Leadership theories in a changing context Essay - 1

Leadership theories in a changing context - Essay Example Dorfman’s statement, ‘If we think of leadership research as flowing as a stream, it flows in a meandering, intertwining and constantly shifting manner’, creates the perfect example of how leadership works and in particular the hybrid nature of leadership styles which borrow from each other. I am a finance manager for a veterinary university in which I have to supervise and delegate to three or four staff. I also work with other veterinarians and hospital staff at another three animal hospital sites. Dealing with this large and diverse of a workforce in the healthcare system, it was imperative that I already have developed and used my existing leadership skills. â€Å"Leadership cannot exist without followership† (Conger 1990). This helps highlight the relationship that is shared between both leader and follower. We work together as a collective and without the followers; there is no need to lead. It is also important to distinguish between the two different types of leaders: the maximum man and the minimum man. The maximum man is the charismatic leader who inspires change and the minimum man is a manager interested in maintaining the status quo (Conger & Kanungo 1998). There are two leadership styles in particular that I utilize on a daily basis: transformationa l leadership and transactional leadership. Transformational leadership is a leadership style in which the leader works on transforming the individual by helping develop them. According to Sendjaya and Sarros (2002), transformational leadership can be described that, â€Å"it raises the level of human conduct and ethical aspiration of both leader and led†. This means that transformational leadership transcends to effect both the leader and the follower. It transcends the work environment to influence moral and personality development. In particular this comes into play when I teach a new topic or skill to those following me. It requires both patience as well as effective communication skills.

Quesions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Quesions - Assignment Example The other type of leadership is bureaucratic leadership where the leaders follow the set rules and regulations rigorously and the same goes for their followers (Class Notes, 2015). This type of leadership is most common in organizations, government agencies and industries. The other type is the delegative leadership, also known as the Laissez-Faire type of leadership. The leaders who use this type of leadership do not offer any assistance to the followers and in most cases the followers are their own supervisors. The followers make their own decisions and carry-out their activities without too much supervision. Among these leadership styles, I believe that I am suited well as a democratic leader. For example, when I join study groups I tend to prefer it when everyone participates in solving the academic problems even though the teacher has the final say about solutions we get. I am aware that such type of leadership ensures that followers are motivated because they feel like they are part of the decision made. It also makes followers feel extremely important in a group or in organizations which results to increased commitment and work output or performance for students. The challenges are there because I know most followers under his type of leadership tend to be less productive than those who may be in an authoritarian group. The climate of a campus is critically important for the success of students (Gorton & Alston, 2011). By climate, this refers to a school environment that is like to foster the continuity and successful learning process. Hence, if the climate is favorable for students and teachers, learning becomes a continuous process and success is guaranteed when students and teachers do their best. For example, if there are riots in a school the teachers and students are not in a good position to undertake their tasks. Teachers cannot teach when students are rioting and students also hamper their learning process. There are