Individual Paper: Leadership Program
Introduction
In business, there are many kinds of leadership styles that form different
types of leaders and corporate cultures. Each leadership style has its own
advantages and disadvantages that are appropriate for different situations and
corporations. Therefore, it is possible for leaders to have a repertoire of
leadership styles and to adjust their styles based on factors such as corporation
culture and the composition of team members at any time. In this essay, two
leadership styles “Affiliative” and “Authoritative” will be first defined and their
advantages and disadvantages will be further discussed. Next, leaders with
these two different leadership styles will send two emails to their employees
about stress-reducing activities based on their own leadership style.
Types of Leadership/Emails
Affiliative Leadership
The leaders with Affiliative leadership are the people who “…emphasize
the importance of team work, and create harmony in a group by connecting
people to each other “(Murray). This type of leaderships can build trust and
harmony among members and help them to feel good about working together. In
addition, “[everyone’s] contributions are stressed, and everyone is important to
the team”(Bean-Mellinger). This style of leadership can make members fulfilled
about their roles and feel good about it. However, it could still have some
disadvantages. For instance, “…members are too happy to participate in team
work, but they can become ineffective as they begin to compete for recognition,
rewards and satisfaction”(Johnston). Therefore, Affiliative leadership is most
appropriate to use in organizations or team with members who are self-motivated,
highly volatile, and stressful as well as those who need constant reassurance
rather than using it on employees with poor and rather unsatisfactory work
performances.
E-Mail
To: General Staff
From: CEO
Subject: Weekend Activity
Date: Feb.22.2015
Hello Teams,
Thank you for your long-term efforts and hard working. I am gladly to inform you
that we are going to organize an activity to give everyone an opportunity to relax
and reduce stress from work. Moreover, I hope that everyone can have a better
understanding of their coworkers to build great bonding and trust through this
activity.
1)
2)
3)
4)
The following are some possible options of the activity:
Sports Game
Theme Party
Movie Night
Concert
Feel free to choose the activity you are most interested in. The final results
and more concrete details of this activity will be further announced by email
pretty soon. Your family members are also welcome to attend this activity.
Best,
Tina Chen, CEO
Authoritative Leadership
The authoritative leadership (i.e., visionary leadership) is the style that
leaders use the so-called “comes with me” approach. The leader will first set the
goals or directions to “let members decide how they’re going to get there or
approach the goal”(Bean-Mellinger). The leader with authoritative leadership
must trust team members’ abilities and provide them with abundant opportunities
to innovate. This style works best “when the team needs new vision [because of
circumstances have changed], but members are self-directed enough to figure
out how to accomplish it” (Bean-Mellinger). In contrast, this leadership style is not
the best fit when leader is working with a team of experts who known more that
the leader which might reverse the roles of those team members from being
team members to leaders.
E-Mail
To: General Staff
From: CEO
Subject: Weekend Activity
Date: Feb.22.2015
Hello Teams,
Thank you for your long-term effort and hard working. I am gladly to inform you
that we are going to organize a weekend activity to give everyone an opportunity
to relax and reduce stress from work. The corporation is going to have this kind
of “stress reducing” activity once a month starting from this month. The activities
are going to be different for each month. The activity for this month will be
“Theme Party” and its details will be further announced by email. The options for
next month’s activity and details of the activity will be also announced by email
pretty soon. Please prepare for it and your participation is mandatory. I hope
these activities will strike a great balance between work and fun for everyone.
Thank you
Best,
Tina Chen, CEO
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are many kinds of leadership styles and each has its
own advantages and disadvantages that are appropriate for different situations
and corporations. Among these leadership styles, “Affiliative” emphasizes the
importance of teamwork, trust among members and a harmonious working
environment. This style can make members feel fulfilled with their roles and feel
good to work as team. Therefore, this style is appropriate for a team with selfmotivated and high volatile members instead of members with poor work
performances. Based on the email written by Affiliative leader, the main purpose
of it is to give employees opportunities to reduce their stress and hope they can
have more understanding of each other to build a better relationship. In contrast,
“ Authoritative” leadership style is the one which the leader first sets goals or
directions instead of giving orders to members. This style is most useful when
team needs new vision and members have abilities of self–directing to figure out
the best way to accomplish a task. According to the email written by the
Authoritative leader, the purpose and the requirements of this stress reducing
activity are clearly stated. The attendance is mandatory, and employees need to
overcome any difficulties and be there on time whether rain or shine.