Running head: LEADERSHIP IN ORGANIZATIONS
UNIV 1213: Leadership and Teamwork
Spring 2013
Mr. Simon Meade-Palmer
Assignment 1
Leadership in Organizations
Masoud Hadi Al Yami
200901801
106
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LEADERSHIP IN ORGANIZATIONS
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Assessment Rubric for Individual Written Report
SCORES
Introduction
Contains thesis statement, states why assignment is important, a
reference to justify assignment, outlines the body topics (R)
3%
Leadership
Definition, importance, difference to management (R)
2%
Leadership qualities
Six qualities of effective leaders with explanations (R)
2%
Leadership styles
Four styles with organization types and famous examples (R)
4%
Conclusion
Restate the thesis statement, include a summary of the key
points from the body paragraphs, and say how these key points
answer the assignment.
3%
Mechanics
Punctuation and spelling and capitalization are correct, words are
well chosen, writer uses own words, no cut and pasting, use of
headings, third person, full sentences, no bullet points
3%
References
Contains 3 relevant references, references in text of report,
correct referencing rules
3%
CRITERIA
TOTAL
20%
LEADERSHIP IN ORGANIZATIONS
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Leadership in Organizations
Introduction
Having an effective leadership in an organization, whether big or small, is considered
essential. Leadership is the key component that enhances any effective management. All the
forms of leadership starting from top management to first-line management are important to the
organizations. In organization where there are effective leaders, the employees are always highly
committed and have an increasing overall performance. An effective leader sets direction and
influences people to follow that direction. The characteristics of a strong leadership are strongly
related to organizational leadership and the success of an organization can be affected by the
leadership style in use.
Leadership
Leadership is defined as the progress in which a person guides by influencing a group of
people to attain a common goal by way of cohesiveness and mutual cooperation. Not everyone
can be a leader, but only the person who has certain abilities and the ambition to guide others. In
an organization, we have managers who have the authority to lead but that does not mean they
will be effective leaders. In today’s powerful organizations, leaders are needed to challenge the
norms, as well as influence and encourage members of the organization, while managers will be
needed to develop and maintain a functional workplace (Lunenburg, 2011).
Leadership Qualities
Leadership qualities are basically the characters that make a good leader. The qualities
that are required to make a good leader can both be physical and mental. Integrity, dedication,
creativity, openness, assertiveness and sense of humor are some of the leadership qualities that a
good leader should possess.
Integrity
Integrity is the combination of a person’s inner values and external actions. This means
that a person of integrity is the same on the outside as he/she is on the inside. A person with
integrity can be trusted, as he/she will never turn away from his/her inner values even when it
may be efficient to do so. A leader should have the trust of his followers and therefore the leader
need to display integrity. Signs of integrity include predictable reactions, honest dealings, and
well-controlled emotions. A leader with all these qualities will be more approachable by
followers (The Top 10 Leadership Qualities, n.d.).
LEADERSHIP IN ORGANIZATIONS
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Dedication
Dedication is a quality that means that the leader will spend time and energy necessary to
complete a task on hand. A dedicated leader inspires dedication by example and does whatever it
takes to complete the right steps towards achieving the organization’s goals. Therefore, dedicated
leaders will be setting examples to the rest of the team showing them opportunities to achieve
great things (The Top 10 Leadership Qualities, n.d.).
Creativity
Creativity is the ability to think outside the box. Through creativity, leaders are able to
see things in a different way and be able to lead followers in a different direction. Creative
leaders will therefore be asking such important questions like, “What if…?” A creative leader
should never see a question as being unintelligent, but as a way of thinking differently with an
open mind (The Top 10 Leadership Qualities, n.d.).
Openness
A good leader is one with an open mind. This means that the leader is able to listen to
new ideas even if he/she feels that they do not agree with his/her way of thinking. As a good
leader, a person should be able to hold judgment while listening to other people’s ideas and be
able to accept a new way of doing things even if other people presented it. Through openness,
leaders build mutual respect and trust with their followers. Also, through openness leaders keep
the team aware of new ideas to help the vision of the organization (The Top 10 Leadership
Qualities, n.d.).
Assertiveness
Assertiveness is the ability to state the expectations such that there are no
misunderstandings. An assertive leader is one who gets the desired results. Therefore, a leader
who is assertive has the responsibility to understand what he expects from his followers.
According to a report published by American Psychological Association (APA) in 2007, many
leaders have a problem with communicating the right amount of assertiveness. Either being
overassertive or under assertive was a common weakness among many leaders (The Top 10
Leadership Qualities, n.d.).
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Sense of Humor
A good leader is one with a good sense of humor because he/she understands that sense
of humor helps decrease stress in the workplace. Also, effective leaders will use their sense of
humor to energize their co-workers. In addition, humor is known to be a powerful tool that can
provide control over the workplace. As many people may say, humor will develop a good
relationship between the leader and his/her followers (The Top 10 Leadership Qualities, n.d.).
Leadership Style
There are several ways that leaders use to lead people. Leadership style is the way in
which leader provides direction, make plans and motivates people. Autocratic, Democratic,
Bureaucratic and Laissez-Faire are some of the common leadership styles in use.
Autocratic (Authoritarian) leadership
This type of leadership style is used when the leaders tell their employees what they want
to be done and how they want it to be done without involving the employees’ advice. This means
that the leaders have complete power over their employees. One advantage of this style is that it
is efficient because decisions are made faster and work gets done. However, most people think
this style of leadership degrades employees; therefore employee might not stay in such
organization for a long time. Franchises organizations are a classic example of autocratic
leadership because they normally have business owner or executive manager ordering rules to
franchisees. (Leadership styles, n.d.).
Democratic Leadership
This leadership style involves the leader and employees making decisions on what to do
and how to do it, but the leader has the final decision (authority). This style of leadership
encourages creativity and makes team members feel that they are in control of their future. Also,
this style of leadership helps to develop employee’s skills. A disadvantage of democratic
leadership is that it can delay situations where speed is needed to make a decision during a
disaster (Leadership styles, n.d.).
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Bureaucratic Leadership
This style of leadership makes employees work by the rules. They follow ‘by the book’
rules and ensure that all employees follow it. Usually, bureaucratic leaders achieve their
positions because of their ability to encourage and follow the rules. This style is appropriate for
jobs that involve serious safety risks or where routine tasks are the norm. For example, Fire
Department Organizations use a bureaucratic leadership style. However, this style is ineffective
where organizations depend on creativity, innovation and flexibility (Leadership styles, n.d.).
Laissez-Faire Leadership
This in French means “leave it be.” It is a style of leadership that describes leaders who
allow their employees to work on their own. Leaders here may give their teams freedom to do
their work or set deadlines and leaders can provide support, but they are rarely involved. Google
Company has used the Laissez faire leadership style especially in the early years. The company
hired smart engineers and assumed that they were smart and would figure it out or ask for help if
they need it. The main advantage of this style is that employees have a high job satisfaction and
increased productivity because of their independence. However, it can be unsuccessful if team
members do not have the skills, knowledge or motivation to work effectively (Leadership styles,
n.d.).
Conclusion
The type of leadership in any organization decides its direction and success. Effective
leadership in an organization is very important because leadership is a key component that
enhances any effective management. Effective leadership qualities will support an effective
leadership style, which will determine the success of an organization.
LEADERSHIP IN ORGANIZATIONS
References:http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_84.htm
http://www.comparebusinessproducts.com/briefs/top-10-leadership-qualities
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