Authentic Leadership

Authentic Leadership
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Table of contents
Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u Table of contents PAGEREF _Toc310423840 \h 2Introduction PAGEREF _Toc310423841 \h 3Taking a position of leadership PAGEREF _Toc310423842 \h 4Developing a leadership philosophy PAGEREF _Toc310423843 \h 4Personal statement PAGEREF _Toc310423844 \h 5Personal work sheet PAGEREF _Toc310423845 \h 5Leadership Beliefs and Assumptions PAGEREF _Toc310423846 \h 6Leadership styles PAGEREF _Toc310423847 \h 8Attributes of an authentic leader PAGEREF _Toc310423848 \h 11Qualities of a leader PAGEREF _Toc310423849 \h 13Roles of leadership PAGEREF _Toc310423850 \h 14Critical Evaluation of how I can apply my strengths to ensure authentic Leadership PAGEREF _Toc310423851 \h 17Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc310423852 \h 20References PAGEREF _Toc310423853 \h 21
Introduction
Leadership may be defined as the process of directing the behaviors of others towards successful accomplishment of some specific objectives as explained by (Montana and Charnov, 2008). (Judge et al, 2002) defined leadership as the process of organizing a group towards achieving a set goal. They observed that leadership calls for social influence in which the leader solicits for the support and engagement of others for achievement of a particular goal. (Judge et al, 2002) defined a leader as a person who has followers and argued that for one to lead, they must have earned the respect and confidence of those they lead.
As a social process, (Judge et al, 2002) noted that leadership is a complex activity that involves; influencing others, dealing with different personalities and being faced with diverse outcomes of the process. To achieve the desired goals of leadership, the leader has to have leadership qualities which are the personal attributes that constitute includes diverse characteristics such as values character, motivation, habits, traits, style, behaviors and skills. (Judge et al, 2002) explained that good leadership is important at work place for it helps to build a cohesive team that can achieve the organizational goals. A leader has other numerous roles in an organization such as that of inspiration, supervising and coordinating his subordinates. (Montana and Charnov, 2008) noted that there are different styles of leadership including authoritative leadership, democratic leadership and laissez-faire style all of which are a product of a personal philosophy. A leader may have formal authority or may not.
Leaders set the direction for the followers, and help them see what lies ahead. They help employees visualize what the organization sets to achieve. Without effective and authentic leadership, a group of people result into arguments and conflict since every member of the group sees things in a different way and hold onto different solutions. Leadership helps to harmonize our views towards achieving a particular goal. In the paper, I will also analyze my strengths to evaluate whether I can make a good leader.
Taking a position of leadership
To take position of leadership, (Judge et al, 2002) observed that one has to have a vision of what they want to be accomplished. One has to be committed to the mission of the organization and the people they lead. One has to also be ready to take responsibility for achieving of the mission and the welfare of those one leads and be ready to shoulder the risk of failure and losses that could cope up due ones leadership. One also has to accept recognition for success.
Developing a leadership philosophy
(Leadership Paradigms, 2006) explain that leadership philosophy describes how we see ourselves as leaders. The philosophy dictates our behaviors, thoughts and actions. Our philosophies as leaders are influenced by the internal and external environment. To understand our leadership philosophies, (Leadership Paradigms, 2006) argue that a person has to evaluate and reflect their personal values, beliefs and assumptions about leadership. Personal attributes are the characteristics that one values. Some people have a personal belief that they would rather quit a leadership position rather than have their morals compromised. Personal attributes guide ones intentions for leadership and influence ones leadership style. When one holds the personal attributes highly and understands them clearly; they create a solid foundation for leading. Ones attributes can be identified from a personal mission statement and their personal asset work sheet.
Personal statement
I believe in healthy eating, checking my weight and participating I sports.
I believe in sleeping enough at least eight hours a day.
I believe in directing all my energies on my most important priorities.
I want a big goal for my future and the world I live in.
I believe in inspiring and energizing those who I lead
I believe in getting out of the bed early to get everything on my program done.
Personal work sheet
Things that I like doing:
I check my diet and my weight regularly
I always like to sleep eight or more hours a day
Participate in sports everyday
Focusing all my attention on my most important priorities
Waking up early in the morning doing the activities in my program
I am future oriented and have set big goals for myself.
Things I don't like doing:
I do not like working regularly
I do not study daily
Options:
Focus my attention on the most important priorities but compromise on my productivity.
Past accomplishments:
I have been a leader, leading a group
Skills:
I inspire and energize those who I lead
Leadership Beliefs and Assumptions
(Leadership Paradigms, 2006) notes that leadership beliefs are ideas that we take to be true and they help to shape the realities. There are various beliefs held by people on how leadership should be. These viewpoints include the belief that a leader must have a vision and must be able to communicate their visions to those they lead. There is also the belief that the vision by the leader should be allowed to evolve to a shared vision. Leadership must also be guided by the vision and that leaders are always willing to make hard decisions to achieve their vision. There is also a belief that in leadership, leaders are always willing to risk unsuccessful outcomes to achieve their vision.
Assumptions are ideas that are assumed to be true. (Leadership Paradigms, 2006) notes that assumptions may be held by people that one leads and also the leaders themselves. For one to be an effective leader, it is important to understand the assumptions that drive your leadership style. Leaders are mostly unaware of the assumptions of leadership but they can uncover this by deep reflection. To uncover ones definition of the assumptions of leadership, one may reflect on two leadership situations in which the first was successful leadership and the second was a failure. From the two, one then tries to evaluate the various reasons why they think their leadership failed or succeeded and who has influenced that interpretation.
(Charlene, 2010) explains that in leadership one should be guided by belief and should always committed be to remain faithful to their personal values and uphold their integrity. He explains that there is a belief that leaders are always willing to make their motives and thoughts open so that they can be known by others. There is a belief and assumption that a person in the position leadership seeks divergent views and ideas to improve his leadership. (Charlene, 2010) observes there is a belief that leaders arise rather than being designated. Though for some people, they seem to be born leaders, everyone can develop leadership skills and everyone one have different leadership styles and consequently everyone can lead.
(Charlene, 2010) explains that there is an assumption that a leader can lead from any position and that they always lead rather than manage. It is also an assumption that leaders always respect those they lead and their view points. There is an assumption that leaders have trust in their followers and belief that all people are inherently good and so they always strive to do well. It is also assumed that leaders listen, evaluate, research and seek personal growth in addition to helping others achieve personal growth. In general, it is assumed that leaders are always sensitive to the issues of those they lead.
There is also an assumption that leaders have a sense of humor where in all cases humor is seen to help ease the tension, helps people to bond and create a comfortable environment. It is a belief that leaders laugh with those they lead and strive to maintain a positive attitude regardless of the situation. (Leadership Paradigms, 2006) notes that it is assumed that leaders are always flexible and they always have ideas of what they need to be done. There is also a belief that in leadership, one uses both the head and the heart. The assumption is that leaders analyze the situation in their head but also take into consideration what their heart tells them. There is a belief that in leadership, one has to combine courage brains, heart, and courage.
In addition, (Charlene, 2010) observes that leaders are believed to be self-starters and they take the initiative of finding solutions for a particular in the organization. They evaluate the situation, analyze the situation and act according.
Leadership styles
The leadership philosophy, determines the style of leadership that is adopted by an individual. (Clark, 2004) explains that leadership style is approach and the manner that is used in providing direction, motivating people and implementing plans. He notes that there are basically three styles of leadership including; authoritarian, democratic and laissez-faire style. Good leaders are observed to use the three styles but emphasis on one, but poor leaders stick to using only one leadership style.
(Clark, 2004) defines authoritative leadership as a style of leadership where the leader tells the followers what and how they want things done without getting the advice of the employees. He argues that the style is most appropriate for use when the leader has all the facts about what they want done and how it is to be done. It is also applied when the leader is constrained by time required to implement the project and the employees are well motivated. Authoritarian style however does not imply yelling, use of abusive language or leading by use of threats. This is unprofessional leadership style known as bossing people around. Authoritative style ought to only be used on rare occasions when there is no enough time to implement an activity. (Clark, 2004) observes that continued use of authoritative leadership style has detrimental impacts on the employees as it does not empower them and it hinders team work. Evaluating a person`s leadership philosophy can be an indicator whether such person can use authoritative style. For example people who have a philosophy that everything should be done their way are most likely to adopt authoritative leadership. Those individuals who always want to attribute the success of the team to themselves also adopt this style.
Democratic leadership also referred to as participative leadership involves the leader involving one or more member of the team they lead in the decision making process of what to do and how to do it as noted by (Clark, 2004). The leader however holds the final decision on how the decision. Use of this style does not indicate that the leader is weak; to the contrary, it is a sign that the leader has faith in the team he leads. Democratic leadership is used when one has part of the information while the employees have the other part. For instance, in the case of implementation of an IT system in an organization, the leader of the organization could apply democratic leadership where they discuss with staff from the IT department on the most effective system that the organization can adopt. This style is informed by the understanding that a leader cannot be all knowing. (Clark, 2004) notes that use of this style brings mutual benefits on the organization since it helps to build a team and it also allows for better decisions.
Laissez-faire leadership style also known as the free reign style is a leadership style where the leaders delegate their authority to members of their team as noted by (Clark, 2004). He argues that in the style, employees are allowed to make decisions but the leader is responsible for the decision made. Laissez-faire is a French word which means noninterference in the affairs of others. The style is appropriate when the followers are able to evaluate the situation and determine what requires to be done and how it should be done. A leader cannot handle everything and therefore it is important that they delegate some of their authority. In using the style the leader shows that he or she has utmost trust on the people that they lead. The leader must avoid using the style and then turning around to turn the blame on the employees in case things go wrong.
(Clark, 2004) argues that an effective leader uses the combination of all the three styles. The choice of the leadership style is influenced by many factors including the leader`s personal philosophy, the followers and the situation. The factors that influence leadership style are known as forces. For instance when there is a new employee in the organization, the leader will use authoritative style since the new staff does not have adequate information on the operations of the organization and therefore the leader uses authoritative leadership to train him on the job skills.
Participative leadership is mostly used on a team that knows their job. The leader does not have all the information on the task and has trust on the team as explained by (Clark, 2004). This kind of leadership creates a cohesive team and is the best to empower the people that one leads. A leader who likes empowering his followers will use participative leadership to achieve his mission. Delegative leadership is used on the workers who know about the job. Since the leader cannot do everything or know everything the leader chooses to use free reign leadership. In using this style the leaders must have faith on the people they lead.
(Clark, 2004) notes that there are a variety of factors that influence the style to be implemented which includes the time available, whether the relationship is based on mutual trust and respect or not and the group that has the required skills. It also depends on how well the team members know the task, the type of task and the internal conflicts within the organization. Failure to use the right leadership style can have devastating impacts on the productivity of the organization, morale of the staff and in turn compromise customer satisfaction. While effective leaders use rewards to their staff such as independence, financial incentives and other non-material incentives to motivate their team, negative leaders use coercion and are domineering to have things done. This results in low morale of the staff.
A leader may be driven by either consideration or the structure approach. In the consideration approach, leaders are concerned about the welfare of their followers. Consequently, they strive to build a team, help the employees with their problems and provide psychological support for the employees. On the other hand, a structure is oriented to tasks and they believe that they can only get results by keeping peo...