Essay On Situational, Transformational, And Servant Leadership Approaches.

1.Learning Outcomes:

• Identify key functions and skills required of management within an organization.
• Identify and analyze leadership approaches in a variety of situations.
• Develop a personal management profile through introspection and reflection.

In your own words, explain Situational, Transformational, and Servant Leadership. Do NOT simply provide a brief textbook definition. Be thorough and explain the overall philosophy behind each approach. Although you may refer to the textbook, I am also looking for your own thoughts and perspectives for each of these leadership approaches.

2. Of these three approaches, do you feel one is more effective than the others? Justify your response.
3. Reflect on your own experiences (personal and/ or professional) and provide one example of a time in your life where you, or someone you know, has illustrated any one of these leadership approaches, whether it be in a workplace setting or in some other setting. Describe your experience and clearly illustrate the relevance and application of the leadership approach that was used.1.Identify three leadership traits from the Trait Theory you feel you do OR do not possess. E.g. you may identify three that you do possess, or three that you do not

possess, or one you possess and two you do not possess, etc. It is up to you. Be sure to justify your responses. Provide specific examples from your life for each trait you identify.

2. Identify one trait, characteristic, or personality trait which does NOT belong to the Trait Theory that you feel you possess which would help you become an effective leader.
3. Based on your analysis, do you feel you would be (are) an effective leader? Why or why not? Explain.

Working Philosophy of Situational, Transformational, and Servant Leadership Approaches

• Some of the traits of me  from trait theory are as follows :
• Interpersonal skills–The interpersonal skills is one of the trait in trait theory, which relates to understanding of human behaviour (Dinh et al., 2014). The interpersonal skills can be utilized in knowing the concern of the employees, which is leading to their dissatisfaction. In my earlier company where I worked as team leader there was growing concern about the dissatisfaction of employees and they were not motivated to work, utilizing my interpersonal skills I motivated them to persist with the company.
• Decision-making– Decision-making is the trait of trait theory, which can be utilized (Fleeson & Jayawickreme, 2015). In the situation of adversity that included decrease in sales in an organization where I worked earlier, the decision-making ability was effective to devise strategy to overcome issues like drop of sales (Pettigrew, 2014).
• Charisma–A charismatic leader can influence the employees so that they are more committed to the organizational activities. Being the team leader of the present organization I am working, my charismatic attributes improve the morale of the employees of an organization and help to achieve the goals of the organization.
• One key trait or characteristic that is absent in the trait theory but its utilization would help to become an effective leader is :
• Taking Risks- Taking Risk is one of the trait that is not mentioned in trait theory but it is very key aspect of leadership (Woodman et al., 2013). A good leader always has the ability to foresee some plans or strategy, which may seems risky but at the end, it benefits the organization. Therefore, it is necessary to be creative and possess the ability to take calculative risks.
• I possess several traits or characteristics that are required to become a successful and effective leader. Some of the key traits possessed by me which defines me as a effective and efficient leader to help the organization to overcome atrocities and reach its goals and objectives are :
• Decision making power- Decision making power is the most important attribute of an effective leader, it enables them to make tough decisions when the circumstance demands.
• Communication skills–In an organization, it is important that the employees from upper level to lower level management are well aware of the goals, objectives, success and failure of the organization. For this, a proper communication is required between management leaders and employees.
• Team building skills–Team building skills is an important attribute of effective leaders. It is important to support employees, which would facilitate their progress to attain the goals of organization.

• In a situational leadership the current scenario is assessed and changes are made in the leadership approach considering the involvement of the people and the task present in hand .The situational leadership deals with the current or present circumstances in order to obtain best short-term outcome (McCleskey, 2014). A situational leader analyzes the situation thoroughly before implementing any action or solution by considering factors like service problems, product error and customer complaints.

If a company encounters changes, adoption of a transformational style facilitates the leaders and then employees to make a transition or shift from one state to another state. The transformational leaders influence the employees under them and motivate them with their charismatic traits (Yukl, 2013).  The situation of transformational leadership comes into effect when there is a scenario of producing new products or providing new services .It is the transformational leader who communicates the new direction.

Transformational and Servant Leadership are quite similar to each other in working .Servant leadership is a leadership philosophy that is different from traditional leadership. In Servant leadership the service of customer is given  more priority (Giltinane, 2013) .It is concerned with the success of the stakeholders that includes the employees ,customers ,society and others.

• The Servant Leadership is the most effective leadership style among the Situational, Transformational and Servant Leadership style .The Servant leadership is unique and different from traditional leadership approaches. In Servant leadership styles the stakeholders of the organization are given more priority (Bryman,  2013).This is essential as proper efficiency of the stakeholders in an organization determines the success or failures of an organization and achieving the goals and objectives of the organization.
• I was associated with an NGO (Non Government Organization) which used to engage in works of charity and social responsibility. I came across a woman, who was the head of the NGO, she used perform various activities that includes charity work and other social services .She was the leader who is truly the exhibitor of Servant Leadership. Because of her Samaritan activities and social work, she gained mass popularity in short span of time.

The leader who has used power and influence in a positive way was Mother Teresa. She was a situational leader .She used to help people according to situation. If someone were deprived of food, she would offer her food, or provide shelter to the homeless. She would always found a remedy to help people according to situation.

The leader who has used power and influence in a harmful way was Adolf Hitler. He was a German politician and the leader of Nazi party He used his authority and power in harmful way and was responsible for the mass killing of the Jews. After Hitler rose to power in Germany, he passed a law pertaining to which the Jews were excluded from the civil society. He was a leader who professed dictatorship. Due to his detrimental policies and approach he was hated by many sections of the society.

• Hersey-Blanchard Model is one of the models of situational leadership (Meirovich & Gu, 2015). In this model the leader, adjust their leadership styles based on the follower maturity, which is determined by the confidence and ability of the group, which is to be lead .In the scenario of leading the group as a team leader where the group members are motivated as well as competent. I would opt for the Delegating style of leadership. In this style of leadership, I would allow the group to take responsibility of taking decisions.
• In the scenario where I am the department head and it comes to notice that one inexperienced employee is not following assigned tasks even though he is eager to learn, I would consider following the directive style of leadership. This style is adopted from the Path-Goal Model (Malik, 2013) .This style would be effective considering the employee noit experienced, it should be made clear what is expected of him.
• Using the trait theory the traits expected from a General Manager of a restaurant or bar considering the scenario of decreased sales and low employee motivation are as follows:
• Charismatic traits–This trait would influence the employees to follow the attribute of the General Manager and opt not leave the restaurant or brand be committed to the organization.
• Decision making skills- The decision making skills of the General Manger would help the restaurant or bar to come out of the adverse situation like decreased sales by taking appropriate decisions in order to increase sales of restaurant or bar .
• Interpersonal skills–The interpersonal skills of the General Manager would help them to communicate with the employees and solve the issue troubling them so that they can be happy and satisfied.
• In the scenario when a employee is underperforming and lacking confidence, the leadership style which should be considered is supportive style of leadership. This leadership style is one of the style followed in Path-Goal Model. In this approach the leader shows concern to the employees by being friendly and approachable so that he is confident to perform.
• In the scenario where the employees are unsure of the tasks they are supposed to do and it results in conflicts, the best leadership style to follow is directive style .The directive style approach is part of the Path-Goal Model (Alanazi,  Alharthey & Rasli, 2013). This style is effective when the employees are unsure about their tasks and goals.

As a potential and future leader I would like to imbibe and develop some key characteristics in me that would help me to become a effective and influencing leader in future .Some of the key attributes which I would desire to develop are as follows:

Lead by Example 

It is the job of an effective leader to lead from front so that the subordinates can follow the leader. It is the duty of a leader to set right examples in order to gain respect from the member of the group or subordinates. The leader should set standards, which would build the trust so that the team would follow the example.

The leaders with integrity have the conviction of what is right and what is wrong. They are respected for their attributes of being ethical, consistent genuine and also principled (Bauman, 2013).The leaders with integrity exhibit strong sense of character and are honest in their work. By displaying integrity, these leaders gain respect from the employees.

Examples of Situational Leaders: Mother Teresa and Adolf Hitler

One of the important attribute of an effective leader is communicating clearly and tactfully .The communication includes not only listening with gross attention an d responding aptly. It also involves clearing doubts, creating new ideas, asking interesting queries and sharing crucial information.

An efficient leader should have the ability to think out of the box, he should be capable enough to take bold decision in order to achieve the goals and objectives of an organization (Shapiro & Stefkovich, 2016). During tough situation, an effective leader should be capable to take hard decisions with conviction and taking responsibility of that decision.

The most important traits of a leaders are motivation and inspiration (Whitaker,  Whitaker & Lumpa, 2013).They use these traits in order to drive their team forward with inspiration and motivation .It is necessary to show concern to the employees by the leaders of any organization in order to assess their strengths, needs and priorities .

I hope that these attributes in me ,if they are developed and honed would be crucial for me to become a future leader and impact positively to the people under me as well as the society.

References

Alanazi, T. R., Alharthey, B. K., & Rasli, A. (2013). Overview of path-goal leadership theory. Sains Humanika, 64(2).

Bauman, D. C. (2013). Leadership and the three faces of integrity. The Leadership Quarterly, 24(3), 414-426.

Bryman, A. (2013). Leadership and Organizations (RLE: Organizations). Routledge.

Dinh, J. E., Lord, R. G., Gardner, W. L., Meuser, J. D., Liden, R. C., & Hu, J. (2014). Leadership theory and research in the new millennium: Current theoretical trends and changing perspectives. The Leadership Quarterly, 25(1), 36-62.

Fleeson, W., & Jayawickreme, E. (2015). Whole trait theory. Journal of Research in Personality, 56, 82-92.

Giltinane, C. L. (2013). Leadership styles and theories. Nursing Standard, 27(41).

Malik, S. H. (2013). Relationship between Leader Behaviors and Employees' Job Satisfaction: A Path-Goal Approach. Pakistan Journal of Commerce & Social Sciences, 7(1).

McCleskey, J. A. (2014). Situational, transformational, and transactional leadership and leadership development. Journal of Business Studies Quarterly, 5(4), 117.

Meirovich, G., & Gu, J. (2015). Empirical and Theoretical Validity of Hersey-Blanchard’s Contingency Model. Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship, 20(3), 56-73.

Pettigrew, A. M. (2014). The politics of organizational decision-making. Routledge.

Shapiro, J. P., & Stefkovich, J. A. (2016). Ethical leadership and decision making in education: Applying theoretical perspectives to complex dilemmas. Routledge.

Whitaker, B., Whitaker, T., & Lumpa, D. (2013). Motivating & inspiring teachers: The educational leader's guide for building staff morale. Routledge.

Woodman, T., Barlow, M., Bandura, C., Hill, M., Kupciw, D., & MacGregor, A. (2013). Not all risks are equal: the risk taking inventory for high-risk sports. Journal of sport and exercise psychology, 35(5), 479-492.

Yukl, G. A. (2013). Leadership in organizations. Pearson Education India.