What does it take to be an effective leader in today’s fast paced and ever changing world?
A leader must be able to move quickly from one agenda to another. A leader must be able to inspire a person or a group of people to want to do their best. A definition of leadership can be, “A relationship through which one person influences the behavior of other people” ( Mullins, p. 904 ). One of the biggest problems that a leader in any organization has to deal with is change. Leaders have to be versatile and willing to make tough decisions in today’s economic climate. We will analyze what it takes to be a successful leader and how to manage the people around you for the best results. Asking questions of what constitutes a successful leader will also be part of the agenda. An effective leader must learn how to manage organizational change. Every successful company will have to go through some type of organizational change at some point. Organizational change should only be attempted if there is true performance improvement needed. A strong leader must be willing to put an individual or group through a performance improvement plan if it is warranted. A performance improvement plan should be used when, “you have identified a performance problem and are looking for ways to improve the performance of an employee.” (http://www.indiana.edu~uhrs/training/ca/performance.html) Many leaders are afraid to initiate organizational change for fear they will be looked at as the bad guy. Leaving a poor performer working for you not only hinders their area of responsibilities but it can have negative impact on the good performers as well. The team will feel like “Why should I work hard when no one is held accountable?” “We have a manager who doesn’t care because they aren’t taking care of the problems.” Holding your poor performers accountable will not only have positive results, your good performers will respect you more and want to work
References: Barger, K. (2004, Dec.20). Ethnocentrism.What is it?Why are people ethnocentric?What is the problem?What can we do about it?Web site:http://www.iupui.edu/~anthkb/ethnocen.htm. Donais, B. (2006). What are the Sources of Workplace Conflict? Workplaces That Work: A Guide to Conflict Management in Union and Non-Union Environments. Aurora. Dunn, S. (2005, July 28). 10 Things to Know About Silence in Communication. Web site: http://www.studiomatrix.com/articles/article00103.shtml. Gilley, A.,Gilley, J.W., McMillan, H.S. (2009, Aug.). Organizational Change: Motivation, Communication, and Leadership Effectiveness. Performance Improvement Quarterly. p.75. Goleman, D. (2000 Mar-Apr). Leadership That Gets Results. Harvard Business Review. p.80,82-83,87. Mullins, L.J. (2002). Management and Organizational Behavior, 6th Edition, FT Publishing, p.904. Nadler, D.A. Tushman, M.L. (1990). Beyond the Charismatic Leader: Leadership and Organizational Change. California Management Review. p.77. O’Rourke, J.S. (2007). Management Communication: A Case-Analysis Approach. Upper Saddle River, NJ:Pearson Education. p.11,281. Slocombe, S. (2009, Aug.). Rewire Your Brain for More Effective Leadership. Training Journal. Ely. p. 32. Wood, D.B