Introduction
Leadership is an invaluable factor in the in all aspects of life such as business, spearheading a change, selling products as well as solving conflicts in an organization. As such, scholars have devoted time and resources to advance this frontier so that it can meet the needs of time and events change. Currently, the demands of leadership skills exceed the supply considering that organizations in all industries compete globally. Therefore, to make a mark in the industry and improve their balance sheet, a goal-oriented leader is required. Consequently, the academia and the institutions of higher learning has responded to this demand by devising problem-solving leadership programs that are information based to fill the gap in the modern corporations (p.1). As such, a review of the scholar work on leadership shows a shift from control to a process of influencing other to a desired direction or position.
Therefore, the paper will encompass the background study of the BOB'S Meltdown Case Study. After that, it will investigate on the leadership theories that are exhibited therein. Moreover, it will entail analysis of the central leadership theory and investigate strengths and weaknesses of the specific applying the theory. Finally, the paper will make recommendations based on the findings of the leadership application in the BOB'S Meltdown Case Study.
Background study of the BOB'S Meltdown Case Study
The organization considered, in this case, study deals with the manufacturing of the Concord machine sand their supply to various destinations. However, the sales of the machine are gradually decreasing, and the management is seeking to diversify the income of the company through several approaches. Firstly, the company is hiring a new team that will facilitate capturing of new ideas from the talented workforce to improve the products and services, sales revenue as well as cut the manufacturing costs. However, part of the old management team that has been in the feel threatened by the new approach and has resulted to humiliating the department leaders who pursue plans that they do not agree to. As such, the study analyzes the encounters, in this case, to recommend the best approaches to these internal management conflicts.
Theories of leadership
Different situations in an organization demand varied approaches to optimize the results. Therefore, there exist several theories of leadership suited to different management needs, corporate culture as well as nature of the tasks among other factors. Two of these theories are discussed below.
Transformational leadership
This school of thought underscores the importance of change that is oriented to certain desirable goals through inspiration and commitment. Thereby, the leaders influence their followers by engaging them actively to contribute toward the vision of the company and organizations among other groups (p.48). The members voluntarily share the goals, and the consequential synergy becomes widespread in the organization. Specifically, this theory of leadership fair-well when factors like emotions, values and ethics are adequately ingrained in the corporate culture as well as in the long-term goals plans. Unlike other theories such as the dictatorship, it is more humane and inclusive throughout out the process. Thus, apart from consulting the followers, it takes into account their feelings and the motives to maximize on their cooperation in attaining the overall goals and targets in various departments within the organization.
Additionally, the leaders who practice a successful transformational leadership and attain significant results have been noted to exhibit high levels of charisma. Notably, this style of leadership is a combination of several other qualities to transform the way an organization conducts its business. For instance, the leaders may engage face to face discussion with the subordinate to motivate and inspire them. Therefore, this theory is not one man show but the unity of purpose shared by both the leader and the followers. Moreover, it heeds to the needs and the concerns of the followers at all stages of the project or levels of management. Finally, the leaders in this theory serve as the role model for their followers. Therefore, if they advocate for directions and goals the followers support them fully.
Servant leadership
The second school of thought concerning leadership entails the sense of servant-hood in the leader’s approach to his or her followers (p.220). In this case, the interests of the followers precede those of their leader. The leaders in this theory are perceived to be more emphatic and nurturing in comparison to other theories. More particularly, the leaders motivate their followers by according them with empowerment through training, delegations and career development among other activities that improve their productivity. Various scholars have argued that the feeling of service to followers is natural; however, it has been confirmed that the value can also be learned by time if the leaders are willing.
This type of leadership creates followers who are more creative, confident, autonomous and independent since they are well nurtured in leading and being accountable. Moreover, the followers are more concerned with the welfare of their peers since the culture cultivated by this theory adores unity and sacrifice for the benefit of the majority. Impliedly, organizations that employ such a robust theory are apt to win the customer loyalty.
Research has also shown that this theory produces results in the case where the leaders portray certain desirable qualities. First, the leader has to be listening to receive the appropriate feedback from their followers, this way, they collect information that positively impact on their leadership style as well as improve the conditions for their followers. Secondly, the servant leaders exhibit a high level of awareness when handling their followers. That is, they understand and consider which makes them more persuasive than those in other styles of leadership. Finally, they have a sense of stewardship and foresight in their approach to lead (p.222). As such, they train their followers to be custodians of the resources that they are entrusted with as well as focus on the long-term goal by sacrificing. Clearly, this kind of leadership should be the central theme in corporate culture to boost productivity and responsibility, which would increase the competitiveness.
Applications of the servant leadership in the BOB'S Meltdown Case Study
Servant leadership has been exhibited by Nathan Singer, senior vice president, human resources, in most of his approach to issues in the company. Firstly, this leader maintains that other leaders in the company, such Robert Dunn, have to maintain the corporate culture values at all times to ensure the smooth running of the company as well as build the confidence of new employees. More particularly, he underscores the importance of respect for the leadership, “we have a set of values in this company that we spent a lot of time creating, and I take those values seriously. One of the values is entitled to "Respect". This is what it says: "we value the unique and diverse talents of our coworkers, and we treat them at all times with respect and consideration.".". Therefore, he has personally subscribed to the values of the company and is urging other employees to follow his example. This is core in the service leadership to ensure coexistence and cooperation among the employees.
Secondly, his servant leadership is also proved by the actions of the employees in the company such as Annette. She is independent and proactive in initiating change in the organization. For instance, the current performance of the company notwithstanding, she undertook to form a committee that would change how the company performs its business. This shows that the senior vice president is nurturing the employees by encouraging them to come up with new approaches to boost the financial performance of the organization.
Additionally, Bob depicts a sense of stewardship despite the fact that his ways of communication were disrespectful and mean. He recognized that the resources of the company were too limited to be diverted to other programs, like the way the case with Annette. The senior vice president shares the same sentiment, "the last thing we need right now is for the people to take their eyes off the bottom line.” This implies that the workers are well empowered to have insights on the current situations in the company. Notably, empowerment is an important factor in the servant leadership as a source of motivation to the employees. Several other leaders in the company are well-trained employees despite the challenges it is facing currently.
The senior vice president is also considerate and understanding, factors that have been discussed as the pillars of the servant leadership. He is aware of Bob’s weaknesses and strengths in duty performance. Thereby, he is willing to give him a chance and at the same time use appropriate disciplinary actions to discourage disrespectful habits in the company, “he is not a team player, and as Jay has made clear on many occasions, everyone in this company is part of the team. I know Bob gets results, but results are not the only thing that matters, and though I would like to give him a benefit of doubt”
However, despite the senior vice president’s servant qualities, he does not know exactly how to discipline Bob. Indeed, he takes the blame for overstretching his capabilities, which resulted in Bob's high level of stress. Additionally, his servant leadership qualities have also been coupled with leniency as Bob has been in the wrong for several time and no action has been taken, “he routinely ignores or even insults the other executives here particularly those in corporate roles like myself. He hasn’t even returned my calls about this incident.” This depicts complacency on the part of the senior vice presidents.
Recommendations
The analysis of the BOB'S Meltdown Case Study has led to three main recommendations that would help in implementing more effective leadership attributes. Firstly, the management should outline all the corporate values alongside their respective disciplinary actions in case of violations. Consequently, the employees will observe these qualities while conflicts will be scaled down in the company. Secondly, it is advisable to apply different leadership styles to varied occurrences to create the desired effect. Therefore, rather than being lenient, the leaders should take stern actions against those who violate the codes of the company. Finally, the company should share its goals with all the employees to avoid situations where programs contravene with the overall objectives.
Reference
Northouse, P. G. (2010). Leadership: Theory and practice. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
