The process of leadership has become an imperative one not only for the various organizations but at the same time in other wakes of life. It is seen that the process of leadership is associated with influencing the behavior of others and also motivating them in the best possible manner so that they are being to achieve the target or the goals that they have set for themselves. It is a reflection of this particular fact that the various organizations as well as the teams take the help of the services offered by the effective or the positive leaders so that they are being able to achieve the desired results. At the same time the wide spread use of this particular concept has also lead to the emergence of various leadership theories like authentic leadership, Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) and others. It is pertinent to note at this particular juncture that the main fulcrum of most on these theories on the improvement of the performance of the individual members of the team so that the entire team would be able to attain a higher growth rate. The use of the concept of Psychological Capital (PsyCap) has at the same time gained widespread significance and is generally being used by the various leaders to bring about the organizational or team growth by effective using or taking into consideration the psychology of the individuals. This paper will undertake an analysis of the concepts of authentic leadership, Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) theory and employees’ Psychological Capital. The paper will at the same time discuss the reasons why the emotions of the employees affect their performance.
In the present times various leadership theories and styles have gained significance however the effective of these styles and theories depends on the context in which they are being used. In this particular the authentic style of leadership has emerged as one of the most widely used ones in the contemporary times. The primary precept of this particular style is the fact that the leaders following this particular genre of leadership try to building an effective as well as authentic relationship with their followers on the basis of trust and honesty (Leroy et al. 2014). In other words it can be said that for the leaders who are following this particular style of leadership trust and honesty becomes very important factors (Wang et al. 2014). Furthermore, the effective of such leaders also depends to a large extent on the manner in which they are able to promote openness not only related to the actions that they undertake but at the same time the actions of the followers (Peterson et al. 2014). Moreover, the leader taking the help of this particular style at the same time is also required to building enthusiastic trust worthy relationships with the subordinates which are underpinned by the concepts of ethics (Sendjaya et al. 2016). Ethical way of action not only regarding the decisions that the leaders make but at the same time the manner in which they are dealing with the various subordinates who are associated with the leader becomes of paramount (Hirst et al. 2016). One of the best known examples of the use of this particular style of leadership was the leadership style followed by Nelson Mandela for the purpose of not only uniting the different entities of the nation in the fight against Apartheid but also during his tenure as the President of South Africa (Hirst et al. 2016). Following the precepts of this particular style it was seen that he tried to build effective trust worthy relationship with his followers which were underpinned by the concepts of ethics (Wang et al. 2014).
The Leader-Member Exchange theory of leadership is another important theory of leadership which has gained much popularity in the recent times. Just like the theory of authentic leadership this particular theory of leadership also believes in the establishment of effective relationship between the leaders and the followers who are associated with them (Punjaisri and Balmer 2016). The basic lacuna of this particular theory of leadership is the fact that it requires the leader to establish effective dyadic or two-way relationship with the followers so that they are being able to influence as well as motivate these individuals in the best possible manner (Vidyarthi et al. 2014). In addition to this, this is perhaps one of the most unique styles of leadership because it requires a particular leader to take into effective consideration not only the perspectives of the followers but at the same time the opinions of theirs as well (Wang et al. 2015). Furthermore, the perspective of the followers or the subordinates is taken into consideration not only for the purpose of the utilization of the resources of the organization and the allocation of the job roles (Breevaart et al. 2015). It is also seen that just like the authentic style of leadership the leaders taking the help of this particular style of leadership are also required to build effective trustworthy relationships with the subordinates that are underpinned by the ethical considerations (Cropanzano, Dasborough and Weiss 2017). This is generally considered to be one of the major reasons for the extensive popularity which this particular theory of leadership has gained in the recent times.
The concept of psychological capital is a very subjective term and can be broadly defined the manner in which the various feedback processes, positive attitude of not only the management team but also the employees of the concerned organization, criticism and others can contribute in a significant manner towards the development of a particular individual within a team, group or organization (Baron, Franklin and Hmieleski 2016). Furthermore, it can also be said that the concept of psychological capital is related to the process of measuring, developing and at the same time the control of the factors that might help in the process of the psychological growth of the employees of the concerned organization (Goldsmith, Darity Jr and Veum 2018). This is important since recent researches have shown that the psychological as well as the emotional state of an individual is directly related to the performance or the productivity level of the concerned individual. It is a reflection of this particular fact that the various organizations of the contemporary try to develop the psychological capital of the employees so as to improve the individual and also the overall organizational performance of the concerned organization (Luthans, Youssef and Avolio 2015). In addition to this, it is seen that the various organizations take the help of diverse kinds of methods like effective leadership, creation of proper organizational culture, employee engagement and others for the purpose of adding in a positive manner towards the psychological capital of the employees (Luthans, Youssef and Avolio 2015).
It is seen that the entities which form the psychological capital for the diverse kinds of employees are different in nature. For example, the psychological capital for a professional employee would be self-efficiency, hope, optimism, resilience and others whereas the same for an administrative employee would be resilience, confidence, conquering attitude, ambition and others (Abbas et al. 2014). In addition to these, psychological capital for the individuals who are involved in the kind of work that requires emotional labor would be emotional attachment, optimism and others (Newman et al. 2014). The psychological capital of the blue collar people would be hard work, resilience, hope and others in contrast to the people belonging to the genre of white collar having ambition, conquering attitude, dominating spirit and others as their psychological capital (Newman et al. 2014). The psychological capital of the generational cohorts, on the other hand, would be ancestry, tradition, hope and others whereas for the people with different ethnicities would be resilience, hope, hard work and others (Newman et al. 2014). Thus, it can be said that the psychological capital of the people varies depending on the kind of jobs that they perform.
There is a direct correlation between the Authentic leadership theory, Leader-Member Exchange Theory and Employees’ Psychological Capital and it is generally seen that this particular correlation is being exploited by the various organizations to bring about their growth. For example, the lacuna of the major leadership theories is to improve the performance level of the individual members of the teams or the organization and it is precisely here that the concept of psychological capital gains prominence (Bouckenooghe, Zafar and Raja 2015). In the present day business world it is generally seen that the process of providing feedback had become important one. However, at the same time it is seen that the process of feedback is seen by the various individuals as a kind of criticism or generally has a negative connotation (Zhun et al. 2018). It is a reflection of this particular fact that the various feedbacks that are being provided to the various individuals are not seen in the good light. However, the primary idea behind the various feedbacks that are provided to the individuals is not to criticize them or to demean their work rather they are provided so that the concerned individual can identify the key competencies as well as the weaknesses of theirs (Zhun et al. 2018). At the same time they are being provided with the idea that the concerned individual would be able to work on them and thereby improve the level of their performance. The concept of feedback is thus utilized by the various leaders taking the help of the leadership styles of authentic leadership, LMX and others so that they can not only improve the quality of their work but at the same time help in the development of the psychological capital of the employees which again in turn would help in a significant manner towards the improvement of the performance level of the employees (Bouckenooghe, Zafar and Raja 2015).
One of the most important attributes of a leader is the fact that he or she is required not only to have a personal positive attitude towards the activities that he or she is undertaking but at the same time the concerned leader is required to help the subordinates inculcate a positive attitude within themselves as well (Wang et al. 2015). This is important since researches have shown that a person with a positive attitude is likely to perform in a much better manner in comparison to a person with a negative attitude. Furthermore, having a positive attitude at the same time helps an individual to have a belief in the things that he or doing and also the importance of the same and this again is directly related to the performance level of the concerned person since if a particular individual believes that the thing which they are doing is important then they are likely to do it in the best possible (Wang et al. 2015).
The leadership styles of LMX and authentic leadership by developing a trust worthy relationship with the followers contribute in a significant manner towards the psychological capital of the concerned employees (Breevaart et al. 2015). This is important since this particular process helps the concerned individuals to feel that they are on par with the leader and they have a say in the affairs of the organization for which they are working. It is a reflection of this particular that the organizations wherein the LMX and the authentic leadership style is being followed not only the attrition rate is very low but at the same time the job satisfaction level, employee engagement level and others are very high (Breevaart et al. 2015). These factors contribute in a significant manner towards the psychological capital of the employees through the creation of the ideal kind of organizational culture wherein the individuals would not have the right kind of psychological growth but at the same time they would be able to utilize that particular growth to enhance their performance and thus contribute in a positive manner towards the organization. Thus, it can be said that there is a direct correlation between the authentic leadership theory, LMX and psychological capital.
Emotions play a significant role in the individual performance of the employees and thus it becomes all the more important for the organizations to take into effective consideration the emotions of not only the leaders, managers but also the employees as well (Zhun et al. 2018). It is a reflection of this particular fact that if a particular individual is angry or not happy with the ways of a particular organization then it is obvious that he or she will not be able to deliver the kind of performance that he or she is normally capable of delivering as per their capabilities. Furthermore, the emotions of the leaders and the emotions are very important not only from the perspective of the fact that they hold the kind of position within the framework of the various organizations wherein they are required to make important decisions but at the same time because of their actions are directly related to the behavior and the actions of their subordinates as well (Zhun et al. 2018). Moreover, if a leader or a manager is not being able to regulate or control the emotions that they would then its results would be manifested in the decisions or the actions that they are undertaking and a wrong decision or an action taken at the management level is likely to have a serious implications for the concerned organization (Abbas et al. 2014). The same thing holds true for the employees as since the emotions that they have if not regulated or controlled in the most effective manner would have a negative impact on the work which they are delivering and this in turn would affecting the service that is being provided to the end users of the services offered by the organization. Thus, it can be said that the entity of emotion have a direct effect on the performance level not of the employees but at the same time on the performance level of the managers and the leaders as well.
A wide range of researches as well as studies have been undertaken on the concepts of authentic leadership, LMX and psychological capital of the employees and these studies and researches have at the same time came up with interesting results. However, at the same time it is significant to note that this research is likely to be a unique one and different from the earlier ones since very few of them have tried to show the correlation among the three concepts and it is precisely here that the intended future research gains prominence. Furthermore, the results or the conclusions that would be derived from this research would formed the groundwork for similar kind of research works in the future times and at the same time they can also be used by the various leaders and the organizations to improve the level of their performance.
Conclusion:
To conclude, the concept of leadership is an important one within the particular context of the present day world and is generally used for the process of the enhancement of not only the individual performances of the employees but at the same time the overall organizational performance as well. However, at the same time it is also seen that in the present times various kinds of leadership styles and theories like authentic leadership, LMX and others has gained prominence. Furthermore, an important factor that the leaders need to take into account is the fact of taking into effective consideration the psychological needs of the employees. It is here that the concept of psychological capital gains prominence and thus the various leaders are using this particular factor to not contribute in a significant towards the psychological growth of the employees but at the same time towards the creation of an adequate organizational culture so that the employees are being able to work in the best possible manner. Thus, it can be said that there is a direct correlation between the leadership theories and the concept of psychological capital. Furthermore, it is also that the emotions of the individuals also have a significant impact on their performance level.
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