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An essay on developing leadership competencies
Leadership skills needed in today's workforce
Leadership skills needed in today's workforce
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Fortuga Artisans: Assessment Plan
After thirty years as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Fortuga Artisans, Peter Fortuga is retiring from the company he started to manufacture home decor. As a result, the company conducted an extensive search and found an ideal candidate Doug Jeffers. However, two years into his tenure as CEO Jeffers and Fortuga experienced a high turnover rate with numerous key resignations. During a resignation of his executive assistant, the employees and managers at Fortuga determined Jeffers is the cause of the organizational concerns. Consequently, Jeffers became introspective, and he questioned his ability to lead. In fact, Jeffers would be astute to conduct a personal assessment of his leadership style, capabilities,
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In the past, Jeffers leadership style utilized castigation when the staff or artists expressed their concerns and instigated action in a negative manner. As a result of his approach, organizational vice presidents resigned, and artists declined to renew their contracts. After all, leaders culpable to aid their staff reach beyond today and enable them to envision a better future (Leider, 2004). In effect, a paradigm shift needs to occur at Fortuga and Jeffers must strive to be approachable, treat his employees as customers, consider themselves part of the team, and encourage feedback. In other words, engaged employee will endeavor to achieve organizational goals (Box & Byus, 2009). Overall, these tactics can unite a team of individuals committed to the visions and goals of Fortuga Artisans. In this case, Jeffers is a narcissistic leader with a meager capacity for introspection. Due to the fact he lacks the aptitude for reflecting on his behavior, the team at Fortuga must adhere to a strict code of accountability. The accountability theory states the employees and peer are culpable for creating a culture of responsibility and evaluation within a community (Nelson & Hogan, 2009). As a result of the criteria setup, an organization such as Fortuga can established measurements and …show more content…
Overall, a leader’s style influences employees’ perceptions, levels of trust, and behaviors, and sustains a particular culture, which reinforces a distinct style of leadership (Carter, Ulrich & Goldsmith, 2005). In this case, Jeffers would benefit from becoming a more authentic leader. Authentic leaders align their values, convictions, and mission to be similar to those of their fellow managers and followers (Shamir & Eilam, 2005). In the long run, Jeffers should lead from a belief that Fortuga produces superior merchandise, and his employees and artisans are a critical component to achieving their mission.
In an evolving culture of dedication and communication, employees know desire up-to-date and precise information. Efficient communication enables employees to adapt because they have the needed information available (Smith & Milligan, 2015). This strategy will be more effectual because companies that can align individual and corporate goals will experience more prosperity. To achieve this aim, Jeffers needs to commit to becoming an exceptional communicator, otherwise leading effectively is unfeasible and he will continue to experience organizational culture
Across the globe, there are CEO’s, managers, and several other individual’s in leadership-type roles that have the expectation of making their company successful in the eyes of the investors, the employees, and the customers that they serve. This may be measured by a company’s gross profitability, employee engagement or overall customer satisfaction. Most companies have leadership models and strategies in place that leaders are expected to use in order to drive the expectations of the company while maintaining consistency across the business. In an effort to examine various types of leadership styles, I have conducted interviews with two individuals that are or have been previously tasked with leading their teams and their company towards success.
They have profound convictions for for their leadership; Their behavior always reflect their core values and they view themselves as individuals that “lead with their hearts as well as their heads while also building enduring organizations” (George 2003). Leaders are encouraged to maintain the perception of authenticity but making sure that their words are consistent and reflect their action or intentions. They should not be so pompous and arrogant that they cannot relate to or find mutual and common ground with their staff. (Goffee & Jones 2005)
Lashinger et al highlights the need for communication within leadership as effective communication is essential to influence change and motivate others. Emphasising the need for communicating effectively towards all staff members, whilst undergoing change to ensure all staff feel supported and understand the process, allowing implementation to be more successful.
The founders hired a CEO to continue guiding the company on the path towards success but realized too late that they overlooked an important component. The CEO lacked the character and traits needed to positively develop and lead the company and its people. After facing a major decline in customer service and an uptick in employee turnover, The Home Depot realized that it needed to resort back to the basic guiding principles. They must choose a leader that buys into the same vision and philosophy that the company was built upon. The leader must behold the same values that were cherished by the founders and must be willing to invest in nurturing the culture, the associates and customers.
Sears Holdings is a company in transition. Now, faced with adversity and the threat of bankruptcy looming its leadership has come under scrutiny. “Great leaders not only have drive; they want to lead. Also important is a high need for power, a preference to be in leadership rather than follower positions. A high power need induces people to attempt to influence others, and sustains interest and satisfaction in the process of leadership. When the power need is exercised in moral and socially constructive ways, rather than to the detriment of others, leaders inspire more trust, respect, and commitment to their vision (Bateman, pp 399, 2007).”
In an effort to understand the questionnaire, one must first understand the definition of an Authentic Leader. Genuine, trustworthy and reliable are a few words that are interchangeable with the term authentic. Authentic leaders exhibit qualities of confidence, transparency, and high moral standard and are usually very confident (Gardner, Avolio, Luthans, May and Walumbwa, 2005). A person that is considered to be authentic is one who taking account for their behavior and a person who is true to themselves and what they think. A quality of an authentic leader is that he/she exudes the level of authenticity through their actions that encourage others to want to behave the same way. The leader who acts in this manner believes that all individuals have something to contribute to a goal and
There have been countless books, lectures, and and trainings, and retreats constructed around the idea of cultivating leadership in an individual. However, cultivating individuals’ ability to follow great leadership has received far less attention. Who are these people leading if each person within an organization is being trained to be a leader? The word follower has negative connotations, evoking the images of a weak, uncreative, milquetoast personality. However, Jimmy Collins, in his book, “Creative Followership: In the Shadow of Greatness”, suggests that the ability to be led brings as much creativity, consciousness, and indeed leadership to an organization or team as the leader himself. Great followership is a reflection of great leadership. In this, the follower is just as important as the leader in the relationship. Many great leaders have asserted that a leader with even a modicum of understanding of what drives their subordinates can take their organization to previously undreamt-of heights in creativity and productivity. Collins does not disabuse us of this notion, he does however add that the follower is indispensable agent in this interplay between leader and follower.
The emphasis on leaders being not just executives and managers, and that not all executives and managers are leaders, is extremely vital. Anyone can strive to be a leader in whatever organization in which they are involved. Bennis and Nanus claim that leadership is about character, setting the example for how team members treat one other (and in a corporate setting, their clients as well), being truthful and sustaining organizational trust, and encouraging themselves and others to learn. On one hand, it can be easy to see how many people in leadership positions do no match up to these standards of leadership. On the other, it seems a bit like common sense to be truthful to others and to effectively communicate with people who work together everyday. Leaders is an effective tool for summarizing and inspiring leadership not in that it teaches tough strategies and manipulations, but that when looking at an overview of its content, Bennis and Nanus are essentially teaching human relations and human decency. All in all, this book highlights strategies for us all to be better in our lives and our everyday
Leadership at times can be a complex topic to delve into and may appear to be a simple and graspable concept for a certain few. Leadership skills are not simply acquired through position, seniority, pay scale, or the amount of titles an individual holds but is a characteristic acquired or is an innate trait for the fortunate few who possess it. Leadership can be misconstrued with management; a manager “manages” the daily operations of a company’s work while a leader envisions, influences, and empowers the individuals around them.
Suddenly, some companies become extremely successful, while rest of them unfortunately remains a failure. There can be off-course a lot of reasons for this failure but one of the main reasons is lack of leadership qualities. There are many s...
The role of leadership can impact an organization performance in many ways. Excellent leadership can propel a company to the fortune five hundred list. For Example, Harpo Incorporated Oprah Winfrey’s company is a successful business that has made billions of dollars over the years. The business consists of several different entities such as the Oprah Show, Oprah Winfrey Network, and The Dr. Phil Show to name a few. This could not have been accomplished with a weak or uneducated leader. Many years ago I heard her give advice to the Williams Sisters. The a...
The company focuses on building and spreading the trust among people and then allows employees to think about issues and solutions. It seems that Newsprinters applies “authentic leadership” (Grant, 2016, p196). In theory, authentic leadership or trustworthy leadership focuses on intrapersonal, interpersonal and development perspectives (Eagly, 2005, cited in Grant, 2016). Particularly, authentic leadership emphasizes on the strong relationship between leaders and followers. The recently changing society has fuelled a tremendous demand for authentic leadership.
With that interview, I have learnt a lot of leadership styles and motivational theories, which I studied in my University lectures from Mr. John. This paper is the reflection of what I learnt from him.
CEO Johnston also has plans to bolster the company’s leadership with the best minds available and also use motivational techniques to invigorate his employees. These ideas show the character of the CEO in enhancing productivity from his work force.
Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2012). The leadership challenge: How to make extraordinary