Leadership is essential to organizations and as such, a leader has to define his/her core competencies before getting to know those of his/her followers. Some of the core competencies that a leader should possess for effective leadership include vision and adaptability, priority setting, passion and intuition, competitive spirit, being a good listener, influencing, and trusting. One of the key leadership approaches is the use of the whole-person approach.
The approach requires the use of the head, heart, feet and hands (Bruce and Montanezm 18). The benefits associated with this form of leadership are such as motivation, competencies, caring, inspiration, improved performance and production, expertise, values, expertise, integrity, and development of a an organizational culture. Moreover, the approach is a reflection of the human side of leadership.
Under the whole-person approach, each of the parts (head, heart, hands, and feet) plays different roles although they are intertwined. They also represent different components associated with organizational leadership. The leader’s head stands for the unique expertise, knowledge, values, character, motivation, and competencies possessed by the leader (Bruce and Montanezm 18).
It may also present the intellectual property, attitude, integrity and the education of the leader. The hands of the leader represent the skills, customer service, hand-on coaching, follow-through, implementation, and manufacturing (Bruce and Montanezm 20)
The leader’s feet may represent the foundation upon which the leaders and the organizations were built, organizational stability, organizational culture, its growth, tradition, history, and the founders of the organization (Bruce and Montanezm 18). Lastly, the heart of the leader is the center stage of leadership.
Particularly, it may represent hope, team spirit, emotional; intelligence, pride, core values, and feelings. When the four components are combined, they form the humanness in leadership. Therefore, an organization should treat its employees as human/whole person rather than mechanical producers. This approach ensures that an organization comes to terms with the real-world individual challenges that employees face in and outside the organization.
Success in an organization is an attribute of those in charge. A successful organization is able to achieve its organizational objectives and develop a culture that incorporates the beliefs, culture, and values of different parties. Leaders are basically change agents endowed with power and influence. They are required to empower and influence their followers. Power is a form of control that a leader exercises over other people.
It makes people more strong and invincible. However some people are scared of it while others feel impotent without it. When power is used well in an organization, it inspires and uplifts others into achieving their dreams or targets. It is influential and empowers other people in the workplace to realize their goals while they reach organizational objectives. Power can be ranked in form of coercive power, utility power, and principled power.
In my view, leaders should encourage the use of the whole- people to create wholeness rather than individualism. This creates team spirit as different aspects of employees are explored. Among the three paths of power, I believe that the principled power is the most appropriate one because its foundation is trust, respect, honor, and belief in other people.
It creates interdependence, synergy, and mutual respect. To realize what one wants, the path of principled power is most encouraged because it is more fulfilling compared to the other paths of power listed earlier.
Works Cited
Bruce, Anne and Stephanie Montanez. Leaders Start to Finish: A Road Map for Developing Top Performers. Alexandria, VA: ASTD Press, 2012. Print