Leadership Elements in Organization, Essay Example

Leadership is a very important aspect in any organization.  Bill Gates is a clear leader that is able to motivate and direct the employees and administrators at Microsoft to continue to make the company a large success.  With this in mind, a leader is the individual who directs others with an aim of influencing them to follow a set direction.  The leader uses leadership techniques and behaviors to help influence people.  Therefore, leadership can thus be described as the ability to influence or motivate a number of people to achieve a given aim or goal.  It involves directing the action and behavior of other people towards accomplishing a given set of objectives (McNamara, 1997, p. 12).  Within the confines of a business or organizational setting, the leader is responsible for providing flexibility and customization for employees as they seek perform the basic job functions.  Function and creativity are directly influenced by leaders of an organization and can further be explained through three critical competencies – knowledge, interpersonal and personal.  In summary, the elements of leadership must be discussed and defined to show that leadership clearly influences employee flexibility through negative and positive reinforcement.

Many leadership qualities can exist within everyone, while the ability for them to be used to help benefit the organization may be different.  One quality of an effective leader is honesty towards his or her team members as well as to his or her work.  Having good communication skills is also another effective leadership quality.  Interpersonal communication is very important so that the information is expressed to the employees or group members of the organization in the clearest and most-efficient manner possible.  This also suggests that the leader must be a good listener.  Any good leader must be a fast learner and have the ability to spot and nurture potential talent and to take necessary risks.  Furthermore, the leader needs to be enthusiastic in relation to their role, work and cause (Vroom and Yetton, 1973, p. 130).  This quality does not only escalate dedication and passion from the team members but also acts as a source of motivation and inspiration.  Good leaders tolerate ambiguity as well as harsh conditions and are always composed, calm and steadfast to achieving the main goals.  They show commitment in the maintenance of good work standards and excellence.  Other qualities of effective leadership include good decision making skills, creativity, confidence, humility and appreciation for what others have done (Vroom and Yetton, 1973, p. 132).  Each of these qualities is very special toward the leader’s ability to help motivate and guide the people to help achieve the goals of the organization.

Three competencies can be found and further categorized into three groups; knowledge, interpersonal and personal competencies.  Knowledge competencies deals with the manager’s knowledge and understanding of the relevant business or industry and technology required to successfully carry out the assigned roles and responsibilities.  An interpersonal competency is concerned with the manager’s possession of the necessary skills and ability to transfer the gained knowledge into effective action.  It deals with a manager’s social interaction, communication skills and management skills.  These competencies include the ability to resolve conflicts, ability to properly motivate the people within the organization, and the ability to work in different cultural settings while using good decision making skills to be successful.  Finally, personal competencies are concerned with the personal characteristics of a good leader or manager.  These include emotional intelligence, self awareness, having an inquisitive mind that is constantly looking for knowledge, integrity and honesty, open mindedness, flexibility, optimism and empathy (Parker, 2005, p. 54).  Each of the three competencies is very specific and important for the leader to be effective in communication, motivation, and achieving overall success within the organization.

Conclusion

This essay has sought to examine the concepts of leadership and analyze leadership traits in relation to employee flexibility.  Customization is a critical component to a successful organization in the 20^th Century and must be utilized by leaders in coordination with flexibility.  These main concepts are further enhanced through leadership traits as well as evaluation tools and motivation techniques used by the leader(s).  In other words, leadership must be carefully and critically utilized in order to present a strong work environment where employees are able to advance their creativity and work efficiency, not reduce it through lack of customization or flexibility.

References

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Goodworth, C. (1988). The Secrets of Successful Leadership and People Management, Oxford: Heinman Professional Publishing.

McNamara, C. (1997). Overview of Leadership in Organizations. Florida: Authenticity Consulting, LLC.

Parker, B. (2005). Introduction to globalization & business. London: Sage Publications.

Veccio, R.P. (1988). Organizational Behavior, Plymouth: The Dryden Press.

Vroom, V. H. and Yetton, P. W. (1973). Leadership and decision-making, Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.