Horacio Salinas Organizational Growth and Survival In examining the various terms depicting organizational strategies, leadership behaviors and traits, I connected six elements that I will call organizational growth and survival. Specifically, I am interested in seeing what the organization needs when it reaches a crisis point at the entrepreneurial-collectivity stages. The six components are organizational life cycle, transformational leadership, concern for people, expert power, participative leadership, and effectiveness.
If the organization is to overcome the many problems associated during a time of crisis, it will need effective leadership, committed employees, and a sense of purpose and direction. The first component that captured my attention was organizational life cycle. Although there are several stages in the life of an organization spanning from its inception to its demise, I was particularly interested in the early entrepreneurial-collectivity stages.At some point in the growth process, as entrepreneurs are gaining a foothold in the marketplace with the success of their products or services, they are likely to reach a crisis point that will demand effective leadership. Business owners will need to navigate through management issues to bring about a more stable structure within the organization.
If the organization is to reach the collectivity stage, it will need to establish a sense of purpose and direction for its growing number of employees and create goals and strategies that will deal with both the internal and external environment.Entrepreneurs need strong leadership which they themselves must provide or bring aboard individuals capable of resolving the crisis. The type of leadership that is necessary in this scenario is transformational leadership. The transformational leader is able to create a sense of direction and purpose amidst a chaotic atmosphere where employees may feel uncertain about their roles and responsibilities.
The transformational leader is able to inspire, motivate, and clarify goals so that the followers begin the process of achieving organizational success.Suddenly, the work of the subordinates becomes meaningful and a higher purpose involved with creative energy takes hold within the company. The transformational leader is pivotal in communicating a sense of shared purpose. At the heart of the transformational leader’s success is his or her concern for people.
The leader understands that a successful resolution to conflict or crisis is the conviction that it is the employees who will either make or break a company’s future. How the leader attends to the needs of the subordinates will determine whether trust and commitment are achieved.Apart from providing good working conditions and incentives for a job well done, the leader needs to build relationships based on respect. One way of achieving this type of loyalty and influence is if the leader is perceived as highly competent and knowledgeable. The leader possesses expert power in that the followers have confidence that they are being led by someone who is not only inspirational, but also skillful with the task at hand.
If the leader achieves such influence, he or she should use it to develop the subordinates so that they are highly trained in their roles and responsibilities.The confidence that followers have in their leader may initiate the process toward participative leadership. In participative leadership, the leader has oriented the followers towards the importance of their involvement. The goal of participative leadership is to involve the subordinates in the day to day functioning of the organization. Followers are encouraged to become partners in decision-making, problem-solving, and planning activities. The hope is that this type of involvement can enhance performance and job satisfaction.
The success of subordinate involvement depends on the leader’s continued guidance. While the leader encourages this type of autonomy among the subordinates, he or she must make sure that the goals of the organization are being met in this process. There may be times when the leader must step in to redirect the employees if increased autonomy in the working environment leads to an overemphasis on employee concerns over those of the organization. The key to resolve misunderstanding is communication.If strong leadership combined with subordinate commitment materializes, then the organization is likely to overcome the crisis point at the entrepreneurial-collectivity stage. The continued growth of the company will now depend on how the leader and followers focus on organizational effectiveness.
By effectiveness, I mean how the leader and followers build on their relationship to continue developing a sense of purpose and direction. There must be sustained focus on communication, clarifying goals, and a strong commitment to the mission of the company.Both leader and follower focus on doing the right things in the face of internal and external challenges. In summary, organizational growth and survival at the entrepreneurial-collectivity stages depends on strong transformational leadership. Leaders who, in their concern for the employee, encourage participation are likely to resolve problems faced by the company. The result is an organization that can effectively deal with internal and external challenges and survive into the future.
Charismatic Leadership and ChangeAn organization’s longevity in a global environment likely depends on how it handles change over time. Change, of course, is not easy and many companies have failed due to the inability to function within a competitive marketplace. There is need for leadership and vision and determination to implement strategies in the face of formidable resistance from employees and unseen forces in the external environment. I connected six elements from the list of terms that I believe are necessary to facilitate change within an organization.These are uncertainty avoidance, charismatic value-based leadership, self-confidence, determination, emphasis on consideration and future orientation. The charismatic leader is likely to display self-confidence and determination which are necessary traits in steering employees through new patterns of behaviors in the workplace.
The first component I connected was uncertainty avoidance. When organizations have followed rules, procedures, policies and practices for a long time, a certain culture emerges with expected behaviors.There are established patterns of behaviors that are ingrained and have brought certain predictability to how things are done. The problem arises when these behaviors are called into question by the need to make adjustments if the organization is to make effective changes. Employees are likely to resist out of fear and uncertainty. They may feel anxious about how to function in a changing working environment.
A charismatic value-based leadership style is crucial at this point. This type of leader can initiate change in an organization that has become stagnant or perhaps lost sight of its mission.The company may have settled into behaviors that are unreceptive to change and the openness, innovation, and risk-taking ventures that once characterized its earlier days have been set aside. The charismatic leader can create and sustain a sense of urgency through motivation and conveying the message that if things do not change, an impending death is certain. The leader’s vision of a vibrant organization that is capable of meeting both internal and external challenges is the driving force of his or her behavior. This leader has the ability to inspire the subordinates to prepare for change and be willing to take risks.
He or she looks to build trust and commitment, knowing that the task will be difficult. An important leadership trait that will help the leader achieve change is self-confidence. There is a high level of confidence in a charismatic leader’s abilities and skills to attain any goal. Even while inwardly having doubts about the task at hand, the self-confident leader is careful not to reveal these to the subordinates. In an atmosphere of uncertainty and anxiety, followers can expect their leader to remain firm in the conviction that all goals will be met.Alongside self-confidence, another personal trait that can help the charismatic leader is determination.
This key personal attribute is the driving engine that can overcome any and all obstacles. The leader’s persistence will assure that change, once implemented, becomes internalized within the organization’s structure and culture. The leader remains vigilant in addressing the possible slippage into complacent behaviors. A major proactive measure that the leader takes in sustaining the change process is building strong relationships with the subordinates.This emphasis on consideration for the employees dealing with change strengthens trust and mutual respect.
It is important, therefore, to involve the followers to secure cooperation. The leader must remain attentive to employee concerns, encouraging them when they do well and assuaging their fears when feeling uncertain. Communication, therefore, is vital to keeping employees informed so that they begin to see the benefits of change. If the subordinates can become active participants in the strategies for change, resistance may break down and the commitment towards the future welfare of the company is realized.At this point, the company’s implemented changes are geared towards future orientation. Employees have learned to adapt to new ways of doing things and are now focused on ensuring that these new changes will bring the organization success.
There should be new creative energies in the planning activities and goal-setting objectives to meet the challenges of the global competitive market. The charismatic leader and the subordinates incorporate new behaviors designed to fulfill a compelling vision for the organization’s future. In conclusion, change within an organization can be a very difficult process.The organization and its employees may resist, especially when there is uncertainty and change is unclear in its implementation strategy.
The charismatic leader is likely to have success in bringing about this change through motivation, self-confidence, and determination. By considering the fears and anxiety that employees may feel, the leader can hopefully supply the vision and inspiration to show the value in making these changes in a step by step process. In this way, the organization’s future is likely to succeed in a global environment.
