Leadership Analysis in Organizations

Summary of the Servant Leadership Theory 

The Servant Leadership Theory was introduced by Robert K. Greenleaf in 1970 in the essay, “The Servant as a Leader." However, it should be noted that this is an approach that has been used by people for many years (Van, 2016). According to this theory, by one being a servant leader, he or she must be a servant first. In this way, one should focus on the needs of others especially the members of a team that one is leading before considering personal needs. At the same time, a servant leader needs to acknowledge the perspectives of others including giving them the necessary support to meet the personal and work goals. Notably, involving members in the process of decision making where appropriate is pivotal (Van, 2016). A servant leader needs to ensure that a sense of community in the area of jurisdiction is enhanced. This helps in improving higher engagements, stronger relationships and more trust with members of the team and other stakeholders. Further, the application of servant leadership is instrumental in harnessing innovation since members are free to come up with ideas on how to do things “differently.” 

It is important to note that servant leadership is not technique or style of leadership as such. Instead, it should be viewed as a behavior that one adopts over a period of time (Van, 2016). However, it can as well be learned and applied by an individual. On this note, there is a close relationship between servant leadership and transformational type of leadership, which is commonly used in business-related organizations. Based on the environment in which one is working in, a servant leader may find it difficult to apply his skills. For example, servant leadership is problematic in autocratic and hierarchical cultures where leaders such as managers are required to make all decisions. In this kind of situations, servant leaders may find themselves struggling to earn the required respect. 

Servant leaders should, however, remember that servant leadership is about ensuring that other individuals’ needs are met but not their feelings (Cashman, n.d.). On this basis, such leaders should not fear to make unpopular decisions or even giving negative feedback to members when necessary. The objective should not be to please others and satisfy their feelings, but it should be to grow members of the team regarding good leadership and attributes as well as meeting their personal needs if possible in relation to the responsibility of the leader. Experts advise that leaders should not use this form of leadership exclusively but rather use it with other styles of leadership such as participatory or transformative leadership. 

In becoming a servant leader, it is prudent to underscore some of the important characteristics to consider such as communication, listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of people and Building community. Communication plays an instrumental role in any organization (Van, 2016). As a servant leader, one needs to employ necessary communication skills such as simple issues as nodding when talking to other people, which show some level of care for their needs or demands. As part of good communication skills, listening is a virtue that is critically important as well (Van, 2016). Especially when one is solving an issue, a servant leader should give others attention. Listening not only helps in understanding the extent of needs but also the best appropriate solutions to problems. 

The objective of being empathetic in servant leadership is to try and understand the perspectives and intentions of others. A servant leader can show empathy by temporarily putting aside personal viewpoints and valuing other people’s opinions as well as approaching issues with an open mind (Van, 2016). In terms of healing, it is important to underscore the importance of wholesomeness, wellbeing and general health of others, which calls for mental and physical support. The first concern for any servant leader should be to ensure that members of the team have the necessary resources, support, and knowledge in carrying out their work. The next step is helping them be engaged and ensuring they are happy. 

It is always advisable that in servant leadership one applies self-awareness techniques (Van, 2016). Some of the elements of self-awareness include thinking deeply about oneself and considering how one’s behavior may be affecting others. Persuasion is another characteristic that should be seen in servant leadership. Servant leaders are people who are ready to apply different techniques to persuade their team members on the best way to handle or attend to an issue. Unlike the use of authority, the application of persuasion in servant leadership is helpful especially in encouraging people to take action as well as building consensus on group engagements. 

The aspect of conceptualization refers to one’s ability to analyze issues and find the way forward (Van, 2016). However, foresight includes the ability to predict what may happen based on the prevailing situations and analysis. In this way, a servant leader is able to lead the team members on the most appropriate direction under the stewardship, which is about taking responsibility for performance and actions of the team and roles of each member. However, one must be committed to the development and growth of people and build a cohesive community. 

Common Learning Themes 

New Business Realities 

In the current business world, there is increased competition in almost every sector or industry. On this basis, organizations are working hard to ensure that they not only harness their internal strengths but also come up with strategies to bring change in their operations. The need for quick and effective services is part of the current realm of delivery of products and services. Therefore, it is clear that change in every aspect of business operations is unavoidable. The unrelenting need to have transformational change with the aim of providing better services than the competitors is on the highest level. At the same time, a new understanding of the process required in bringing change is emerging as one of the new ways of conducting business activities. The complexity and chaos of the business operations have necessitated the persistent desire to work differently and provide uniqueness for both potential and existing customers. On this end, society and businesses need to be rethought in relation to the rapid transformative change by using new insights of hidden order in the chaos of complex adaptive dynamic systems. As noted in the previous section, servant leadership calls for transformative thinking where a leader should apply ways of changing other people’s life by meeting or addressing their issues that negatively impact the process of achieving goals. In this way, the aspect of transformative change and servant leadership cannot be separated (Koontz & Weihrich, 2010) 

In the interview, the aspects of transformative change were addressed. For example, in the question “Do you invite your subordinate to deliberate on an issue affecting them and consider their inputs? I intended to know the extent to which employees are involved in not only the decision-making process but also if they are provided with the opportunity to bring out their ideas on solving personal and organizational problems. However, the answer from the Macdonald’s manager was not convincing enough to show how the subordinates are involved. According to the quality control manager, if an employee makes an offense, disciplinary actions must be taken. “That is how I solve problems,” he noted. For the operations manager in the Toyota Company, all parties involved are called, for both sides to be heard, which informs the decision to be made. In the latter’s case, I saw an aspect of transformative change where workers are listened to and given the opportunity to bring their point of views. 

Complementary Thinking 

Another theme that was addressed in the interviews was the complementary thinking that refers to the habit of involving other perspectives in the process of deliberation before decisions are made. In the interview question “ When making decisions that will affect your subordinates as a manager, what procedure do you follow? The aim was to find out if employees’ perspectives are invited and considered. In this second question, the operations manager observed that he invites the representatives of employees for their input. However, the quality control manager at MacDonald’s noted that those employees are usually informed after decisions have been made. Therefore, it was clear that the former manager invited the perspective of employees in the decision-making process. 

Self-Reflection 

The interview was instrumental in positively impacting on my experience going forward. One of the issues that I learned is that it is imperative to plan on basic matters such as time and venue. As noted earlier on, I decided to approach one of the managers in the quality control department at McDonald's , which is a US-based food chain company as well as one of the managers from the operations department in the Toyota Ltd. In planning for the interview, the first issue was to contact the two leaders and request for their time, preferably one hour. After contacting them, they both accepted my request, and we agreed that the interview would take place at their offices or any other location within their workstations. However, I learned that it was necessary to first secure time and assurance from the leaders before going ahead with other personal plans prior to the interview. After agreeing on the dates, time and venue, I went back and started defining my objectives for the interview. Some of the issues that I addressed at this stage included the areas that I wanted to concentrate on such as communication, collaboration, listening, among others. This was necessary as it would give me an easy time during and after the interview. At the same time, I arranged my questions in ways of priority in order to provide a logical way through which the interview would be carried out. However, besides questions to be asked, I decided to research the two companies and their organizational structure. The objective was to ensure that I understand roughly the way each management operates. Further, understanding a little bit about organizations would be helpful during the interview since the two leaders will see that I had done some personal research about their companies. Important to note was that I had to recheck my questions and ensure that they were all in an open-ended format. This was helpful in providing my interviewees’ the opportunity to explain issues or themselves. Additionally, I had to make sure that I had with me all the materials that I needed such as writing materials and recording gadgets, which were to be used during and after the interview for references and compilation of information. 

Another issue was that clear introduction of an interviewer to the interviewee is critically important. The situation becomes even more pivotal when both the interviewer and interviewee are strangers. For example, in the interviews, both leaders requested that I explain briefly to them the time of the interview and what I wanted to achieve with it. Although I had already planned to brief them on the same, this showed their level of professionalism and level of preparedness. Another issue they wanted to know more about was who I was working for, which was necessary to assure them further that the information they would give during the interview would not be misused. 

Further, it is necessary always to respect the wishes of one's interviewees and understand what they would like or not during and after the interview. For example, in the interviews conducted, both managers requested that I do not mention their names when recording the proceedings. After this, I had now to start introducing my questions one after the other. However, I made sure that every question was answered satisfactory and I asked for clarification where necessary. During the interview, I noticed that the operations manager at Toyota was humorous and willing to give more information as opposed to the quality control manager from McDonald’s. Consequently, the interview with operations manager from Toyota took a slightly longer time, but it was more engaging than the other one. 

Finally, I learned that it was always prudent to thank interviewees for their time before and after the interview. For example, after the interviews, I thanked each one of them for their patience, time and accepting to grant me an interview with them, which was a great privilege. In fact, they were as well happy on how the interview was conducted. Although I learned the above issues, I would have structured my questions in a more precise manner. After the analyzing the process, I noticed that some questions were too general, which made it challenging to get satisfactory answers. Further, I will have to relook on the length of interview since I did not have time for “Any Other Business” in the interview session. 

Summary Statement 

As noted, the interview was purposed to determine the interpersonal mastery of the two leaders at managerial level. In respect to Cashman observation, interpersonal competencies and result competencies lead to top leadership performance (2008). I decided to approach one of the managers in the quality control department at the McDonalds , which is a US-based food chain company as well as one of the managers from the operations department in the Toyota Ltd. Around seven questions were formulated in the interviews based on the servant leadership theory, which emphasizes on the interpersonal mastery attributes. In the interview, the aspects of transformative change were addressed. Another theme assessed in the interview was complementary thinking. 

The findings showed that both leaders were practicing different styles of leadership. In reference to the interviews, it is clear that the quality control manager from MacDonald’s was contemptuous towards his subordinates. He believed that his position matters than the needs and concerns of other employees. On the other hand, the operations manager was an interpersonal individual (Wheatley, 2006) who tried as much as possible to relate well to both the lower and top management. Notably, the manager of MacDonald’s employed an authoritative style of leadership (Tammy, 2014). However, the operations manager believed in participatory and servant leadership. He ensured that employees’ concerns and needs were addressed amicably and that during the decision-making process, employees’ representatives were involved. As a future leader, I wish to apply servant and participatory leadership style. Besides helping one win the hearts of his or her followers, these forms of leadership are pivotal in avoiding conflicts with other employees. Finally, it helps in meeting both individual and organizational goals. Based on the outcome and findings, it would be important for organizations and leaders to exercise servant leadership or participatory leadership, which emphasize on inclusion. 

Conclusion 

Social and cultural expectations are changing in rapid and transformative ways. Managers must, therefore, take note of these changes for wise management and leadership of organizations. These new social and cultural expectations take the form of a new and expanded set of stakeholders. Indeed, new system dynamics are at work in the economy, and everything is speeded up. Now, change is faster, unrelenting, and more transformative than at any time in history. In addition, a new understanding of the process of change is emerging as the new sciences of chaos and complexity develop. To this end, business and society need to be rethought regarding the rapid transformative change, using the new insights of the hidden order in the chaos of complex adaptive dynamic systems. 

References 

Cashman, K. (2008). Leadership from the inside out: Becoming a leader for life. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler. 

Cashman, K. (n.d.). Leadership from the Inside Out P. 119 Reflection Interpersonal Mastery . San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler. 

Koontz, H., & Weihrich, H. (2010). Essentials of management . New Delhi: McGraw-Hill. 

Tammy, R. (2014). Servant leadership: Creating organizations of meaning . Milwaukee, Wis: ASQ Quality Press. 

Van, D. D. (2016). Servant leadership: Developments in theory and research . Palgrave Macmillan. 

Wheatley, M. J. (2006). Leadership and the new science: Discovering order in a chaotic world (3rd Ed.). San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler.