Introduction
In the present competitive business environment, organizations are more concerned about defeating existing competition. Although many approaches to management and leadership exist, organizations are keen to engage leaders who are more skilled in managing people.
Having a skilled labor force is an important success ingredient and leaders must take any appropriate steps to ensure that skilled personnel are not lost to competitors. This paper attempts to identify some valuable aspects of the human side of management and leadership and proceeds to explain why they are considered valuable.
Valuable Aspects of the Human Side of Management and Leadership
Visionary leadership is vital for any organization to grow and succeed in the face of stiff competition. Considering the importance of human workforce, many organizations are seeking ways to ensure that the interests of employees are well taken care of. This includes involving them more in running the affairs of the organization. Valuable aspects of the human side management and leadership include team work, servant leadership, and motivation.
In the recent past, there has been a growing interest in leadership theories including a significant inquiry into the application of servant leadership (Oner, 2012). The concept of servant leadership can be quite confusing given that they are generally regarded as opposites to each other. In most cultures, leaders are expected to lead rather than serve.
Unlike most leadership theories of trait, behavior, and contingency, servant leadership questions the power driven, hierarchical structure assumptions often demonstrated within organizations. Servant leadership emphasizes increased service to others, including employees and customers as of paramount importance. Oner (2012) identifies servant leadership as one where a leader truly takes into consideration the needs of others and makes it a priority to empower and develop them in spirit of true service.
To a large extent, servant leadership presents a holistic approach to work that encourages a sense of community and shared decision making power. Employees thus regard themselves as an important a part of the organization and are more inspired to get involved in whatever way. This is similar to what is realized under transformational leadership that results in the achievement of higher levels of performance among followers.
The terms team and teamwork are not completely foreign in the business world. Teams have become essential elements in problem solving and in helping businesses to move into the future. In situations that require a combination of multiple skills, experiences, and judgments, a team would achieve better results than would individuals working within confined job roles and responsibilities (Conti & Kleiner, 1997).
Today, employee involvement through the use of teams benefits both the company it serves and the employees themselves. Team working improves productivity and builds more flexibility into a business. This allows organizations to react better to environmental pressures such as market forces, government regulations, consumer demands, and any other factor that would have an impact.
Team working is also designed to help companies deal with internal problems by allowing team members to study and address the problem. Despite the great opportunities presented by team working, it also comes with numerous challenges and leaders must implement team working with so much care in order to achieve better results. Leaders must for example, that teams are guided by clear and elevated goals.
Motivation pushes individuals to take actions that lead to better performance. While motivational strategies are generally used by most leaders to get employees to achieve set goals, they also help to keep talented employees within the company. The most favorable form of motivation is monetary rewards but it also comes through promotions or according employees special privileges for exemplary performance. However, monetary rewards have failed to revive low employee morale in some instances.
Some researchers have also argued that that motivating employees for greater participation in the affairs of the organization may not be effective without the use of teams (Govindarajulu & Daily, 2004). Besides improving performance, motivation is also necessary to improve the attitude of employees toward work. According to Romero and Kleiner (2000), motivation leads to great attendance and employee safety. Good attendance is when employees are prompt to do not miss workdays.
Safety is attained when employees follow safety procedures and minimize accidents on the job. Apparently, good attendance and safety consistently practiced by employees around the world who work in an environment where they feel appreciated and motivated to do their work. Research indicates that good attendance and safety are two of the most common and basic activities that companies give recognition for (Romero & Kleiner, 2000).
Conclusion
The contribution of humans to the success of organizations is very important. As a result, many leaders are turning to strategies that will enable them to lead their followers to greater performance. This paper has looked at three aspects of the human side of management and leadership that can be extremely beneficial to organizational performance if well implemented.
By embracing servant leadership, team spirit and a motivational approach of dealing with employees, leaders stand a big chance of excelling and building a supportive group that can be relied upon to deliver great results.
References
Conti, B. & Kleiner, B. H. (1997). How to Increase Teamwork in Organizations. Training for Quality, 5(1), 26 – 29.
Govindarajulu, N. & Daily, B. F. (2004). Motivating Employees for Environmental Improvement. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 104(4), 364 – 372.
Oner, Z. H. (2012). Servant Leadership and Paternalistic Leadership Styles in the Turkish Business Context: A Comparative Empirical Study. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 33(3), 300 – 316.
Romero, J. & Kleiner, B. H. (2000). Global Trends in Motivating Employees. Management Research News, 23(7), 14 – 17.