Discussion – Transactional Leadership

Discussion – Transactional Leadership

Organizational leadership is a dual-focused management strategy that works toward what is best for a group of individuals concurrently. Leadership involves steering staff towards set objectives and achieving challenging tasks, inspiring others to perform at the highest level they can and eventually outperform the competition. The leadership style adopted by any organization can greatly influence the level of employee performance. Essentially, the style can either motivate or demotivate employees, ultimately affecting their performance level. Transactional leadership is one of the leadership styles that influence the interaction between employees and their leaders and, ultimately, employee commitment and organizational productivity. Transactional leadership, to some extent, reflects an autocratic style that values order and structure through excessive supervision. This task describes the strengths and weaknesses of the autocratic operations supervisor, the leader’s practices, and how the leader has affected the current organizational culture. Concurrently, it evaluates the organizational style by identifying its strengths and weaknesses as well as recommending actionable plans to improve the effectiveness of this type of leader.

Practices of the Transactional Leader

Emphasizing compliance via rewards and compliance 

One of the practices the operations supervisor identifies with is championing compliance of employees through rewards and punishments. In terms of rewards, the supervisor uses charisma to create a sense of referent power (Dartey-Baah, 2015). Here, the staff members are rendered to a position where they do not criticize decisions because of their dire need for the leader. Typically, transformational leadership stresses higher motive development and motivates subordinates by impacting positive emotions and positive future vision through the organization’s system of rewards (Dartey-Baah, 2015). The charismatic traits echo the supervisor’s values and principles that employees believed to be ideal, hence reflecting the leader as worth emulating. Quite often, rewarding employees stimulates and creates intrinsic desire, thereby ensuring a sense of shared responsibility toward achieving organizational goals. As Dartey-Baah (2015) puts it, a transactional leader usually uses established parameters to ensure the attainment of performance. Particularly, the punitive system and guidelines were enforced to discourage negative work behavior and ensure positive one, respectively. The method involved the operations supervisor paying detailed attention to workers’ activities to ensure stringent compliance with the established procedures. Therefore, one major practice exhibited by the operations supervisor is the strict adherence to the organizational laid-down procedures and processes to motivate and correct deviations.

Micromanagement

Accordingly, through a transactional leadership style, the supervisor also displayed micromanagement practice. The method is characterized by excessive supervision of subordinates. The leader spent most of the time supervising the work and emphasizing the importance of minor details to employees. Chai et al. (2017), contend that transactional leaders often find a way of tracing faults to the employees, in addition to never being satisfied with the deliverables. In the same context, the operations manager engaged in the work assigned to others and constantly looked over their shoulders to monitor what each was doing. The feedback provided afterward was meant to allow group members to improve their output. Thus, the supervisor’s micromanagement practice appeared controlling and overly critical.

Resistance to change

Another common practice with the supervisor was resistance to change. The supervisor was condescending towards employees, thanks to the perceived lack of faith in their competency. In leadership theories, transactional leaders are not optimistic about future change (Afshari & Gibson, 2016). Instead, they prefer maintaining the status quo and let things remain as they are. Through an autocratic style and sole decision-making, the supervisor dictated all the tasks and distributed responsibilities and never allowed inputs from group members. Studies show that threats by a new change usually lead to resistance to change (Afshari & Gibson, 2016). In this case, the supervisor felt satisfied and familiar with the usual things, fearing the unfamiliar new situations that would stem from organizational change. Additionally, the leader did not trust the real reasons for any potential change process. This concept came forth through non-cooperation and sharp opposition to a specific idea and information concealment. Therefore, the supervisor’s leadership style was characterized by resistance to change.

How the current Leader Has Affected the Organization’s Culture

The transformation leadership style is one of the key forces that has changed organizational culture, with the key among them being shared vision. The supervisor strictly referred to the organization’s vision to build enthusiastic team spirit and inspire commitment. An overwhelming body of studies argues that a transactional leader acts with charisma, setting an example as a role model for the subordinates (Chai et al., 2017). The supervisor exercised inspirational motivation by setting high standards and explaining how to attain them, strictly based on the company’s pre-set objectives. For instance, the supervisor influenced employees to put organizational interests above their own and created a common understanding of organizational goals and vision and the right work behaviors to attain them. Therefore, the leader managed to motivate staff through a well-crafted vision, eventually moving them toward a common vision.

Accordingly, the leader has managed to create a culture of team-goal commitment. Research studies have demonstrated that transactional leadership is associated with organizational commitment (Chai et al., 2017). Typical of these findings is the leader’s ideal role, as witnessed in work outcomes and job satisfaction. For instance, the supervisor managed to enhance the staff’s organizational commitment and improved loyalty by demonstrating high competence and expertise. Employees have eventually become more committed to their tasks, leading to higher productivity. Furthermore, the supervisor has managed to bring a cultural paradigm shift in terms of goal commitment in workers’ daily work lives by acting as the role model of the company’s core values. The motivating factor behind this situation is that staff members are forced to agree with and commit to the team member’s set goals and objectives. As a consequence, the leadership style employed by the supervisor has positively changed workers’ commitment levels to the organization’s business objectives, ultimately challenging its business process.

SWOT Analysis

Two of the organization’s current strengths

Easy achievement of goals

One of the current strengths of the organization under focus is the easy achievement of its goals. The transactional leadership style involves providing direction to behaviors, resources, and energies towards the achievement of goals (Dartey-Baah, 2015). Supervision through strict compliance and a system of rewards and punishment weeds out non-committed employees and links job performance with organizational strategies. Dartey-Baah (2015) posits that this style is suitable, especially under strict resource and time constraints and in highly specialized jobs. Thus, the organization has the upper hand in attaining its business objectives courtesy of an outcome-oriented leadership style.

Effective management

In the same vein, the organization can easily overcome management crises thanks to the autocratic leadership style. One of the primary features of autocratic leadership is a clearly defined chain of command Dartey-Baah, 2015). With a clear corporate hierarchy, every employee is expected to abide by the supervisor’s orders, leaving little room for miscommunication during critical operations. Furthermore, the subordinates receive clear communication, enhancing their chance of acting per organizational goals. The centralized decision-making system also fosters quick decision-making in times of crisis, as there is no consultation with the staff. Therefore, the organization has a fast crisis management benefit since a single individual is involved in making key decisions.

The organization’s weaknesses

Lack of innovation

One of the organization’s weaknesses is the lack of creativity and innovativeness among employees. Essentially, the supervisor constantly monitors employees who, in turn, develop insecurity and lack of confidence in their work (Du et al., 2020). relatedly, the leader controls all decisions and hardly accepts input from team members. This absolute and authoritarian leadership approach suppresses creativity since members’ ideas are not welcomed. For instance, the supervisor could sometimes develop poor problem solutions by overlooking the knowledge and skills of the members, hurting the overall project of the firm. Also part of this state of affairs is the lack of morale to perform their tasks autonomously. Staff members feel dissatisfied with the status quo, impending their innovative capability. As a result, the effect is depicted in the organization as a lack of innovation, eventually impacting its growth.

The organization’s current unmet opportunities

One area in which the organization is not reaping its benefits is shared decision-making. With an autocratic supervisor who ensures strict adherence to established procedures, the firm hardly embraces the concept of working together to achieve organizational goals. A large body of evidence suggests that shared making brings people together and drives multiple benefits, including bringing innovative ideas, bettering customer loyalty, improving change management, and limiting unintended consequences (Çekmecelioğlu & Günsel, 2011). The organization had to make employee-based decisions to realize the benefits mentioned above. Doing so brought new constructive ideas and, at the same time, motivated workers to remain committed to the company.

Another important area unexplored by the organization is employee autonomy. Empowering subordinates through greater autonomy leads to increased employee motivation. Scholars agree that leaders and managers with greater control over how, where, and when employees perform their tasks find their jobs more engaging (Du et al., 2020). With a workforce with more freedom to approach their jobs in ways that suit their skill sets and personalities, the business can flourish. On the other hand, using an autocratic system of leadership leaves employees feeling disenfranchised and demotivated. Therefore, employee autonomy is a vital tool for motivating and engaging, ultimately offering more productivity.

The organization’s current unresolved threats

One major threat to the organization’s leadership style is the lack of motivation for creativity among its employees. Du et al. (2020) agree that satisfied staff is the most essential asset in an organization, offering a competitive advantage via high-quality services. Constantly keeping shoulders over workers’ shoulders harms their confidence levels, creativity, and job performance. Additionally, the behavior has an increasing effect on the role of stress, eventually impacting job performance. In this regard, the organization needs to revitalize its leadership approach to encourage creativity and dynamism in its workforce to survive.

Another potential unresolved conflict is resistance to change. Studies show that leadership style influences change in organizations (Du et al., 2020). Particular to this concept is perceived trustworthiness, which includes competence, cognitive trust, and ability. Employees may actively support organizational change if they experience positive interaction with their supervisor. However, negative interaction injures workers’ intrinsic motivation. For example, distrusting employees’ competence, disrespecting them, and solely controlling the work process lower their contribution to the organization’s well-being. As a consequence, the company should ensure workers are more involved with the business strategy, planning, and solution-finding.

Leadership Evaluation

Strengths of the current leader

The current leader exhibits various strengths. One of these is a simplified approach to leadership. Simplicity is an important facet of transactional leadership because it pays much attention to the direct exchange process in which rewards are provided and while subordinates perform the expected roles and responsibilities (Du et al., 2020). At the same time, the leader focuses on the basic need of workers. By managing performance and followers, the supervisor meets their basic needs that include financial and psychological needs. In addition to this, the supervisor can make critical decisions quickly without having to worry about consulting workers.

Weaknesses of the current leader

The supervisor exhibits multiple weaknesses with the current leadership approach. Foremost, the supervisor focuses more on consequences than on rewards. The leader believes that all workers should act within the established punitive systems to attain organizational goals. As such, emphasis is more on adjusting behaviors, work processes, and offering solutions aligned with the organization’s strategic objectives. Simultaneously, the leader promotes authoritarian leadership, suppressing employee engagement in the long run.

Actionable items to improve the effectiveness of the current leader

Small changes in the organization over time could help the supervisor become a stronger leader. One of these approaches includes reducing the number of status reports (Du et al., 2020). This plan would give employees more independence to execute their jobs in a way they deem fit. The leaders could also embrace the concept of scheduling fewer meetings to spend more time doing constructive activities than constantly following employees (Du et al., 2020). Also, part of the plan could involve respecting and allowing opinions. This combination could help diffuse workplace discord and give employees the freedom to share their thoughts.

Conclusion

Leadership represents those changes in which the supervisor and employees influence one another reciprocally so that each benefits. Studies have confirmed that leaders who adopt a production-centered approach tend to have unproductive teams. The current case reflects a transactional leadership style practiced through the autocratic style. The leadership approach offers many advantages by trying to bring out the best in the subordinates. It also brings a high degree of dissatisfaction and, consequently, low productivity. These issues come forth through culture change, potential opportunities, and challenges. Even so, introducing additional plans into the leadership style, such as reducing the number of status reports, minimizing scheduled meetings, and respecting and allowing opinions, could strengthen the current leader to meet organizational objectives.

 References

Afshari, L., & Gibson, P. (2016). How to increase organizational commitment through transactional leadership. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 37(4), 507-519. https://doi.org/10.1108/lodj-08-2014-0148

Çekmecelioğlu, H., & Günsel, A. (2011). Promoting creativity among employees of mature industries: The effects of autonomy and role stress on creative behaviors and job performance. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 24, 889-895. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.09.020

Chai, D., Hwang, S., & Joo, B. (2017). Transformational leadership and organizational commitment in teams: The mediating roles of shared vision and team-goal commitment. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 30(2), 137-158. https://doi.org/10.1002/piq.21244

Dartey-Baah, K. (2015). Resilient leadership: A transformational-transactional leadership mix. Journal of Global Responsibility, 6(1), 99-112. https://doi.org/10.1108/jgr-07-2014-0026

Du, J., Li, N., & Luo, Y. (2020). Authoritarian leadership in organizational change and employees’ active reactions: have-to and willing-to perspectives. Frontiers in Psychology, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.03076

822. Vito, G., E. Higgins, G., & S. Denney, A. (2014). Transactional and transformational leadership. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, 37(4), 809-822. https://doi.org/10.1108/pijpsm-01-2014-0008

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In order to satisfy the rubric, I need the paper to discuss 3 strengths and 3 weaknesses of the current leader of my organization. In addition, I need 3 action items to improve his effectiveness. The leader of my organization is primarily a dictator. He has an autocratic style, which he often uses. He is a do as I say because I say so. He is big on reprimanding anyone who goes against his directive, even if he is wrong or asking for something against the company’s standards.

The task also asks me to perform a SWOT analysis of my current organization. The details are attached in the file, along with the rubric. There is a part of my personal experience that I will cover, but I need assistance with the rest.