Leadership Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Leadership - Research Paper Example Contingency leadership Contingency theory of leadership emphasizes that effective leadership depends on matching a  leader’s  style  to the appropriate situation (Da Cruz et al, 2011, p 7). The theory  is based  on the assumption that people’s styles and behaviours cannot be influenced or modified in any way. The  leadership  theory  is formed  by a combination of three factors, which are, leader-member relation,  task  structure and positional power (Da Cruz et al, 2011, p.9). Leader-member  relation  measures  acceptance  between all hierarchies within the organization where  acceptance  is determined  by trust, confidence a  feeling  of adequacy and  motivation  by leaders. In relation to  task  structure, it refers to a measure of clarity that a project or a defined task carries and the methods used to  achieve  the product. These allows progress to be tracked, this is because of the  presence  of clear guideli nes as to how a task should be performed. Positional power, on the other hand, is a measure of the amount of  authority  that a leader has, ad its ability to influence the  productivity  of the workers. This is in reference to the ability that a leader when it comes to reward and punishment. It also has a  part  in hierarchies where the workers  are required  to report to their leaders. ... on, in order to exert influence on one’s workers or followers, there is the need to  use  people skills and communicative skills in order to  influence  the outcome of their followers (Da Cruz, 2011, P. 17). Concerning contingency theory, there are several groupings of leaders and their  outright  performance  situations based on the power and  influence  they exert. The theory proposes that a  task-oriented leader stands a better chance at getting better performance due to its dynamic nature. The  nature  is it can be used when there is too much  control  or too little control over workers. In addition, in positions where a  leader  has  moderate  power, the theory proposes that  best  performance  is yielded  for  relationship-oriented leaders. Transformational leadership Transformational leadership is a leadership  style  in which leaders and followers  elevate  each other to levels above  present  level of  morali ty. In order to account for  power,  influence  and  leadership  in transformational leadership, it  is based  on four components. Influence  is exerted  on followers or workers according to how admirably the  leader  behaves. This, in turn, has an  influence  on the followers on whether they would like to emulate them (Hoffman et al., 2011, p. 781). Leaders in this theory  follow  a set of  clear  values that they  demonstrate  in their actions. This allows the  leader  to be a role model for their followers creating trust between leaders and followers. Therefore, the leader does not just  wield  the  power  to  lead  his or her followers but works by appealing to their values to the followers.   However, the leadership style holds an unethical edge, as unscrupulous leaders to suit their own purpose or personal interests can exploit it. Therefore, it