In order to improve company’s performance, the respective leadership style is to be adopted. From this perspective, it is crucial to understand who leaders are and what their roles are in terms of enforcing change and maintaining an effective functioning of a company. It is important to understand that today the processes of decision-making and communication is often carried out by a group of individuals. The tendency to carry out changes without a visible leader is observed not only within the sphere of organizational change, but also in the field of social movements. For example, in matrix organizational structure employees are divided in the teams of specialists and set of divisions within the organization are horizontal However, the roles of leaders in companies is still very significant, especially in those companies that are characterized by a big size, Therefore, it is important to acquire a better understanding of a leader and the role that he or she plays within an organization.
The roles of a leader and a manager might overlap, although there are fundamental differences between them. While leader is the one who creates and affects positive changes, the role of a manager is to maintain the status quo (Caroselli, 2000). In addition to this, they key characteristic of leadership today is the ability to influence. This influence is usually achieved as a result of integrity and honesty in leadership, effective communication and a good understanding of company’s mission (Shaffer, 2015). This notion should be relentlessly applied to a work environment in order to expand a leader’s potential in terms of influencing employees. Whilst effective managers do have influence by motivating employees and encouraging trust, managers can also be autocratic. Yet, autocratic management is usually regarded as highly ineffective (Shaffer, 2015).
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"What A Leader Is?".
Leader as a visionary is a leader who seeks for the room for improvement and is never fully satisfied with the status quo. Today given the rising rates of competition, improving company’s effectiveness is one of the main organizational goals, which can be achieved with help of a leader who lives with an eye towards the future. Greiner (1967) argues that the most successful organizations are in the constant process of change in order to raise the level of their effectiveness. In addition to this, an effective leader inspires employee to take part in the process of introducing changes. Namely, the case of Medicaid offices in New York shows that a company benefits if employees are encouraged to share their vision of the company’s future and participate in the work of change teams (Isett, Glied, Sparer & Grown, 2013).
The notion of a leader as a problem-solver has the message that a good leader should solve problems that demand both analytical and creative solutions. To be more precise, some problems are logical and require an analytical approach to their solution. In the meantime, there are problems that should be solved creatively and require an innovative approach. An effective leader thus needs to combine the needed skills in order to solve both types of problems. In addition to this, the notion of a leader as a problem solver has the embedded message that an effective leader should possess the talent of persuading other people that the solutions that he or she offers are the best solutions. It requires a variety of communication skills. In addition to this, leader’s reputation and the influence that he or she has within the company play a big role in terms of proving the ‘credibility’ of decisions offered by a leader.
Perhaps one of the most important roles of an effective leader is the ability to build a strong team. This is usually achieved by the inclusion of individuals both from the maintenance and task category. In addition to this, while an effective leader is to lead and organize a team, there should be some level of employees’ autonomy. Specifically, the feeling of autonomy positively influences employees’ perception of their potential in terms of introducing changes (Isett, Glied, Sparer & Grown, 2013). This can often be achieved with the help of a shift from a vertical system of power to the one that is more horizontal. Specifically, communication that is carried out in a bottom up manner helps each employee to be involved in the process of decision-making.
Finally, it might seem challenging to build a cohesive team, especially when employees some from different cultural backgrounds. Appreciating diversity is a much needed element of an effective functioning of multinational organizations. There are some specific religious values that differ from one society to another and impact the sphere of business in this country. For instance, whilst the majority of Western societies are individualist societies, Eastern societies foremost adhere to the values of collectivism. This has a significant impact on the way that business decisions are made, as well as on the relationship between an employer and employee, the mechanisms of problem solution etc. When intercultural interaction occurs, a failure to appreciate cultural diversity might lead to conflicts and negatively affect the success of an organization. In a contrast, the promotion of cultural diversity creates a situation when the perspectives of people from different cultural backgrounds are taken into account, which expands the potential of an organization.
Summarizing everything stated above, in the globalized capitalist world where the competition is very high, improving company’s potential is the most important goal of an organization, which can foremost be achieved with the help of an effective leader. Whilst leaders and managers might have different roles sometimes, it is important for managers to acquire some characteristics that leaders possess such as the ability to influence, seek for improvement, build a strong team, and be effective in the process of problem solution.
