Contemporary Leadership Practice
The nature of leadership in a swiftly globalizing world has become the focal point of many researchers, policymakers, and organizations. A growing body of literature has suggested various purposes of leadership. At the outset, leadership should entail the development of a business environment that can promote life, growth, success, and peace amongst people. It should also bring about interventions that are harmonious with nature in an attempt to ensure sustainability. Lastly, it is believed that global leadership perspectives should aim at promoting societies that embrace shared social responsibilities. This essay provides an analysis of the challenges of leadership practice in the twenty-first century with a view of highlighting various opportunities for improvement.
Analysis of the Challenges and Opportunities to Improve Global Leadership Practice
The leadership of the twenty-first century is significantly influenced by various challenging factors such as amplified pressure on the environment, information technology, social transformation, and globalization. Although globalization has come with tremendous benefits to organizations, it is deemed the enormous challenge facing contemporary global business leadership. This phenomenon has comes with a plethora of effects on the business sphere that include shifting market trends, population influx, and diverse workforce among others. These factors have transformed the nature of leadership, especially in the last decade. This situation compels leaders to review the traditional styles such as the hierarchical structures in favor of newer transformational models.
In the first article, Collins affirms that modern leadership approaches should embrace holistic and integrated approaches to the development of organizations (561). However, the emergence of new economies, financial disruptions, complex organizations, scientific innovation, and social assimilation among others has created opportunities to improve the global leadership practice (Collins 562). The business world has become more volatile, complex, ambiguous, and uncertain. The existing transformational theories to leadership practice are inadequate for the development of a harmonious business environment in the twenty-first century (Stearns, Margulis, and Shinsky 9).
In the second article, Conger explains various barriers to the development of global leadership talents (198). This article reveals that only a few organizations possess valid leadership tools that align with modern dedicated development systems. According to Story et al., the lack of supportive structures has become an obstacle to cultural mobility irrespective of the rate at which the world is globalizing (132). Cultural mobility forms the framework for the development of global talents. However, this challenge creates an opportunity for the development of career plans to nurture homegrown experienced managers to guide the incoming generations. Also, Conger posits that this situation will create a pool of talented managers who will ensure the implementation of holistic leadership theories in organizations (201).
Advantages of Effective Leadership Practice
At the outset, the theory of positive leadership asserts that organizational practices that focus on employee involvement and diversity needs are more likely to accomplish the set business goals (Northouse 291). Owing to globalization that has led to increased talent movement, there is a need for global leaders to ensure employee engagement in specialized tasks that match their talents. Secondly, effective leadership practice underpins the development of powerful linkages to crucial business expectations such as employee retention, increased productivity, workplace safety, and customer involvement (Jacobites, Winter, and Kassberger 1384; Gamble and Vaux 11). Also, effective leadership practice ensures that managers focus on both strengths and weaknesses of various employees, teams, units, and/or the organization. According to Story et al., the behavior of the manager correlates with the performance of the employees (148). Effective leadership ensures that the weaknesses are fixed in addition to reinforcing the strengths.
Works Cited
Collins, James. “Leadership and change in twenty-first century higher education.” BioScience 64.7 (2014): 561-562. Print.
Conger, Jay. “Addressing the Organizational Barriers to Developing Global Leadership Talent.” Organizational Dynamics 43.1 (2014): 198-204. Print.
Gamble, James and Emma Vaux. Learning Leadership Skills in Practice through Quality Improvement. Clinical Medicine 14.1 (2014): 12-5. Print.
Jacobides, Michael, Sidney Winter and Stefan Kassberger. “The Dynamics of Wealth, Profit, and Sustainable Advantage.” Strategic Management Journal 33.1 (2012): 1384-1410. Print.
Northouse, Peter. Leadership: Theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2013. Print. 287-317
Stearns, Michael, Lisabeth Margulus and John Shinsky. “Theory into practice: a study to assess the influence of a customized leadership development program on a cohort of aspiring urban leaders” International Journal of Education Leadership Preparation 7.2 (2012): 1-13. Print.
Story, Joana, John Barbuto, Fred Luthans and James Bovaird. “Meeting the challenges of effective international HRM: Analysis of the antecedents of global mindset.” Human Resource Management 53.1 (2014): 131-155. Print.