Leadership Styles in Action
A great example of a modern model of ethical leadership is the concept of servant leadership. A servant leader sees their purpose in the role of a helper, therefore, making the principle of service his leadership behavior base. Manning and Curtis (2021) state that “in any case, such leadership motivates employees and brings out their best in job performance” (p. 263). Thus, transforming the approach to leadership is an essential prerequisite for changing the culture in a company. Jang and Kandampully (2017, p. 135) argue that “servant leadership may enhance affective organizational commitment, which ultimately contributes to reducing the employee turnover intention”. Therefore, if applied thoughtfully, servant leadership still presents more merits to an organization than other, non-supportive models.
Another type of leadership is presented by the situational theory – this one focuses more on the behavior that the leader must exhibit when there are situational factors present. It renders the complex process of leading to 4 basic processes which depend on the task that needs to be executed. While it offers a more deliberate approach than other styles, situational theory still prefers situation over leader in the process of making decisions.
The participatory style of leadership is based on the idea of teamwork, participation of subordinates in making managerial decisions, and motivation for participation. The participative leader contributes to the cohesion of the organization’s members, their awareness of the commonality of goals, as well as the communication of their forces and abilities. The main difference between participatory leadership style and other styles is that any employee in such a structure has the right to initiate the discussion process, and is strongly encouraged to do so. However, participatory leadership has its limitations, mainly because within this style, the activities of the leader are subject to the collective control of the group, which can lead to negative consequences due to the dispersion of responsibility.
The classic example of a servant leader is the founder of Grameen Bank of Bangladesh Mohammed Yunus. Unlike “traditional” companies in the field of microfinance, Yunus’ bank issues loans to the poor population of the country under very low interest and no collateral. Moreover, the main borrowers are representatives of the female half of the population, which is a very radical step for the Islamic society. Such social enterprises are prime examples of healthy organizations with servant leaders. The ideology of servant leadership is reflected in the phenomenon of social entrepreneurship.
As a leader, I could fulfill the role of a servant by working together with my team towards restoring the integrity of our society. This could be done by taking part in supplying the continuous development of it, as well as support the building of sustainable communities. The main qualities of a servant leader that I would have to develop are the ability to listen and empathize with others, and a conceptual and holistic thinking to foresee the outcomes of different situations.
High Performance
To be honest, I have never experienced a truly high performance teamwork in my professional career. However, when the pandemic hit, we have all worked quite hard as a team to save the lives of our COVID-19 patients, and that was the first such experience in our entire careers. Our team did all it could to save the peoples’ lives, which we put before our own and our families’ ones. The key to our success was the constant training and practice of what we were supposed to do, so that when the time came, we all did it well. However, our team could benefit from a more attentive approach of the leader, who might improve our task addressing by listening more closely to the needs of each team member. There were co-workers from less performing teams who refused to come to work because they were afraid of their own and their families’ safety. The leaders of these teams could also use the attention the servant leadership requires to try and work with such workers on their fears more closely.
References
Manning, G., & Curtis, K. (2021). The art of leadership. McGraw Hill Education.
Jang, J. & Kandampully, J., 2017. Reducing Employee Turnover Intention Through Servant Leadership in the Restaurant Context: A Mediation Study of Affective Organizational Commitment. International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Administration, 19(2), pp.125–141. Web.