Introduction
Leadership has always been one of the most interesting topics for discussions. The role of leaders cannot be overestimated. Leaders are those who make progress, provide support, and aim to achieve better outcomes for everybody. Numerous authors have tried to understand and explain the nature of leadership. Even nowadays, people share different opinions concerning the origin of leadership skills and variations of leadership styles. One of the best ways to understand leadership is to interview the leader. I have identified the leader I wanted to interview. It is the CEO of the local company. I have conducted an interview aiming to identify his leadership style and its connection to ethical performance. In the following paper, the analysis of the leader’s answers concerning leadership will be compared to my perspective and analyzed.
List of Questions
- How do you understand the concept of leadership, especially taking into account your personal experience?
- What is the best way to lead the company in a period of crisis?
- What is the role of interpersonal communication in the company? Provide examples from your experience.
- What is the role of motivation?
- What types of motivation do you prefer?
- How do you promote the development of ethical behavior?
- Can you provide examples of your actions that have impacted ethics in your company?
Summary of Answers and Comparison to Individual Understanding of Leadership
The interviewee starts with an explanation of his understanding of leadership. He considers that leadership theorists manage to describe leadership from different perspectives, and there is no unique approach to leadership. Leadership is a complex phenomenon, but there are several distinctive features about it. First, the leader should be the example to follow. No success may be achieved if the leader does not prove that he should be followed. Also, leadership is about making decisions all the time.
Even if the style is participative, all decisions are the priority of a leader. From personal experience, the interviewee knows that people should not be given total freedom in making decisions because it is the task of the leader. In the period of crisis, everything remains the same, but the leader should demonstrate his ability to cope with difficulties. The CEO of the local company believes that communication is important, but leaders do not have much time for it.
Motivation is another significant aspect that makes employees interested in doing their job. Rewards, bonuses, and additional payments are the best motivators. Ethical behavior should be promoted via stability and control. Such an approach will result in loyalty and trust without a doubt. The interviewee has personally talked to the employees about the improper ethical behavior to demonstrate the significance of this aspect.
Although I support some notions provided by the interviewee, my vision of leadership is different to some extent. For example, I believe that a leader should motivate employees to make decisions rather than make all of them individually. Also, the intrinsic motivation of employees is significant for the company. This kind of motivation presupposes that employees love what they do, and they are devoted to the company’s goals. Intrinsic motivation is closely connected with the organizational culture and ethical behavior as well. However, I think that the ethical behavior and formation of organizational culture should be based on such values as commitment, growth, consensus, creativity, and teamwork.
Analysis
A leader’s answers are to be used for the evaluation of his views on motivation, ethical leadership, and performance. The assessment of leadership style is primarily based on two aspects: a system of values and behavior of the leader. The combination of autocratic and democratic leadership styles is the best description of the leader’s style. The autocratic feature is the opinion that the leader is central to the decision-making process.
The democratic aspects include the necessity to be an example for others and let employees participate in presenting ideas to some extent (Gonos & Gallo, 2013). In regards to motivation, the preference for extrinsic motivation demonstrates that the leader practices transactional leadership. Also, the leader’s aim to promote ethical behavior via stability and control is the sign of the power-based organizational culture (Butts & Rich, 2008).
However, one aspect shows that the leader’s approach is not based only on power. As Mihelic, Lipicnik, and Tekavcic (2010) write, “the leader’s job is to foster an ethical climate that enables sincere and open communication and culture that promotes and rewards ethical behavior” (p. 34). The leader has mentioned that he has chosen interpersonal communication for addressing issues connected to ethical behavior. Such an approach demonstrates that he follows the principles of consensus and commitment as well.
Conclusion
The analysis of the leader’s answers to questions has revealed that he combines the principles of several leadership theories simultaneously. The leader has features of both autocratic and democratic styles of leadership. However, his approach to motivation can be described from the perspective of transactional leadership. The leader believes that ethical behavior should be formed based on control and stability. Still, the interviewee realizes the significance of interpersonal communication for the formation of the organizational culture and ethical principles of work.
References
Butts, J., & Rich, K. (2008). Nursing Ethics: Across the Curriculum and into Practice. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Web.
Gonos, J., & Gallo, P. (2013). Model for Leadership Style Evaluation. Management, 18(2), 157-168. Web.
Mihelic, K., Lipicnik, B., & Tekavcic, M. (2010). Ethical Leadership. International Journal of Management & Information Systems, 14(5), 31-42. Web.