Introduction
The success of a business depends on the type of leadership employed by the management. An effective leadership model motivates the employees and creates a conducive environment to develop their abilities and become competent. Additionally, constructive leadership fosters friendly relations between the management and the workforce, promoting employee engagement in making significant decisions affecting the business. Some of the major leadership theories in the business environment include empowering leadership theory and the change management leadership concept. This paper analyzes how empowering leadership concept gives the junior employees freedom to make independent decisions and how the change management model engages all the stakeholders in the business environment to implement change effectively.
Empowering Leadership Theory
The empowering leadership model is based on two major categories: rational and motivational constructs. The rational approach involves transferring power from the top managerial position to the subordinate employees to enable them to take the initiative and control their duties without the influence of the management (Kim, 2019). This approach allows the junior employees to exercise power and make decisions by allowing them to be in charge of their activities. This freedom enables the employees to be responsible and accountable for their roles in the workforce. Additionally, the ability to make independent decisions makes them feel they are part of the company, thus creating a sense of loyalty and satisfaction among the employees (Siachou & Gkorezis, 2018). Furthermore, the rational construct gives employees to develop high self-esteem and thus gain confidence to influence others.
The empowerment leadership model positively impacts a business by making the workforce feel part of the company. This model motivates the employees to be competent and responsible in their duties by reducing the interferences of the management in routine (Ahmed et al., 2022). Additionally, the empowering leadership theory solves the problems experienced in the workforce by creating a friendly relationship between the management and the workforce, thus increasing employee engagement in important matters affecting the company. A fluid relationship enables the employees to be open to the challenges they are experiencing, thus allowing the management to address such issues in time and preventing the rise of disagreements in the workforce. By allocating employees the freedom to make independent decisions in their activities, the management promotes equality and teamwork within the workforce, making all employees feel equal and appreciated (Ahmed et al., 2022). Besides, this leadership model creates loyalty among the employees, thus enabling the company to retain top talent and create a positive reputation to attract competent employees.
Applying this model requires careful consideration of various factors, including the organization structure, the discipline of the workforce, and the nature of the business. Firstly, the organization’s structure must be considered when implementing the empowering leadership model (Praszkier, 2018). Organizational structure outlines the flow of work in the organization and the different positions of authority. Some structures are incompatible with this leadership approach, and implementing it will disrupt the workflow and strip some employees of their duties.
Secondly, it is necessary to consider the workforce’s discipline, including the employees’ ability to work under minimum supervision. It is easier to effectively implement empowering leadership when the employees are disciplined and can work competently without the influence of the management than when the employees require close supervision (Praszkier, 2018). Lastly, the nature of the business is essential in determining the applicability of the empowering leadership model. For instance, businesses that deal with sensitive products such as foodstuffs and medicinal products may require close supervision of the production process to ensure that the employees meet quality standards. Therefore, granting them the freedom to operate in such cases may be detrimental to the business if some of the processes are not effectively executed.
Change Management Leadership Model
Due to expansion and other factors, including legislation and structural change, businesses are subject to change. However, managing these changes requires effective leadership to ensure that the organization successfully adopts the changes. When management manages change effectively, the business can easily experience evolution without disrupting its normal operations. Four major change management models can be implemented by organizational leadership to handle different changes that the organization may experience effectively (Galli, 2018). These models include Kotter’s model, Lewin’s change management model, McKinsey and ADKAR.
The Kotter model involves eight steps that are necessary for implementing change. These steps include creating urgency to gain the commitment of the workforce. Secondly, forming a powerful coalition with the crucial stakeholders and familiarizing them with the proposed changes (Harrison et al., 2021). Thirdly, creating a vision for the change by consulting the organization members on their opinion regarding the proposals. Other steps involve removing the obstacles that may delay the implementation of the change, creating short-term benefits, evaluating the proposals to improve the strengths, and ensuring the changes conform to the organizational culture. These steps will facilitate change without affecting the organization’s operations.
Lewin’s model proposes handling change by categorizing it into three major stages unfreeze, transition, and refreeze. The unfreezing stage involves introducing the change to the employees first and motivating them to adopt it (Harrison et al., 2021). This step enables the employees to prepare for the business transition that is triggered by the change. The change starts to take effect at the transition stage, forcing the organization into a transformation process. At this stage, the management constantly assures the workforce of the effectiveness of the change to prevent the employees from being affected by the transformation process. Lastly, the change is implemented and integrated into the organization’s system at the refreezing stage. The employees have fully adapted to the change in their daily routine at this stage.
McKinsey’s model involves seven significant factors that are necessary for implementing change. These factors include strategy, values, staff, skills, structure, style, and staff. McKinsey’s model involves combining these factors to develop an effective mechanism that the organization in implementing change can use (Harrison et al., 2021). This model has proved to be successful in assessing the abilities and limitations of an organization before implementing the change. However, the McKinsey model is considered complex and requires great knowledge of the organization and the workforce. The complexity of the model makes its success rate below that of other models.
The ADKAR model is based on addressing the psychological effects caused by change. This model aims to make the employees comfortable with the changes, thus making it easier for the organization to implement them (Harrison et al., 2021). ADKAR model addresses the psychological well-being of the employees by focusing on several elements, including awareness, desire, knowledge, ability, and reinforcement. Awareness is the first stage and involves making people familiar with the changes so that any concerns that may arise are addressed before the changes are implemented. Desire involves convincing the employees why the changes are necessary and creating the desire in them to yearn for the transformation. Knowledge enables the employees to understand the areas affected by the changes and their role in implementing them. The ability gives the workforce the confidence to implement the changes and adapt to the organization’s transformation. Lastly, reinforcement requires the management to monitor the adopted transformation and constantly update the new procedures to prevent the company from returning to its initial state.
The change management leadership concept impacts the business positively by enabling the organization to identify the resistance area and address these areas to implement the changes effectively. Additionally, the change management model enables the leadership to convince the workforce to perceive the changes positively and understand why the organization must transform (Weraniyagoda, 2018). This model enables the management to address psychological issues affecting the workforce, such as stress and anxiety that may develop due to changes. When the employees are adequately prepared for the change psychologically, they find it easier to adapt to the changes enabling the organization to maintain its operations while changing (Weraniyagoda, 2018). Besides, effective change management brings cohesion and collaboration to the organization. As a result, the organization can increase productivity and efficiency during the change.
Applying the change management leadership model requires close engagement between the employees and the management. Engagement enables the stakeholders to develop commitment and support for the changes (Hanks, 2018). Additionally, the change management model requires creating a well-structured approach that effectively integrates change into the organization (Hanks, 2018). This includes defining the roles that each stakeholder is supposed to play in implementing changes. Communication is vital in ensuring that change is effectively communicated.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the empowering leadership model is essential in motivating the employees by giving them the freedom to make independent decisions regarding their duties. Additionally, this model gives the subordinate workers the confidence to work under minimum supervision. Empowering leadership concept solves issues affecting the workforce by creating a friendly environment between the management and the employees. On the other hand, the change management leadership model enables the administration of a business to implement change by consulting all the stakeholders effectively, enabling them to prepare for the changes and adapt them successfully.
References
Ahmed, T., Chaojun, Y., Hongjuan, Y., & Mahmood, S. (2022). The Impact of Empowering Leadership on Job Performance of Higher Education Institutions Employees: Mediating Role of Goal Clarity and Self-Efficacy. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 15, 677-690.
Galli, B. J. (2018). Change management models: A comparative analysis and concerns. IEEE Engineering Management Review, 46(3), 124-132.
Hanks, S. (2018). Catalyzing organizational learning: Social, environmental, and cognitive factors promoting effective change management (Doctoral dissertation, Virginia Tech).
Harrison, R., Fischer, S., Walpola, R. L., Chauhan, A., Babalola, T., Mears, S., & Le-Dao, H. (2021). Where do models for change management, improvement and implementation meet? A systematic review of the applications of change management models in healthcare. Journal of healthcare leadership, 13, 85-108.
Kim, S. L. (2019). The interaction effects of proactive personality and empowering leadership, and close monitoring behaviour on creativity. Creativity and Innovation Management, 28(2), 230-239.
Praszkier, R. (2018). Empowering leadership of tomorrow. Cambridge University Press.
Siachou, E., & Gkorezis, P. (2018). Empowering leadership and organizational ambidexterity: a moderated mediation model. In Evidence-based HRM: a Global Forum for Empirical Scholarship (94-116). Emerald Publishing Limited.
Weraniyagoda, W. Y. C. (2018). Importance of change management for a successful bpr implementation a case study conducted on a company transitioning from a project based to product based solutions. Journal Review.