discussion response bz lead louis suton

Subject: Business

Assignments:
build creatively on the view below by showing in depth intelligent critique of theory or practice,add an international or cultural aspect, show originality in the application of theory and clarify the theory being studied. and provide real examples

submission:

Introduction
This paper focuses on effective leadership and discusses a specific example of a successful leader. It further examines situational leadership and contingency theory approaches. To appropriately examine the theories and support the positions proposed in this paper the author will use a specific example of an effective leader as a case study. The leader discussed here ‘John Smith’ is an executive at a large multinational corporation. His role is in IT, and is responsible for an organisation of 250 people; who build strategic solutions to help achieve the organisations’ goals. The organisation’s capital investment portfolio is driven by guidance and direction provided by John Smith and his team. John has been with the organisation 12 years and has held a number of different roles throughout his tenure. At first glance it would be fair to say that John’s leadership style is very inclusive, and he exhibits strong supportive / relationship behaviours. “Supportive behaviours help group members feel comfortable about themselves, their co-workers, and the situation.” Northouse (2013, pg. 101). Upon further analysis however there is far more depth and breadth to this leader and what has made him so successful. Without exception, throughout his tenure this leader has enjoyed unparalleled success, is extremely well liked and respected and has legitimate power in the organisation.

Situational leadership and Contingency theory

Vroom and Jago (2007, pg. 23) define leadership as “a process of motivating others to work together collaboratively to accomplish great things” This aligns with the resounding feedback received about this leader. Having worked directly for this leader for a number of years the author wanted to ensure to include objective perspectives in the assessment of John’s leadership style and effectiveness. 10 employees from across the organisation, at various levels were interviewed to support this article. When interviewed himself and asked what the secret to his success was he said “everyone has a value and has potential and I see my role as enabling people to reach their full potential whilst meeting the goals and objectives of the organisation” Smith (2013, Interview).

This is a telling fact in and of itself. From a situational leadership perspective – the leader scores high, he is both directive and supportive – Northouse (2013) and effectively applies the appropriate approach at the right time. Smith has an excellent reputation at the company as being firm but fair, believes in people and achieves his objectives. One program in particular demonstrates John Smith’s capabilities as an effective leader. He was tasked with leading the organisation to replace core tools, processes and business capabilities across a 35,000 person organisation. The program was multi-year, multi-phase and very complex. The key challenge was to keep all stakeholders engaged and active on the program from conception through to delivery. Given the duration this can be very challenging for an organisation of this size and scale. John’s unwavering commitment, belief and ability to influence resulted in a successful outcome – the largest, most successful investment program ever completed at the company (internally).

Critical to John’s success on this and many other strategic programs were his natural leadership skills. His ability to adjust his style to meet the needs of the core team – Northouse (2013) on an on-going basis was a true testament to the belief he had in the program, the team and himself. What the program needed in order to succeed he matched in terms of leadership style, behaviour. Whether by design or by accident the role John Smith held at the organisation was a perfect fit for his style, personality and strengths. John is the right mix of relationship and task motivated – Northouse (2013). Brandon (2010) said “If you don’t develop trust among the people you work with, all is lost” – John Smith lives by this creed also and emerges as the natural leader in most situations. His integrity, knowledge and skills engender support in followers and make him very influential with his executive peers in the organisation.

Conclusions

A strong situational leader who is considerate of others, can read the organisation and ensure appropriate supporting mechanisms are in place is indeed a valuable commodity. “people with high power are more interpersonally sensitive than people with low power” Schmid et al (2009, pg. 835) – certainly to stay at the top of their game effective leaders need to ensure they are in tune with the pulse of the organisation and aren’t a one trick pony. Having an adaptive style, as, in the case of John Smith ensures the leader is positioned well for success. Adapting one’s style and behaviours to match the needs of the situation and indeed the organisation is no mean feat, nor is there a magic recipe for achieving this nirvana. Without exception every one of the 10 people interviewed to collect leadership effectiveness data on John Smith for this paper said he was an inspiring leader who always seemed to know what needed to be done and how to get the best out of the people doing the work. Overwhelmingly it seems John Smith is both directive and supportive relative to achieving the purpose / goal.

From this author’s perspective the Global program John led to successful completion was a major turning point in terms of career prospects and organisation outlook. From the outset and throughout the life of the program Smith made it very clear what the goals, focus and objectives were. His approach engendered loyalty in his team who worked extremely hard – the approach Smith took to structure the work / tasks was clear and concise ensuring the team had known parameters to work within. Smith is an executive at the firm and therefore accountable for the outcome of the programs in his purview. He absolutely recognises that he cannot and will not be successful without the right team, support and drive to do what needs to be done to enable the firms’ transformation strategy and as such adapts and continues to learn and grow with the organisation, the people and given situations

References

Brandon, D – Fifty Lessons, Ltd. (2010) Adapt your leadership style for each individual. Video [Online]. Available from: http://mym.cdn.laureate-media.com/2dett4d/50lessons/business_leadership/03/50Lessons_AdaptYourLeadershipStyleForEachIndividual.mov (Accessed Jun 22nd, 2013)

Northouse, P.G. (2013) Leadership: theory and practice. 6th ed. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications. Inc, [Online] available from: http://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781452255538/pages/45539052 (Accessed Jun 22nd, 2013)

Schmid Mast, M., Jonas, K. & Hall, J.A. (2009) ‘Give a person power and he or she will show interpersonal sensitivity: the phenomenon and its why and when’, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 97 (5), pp.835-850, PsycARTICLES [Online]. Available from: http://sfxhosted.exlibrisgroup.com.ezproxy.liv.ac.uk/lpu?title=journal+of+personality+and+social+psychology&volume=97&issue=5&spage=835&date=2009 (Accessed Jun 22md, 2013)

‘Smith, J’ (Jun 21st, 2013) Leadership Interview @ Dell Computer Corporation, Austin, Texas