Introduction
Leadership is imperative for the functioning of any organization. The quality of leadership plays a significant role in determining the fate of the workers as well as their organization. According to Mills (2005), a leader ought to be fully committed to his/her vision, subordinates, and the organization. In essence, the commitment demonstrated by the leaders makes the subordinates have trust in them and, thus, they work hard toward the realization of the organization goals and objectives. Effective leadership facilitates the success of the organization. Ali (2012) suggests that leaders have an impact on the organizational performance. Specifically, the leaders of the organization influence the behaviors of the employees in numerous ways. For instance, they encourage the employees to carry out their duties by making them understand their vision. Additionally, the leaders guide their employees by instructing them how they have to execute their duties efficiently and effectively. They also motivate the employees with both non-economic and economic rewards and, thus, facilitate positive outcomes. What is more, they create positive work environments for the employees through establishing personal contacts with them and doing their best to solve the problems as soon as they arise.
The present report delves into the issues that the contemporary leaders experience and the skills needed to solve these problems. In an attempt to get a deep understanding of these issues and what effective leadership entails, the report centers on three leadership models including the trait theory, path-goal theory, and leader-member exchange theory. The report also centers on the interviews carried out with four leaders. A literature review is carried out on each of the leadership models mentioned above and presented in the second part of the report. The subsequent section of the report gives details of the leaders interviewed, the interview questions, and the way the data was analyzed. The fourth part of the report presents the study findings including the common themes that occurred as well as the viewpoints of the interviewed leaders. The concluding section of the report sums up the way the study findings challenge or support the three leadership models. It also encapsulates what the study findings tell us about the leadership issues that the contemporary organizations are experiencing.
Conclusion
Leader-Member Exchange Theory
Krishnan (2005) reports that the different treatment of the individual subordinates by the leader leads to two groups of subordinates, namely, an out-group and an in-group. The answers that the leaders interviewed provided on the question of whether they thought some of their subordinates play a bigger role in their organizations demonstrated this point. One of the interviewees said that some of his employees make more contributions than the others by completing their job descriptions passionately and offering suggestions and advice for the development of the organization. The other interviewee claimed that he has a team member who performs better than the others. The other leader that we interviewed maintained that the core members of his organization often play significant roles in the organization including making decisions.
According to the LMX theory, the groups of employees described by the four leaders are the in-group followers. From the interview process, it became comprehensible that the in-group employees in the organizations establish high-quality, close associations with their leaders as verified by Jing-zhou, Xiao-xue, and Xia-qing (2010). The other interviewee said that the in-group members are trustworthy, skilled, and loyal and, thus, they get more attention from the managers than the out-group members. In essence, this is true as the study established that a leader usually has trusting and open relationships with the in-group members. The manager trusts these members and strongly bonds with them. The work of the in-group members is challenging, thus, this gives them an opportunity to advance. Then again, it became clear that the same leader has poor interpersonal relationships with the out-group members. Just like one of the interviewees said, the work of these members is less critical and less challenging. As a result, the out-group members are less dedicated than the in-group members.
Bibliography
Ali, A., 2012. The crucial role of leadership in organizations: A review of literature. International Journal of Independent Research and Studies, 1(4), pp.153-161.
Bader, B.M., 2008. Leader-member exchange and work outcomes: a multiple leadership perspective (Doctoral dissertation, Lethbridge, Alta.: University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Management, c2008).
Breevaart, K., Bakker, A.B., Demerouti, E. and van den Heuvel, M., 2015. Leader-member exchange, work engagement, and job performance. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 30(7), pp.754-770.
Jing-zhou, P., Xiao-xue, Z. and Xia-qing, Z., 2010. The role of leadership between the employees and the organization: a bridge or a ravine?-an empirical study from China. Journal of Management and Marketing Research, 5, p.1.
Krishnan, V.R., 2005. Leader-member exchange, transformational leadership, and value system. Electronic Journal of Business Ethics and Organization Studies, 10 (1). Pp.14-21.
Lunenburg, F.C., 2010. Leader-member exchange theory: Another perspective on the leadership process. International Journal of Management, Business and Administration, 13(1), pp.1-5.
Mills, D.Q., 2005. Leadership: How to lead, how to live. MindEdge Press.
