In the 21st century, phenomena such as globalization and highly dynamic technological trends have become an intrinsic part of everyday life. As a result, the efficacy of traditional management styles has significantly reduced. The effectiveness of authoritative and bureaucratic management styles has waned, thus forcing leaders to seek new approaches. Today, much emphasis is placed on a close engagement between the leadership and employees at all levels in an organization since employees are perceived as the greatest asset at the disposal of any organization. Therefore, a leadership that espouses conversations is favored by many organizations because it is seen as a channel through which the operation of the organizations can be optimized.
One-to-one conversations improve organizational efficiency on the basis that leaders are in a position to engage individual employees at a personal level. This way, the leader is able to deal with employees according to their abilities. In other words, the potential of gifted employees can be fully utilized since the leaders understand the weaknesses and strengths of each employee. In case any changes become necessary at any point in the operation cycle of the organization, they can be communicated directly to employees. As a result, better operational flexibility and alignment with the objectives of the organization are achieved. Therefore, the leadership is able to steer the organization in the desired direction.
In addition to developing a closely-knit organization, conversation oriented leadership encourages leaders to develop a clear understanding of their organization. The rules of thumb that govern conversations demand that anybody who seeks to engage in a meaningful conversation, must first understand the subject of discussion comprehensively. As a result, leaders have no option but to understand their organization well because in the process of communicating strategy, any issue concerning the organization can arise and the leader must address it satisfactorily. In addition, leaders have the responsibility of giving an organization a sense of direction.
Reference
- Groysberg, B., & Slind, M. (2012). Leadership is a conversation. Harvard Business Review, 90(6), 76-84.
- Lloyd-Walker, B., & Walker, D. (2011). Authentic leadership for 21st-century project delivery. International Journal of Project Management, 29(4), 383-395.
- Raja, K. (2011). How to communicate business strategy to employees. Web.