Leadership Theories and How They Are Applied, Research Paper Example

Leadership is an important matter that individuals assigned to lead a team or an organization should specifically give attention to. Since it is a very important task, experts in the field of psychology and business development have come up with particular patterns of leadership that individuals could use in their quest to providing better guidance to the people they are hoped to give attention to. Theories of leadership have been introduced to give individuals an idea on the most efficient patterns they could use in laying down a specific source of guidelines for their people. Among the most commonly used theories in the field of business and other organizational guidance procedures are that of the situational leadership theory and the authentic leadership theory.

Situational leadership theory coming from the term ‘situation’ assumes the process of leading through gaining a better understanding on the situation that the team is involved in. the questions how and why are most often than not used as a basis of this particular form of leadership. Outstandingly, leaders who depend on this approach intent to know what is happening, how it happened and why is it happening to be able to find a resolution to the matter. Hersey and Blanchard were among the first ones to introduce the principles of situational leadership. It is through their explanation of the matter that the efficiency of a leader in dealing with matters based on the situations that affect the entire team is measured accordingly. According to their ideas, it is the maturity of a leader in dealing with different issues and experiences through time that actually makes it easier for a person to give immediate resolutions when specific unprecedented occurrences happen. In line with this, it is also through good perception of the future that a leader is able to see through what might happen next and likely prepare for any unwanted situation that may arise. Many organizational leaders believe that this theory of leadership is the most effective approach in guiding people. Besides the fact that it does provide the leader a chance to expand his learning capacity through the years, it also provides a sense of urgency on the part of the leader to actually analyze what is going on and thus give responses to the case as it happens. This way, the leader is in full responsibility of his decisions especially when it is applied in relation to a situation in an abrupt manner.

The application of situational leadership theory in actual organizational operations could be realized when the leaders [managers or supervisors] see to it that they know what is happening all the time. They intend to gain as much information needed specifically because they hope to make sure that every matter is properly attended to. In times when chaotic situations arise, these leaders do not panic, instead, they handle the operations with a calm approach due to the fact that they do understand the situation and they are able to comprehend with the necessary conditions of resolution that should be applied to resolve the problem.

On the other end, the authentic leadership approach takes on the role of imposing how much a leader knows himself and his colleagues. It is through the use of this knowledge that he is able to effectively delegate tasks that he and his team members could fully accomplish. Authentic leading is based upon the personal concern that a leader has on his members. Knowing what they can and cannot do provides the leader a chance to find manners by which to improve the being of his team members thus increasing their capacity to perform. Organizations following this particular aspect of leadership are noted for their capacity to spark motivation and inspiration on others. This way, when they gain developmental progress, they are able to embrace the worth of their efforts as a whole team and not as separate individuals. When problems arise in an organization, a leader who uses authentic leadership is able to seek possible reasons behind the commotion on the team. From such realization, he then becomes able to formulate solutions that could best respond to the issue. This way, organizational commotions and disagreements among members of the group could be better resolved at an easier and much less stressing manner.

This form of leadership is applied in organizations today through proper handling of the team especially during the completion of particular projects. Knowing themselves and their team members, leaders or project managers are more efficiently able to lead the team into success as they do know who could do what and what specific skills should be added into the team’s capacity to make sure every project is completed in full accord with the expectations that are set to be fulfilled.

True, both authentic leadership and situational leadership have their advantages of application. Nevertheless, it is the style of the leader, his being and his behavior towards his role and his people that would indicate what specific type or model of leadership would actually fit him. His desire to serve others could be as genuine as it is, however without a proper consideration on which approach of leadership to follow, one might lose track of his responsibilities and role as a leader. This then indicates that a leaders should be able to practice one model of leadership or even three and alternatively use each approach based on the demand of the situation at hand.

References:

Avolio, B. Gardner, W. (2005). Authentic leadership development: Getting to the root of positive forms of leadership. The Leadership Quarterly.

Hersey, P. and Blanchard, K. H. (1977). Management of Organizational Behavior: Utilizing Human Resources” (3rd ed.) New Jersey/Prentice Hall.