Leader Behaviors that Foster Positive Team Engagement
Leadership is one of the most debated terminologies and practices in the global arena. In the case of business, corporate culture demands that there be a structured environment that requires a leader-follower formula for the fulfillment of goals.
Historically and at present, there continues to be issues of balanced and effective leadership in various areas of politics and business. The rise and fall of nations has always been a constant battle between the balance of power and the perceived goals of leaders and their ability to appropriately value the needs of their citizens with the successful execution of their individual values. This can be seen in the historical political and economic growth of many nations to include China, South Korea, Africa, America and many others.
In comparison, similar factors can be seen in the leader-follower balance of power and execution of individual and collective goals in the global business environment. Leaders are faced with the daily expectation of demonstrating the five practices of leadership which require one to challenge the process, inspire a shared vision, and enable others to act, model the way and encourage the heart of team members (Kouzes and Posner, 2003). Leaders are also called to balance this with forecasting the healthy direction of a company while strengthening its labor force.
The challenge is presented in how leaders effectively accomplish such tasks with the support of their team members. In many cases, individuals are placed in leadership based on their depth of knowledge and experience, but may not be properly equipped with the skills and resources needed to effectively manage a group of people.
It is apparent that leaders must demonstrate participative decision-making behavior that will allow team members the opportunity to voice their ideas and opinions in support or opposition of a particular course of action being pursued by its leadership (Gao, Janssen, Shi)? In this process, team members feel the liberty to make such contributions without the fear of retaliation and also view it as their responsibility. When granted this level of inclusion that allows for tangible input, the ultimate goal is to have the collective decision of the group practiced. (Kotlyar, Karakowsky, Ng, 2011)
Failing to develop a leadership style that opens the door for team member involvement can often result in team conflict. Such conflict has the potential to negatively impact team decisions as well as create relationship conflict, which causes personal and emotional issues to surface. ( Kotlyar, Karakowsky, Ng, 2011). The presence of team and person conflict can erode team performance, organizational effectiveness and has the ability to degrade the degree of trust team members have in their leaders.
Developing a strong leadership style is crucial to the success of an organization. There are some leaders who are seen as being charismatic because they have the ability to garner support by impacting people’s emotions; thereby, creating emotional contagion which often results in the moods of a leader being duplicated by the team (Kotlyar, Karakowsky, Ng, 2011) . However, this can cause employees to become sensitive to criticism, interpreting such input as a personal attack which can create an unhealthy work environment and lead to conflict. Leaders must work to be pragmatic in the handling of such situations, whereby they avoid issues of personal emotions and self-image to instead focus their efforts on leading the team through a decision-making process that calls for respecting their input by providing rules and guidance to reach a specific goal. (Kotlyar, Karakowsky, Ng, 2011)
Leaders who pursue a pragmatic approach to dealing with team members and allow for participative team decision-making will find it most beneficial because it provides for great latitude through the inclusion of experienced team members who are key in the process of organizations meeting; and often exceeding, customer expectations. This also allows team members who interact daily with the various elements of the business to provide feedback based on their direct contact with internal and external customers.
This is important for leaders because it maximizes the talents of their subject-matter-experts (SMEs) while also allowing them to benefit from the perspectives that they often do not have the opportunity to hear due to their specific role and responsibilities as leaders. It engages individuals at the root of the process, respectfully includes their voice and challenges team members to constantly be engaged in the process of growing the business through its peaks and valleys.
However, this practice should not stand alone. (Gao, Janssen, Shi, 2011) Leaders must also practice informing team members of organizational goals, practices and policies as a means of fostering clarity and being transparent. This can aide in members of a team embracing their sense of responsibility, engaging in greater organizational involvement and it can contribute to their ability to identify potential challenges while offering solutions.
Additionally, leaders who create an environment where they dedicate time to coach employees will find that it helps to create in-person connectivity between leader and team member, where direct communication and encouragement exists. In such cases, when leadership work to strike a balance between task-focused behaviors, the ability to communicate goals to employees and monitor their progress with relationship-focused behaviors, where employees heighten their commitment due to feeling valued, the result yields better performance. (Wang, Tsui, Zin, 2011).
Leaders choosing to embrace such behaviors may find that team members demonstrate a higher degree of trust in their abilities. Furthermore, when employees know that their voice – opinions, experience, and expertise – are wanted, heard and acted upon to the benefit of the organization, they openly engage in cultivating positive relationships that are rooted in trust. Organizations will find that such inclusion spurs creative dialogue, loyalty and higher productivity amongst its employees.
copyright 2011 Jewel Daniels
References
Kotlyar, I., Leonard, K., & Ng, P. (2011). Leader behaviors, conflict and member commitment to team-generated decisions. The Leadership Quarterly. 22. 666-679.
Liping, G., Janssen, O., & Shi, K. (2011). Leader trust and employee voice: The moderating role of empowering leader behaviors. The Leadership Quarterly. 22. 787-798.
Wang, H., Tsui. A., Xin, K. (2011) CEO leadership behaviors, organizational performance, and employees’ attitudes The Leadership Quarterly, 22 (1). 92-105.
Kouzes, K. M. & Posner, B.Z. (2003). The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership, The Leadership Challenge Workbook (pp.8-15) San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. 8-15.
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