Introduction
Management is concerned with the process of guiding and directing behaviors and conduct of a group of people, in order to attain or achieve certain organizations’ objectives. It is the work of leaders or managers in institutions. In daily life, we come across several leaders such as the manager at our work place, the supervisor at the laundry place, the football coach in school to mention, but a few.
These individuals like the rest of us are of different characters and employ various techniques in influencing their followers to achieve the common goal. Impression management entails the leaders trying to influence the perception of others normally subordinates about themselves, other people, objects or events by regulating and controlling information in the particular social set up. Although, this kind of leadership is basically based on deception in personality, it is actually the most effective in achieving set goals.
Key techniques of impression management
The driving forces behind this form of management are the need to influence others while gaining rewards and to be expressive. To achieve the former, individuals try to be joyful and display their positive side so that others can like their-ingratiation. Alternatively, it is achieved by intimidating to their work force, through unnecessary display of anger towards them in so that they can submit to them.
Others try to b e vulnerable and sad so that they can attract sympathy and gain the needed help-supplication. In the later, people portray a certain expected image of themselves due to the positions they hold which may not be their true character and try to uphold it as their personality. The strategies followed to build a certain impression may be assertive or defensive leading to transformational and transactional leaders.
Impression management through transformational leadership (assertiveness method)
Avolio and Bass (2008) define transformational managers as those who motivate others to do more than they originally intended and often more than they thought was possible. As Mc Crimmon (2008, Introduction section, para. 2) stated, it was developed by James McGregor Burns in the late 1970s for political leaders and later adopted into business. Managers here lead through charisma being appealing to your followers while having energetic, dynamic and commanding presence making them wanting to emulate you. This comes from admiration; respect and developed trust that make them view you as a role model.
Inspirational motivation is another component of transformational managers. They appeal to basic values with enthusiasm, optimism and eloquent speaking styles that leave their followers envisioning an attractive better future. Intellectual stimulation involves inspiring people to explore their abilities to get most of it through ways such as creative thinking and suggestion of new solutions to problems is also their characteristic. Public criticism is avoided and followers are free to differ in opinion with the leader. The managers pay attention to their subordinates and help them meet their needs.
Impression management through transactional leadership (defensive method)
According to Bass (1998), transactional leadership is that which service the structure of relationships and regulatory norms that are already in place. This kind of leadership employs the leader to reward and punish employees depending on who does what is required to be done.
The managers keep everything as it is unless problems arise or change is inevitable. A contract is signed at the offset and employees get a clear picture of the kind of benefits conditions that would prevail at their work place while accepting to be ruled over as per the stated terms. This authority is vested on the leader. Behaviors here may include, considering the subordinate responsible for actions that are completely out of their hands. The follower is considered personally at fault should anything go wrong and punishment may be administered and vice versa
The assertive form of impression management is a common occurrence in workplaces or social settings where certain individuals are perceived to be of specific characteristics associated with their position. An example is the wife of a church pastor whom is expected to be caring and welcoming to everyone among other things. In the society, such a wife will try her best to appear as expected even when her personality is the opposite.
Business leaders are also always required to maintain some level of conduct, which may vary from interaction with employees to specific lifestyles that range from clothing to type of pens used. While the intension of maintaining a caliber of standards for the company is noble, the actual people undertaking the activity suffer. Lecturers may be the same age as their students but there are higher behavioral demands on them due to their titles than the students.
The defensive form portrays a situation in which the involved party is not only under pressure to conform but is intimidated or forced into doing so. Military leadership is mainly of this kind. Soldiers are expected to carry out orders from their commanding officers without question. All tasks allocated must be obeyed to the later failure of which punishments are handed down and good performance based on the underlying rules is accordingly rewarded.
Criticism of the commanding officers by the juniors is not an option. There is no change in behavior expectations and adjustments are made only on mandatory areas for instance the basic drills have been the same all along. Innovations are carried out in military technology because it is imperative. Failure to keep abreast with it weakens then which is against the policy of being strong and hence no choice but to implement it.
This method is effective in ensuring goals are reached. Participants like the impressionists managers may not enjoy or like what they do because of the pretense evolved nor the soldiers like the forced commands they are ordered to carry out but the ultimate target is met. It almost guarantees that the work is done.
The limitation of impression management is becoming excessively concerned over others’ opinions. This can be occasionally being unhealthy for some individuals. Engaging in highly deceptive forms of impression management runs the risk that eventually people notice the fakeness in it and may have undesirable attitude from what is intended. Sometimes impression management is too effective and assimilative; for instance, an individual normally behaving as a rebel in impression management may carryover the trait such as to be unconsciously more rebellious in subsequent situations.
Conclusion
Impression management can be assertive or defensive as discussed above. The choice to which is suitable, vary not only with the type of organization to run, but the personality of the manager. The defensive method is suitable for institutions such as the armed forces, while managers of business corporations should use the assertive method. Whichever choice is implemented, it results to enhanced performance that helps institutions meet their goals effectively.
List of reference
Avolio, J. B. & Bass, B.M. (2008). Developing potential across a full range of leadership. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Bass, B. (1998). Transformational leadership. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Mc Crimmon,M. (2008). Transformational leadership. Web.