Interviewing Leaders

Questions: 1.What you Perceive this persons Leadership Styles, Behaviours, Traits? 2.How he/she uses Power and Influence Tactics to make him/her an Effective Leader? 3.Whether the person changes his/her Leadership in various situations. 4.Ask your Chosen Leader to describe his/her Leadership Style, Behaviours, Traits and his/her use of power and Influence Tactics, whether and how he/she changes his/her leadership in various situations. 5.What have you learnt about the Complexities of Leadership and Comparing what theory says and what you found i.e. do your findings support the Theories covered in the Course? 6.Given what you have found, how might your own Leadership Practice be improved as a result of undertaking this Assessment? Answers: Introduction Leadership is defined as a procedure that helps in influencing others for accomplishing the objective of an organization. It plays a significant role in a competitive business world for achieving the stability as well as success of the organization. It is one of the ability of an individual, which helps in motivating, influencing as well as enabling other towards the effectiveness as well as success of an organization (DuBrin 2015). Absence of proper and effective leadership might have negative impact on the organization, which can further hinder the organizations success. According to Goleman, Boyatzis and McKee (2013), proper leadership within an organization helps in maximizing the productivity, helps in reducing the turnover as well as assists in promoting a positive culture within the company. Therefore, presence of proper leadership is very much important. Background information on Marn Yaw With reference to interview question 1, Marn Yaw have been in a leadership position with GPS for close to ten years. During his service, he have received numerous awards for his contributions towards the company. As a subordinate of Marn Yaw for three years, I have established a close working relationship with him. As such, my observation and findings from the actual interview may correlate. Observation 1.Leadership Styles, Behavior and Traits of the Marn Yaw Marn Yaw is considered as an effective and successful leader due to his leadership styles, behavior and traits. It is observed that Marn Yaw follows participative style of leadership, which helps in valuing the input of various team members as well as peers. This leadership style helps in boosting the morale of the employees in the organization as they were asked to make proper contribution in the decision-making procedure in the organization (DuBrin 2015). He follows this type of leadership for making some specific changes within the organization. For instance, in 2014 our department was required to adopt a new enterprise system. Prior to this, Marn Yaw garnered feedbacks from the team before incorporating the feedbacks into implementing the system. The style is advantageous for the organization, as the staff of the company does not face any problem in accepting different types of policies as well as decisions. Marn Yaw not only focuses on his personal goals but also on the ambition of the organization. It is observed that there are number of characteristics as well as goals that help in categorizing Marn Yaw as an effective as well as successful leader. In my observation, he uses consultative approach while communicating with employees of the organization in order to get their suggestion. Marn Yaw has the capability to analyze various requirement of the organization properly. He not only recognizes the requirements but also develops proper requirement so that the organization can flourish. He helps in providing enthusiastic as well as creative encouragement by arranging various types of programs within the organization. Marn Yaw organizes three to four team building activities per year for our department. These programs not only encourages the employees but also motivate them towards their work (Lussier and Achua 2015). 2.Use of power and Influence Tactics for making an Effective leader Marn Yaw uses power and influence tactics to make him an effective leader. In my observation, he uses different influence as well as power tactics at different time. He uses rational persuasion tactic by providing some facts, data as well as logical arguments to the employees in order to convince them from his point of view. This is one of the most important influence tactic used by him. He mainly focuses on various values, emotions as well as beliefs of the staffs with an inspirational appeal for supporting various course of action (Fairhurst and Connaughton2014). This appeal is very much effective for the employees for making them creative as well as enthusiastic. I observed that Marn Yaw also uses exchange tactics to benefit the employees who in return also benefit the organization. He helps other employees when they asked for help. It is identified that personal appeal are quite effective for the employees. The Regional Manager uses legitimate power (Komives and Wagner 2016). This tactics is dependent on compliance with proper laws, rules and regulations. According to Shapiro and Stefkovich (2016), power is defined as the ability of an individual for influencing the actions of other individuals as well as groups. It is considered as the potential influence of the leader. Marn Yaw holds a high position in the organization and with the help of his position, it is identified that he holds legitimate power. He is the person who takes ultimate decision about various performance appraisals as well as employment. On the other hand, it is stated by Fairhurst and Connaughton (2014), that referent power is considered as one of the ability of a leader for influencing its subordinates due to their loyalty, friendship, desire for gaining acceptance. Marrn Yaws willingness as well as friendliness helps him to listen to the problems of the employees. Due to his approachable characteristics, employees feel free in trusting him. Marn Yaw uses influence tactics for making the employees feel good about him. For instance, he motivates employees, helps them when they need help, communicate with them properly and pays attention towards their problem. This characteristic is very much effective as the regional manager of organization is very much honest, infrequent as well as intended. 3.Changes in leadership Style in various situtations Marn Yaw changes his leadership style in various situations. He uses Pacesetting leadership style when the team members are motivated as well as skilled (Hackman and Johnson 2013). In this type of leadership, his behavior helps in overwhelming the team members of the organization. He changes his leadership style when there is need of mobilizing the team towards a specific objective. In that situation, he uses authoritative style of leadership, which leads the employees of the organization to focus on the goals as well as objectives of GPS. This leadership style is not suitable when the leaders work with team of experts. Being a Regional Manager of Global Procurement Services, he works as a coaching leader within the organization. He also uses affiliative style of leadership when there is need of an emotional bond in the organization. This style of leadership helps in bringing a feeling of both bonds as well as belonging (Hoch and Kozlowski 2014). Marn Yaw also uses this style when stress is generated within the department. At time of crisis, he switches his leadership style to coercive as it helps in demanding immediate compliance. This style of leadership is very much helpful in controlling problems when everything fails. Marn Yaw utilizes democratic style of leadership when he wants to buy ownership of a plan, decision as well as goals of the organization. It can be observed that Marn Yaw uses different type of leadership styles in different situation for achieving best possible outcomes. According to our lectures, it is integral that an individual must have a mix of leadership style for accommodating different scenarios and this mix style of leadership can be applied in reality. 4.Interview The interview process is conducted in order to review a deeper understanding and various characteristics as well as behavior of the Marn Yaw. There are a total of 15 interview questions, however, not all the feedback gathered from the interview were included in this portion. I have selected the questions that are pertinent to the assignment, and the full list of questions and responses are included in the appendix of the report. Leadership Style, Behavior and Traits of Marn Yaw From the interview, Marn Yaw affirmed that he uses participative style of leadership. He mentioned during the interview that this style of leadership helps in offering his employees a chance to provide their opinions during important decision making .The use of participative style of leadership helps in bringing a string feeling of association among the team members creating good relations between employees and me. Allowing employees to contribute their opinions will also create a positive workplace environment. Through his experience, he noticed that participative leadership style also helps in motivating the employees of the organization which in turn assists in reducing HR cost of the organization. He also believes that a leader should never be complacent in their attitude. Marn Yew added that he valued every employee in the organization. Without them, the organization will not be able to operate smoothly. As confirmed in my observation, he is a relationship-oriented behavior lead ership style. Power as well as Influence Tactics of Marn Yaw Marn Yaw uses various power as well as influence tactics that is advantageous for both the organization and for the staffs. Rational persuasion tactic was utilized by me along with the data, facts and information to convince the team members within workplace. For example, in order to improve the performance at workplace, I have created a line graphs to demonstrate the unites of people along with their performance based on target. I have shown the graph for unit/person for last 2 years and also shown the forecast for next 2 years with the same categories based on current headcounts and current volume. I always lead my team in staying at front and consistently reinforces the members with the philosophy of both actions and words. Also, I believe that ultimate goal is the key of developing others. Therefore, I always provide the learning opportunities and share the feedback as per their work performance. Moreover, facilitate solution is always use to insulate the team members at the work place. In order improve the team performance, I constantly integrate several strategies as well as actions to create value for my team members. Leadership Style Change with Situation Lussier and Achua (2015) cited that improvement is anything that takes time to execute. On the other hand, Hackman and Johnson (2013) opined that one leadership style cannot be effective in any given situation. However, I have participative and transformational leadership style that helps me in changing and adjusting situation. When the members of the team are motivated as well as skilled already, I used transformation leadership style to ensure the success for ongoing project. When I see that the organization requires a new vision then I switch my leadership style to authoritative as this type of leadership assists in mobilizing the team towards a particular objective that mainly helps in focusing on various end goals of the organization. Characteristics of a Good and Effective Leader According to him, an effective leader must have certain basic, visionary characteristics for managing various situations within an organization. An effective leader must be a risk taker so that they can handle any difficult situation without recognizing the failure. This characteristic is very much important in an effective leader for bringing various kinds of changes within the organization. It has been analyzed that Marn Yaw has self-control is an essential characteristic of a good and effective leader. The ability to stay calm helps in managing the situations appropriately. The leaders must have a caring nature so that they think about the individuals who are working under him. Motivation is other important characteristics that must be present in an effective leader for motivating staffs of the organization so that they can take risks as well as challenges for the success of the organization. Thinking on a single topic or issue for finding clarity is one of the main characteristic of a successful leader, which is present in him. Marn Yaw also has the ability to concentrate on work for extended period by removing distractions. Skills and Traits that make Marn Yaw an Effective Leader There are number of characteristics as well as behavior that help in categorizing him as an effective leader. Marn Yaw is a good communicator. He is able to provide high level of information to the staffs of the organization so that they can focus on various goals and objectives of the company. Marn Yaw recognizes various developmental requirement of the organization so that the organization can flourish well. He also provide enthusiastic as well as creative encouragement by arranging various types of programs within the organization. The program not only encourages the employees but also motivate them towards their work. Conclusion of the Interview It can be concluded from the overall interview that the characteristics, behavior as well as trait of the regional manager helps in making him an effective as well as successful leader. The theory of trait states that people are either born or made with some of the qualities that make him a good leader. Marn Yaw uses power as well as influence tactics for benefitting both the employees as well as the organization. He manages various situations by changing his leadership style and it has been analyzed that changing his leadership style not only helped him in becoming an effective leader but also benefits the organization. 5.Complexities of Leadership I have found many complexities in the leadership style. It is quite difficult for me to switch my leadership style as per the situations. It is very much complex for an individual to behave differently in different situations by motivating the employees of the organization properly. However, after undertaking this assignment, I learnt that it is essential for one to have various leadership style in various situation as one style does not suit every situation or employee. To be able to be a successful leader, we need to learn how to adapt the given situation at that point of time. The complexity leadership theory helps in offering new perspectives for overcoming various complexity constraints within the organization. The theory helps in illustrating the key limitations of complexity. It is analyzed that the theory of complexity helps in offering a significant way for perceiving as well as engaging the management of complex behavior. The leaders help in addressing the most complex, soc ial, environmental challenges that are faced today. I have also identified that it is very much difficult to manage different traits of power as well as influence effectively. Different types of influence traits are not present within an individual. Maintaining various influence as well as power traits for benefitting both the organization and its employees is quite difficult task. I have found that I must improve my thinking skills for dealing with various complexities of leadership. I need completely new approach for becoming leaders in order to deal with various level of change that is occurring. 6.Methods for Improving the leadership Style I have found that my leadership style needs to be improved quite a lot after undertaking this assessment. It is significant to improve my leadership as it not only makes me an effective as well as successful leader but also helps in minimizing the problems that I am facing in dealing with various situations. In my research on effective and successful leaders, I found that successful leaders share similar characteristics. Some of the common characteristics are excellent communication skills and the ability to resolve conflict. These are the following characteristics that I found it appropriate for me to improve on my leadership styles as well as skills in becoming an efficient and successful leader. The methods include: Improving Communication Skill: I have to improve my communication skill as proper communication skills helps me in specifically communicating with the staff of the organization about the vision, goals, objectives as well as expectations of the organization. It also improves my ability of listening people. To become an effective communicator, I have to strive to improve my verbal, non-verbal listening skills. Listen to employees: I have found that listening properly to the employees with open mind helps me in reacting decisively. I have found that the characteristics must be present in a leader as it helps them in becoming a role model for other employees of the organization. Work on inspiring others: Motivating as well as inspiring others is one of the significant factors of a leadership. Therefore, I have realized that presence of this trait in me is very much important as I can use this trait in staying focused and can make my employees feel valued as well as happy. Maintain positive attitude: I have found that it is very much significant to have a positive attitude within me. People or employees of the organization will get attract towards a positive leader. Positivity makes an individual happier as well as at the same time it helps in providing courage so that one can work well with proper responsibilities. Gain knowledge about various styles of leadership: It is very much important for me to analyze the advantages of various leadership styles for identifying the most appropriate leadership style. Proper information about leadership style is quite important for managing various types of situation that can occur in an organization. Advocate creativity: I have identified that intellectual simulation is the most required authentication for leadership skills. Therefore, I have to increase my creativity, which can be enhanced by managing various challenges or problems of the organization. Well disciplined: Being disciplined, is one of the mandatory quality of a leader .Though I poses good vision as well as ideas I have to became much more disciplined for executing the plan of the organization effectively. Self-discipline also helps in educating other, which in turn helps in enhancing the leadership skills. Handle Conflicts: I have to know how to handle difficult situations for resolving conflicts. I have to work hard for managing various situations with a positive attitude. Handling various types of problems helps organization to flourish. With reference to interview question 15, Marn Yaw mentioned that his mentor has helped him tremendously in shaping who he is today. As such, in the course of improving on my leadership, I hope that I will be able to find a similar mentor that will be able to guide me personally to further my growth. Conclusion: From the above observation and interview with Marn Yaw, it has been understood that in order to be an effective leader combination of exceptional traits, discipline attitude and significant behavior is most important. In addition, from the analysis of literature review and mentioned theories, it is identified that styles of leadership are changed based in the circumstances. Moreover, in order to gain the collaboration and compliance of followers, power processed by the leaders complements is potential aspect. In the work place, better teamwork can be done by creating a strong and committed relationship between the leaders and followers. Apart from that, it is also understood that to improve these skills mentioned above, I am planning to undertake professional leadership training courses and workshops. It will be beneficial for me as I will gain insights and knowledge on how other leaders behavior, traits and leadership styles enable them to be a successful leader. 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