In the modern day world, proper leadership is a scarce resource and can be the difference between obscurity and unparalleled success. Different approaches to leadership have been applied over time with varying rates of success. However, the foundation of any leader’s strategy is the psychodynamics involved in his/her decision making. This was simplified by Klein, Gablenick & Herr (1998), to mean how a leader utilizes both their conscious and unconscious mental and emotional impulses to determine the way forward.
Numerous aspects influence psychodynamics within one’s lifetime but the main factor is parental guidance during one’s youth (Goethals, 2005). Skills obtained from parental guidance tend to unconsciously shape how a person thinks in the future and consequently alter his/her psychodynamics.
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Personally, the psychodynamics of my leadership style will be almost entirely, centered on my value system. Instrumental values instilled in me from an early age would ideally define how I would handle my subordinates. Examples of key instrumental values that I will most likely utilize are honesty, courageousness and competitiveness. These will not only aid in maintaining a good relationship with those beneath my rank, but also aid me in rising above any competition, be it as large as a rival organization or as trivial as an opposing team in a game of tug of war.
Terminal values, on the other hand, would be the targets we as a group would strive to achieve, predominantly by applying our instrumental values. Whereas instrumental values are personal character traits that one is born with, terminal values indicate goals and objectives that one may hope to achieve. Ideally, terminal values will be achieved by strict obedience of my instrumental values. Examples of terminal values that I will strive to achieve as a leader are financial security, in the case of a business, happiness and harmony.
Interactive leadership is also a crucial aspect that I will attempt to introduce to ensure the attainment of even better success in my leadership journey. Whereas many leaders deem themselves superior to their employees or subordinates, I will ensure open channels of communication are present between my juniors and I to enable a close-knit organization. Communication among all members of my group is crucial to my leadership framework seeing as without it, certain aspects of the group may lag behind or encounter challenges without anybody being aware of it
On top of that, another key instrumental value that I will apply is employee appreciation. Whomever your subordinates may, be, appropriate appreciation, be it by congratulatory messages or physical rewards, goes a long way in encouraging similar success in the future (Kernberg, 1998). It simply entails finding out the desires of your juniors, whether it is monetary appreciation or simply a few days rest away from their responsibility, and granting the aforementioned wish upon exceptional performance. This will go a long way in building a comradery with those beneath my rank.
Forecasting and setting clear attainable goals will also be a crucial aspect of my leadership framework. Although a well-oiled machine is desirable, it has to have a course and a destination for it to be truly productive. The same can be said of an organization and hence setting targets and goals to be achieved within a predetermined period will provide direction for my group (Krshnan, 2001). However, these goals have to be realistic and fit within the model of the organization for them to be viable.
Adopting the described value system and the leadership strategies listed above, I believe I will bring about transformative leadership to whichever group I may lead. Whereas subordinates may vary, for example, either a leader can be the Chief Executive Officer at a Fortune 500 company or a father guiding his family through the struggles of life, the principles applied are similar. Successful adoption of these strategies will undoubtedly result in considerable success.
References
Klein, E.B, Gablenick, F.G. & Herr, P.E. 1998, The Psychodynamics of Leadership . Madison, CT: Psychosocial Press
Goethals, G.R. 2005, The Psychodynamics of Leadership: Freuds insights and their Vicissitudes, The Psychology of Leadership: New Perspectives and Research
Kernberg, O.F. 1998, Ideology, Conflict and Leadership in Groups and Organizations , New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Krshnan, V.K 2001, Value Systems of Transformational Leaders, Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 22, Issue 3, pp. 126-132 <https://doi.org/10.1108/01437730110389274>
