Organizational Leadership Reflection

Organizational Leadership Reflection

What leadership theories have you seen used in your own workplace?

There are several theories of leadership used in the workplace today.  I work in a large organization with various departments. Thus I have witnessed different managers utilize different theories. The first theory is the behavioral theory. Behavioral theory argues that there are specific behaviors that are linked with leaders. Behavioral leadership claims that leaders are not born successful but are instead created by studying and imitating the attributes of other leaders (Nawaz & Khan, 2016). The above theory allows leaders to interact with their juniors and gain from their skills and talents. Additionally, the leaders respect and care for their subordinates and are concerned with the activities involved to achieve the objectives of the organization.

The second is the trait theory. The trait theory suggests that leaders are born with innate characteristics such as determination, assertiveness, and integrity (Nawaz & Khan, 2016). The above traits make individuals tremendous and cannot be learned or taught. The third is the transformational leadership theory. This group of leaders motivates positive change and assists all the people in being successful by showing them their significance as an individual and to the organization. Transformational leaders influence their juniors by altering their anticipations, inspirations, and beliefs to work towards one common goal (Nawaz & Khan, 2016). According to the theory, individuals exist in an organization to work cooperatively and not against or in competition with each other.

Which were most effective? 

The most effective theory is the transformational leadership theory. Through the above approach, we, the subordinates, have increased motivation, stimulation, performance, and individualized attention, and create stronger bonds with those we work with. In addition, we can freely talk to our bosses about any issue. As a result, the leaders achieve their goals and positive results from changing the environment and the bonds created with their juniors. The theory works best because our leaders empower us to be better.

Which were the least effective? Why? 

The least practical theory is the trait theory since it suggests that leaders are born and not created. The approach demotivates us because it argues that no amount of work or learning will make us leaders.

How did the execution of these theories align with your organization’s business strategies?

The execution of the above theories aligns with our organization’s business strategy since we are working towards a leader substitute model and encouraging those in lower management to implement our business management. I believe that gradually, our organization will understand that it does not need numerous levels of management, and because we are a business based on sales, the employees’ best interest is to succeed financially.

Organizational Structure

What kind of organizational structure does the organization use? 

For this prompt, I decided to research United Health Group (UHF). UHF uses a functional organizational structure to lead and manage the organization. A functional system subdivides an organization into departments depending on their particular functions (Grant, 2021). For instance, UHF is currently divided into three departments: Customer Service Operations, Complex Care, and Optum. A functional manager heads each department, and the subordinates are classified according to their roles. Managers must have experience in the positions they oversee to ensure that they effectively utilize their skills. The main advantage of the functional organization structure is that the duties and obligations of the employees are fixed (Grant, 2021). Besides, the management hierarchy is clear, therefore minimizing the number of channels of communication.

What other structures discussed in the chapter might allow the organization to operate more effectively? For example, would the move to a product team structure lead to greater efficiency or effectiveness? Why or why not?

The matrix organization structure might work for UHF. In a matrix structure, employees report to more than one manager supervising every aspect of the project (Grant, 2021).  For instance, a worker may have a primary manager they report to and one or more project managers they work under. Although the matrix structure might work for UHG, the system takes extra time and effort to design. Thus, managing matrix structure may be more challenging, which in turn would make departments less effective.

References

Grant, R. M. (2021). Contemporary strategy analysis. John Wiley & Sons.

Nawaz, Z. A. K. D. A., & Khan PhD, I. (2016). Leadership theories and styles: A literature review. Leadership, 16(1), 1-7.

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Competency 2 Reflection: Align operational needs with business strategies.

This reflection activity is comprised of two sections indicating a word count for each prompt, collectively totaling a minimum of 500 words. Complete your reflections by responding to all prompts.

An organization’s business strategy includes leadership theories and practices, as well as organization structure. One of management’s responsibilities is to ensure their team’s work aligns to the organization’s business strategies.