Custom «Evolving Leadership Models» Essay Paper Sample

Leadership has been and will always be the most critical factor not only in business but also in all aspects of our daily lives. The success and prosperity of any given activity is largely dependent on the style and mode of leadership employed by those in charge. As a matter of fact, nobody is born a leader, leaders are made and molded depending on the society they are raised. The exposure of a person also determines the ability of a person to lead. In business leadership is dependent on several factors, which are level of knowledge in a particular field, experience of the leader in the field and the interpersonal skills of the leader. The success of a business is based on the leaders that have put to take charge of the business. The leadership in charge influence success of the business, by making decisions that makes positive transformations in a business such as proper allocation of resources and fair recruitment of working staff that is based on merit. Employee motivation is another aspect of leadership that determines the success of a business. Highly motivated employees are more productive and thus enhance the success of the business. Motivation of employees depends on a number of factors, key among them is the leadership style employed by an organization. A number of business enterprises have gone under due to poor leadership, thus for maintenance of the going concern of a business and prosperity, adequate leadership is essential.

Relational leadership vs. Transformational leadership

Relational leadership is the leadership style that emphasizes on the need to have good relations between people in an organization. Transformational leadership on the other hand is the leadership model that focuses on the achievement of the set goals of the organization, through the inspiration of the employees. Relational leadership model recognizes the fact that, the manner in which the working staff interacts with each other in the organization influences their productivity. When employees feel that they are in the right environment, they tend to be more productive. Transformational leadership model emphasizes on the end result. Unlike the relational leadership style, transformational leadership does not go into the relationship of the employees with one another but focuses on the relationship of the leader and the employees. As long as the vision and mission of the organization is attained and the relationship of the leader and the employees is fine, then all is good, the interaction of the work staff is not important, but the attainment of the mission is. Thus relational leadership style focuses on relations of employees in order to attain its goals while transformational leadership model monitors the performance of the employees and the relationship of the leader with the employees to ensure attainment of its goals.

Apart from the monetary incentive, the working environment of an organization motivates the employees. A good working environment involves the relation of the employees in the organization. The relational leadership model provides this kind of environment. The employees of an organization would like to work in an organization that encourages positive relations with one another. Without this they may opt to move to another place, or if they do not, they may not perform to their best capability. This is due to low morale. Free interaction also enhances the innovation and cooperation of the employees. There is free exchange of ideas with one another or with the management. This has the effect of enhancing the management of the organization and motivation of the employees and as result the overall productivity of the organization. When drawing the objectives of the organization, employee participation is encouraged. This has demonstrated that attainment of the objectives is much easier with minimal supervision. This is because; the employees understand the objectives and know exactly what is expected of them. The relational leadership style is democratic and as a result strengthens the relationship of the leaders with their followers.

In the transformational leadership style the focus is on the leader. The employees look up and are motivated by the leader who is innovative, skilled and whose integrity is not questionable. The leader looks out at the individuals and helps them by evaluating their needs. Unlike in the relational model, the leader focus on the individual to ensure their capabilities are enhanced, this has the effect of creating more leaders. For this model of leadership to inspire the sense a sense of loyalty, the leader has to have the high values and abilities desired by the employees. This however is not possible, because different people will judge the person differently. For instance a leader may have good attributes that may not necessarily appeal to the employees, as a result the followers may not want to look up to him or her hence, he or she may not be able to motivate them. Also it is hard to make stands that are not popular with the employees. This is because; this leadership style tends to please the working staff. This will reduce the productivity of the organization.

The two leadership styles are effective; however the relational leadership style stands out. For proper and effective performance of business, there must be a proper and efficient leadership style that monitors the relations of the followers in an organization. The employees in the organization are very instrumental in the attainment of the organization objectives, thus adequate consideration should be given to the environment that they work under. However leadership as whole no matter what style, if it is executed properly, then it motivates followers, and this guarantees success in a business.