SCHOLARLY LEADERSHIP ASSIGNMENT



Scholarly leadership assignment: Comparison between Behavioral and Contemporary leadership approaches. Nhat M. NguyenDate: February 5, 2014Humber CollegeComparison between Behavioral and Contemporary leadership approaches.Introduction:Leader is a person that plays an essential role in controlling and operating in a workplace, a company, and an organization. A successful leader knows how to work with team members and others to perform tasks and solve problems in order to maintain and develop a positive working environment and production. One of definitions of leadership is stated by Al-Sawai (2013) who defines “leadership has been described as the behavior of an individual when directing the activities of a group toward shared goal” (p.1), which emphasizes influences of a leader on others attitude to accomplish a preferred goal. This paper is written to describe and compare two major leadership approaches in the leadership theory: behavioral approach and contemporary approach according to leadership styles, involved members, and decisions. Firstly, behavioral approach emphasizes necessary behaviors of a leader need to have in order to affect subordinates’ attitude through interpersonal relations, rewards and punishments which lead to desired goal (Davis & Luthans, 1979, p. 239), and this approach has two fundamental leader behaviors which focus on employee needs and task accomplishment with three main leadership styles: autocratic, democratic and laissez-faire leaderships (Al-Sawai, 2013, p. 1). Secondly, contemporary approach acknowledges effectiveness of leadership and leaders ability in conveying sense of mission to followers and inspiring them to work together in order to achieve group goals (Al-Sawai, 2013, p. 1). There are two leadership styles in the contemporary approach: charismatic leadership and transformational leadership (Popper & Zakkai, 1994). Body paragraph: Similarity:The first similarity between behavioral and contemporary approaches is to emphasize importance of leader role in using their skills and knowledge to direct team members toward common goal by enhancing effective performances from other. For example, both approaches focus on how to accomplish their planned goal by working with members. The second similarity is emotional intelligence skills including self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and social skills are necessary skills which help leaders succeed (Giltinane, 2013). This means leaders need to be good at recognizing whether their own emotions or followers’ emotions in a particular situation in order to interest followers into group activities; identify issues in helping solve group conflicts; and provide positive working environment. In summary, both these approaches have the same ideas about the vital role of leaders and their emotional intelligence skills are needed in resolving problems and maintaining relationships with followers. Contrast:However, there are differences when leaders in behavioral and contemporary approaches conduct an influence process on their followers toward a planned goal according to three categories: particular leadership styles, engaged members, and decisions. Firstly, autocratic leadership is one of three leadership styles in the behavioral approach. Giltinane (2013) describes autocratic leaders as “controlling, power-oriented, and closed-mind” which means they like to control over followers by demanding and comply with rules, so they reward who obey rules and punish who are disobedient in purpose of stimulating and regulating subordinates’ attitude toward tasks complement. For example, in a health care context, a doctor will be in charge of a group in order to save a patient who is in life-threatening condition in an emergency room. In other words, the leader would make decisions and want team members to follow his or her commands. In contrast, Giltinane (2013) portrays transformational leader, which is an example of the contemporary leadership style, as “intellectually inspire followers, identify individual differences, and assist followers to develop their strengths to pursue team’s vision”. This means transformational leader would like to support, motivate, and help followers become effective leaders with their leadership skills, so followers can work equally and contribute effectively toward group goals. To sum, both these leadership styles have different ways to manage their work. The autocratic leaders concentrate on “task management” by rewarding and punishing subordinates to have tasks done, whereas transformational leaders focus on developing and persuading individual members’ ability to work more effectively. Secondly, Davis and Luthans (1979) claim that leaders of the behavioral approach have relational effect on followers who are being under controlled by behavioral leaders (p. 239). In other words, members who are involved into assignments having official and working relationships with the leaders in a particular organization, team, program or work group in term of being monitored by leaders such as managers, head nurses, supervisors, and directors. For example, a manager of medical unit is only able to manage and control staffs working on the same unit such as nurses, personal support workers, and therapists. On other hands, Popper and Zakkai (1994) think leaders of the contemporary approach are sensitive to major changes and motivate other professionals join with them to make differences in organizations, so it would produce a better sense of leadership in various organizations and hierarchical contexts. For example, a nurse can work with other professional who come from different organizations and fields such as pharmacist, social workers, and polices in order to provide a better patient care outcome. To sum, behavioral leaders have limited effects on involved followers than the contemporary leaders who inspire followers to a higher view of future change in term of “shared value and belief” (Giltinane, 2013). The third difference is how leaders make decisions. According to Popper & Zakkai (1994), they state that leaders in the behavioral approach are “responsive” to present issues and handle situational factors with including subordinates expectations (p.6). Therefore, the leaders will make decisions based on situational context and subordinates concerning behaviors. For example, the leaders interfere and solve conflicts among subordinates when these conflicts leave negative effects on performing tasks. Moreover, the leaders make decisions on whether rewarding or punishing subordinates whenever they perform well or break a rule in term of completing tasks. On other hands, Popper & Zakkai (1994) think leaders of contemporary are “proactive” which mean they look at present issues to “achieve future aims” and create “new expectations” in followers (p. 239). Therefore, the leaders make decisions on which need to be prepared for making major changes by either how to make a constructed plan or how to convey its content to followers by an effectively and convinced communication. For example, to provide patient safety, a nurse raises his or her voice to faculties to obtain agreement and commitment in term of improving patient quality care and preventing harmful events. In summary, situational factors and subordinates relations affect behavioral leaders’ decisions; however, major change and followers’ commitment influence the contemporary leaders’ decisions. Conclusion:In conclusion, leadership is essential in planning, managing and developing organizational goals. In this essay, it compares and contrasts two main approaches: behavioral approach and contemporary approach in leadership theory. These approaches are same when emphasizing importance of a leader role in leading team toward goal and emotional intelligence skills of a leader in identifying issues and coping them. However, there are differences in both approaches according to leadership styles, engaged members, and choices. In my opinion, I would like to choose transformational leadership style to be my preferred leadership style that will be the focus of learning in the pre-graduate clinical placement because of study of nursing leadership style and psychosocial work environment is researched by Malloy and Penprase (2010) who based on statistics to state “transformational leadership style has been identified as a style leading to higher nursing clinical qualities and leader effectiveness as well as increased nursing job satisfaction”. Moreover, I have a strong belief that people can be leaders, and I would like someone else in health care field can coach me and inspire me in gaining skills and knowledge that help me able to stand on my own rather than commanding. Therefore, I feel more confidence to contribute my ability and competency to not only quality of patient care but also organizational integrity goal. Furthermore, I think it is easier for me to be on my accountability doing my career with other members, and it is more exciting because I can look at “present issue” to find things need to be improved for “future change” in term of facilitating and developing healthcare care context.ReferencesAl-Sawai, A. (2013). Leadership of healthcare professionals: Where do we stand? Oman Medical Journal, 28(4), 285+. Retrieved from . Davis, R. W., & Luthans, F. (1979). Leadership reexamined: A behavioral approach. Academy of Management.the Academy of Management Review (Pre-1986), 4(000002), 237. Retrieved from , C. L. (2013). Leadership styles and theories. Nursing Standard, 27(41), 35-9. Retrieved from , T., & Penprase, B. (2010). Nursing leadership style and psychosocial work environment. Journal of Nursing Management, 18(6), 715-725. Popper, M., & Zakkai, E. (1994). Transactional, charismatic and transformational leadership: Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 15(6), 3. 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