Leadership versus Management Decisions

What is leadership decision-making versus management decision-making?

Leadership and management decisions need to coexist as a team even though management decisions specifically effect the employees, while leadership decisions effect the employees, customers, stakeholders, and the organization as a whole. Managers get to directly impact employees by keeping them clear on the business policies, performance levels and possible personal issues. Leaders have the responsibility of effecting the entire organization, customers and stakeholders through their actions, beliefs and values. Both roles are important, but one is much larger than the other. Managers have the responsibility of focusing on employees, while leaders have the responsibility of focusing on everybody involved. Managers help initiate employees into the business and help them keep the rules and their performance in tact. Leaders have the ability to provide a stronger environment by personal interactions, influencing others with a strong belief system and promoting a better future.

According to Rodriguez (2017), leaders value input from their employees and let them in on the decision making process which makes them feel important and included. Rodriguez (2017) explained management decision making as a dictatorship that did not allow for employee input, just putting new policies into place and expecting people to follow them. Rock Star Leadership (2015) provided the strengths that management positions can hold and that includes looking after staff, understanding the business, translating business information to the staff, and performance and management counseling. Managers need to keep the staff on track, and if they do not the cause could be employees leaving the business. Films Media Group (2014) includes the important roles of managers by explaining that they need to provide employees confidence to value their jobs, put the job in context for them, give positive examples and focus on the importance of the job. Rock Star Leadership (2015) provides a larger list of duties needed to be provided from the leader of the organization, and some of those include constant personal communication, being a role model of important behaviors and values, providing everybody the chance to share their ideas, translating others behaviors, focusing on the health and welfare of the organization, and the entire time all of their cares and information trickles down to others. The leader not only has to impact all of the employees, customers and stakeholders but also the culture of the organization. Leaders provide the direction of the organization. Business News Daily (2017) shares that leaders need to be effective while having an impact on employees, customers and the marketplace. It sounds like managers have a specific list of job duties that effect employees while leaders have to make constant and multiple decisions in different areas that effect everything.

In a previous department that I worked in, the department manager made sure we knew our job description, told us often the importance of our job and doing it correctly, and about the changes that were occurring. My co-workers and I worked closely as a team and were the most hands on with the customers compared to anybody else. We were never involved in any of the decision making and that wore us down. We knew what was best for the customers and the organization and the manager would make changes that either had a negative effect, or just provided extra work. There was a large turn over rate in that department and they all claimed to human resources that it was because of the negative impact of the manager. The department I work in now has a department leader. She comes in every morning, asks about how things are going and asks us about our ideas on process changes. We feel included in everything and know that we have a say in things any time we feel the need for a change. The people that work in this department have been there for years. The environment is more positive and employees seem more at ease. Also, the department leader constantly shows herself to be a good role model and she makes others want to be better themselves. She is also know by many others as a good person and leader because of the role model that she is. Whenever I mention who I work under people have nothing but good things to say about her.

References

Business News Daily (2017). Decision-Making Techniques. Improve your ability to make effective decisions. Retrieved from: https://myeducationmanager.tradepub.com/c/pubRD.mpl?secure=1&sr=oc&_t=oc:&qf=w_tecc73 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Rock star leadership [Video file]. (2015). Retrieved February 8, 2017, from http://fod.infobase.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=103246&xtid=93374 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. 

Rodriguez, I. (2017). What Differences in Decision-Making Approaches Might Occur Among Leadership Styles? Retrieved from: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/differences-decisionmaking-approaches-might-occur-among-leadership-styles-74048.html (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

What are the differences between Leadership and Management

Differences Between Leadership and Management

The difference between leadership and management lies in the actions that are taken in the process of change during the decision-making process. How the leaders make their decisions impacts the people around them, and also demonstrates what type of leaders they are based on these decisions. 

 Leadership is vision focused when making decisions, versus the day to day smaller decisions that management may make. Leadership and Management go hand in hand, you do need both.  As Coleman and Glover (2010) explain “leadership is closely associated with visions and values”, and “managing a change in vision and values is a prime aspect of a leader’s role” (p.14). Leadership is the process of understanding visions and values, and making decisions based on these vision and values. While management demonstrates the action that demonstrates the day to day decision within the process of change. In my own experience, when a new guideline is introduced, it is mandatory that we (as long-term care facilitators) put it into place. How we put the guideline into place is depending on our own systems that we currently have in place that go along with our vision. This demonstrates Leadership, based on leaders making decisions on how to put the guideline into place, while keeping our values and vision in mind when making the decision.  When leading, we (as leaders) align the new process with our current vision, and give those expectations to the facilities with a guideline to follow. Now each facility is different, so they will need to make some adjustments, by the main guidelines will still need to be followed. This decision made by the facility, show the management of the process. When the facilities manage this new guideline, they are making the day to day changes they need too as problems arise. If the facility finds that the system cannot adapt to both processes, they will be able to make the necessary changes needed in order to keep on task (the facility is demonstrating a managing technique). 

According to Burns, Sorenson, Goethals (2004) states that “most decisions are made behind closed doors, yet they often define an individual’s leadership better than public appearances”, also that “how decisions are framed, informed, and executed thus has much to do with the quality of leadership that results” (p.316-317).  This is an important indicator. Our corporate office is full of leaders, these leaders are the ones making the main decisions on how our process work every day. The facilities have their own leaders, but they see themselves as managers. When it comes to making the main decisions, the administrators are bound by what corporate sees is mandatory. How the process is to take place within their facilities is based on their own decisions, they are managing the process. The administrators are also seen as leaders because there are situations, where the decisions are theirs alone. The decision that Corporate, or the administrator, make are judged by the staff in how they affect them (staff). If the staff members feel as if the decisions that were made is not beneficial to them or their communities, they will see that leader as being an inefficient leader. When it is a decision that is forced by the corporate office, the staff do not look at the administrator as if they are an inefficient leader, they blame the leaders within the corporate office. 

The way in which the decision is made is important in how the decision will affect the people around them. If the leader does not take into account how the decision will affect the people around them, they are likely to make a decision that will negatively affect the people they are leading. The leader will be looked at as a bad leader, who does not have the peoples interest in mind when they are making their decisions. This will affect the leader’s ability to lead effectively. 

Burns, J. M., Sorenson, G. J., Goethals, G. R., & Sage Publications, I. (2004). 

Encyclopedia of Leadership. Thousand Oaks, Calif: SAGE Publications, Inc. 

Coleman, M., & Glover, D. (2010). Educational Leadership and Management: 

Developing Insights and Skills. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill Education.

Harvard Business Review: Use If-Then Thinking to Change Your Behavior

I like the Harvard Business Review emails. You should consider subscribing to them if you like them as well. Here is one of my favorites to date:

Use If-Then Thinking to Change Your Behavior

 

We all have habits and behaviors we wish we could change. But just being aware of a bad habit isn’t enough. To truly fix it, start by considering your goal (say, “I want my team to know that I trust them”) and the obstacles you expect to face along the way (“I struggle to delegate”). Next, frame what you will do about the obstacles as if-then statements. To address the delegation obstacle, for example, you could tell yourself: “If I start to feel uncomfortable about not completing the work myself, then I’ll ask for updates on it in our next team meeting.” Eventually the link between the cue (the “if” part of the statement) and the action (the “then”) will become strong enough to help you change how you react. By using if-then statements, you can think through what will get in your way and make a plan to overcome it.

Adapted from “Two Techniques for Helping Employees Change Ingrained Habits,” by Joel Constable

Click the link above to read the full article. You can subscribe to their email list on their website. 

Running a Hotel Business

Being that a hotel is an establishment that provides lodging paid on a short-term basis, the plan in organizing the structure of the hotels that we now own will indeed be challenging.  Furthermore obtaining research on the brand name our location and how the community is as well as the traffic the hotels will become a total success.  Making sure that there are no competitors in the immediate area but as well being careful not to price ourselves out of the market is very important.  Following this further making sure that our staff is the friendliest people with very warm personalities and an outgoing attitude will be great for the business and for that we can successfully deal with customer queries, as well as any problems that might arise from staff members (http://www.exebit.org).

            Moreover running a hotel or numerous hotels is not an easy job, ensuring that your guest are happy, please and satisfied with their rooms, the appearance of the hotel the staff can sometimes make you or break you especially when the  business is just getting off the ground.   Having high scores and managing the property and bringing in different things that the customers will like to be a part of will bring about good word of mouth.  Opening the doors to the community and helping out and while doing all of these things will bring about customers sharing with family members and friends that they know of a great hotel that you would be very please staying at since they are coming through town.    Running a hotel business(s) by using set procedures, and systems and good old-fashioned hard work can lead to you and the property earning a good profit and salary. 

            Obtaining the education that is needed to run a business’s smoothly will also open doors for the things that you are trying to accomplish when trying to open a hotel.  There are many different positions that plays a part in making sure that the property is running properly, after doing research the many different positions fall up under these category’s, Owner, General manager, Housekeeping, Banquet Manager, Accountant, Human Resources, Concierge, Director of Hotel Sales etc.  All of the positions play a major part in the success of the business and without the people in these positions the hotel there lies some type of failure.  Below is an organizational chart that lists and breaks down some of the necessary leaderships and positions for the company.

Organizational Chart

            The chart above analyze the positions that are some of the main faces of the hotel and the ones that the customers sees when checking in reports to when there is a problems and for general questions. 

            Within the organizational chart and for the positions that are listed each position, these positions job requirements and education levels in order for them obtain the position that they currently hold are:

A hotel General Manager oversees all staff and is in charge of all hotel operations. She/he usually has each department head reporting to her, such as the heads of housekeeping, human resources, and accounting, plus the kitchen and front desk supervisors. The salary for a General Manager varies from state to state, within the most recent research I have found that the highest paying amount for a General Manager with the highest degree of Bachelors of Science in Hotel Management is in the range of $46,978 - $120,188.  The position for a Front Desk Supervisor with the highest degree of Bachelor’s Degree is in the range of $16,615 - $41,889, the position of a Front Desk Clerk with a Bachelor’s Degree is in the pay range of $15,692 - $30,536; the position for an Executive Housekeeper with a Bachelor’s Degree the pay rage is $21,279 - $58,971.  The position for an Assistant Housekeeper with a Bachelors of Arts in Hospitality Management is in the pay range of $ 18,293 - $55,236, the position for a housekeeper with an Associate’s Degree the pay range is of $15,726 - $37,785.  Following this further the research that has been completed for the positions that are listed above are all qualifications that are needed or required to obtain the job in the field of hospitality. 

            Additionally in the future for the employees that are employed at my establishment will have to go through test and more training to keep up with the high demand and all of the new changes that are required.  Assuredly each position within the hotel operations are equally important and that makes things run smoothly to know that everyone is being treated fairly and equal.  The importance of a Middle Manager and supervision is that they are the skin to the department heads, these positions are responsible for everything in between that the main managers may forget or ideas the General Managers haven’t thought of.  The middle manager and the supervision are the glue to help keeping the operations flowing smoothly without a doubt.   As stated before all positions are equally important, I must states the main positions that are vital to the lodging that will allow for great success will be all, all of the positions are needed to help make everything possible. 

Literature Review on organizational structure, management, leadership, economics, government, law, value creation, and career skills

Literature Review on organizational structure, management, leadership, economics, government, law, value creation, and career skills

Introduction

Developing a literature review ensures that many sources are compared and contrasted for the best plan of action or strategic plan. Cross checking with many different sources ensures that the work is of top quality and leaves no gaps in knowledge. Inductive reasoning was applied in order to forecast the most likely outcome out of the different sources of material found in regards to organizational performance, value creation and career skills management coming up with solutions to commonly found problems in organizations.

Roles that structure, management, and leadership play in organizational performance.

            Organizational performance must be ensured within an organization through structure and management. Using transformational methods of management, in which a leader or manager interacts with the employees in a continuous work setting has been found to have a positive effect in organizational performance versus a transactional style of management where a manager or leader leverages rewards and punishment (Spahr, 2014)as a method to drive organizational performance (Felfe & Schyns, 2004). Transactional leadership is essentially a way of telling people what to do, rather than sell them on what to do through encouragement and incentives (Spahr, 2014). Implementing methods of information management are beneficial within a virtual organization as it allows for the documentation of performance and ensures that all metrics are being met in an organizational level (Strader, 1998).

            Essentially, coming up with ways to motivate employees through transformational, rather than transactional management can help drive performance. Ensuring that methods of management are right for the type of organization can also help increase performance and create a better environment for everyone involved.

Economics, government, and law affect value creation in the global context.

            Creating value is a difficult part of business management; daily businesses struggle with creating differentiators or value added services to their business to keep their clients. Ensuring that the clients have the best experience possible, that the businesses have a differentiator and that it provides benefits to the clients are some of the things that an organization can do to ensure that the customers see value in the products or services that are being provided to them (Rocca & Snehota, 2014). In addition, value creation can be seen in things such as, management of strategies and goals, financial measures and waste eliminators which lead to better organizational performance overall (Hillstrom, 2004). Essentially, providing a manner for improvement overall and ensuring that growth occurs over a long-term basis (Hindle, 2009).

Career skills in the field of business and management

            Guidance and training in a business environment has been found to increase morale, reduce supervision and increased productivity in a variety of businesses. Without training, organizations create ambiguity that impact all aspects of the organization and makes it less profitable in the long run (Management Study Guide, n.d.). In addition, training instills confidence in the employees, giving them the necessary push to do what they are doing in a better way knowing that they are educating the client and providing them with the best possible service available (Johnson, 1997). In addition, creating a rigid training course for a business position, allows the employers to set expectations and thus drive results in a more direct form and allowing employees to ease into a role (Dale Carnegie Training, 2016).

Conclusion

In conclusion, implementing a transitional style of management, instilling training programs and creating value creates a better organization overall. An organization that is better able to tackle and implement the necessary changes and meet objectives on a consistent basis through the use of motivation, confidence and necessary skills acquirement.

References

Dale Carnegie Training. (2016). Why Training Is Important to Employee Engagement. Retrieved from Dale Carnegie Training: http://www.dalecarnegie.com/why-training-is-important-to-employee-engagement/

Felfe, J., & Schyns, B. (2004). Is Similarity in Leadership Related to Organizational Outcomes? The Case of Transformational Leadership. Retrieved from Available from ABI/INFORM Collection.:

Hillstrom, L. C. (2004). Value Creation. Retrieved from Reference for Business: http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Tr-Z/Value-Creation.html

Hindle, T. (2009). Value creation. Retrieved from The Economist: http://www.economist.com/node/14301714

Johnson, T. (1997). Gaining the executive edge. Black Enterprise, 27, 103-107. Retrieved from Available from ABI/INFORM Collection.:

Management Study Guide. (n.d.). Training of Employees - Need and Importance of Training. Retrieved from Management Study Guide: http://www.managementstudyguide.com/training-of-employees.htm

Rocca, A. L., & Snehota, I. (2014). Value creation and organisational practices at firm boundaries. Retrieved from Available from ABI/INFORM Collection.: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/MD-04-2013-0229

Spahr, P. (2014). St. Thomas University. Retrieved from Transactional Leadership: http://online.stu.edu/transactional-leadership/

Strader, T. J. (1998). Information infrastructure for electronic virtual organization management. Retrieved from Science Direct: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167923698000372

What is the value of a hospitality client?

What is the value of a hospitality client?

Hotels and convention centers value customer feedback on the services and experience of each group.  Every convention is different, with varied levels of expectations from the contracting group as well as the services provided by the facility.  Evaluating the event afterwards to assess where there were problems and how to address them in the future is vital if a facility and a Service manager want to perfect their professionalism and enhance their ultimate success.  Billing and the event after it occurred was reviewed, now as a member of the Convention Services team, I have been asked to do a post-convention report evaluating how well our facility provided for the contracted services. 

            Based on the Service Manager’s notes from the event at the Renaissance Washington, DC Downtown Hotel, there were several things which went wrong.  Originally we anticipated there would be 2,000 people in attendance, but only 1,500 attendees showed up.  Due to this sudden change the following occurred: total F&B counts dropped for lunch with only 1,280 attendees on Wednesday; the video equipment was not working properly during the luncheon for the speaker on Tuesday; and there was no staff available in the AV office from 9a-11a on Wednesday.

            The original anticipation of 2,000 attendees would have generated a revenue for F&B in the amount of $1,005,000.  Due to the sudden change of 1,500 attendees showing up and only 1,280 attendees on Wednesday for lunch, the new F&B total was only $719,848 (Marriott International, 2014).  The price difference of $212,800 would have to be paid by the client to compensate for the loss of the hotel.  Our hotel’s F&B policy states a $150 labor charge will apply to all catered meal functions of less than 25 guests, but the client will not have to worry about the fee since their total is greater.  However, the policy states the expected number of guest cannot be reduced by more than 10% (200 guests) at the time we receive the guaranteed number of guests, and the client had a difference of 500 attendees.  The guaranteed number of guests for all F&B functions must be submitted to the event management department by 12:00p three (3) business days prior to the date/time of the function.  If the guarantee is not received by the cutoff date/time, we will assume the expected number of guests noted at the top of the BEO or the expected number of guest submitted ten (10) working days prior to the event as the guarantee (Marriott International, 2014, Para. 1).  Since the client did not inform us of this change in advance according to the contract they signed, they have to commit to the policy and still pay the anticipated original price. 

The video equipment was not working properly during the luncheon for the speaker on Tuesday which caused a lot of frustration to the speaker and the attendees who could not understand what was being said.  The AV equipment should have been tested properly prior to the event to see if any malfunctions were present, and the AV technician should have rectified the problem right then and there if it was possible.  If it was not possible to be repaired in-house then an outside vendor should have been called so the clients’ needs were met.  It was very unacceptable and unprofessional on the hotels part in regards to no staff being available in the AV office from 9a-11a on Wednesday, and compensation needs to be given to the client in a credit for the balance owed for F&B. 

In order for these mishaps to not occur when planning future events, some changes need to occur before we lose business when the clients inform others.  Some changes needing to be made to ensure future success of such an event is fully communicating to the client/planner what the contract means, and having them clarify they fully understand their obligation to maintain the required attendance and the percentage allowable for decrease in numbers.  If the client does not fully understand, it is our responsibility to ensure everyone is on the same page and happy with all decisions before they sign their names on the dotted lines.  You can also do follow-up phone calls before the contract deadlines to verify there are no amendments needing to be made. 

The hotel may need to update their AV equipment if they continually have this problem after the AV Technician has done all they can to repair the malfunction.  Also, having a backup or AV Technician Assistant on-site can help if the AV Technician is not available during normal operating times.  This ensures the hotel stands up to their 100% satisfaction guarantee, and the client is happy and returns for another event.  When the client is happy they may also refer your services to others they network with, thus generating constant revenue and increasing clientele for your company. 

References

Events (2014). Marriott International. Retrieved from:

            http://event-menus.com/production/WASRB/259/hotels/travel/WASRB-renaissance-washington-dc-downtown-hotel/print.aspx?marsha=WASRB&sid=259

General Information (2014). Marriott International. Retrieved from:

            http://event-menus.com/production/WASRB/259/hotels/travel/WASRB-renaissance-washington-dc-downtown-hotel/info.asp

Tim's Coffee Shop

TIM'S COFFEE SHOP

Executive Summary

Tim not having a business degree is not hurting him in his business as much as he thinks it is. My mother owns her own business and never took a business class in her life. She is a computer major and has a bachelor in computer science. Having a degree helps when running a business but is not necessary. Having the degree in business can help improve the business but all the research on running a business can help as well.

                  One thing time can improve on is technology. Having everything in computer format can help with calculating the bills and other inventory things correctly. Adding a cash register that is ran by a computer will help put in accurate amounts of each product that the customer purchases. In the files of the surveys customers were complaining about not having the right amount on the bill. The customers also complained about the staff. Also coffee is being said to be burnt or cold. Customers have the right to their own taste buds.

                  When it comes to employees, Tim needs to take a look on their day to day schedules. If he notices that the customers are noticing that customers are not getting proper service Tim should take the employees back to the office and discuss what they need to improve on or what needs to change for the business to have the best customer service.

                  Tim needs to realize the SWOT of the business. Strengths are that the business is in a very good location. Weakness would be the coffee being burnt and the staff not paying attention to customers and doing their bills incorrectly. Opportunities would be to employ people that will take more care in their work, improve technology, and find out why the coffee is being burnt. Threats would be new competition moving into the area. This could hurt Tim by taking away his business. The new restaurants could offer different flavors of coffee, more options of breakfast foods, and more seating.

                  One way to increase the opportunities is to increase seating. Another way to help with customer satisfaction is to have a limit that customers are allowed to sit in the restaurant. Customers are complaining about there always being college students taking up the seating. Adding more tables or add on another room strictly for customers that are wanting to stay using the Wi-Fi would be a good way to separate them from the business customers that want to get in and out during their breakfast/lunch break. 

                  When it comes to the business side of things, all the incomes statements and the balance sheet looks great. There is a low net income for the past year. One way to increase this could be to raise the prices even just a little to help increase profit. Another way would to be to make all the pastries in house instead of purchasing them from another company. This way the company could make a mass quantity and order bulk in the product to make the pastries. The products to make the pastries could also be used to make other products to put in the restaurant. When looking to buy supplies Tim could do research from different companies and compare prices to make sure that Tim is getting the best pricing for the products. To help solve the cash income could be solved with that technology at the restaurant. This would help insure that all of the inventory being sold is being paid for in full. 

Regulations and Management

 Summary

Management should be able to go talk to staff or have the staff come to the manager to be able to talk about problems. Management needs to be able to point out the problems once they have read the customer surveys. When looking at the surveys for the day you can look at what staff was working that day and sit and talk with those staff members to see what needs to be improved on and what the whole business needs to work on.

Action Items

            Tim needs to sit down with his employees and see what the problem is. Look at what the business should do to improve itself. HR is in charge of all the behind the scenes in the business. HR controls the payroll and is in charge of payroll and being in charge of the regulations. HR manages are to oversee and administer the programs. They are to ensure businesses adhere to following the complex employment laws.

            When looking at hiring more employees you need to take some things into consideration. Past employment is a big thing to take into consideration when hiring new employees. Do they have the work experience to do the job, with past jobs how long do they keep those jobs, and do they have good reliable references that will back up their good work ethic? All these questions are and need to be taken into consideration. If in the past a person has only kept a job for a few months at a time they do not want to have them hired on. How many times has the person been fired? All considerations that HR needs to keep in mind.

References

Associates Capstone in Management. (2012). Retrieved from Tim's Coffee Shoppe simulation:   

                  http://extmedia.kaplan.edu/business/Media/AB299/Tims_Coffee_Shop/index.html

 

Longenecker, P. P. (2012,2014). Small Business Management. Cenage Learning.

Management versus Leadership

Management versus Leadership

Leadership means a person could be alone in his or her initial vision, and it implies some risk. These people are innovators. Their job is to inspire others to see and believe in the vision and goals of the organization or initiative.

Management means responsibility for administration of a plan or carrying out the plan or initiative through others.

Leadership…What is it?

According to Dubrin (2010), leaders inspire others to follow them in realizing goals. Depending on the organization or team of people being led, the definition can have different nuances. A famous U.S. football quarterback once said that a leader is the one willing to “take the blame” (as cited in Dubrin, 2010, p. 3).

Leaders can move whole nations to action. One example of this is Winston Churchill’s famous radio broadcasts (as Prime Minister) in the United Kingdom duringWorldWar II (1939–
1945). On the brink of defeat in the campaign against Germany, Churchill refused to be conquered or accept anything less than total surrender from the enemy. His broadcasts and speeches inspired the entirety of the nation to keep on fighting. However, Churchill also risked ridicule at the very beginning of the war when he warned the public of the threat of Hitler’s
ambitions in Europe.

Sometimes a leader can be a visionary such as Steve Jobs at Apple®. Jobs pioneered a vision of streamlined products that interacted in a user-friendly manner. His penchant for simplified or sleek design of the company products in response to consumer needs drove industry growth and inspired competitors.

Leadership Skills

 
Executive skills needed by leaders according to Hackman andWalton (1986) are: being able to see and communicate the big picture or the end goal to others, negotiating for needed resources, making good decisions after consulting all available data and viewpoints, empowering others to develop and learn, and working well with a diverse range of people to accomplish goals (Hickman, 2010, p.222).
One great individual possessing these leadership skills was former U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. He assembled a cabinet of people around him who, in some cases, had initially been his adversaries, but he knew that having a diverse range of thought, talent, and debate would benefit both the country and his ability to make good decisions. He also would tell story after story to drive home an idea or make his argument and sway opinion to his side. The public could relate to him because these were stories they could all understand and which were based on common sense and everyday day life. He also timed his decisions so that he would propose a new law or announce a decision when he knew the public was ready for it, and as a result they were able to accept it (Goodwin, 2005).

As we move into the 21st Century, leadership is becoming increasingly more collaborative. As the world becomes more globalized, and thus more complex, so too does the nature of leadership. Collaborative leadership is based on the idea that no one has all the answers and expertise at everything. Now the leader becomes more of a facilitator, empowering and motivating the team (Hickman, 2010). This type of leadership is characterized by fostering diversity and learning, soliciting feedback and opinions of the group, and supporting the group’s decisions. It also involves mentoring team members and empowering others to lead special project or assignment teams. However, this collaborative leadership model must be balanced with the need for timely decision-making as the pace of business increases with globalization and increased productivity through the use of technology.

Leadership Styles

There are various leadership styles. See if you can recognize your leadership style from this list:
The Transactional Leader: Employees comply with the leader’s requests, and they are judged on performance and paid accordingly. These leaders want to change things for the better and work through their employees to accomplish the goal. A version of this style is the task-oriented leader who really discounts team input in order to get the job done on a timely basis. The latter style results in higher turnover and absenteeism.

The Autocratic Leader: This leadership style is efficient. The leader tells the employees or team what needs to be done; team members are expected to comply without any questioning whether the action is the best way to accomplish the goals. This style can lead to high turnover, but it can be effective in military situations and some unskilled positions.

The Charismatic versus Transformational Leader: The charismatic leader has a personality that inspires others. Such leaders are excited about the goals and, as a result, they can motivate others. However, their excitement may make them driven but oblivious to empowering others or oblivious to the pitfalls of their strategies. Steve Jobs would be an example of a charismatic leader. When Steve Jobs was not at the company he helped found, Apple, Inc., the company floundered.While the transformational leader is admired by employees and therefore influences employees behavior. These leaders are risk takers while instilling a sense of mission and zeal in their employees. These leaders coach each employee and act as mentors to inspire and empower their employees. They provide clear guidelines for both behavior and expectations as well as goals and how to get there. But they encourage employees to be innovative in reaching those goals.

Bureaucratic Leaders versus Participative Leaders versus Laissez faire leaders:

Bureaucratic leaders follow the rules verbatim, which is good when the goal is safety (toxins and dangerous machinery for instance). However, this style stifles any creativity or career advancement based on anything other than abiding by the rules.

The participative leader allows team decision-making and reaches team consensus to move forward, which in turn empowers the team and can lead to better decisions. The downside of this style is that it is not efficient.When time is of the essence this is not an advantageous style.

The extreme version of this style can be people first type of style where the leader loses track of the goal in their quest to better the team.

Laissez faire is French for, let do or act, meaning this leader really lets everyone do as they wish. It is really non–leadership. This form of leadership is more likely to occur in a startup company where someone is designated the leader but, in essence, everyone involved is deciding and doing. This is not an effective leadership style, as ultimately it leads to conflict and, at worst, it can stymie an organization and the employees from effectively reaching their goals.

Leadership Styles:

The reality is that most leaders use a variety of styles at various points. However, there is usually a predominant leadership style.

References

Bass, B. M. & Riggio, R. E. (2010). The transformation model of leadership. In G. R. Hickman (Ed.), Leading Organizations: Perspectives for a new era (pp.76–85). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE

Dubrin, A. J. (2010). Leadership: Research findings, practice, and skills (6th ed.). Mason, OH: Cengage.

Goodwin, D.K. (2005). Team of rivals. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.

Hackman, J.R. (2010). Leading teams: Imperatives for leaders. In G. R. Hickman (Ed.), Leading organizations: Perspectives for a new era. (pp. 206–238). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE

Hickman, G. R. Ed. (2010). Leading organizations: Perspectives for a new era (2nd ed.).
Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE

Hicks, D. A. (2010). Globalization. In G. R. Hickman (Ed.), Leading organizations: Perspectives for a new era. (pp. 14–20). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE