Leadership for Maximum Organizational Performance

Leadership matters in organizations. Effective leaders drive huge amounts of value in an organization by setting direction, bringing others along, and developing role critical talent. Four unique theories explore different leadership styles and how they impact followers. These theories include charismatic, transformational, contingency, and situational leadership. Individuals or leaders in an organization can benefit from evaluating organizational performance through various leadership styles.

Charismatic leadership

Charismatic leaders are those who exert a charming personality that makes people want to follow them, have a vision, are great communicators, able to inspire and gain trust from their followers, and make their followers feel capable.³ These leaders have a vision, are creative, have a strong personality or sense of self, have humility, openness to taking risks, have great communication skills, challenge the status quo, and are not afraid to fail.² These benefits provide a positive work environment and instill a belief that the leader is bringing change for the better. 

Transformational leadership

Transformational leaders have been closely linked to charismatic leadership in that both use vibrant methods for communicating their vision and goals.³ However, transformational leaders bring about change within an organization through changes to the culture. They are effective in redirecting thoughts of self-interest to thoughts of impact on the broader organization.³ They carefully consider the interest of their followers to influence and gain an understanding of their vision and aim to sell their vision to those who will be vital in executing through means of showcasing value.¹ This type of leadership shows concern for morals, values, and the broader needs of all followers instead of self-supporting interests.¹ Overall, transformational leadership has been linked to an increased level of follower performance, positive mood, responsibility, and organization performance.³ These leaders are also drivers of positive change when organizations require urgent change during times of crisis.⁴ 

Contingency leadership

Contingency leadership is based on the theory that leaders will base their approach to leadership behavior depending on a particular situation. This approach will vary based on the environmental impacts within the organization. A contingent leader must be flexible in their approach and avoid failure by adhering to outdated beliefs that do not fit the current environment. This type of leadership can be difficult as it can be centered around a crisis within an organization. However, these leaders will need to show decisiveness, compassion, empathy, strategic thought process, good communication, stick to core values, proper planning, and showcase transformational leadership behavior.³ This type of leadership can prove difficult because the style of leadership is constantly changing and may be hard to engage followers.

Situational leadership

Situational leadership is based on an umbrella leadership approach style that aims to tailor leadership behavior to performance needs within an organization. This style of leadership focuses on evaluating the relationship between leaders and followers and the readiness of a particular follower to complete a task, function, or objective.⁵ This type of leadership can evolve into four main styles that include directive, supportive, participative, and achievement oriented.³ The style used is dependent on the situation the leader finds themself in and allows the leader to be flexible in their use of style. These leaders will delegate by dividing work solutions into smaller pieces to reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed. They also emphasize a regular work routine and stable performance. This requires them to adapt over time as their reports develop in their roles. The constantly changing leadership style can cause confusion, neglect long-term goals due to constant short-term focus, risk putting the responsibility on managers who may not always make the best decisions, and may not work well in environments that live by repetitive work tasks.⁶

Achieving maximum performance

A good leader can come in many forms. Learning how leaders impact their follower's performance can bring value to an organization. Leaders who self-reflect on their leadership style and impact on others allow for identifying areas of self-improvement and increased performance. Are there opportunities to connect with teams on a deeper level that has not been done before? If so, BSM’s Leader Development and Business Transformation principal, Dr. Frank Niles, Ph.D., is ready to help polish leaders for driving positive organizational performance!

 

References

1. Campos, A. (2020, November 5). Transformational Leadership Theory. Digital Collegian. https://sites.psu.edu/leadership/2020/11/05/transformational-leadership-theory/
2. Charismatic Leadership: Definition, Examples, Characteristics, Pros, Cons. (2020, October 26). Penpoin. https://penpoin.com/charismatic-leadership/
3. DuBrin, A. J. (2019). Leadership: research findings, practice, and skills (9th ed.). Cengage. (Original work published 2016)
4. O’Reilly, C. A., & Chatman, J. A. (2020). Transformational Leader or Narcissist? How Grandiose Narcissists Can Create and Destroy Organizations and Institutions. California Management Review, 62(3), 5–27. https://doi.org/10.1177/0008125620914989
5. The Center for Leadership Studies. (2014). Situational Leadership® - Situational Leadership® Management and Leadership Training. Situational Leadership® Management and Leadership Training. https://situational.com/situational-leadership/
6. What Is Situational Leadership? (2020, October 22). Western Governors University. https://www.wgu.edu/blog/what-situational-leadership2010.html#close

 

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About the Author

Heidi Wilson is a former Business Development Manager for BSM Partners with over 12 years of experience within the pet food industry. Prior to joining BSM Partners, Heidi was focused on pet food product innovation, private label development, and e-commerce execution. She currently serves as Director of Business Development at ADM, and resides in central Texas with her dogs, cats, mini pigs, donkeys, and a horse.