Introduction
Leadership remains an integral function in every business organization and it empowers managers to influence their followers and eventually achieve the intended goals. The concept of influence emerges as a powerful model through which those in supervisory positions induce a change or performance. When applied effectively, leaders will guide their workers to promote the best behaviors and pursue the intended aims and values.
Over the years, organizational theorists have presented evidence-based ideas for introducing this attribute in different business firms. Influence, therefore, remains a critical ingredient that makes it possible for managers to achieve their potential. The concept of influence processes outlines the major ways organizational leaders shape procedures and variables in a given company. These include direct decisions, reward systems, selecting and promoting others, role modeling, and allocation of the intended resources. These aspects work synergistically to make leadership a reality and deliver desirable outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to apply the concept of influence processes to three leaders who adopt diverse styles to transform performance.
Background Information
Many successful business firms are associated with effective leadership practices that mentor employees to focus on the targeted objectives. Chesser and Cullen (2018) define leadership as an effective process whereby those in topmost positions influence others positively to work as teams and complete various tasks successfully. In order to record positive results, such professionals should apply desirable skills, attributes, and knowledge. Some managers focus on the most appropriate strategies to improve their competencies and leadership philosophies. Such professionals should go further to promote a sense of cohesion, communicate positively with their followers, solve emerging problems, and provide adequate resources.
Influence is essential since it ensures that the goals of any form of leadership are realized. According to Chesser and Cullen (2018), influence is essential since it makes it for people to empower, guide, and demand results from their respective followers. This means that the approach is essential because it supports the success of contemporary leadership. Those in charge can apply the same idea to improve others in attempt to become more productive. Leaders who fail to take this notion seriously will be unable to achieve their potential.
They should address emerging ethical issues, promote cohesion, and sustain desirable behavior. Within any given organization, leaders will apply the concept of influence to shape variables that affect performance, including resources and employees. With proper influence tactics, more leaders will implement change successfully, promote better behaviors, and engage followers to deliver positive results (Cairns, 2017). These arguments reveal that sustainable influence will make leadership effective and promote organizational performance.
There are various types of influence processes that both managers and leaders should take seriously. Firstly, direct decisions are essential since they guide managers to influence their followers’ ideas and decisions. Managers will have to formulate and present appropriate decisions that resonate with the intended objectives. This process will be affected by various factors, such as the nature of the existing organizational structure, the roles and responsibilities of both managers and followers, and the nature of the established culture. Secondly, allocation of resources will dictate how leaders influence operations and promote performance.
Those in topmost positions will know when to offer the right technological or human resources to maximize performance. This kind of influence process will be affected by these factors: profitability of a company, its competitiveness, and availability of raw materials. Leaders should be aware of such aspects and implement superior models that will deliver positive outcomes (Friemel, 2015).
Thirdly, reward systems support the effectiveness and nature of influence in different organizations. Competent leaders will offer incentives or financial compensation to individuals in accordance with an established scheme. Such rewards are intended to influence desirable or positive behaviors. This process will be impacted by these factors: employees’ commitment to the outlined goals, availability of financial resources, organizational profitability, and the existing policies.
Fourthly, leaders are allowed to select specific followers and promote them depending on their contributions to the organization. This approach ensures that more workers are able or empowered to pursue the intended objectives. This influence process is determined by different factors, such as existing terms and conditions, employees’ responsiveness, and the competencies of specific followers. This knowledge will guide leaders to empower more people and eventually improve performance. Fifthly, role modeling is essential since it guides those in leadership to shape their followers’ opinions, views, and behaviors. They will use examples to show them how things should be done (Chesser & Cullen, 2018).
They will go further to acquire high ethical and moral standards to ensure that their workers replicate them. The philosophy of the leader and the responsiveness of the intended followers will influence the entire process. For any manager to emerge successful, it is necessary to pursue these influence processes, empower others, and address the factors associated with them.
Methodology
The completed study revolved around the use of case studies focusing on the leadership styles, personality traits, and managerial models associated with these leaders: Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Steve Jobs of Apple, and Brian Chesky of Airbnb. This methodology focused on past articles and publications describing the unique attributes that have made these leaders successful in their respective companies (Friemel, 2015). Several papers and documents discussing the issue of influence as a valuable leadership concept were studied in order to develop this paper. The findings revealed that the three leaders adopted desirable influence processes that delivered positive results.
Influence Processes
Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg
The completed qualitative study presented numerous insights regarding the strategies and leadership styles of the selected chief executive officers (CEOs) and presidents. Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO and chairman of Facebook, remains famous because of his effective leadership model. Zuckerberg has been keen to pursue specific influence processes that make it possible for his company to succeed. The first one that makes Zuckerberg efficient is that of charisma (Cornell, 2016).
He has a unique power that emerges from his personality. He remains visionary and promotes sustainable attributes and behaviors that resonate with the intended objectives. He is always considers emerging needs of different employees. The second influence process associated with Zuckerberg is that of expertise. With his innovative skills and special abilities, this leader presents superior action plans that can take things or activities to the next level.
The third one is the use of relationships to maximize his power and influence. Zuckerberg is always willing to encourage his followers to embrace the idea of teamwork and focus on the wider organizational goals (Cornell, 2016). The fourth source of influence is the ability to empower others. As a manager, Zuckerberg understands that it is necessary to guide his followers and encourages them to focus on the outlined aims.
From this analysis, it is notable that this leader applies unique concepts and traits that make him successful. As the company’s Chairman and CEO, Zuckerberg is always ready to innovate and present additional ideas that can maximize clients’ experiences. He remains hardworking, engages his followers, builds positive relationships, and encourages others continuously. He avoid micromanaging others in an attempt to improve the level of performance (Cornell, 2016). The use and adoption of the concept of influence is something that continues to make Facebook successful.
Apple’s Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs was a successful innovator, leader, and entrepreneur who paid attention to detail, remained a coworker to his followers, and demanded excellence. Most of the time how was ready to criticize if something was not being done properly. Nonetheless, the applied a powerful leadership model that has become a model for many people today. Jobs’ success is attributable to his adoption and use of various influence processes. The outstanding one is that of expertise (Yun, Jung, & Yigitcanlar, 2018). The fact that he stated Apple, left it, and eventually returned to make it profitable and sustainable is a clear indication that his action plans were effective. His followers focused on this kind of influence, thereby remaining responsive and focusing on the intended objectives.
The next source of influence or process is that of relationships. Jobs established positive networks and befriended people with the required competencies. This attribute made it possible for Apple to employ skilled designers and engineers in order to maximize the experiences of the greatest number of customers. Rewards are essential influence processes that make it possible for leaders to achieve their potential (Yun et al., 2018). Jobs embraced the power of rewards to engage employees and make it possible for them to achieve their potential. Legitimacy and provision of resources were powerful influence processes that guided Jobs to achieve his potential. As the company’s CEO, he used his position to guide and ensure that all followers focused on the anticipated aims.
Airbnb’s Brian Chesky
As the CEO of Airbnb, Chesky is always ready to take on emerging challenges. He engages in continuous learning in an attempt to acquire ideas and expand his philosophy (Cairns, 2017). He focuses on the most appropriate values to create a sustainable and admirable brand to the greatest number of customers. This approach has made it possible for him to become a social and community leader. At Airnbn, Chesky exhibits the highest level of humility and considers the most appropriate strategies to deliver results. He has remained innovative and continues to identify additional ways for fulfilling the demands of different people in the regions where the company serves.
His success at Airbnb is attributable to the utilization of different influence processes of leadership. Firstly, charisma stands out in Chesky’s managerial approach. Together with his colleagues, he formulated a superior vision that continues to lead the company. He remains sensitive to the needs of both clients and customer service personnel. He promotes desirable behaviors that can add value to this organization and make it more profitable (Cairns, 2017).
Secondly, he pursues legitimacy as an influence process due to his position as a manager. Those below him have to consider his requests and focus on the wider objectives. Thirdly, Chesky takes the issue of expertise seriously to persuade others and encourage them to focus on the targeted outcomes. This approach has made it possible for his followers to embrace the presented ideas and deliver positive outcomes. Fourthly, Chesky uses positive relationships as an evidence-based source of influence or power. He befriends different followers and considers the most appropriate strategies to transform service delivery.
Strengths and Weaknesses
The findings from the completed studies have revealed that these three leaders adopt similar influence processes. These strategies can be examined from different perspectives to understand how future global organizations can utilize them. Some of the outstanding processes associated with these managers include relationships, rewards, expertise, legitimacy, and charisma (Cairns, 2017). The current and future challenges many leaders continue to face can either support or disregard some of these influence processes. The first strength associated with them is that they resonate with both the present and predicted needs followers and customers.
This is the case since many workers require charismatic leaders who can identify and address their unique challenges. The second strength is that the processes are capable of maximizing innovative tendencies and taking companies to the next level. The third advantage is that these influence processes can promote positive relationships and ensure that positive results are recorded in a timely manner, such as legitimacy and relationships.
Despite such strengths, many organizations are presently operating in different parts of the world. These global companies are characterized by workers and employees with diverse backgrounds. Such issues reveal that the influence processes associated with these three leaders are incapable of driving performance due to the challenge of cultural differences. Another weakness is that the processes are designed for extroverted persons who can work in teams (Friemel, 2015). This means that they might not empower all followers to achieve their potential. It is also evident that the use of such influences might be incapable of empowering individuals who telecommute without any form of direct guidance.
Summary
The above analyses have revealed that all the identified three leaders managed to take their companies from one level to the next. With the combination of the major influence processes of leadership, these individuals managed to take the issue of vision seriously to make their companies profitable. Such influence processes explain why they remain passionate and encourage their followers to focus on superior projects and innovations that have the potential to add value to the targeted customers.
Through the utilization of charisma, positive relationships, legitimacy, and rewards, these individuals appear to understand how to empower their employees and ensure that they are aware of the intended objectives (Friemel, 2015). They remain self-confident, take risks, and follow excellence. These approaches have encouraged their respective employees to consider the presented visions, remain innovative, and seek guidance whenever necessary. The go further to empower their workers and educate them about the importance of obedience, commitment, and focus on the outlined objectives.
Conclusion
Competent leaders understand how to combine vision and strategy in order to achieve their objectives. The possession of adequate competencies made it possible for Brian Chesky, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg to achieve their potential as entrepreneurs. The above discussion has revealed that leadership and power should always be merged to win the respect of followers and encourage them to achieve the intended aims. The studied leaders have been taking the identified influence processes seriously to empower, guide, and mentor their followers. These practices have made their companies successful and profitable in their respective sectors.
References
Cairns, T. D. (2017). Power, politics, and leadership in the workplace. Employment Relations, 43(4), 5-11. Web.
Chesser, J. W., & Cullen, N. C. (2018). The world of culinary management: Leadership and development of human resources (6th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.
Cornell, K. (2016). Facebook founder and Internet entrepreneur Mark Zuckerberg. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publications.
Friemel, T. N. (2015). Influence versus selection: A network perspective on opinion leadership. International Journal of Communication, 9, 1002-1022.
Yun, J. J., Jung, K., & Yigitcanlar, T. (2018). Open innovation of James Watt and Steve Jobs: Insights for sustainability of economic growth. Sustainability, 10(5), 1553-1568. Web.