Motivating Employess: Most Effective Leadership Style

Abstract

Part of being a successful leader is knowing what things lead to failure as well as what things leads to success. Effective leadership must have cognitive, interpersonal, and political skills; project management skills; and technical expertise (Yukl, 2006). Leaders must also be able to envision, organize, socially integrate, and externally span to ensure that his team is effective and efficient in achieving goals, maintaining team cohesion, and keeping the decisions compatible with the organization’s needs. Leadership must be able share this complex monitoring with his employees/teams in order to track information on trends and developments (Yukl, 2006). Leadership should be able to also develop strategic plans to address the organization’s requirements by considering long-term objectives, the organization’s strengths and weaknesses, core competencies, current and new strategies, and outcomes of these strategies (Yukl, 2006).

Leadership style most effective to motivate employees

The most effective leadership style in motivating employees is the transformational leadership style. The transformational leadership style empowers its employees by creating an environment, which is motivating and stimulating (Yukl, 2006). Motivating employees creates the belief in the goals of the organization and provide the employees with a feeling of belonging, which existed in the unit before his arrival.

The transformation and motivation that this type of leadership offers encourages the followers to be more aware of the importance of their jobs, “it induces them to transcend their own self-interest for the sake of the organization or team; as well as activating their higher order needs” (Yukl, 2006, p. 262). They also inspire their followers and display great passion, enthusiasm and energy in bringing out desired change in an organization. This type of leadership is always visible and leads from the front and set an example in front of their subordinates to follow. Thus, they are quite effective in overcoming resistance among the employees by injecting enthusiasm, energy and willingness among such employees and setting examples by themselves for these subordinates to follow.

A supervisor who motivates provides employees with the confidence that their work is being recognized and appreciated. Employees must be made to believe that the relationship between the supervisor and employees is one of respect and valued opinions.

Impact and Influence of Transformational Leadership

Transformational leadership greatly increases the ability leaders have to influence an increase in staff collaboration and changed attitude for work related behavior. For example, according to Leithwood (1990), the effect of transformational leadership is "uniformly positive." Although his conclusions were directed towards educational organizations, it is equally applicable to other leaders as well. He cites two findings from his own studies:

• Transformational leadership practices have a sizable influence on (staff) collaboration (Leithwood, 1990.)

• Significant relationships exist between aspects of transformational leadership and [the staffs] own reports of changes in both attitudes toward [organizational] improvement and altered [work] behavior (Leithwood, 1990.)

In addition to having a greater ability to influence increased staff collaboration and changed attitudes, there are other ways that transformational leadership can enhance leaders. Burns (1978) believes that effective transformational leaders and followers control and have the capability to enhance the stability of organizations. He states this is done through a procedure that involves everyone working with one other. The followers as well as the leaders will be able to lift one another to achieve high levels of motivation.

According to Northouse (2001), a transformational leader has the following qualities:

• empowers followers to do what is best for the organization;

• is a strong role model with high values;

• listens to all viewpoints to develop a spirit of cooperation;

• creates a vision, using people in the organization;

• acts as a change agent within the organization by setting an example of how to initiate and implement change.

Transformational leadership is a contemporary leadership model. Transformational leadership enables followers to rise to a higher level of performance than presumed