Running Head: LEADERSHIP 1

Leadership on an Organization

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Introduction

Often, people talk about leadership to imply a position of power that is held by a person

such that these individuals exercise interpersonal influence over a group of others. Therefore,

leaders are at the center of the power structure and as such, they keep the group in a cohesive

mode and leads it to achieve its goals. Leaders, in any case, emerge because they have distinct

qualities and characteristics or they are commonly consented by the members of the group.

Leadership is an influential position and this is the case because those in this position as

leaders have the ability to regulate, shape, control, and alter the behaviors and actions of the

members of the group. This in turn works towards ensuring that they have a profound impact in

influencing the performance of these individuals in their groups. Such influence requires that

leaders have knowledge and experience, they have the necessary resources for rewarding and

dispensing favors and they possess the necessary charisma. Additionally, they must have unique

personality characteristics, for instance, they need to have the ability to communicate and

understand others. The purpose of this paper is to delineate the purpose of leadership and its

integral importance to an organization and examine the leadership theory and its components

before expounding how these components would benefit organizations.

Purpose of Leadership

According to Yukl (2018) leadership is critical in articulating a vision for an organization

and this means that leaders establish the purpose and direction such that other workers in the

organization follow him. Defining the vision of the organization is the inherent strength of

leadership because leaders are entitled to imagining a better and successful future for the

organization as well as the ways of achieving the desired success. Consequently, this implies that

in leadership, it is imperative that dissimilar problems are collected and synthesized in a manner
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that they are articulate a better future. Visionary leaders, therefore, tend to express dissatisfaction

with the current state of things and therefore draft a plan that will change things for the better

before they motivate followers with a clear description of what has to be achieved. Vision, at all

times, must target serving the organization as well as its employees and this implies that workers

follow because they want to and not because they must follow. It is critical that leadership

considers various factors before articulating a vision. They must ensure that the vision is

compelling and realistic, it brings meaning to employees, it is motivational and it projects a

bright future.

Another purpose of leadership as explained by (Yukl, 2018) is to motivate employees.

Explains that motivating employees involves finding the needs and wants of each worker and

giving them what they need as well as praise them for a job well done. A good leader

understands that incentivizing workers with respect to their unique needs and wants works

encouraging them to give all they can because they feel like part of the organization. Motivating

might be simple gestures of providing the employees with a sweet treat for their efforts and this

works to increase the organization’s productivity.

According to Yukl (2018), leadership forms an important part in any organization

because it facilitates in guiding employees. At all times, leadership is concerned with defining

the role of employees in the work process and consequently provides them with the necessary

tools that will ensure that they accomplish their assigned duties. Often, orders in any

organization are to perform tasks that need intricate details. For instance, workers in the

marketing department need a specific and detailed description of what they need to do to win

customers and it is the duty of leaders to provide these workers with these intricate details. Good
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leadership involves explaining the tasks, providing the workers with the necessary tools, and

directing these workers to ensure that they complete these tasks successfully.

Building morale is also an important role that leadership plays in any organization. It is a

process that involves pulling every worker together so that they work cohesively towards a

common goal. Usually, organizational takes are stressful such that workers often find themselves

placed in high-stress situations. It in turn creates an undesirable situation whereby workers in a

unit lose focus and to the extreme shut down emotionally. According to Rawat (2015), good

leadership must focus on letting the workers understand how much their work is appreciated. A

simple gesture like celebrating an achieved business milestone can reignite the workers’ spirits.

Leadership is therefore important in organizations because it provides effective direction

that ensures that they achieve their set objectives. At the same time leadership is the source of

motivation that drives workers for higher productivity which leads to overall organizational

success. Additionally, it is the source of high morale which drives employees to higher

productivity. It is usually complemented by the development of team spirit that is critical to

ensuring that the organization functions as a unit. Consequently, it becomes easier for

organizations to achieve success. High morale, motivation, confidence, and team spirit that are

created by leadership are important in that they help the organization to overcome resistance to

change (Rawat, 2015). It is impossible for an organization to achieve its vision if resistance to

implement the desired change prevails. Therefore leadership facilitates overcoming resistance

and get them on board.

Most Compelling Leadership Theory

Situation theory of leadership is the most compelling. According to situational theory, a

leader is most effective when they consider specific situations to determine the most effective
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leadership style they will utilize. The assumption in this theory is that leaders should not set a

specific leadership style but rather evaluate their teams by asking the specific situation of their

organizations (Thompson & Vecchio, 2019). There are several basic characteristics of this theory

that makes it not only interesting but practical. One of the most important features of this theory

is flexibility in that the fundamental idea is that there is no single best type of leadership

(Thompson & Vecchio, 2019). It is an interesting characteristic because it offers leaders a greater

chance of success in that they implement their styles relative to the level of maturity of their

teams. Consequently, this means that leaders always have a way out in coping with any situation.

The other important characteristic of this theory is that it encourages directing and

coaching. Directing, in this case, implies that leaders give specific instructions and follow up

especially when the team is not sufficiently developed. This in turn makes it easier for the leader

to ensure that they lead the team to successful goals’ accomplishment. Need for clear vision is

the other important characteristic of this theory (Thompson & Vecchio, 2019) (Thompson &

Vecchio, 2019). If leaders have to change their styles to fit specific situations, they need to

understand where the team is moving and this is the reason they must articulate a clear vision. As

a result, these leaders can identify the most effective strategies to achieve the goal in question.

The other important characteristic is participating considering that situational leaders encourage

their teams to work more independently (Thompson & Vecchio, 2019). Therefore, although

these leaders constantly supervise their teams they also need to give them the freedom to

participate in the decision-making process.

How Situational Leadership Components Benefits organizations

The above characteristics of situational leadership theory are beneficial to organizations.

Flexibility is a critical phenomenon, especially in the modern world of intense competition.

Organizations need to act fast to changing business situations and this calls for flexibility which

is offered by this leadership theory. Consequently, it means that with flexibility, leaders and their

respective teams quickly adapt to changes (Thompson & Vecchio, 2019). Directing and coaching

are also important to the success of any organization. Usually, it is critical that leaders in any

organization define the roles of every worker and at the same time supervise them to ensure that

they are doing what is expected of them. Close monitoring of workers ensures that the

organization achieves its set goals and objectives. This goes hand in hand with coaching which

helps to make the employees better their skills which translates to increased organizational

performance. Clear vision on its part ensures that every worker understands what is expected of

them and how they can achieve it (Thompson & Vecchio, 2019). This makes it easier for an

organization to achieve its overall goals and objectives. Participation is important in its own way

in that it facilitates collaboration. Teamwork is the most desirable and the most effective way of

achieving organizational success and this is the reason why all organizations primarily focus on

creating collaborative work environments.

Conclusion

Leadership is influential in any organization in that leaders are responsible for regulating,

shaping, controlling, and altering the behaviors and actions of workers. Leadership is critical in

articulating a vision for an organization, motivating employees, guiding employees, and building

employees’ morale. Consequently, this guides an organization in the right direction, propelling it

to success. Situation theory of leadership is the most compelling theory and is characterized by

flexibility, focus on directing and coaching, need for clear vision, and encouragement of

participation. These are characteristics that help to drive any organization to its success. It is

important for any organization to implement effective leadership as this helps to bring diverse
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people together and propel them for a common cause and empower workers to ensure that they

realize their full potential. In the long-run, this works towards facilitating overall organizational

success.
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References

Rawat, S. (2015). Impact of Leadership over Employee Morale and Motivation. Indian Journal

Of Science And Technology, 8(S6), 25. doi: 10.17485/ijst/2015/v8is6/62118

Thompson, G., & Vecchio, R. (2019). Situational leadership theory: A test of three versions. The

Leadership Quarterly, 20(5), 837-848. doi: 10.1016/j.leaqua.2009.06.014

Yukl, G. (2018). How leaders influence organizational effectiveness. The Leadership

Quarterly, 19(6), 708-722. doi: 10.1016/j.leaqua.2008.09.008