Introduction
Importance of quality initiatives
a. Innovation the key to business success
b. Key elements of innovation
a. Leading by example
b. Flexible with strategies
4. Leadership style and workplace initiatives
a. Transformational leadership
5. Conclusion
Abstract
Business organizations are constantly confronted with challenges of one kind or another, promoted by change in technology and consumer preference. This calls for a lot of initiatives on the part of a leader to implement in his organization to sustain its competence. Therefore, leaders are compelled to introduce new innovations on a regular basis An open mind and an attitude to change help leaders to implement new initiatives in the workplace. Leaders have to take their followers into confidence before implementing changes in the organization. Leaders who demonstrate high degree of integrity can win the hearts of their team members before introducing a new change in the organization. Such leaders are also always open to the points of view of their followers. The best suited leadership style for leaders who wish to implement quality initiatives is the transformational leadership style that tends to transform the morality of the workforce to face challenges.
1. Introduction
Organizations that implement the best practices in the workplace require a superior leadership wisdom to maintain quality and introduce new initiatives, which put them in an advantageous position to win. Therefore, developmental strategies of organizations focus more on ensuring quality control and innovative initiatives by the organizational leadership. Effective leaders implement quality initiatives in the workplace and promote an environment in which the employees take the responsibility of maintaining quality that takes the organization to new heights. Real leaders are those who influence people to follow them through their deeds than words. Basically, everyone wishes to work in a best place, and leaders have the responsibility of making the workplace the best for their followers. Introducing an excellent initiative in the workplace is of no value unless the proposal enjoys the wholehearted support of the team members. Traditional leadership wisdom that believes in formal authority of leaders calls for leaders to implement various practices in the workplace that morally bind the workforce to follow. Only leaders who have a moral authority can ensure that their new quality initiatives are successfully implemented in the workplace by influencing the employees to embrace the new proposals so as to win the organizational goals as a team.
2. Importance of quality initiatives
Quality offerings help organizations to achieve financial stability and customer satisfaction. Similarly, high quality decision making and implementing new initiatives make the workplace a haven for the employees that motivates them to give their best. Steve Jobs rightly told that innovation and quality decision making were the key attributes of an effective leader. Innovation differentiates a leader from a follower, said Jobs. Most importantly, the fast changing technology that makes knowledge and skills obsolete each day, and an ever changing customer preferences coupled with a globalized economy warrants leaders to implement quality initiatives on a regular basis.
a. Innovation the key to business success
Innovation is the process of applying new business ideas and change initiatives to improve the features of products and services offered by an organization. An organizational culture that promotes innovation enhances the competency of the organization and business growth (Khana & Afzalb, 2011). With innovation influencing the global market like never before, companies led by leaders who are able to take risk and implement excellent new initiatives reap huge rewards. A recent study conducted by Accenture International Management Consultants revealed that almost 90 percent of senior executives of various organizations believed that success of their organizations in the long-run greatly depended on the ability of their leaders to generate new ideas and implement the same. On the other hand, nearly 50 percent of the executives revealed that their managements were not comfortable with embracing new ideas and implementing them. Hence, bold leadership capable of introducing innovative ideas is the key to business success.
b. Key elements of innovation
The process and practices followed at the workplace is a key element that requires changes and innovations from time to time to improve the efficacy of the system being practiced by organizations. Secondly, personalized consumer experiences influence organizations to innovate. Thirdly, integrating consumer experience by using big data and the mass media helps in taking appropriate decisions on innovation. Leaders who believe in innovation to enhance organizational competence are always open to new ideas for implementing innovation in the workplace.
3. Role of leadership in implementing quality initiatives
There are plenty of individuals out there in organizations who follow the crowd. It is this particular trait that distinguishes a leader from the followers – ability to take new quality initiatives. It requires great pain and commitment to find new ways to improve the quality of the workplace and service. The prime role of leaders in organizations is to explore new avenues and strategies to improve the effectiveness of the team to achieve common organizational goals. Organizational plans are of no use unless effective and creative strategies are devised and actions initiated by manager leaders. Therefore, effective leaders always have creative initiatives that would guide their followers, besides inspiring their team members to think innovatively to sustain their spirit and become future leaders.
a. Leading by example
In the light of knowledge based enterprises emerging at a faster pace than ever, leaders play a responsible role of promoting a learning environment in the workplace to develop the workforce (Harteis, 2012). Acquiring knowledge helps individuals understand and appreciate the new initiatives introduced by leaders in the best interest of the organization. This also helps leaders to set the proper direction and facilitates team members to see what lies beyond and appropriately prepares them to rise to the challenges. Leading by example is a typical trait of effective leaders that helps fellow team members to take the workforce into confidence. This attribute always drives them to act based on certain ethics. In other words, ethics direct them to do good and put their knowledge and skills for righteous purposes. They always practice what they talk, and their actions talk more than their words. For instance, a leader who exercises moral authority upon his followers introduces either unconsciously or consciously a new dress code for the organization by adopting a particular clothing style. Conversely, such leaders set new appropriate initiatives or unspoken standards towards leading change in the organization.
b. Flexible with strategies
Flexibility is the foundation of effecting new initiatives and changes as and when required. Therefore, it is a key attribute that helps leaders to change strategies to match the realities in the workplace. This helps them to maintain work efficiency during testing times. Flexibility also helps leaders to welcome change and accept initiatives of quality and excellence kicked off by other team members. Flexibility also equips leaders to work under any situation besides keeping them receptive to new ideas. Flexible organizational culture promoted by leaders gives a positive message to the employees that they are free to practice any new initiative that helps in achieving agreed-upon common organizational objectives (Covey, 1991).
Leadership style and workplace initiatives
Traditional leadership styles do not favor implementing new workplace initiatives. Therefore, organizations require different leadership styles to face the challenges promoted by an ever changing business environment (Wang, 2011). Transformational leadership is the best suited style that promotes quality initiatives in organizations.
a. Transformational leadership
Transformational leaders have the quality of transforming the morality of the employees of their organization to different levels. Both the leader and his followers raise to the occasions by voluntarily embracing change in organizations led by transformational leaders. Transformational leaders also know pretty well that they cannot do anything significantly to encounter a challenge unless their followers are taken into confidence. In other words, the transformational behavior of leaders determines the effective implementation of new quality initiatives with the wholehearted approval of the team members (Cavazotte, Moreno & Hickmann, 20120).
5. Conclusion
In the light of business organizations facing various challenges promoted by technological obsolescence and change of consumer preference, they are forced to implement new quality initiatives regularly to sustain in the market. Therefore, leaders have no other alternative other than practicing innovation on a regular basis. Innovation without the cooperation of their followers would prove futile. Therefore, leaders have to embrace suitable leadership styles that would influence their followers, who in turn would extend their full support for successfully implementing new initiatives in the workplace.
References
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Wang, V.C. (2011). E-Leadership in the new century. International Journal of Adult Vocational
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