UNIT 3 - management skills - leading Flashcards
what is leadership ?
Leadership is the act of inspiring/influencing people to perform and engage in achieving goals.
Leadership involves directing and assisting/guiding people on the right course in order that everybody works together to achieve goals of the enterprise. Leaders know how to achieve goals and inspire people along the way.
what is delegation ?
Delegation involves the assignment of authority and responsibility to another person, generally from a leader to a subordinate, to undertake a specific project as s/he trusts the staff to do the work.
what is an autocratic leader ?
1.characteristics
2.when is this style appropriate
3.how does it help manage change
The leader gives instructions to subordinates. S/he makes decision without consulting with anyone. Example: A product recall or an emergency in store.
Characteristics :
1.The leader gives instructions to subordinates without consultation (decision making is not shared)
2.they would not delegate work to subordinates so don’t give away any of this control to their subordinates.
3.Little room for employee innovation and intrapreneurship.
4. they would use fear and threats to motivate staff, intimidating them rather than including them in order to get them to work harder.
5.over the long term morale will suffer as staff wont feel involved and trusted
when is this style appropriate ? - in a crisis where decisions need to be made quickly ( eg bs in danger of bankruptcy)
might also work for staff that have low job attachment eg a factory line worker, tesco floor staff -preforming monotonous tasks. they may not care about the future of the business and may not want any responsibility above their role, so a manager might be better ensuring they carry out their job through issuing strict orders and making sure that they are followed.
how does this leadership style help managing change ? - an autocratic manager might intimidate workers into accepting changes. this will only work in the short term however as it will likely lose effectiveness and staff morale may suffer- low motivation, higher turnover rates
what is a democratic leader?
-characteristics
-when is this style appropriate
-how does it help manage change ?
The leader involves the employees in the decision making process. S/he listen to the views of others and may facilitate consensus of the team. Leadership generates a sense of belonging but it is still centrally controlled by the manager. The manager can capitalise on the skills and talents of employees by letting them share their views rather than expecting them to conform.
Characteristics:
1.The leader shares decision making with subordinates.
2.They listen to the views of employees /collaborative/keep employees informed of changes so they feel part of the business. they seek opinions and feedback from staff while making decisions.
3.Leadership generates a sense of belonging and value as they are consulted on decisions but is still centrally controlled by the manager. this leads to ore motivated staff as they feel trusted by their superiors.
4.Teamwork-fosters an atmosphere that values information sharing/greater openness.
5.Requires trust between manager and employees.
when is this style appropriate ?
this style is suitable for most businesses, as it should help develop a good bond between managers and staff and allow staff to use their skills to help create better solutions to develop the business, while also allowing the manager more time to focus on their most important work.
businesses that use teamwork would suit this style as it creates an environment for professionals that feel part of a business, value sharing their opinion and like working in an open and inclusive environment
how does this style help manage change? - change is implemented by having a consultative process with employees and making them feel included and involved in the process
employees are allowed to offer their opinions before decisions are made on how the change will be implemented, creating buy-in from staff
what is a laissez fair leadership style
characteristics
when the style is appropriate ?
how does it help manage change ?
Laissez faire (Free reign) Leadership involvement is minimised/Very highly skilled employees (such as middle managers) may make their own decisions and there is no requirement for central coordination.
Characteristics :
1.when the manager has a lot of trust in Very highly skilled employees/experts (such as middle managers) and as a result doesn’t interfere in their work.
2.This involves allowing subordinates to set their own goals and deadlines and to achieve them without interference of management instead they supervise it by allowing staff the freedom to best decide how to complete their work.
3.Requires employees who are very engaged with their work. it also leaves lots of time for the manager to prioritise other tasks and works best with very creative and trustworthy staff.
4. it helps to promote high levels of intrapreneurship within a business
when is this style appropriate? - when some workers or middle managers are experts within their role, they might not want much supervision and want to feel trusted to make decisions themselves to work towards the goal that they have set. as they are expert, they wouldn’t appreciate a lot of interference to their work from superiors.
how does it help manage change ? - this can be very effective when your staff are expert in their field and are committed to their job, so they will want the change to be successful and will take ownership of the change and be more committed to it as they own the process.
what is management ?
the process of achieving results through organising and using resources(staff, capital,…)
what are the advantages of delegation for a manager and employees
1.free’s up the managers time: the manager is able to delegate the least important tasks to his staff, leaving more time to prioritise and focus on strategic plans/ long term plans.
- shows trust in employees : employees may become more motivated by the extra authority and responsibility given to them by their manager and they enjoy more challenging work. they feel trusted to take on more tasks than they have done before.
- improves skills and experience in staff : employees will be used to harder tasks as they have to adapt to more difficult work, creates more flexible staff to be promoted internally.
- increased efficiency : employees will have more personal accountability for a specific task so are more likely to complete it to a higher standard due to being delegated work.
what factors would influence the style of leadership used by a manager? -
1.how quick decisions need to be made - where there is no need for input on the decision or where the decision wouldn’t change as a result of employee input autocratic style would be appropriate.
- skill level and characteristics of their employees - the amount of direction needed will need to be considered. assembly line staff more suited to an autocratic style. high skilled IT workers may suit a more Laissez-Faire leadership style.
3.complexity of the task/skills of employees - a more complicated task will require more detailed instruction and supervision (more autocratic). however, if the skill set is high, employees may require a leader to be a facilitator to allow them to figure out the task themselves( more democratic/ laissez faire)
- corporate culture of the organisation - the culture will also influence the leadership style expected by the manager. if the culture is one of inclusion and staff inputting ideas to management, then a democratic style would be effective.
