Leadership and Change

Leadership and Change

Table of contents

1. Introduction 3

2. Different approaches to leadership 4

2.1 Charismatic leader 4

2.2 Participative leader 5

2.3 Emotional intelligence 5

3. Change 6

3.1 Acceptance 6

4. Leadership and change 8

4.1 Emotional intelligence 8

4.2 Charismatic leader 8

4.3 Participative leader 9

5.Summary 9

6. References 10

Introduction

During this course I learned about leadership theories and got to understand the situation of change. In this this essay I describe different leadership styles and I identify and analyze the pros and cons of the chosen leadership styles and approaches in different change situations.

In the first part of this report I have looked leadership from different points of view that I prefer. These are participative leaderships, charismatic leader and the role of emotional intelligence in leadership. In the second part of this report I describe my own thoughts about the change. And finally I combined the two descriptions by pondering what good leadership is or could be in the changing situations.

2. Different approaches to leadership

"Leadership is the art to of influencing and directing people in such a way that will win their obedience, confidence, respect and loyal cooperation in achieving common objectives." -- U. S. Air Force. If you can't define leadership, you cannot know it. If you don't know it, you cannot do it.

In today's competitive business world, leadership is a very significant phenomenon, which is used for getting the best out of the employees. It is an understandable rule that if the leader does his work in the best possible manner, he will be liked by all employees. It simply means that if the leader or the manager has to get the employees to fulfill the company's objectives, aims, and targets on time; he has to maintain good relations with the employees and work along with them.

2.1.Charismatic leader

Charismatic Leaders are often thought of as heroes that are able to use their personal allure to lead others. They pay much attention to the person they are talking to at any one moment, making that person feel like they are, for that time, the most important person in the world.

Charismatic Leaders pay attention also in scanning and reading their environment, and are good at picking up the moods and concerns of both individuals and larger audiences. They then will hone their actions and words to suit the situation.

Charismatic Leaders who are building a group, whether it is a political party, a cult or a business team, will often focus strongly on making the group very clear and distinct, separating it from other groups. They will then build the image of the group, in particular in the minds of their followers, as being far superior to all others.

The Charismatic Leader will typically attach themselves firmly to the identify of the group, such that to join the group is to become one with the leader. In doing so, they create an unchallengeable position for themselves. Musser (1987) notes that charismatic leaders seek to instill both commitment to ideological goals and also devotion to themselves. The extent to which either of these two goals is dominant depends on the underlying motivations and needs of the leader.

2.2.Participative leader

As the name indicates, a participative leader enables the employees to play a major part in any decision-making process, which is needed to make the employee performance better. Therefore, instead of the leader just throwing direct, stringent orders to the employees, he acts like a guide and mentor for the employees in achieving their goals. So it is like 'let us do it' rather than 'I want you to do... '.

People are more committed to actions where they have involved in the relevant decision-making. Involvement in decision-making also improves the understanding of the issues involved by those who must carry out the decisions.

The participative leadership style, also known as the 'participative democratic leadership style', is a very essential factor in today's business sector, which does the job of creating and maintaining healthy relationships between the employees and leaders. This is probably the best type of corporate leadership style that necessarily allows employees to give suggestions and take some of the crucial decisions, along with their manager.

I think that people are less competitive and more collaborative when they are working on joint goals.

2.3. Emotional intelligence

Emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive emotions, to access and generate emotions so as to assist thought, to understand emotions and emotional knowledge, and to reflectively regulate emotions so as to promote emotional and intellectual growth (Mayer & Salovey, 1997: 5)

In short, not only emotionally intelligent leader can recognize, interpret and control their own emotions, motivate themselves but also recognize and understand others' feelings. These people tend to be straightforward when it comes to explaining how they feel, and not only are they good at building relationships, but they are also good at mending broken relationships as well.

To understand the role of emotional intelligence within leadership, it is crucial to be familiar with the phenomenon known as participative management. Participative management is developed by managers who actively seek a strong cooperative relationship with their employees.

Motions can be used in choosing