Introduction
Leadership implies a variety of skills, which are built not only on special knowledge but also on effective communication. Being transparent and responsive to the team members’ needs increases the managers’ influence and motivates followers. On the contrary, the inability to adapt to emerging difficulties and admit mistakes reduces trust in leaders and their competence, which is illustrated by the case described in the paper.
The situation which I would like to analyze happened during my participation in one of the projects. For effective communication with other members of the group working on it, it was necessary to constantly attend meetings at which all the important information was provided. The project manager and my direct leader often forgot to include me as a meeting participant. However, I could not remind her or discuss the situation since I did not know about these particular events. As a result, there was a gap in my communication with both the leader and other group members, which led to a decrease in my effectiveness. After I emphasized the connection between the current situation and the lack of leadership skills of the manager, my direct assistant helped me in aligning with the communication gap.
Motivation and Demotivation
The described situation is closely related to motivation, demotivation, and relationships within the work team. Work on a project involves group interaction, for which meetings are necessary where team members can exchange results and opinions. In such activities, both intrinsic and extrinsic motivators play an important role, which depends not only on the nature of the task but also on the leader and other team members. Intrinsic motivation includes challenge, interest, achievement, learning, competition, goals, autonomy, and meaning, which are associated with the project participant (“Motivation” 31). As a team member, I had the intrinsic motivation to complete the project and contribute to the achievement of goals. Participation in group work motivated me to pursue the objectives set, as it was interesting for me to overcome challenges and acquire knowledge.
Extrinsic motivation is also an important component of the productivity of the project team. In this case, the factor of extrinsic motivation for me was the recognition and praise from the other participants and the leader (“Motivation” 31). The sense of my personal contribution to the overall the project increased my involvement in the work on it. Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation must be combined for efficiency and high productivity of team members. However, despite the coexistence of two factors, “either intrinsic or extrinsic motivation is predominant” (Kuvaas et al. 245). Thus, when a communication gap began to arise due to the fact that I could not attend meetings, the motivation began to decline. Moreover, the lack of extrinsic motivation had the greatest impact on me, as the leader and team members pointed to my ineffectiveness.
The described situation ultimately appeared as demotivation since I experienced a sense of unfairness. The reason for my inefficiency was not my incompetence or lack of engagement, but the leader’s mistake. Moreover, the possibility of feedback is also an intrinsic motivator, but I could not report the problem and get help with its solution. Thus, my interest in working on the project and potential commitment were the same as those of other participants, but external factors limited the effectiveness. As a result, the achievement of the project’s goals was not a priority for me; I tried to establish fairness and prove my effectiveness. In terms of goal-setting theory, the lack of relevant knowledge made it impossible for me to complete tasks and communicate with the team. Moreover, the theory also points to the need for constant feedback, which, as already noted, was lacking (“Motivation” 37). Thus, from a goal-setting perspective, my intrinsic motivation declined as well, which distanced me from other team members and the leader.
Adaptive Leadership in Crisis
Leadership and the effectiveness of its strategies largely depend on the manager’s ability to adapt to challenges. In particular, conflict situations and difficulties in communication are the objects of special attention of the leader. Effective management consists of the “ability to inspire organizational members to adapt to changes in the environment” (Doyle 18). The task of my supervisor is to improve the efficiency and coordinate the actions of all project participants. Providing all team members with relevant information and attention to their needs is a priority for the leader. However, in addition to reducing motivation, the manager also did not seek to adapt to the difficulties encountered.
Although the manager’s mistake led to the described situation, failures are inevitable, and it is necessary to be able to minimize their negative impact on the work on the project. Thus, when I turned to the leader for support in the hope of solving an existing problem, I met with a lack of understanding on her part. The resulting inefficiency, which was noted by other team members, was not considered by her as an insoluble circumstance. The emergent conflict in relationships led to the fact that I was “more likely to withdraw effort from the tasks on the team” (Chen et al. 543). Unfairness, combined with the leader’s inaction, led me to trust and rely less on her. Moreover, the situation which happened to me was also known to other members of the team, diminishing her authority among them as well. Thus, the incompetence of the leader led to both the emergence of misunderstanding and a decrease in her influence among the team.
Persuasion and Influence
In the event of conflict situations, the leader must be involved in their solution and attentive to the emotions of the participants. In my case, I received help only from the assistant but not from the manager, which reduces the level of trust in her. One of the principles of influence formulated by Robert Cialdini includes liking, which implies cooperation (“The Six Principles of Persuasion” 1). People tend to consider the leaders who work for the benefit of the team as more influential and reliable. In the described case, the manager not only showed her disinterest in the conflict which arose but also did not admit her mistake. The leader needs to conduct transparent activities, then accept failure, try to eliminate its negative consequences, and learn from it. Adaptive management is built on the leader’s ability to benefit from any situation, even an unsuccessful one.
Decreased intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, combined with the manager’s insensitivity to the conflict and her own mistake, led to the described situation. For more effective leadership and increased influence, I would recommend paying closer attention to the needs of all team members. It is necessary to consider each participant’s role in achieving a common goal and coordinate their actions not only at the team but also at the individual level. While mistakes could have been avoided, the manager had to help resolve the conflict.
Change Management Analysis
It is necessary to perceive the discontent of the participants if it exists. The loss of motivation is also a concern of the leader; if it decreases, appropriate measures are needed to be taken. From the side of the manager, it would be right to understand the reason for my inefficiency, which lay in the non-attendance of meetings. Further, she should have identified the reason for my absence at group events, which was her mistake and inattentiveness to the coordination process. Then it would be necessary to recognize the failure and identify the actions which needed to be taken to eliminate the consequences.
With the observance of these steps and a more transparent and attentive attitude to the activities of team members and her own, the leader would be able to increase her influence. Followers do not blame the managers for the mistakes they have made since it is inevitable at one stage or another. However, the credibility of leaders drops dramatically when they refuse to correct them. Moreover, unpleasant consequences arise, which are much easier to eliminate at earlier stages.
Conclusion
Attention to the motivation of the team members working on the project and adaptability to challenges is the foundation of effective leadership. In the described situation, the manager was unable to apply the appropriate skills in order to use the conflict to increase her own influence and prove herself as a competent specialist. On the contrary, the refusal to admit failure, the inability to find a solution to the problem which arose and to learn a lesson from the situation characterize her as an ineffective leader. With a more transparent and attentive attitude to the needs of team members, the manager could turn the situation in her favor, restoring the motivation and effectiveness of team members.
Works Cited
Chen, Gilad, et al. “Motivating and Demotivating Forces in Teams: Cross-Level Influences of Empowering Leadership and Relationship Conflict.” Journal of Applied Psychology, vol. 96, no. 3, 2011, pp. 541-557. Web.
Doyle, Alaina. “Adaptive Challenges Require Adaptive Leaders.” Performance Improvement, vol. 56, no. 9, 2017, pp. 18-26. Web.
Kavaas, Bård, et al. “Do Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation Relate Differently to Employee Outcomes?” Journal of Economic Psychology, vol. 61, 2017, pp. 244-258. Web.
“Motivation.” 2020. Slides. pp. 29-61.
“The Six Principles of Persuasion.” 2020. Slides. pp.1-2.