Upload
manasvini-vimalkumar
View
36
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
The leadership style in me- Bringing change through transformational leadership
An essay on my style of leadership
Manasvini Vimal Kumar6/20/2014
MADS 6709
Dr. Sydney Scott
Fairleigh Dickinson University
Everyone has their own style of leadership and leadership qualities, depending on their individual personalities and thinking. This essay is an effort to explain my style of leadership and my understanding of leader-follower relationship in the light of my experience in my last job.
2
The leadership style in me- Bringing change through transformational leadership
A leader is a person who looks beyond the conventional, who discovers and walks the
never-treaded path, who listens to his or her soul and conscience and who visualizes oneself and
his or her organization in a position that is idealistic, yet, possible (McCrimmon,2011, 34th
paragraph). This role was also what I wanted to take up, being fed up of materialistic, narcissist
and egocentric Indian political and corporate leadership that I had experienced in my life of 30
years. I had my first chance after joining a printing and graphics company in 2010.It was a
profitable business, but, its employees were not engaged and were merely passive followers of
command. They did not feel belonged. After trying hard to justify my role as a Communications
Manager alone, in a diplomatic and 'make-everyone-happy' style, I realized that I could not
consummate the desire of my soul, the desire of bringing about a change- to satisfy the common
worker, to be a people's leader, unless, I would stand up for them and try to align their skills and
capabilities, in line with the organization's goals, and then use this opportunity to bring about a
change of perspective among not only the senior management, but the workforce too. Then, it
dawned upon me that this could be best served if I metamorphose myself from the pupal stage of
achievement-orientedness to the more responsible transformed stage of a butterfly, that spreads
happiness. And hence I realized my own worldview, my style of leading. Transformational
Leadership, then became my philosophy of leadership. This essay will delve into the strategies-
both creative and inspirational, that I planned to undertake to implement my style.
To begin with, I was inspired by Leo Tolstoy's remark " Everyone thinks of changing the
world, but no one thinks of changing himself (Tolstoy)." If I aspired to bring about a change, I
needed to lead from the front. So I started concentrating on the lacunae tried to bring two open
The leadership style in me
3
ends in appositional approximation, instead of opposing hostility. The repair was a challenge to a
potential leader's role- to identify the problem and then confront it (Gamble & Gamble 2013). I
started by asking the graphic designers, the machine operators, the installation crew and the
drivers, what was it that concerned them, how did they want to work and how did they think they
could put their talent and skill together to achieve the strategic goals of the company in the near
future. At first all I could observe was resentment, practiced indignant silence and utter
dissatisfaction. But, I had to respect their individuality and this was the opportunity for me to
resolve conflicts and show them the path for resilience and give them the hope that we had light
at the end of the tunnel. My challenge was to implore them to travel to the end.
Therefore, I started by trying to gain their confidence, not because I wanted them to be
productive as a diplomat or an expert would, but, because I understood that without the basics of
life being in place, it was difficult for any human being to achieve his or her own goals, let alone
that of their employers. I utilized my medical knowledge based skills to improve their quality of
life by providing free consultation to their wives, children and relatives. I even took a pregnant
lady to a maternity centre and used my contacts to get her registered for an institutional delivery-
something that was not only difficult for the low income group but also, important as it included
free vaccination, free supplemental nutrition and enrollment in the national population register as
well as scholarship for the girl child that was born later. One part of me applauded itself for
being such a strategist, but, the implication was much deeper, and so was my desire. I was
prepared to give up my job if the management required, as I was being seen pro-workers and
anti-organization. The transformational change had begun. I soon realized that I had touched the
heart of not only that worker, but, 50 others, who appreciated my gesture and were more than
The leadership style in me
4
willing to follow my directions. This was the idealized influence that made them understand that
it was in none of my interests that I did cared for their families-as I was not being paid to do that,
I was not infact, being appreciated to do that either, but it gave me satisfaction and that is
probably what they could see, despite being semi-literate or rather, as a majority-illiterate
(Ghadi, Fernando& Caputi, 2011). It was then, that I made my point- I requested them to help
me make the work culture better for them, with their support and participation. I shared with
them my vision of a happy workplace in alignment with the company's goals, which has been
termed as inspirational leadership (Ghadi, Fernando& Caputi, 2011).
Interestingly, my managers realized that gradually I was becoming popular and my ways
were encouraged because they were favoring the company. Taking advantage of this opportunity
I enabled the machine workers and office staff to participate in the development process of the
company. I started by recognizing each person's technical capabilities, skills and appreciating
their individual personalities. Among the panorama of personality types, each one was made to
feel important and valuable. The graphic designers were creative artists, and were given
independence to explore the limits of creativity, building on the supporting style of Path Goal
model. The machine workers felt empowered when they were given opportunity to create their
own roster, the ladies became happy and more responsible when they were allowed to leave by
6pm, and the installation team felt important when I started their life insurance with a
considerable part being contributed by the company if they committed themselves for at least 5
years. This had the maximum impact as they used to shirk climbing heights for installation of
banners, for they had their apprehensions of getting injured and then, not being able to provide
for their families. And this was not because I wanted them to work towards the company's goals;
The leadership style in me
5
but because I wanted them to be happy, contended with their work and therefore, be able to grow
out of the boxed thinking -something imperative for personal growth.
Hence, by offering non-financial incentives, making them realize that their presence was
imperative for the company to even exist, let alone progress, I could emotionally charge them,
engage them, help them participate, and then give shape to their suggestions, and, give them
credit for the change they brought. This has been defined as driving intrinsic motivation by
McMahon and Ford (McMahon, & Ford, 2013). Thus, by stimulating them intellectually, I
wanted to give voice to the leaders in them (Ghadi, Fernando& Caputi, 2011). As a result, there
were more occasions than one, where problems arose, machines broke down, conflicts arose, but,
I received information only after everything was back to normal since they had learnt to resolve,
cooperate, work as a team, stop complaining and focus on the common goal. This was my style
of leadership. This energy, that is, the hidden potential of creativity in themselves evolved them
into superior human beings. And, I attribute my success to Rhonda Byrne's teachings, ''Believing
will allow you to achieve your dreams and wishes", and it is this faith in oneself, that is
strengthened through meditation, self realization and positive thinking.
Extrapolating this logic to the scenario in organizations and the concept of leadership, I
started with Participatory Leadership wherein my employees would feel responsible, not only
for their own little part, but, for the organization at large and when everyone does his or her best
at whatever they are good at by. However, the challenges were daunting. I had to demonstrate
that participatory style was actually better than the conventionally existent dictator-conformist
relationship. To be able to make illiterate people understand the importance of the responsibility
they were being given and its implications on my position was not easy and constant supervision
The leadership style in me
6
was required till a point of time that they demonstrated a discipline in their work and a better
culture was built . At times, our teams had to face failure and I was also discouraged when we
could not finish campaigns on time, but, resilience was required and I also had to consult the
contemporaries by putting my ego to sleep, as these were the people- the sales manager and the
assistant sales manager, who had initially mocked my style . Overall, it was a great learning
experience and I would not want to change my style.
In conclusion, planning to becoming a transformational person was easy but to work the
plan sometimes required a diplomatic attitude. However, the transformation I had visualized
soon after joining, had taken quite a shape by the time I left the organization and people were
more independent than when I met them first. Two of my immediate subordinates understood
shipping and logistics much better than their mentor did. I had seen the spark in these two young
people and had individually mentored them reaffirming the coaching style of Situational
Leadership and the importance of individual consideration (Ghadi, Fernando& Caputi, 2011).
Infact, one of them had started their masters in the field. That gave me such a sense of
accomplishment and contentment, that I do not regret going out of my profession, as I am
originally a professional Homeopathic doctor, to help build a strong team. Now, I am satisfied
when I read that transformational style of leadership is quite effective both, in countries where
autonomous rule is preferred as well as where there is democracy (Latham &Piccolo, 2013).
The leadership style in me
7
References
Gamble, T.K & Gamble, M.W.(2013). Leading with Communication: A practical approach to
leadership communication. New York: Sage Publications.
Ghadi, M.Y, Fernando, M.,& Caputi, P.(2011). Transformational leadership and work
engagement :The mediating effect of meaning in work. Leadership and Organizational
Development Journal, 34(6),532-550. DOI 10.1108/LODJ-10-2011-0110
Lathman, G.P, & Piccolo, R.F.(2013). Introduction to the special issue of the journal of
leadership and organizational studies. Journal of leadership and organizational studies,
20(1)5-6. DOI: 10.1177/1548051812466593
McCrimmon, M.(2011). The Ideal Leader. Ivey Business Journal: Improving the practice of
management. Retrieved from: http://www.iveybusinessjournal.com/topics/leadership/the-
ideal-leader#
McMahon, S.R & Ford, C.M. (2013). Heuristic transfer in the relationship between leadership
and employee creativity. Journal of leadership and organizational studies.20(1) 69-83.
DOI: 10.1177/1548051812465894
The leadership style in me