Relational Theory and Participative Leadership

Relational Theory of Leadership 

Relational leadership can be described as a process of different stakeholders in an organization coming together to achieve a common objective. The guiding principles of this theory are ethics and inclusivity. It means that a leader needs to involve all players in achieving a certain goal while maintaining a high level of ethical standards. The relational theory of leadership also recognizes the importance of incorporating different talents from different workers while being optimistic that the process will give better results (Uhl-Bien, 2006) . There are several reasons why this type of management is selected over other forms. First, it allows all members of the organization to be involved in working towards a common goal. With the relational theory of leadership, a company can achieve certain goals with much ease as every worker is involved in planning and implementing certain policies. It is also a motivating factor as employees get encouraged by the company’s appreciation of their efforts. Secondly, the relational theory of leadership combines various talents for the common good of the organization (Wellman, 2017) . As it takes the unique skills of each individual, this form of management ensures that the abilities of every worker are put into consideration towards a common goal set. Combining talents allows the organization to have a variety of ideas as compared to when leadership has little regard for such input. Third, the relational theory of leadership encourages teamwork which is vital in achieving the organizational goals. The company achieves more success when people pursue certain objectives as a group rather than pursuing a different course. Lastly, workers are granted more freedom to explore many ideas for the benefit of the organization. This also encourages them to be more productive and innovative towards the company’s goals.

Participative Leadership 

To achieve the goals of the relational theory of leadership, it would be advisable for one to adopt a participative type of management. This, also referred to as democratic leadership involves consulting employees before one could implement certain policies in an organization. The workers are also free to seek the attention of the management on various issues within a company. There are several reasons for selecting this type of leadership (Taştan, 2013) . First, one can create trust and encourage teamwork among workers. As the manager consults the employees on many issues affecting the organization, they tend to believe and accept more openly the decisions the management takes as compared to the authoritarian style of leadership. The trust created allows all stakeholders to work towards a common goal with fewer conflicts.

Secondly, participative or democratic leadership makes the company gain more from the creativity of its employees. As this type of management allows workers to air their views on various issues, they can bring different ideas that contribute to the achievement of greater success within an organization. This is unlike autocratic management which has little regard for the employees' input. The third reason for choosing participative leadership is to promote good relations and harmony within an organization. As it gives workers the freedom to reach the management more easily, this means that they will solve different issues faster thus ironing out any displeasure that may exist between them. Failure to solve those differences can have serious repercussions like not achieving the set targets. Lastly, participative or democratic leadership increases job satisfaction among workers. It is the goal of any employee to work in an organization where his/her concerns are addressed (Somech, 2006) . As this form of leadership puts more considerations into the issues raised by workers, it means that they will have no resentment towards the management of the organization in general. This means that they will focus more on goals set.

Influence of Participative Leadership in Motivating Followers 

Democratic leadership has a great influence on how a manager influences followers in an organization. It dictates how workers undertake their tasks depending on the leader’s management style. First, a manager using participative leadership encourages them to make a collective decision towards achieving the company’s goals. He/she can motivate them to seek the opinions of each other before deciding on issues affecting the organization. By showing concern to their opinion, the leader can motivate them to appreciate the input each has towards realizing a common goal. Secondly, democratic leadership motivates workers to take responsibility for their actions and decisions thus limiting the number of errors in an organization (Al Harbi, Alarifi, & Mosbah, 2019) . As every employee takes an active role in making a major decision, it would be easier to trace the source of the mistake. The third way participative leadership influences a manager to motivate followers is by delegating to them major duties, which would not be possible in other forms of management like an authoritarian. This motivates them to work hard towards the company’s goals as they feel part of it. Lastly, democratic leadership motivates workers to explore their various talents for the benefit of the organization.

Area of Weaknesses in Personal Leadership 

In undertaking a personal leadership role using a democratic model, it is easier to note major weaknesses that greatly affect the overall performance. Being an avid proponent of participative management, there is a tendency for one to always wanting to be liked by all stakeholders in an organization. If unchecked, this can lead to serious repercussions that negatively affect the performance of the company. As one tries to seek approval of all employees, he/she can implement popular but ineffective policies which can result in great loss for the company. Another disadvantage of wanting to be liked by all employees is that some will misuse the freedom and perform below the organization’s expectations.

However, it is possible to turn such weaknesses to strength for the benefit of the company. First, a leader should seek to be understood by every employee when implementing certain policies. By using the network created, the manager can try to explain certain ideas so that every stakeholder comes to terms with it without much objection. This way, the leader will build trust on top of being loved by workers. Secondly, one can use the weakness of wanting to be liked by each follower to create respectability. As the manager becomes popular with a certain group of people, he/she can use it to seek support for a certain agenda that needs other stakeholder’s approval.

Factors that Influence Organizational Culture 

Structure

The organizational structure includes the activities carried out and the mode of operation in a company. All these factors affect the firm’s culture in several ways. First, the way workers in an organization undertake their roles play a critical role in shaping its general norm. Every employee who joins the firm becomes inducted to this way of life, a process that is replicated for years. Secondly, the primary operation in an organization dictates the kind of culture an organization will have. For instance, an IT firm will have a different cultural practice from a manufacturing one.

Size

Large organizations vary from small ones in terms of workforce, expertise, and access to resources. There also exists a big difference in terms of how operations are carried out within a company. A small firm has few workers therefore a small hierarchy in terms of the administration process. It means that its culture will include an open system of management where junior workers easily reach senior managers with much ease. On the other hand, a large organization requires a complex system of governance due to the high number of employees.

Staff

The employees play a critical role in shaping the culture of any organization. This involves the mentalities, attitudes, and interests they hold while working for the company. This is because they have different backgrounds and personal traits that affect how work is done in the firm. The first influence of the staff towards the organizational culture is in the company’s goals and objectives. As workers bring diverse ideas in the organization, it can decide to adopt them as their goals. Secondly, the composition of employees for instance sex and age defines how the organization undertakes some of its activities. A good example is when the majority of them are youngsters, the firm will be forced to adopt a modern and flexible work schedule as part of its culture.

The Management

The management of any organization determines how the business is run by setting certain rules, procedures, and policies for every stakeholder to follow. These form an integral part of the culture as they will influence the conduct of any worker in a firm, a norm that might be passed from one generation to another. Another way the management influences the culture of the company comes from the way it treats its employees. A good example is when organizational leadership allows workers to take their own decision without necessarily depending on the managers. The employees in such a firm will adopt innovation and open approach as their norm thus becoming their culture.

Clients and Outside Forces

The customer plays a critical role in influencing how the organization will be run. This is because the primary objective of any business is to gain more profitability which comes as a result of fulfilling the client’s needs. Before settling on a certain culture, the organization must evaluate the market trends to determine how to present a product to a customer and win his/her attention. This will determine the mode of operation the business will adopt to reach as big clientele as possible. It will also influence the conduct the employees will have in approaching the customer. Other outside forces like government policies will also significantly influence the type of culture the organization will have.

Factors Affecting Organizational Culture on Participative Leadership 

Despite having a major influence on the organizational culture, the structure, staff, the company’s size, and the clientele also affect the participative leadership in one way or another. First, the employees will determine the success or failure of this style of management depending on their skills and behaviors. Workers with cooperative tendencies will be easier to work with when using participative leadership as compared to when they are resentful. Secondly, the size determines if the model will be efficient or not in running the organization. Participative leadership will work more efficiently in a small firm as compared to a big one which has a bigger hierarchy. However, a large firm can use various strategies among them delegating various functions to different departments to facilitate this form of administration. Third, the organizational clientele dictates how participative leadership works in an organization. As workers are in direct contact with the customers, the management can use this link to get vital information about the nature of the market. This can only be possible if there exists a good relationship between the company’s leadership and the workers thus the need to have a participative form of management. Lastly, the organization’s policies and values determine the administration style to be used in running its affairs.

References 

 Al Harbi, J. A., Alarifi, S., & Mosbah, A. (2019). Transformation leadership and creativity: Effects of employees pyschological empowerment and intrinsic motivation. Personnel Review . https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-11-2017-0354 

Somech, A. (2006). The effects of leadership style and team process on performance and innovation in functionally heterogeneous teams. Journal of Management . https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206305277799 

Taştan, S. B. (2013). The Influences of Participative Organizational Climate and Self-Leadership on Innovative Behavior and the Roles of Job Involvement and Proactive Personality: A Survey in the Context of SMEs in Izmir. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.04.045 

Uhl-Bien, M. (2006). Relational Leadership Theory: Exploring the social processes of leadership and organizing. Leadership Quarterly . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2006.10.007 

Wellman, N. (2017). Authority or community? A relational models theory of group-level leadership emergence. Academy of Management Review . https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2015.0375