Leadership at Work and Its Implementation Essay

Leadership at work

From the movie, “Change is good”, I have learned that change can influence my leaderships at work in the following three ways:

1. Promoting employees’ morale – Effective leadership requires the involvement of all the people affected by an undertaking in the workplace so that they can share their opinions regarding the proposed event.
2. Improving communication with the staff- To get enough support regarding a new idea in the workplace, designated leaders should put in place appropriate channels of communication and feedback so that individuals in various departments and positions have an opportunity to express themselves.
3. Improving employees’ commitment to an idea- The association of a change process with rewards enhances people’s resolve to ensure the adoption and implementation of an idea in the workplace.

For example, the staff was more receptive to the idea of increased working hours after deliberations in which they proposed an hourly payment for extra hours. Furthermore, while the management had proposed the addition of two hours to the standard working schedule, the staff reached a consensus that they could work for more hours on an hourly system of payment.

Change can influence my personal life in the following two ways:

1. Adopting a consultative approach in dealing with acquaintances – Consultation with family members and friends eliminates conflicts and disagreements, which have detrimental effects on relationships.
2. Identifying and nurturing the strengths of my colleagues – Operating within an all-encompassing framework helps one to gain insights on the talent and traits of various people, which is a great aspect of promoting teamwork.

For example, being open and personal with the subordinate staff helped to address the frustrations associated with social comparison and the supposed expectations of other people regarding the junior staff.

The three leadership theories

The three leadership theories and their implementation are as follows:

1. Path-goal theory- I will implement this leadership theory by frequently organizing meetings between the management and workers in various departments to get an overview of employees’ concerns, which would allow the adoption of both short-term and long-term measures to ensure a highly motivated workforce (Northouse, 2009). Spending time with employees in the operations and maintenance department will allow a proper assessment of their working conditions and correction of deficiencies to ensure an improvement in unit performance. The path-goal theory emphasizes the need for a leader to be active in creating an enabling environment for his followers.
2. Leader-member exchange theory- I will implement this theory by adopting lateral and diagonal forms of communication to ensure that members of staff, irrespective of their position within the organization, can express their sentiments to departmental heads and the top management, and get feedback within a reasonable time. Organizing seminars for mentoring junior staff creates an environment for interaction in which employees reciprocate respect to their leaders and commit to the performance. The leader-member theory ensures the existence of an open channel through which leaders nurture talents and ideas.
3. Situational theory- I will implement this theory by reaching an agreement with departmental heads and supervisors to allow an environment in which employees have room for innovation and creativity when performing their duties. Employees in the IT department requires a lot of free space and time to put their ideas into practice and adjusting to the routine is crucial to the realization of applications and programs fostered towards the efficient operation of an organization. The situational theory demands flexibility in the scope of leadership to ensure the optimization of diverse situations.

Reference

Northouse, P. G. (2009). Introduction to leadership: concepts and practice. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.