Emerging trends in leadership are based on various theories which are widely used to evaluate and describe various aspects of administration and characteristics of leaders (Blakeman 2014). Comprehension of these theories and the correspondent leadership style are essential in deciding on what kind of a leader one is, and the best leadership style suitable for them. Characteristic of the subordinate and the nature of the organization are other critical factors which influences leadership styles. This paper will evaluate some of the leadership theories and apply the theoretical concepts into a case analysis. It will also expound on transformational transactional and people-oriented styles of leadership.
Behavioral theory is made on the general assumption that anyone can be a leader. It insists that leaders are made not born. According to behavioral theory leadership skill are definable hence learnable. Leaders therefore do not rely on their natural abilities rather than learning on how to lead from others. They learn through looking on what other leaders do, and how they react to different situations. The theory claims that it is easier to teach leadership skill rather than to realize inborn capabilities (DERUE, et al., 2011, p. 30). This theory contradicts the trait theory and opens the leadership forum to all. It nullifies the natural leader selection criteria. It gives people with the ability to learn fast an upper hand in contention for leadership opportunities. Behavioral leadership assesses factors contributing to success in one scenario and adapts them. It also evaluates and identifies factors leading to failure and learns from them (DERUE, et al., 2011, p. 30).
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Participative leadership is considered as one of the most employee-friendly leadership styles. This style involves the inclusion of employees in the decision-making process. Employees have the full right to question all decision (Blakeman, 2014). They are considered as an integral part of the organization. They have a mandate to participate in the growth and development of the company. They share in the profits yielded by their efforts. Due to their participative involvement in the leadership and their ownership in the company’s goals and objectives, they are addressed as stakeholder rather than mere workers. The leaders facilitate employees’ creativity and give them the freedom to define their approach to work and goals. Employers and the administration do not manage the employees. Instead, they lead them. They do not follow complex leadership protocols. They trust in the adult behavior of employees (Blakeman, 2014). Leaders and make fewer decisions because they prefer teaching the employees on how to solve problems. Leaders who apply the participative style are not keen on the working process, they insist on results and free up the employees to boost creativity and ownership. Finally, they do not give out tasks to workers; instead, they give them responsibilities which derives the sense of ownership (Blakeman, 2014).
In 1984 Ricardo Semer introduced the participative leadership style at SEMCO (Mallen Baker, 2017). It was an attempt to save the company from low revenues and low workforce retention rate. The change of style started paying off when a large number of employees agreed to a substantial pay cut in 1990 to save the company from financial collapse. It was during the economic slump in Brazil caused by restriction of liquidity by the government to curb the inflation rates. Workers also took more duties to save operational cost which gave them more exposure (Mallen Baker, 2017). There were no working hours, dress codes, or established rules. Employees chose their leaders. Ricardo Semler oversaw overall growth in the company. Annual revenue rose from 4 million USD in 1982 to 34 million USD by 1994. In 2003 yearly income at SEMCO was 212 million USD. SEMCO had over 3000 employees by 2003 a significant rise from just 90 in 1982 (Mallen Baker, 2017).
Ricardo Semler is a clear illustration of the behavioral theory of leadership too. His twist in approach was as a result of learning from the failures recorded by the previous leaders in the company. Ricardo Semler learned and reacted to the failure experience by his father Antonio Semler to transform SEMCO. His father practiced the autocratic style of leadership which never paid off in optimizing productivity. Ricardo had to react to the failure and the prospect of going out of business. He had to learn on the best way of turning things around before running out of time. Ricardo Semler is a manifestation of a leader who adopted the behavioral theory of leadership to learn from mistakes. He practiced the participative style of leadership to boost the output and retain the workforce. I am an enthusiast of the participative style of leadership. I would apply the technique in leading at any level including a multinational company with many subsidiaries. I believe we are in the participation age where employees seek to also derive meaning from their jobs, not just salaries (Blakeman, 2014). Participative leadership is the future of productivity because it calls anyone to the table workers can express themselves and be their self while at work (Blakeman, 2014). Participative leadership guarantees significance which boosts morale and increases chances of employee retention.
People-oriented style of leadership is an integration of participative, affiliation and coaching styles. Leaders who practice people-oriented leadership include employees and subordinates in decision making and operation processes. Coaching in this perspective resembles the duties of a football coach. The leader who is the coach identifies and nature employees capabilities and talents. Affiliation, on the other hand, involves creating an excellent platform for dialogues collaborations and team building activities. Participation aspects bring democracy in the organization whereby everyone’s point of view is evaluated before decisions are made final. People-oriented leadership boosts morale among employees. It also builds a good rapport with the workers which leads to low employee turnover due to job satisfaction. Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Renault believes that positive change in an organization begins from the bottom of the hierarchy hence the needs of motivating and empowering the subordinates. He is an excellent example of a people-oriented leader. Sometimes the style is criticized due to the long time required to train the employee to be independent thinkers and decision makers. Additionally, some workers lack discipline and maturity needed with such freedom and minimal supervision.
Transactional leadership style incorporates performance organization and supervision. Leaders use rewards and punishment to enhance compliance by subordinates. Leaders who embrace this style tend to supervise and scrutinize the work done strictly. Rewards and punishments style is only useful for a limited period. It is not ideal for job retention and overall employee morale boost. Alternatively, it is very applicable for projects which need to be carried out in a strict, precise way. It is also useful while handling emergency and critical situations. Bill Gate of Microsoft adapts rewards and punishment style of leadership (Career to next orbit, 2017). He is an example of a transactional leader.
Transformational leadership style is known for effecting positive change in social systems and at the individual level (Langston, 2014). It is useful in mentoring followers into leaders. It involves laid down mechanisms that boost productivity by instilling motivation, a sense of responsibility, and self-identity to the subordinates under the mentorship program. Transformational leaders act as good role models for the followers to emulate. They ensure followers take more ownership for work by challenging them on their immense capabilities. They optimize the performance of followers by assigning those duties according to their abilities and unique talents (Langston, 2014). They thoroughly evaluate their followers to identify their strengths and weaknesses. One example of a transformational leader is the late Steve Jobs the founder of Apple Inc (Career to next orbit, 2017).
References
Blakeman, C. (2014, July 16). The emerging work world in the participation age | Chuck Blakeman | TEDxMileHigh [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewA2BqbWhUQ
Career to next orbit. (2017, August 16). 10 Leadership styles with examples. Retrieved February 24, 2019, from https://www.career2nextorbit.com/article/300/10-leadership-styles-with-examples
DERUE, D. S., NAHRGANG, J. D., WELLMAN, N., & HUMPHREY, S. E. (2011). TRAIT AND BEHAVIORAL THEORIES OF LEADERSHIP: AN INTEGRATION AND META-ANALYTIC TEST OF THEIR RELATIVE VALIDITY. Personnel Psychology , 64 (1), 7-52. doi:10.1111/j.1744-6570.2010.01201.x
Langston. (2014, May). Transformational leadership style. Retrieved February 24, 2019, from https://www.langston.edu/sites/default/files/basic-content-files/TransformationalLeadership.pdf
Mallen Baker. (2017, January 3). Ricardo Semler: The radical boss who proved that workplace democracy works. Retrieved from http://mallenbaker.net/article/inspiring-people/ricardo-semler-the-radical-boss-who-proved-that-workplace-democracy-works
