This paper discusses some of the differing approaches to leadership that exist. Furthermore, it will consider the leadership approaches of two leaders who have had an influence on my life. Moreover, it identifies some of the qualities of good leaders and the application of these qualities in business. Leadership has a wide-ranged of diverse explanations. It is defined as a trait, behavior, information-processing, and positional leadership (Northouse, 2013). According to Antonakis and House (2014), leadership is essential in resources management in order to obtain organization goals and keep the followers motivated while promoting innovation and adjustment.
Good leadership increases performance. Due to the exponential changing environment, it is imperative for leaders to be aware of global ethics, global tempos, and global risk which are interconnected (Sheppard & Sarros, 2013). Transactional and transformational leaderships are two major approaches that underpin effective leadership (Jogulu, 2010). Transactional leaders are managers who strictly follow the rules and regulations of the organizations to produce order and consistency. These leaders normally hold positions of power which have management assigned with the titles. Employees comply due to the rewards given, the management’s legitimacy, coercion, and authority.
Transformational leaders generate change and movements as they nurture and care for their followers. They are considerate and help their followers to achieve their full potentials. They foster self-esteem, self-worth, and, self-confidence of the follows by encouragement and motivation. Leaders promote inspiration and innovation and they are given personal power by their followers due to their trust in the leaders to bring value to the team. Steve Job’s innovation continues to impact our lives today with the simultaneous release of iPhone X and iPhone 8 after passing for 6 years. It takes a great leadership to allow the company to cruise without him. Job was a transactional and transformational leader.
Job was described as a mean, unfriendly, impolite, and insensitive in his early career-life; however, his successor, Tim Cook stated that Job had distinctively matured in his later career phase (Eades, 2017). Despite the denunciation of a poor character, Job successfully motivated his employees to create something new. He shared his vision with his staff and provided vision to them while keeping them motivated.
Job concentrated on emerging and getting the next-generation of leaders in Apple ready without him later. According to Executive Leadership 2012, Mother Teresa’s order can be found in 600 facilities in 120 nations after 10 years of her death. As a transformational leader, she inspired others to help the poor while following her. She had even inspired Princess Diana and Fidel Castro to see the possibilities and assist to attain her goals. Transformational leadership was also practiced in my last organization and the employees were motivated to work towards the same goals as working in a group is essential.
Innovation and thoughts sharing are encouraged. Employees are involved in decision making. However, often discussion sessions digressed from the main topics and managers had to step in and stop people from going off-topic. In conclusion, leadership and management practices are diverse. Leaders invent while managers operate. The joint effort of managers and leaders can develop efficiency and revolution (Simonet & Tett, 2013). A set goal can be achieved whether it is in a commercial or non-commercial setting with the right alignment of management and leadership practices.
