Leaders within organizations must have the skills and knowledge to lead effectively and to make a difference. Leadership style and acumen are of critical importance in addressing some of the key concerns which impact decision-making for leaders and enable them to reach their employees effectively. A strong leader is critical during periods of transition and requires a motivated and creative individual who can contribute ideas which will have lasting benefits over time (Deichmann & Stam, 2015). In many ways, transformative leaders may serve a practical purpose in an organization because they embrace change and are willing to go the extra mile to make changes successful; however, their behaviors often dictate these decisions and should align with organizational core values so that organizational goals and objectives can be achieved in a timely manner (Bottomley, Burgess, & Fox, 2014).
Body
Transformational leadership is one aspect of embracing organizational change and provides a framework for emergent and planned change as it occurs, enabling leaders to embrace their roles and to inspire others to perform effectively (van der Voet, 2013). Transformational leadership also supports greater engagement and identification with the organization and is likely to strengthen performance over time (van der Voet, 2013). It is necessary for organizational leaders to be engaging and to have a charismatic personality and approach because this will likely impact how employees perceive their work and how they perform (Boehm, Dwertmann, Bruch, & Shamir, 2015).
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"How Is the Organizational Culture, Innovation & Performance During Business Transformation Affected by Leadership Style?".
From this perspective, organizational identity strength is of critical importance and is aligned with a transformational leadership style to improve performance (Boehm et al., 2015). It is believed that in many organizations, up to 45 percent of performance-related outcomes are directly attributed to leadership; therefore, how the leader approaches employees and directs actions plays a significant role in his or her effectiveness in this capacity (Boehm et al., 2015).
For organizations to remain competitive and achieve success, it is important to inspire innovation and creativity at the leadership level and down to employees, and this is best accomplished with a strategy which will enable leaders to embrace transformative qualities to spark creativity and innovation from the top down (Kang, Solomon, & Choi, 2015). These practices are instrumental in supporting an organizational climate which will engage employees and support optimal performance (Kang et al., 2015). The concept of authentic leadership is important because it is associated with a transformative approach; however, the latter is more significant and has greater relevancy among employees than the former (Banks, McCauley, Gardner, & Guler, 2016). Authentic leadership, if embraced, should not interfere with ethical priorities for the organization, and leaders should have a clear direction and focus in their efforts going forward (Banks et al., 2016).
Leadership styles often play a role in employees’ job satisfaction because there is always a risk of developing a style which may contradict the organizational direction (Saleem, 2015). This is an unfortunate and avoidable situation if leaders are selected who align with the vision that the organization has for its current and future operations (Saleem, 2015). At the same time, a degree of stability must be in place to support periods of change, as leaders must serve as a calming and steady force for employees to align their performance with organizational objectives (Holten & Brenner, 2013). From this perspective, leaders should embrace followers and engage them in the steps required to be a successful organization, enabling them to adapt to change as necessary by supporting their strengths and their professional growth in the process (Holten & Brenner, 2013). Most importantly, organizational leaders should support areas where employees can be creative and express themselves to fulfill the demands of their roles, along with recognizing that they have a creative spirit and should have the ability to bring new ideas to the table as appropriate.
The practices which leaders adopt represent a means of connecting employees with the organization and allowing them to share their ideas in a creative space, to be supportive of changes as they occur, and to acknowledge that there are specific needs that must be addressed which will have a positive and lasting impact on the organization over the long term (Dong, Bartol, Zhang, & Li, 2016). Organizational leaders have a responsibility to be proactive in working with employees, in providing a framework that will produce successful results, and in recognizing the importance of meeting the desired expectations of leaders in the future. The leadership style which is embraced will play a significant role in bringing employees along and on board with any changes that are necessary due to the economic climate or due to other needs, such as sustaining a strong competitive advantage.
Conclusion
Organizational leaders have a responsibility to develop approaches which will engage employees and bring out the best in their performance, particularly when changes are taking place. This process requires a greater understanding of how leadership effectiveness can be accomplished with a transformative approach to inspire innovative practices and creativity among employees. Furthermore, transformational leadership will reverberate from the top down and provide a solid framework going forward to achieve successful results. Leaders must demonstrate willingness to engage with employees and to support their growth, while also maintaining high expectations regarding how to best move forward. These practices will facilitate leader-employee engagement and provide a framework for advancing key objectives throughout the organization, along with understanding how the vision and core values of the business align with these goals.
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