision and mission. This involves giving employees a strategy and procedure on how to achieve the goals that comprise the vision, and ways to accomplish the mission (House 245). An important factor in organizational success is communication. An effective leader communicates the mission and vision of the organization to employees. He goes beyond the development of the mission and vision and explicates the mission and vision in detail. Communication involves stepwise explanation of all components of the vision and mission (House 246).
Effective communication elicits commitment in employees. Effective leaders create visions that are flexible in order to accommodate changes in the organizational structure and environment. This enhances organizational growth and evolution, which are vital aspects for success. If the mission is not flexible, it loses its authority to create a motivated and committed team of employees. It is also important for a leader to show commitment and responsibility towards the vision. Employees follow the path that their leaders follow. A strong and focused vision possesses the power to inspire and motivate employees (House 245). Therefore, it is necessary for a leader to assume responsibility for the achievement of the vision and mission of their organization.
Change facilitation
Change is an important aspect of organizational success because it promotes growth. Effective leaders are aware of the fact that leadership is inevitable in achieving success. Therefore, developing strategies to embrace it is necessary. Many organizations introduce change without well-structured plans. This creates an organizational culture of negativity and skepticism, which derails the achievement of organizational goals and objectives (House 247). Many employees loathe change. Therefore, good leaders should involve employees in the process of introducing change. They should also communicate to them the importance and benefits of embracing change (House 248). Employees resist change because it bestows upon them new roles and responsibilities that they do not appreciate.
The first step in introducing change in an organization is altering the mindset of employees (House 249). This involves educating them on the benefits of embracing change. An effective leader should also solicit for employees’ opinions regarding proposed changes. This ensures that the proposed change does not affect the effectiveness and productivity of employees. In addition, it is important to engage employees in the change process. Leaders should not give orders and commands on what should be done. They should ask for feedback on the effectiveness of the implemented changes. Engaging employees in the change process helps to create an environment of confidence and trust (House 252). In addition, it motivates employees to stay committed to the change process.
Definition of accountability and responsibility
In an organization, accountability and responsibility are factors that determine organizational success. Effective leaders define what responsibility and accountability means in their organization (Fairholm 578). This eliminates doubts in employees as to what their responsibilities are in the achievement of goals. In addition, it fosters accountability because each employee knows what he or she is expected to do and achieve. If properly defined, accountability and responsibility motivate employees because they understand their position and role in the overall organizational structure (Fairholm 583). Organizational success is achieved when everyone in an organization understands the role that they are supposed to play and its purpose towards achieving organizational objectives and goals.
Discovery and utilization of talent
Discovery and utilization of talent is an important aspect of organizational success. Employees possess different talents and abilities that can be used to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and productivity of an organization. Effective leaders know how to discover and utilize their employees’ talents for the benefit of the organization (Fairholm 585). As such, they discover talents in their organization by allowing employees to express their creativity by participating in decision-making processes. In addition, they create a work environment that encourages innovation and open sharing of knowledge and information (Atakpa 125). Leaders should allow employees to execute plans on their own in order to encourage creativity and improve problem-solving processes. One of the reasons why many leaders never discover talents in their organization is because of imbalanced delegation of roles (Atakpa 126). Assigning challenging tasks to employees is a good way of discovering talents and improving creativity. Leaders often exhibit biasness when assigning tasks because they are overly judgmental of the abilities of different employees. Therefore, they develop the talents of some employees and conceal the talents of others. Effective leaders treat all employees equally and only judge them based on their accomplishments.
Employee empowerment
Employee empowerment is an ingredient of a successful organization. Effective leaders understand the importance of employee empowerment and know how to achieve it. It entails giving employees freedom to make decisions on their own without need for approval from supervisors or managers (Atakpa 129). Leaders play a pivotal role in facilitating creation of an empowering environment. Vital aspects of employee empowerment include goal setting, delegation of responsibilities, problem solving, and responsibility (House 254). Effective leaders involve employees in the process of setting organizational goals. However, they allow employees to achieve the goals by following their own preferred plans.
This empowers employees because it gives them a chance to achieve their goals and success without control from managers. Problem solving is vital because it improves the efficiency and productivity of an organization. Good leaders allow employees to find ways to solve problems. This develops confidence in employees because they develop problem-solving processes that they are comfortable with (House 526). As a result, they gradually learn how to solve problems without the intervention of management. Effective leaders delegate responsibilities to employees who show good leadership qualities. This is important because it helps to develop their careers by allowing them to handle more responsibilities and roles. However, the management should always be available for consultation and discussions. Delegation also fosters a sense of responsibility and accountability.
Conclusion
Leadership is defined as a process of influencing the thought and behavior patterns of individuals in order to achieve certain goals and objectives. Without the influence of leadership, individuals turn to conflicts and disagreements that derail efforts to achieve certain outcomes. Effective leadership is an important factor in the achievement of organizational success. It involves visionary leaders who synchronize the goals of the organization with the goals of employees in order to facilitate achievement of success. Effective leadership plays different roles in facilitating achievement of organizational success. These roles include deployment of resources, capacity building, development of an organizational mission and vision, facilitation of change, definition of responsibility and accountability, discovery and utilization of talent, and empowerment of employees.
In order for leaders to develop effective leadership that guarantees organizational success, it is important for them to understand the qualities of good leadership. In addition, it is important for them to possess knowledge on different leadership theories, leadership styles, and the role of employee motivation in organizational success. Effective leaders incorporate several aspects of management into their leadership style. They are also open to change, open minded, visionary, risk takers, and take non-conventional approaches to organizational issues. Effective leadership guarantees organizational success because it fosters employee performance, loyalty, and productivity. A good organizational structure enhances effective leadership because all employees understand their responsibilities as well as participating in decision-making.
Works Cited
Atakpa, Margaret. Re-Engineering Organizational Success through Effective Leadership. European Journal of Business and Social Sciences, 1.3 (2012):119-130. Print.
Fairholm, Milton. Different Perspectives on the Practice of Leadership. Public Administration Review, 64.5, (2004): 577-590. Print.
Fairholm, Milton. Leadership and Organizational Strategy. The Innovational Journal: The Public Sector Innovation Journal 14.1, (2009): 234-256. Print.
House, Richard. Path-Goal Theory of Leadership Effectiveness. Administrative Science Quarterly 16.3 (2005): 244-257. Print.
Shelton, Charles, and Darling Joseph. The Quantum Skills Model in Management: A New Paradigm to Enhance Effective Leadership. Leadership and Organizational Development Journal 22.6 92001): 264-273. Print.