LEADERSHIP
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The task of the new regional head is to improve the performance of KTG regional office and lift
the business capability and performance to the company average.
Academic skills, experience and determination are all important aspects, however, without
effective application of leadership styles, strategic planning, effective communication and a
desire to change, the regional head will not have the same caliber of success. Change is not
always accepted by all, however, empowering and gaining the trust of the change ambassadors,
will support the change needed. Change cannot occur in a hostile environment. The regional
head must also realize that it can be very difficult for employees to overcome the past. Many of
them may have seen a variety of management fads come and go, hence, promising the latest
management gimmick, and not following up and sustaining it, will lead to total disbandment of
disloyalty. To gain supporters, the regional head must make a thorough analysis of where the
organization is now, where it wants to be, and how it will get there. Intimate knowledge of the
organization at a strategic level is essential. Aligning the strategy with performance is vital to a
successful business. By using the available business management tools to analyze the internal
environment, i.e. SWOT analysis, and the external environment; Porters five, and PESTLE, the
regional head will get a clear picture of the direction the organizations needs to be steered in.
‘Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.’ (Steve Jobs)
This is a report which will follow the complete course of events that needs to be in place,
including all the desired aspects necessary to act as an effective leader in an unhinged location.
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TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction ......................................................................................................................................3
Organization Overview and Bacground...........................................................................................3
1 LEADERSHIP CONCEPTS AND THEORIES .........................................................................3
1.1 Universalistic Approuches ......................................................................................................4
1.1.1 The Great Man Theory............................................................................................................4
1.1.2 Traits Theory...........................................................................................................................4
1.2. Beavioral Theory ...................................................................................................................5
1.3 Contintancy Approuch ...............................................................................................................6
1.4 Emotianal Approuch ..................................................................................................................7
2. Strategy ......................................................................................................................................10
2.1 SWOT Analysis .......................................................................................................................10
2.2 Porters 5 Forces........................................................................................................................11
2.3 PESTEL Analysis ....................................................................................................................12
2.4 Strategic Planning ....................................................................................................................12
2.5 Mission, Vission and Vallues ..................................................................................................13
2.6 The Balanced Scorecard ..........................................................................................................15
2.7 Change Mnagement .................................................................................................................16
3. Motivation ..................................................................................................................................18
4.Communication ...........................................................................................................................21
4.1 Leaders as Senders of Information ..........................................................................................21
4.2 Leaders as Receivers of Information .......................................................................................21
4.3 Communication Channels ........................................................................................................22
4.4 Leaders Communication Contexts ...........................................................................................23
6. Conclusion .................................................................................................................................24
7. References ..................................................................................................................................25
List of Figures
Figure 1 ............................................................................................................................................6
Figure 2 ............................................................................................................................................7
Figure 3 ..........................................................................................................................................10
Figure 4 ..........................................................................................................................................11
Figure 5 ..........................................................................................................................................11
Figure 6 ..........................................................................................................................................12
Figure 7 ..........................................................................................................................................16
Figure 8 ..........................................................................................................................................17
Figure 9 ..........................................................................................................................................20
Figure 10 ........................................................................................................................................24
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INTRODUCTION
In light of recent major events in the economy and financial markets, employees may not be
gathering around the water cooler to talk about the latest celebrity’s lavish wedding, but instead
may be speculating about the future of their bonuses, raises and job security. The impact of this
phenomena, (together with miss-alignment of the business strategy and the mission, vision and
values of the organization, lack of effective communication, leaders with little vision and the
overall performance of the organization on the world market); made the organization think about
ways to implement change strategy.
Strategies for establishing a productive, engaged and sustainable environment include the
following:
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



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Identify the changes needed
Put the planned changes in writing
Develop a plan for making the changes
Understand the emotional transition process
Identify key people and make them advocates
Support the staff
Organization Overview and Background
Currently, KTG functions as one of the leading consulting companies in Australia with a scope
including a wide range of engineering, architectural, mining, construction and environmental
services. KTG has regional offices in every Australian state capital and 20 other cities around the
world. KTG has experienced rapid growth over the last ten years, except for brief slow-downs in
some regions during the recent financial crises.
The company has a formal matrix structure. The 'Business' stream is responsible for growing the
enterprise, gaining contracts, managing projects and delivering to clients. The 'Knowledge'
stream is responsible for developing, sharing and leveraging the expertise and capability of
individuals and the organization as a whole. Each staff member simultaneously has a Business
stream leader and a Knowledge stream leader. Business streams usually report to the regional
head. Knowledge streams report to the Chief Knowledge Officer at KTG's corporate
headquarters.
In spite of its growth, and reputation as a leading consulting company, the financial crises
resulted in a less than adequate performance in one of its regional branches. There is a dire need
for a leader who will not only turn the organization around, but also instill a culture of
continuous improvement and more importantly, maintain sustainability. This report will
highlight the process on the basis of Stewart’s PDCA model. The importance of leadership as a
significant change instrument will be emphasized.
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1. LEADERSHIP CONCEPTS AND THEORIES
Leadership concepts and theories are implemented to help increase organizational productivity.
Leaders do not have to use a singular theory or concept when implementing strategies in the
workplace. A combination of a number of theories, depending on the workplace and purpose has
the potential to be more effective.
Leadership: lead¦er|ship
The action of leading a group of people or an organization, or the ability to do this (Oxford
Dictionary)
The business definition of leadership is as follows:
1. Leadership the position or function of a leader, a person who guides or directs a group:
He managed to maintain his leadership of the party despite heavy opposition.
Synonyms: administration, management, directorship, control, governorship, stewardship,
hegemony.
2. ability to lead:
As early as sixth grade, she displayed remarkable leadership potential.
Synonyms: authoritativeness, influence, command, effectiveness; sway, influence.
3. an act or instance of leading; guidance; direction:
They prospered under his strong leadership.
4. the leaders of a group:
The union leadership agreed to arbitrate.
Few things are more important to human activity than leadership. Effective leadership helps our
nation through times of peril. It makes a business organization successful.
The absence of leadership is equally dramatic in its effects. Without leadership, organizations
move too slowly, stagnate, and lose their way. (D. Quinn Mills)
1.1 Universalistic Approaches
1.1.1 The Great Man Theory
The Great Man Theory hypothesizes that true leaders are born not made. Leaders have an
inherent capacity to rise to the occasion when needed either through charisma, intelligence,
wisdom or some other parameter. The Scottish writer Thomas Carlyle (1840) made this theory
popular. His most famous quote “The history of the world is but the biography of great men”,
reflected his belief concerning leaders being born not made (Carlyle, 1888).
The Great Man Theory was popular with professional historians in the 1900’s. The term Great
Man was used in this era because of the association of the male to leadership roles. The
mythology behind some of the World’s great leaders helped support the thought that great
leaders are born not made. After all, leaders such as Abraham Lincoln, Julius Caesar, Mahatma
Gandhi, and Alexander the Great could not have been taught to lead in the way that they did. As
research and study of personalities and behavior progressed, this theoretical thought fell out of
favor with historians after World War II. (Russell 2011)
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1.1.2 Traits Approach
Following the Big man theory comes the Traits Approach to leadership. The basic assumptions
of the Traits Approach to leadership are:
1. Everyone is born with inherited traits.
2. Some traits are particularly suited to leadership.
3. Effective leaders have the 'right' quantity and combination of leadership traits.
4. If we can identify the traits, and mimic them, we too can become great leaders.
Gordon Allport (1955) was an early advocate for trait theory and the study of traits.
These theories hypothesize that the specific traits of an individual allow the potential to be a
leader. These personality traits or behavioral characteristics are inherent in the family and passed
on genetically. This theory emphasizes that leaders share many common traits and characteristics
that make them successful. These leadership traits are innate and instinctive qualities that you
either have or you do not. (Russell 2011)
Rather than focusing on the underlying characteristics of leaders, the early behavioral theorists
attempted to explain leadership in terms of unique 'leader-like' ways of behaving. Specifically,
these theories focus on how leaders behave vis-à-vis their followers.
1. 2. Behavioral Theory
Behavioral Theories are in direct contrast to the Great Man Theory. It supports the theory that
great leaders are made, not born. In other words, it focuses on the actions of leaders and not on
their personalities. It hypothesizes that leaders can learn to become effective leaders through
observation, teaching and experience. Leaders can be conditioned to respond appropriately when
confronted with various challenges.
There are three types of leaders: autocratic, democratic and laissez-faire. Lewin (1935)
The autocratic leader
Makes decisions without consulting subordinates.
Considering the generally de-motivated staff who lack of clarity about their future, an autocratic
leadership approach will further decrease motivation and add to high staff turnover.
The democratic leader
Consults his subordinates but makes a decision with or without considering their input.
Although democratic leadership give authority to the staff and involve them in the decision
making process, they will complete the tasks using their own work methods on time. This results
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in a slow decision making process. KTG already feels the effect from the recent financial
instability, allowing too much time on decision-making will further underperform comparing to
the rest of the company.
The laissez-faire leader
Let’s subordinates make the decision. No real leadership role other than assuming the position.
At the KTG regional office, employees are already demotivated and allowing them to make all
the decisions, with minimal interference from the leader, will make them feel lost and not reach
the goals set within the period
Figure 1. Autocratic vs. Laissez-Faire
Lewin believed that all leaders could fit into one of these three categories.
In 1945, Ohio State University in the United States developed the Leader Behavior Description
Questionnaire (LBDQ). It is described in terms of two dimensions namely:
1. Initiating Structure (Task-oriented):
1.1 To what extent does the leader emphasize task accomplishment and goal attainment?
1.2 To what extent does the leader promote task-related behaviors such as assigning
deadlines, establishing performance standards and monitoring performance levels?
2. Showing Consideration (People-oriented)
2.1 How friendly and supportive is the leader towards his/her followers?
2.2 To what extent does the leader seek to develop the relationship between herself
and her followers? (The extent to which notions of trust, honesty, open
communications etc. come into play.) (Manning & Curtis, 2007: 20)
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1.3. Contingency Approach
No leadership style can be acknowledged as the only and best leadership style, which will be
effective. This theory depends on factors such as the condition, quality of the followers and a
number of other variables. There is no right way or wrong way to lead, as internal and external
factors will determine the leadership style applicable for a particular situation.
This could never be truer in the situation where a leader is very successful in one organization,
but a failure in another organization the leader is a failure. The leader did not change, the
environment, dynamics and personnel within the organization did. An example would be the
KTG regional office leader who was deemed a highly regarded, very influential, locally based
Knowledge stream leader whose expertise,
While critical in the past, is less relevant to emerging business opportunities in the region. No
theory can explain why people with certain leadership styles are more effective in certain
situations than others. There is no solution for the apparent mismatch between the leader and the
situation in the regional branch. In a general sense, contingency theories are a class of behavioral
theory that contends there is no one best way of organizing / leading and that an organizational /
leadership style that is effective in some situations may not be successful in others (Fiedler,
1967).
Figure 2. Findings from Fiedler Model
1.4 Emotional Approaches
These approaches are based on the leader’s personality, values and attitudes. It is believed that
the best way to learn about leadership and becoming better as a leader is to study yourself as a
leader. Your past experiences have been crucial in shaping your values and beliefs about
leadership and these experiences will that guide your actions. There are five factors of
personality to identify the leader’s traits;
Extraversion implies an energetic approach to the social and material world and includes traits
such as sociability, activity, assertiveness, and positive emotionality. Agreeableness contrasts a
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prosaically and communal orientation toward others with antagonism and includes traits such as
altruism, tender-mindedness, trust, and modesty.
Conscientiousness describes socially prescribed impulse control that facilitates task and goaldirected behavior, such as thinking before acting, delaying gratification, following norms and
rules, and planning, organizing, and prioritizing tasks.
Neuroticism contrasts emotional stability and even-temperedness with negative emotionality,
such as feeling anxious, nervous, sad, and tense.
Openness to experience (versus closed-mindedness) describes the breadth, depth, originality, and
complexity of an individual’s mental and experiential life. (The Big Five Personality Factors)
The challenge at the KTG regional office is to lift the business performance and capability to at
least company average. The regional head of this under performing regional office, might find it
of great value to look at the leadership style of Steve Jobs (1955- 2011). His management style
might not have followed traditional theories, but few can argue that his sometimesunconventional leadership, combined with his sheer genius and ability to express his vision
contributed to Apple’s worldwide success.
It is difficult if not impossible to summarize the lessons from Steve Jobs’ leadership style;
however following below is an attempt to capture the essentials of it.
1. Foster Greatness
“My job is not to be easy on people. My job is to make them better.” He denied three of the
six original Apple employees (and former friends) stock when the company went public in 1981,
as he believed they were no longer critical assets to the prospering company’s success. Every
move he made, no matter how heartless it seemed, was for the betterment of his employees,
betterment of his products, and betterment of his company.
2. Follow Your Passion
“If you don’t love something, you’re not going to go the extra mile, work the extra
weekend, challenge the status quo as much.” Jobs believed passion was a critical component
of success. He urged that everyone must to do what he or she loves. It was his fearless pursuit of
passion that co-founded Apple in 1976, and it was that same fearless pursuit that kept him
motivated after he was fired 10 years later.
3. Stay True to Your Vision
“If you don’t share our vision…then GET OUT!”
Jobs did not tolerate an employee that did not share his vision. He stayed focused on the vision
he had for Apple and made sure the company and every employee were constantly headed
toward that vision. Because of this, he will always be remembered as one of the greatest
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visionary legends of all time.
4. Hire Creativity
“Here’s to the crazy ones — the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in
the square holes. The ones who see things differently…the ones that change things.” The
Apple slogan, “Think Different,” was also Jobs’ mentality behind his hiring process.
“While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who think they
are crazy enough to change the world, are the ones that does.”
5. Risk Failure
“The greatest artists like Dylan, Picasso and Newton risked failure. And if we want to be
great, we’ve got to risk it too.” It is no secret that Jobs did not hesitate when it came to taking
risks. He often said that Apple raised the bar for personal computing and if they wanted to stay
there, they would have to risk everything.
6. Serve a Purpose
“If you keep your eye on the profit, you’re going to skimp on the product. But if you focus
on making really great products, then the profits will follow.” “Make it great,” was one of
Jobs’ many signature catch phrases and the foundation of his consumer-focused vision. He often
asked himself, “Is this as great as it could be?” because he believed his customers deserved
nothing less. He would not just make it; he would make it great. Great products would satisfy
customers, and in turn, produce great profits.
1.4.1 Transformational Leadership
Steve Jobs was perhaps then a transformational leader. He focused on "transforming" others to
help each other, to look out for each other, to be encouraging and harmonious, and to look out
for the organization as a whole.
Transformational leadership characteristics can be applied to motivate the employees at the KTG
regional office, getting them back on track.
By applying the following, the regional head will instil the following:
Idealized Influence: Provides vision and sense of mission, instils pride, gains respect and trust.
Inspiration: Communicates high expectations, uses symbols to focus efforts, expresses important
purposes in simple ways.
Intellectual Stimulation: Promotes intelligence, rationality, and careful problem solving.
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Individualized Consideration: Gives personal attention, treats each employee individually,
coaches and advises.
In his time as Apple’s leader, he inspired the motivation, morale and performance of his follower
group. Some people also saw him as a charismatic leader.
Figure 3. Transactional Leadership vs. Transformational Leadership
2. STRATEGY
In a recent operational review of the region, KTG’s CEO found a mismatch between current
expertise and growth potential in the region and an out-of-date operational plan, and no strategic
plan.
The new head of the region will have to perform a strategic analysis by applying different
strategic tools such as SWOT, Porters Five Forces, and PESTLE analysis to assess where the
current position of the organization and evaluate the challenges.
2.1 SWOT Analysis
The SWOT analysis is the first step in understanding the Company’s Strengths and Weaknesses,
while identifying Opportunities that are open to the organization and threats that they face.
“What makes SWOT particularly powerful is that, with a little thought, it can help you uncover
opportunities that you are well placed to exploit and by understanding the weaknesses of your
business, you can manage and eliminate threats that would otherwise catch you unawares” (Mind
Tools Essential Skills for an Excellent Career).
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Strengths
Weaknesses

Diverse Range of services
provided
 Steady growth in most regions
 Business in both local and
global market
 Formal matrix structure
Opportunities



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Potential for growth in energy
sector
 Human capital – match
expertise with job
 Build alliance with the
community and government
Figure 4. SWOT Analysis
Out dated operational and strategic plans.
Lack of strategic direction and communication
Poor performance; Employee de-motivation; Lack of
employee engagement
Threats
Competition
Financial Crises
Corporate Social Responsibility (lack of engagement
in Community and regional government)
2.2 PORTERS Five Forces – Situational Analysis
The Porter’s Five Forces tool is a powerful tool that helps a business to understand where its
potential is focused. It helps to determine which strengths need to move to a more successful and
profitable position. It works by assessing the strength of five vital forces that affect competition.
By using Porters Five Forces as a framework, a company can determine their strengths, improve
on their weaknesses and avoid making wrong business decisions with costly consequences.
The completeness of the Porter Five analysis will require an in-depth analysis and understanding
of the company’s operations.
Figure 5. Porters 5 Forces
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Competitive Rivalry: helps to determine the number of competitors and assess the strength of
the competition in the industry and thereby create strategies to seize the competitive advantage.
Supplier Power: it is important to know the bargaining power of the suppliers so the company
can build relationship with them for better services and also to drive down the costs. . It is also
crucial to know, if necessary, what the cost would be to change suppliers.
Buyer Power: the bargaining power of buyers can drive down the prices so it is crucial for a
company to know who their customers are, what products and services they are seeking and what
they will be willing to pay for the products.
Threat of Substitute: the company needs to be aware of alternative products and services out
there in the market/industry that can replace their products and services.
Threat of New Entrants: new or increased competition in the industry can cause risk to
business by driving the prices down and affecting investment and profit margins. Another threat
is the risk of investment due to the Fixed “reimbursement rate” that is mandated by the regulator.
2.3 PESTEL Analysis
The PESTLE analysis should feed into a SWOT analysis as it helps to determine the threats
and opportunities represented by macro-environment forces that the organization usually cannot
control.
Figure 6. PESTLE Analysis
Political Factors
Political factors play an important role in shaping the business and operation of KTG. The firm is
subject to local laws and regulations. Changes in laws and regulations in Australia and countries
where KTG has offices may affect business. The activities of KTG are subject to administrative
review and approval by various government agencies.
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Economic Factors
The global work financial crisis had an impact on KTG. Having advanced warning of such crisis
can help a company to avoid starting new projects that could fail and/or change business strategy
to mitigate any threats.
Sociological Factors
There are an increasing number of unequal distributions of household or individual income
across the various participants in the economy.
Technological Factors
The rapid development and wide adoption of digital economy means that more and more
organizations will need to train and develop their people.
Environmental Factors:
It is the duty of the organization to cover the environmental implications of the company’s
operations, products and facilities. This includes; eliminate waste and emissions; maximize the
efficiency and productivity of its resources; and minimize practices that might adversely affect
the enjoyment of the country’s resources by future generations.
Legal Factors:
Legal factors are those, which have become law and regulations. Legal needs to be complied
with whereas Political may represent influences, restrictions or opportunities.
2.4 Strategic Planning
“Strategic planning is an organizational management activity that is used to set priorities, focus
energy and resources, strengthen operations, ensure that employees and other stakeholders are
working toward common goals, establish agreement around intended outcomes/results, and
assess and adjust the organization's direction in response to a changing environment. It is a
disciplined effort that produces fundamental decisions and actions that shape and guide what an
organization is, who it serves, what it does, and why it does it, with a focus on the future.
Effective strategic planning articulates not only where an organization is going and the actions
needed to make progress, but also how it will know if it is successful.” (balancedscorecard.org).
Before a structure of the future strategy for the company can be formed, the regional head must
clearly identify where the Company was and where it needs to go and examine the process that
needs to be implemented to achieve this strategic direction. The key components of strategic
planning include well defined mission, vision and values as well as clearly outlined operation
plan with strategic goals and objectives.
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2.5 Vision, Mission and Values
“For an organization's vision and mission to be effective, they must become assimilated into the
organization's culture. They should also be assessed internally and externally. The internal
assessment should focus on how members inside the organization interpret their mission
statement. The external assessment — which includes all of the businesses stakeholders — is
valuable since it offers a different perspective. These discrepancies between these two
assessments can provide insight into their effectiveness” (Wikipedia, Strategic Planning).
Where are we?
There is a chasm between current expertise and growth potential in the region. In addition to this,
the locally based Knowledge stream leader whose expertise, while important in the past, is less
relevant to emerging business opportunities in the region. He is highly regarded and very
influential. This is very important, as the 'Knowledge' stream is responsible for developing,
sharing and leveraging the expertise and capability of individuals and of the company as a whole.
Each staff member simultaneously has a Business stream leader and a Knowledge stream leader.
Business streams usually report to a regional head. Knowledge streams report to the Chief
Knowledge Officer at KTG's corporate headquarters. Other identified challenges are the lack of a
strategic plan, lack of staff engagement and demotivation.
Employees are also uninformed about the business goals policies. An overall demotivated culture
is present fuelled by uncertainty about the future. This all appear to lead to poor relations with
the community and regional government. Leaders should look forward to the future of the
regional office as a pioneer in the consulting market in the region. Strategic planning is the
process by which leaders clarify their organization‘s mission, develop a vision, articulate the
values, and establish long-, medium-, and short-term goals and strategies. At the top of the
hierarchy is the organization‘s Mission and Vision, both of which should be long lasting and
motivating. At the base of the hierarchy are the shorter-term strategies and tactics that unit
members will use to achieve the Vision. The key components of 'strategic planning' include an
understanding of the firm's vision, mission, values and strategies
How do we get there?
Who are we?
The vision could be defined as a dream or view of the future. Vision is the desired long-term
state of the organization. It is intended to serve as a clear guide for choosing current and future
courses of action.
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VISION
To be the best trustworthy and reliable consultancy services firm recognized by our clients for
delivering excellence.
Who do we want to be when ‘we grow up’?
The mission statement outlines the fundamental purpose of the organization, why it exists, what
it seeks to accomplish, its main activities, and its future position within the industry. The
mission should include key values and ethical position of the organization.
MISSION
To serve our clients by providing quality services that fulfill their business needs. We encourage
a culture of excellence, quality and innovation that enables us to maintain a reputation as a
respected company. We deliver superior economic results to the financing community while
honoring our corporate responsibility.
How do we get there?
Values are operating principles that guide an organization’s conduct towards its internal and
external customers, partners and shareholders.
VALUES
Integrity, Pursuit of Quality, Accountability, Teamwork
Planning
Alignment of improvement activities at all levels to an organization's Strategic intent. Applying
the principle of continual improvement typically leads to: Employing a consistent organizationwide approach to continual improvement of the organization's performance.
2.6 The balanced Scorecard
The balanced scorecard is a robust organization-wide strategic planning, management and
communications system. These are strategy-based systems that align the work people do with
organization vision and strategy, communicate strategic intent throughout the organization and to
external stakeholders, and provide a basis for better aligning strategic objectives with resources.
It helps align an organization behind a shared vision of success. Get people working on the right
things and focusing on results.
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Figure 7. Balanced Scorecard
Organization strategy determines organizational structure, which in turn influences organization
performance
2.7 Change management
The role and position of change management in the effective implementation of drawn up
strategic plans is essential for the success of the task to return the regional office to the same
performance level as the rest of the organization.
Four distinct sources of change are identified which aid resistance within the organization:
Parochial self-interest—There may be a perception the change will create winners and losers.
Misunderstanding and lack of trust—People will naturally resist change when they do not fully
understand what it involves.
Different assessments—Even where the relevant change drivers have been communicated to all
stakeholders, some groups may assess the need for (and potential impacts of) the change quite
differently
Low tolerance for change—Often people will resist change because they worry that they will not
be able to develop the new skills or behaviors required of them. Kotter and Schlesinger (1979)
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Figure 8. Eight Steps to Change.
Step One: Create a sense of urgency
In order for people to have the level of motivation necessary for your change to succeed, they
need to see a sense of urgency. They need to know that the change is needed now. The current
region where the regional head wish to implement change has been underperforming compared
with the rest of the company. In light of the still recovering economic crisis, KTG must rely on
all the branches to perform at level.
Step Two: Create guiding coalitions
Develop a team of leaders that represent the entire organization. This team should have the
expertise and influence necessary to bring credibility to the change. The region has 24
professional staff and ten support staff. Effective teams can be formed under the guidance of a
visionary leader in order to identify, find solutions, implement and sustain performance in the
region.
Step Three: Develop the change vision
The vision and strategy behind it should be well focused, realistic, attainable, desirable and easy
to communicate to others.
Step Four: Communicate the vision
Communicate with the goal of getting buy-in from your audience. Encourage a dialogue that is
easy to understand, clear and easy to share. Currently, there is a lack of staff awareness of KTG
business goals, values and policies. Transparency, using various media platforms and
engagement are all-powerful tools to aid communication in any organization.
Step 5: Empower others to act
Determine what barriers are in place (e.g. organizational structure, employee skillsets, individual
resistance to change, etc.) and work to remove barriers as far in advance as possible. The
contribution and expertise of the locally based Knowledge stream leader, who use to be an expert
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in the past, do not currently add much significance to the business objectives. With his influence,
he might be more valuable in a consultancy role.
Step 6: Create quick wins
Short-term wins on the way to long-term change help overcome resistance and build momentum.
Implementing change takes time. An effective short-term win is a significant organizational
improvement. A short-term win must meet three criteria:
i) Its success must be unambiguous.
ii) It must be visible throughout the organization.
iii) It must be clearly related to the change effort.
Step 7: Don’t let up
Resistance to change can re-emerge later in the process. Continue to move the change forward
by keeping the urgency high, encouraging employee empowerment and greater focus on the
strategic vision by leadership. Emphasize the fact that potential for growth exists, particularly in
the renewable energy sector.
Step 8: Infuse the change into the corporate culture
As Kotter puts it, “Make it stick.” New employees should see the change as part of the
culture. Existing employees should see it as a benefit over the previous way of being.
Currently, there is an out-of-date operational plan, and no strategic plan. The Organizational
Culture comprises the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of those involved in the organization. The
four basic types of Organizational Cultures are Stable-Learning, Group, Independent, and
Insecure. The physical environment and the organizational structure strongly influence culture.
Culture involves shared assumptions about behavior and working together in an organization. To
facilitate change within an organization, the leader must understand its basic underlying values,
and change the organizational culture, along with changing processes and procedures. (Janet
Brown)
3. MOTIVATION
The Dead Horse Theory (Author unknown)
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The tribal wisdom of the Dakota Indians, passed from generation
to generation, says that, “When you discover that you are riding
a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount.”
However, in modern business, a whole range of far more
advanced strategies are often employed, such as:
3. Buying a stronger whip
4. Changing riders
5. Threatening the horse with termination
6. Appointing a committee to study the horse
7. Arranging to visit other countries to see how others ride
dead horses.
8. Lowering the standards so that dead horses can be included
9. Re-classifying the dead horse as “living impaired”
10. Harnessing several dead horses together to increase the speed
11. Hiring outside contractors to ride the dead horse
12. Providing additional funding and/or training to increase the dead horse’s performance
13. Doing a productivity study to see if hiring lighter riders would improve the dead horse’s
performance
14. Declaring that as the dead horse does not have to be fed, it is less costly, carries lower
overhead and therefore contributes substantially more to the bottom line of the economy
than do some other horses
15. Re-writing the expected performance requirements for all horses
16. Promoting the dead horse to a supervisory position
Empowerment leads to increased motivation: "Motivation is all about getting people to do things
and motivating others is fundamentally a leadership skill" (Hughes et al., 2006: 241). Leaders
must be able to generate highly energized behavior. Motivation and inspiration energize people,
not by pushing them in the right direction but by satisfying basic human needs. Leaders can
motivate people in a variety of ways. Alignment translate the work of each person into its proper
relative position with the goals of the organization, this way, leaders articulate the organization's
vision in a manner that stresses the values of the employees. This leads to empowering. Most
discussions concerning motivation turn to the concept of power held by the leader. The question
is how leaders influence follower behavior.
Power and influence
Power is the ability of one person to influence other people to bring about desired behavior.
Influence is the effect a leader’ actions have on the attitudes, values, beliefs, or actions of
employees
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Sources of power (French & Raven)
Legitimate power: Authority to command based on the position
Reward power: Able to award positive, desired outcomes
Coercive power: Able to threaten, punish or harm
Expert power: Influence based on knowledge and information
Referent power: Influence based on charisma, identification and trust
Expert power has advantages: useful, because the knowledge, expertise and skills help to
differentiate the organization and may even be the source of competitive advantage. The
disadvantage is when in the market, when the person with the expert power wields it for his or
her personal gain.
Referent power can be useful for organizations, because those possessing it often have widereaching social contacts and networks, however it takes time to develop because it takes time to
build relationships. Referent power it often goes hand in hand with increased follower loyalty.
Leaders possessing referent power may find their actions limited by their desire to remain
popular.
Legitimate power reinforces the organization’s internal structure. Employees follow the
instructions and directions of their leaders, and very seldom question it. Followers possess
legitimate power as well.
Reward power is the primary means used by most organizations to motivate employees. Just as
leaders can use reward power to influence followers to improve performance, followers can use
reward power to influence the way in which the leader distributes the resources.
Coercive power can lead to better organizational performance. This includes the ability to
discipline idle workers, replace non-conformant workers, etc. When used inappropriately,
coercive power can lead to an unmotivated and even fearful workforce.
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Figure 9. Leaders influencing tactics
Many organizational leaders, as described above, use the theory of the ‘dead horse’, in a
desperate attempt to avoid change, not admitting that change is evident and just ignoring the
elephant in the room!
4. COMMUNICATION
Two-way process of reaching mutual understanding, in which participants not only exchange
(encode-decode) information, news, ideas and feelings but also create and share meaning. In
general, communication is a means of connecting people or places. In business, it is a key
function of management--an organization cannot operate without communication between levels,
departments and employees. (buisinessdictonary.com)
4.1 Leaders as senders of information:
‘The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.’ (George
Bernard Shaw)
The regional head wants to get the office on par with the rest of the organization. For her to do
this, she must master the art of clear communication. This means the purpose of the message and
intention need to be clearly transmitted and understood by the receiver. Effective communication
is clear communication. To be sure, of the clarity of the message, the five whys are often asked;
1. What is the purpose of the message?
2. Who needs to hear it? Who needs to transmit it?
3. Why do we need to transmit this message?
4. When does it need to happen?
5. Which stakeholders will be affected by the message?
A leader needs to be assertive as this is the best way to communicate. The employees at the KTG
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regional office will respond positively when dealt with in an honest, open and direct way. The
recent financial crisis and the early retirement of the previous leader left the staff with a sense of
distrust and insecurity about their future. This resulted in a group of employees who are
demotivated and demoralized.
4.2 Leaders as receivers of information:
Sending a message does not mean the communication loop is clear and complete. Receiving the
message can be just as effective or ineffective as sending the message, depending on the
receiver. Leaders must be able to receive messages from all levels of the organization. There are
three techniques leaders can employ to receive messages clearly:
 Effective listening
 Effective questioning
 Emotional intelligence
Huseman et al. (1988: 233–234) suggest the following factors can determine how effective
leaders are as listeners:
1. Verbal ability and vocabulary. Being proficient with words aids comprehension and retention.
2. Note taking. By listening carefully and summarizing the main points, people can significantly
improve comprehension and retention. The act of note taking reinforces the message for the
listener, as they are able to both hear and see the words.
3. Motivation. The desire to listen plays a great role in the level of comprehension and retention.
Messages that appeal to an individual's interests, emotions and mind set have a greater chance of
being effectively communicated.
4. Environment. Good listeners anticipate and know how to deal with distracting environmental
factors.
Leader can effectively improve their listening skills by applying the following rules:
Stop talking, eliminate any distractions, pay attention to the purpose and the words, paraphrase
key points, remain open, flexible and observant and follow-up
By applying these communication skills, the regional head will build trust and rapport between
themselves and followers, develop a better understanding of what is going on in the regional
office and motivate others to think for themselves and take responsibility for their actions.
Emotional intelligence to the leader means being able to effectively manage our relationships
and us.
4.3 Communication channels
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The best communication skills require a medium- communication channel to transmit messages.
Depending on the purpose and content of the message, some channels will be more effective than
others.
To help select the most appropriate communication channel, Huseman et al. (1988) suggest that
leaders ask the following questions:
1. Is immediate feedback needed?
2. Is there a need for a documentary record?
3. Should the message be in words at all, and if so, is English the language to use?
4. Are there any cost considerations?
5. Are there any timing considerations?
At the regional office, staff lack awareness of KTG business goals, values and policies, therefore,
internal communication is essential for achievement of organizational goals.
Effective external communication will address the lack of engagement with the community and
regional government.
Figure 10. Barriers to communication
4.4 Leadership communication contexts
Conflict occurs when two or more parties have incompatible goals and interests (Hughes et al.,
2006: 486). Aligning the business strategy with one’s own ethics can result in conflict. At the
KTG regional office, demotivation, low productivity, lack of direction and insecurity are fertile
ground for conflict.
Assertiveness and cooperation. For example, using the avoidance approach to conflict
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management requires both parties to be indifferent to each other's concerns
(unassertive/uncooperative), whereas using collaboration involves making an effort to satisfy
both parties (highly assertive/highly cooperative). The challenge for leaders is to know when to
use each style.
CONCLUSION
To lead or to manage, that is the question. This KTG regional office needs a leader with a vision,
and a leader who is an effective communicator. Someone who can motivate, inspire and support
followers and the most effective way of doing this is by leading by example. ‘Be the change you
want to see’ (Gandhi) James Burns introduced the concept of transforming and transactional
leadership (1978) A process in which leaders and followers help each other advance to a higher
level of motivation and morale.
KTG has potential to expand even more after relishing rapid growth over the last ten years,
except for brief slow-downs in some regions during the recent financial crises.
By adapting and applying a transformational leadership style, the new regional head will be able
to turn this branch of KTG around, and bring it on par with the rest of the organization, if not
better. It is also recommended that the regional head wear the different hats of leadership and
thus become the leader every employee wants to follow, support and be.
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REFERENCES
1. Leadership How to Lead, How to Live, D. Quinn Mills, 2005 available at
http://www.cafanet.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=qwswE8roe74%3D&tabid=96.
Accessed on 1st September 2014, 19:45
2. Leaders Aren’t Born, They’re Trained, Patricia A Hudson, James R Hudson. The
Executive California Society of Association Executives 2006. Available at
http://www.melosinstitute.org/resources/Documents/BOK%20Art%20Leaders%20Aren't
%20Born,%20They're%20Trained.pdf. Accessed 5th September 2014 at 21:25
3. Leadership Theories and Style: A Transitional Approach, MAJ Earl Russell 08
September 2011. Available at
http://usacac.army.mil/cac2/cgsc/repository/dcl_secondplaceessay_1102.pdf. Accessed
12th September 2014 at 20:10
4. Big Five Personality Factors. Available from http://httpserver.carleton.ca/~tpychyl/011382000/BigFive.html. Accessed 13th September, 2014
5. Six HR Leadership Lessons We Can Learn From Steve Jobs. Natalie Hackbarth.
Available from http://www.quantumworkplace.com/steve-jobs-leadership/. Accessed on
13th September, 2014
6. Mind Tools Essential Skills for an Excellent Career. (n.d.). Available from
http://www.mindtools.com/fulltoolkit.htm. Accessed on 13th September 2014
7. What is Strategic Planning. Available from http://balancedscorecard.org/ >. Accessed on
13th September, 2014
8. What to Ask the Person in the Mirror Peter F. Drucker Harvard Business Review,
January 2005. Available from www.hbrreprints.org. Accessed on 13th September, 2014
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