250 words for each response must be cited with references.

response 1:In business, leadership takes many forms depending on the roles the leader assumes. Sometimes a leader has a technical leadership role, other times a leader may be called into an administrative leadership role. In each case though, leadership involves motivating team members to achieve a goal. Using situational leadership theories, organizational behaviorists examine the effects of leaders, leadership styles, and the affects of both on the outcome of team projects.
The Fiedler contingency model is based on the “proper match” of the leader’s style and how much control over the situation the leader is able to have. Three characteristics integral to the model is leader-member relations, task structure, and position power. Identifying leader’s leadership style is an important step in this model because if a “proper match” cannot be found, either the situation or the leader must be changed (Robbins & Judge, 2009, p. 392).
In our textbook, the analogy of a baseball game was used where a right-handed or left-handed pitcher was substituted to match the hitting characteristics of the batter. Using the same analogy, a pitcher who normally throws fast balls, may switch to throwing curve balls instead to a batter known to hit fast balls better than curve balls. In this same manner, a leader exercises an alternative leadership style thus changing the situation and the potential outcome (Robbins & Judge, 2009).
The situational leadership theory focuses more on the team members and that the leader is only as effective as the team members allow him to be. Hersey and Blanchard defined the term readiness, as “the extent to which people have the ability and willingness to accomplish a specific task” (Robbins & Judge, 2009, p. 396).
An example would be, a platoon leader who is not accepted by the platoon cannot effectively lead soldiers into battle. There is a myriad of reasons why leaders may not be accepted by their team. The team might feel that the person lacks the technical skill set to properly lead. If this is a new leader, the team might be unfamiliar with the person’s background and not be aware of the credentials that qualify them for a leadership position. The team could also have knowledge of a moral deficiency that prevents some team members from respecting the leader.
Hersey and Blanchard focus on two key areas – ability and willingness. These two aspects are independent, thus four variations may be present. When team members are both able and willing, “the leader doesn’t need to do much” (Robbins & Judge, 2009, p. 396).
Thus, this combination of being both able and willing strongly increases the likelihood of a successful outcome. This is equivalent to where the prophet Isaiah in his reply to the calling of the LORD says, “Here am I. Send me!” (NASB, 1995, Isaiah 6:8).
The Path-Goal theory suggests that the leadership behavior-outcome relationship is effected by environmental factors out of the control of the leader, and attributes of the team member’s personality that cause them to consider the situation and the leader behavior. Dr. Fischer in his audio lecture series mentions “depending on where they’re at” what leadership behavior style is the best to use (Fischer, 2012, Lesson 6 Slide 6). The basis for the Path-Goal model is that the leader removes obstacles preventing the team from achieving their goal and provides support in terms of instruction and resources so the team can fulfill its mission.
I used to work in a company where a senior executive would come by often and ask one simple question. He would say, “Do you have everything you need to do your job effectively?”. This executive was demonstrating supportive leadership and clearly a proponent of the Path-Goal theory.
In addition to the four leadership behaviors mentioned in the textbook, one paper discussed that House reworked a 1996 version of path-goal theory and came up with four more leadership behaviors (Vandergrift & Matusitz, 2011, p. 354). One trait, value-based leadership, I found particularly interesting. In value-based leadership, the leader pushes others to produce high-quality work as an expectation. It is characterized by a leader who is passionate about their work, prone to self-sacrifice, and is inspirational to the members of the team. The Apostle Paul wrote of Jesus, “He existed in the form of God…but emptied Himself…obedient to the point of death” (NASB, 1995, Philipians 2:6-8). Certainly, no one has displayed such self-sacrifice as this.

References

Fischer, K. (2012). BMAL 500 Audio Lecture Series, Individual Behavior in the Organization, Lesson 6, Slide 6. Lynchburg, VA, US.
NASB. (1995). Isaiah 6:8. (T. L. Foundation, Producer) Retrieved Apr 24, 2016, from Bible Gateway: https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/Isaiah%206%3A8
NASB. (1995). Philippians 2:6-8. (T. L. Foundation, Producer) Retrieved Apr 24, 2016, from Bible Gateway: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians+2%3A6-8&version=NASB
Robbins, S., & Judge, T. A. (2009). Organizational Behavior. Upper Saddle River, NJ, US: Prentice Hall.
Vandergrift, R., & Matusitz, J. (2011). Path-Goal Theory: A Successful Columbia Records Story. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment , 21, 35-362.

Response 2:Being A Successful Team Leader

I think two factors are very important when determining what makes up a successful team. Every successful team has two components, a good leader who has the ability to motivate the individuals, and all the people who make up the group.  In my business culture, we hammer in the importance of continuous improvement.  Nothing drives continuous improvement more than a good team. An individual could do all the data analysis in the world, but if there is no effort for the group then no improvement will be sustainable or implemented.  When a plant manager is going through the parking lot of project which is nothing more than a giant list of potential and available projects that can be started at a site, the first key step is selecting the right leader to lead a project.  According to Fischer (2009) leadership is defined as someone who has the ability to influence others and take ownership of a process. The most effective leaders are one who have certain traits and who display consideration and structuring behaviors (Robbins and Judge, pg.390, 2009). If a leader is relies too much on trait based theories can set them self up failure. This failure can be due to multiple reasons. If a person who is elected to a leader does not have the traits to be one, the team will go no where.  The most important trait when it comes to leadership is extraversion.  In my career, I need to be extraverted in order to be effective. If I can not get in front of people and ‘rally the troop,’ the troops do not want to go to battle with you. I see it everyday, when leader do not display the traits of successful leader, they do not take control of their issue. Another key topic when a leader is being selected is which of the two dimensions that the leader have. The task at hand should delegate if a leader should be someone who is more employee or production based.  At work, I have been part of a team where a leader is more concerned with person relations (employee – oriented) when the task needs a production based leader since there are deadlines and technical tasks involved.
The other important part of any team is who actually makes up that team. When working on continuous improvement projects, it is important to create a team that has a individuals representing each department of the work force. A team that has people from each area is called a cross-functional team.  More corporations are turning to cross function teams on high valued projects since it maximizes knowledge of the group with each group of the company represented (McDonough, 2000).  Speaking from a personal experience, I find it interesting that more people do not use cross functional teams. Last year, I was working on a project to introduce a new process but I left out supply chain from my group. When we went to roll out new process to the plant, everyone was in favor of it, yet supply chain had a huge objections since it would impact their work. If I would have invovled them from the start, the group would not have to go back and start from scratch with supply chain invovled. Proverbs 11:14 (New International Version)  says “Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of conselors there is safety.  I view this bible passage as the abundance of safety is the entire group. When everyone works together, the group will be successful, but when no leader steps up and takes charge, the group will fail.

Reference:
Dr. Fischer, Kahlib. Presentation: Lesson 6 – Leadership. 2009. Presentation.
McDonough. E., (2000), Investigation of Factors contributing to the Success of Cross-functional Teams. Journal of Product Innovation Management  Pg. 221-235. Vol 17 Iss 3.
Robbins, S. Judge, T. (2009). Organization Behaviors. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall

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