Project success in any organization or a country needs a strong leader who is capable of exhibiting leadership qualities and has the much-needed courage to have the project managed in the right direction. A leader is very important in the project management; this is exhibited in the case study of "A Peaceful Evacuation: Building a Multi-Project Battalion by Leading Upward." The main story of the case study revolves around Lieutenant colonel Yaron and Lieutenant Colonel Daniel at the time of evacuation and the disengagement of Israel settlement in the heart of the many Palestinian populations near the Gaza Strip. It is worth noting that every commander in this field had his leadership style which they used and contributed a lot to the success of this project. In this article, the leadership style of Lieutenant Colonels Yaron and Daniel during the evacuation process is in comparison. It is because of these leadership styles which were exhibited by these two leaders that contributed to the success of this project.
The apparent leadership style which was exhibited by Lieutenant Colonel Yaron in the case study is the transformational leadership style. Communication level is very paramount in any case where the transformational leadership is concerned. The managers need to enhance open communication between the leaders and the subject for them to have the project objectives met. In this kind of leadership style, the leaders strive to achieve the best out of the employees through motivating them and enhancing their productivity through open communication and visibility. Delegation of a task is one of the main traits of the transformational leaders. They ensure that they focus on the big picture of the organization, and delegate the small task to their trusted employees for the organization's objectives and aims to be achieved. The transformational leadership trait is exhibited when Yaron encourages the battalion’s company to “initiate ongoing meetings with their soldiers” (Laufer et al., 2012, p.157). This shows that Yaron has owned the project and his mission is to make the employees own the project too so that the main aim of the project be achieved. The evidence is exhibited by Yaron when he "requested an immediate meeting with a Brigadier general. The Lt. Col. Yaron asserted that if the person did not show some personal involvement or commitment in the mission that was being executed by the commanders of the dispatching unit, there would be no chance of success to come about in the mission” (Laufer et al ., 2012). Another evidence of openness in the communication is exhibited in Yaron expression after Lt.Col is given permission and phone number to contact brigadier general. He claims that for the first time, he had felt a direct openness and communication between the lower workers and the management. The pros include the ability to motivate, ability to inspire and ability to bring positive change. One con is that the reality is disguised in this case.
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On the other hand, Lieutenant Colonel Daniel exhibited a leadership style which can be described in this case as a participative leadership style. In the case study given, this was very different from the approach which was taken by his counterpart. His approach can be viewed in this case as more democratic. His main intention was to gain the insight of the views as well as the feeling of the IDF psychologist. This was label as the “the day of thinking” (Laufer et al., 2012, p. 153). He contributed much in boosting the moral of others such as the employees and made a lot of contribution in the decision making process in the project. He let the employees make a decision too, and this made them feel as if their decision was valued as they undertake the project. “With this style, many of the battalion members understood the need for the evacuation and were more accepting of the change that was about to come.” what is very important to note is that this style has huge advantage in a very short run, however, it is very challenging or it is more of rigid in case the project is to take a short time and many people need to be involved in decision making.
It is an undeniable fact that these two great leaders had a different style which they exhibited during this project. In many occasion, the situations made the difference in their style of leadership. However, it was very difficult to indicate the best method between the two styles. The fact is both leadership styles had a long-term target, they both focus on developments and also brought out reasons for the change to achieve objectives. Transformation leaders as exhibited in the case study places organization progression above all. This is different from the participative style which enhances participation of all people in the decision making. There are numerous issues in Israel today, and these leaders may show different ways of handling them. For instance, trust is valued in Israel currently; Lt. Col. Yaron will value the entire state while Lt. Col. Daniel will value increasing the trust of people with the state.
Based on Jung theory, Lt. Col. Yaron describes as the personality type A. he wanted to ensure that environment is under control. “During the mapping of the mission, he was not much detail oriented, but was very goal oriented and practical in his solutions” (Hire Success, 2012). Lt. Col. Daniel is type C personality. He was more of a detailed oriented individual who looked keenly on the research to get the results. “He was more interested in making the mission plan of this complex operation more accurate and logical” Both the personalities as well as the leadership style balanced to create teamwork, and this was the reason for the success of this mission. ”Daniel was able to give a detailed report of the psychological impact of the soldiers during this operation. Lt. Col. Yaron could use this information to curb the feelings of the soldiers to help them comprehend the greater good of the evacuation."
References
Hire Success. (2012). Understanding the four personality types. Retrieved July 22, 2013, from http://www.hiresuccess.com/help/Understandingthe4PersonalityTypes.htm
Laufer, A.; Ziklik, Z.; & Cohenca-Zall, D. (2012). Mastering the Leadership Role in Project Management: Practices that Deliver Remarkable Results . Upper Saddle River, NJ: FT Press.
