Leadership skills

Question 1

List and define five (5) potential benefits of delegation.
Answer:
Delegation (Plawecki, L. H., & Amrhein, D. W. (2012) ) is referred to the the act of assigning responbilities or authority to a person (usually in a hierarchical manner ,that is, from a manager to a subordinate) to perform in an organization.
Following are the five potential benefits of delegation:
1. Minimising work load of superiors 
By assigning the regular and routine work to their subordinates the managers can then concentrate on their managerial and creative functions. This helps in improving managerial efficiency.
2. Benefits of specialization
The managers delegates authority and responsibility to subordinates according to their  ability and. This helps in enhancement of the specialization among subordinates.
3. Motivation and Morale boosting
Delegating authority to subordinates develops among them the feeling of prestige and status. It also promotes the ability to take initiative and become responsible.
4. Quicker and better decision making
Delegation helps subordinate when deciding on the matters of their own while remaining in their limits of power. Therefore, they can take quick decisions without consulting the superiors for all the matters.
5. Growth and expansion
Delegation provides more flexibility in organizational structure and hence more stratas can be put forth in the original organizational structure .

Question 2

List and describe the seven (7) guidelines for good delegation.
Answer:
When work is delegated effectively to a suitable employee with required knowledge skills then it is known as Good delegation.
Following are the seven guidelines for good delegation(Mueller, C., & Vogelsmeier, A. (2013)):
1. Patience
Patience is the key to best results. When delegating a task first time, it is certainly going to take longer than doing it on own
2. Don’t over-delegate
Only that work should be delegated which a superior finds as an additional task for oneself and which could be performed by their subordinate efficiently.
3. Right person for the task
When delegating a task, it should be made sure that the subordinate is possessing the required knowledge and skills. Hence, making efficient use of their talent.
4. Reason for selection
When selecting a person to delegate to, tell them the reason why they have been selected and expectations from them. This helps them see each delegated task as an opportunity to grow.
5. Be Specific
Being specific with the tasks that is why they need to be done, their deadlines and the expectation from them is important for clear delegation as vague intstructions can ruin.
6. Training 
Delegation does not straight-away mean handing off the task, it should be made sure that the person has required skills and resources for the task.
7. Feedback
A feedback is a must for any delegated work. It should be positive as well as constructive which would help the performer to enhance the knowledge in the long run.

Question 3

Discuss why one of the major complaints of subordinates regarding delegation is the issue of dumping. Offer an example of a personal experience or observation of dumping taking place.
Answer:
 Dumping involves ‘dumping of the tasks’( Warner, J. (2015))  which are not interesting to perform onto the subordinates or assigning major work but not providing them with suitable tools an authority so that they can take the charge.
The issue of dumping affects the performance of subordinates while performing their other tasks also. Therefore, dumping can result in negative outcomes whereas if delegated properly it could help staff develop additional skills, feel valued and become efficient.
Sometimes dumping can result in the refusal by the subordinate, like in the following example of an IT manager in a company.
An IT manager had a large staff under him. One of the technician was exceptional at providing great desk side support. He has amazing work ethic and always completed his work before time and used to leave office early. Since he was so responsive to the employees , he was allowed to set his own working hours. So one day the IT manager tried to give him the extra work which was to download and install a piece of helpdesk management software which he immediately refused as it was not his piece of work and his skills were not the appropriate ones for the work given.

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Question 4

What is Charismatic leadership?
Answer:
Charismatic leadership (Van Knippenberg, D., & Sitkin, S. B. (2013)) is referred to the instructions provided by an individual to an organization by individual/individuals who are considered as inspiring people and who have hence been given the power to make suitable changes in an organisation which would result in extraordinary performances by staff.
For example: A business manager with help of charismatic leadership could launch a new product line in the company.
Following are the most prominent characteristics of charismatic leadership:
1. Communication - It is the most important skill of charismatic leaders as it helps to motivate employees, stay grounded and make them comfortable while communicating.
2. Maturity - They perform with their wisdom and knowledge and perform in a required manner maturely.
3. Humility – They value each employee, listen to their concerns and inspire them to work with loyalty.
4. Compassion – The basic qualities a charismatic leader exhibits are compassion, integrity, honesty and fortitude .
5. Confidence – They understand themselves efficiently and do not try to be anyone else.

Question 5

Explain what is meant by the statement that charismatic leaders use active impression management with their followers to support their image. Provide and elaborate on one example.
Answer:
Impression management is the process in which people make efficient attempt to influence the perceptions about a person, object or event. Therefor impression management helps charismatic leaders while performing major functions and granting organizational powers. This suggests that charismatic leaders practice impression management to prepare an image of competence and subordinate-faith in them as leaders.
Researchers has said that  (LePine, M. A., Zhang, Y., Crawford, E. R., & Rich, B. L. (2015), charismatic leadership is more likely to flourish in the environment with transformational culture as compared to transactional culture. 
This can be explained with the example of Martin Luther king and Mahatma Gandhi.
They are the examples of trusting someone and moral responsibility. They expected their followers to imbibe the non-violent character. Gandhi’s fasting and dress symbolized the simplicity and discipline to change the world. In same manner, charismatic leaders sometimes involve instruments of self-promotion to become innovative, effective, competent,  etc. 

Question 6

Why is charismatic leadership considered double-edged sword that requires careful monitoring to avert abuse?
Answer:
An effective leader (Moawad, R., & Jones, S. (2015) ) sometimes goes beyond the personal interest and gains and performs for the needs of the organization. This occasionally transforms into doing something that is not in their interest but is for the best of the company. So, if a charismatic leader could imbibe this attribute of an effective leader then charisma could become a very powerful tool to for inspiring others to achieve the goals. But if they use their charisma for their own purpose then it can become a hindrance for a leader’s long-term effectiveness.
Therefore, a charismatic leader has a responsibility to behave in a clear and such a manner that it helps him/her to recognize and understand their true intentions before engaging in influencing others. And if the intention of the leader is for the greater good and better performance then it is very effective and helpful. Thus, if used for self-interest, charisma can be considered a ‘Double-edged sword’.
So, a charismatic leader has this responsibility of clearly recognizing and understanding their true intentions before engaging in the act of influencing others.

References

1. Van Knippenberg, D., & Sitkin, S. B. (2013). A critical assessment of charismatic—Transformational leadership research: Back to the drawing board?. The Academy of Management Annals, 7(1), 1-60.
2. LePine, M. A., Zhang, Y., Crawford, E. R., & Rich, B. L. (2015). Turning Their Pain to Gain: Charismatic Leader Influence on Follower Stress Appraisal and Job Performance. Academy of Management Journal, amj-2013
3. Moawad, R., & Jones, S. (2015). Who Is an Effective Leader?-Ways of Measuring Leadership Effectiveness. Effective Executive, 18(4), 11.
4. Plawecki, L. H., & Amrhein, D. W. (2012). A question of delegation: Unlicensed assistive personnel and the professional nurse. Journal of gerontological nursing, 36(8), 18-21.
5. Mueller, C., & Vogelsmeier, A. (2013). Effective delegation: Understanding responsibility, authority, and accountability. Journal of Nursing Regulation, 4(3), 20-27.
6. Warner, J. (2015). Delegation Pocketbook. Management Pocketbooks.

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