Employee Attitudes, Essay Example

Discovering the Best Boss

The best boss I have encountered displayed a ‘transformational leadership style’. This being identified by the characteristics of a person with vision, a strong sense of purpose and very goal oriented. He believes that people will follow those who inspire them. Hence goal attainment is by inspiring your subordinates motivating them by enthusiasm and energy. Working for these types of leaders can be a great experience as they derive a great deal of passion about their work and genuinely want you to succeed. Such leaders start with a clear identification of a vision. Leaders of this type are quick to exploit the vision by sharing it with their team. This type of boss inspires employees to do well and feel an integral part of the decision making process. (Eagly, Johannesen-Schmidt, & van Engen, 2003)

Coping With the Worst Boss

The old autocratic leadership style is amongst the most frustrating environment to work in. This is an extreme form of leadership style and more geared towards that of a dictatorship. Under this scenario the leaders rule is absolute and this type of leaders does not involve others in the decision making process. This leader is prone to using force, threat or manipulation in order to achieve their goals. The leadership style is not really appropriate to most modern day business settings. This type of leadership style offers you little chance of recognition or career progression. It degrades your self-worth and lowers your self-esteem. You feel in a master / servant relationship and offer little contribution to the decision making process. (J. Rodney Turner, 2009)

Poor leadership in an organization can have devastating results and dire consequences for both the employee and the organization. Leadership development is both an important matter for individuals and for the Executive of an organization for those aspiring to develop business management careers. Training forms a vital part of developing leadership skills and developing your individual leadership style. It is important that your leadership style is reflective of the organizational mission statement, philosophy and way of conducting business. Although organizations may tolerate a broad range of leadership styles, nevertheless it is important that your style is not too far removed from the central ethos of management.

References

Eagly, A. H., Johannesen-Schmidt, M. C., & van Engen, M. L. (2003). Transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership styles: A meta-analysis comparing women and men. Psychological Bulletin, Vol 129(4), 569-591. 216. Rodney Turner, R. M. (2009). Comparing the leadership styles of functional and project managers. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 198-216.