Leadership and Organizational Psychology.
Leaders lead their organization on terms that they think best suit the development plans of an organization. That’s the reason they choose on which leadership style to use that is to be effective on not just sustain the organization but also growing it. Various leadership styles used include Transformational leadership, which is used by leaders to transform teams and the entire organization for consistent progress (Sethuraman, & Suresh, 2014, p 12). Transactional leadership is based on the idea that once an employee accepts a task, they have to complete it as it is a transaction between the leader and the employee. This is common when the task at hand is difficult; therefore ensures that the one given the work to do is aware of what is expected of him/ her. Autocratic leadership is when the leader makes all decisions in the organization without consulting the workers. It is very effective if the decisions are to be made instantly. Bureaucratic leadership is based on rules, where the leader comes up with rules for him/ her and the entire labor team to follow.
Democratic leadership involves giving the employees a chance to give their opinions on making organizational decisions (Heifetz, Heifetz, Grashow, & Linsky, 2009, 107). Laissez-Faire leadership is said to be exercised when their leader gives the employees a lot of freedom. The leader goes to the extent of offering the workers with the support and resources they need. Finally, servant leadership is when the leaders work tirelessly to provide the workers with what they need, very generous and charismatic, which enables meet workers’ satisfaction and motivates them to work hard and devotedly as their leader.
Various leaders are well identified by the use of some of these leadership styles in real life. Jeff Bezos, the Chief Executive Officer of Amazon, is an ideal example of a leader who uses transformational leadership, which has made him best in his position. His ability to have a new vision for the organization, inspire his team to be innovative has ranked him as the most remarkable leader. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
Hewlett- Packard, a company well known for the manufacturing of software and computer devices, is a well-known example of using a transactional leadership style. Workers are assigned tasks which one is qualified or best at, and their only motivation is evading penalty if their work is reviewed. Due to the large size of Hewlett- Packard Company, it is well known for using extensive management or transactional leadership. Brian Chesky is the face of Airbnb leadership. He is the CEO of international lodging services providers, The Peer- to- Peer Lodging Services. His leadership is marked by the determination, acceptance, and able to change easily and persistence in what he does. He leads with a lot of humility, uses a collaborative approach, and ensures he maintain the set values as he exercises his leadership.
The leaders in the organizations above that include Amazon led by Jeff Bezos, Hewlett- Packard currently led by Enrique Lores and the global peer- to- peer lodging services (Airbnb) led by Brian Chesky. All have a similar goal for their organizations, that is, succeeding and maintaining their top worldwide position (Western,2016, p 16). They all want to optimize productivity and efficiency in serving their markets. The difference between the leaders in the way they lead towards achieving their targets. For Jeff Bezos, he believes in sharing his vision with his workers to motivate them on innovation for a continuous transformation of the Amazon Company. Hewlett- Packard CEO believes in striking a deal with the employees and pays them for the awarded work and uses motivation as a reward penalty. On the other hand, Brian Chesky, the Airbnb leadership figure, is known for his ability to change according to demands easily and motivates his employees by him being humble, maintaining specific rules and collaborating with them, and working as a team.
(Western,2016, p 10)
Jeff Bezos CEO of Amazon, well known for using a transformational leadership style
Brian Chesky CEO of Airbnb known for using the Airbnb leadership style. (Tiba, van Rijnsoever, & Hekkert, 2019, p 282)
(Rose, 2019, p 91)
Enrique Lores, current CEO of Hewlett- Packard known for using a transactional leadership style.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is ranked the best transformational leader globally. This comes with his known attributes of sharing his vision even when no one believes in it. He goes ahead to inspire innovation to his team of employees to ensure that his vision is achieved and then envision again. This drives the transformation of the organization through growth and innovation of more efficient technologies and ways to reach its market and carry out production. The transformational leadership is useful when a leader is in a position to do the following: Core repositioning, for instance, Amazon has repositioned its retail platforms to new better categories and has as well been in a position to build a cloud computing business which is the largest globally—ensuring new growth in terms of availing new products and services as well as business models. For Amazon, it has grown to use Web services, which yields excellent returns to the company with minimum revenue charges (Rose, 2019, p 99). Transformation in financial performance is needed in terms of economic growth in profits, stock in comparison to the competing market. By doing this, Jeff Bezos is in a position to lead the company to higher heights through transformation and aspiration of new and better products and services. Transformational leadership has proven for a long time to be selfless, and it focuses on the needs of society and the customers first. A transformational leader has to be humble, passionate, and someone with a vision of leading others to better lives and a whole different level of greatness, which Jeff Bezos has done continuously. He embraces customers and is aware that they are the most important and valuable asset of the company.
In conclusion, ethics are an essential aspect that every leader is subjected to. Jeff Bezos states that keeping customer needs first and ensuring no exploitation should be crucial. Its primary corporate social responsibility is to provide products and services across the globe at a low cost, which it has adhered to. For Airbnb, the employees are well satisfied with their pay. The company organizes and makes charitable contributions to local communities globally. The company has an Open Homes Program that provides free shelter for the victims of war or other calamities that displaces people(Tiba, van Rijnsoever, & Hekkert, 2019, p 285). For Hewlett- Packard, it contributes towards retaining the forest as the HP printers’ prints papers that are forest positive only, which helps save the forest and avoid deforestation. Decision making as a tool for assessing a leader is very crucial. This is because for a leader to make progress in his/ her work and maintain efficiency, the right decisions have to be made, which sometimes requires a lot of creativity and intelligence.
Reference
Sethuraman, K., & Suresh, J. (2014). Effective leadership styles. International Business Research, 7(9), 165.
Western, A. V. (2016 ). Contemporary Leadership Styles: How relevant are they in today’s changing world?.
Rose, E. W. (2019). An Examination of the Relationship Between Strategic Leadership and Organizational Commitment Mediated by Organizational Culture in a Mid-Atlantic Historically Black Institution (Doctoral dissertation, University of Maryland Eastern Shore).
Tiba, S., van Rijnsoever, F. J., & Hekkert, M. P. (2019). Firms with benefits: A systematic review of responsible entrepreneurship and corporate social responsibility literature. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 26(2), 265-284.
Airbnb Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): a brief overview
Heifetz, R. A., Heifetz, R., Grashow, A., & Linsky, M. (2009). The practice of adaptive leadership: Tools and tactics for changing your organization and the world. Harvard Business Press.