Leadership Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Leadership - Term Paper Example They provide a sense of direction and guidance, which the rest follow to the latter in order for the organization to achieve its intended results. In essence, the major requirement in being an effective team leader is ones ability to communicate with the team members in a manner that will not offend them. This means that the leader needs to value the rest of the team players and be an equal participant in the work process. As a result, the essence of this paper will be to evaluate the behaviors of a leader with whom I have worked with previously. The name of this leader in this paper will be ‘Martin Luther’. 1. Ohio State University – Initiating Structure and Consideration Behavior Leadership Style Research at this institution identified two styles of leadership that were applicable in the day-to-day running of organizations. First, they argued that one style of leadership would be consideration. This meant that this type of leader showed interest in the team memb ers and regarded them with utter respect. To this type of leader looking out for the well being of the team members was the overall quest. In addition, this leader shows gratitude and supports the junior staff to ensure that the group meets target. On the other hand, they adopted the initiating structure kind of leadership whose focus was on the performance of the tasks by clearly defining his roles and those of the followers. For this leader, the attainment of the set goal becomes the primary factor to which he establishes the channels of communication towards results attainment. In comparison, the consideration leader is friendly and approachable, but the task-oriented kind of leader only interacts with the followers when he/she is delegating the duties and tasks. In essence, Martin Luther was consideration kind of leader to the team as he treated all the members of the team with high regard. This enabled the team to feel appreciated and valued and that all their efforts were comm endable. Martin was accessible to the team members in case we needed any form of work related assistance, as he was willing to help at any time. Another positive attribute that he had was that he showed the willingness to adapt to any form of change, which also made the team’s transition process to changes relatively easy (Collins, 2001). In addition, he treated all the team members equally by looking out for our interests without favoritism or bias. Usually, he would consult with the team members before executing any task so that he could make sure that everyone was comfortable with the implementation plan. Remarkably, he was keen on explaining the actions that he took or intended to take which made the team feel like family. His style of leadership according to the Ohio State University model proved effective, as our department was the best in performance and output. 2. Expectancy Theory of Motivation This theory states that individuals will decide on certain behavior becau se of the motivation given towards the selection of a certain behavior ‘due to the possible outcome expected. These individuals choose this one behavior out of a number of behaviors. Essentially, this theory encourages organizations to reward performance by ensuring that the team members de3serve and appreciate the rewards. This theory depicts the behavioral process in which individuals decide on one behavioral option over the others. It gives the explanation as to why they make these choices to attain the product. The