Literature Review Of Leadership Practices At Successful Organizations  

Discuss about the Literature Review of Leadership Practices at Successful Organizations.

 

Leadership literature disclose that the practices of leadership have been customized and advanced with the course of time and each and e very practice is relevant in its own way. The relevance of leadership practices relies upon the context or situation in which they have been applied. The kind of leadership practices implemented in areas where there presents a high degree of sensitivity, conflicts, confidence level and precision may be different than the practices incorporated at areas where there presents simple management case. There are number of things which impacts the type of leadership practices to be incorporated such as psycho-social developments, organizational complexities, information overload, regulations and laws, working environment, culture contexts and situations. For any organization to become successful there are various elements which support the growth. Out of all those, one major and significant part is the leadership practices applied in the organization (Northhouse, 2015). The literature will throw light on several leadership practices of some renowned and successful organization and will also discuss and analyze various other practices which the organization can adopt to have further development.

For understanding what leadership practices are, there is a need to first comprehend what is leadership. There are number of definitions associated with leadership, but to conclude all we can say leadership starts with individuals in the positions of leadership but this is not its end. The competence of any organization to attain its objectives and goals not only relies completely on the power of will of a single leader or on the effectiveness of the chain of command of an organization. The practices are significant but then also few organizations fail and few succeed (Yukl, 2002). It’s not merely the number of excellent leaders which an organization have on which the success depends but the actual practices which have been implement ted at the grass-root level of an organization and the ability of both the informal and formal leaders to integrate the needs of the employees with the goals of an organization. There presents leadership practices of various organizations and the reasons how these practices turned out to be beneficial for those organization to become successful (Ireland and Hitt, 1999).

Leadership practices adopted at McDonald’s includes building of outlets that are considered as amusing places to work at. The leaders there promote accountability and comprehend the culture of social responsibility as well as implement these practices in their businesses. The leaders at McDonald’s possess articulating visions, role relationships, influential power to impact the behavior of subordinates and also the embodying values. These traits of leaders influence the employees to accomplish the organizational goals and work liberally. The model of leadership which enforced at McDonald’s is Adair model and which is an action-centered leadership. As per this model, the higher authorities inspire and influence the employees through their self-commitment, enthusiasm and their skill to communicated passion to other individuals (Carter, Ulrich and Goldsmith, 2012). The tasks are accomplished by developing different teams and so the team work practice is generally adopted at the workplace. The leadership practices and the Adair model incorporated by McDonald’s majorly focuses over three main things which comprises of firstly the accomplishment of the work assigned or the task, secondly, maintaining and continuing with the team and lastly meeting the personal and individual requirements of the members of the team. Other leadership practices adopted at McDonald’s comprises of that they perform with the maximum level of integrity and authenticity through building an association of trust with the team members, leaders remain fully committed towards the development and growth of the individuals and the tem, they practice efficient skills of listening as feedbacks are taken from the employees regarding policies, work culture, environment etc., they share their view points, perceptions openly with employees and also give the opportunity to work in an independent and self-organized way (Weinstein, 2012). The span of control is squat at McDonald’s and it offers several advantages such as effective control over the subordinates is maintained, evaluation process becomes effective, increased co-ordination  as well as there are opportunities for the subordinates to learn more and develop.

Another organization which possesses few best leadership practices is Google. There are various practices and lessons which can be learn through the leadership style of Google. The leaders communicate the vision and provide employees with the autonomy to incorporate it; this is one of the leadership practices of Google of its people management system. Another practice relates with offering the employees with an environment which is hassle-free so that the people can perform well and have complete concentration on their work (Henson, 2016). The objective or aim of the company is to strip away all the things which come in the way of their employees. Google offers a customary package of advantages and remunerations to its employees which it clips up with an apparently continuous and extremely desirable the array of perquisites which includes excellent facilities of dining and that too with unrestrained and free supply of nutritious food, services for dry cleaning, car washes, haircutting salons, massage rooms, laundry rooms, gyms, in various segments of workplace there are snack stations, commuting buses, access to internet, leather seats as well as the company provides facility for carrying the pets onboard and related to anything which a reliable and hardworking employee require to be concerned for at the time she or he is working (Leithwood, 2005). Even though the workforces are also not required to get worried about the dress code to follow as Google incorporate and implement axioms in its vision which means that a person can be serious for his work even if he or she is in informal and not wearing suit. The leadership practice of facilitating and empowering the work of the employees is one of the major reasons behind the innovations of Google and as a result the company experienced explosive growth (Yalimaki and Jacobson, 2013). The company focuses on various approaches and practices of leadership such as knowing the employees through conversing with them on an individual basis, developing innovative ways through which the high-performing and hard-working employees can get promoted and rewarded, the company let the workforces own the issues which they want them to answer which means Google provides the autonomy to its employees to achieve the goal of the company according to them and in their own way. Another practice is that the company provides the facility to its employees to work outside the hierarchy of the organization which comprises of freedom to select their own teams and the projects as well as one of the most preferred leadership practice of Google was giving the liberty and choice to its employees to select their the reviewer among all the professionals and experts whom they consider as impartial and respects their judgment and objectivity (Manimala and Wasdani, 2013).

Another organization which possesses finest leadership practices is AstraZeneca. The leadership abilities of AstraZeneca were identified in 1999 just after the merger (Hyde and Paterson, 2001). The capabilities of leadership of the company are used in the management planning, development planning and performance management across the worldwide company. It is the core and essential element of the programme of leadership development and also a tool which provides 360 degree feedback has also been industrialized for supporting their functions. The behavior of leadership offers an association among the priorities of business and the AZ values of high ethical standards, integrity, support and trust for others, openness, respect for diversity, respect for individual and leadership over all levels. There are few practices which have implemented at AstraZeneca and are linked with the leadership behaviors. It comprises of practices regarding building of self-awareness, express individual conviction, development of people, building of associations, emphasis on delivery, and safeguard the commitment and practice regarding proving of clarity related to the strategic direction (Storey, 2004).

General Electric Company is another successful organization which has strong and powerful pillars of leadership practices implementing at its workplace. There are number of approaches and practices which have been incorporated by GE which includes firstly the leader at every level inspire and encourage the individuals to show a concern and apprehension for the necessities and requirements of other people. Next the leaders emphasis on achieving cooperation among each other so that the work can be accomplished in teams, instead of individual concern or just as per the requirements of higher authorities, GE do not function, it takes along the shared benefits in which each and every individual remain cherished. GE allow employees to provide their innovative ideas so that the employees consider themselves as the part of the organization but simultaneously it necessitates that the employees are required to follow the orders even though if they have a better plan, the respect for the higher authorities need to be maintained (Henderson and Evans, 2000). Another leadership practice of GE focus on making the employees work in such a way that they consider their job as a contest so that they strive hard for it and achieve the desired goals with much effectiveness and zeal. Few more practices of GE are the improved connectivity among the employees, increased integrity which requires the employees to be committed, passionate, curios and energized for performing the work. The leaders at GE incorporated a change acceleration programme as its leadership practice and it was initialized with the top senior managers and later on continued by other managers, the agenda behind this programme was to accelerate change within the organization and that too at the uppermost level so that the employees also get inspired by the higher authorities and became ready to adjust with the change (Lakshman, 205). This practice e signifies that how the behavior and traits of the leaders impacts the understanding and behavior of the subordinates. These practices make the organization successful and open the doors for future development.

Starbucks is another successful organization which is highly recognized for its leadership practices. Starbucks is famous for practicing servant leadership. Servant leadership generally focused on providing increased services to the individuals. It is a holistic approach towards the job and empowers a feeling of community and in the process of decision making the powers is shared. Starbucks highly emphasize on practicing this kind of leadership in its business and at the workplace (Sipe and Frick, 2015). There are various characters or elements of servant leadership which are incorporated in the working culture of Starbuck by their leaders. Leaders at Starbucks adopt the practice of listening, as a servant leader the mangers at Starbucks listen intentionally with a deep commitment to others. The will of the employees are identified and they are worked as per their will (Hamilton, Spears and Lawrence 2005). Another element practiced by Starbucks is that the leaders of Starbucks try to empathies with others in which the employees are recognized and been accepted for their individual and special spirits they possess. Employees are not to force to change themselves; they have appointed those tasks which they can serve better (Autry, 2007). As practicing servant leadership, the employees always been provided a healing hand at the time of any non-happening event occurred with them whether formal or informal. Leaders listen to them and try to solve their issues and make them comfortable at their work. The employees are persuaded and convinced rather than pressurized to follow a change or decision. As per the practice of servant leadership, they decisions are not just imposed coercively on the employees but they are convinced by various means and make them persuade for that work so that there sustain a sense of willingness and liberty to work independently (Trompenaars and Voerman, 2009). The leaders at Starbucks are committed to the development and growth of the employees as they believe there always remains some intrinsic value beyond the work performing as employees. So to fulfil and develop the spiritual, professional and personal growth of the employees the leaders perform actions which support this such as availability of funds, encouraging involvement of the employees, taking up suggestions from them etc. These leadership practices of Starbucks enhance the involvement of employees and also empower them to grow and as its outcome the organization achieve huge success (Jones, 2012).

Leadership practices are the shared, combined and observable deeds which outline as well as define the culture of leadership. A leadership practice supports the successful incorporation of the other leadership strategies of any business. Without the right leadership practice, the other organizational strategies will be just like ink on paper which has no meaning and involvement of it in achieving success by an organization. With the appropriate leadership practices in place, the correctly designed leadership process for development and the suitable strategies for talent sustainability and talent acquisition, there presents extreme chances that the organization will accomplish growth and success in implementing its leadership strategies. One major thing to be focused for is, there is need to understand that just by speeches or verbal communication the leaders cannot determine that in what way employees have taken it so there is a high requirement to implement the leadership practices at workplace for influencing the employees. The leadership policies and leadership practices implemented in an organization are the best way to understand the needs of the employees and to make them comprehend the culture of the organization (Chhokar, Brodbeck and House, 2013). Leadership practices have a direct association of cause and effect on the business organization and its success. Through leadership practices, the leaders recognize the employee motivation, tolerance towards change, culture and values. They help in outlining the strategies comprising their execution and efficacy.  Leadership practices could implement at any level of an organization and are not only meant for the employees or the grass-root levels. From the literature review we can conclude one major thing that all the successful organizations have one thing in common, they implement leadership practices at their workplace to reap utmost benefit from its resources comprising the most valuable and expensive resource i.e. its people.

There are number of effective and successful leadership practices which can be adopted by the organization to achieve success. It includes practices like 360 degree feedback which focus on ratings to be given on various performances, through it there is development of behavioral change and self knowledge. Another practice could be coaching which is a practical form of practice that included one-to-one learning; it has benefits like career development, personalized viewpoint etc. Another strategy could be mentoring which includes learning and advising from much more senior managers, the employee and the mangers share a development relationship, it has various benefits associated with it such as broader sense of understanding, avoiding of mistakes, lessons are learned as well as building of a strong personal bond (Orazi, et al., 2014). There are other various practices which the leaders and the organizations of can implement to have successful future but there should always maintain a balance between the needs of the employees and the organizational goals.

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