Susan’s Leadership Dilemmas Assessment Answer

Part A: Response to Susan’s Leadership Dilemmas

Situational approach to leadership is chosen to solve Susan’s weekly dilemmas. It is a style of leadership wherein a leader adjusts his style of leading to match the present workplace setting and desires of a team. It is chosen as an appropriate solution since situational leaders can implement adaptability and flexibility into their leadership style and constantly evaluates the condition to certify they are leading in the most suitable and effective manner. In each of Susan's dilemmas, there is a need for a diverse leadership approach (Henkel et al., 2019). Therefore, situational leadership style will enable the company to adapt the leadership style to every exclusive condition or activity to fulfil the desires of the team associates. Moreover, such flexibility enables leaders to fulfil every situation with the leadership style which might empower their workers and bring out the best in them. Such leaders are active listeners, able to inspire engagement, possess a clear sense of direction, and more (Mulyana et al., 2022).

Two weaknesses of chosen leadership approach are as follows:

The situational leadership might be time-consuming since leaders require to continuously analyse the situation and adapt their style consequently. This weakness is selected in view of case 2 wherein susan is asked to produce a new product. In case of different mentalities, goals, and values of the different departments, it will be difficult and time-consuming for leaders to adopt the situational approach of leadership. Another weakness of this leadership approach is that it can develop confusion. Relying on how a situational leader converses, this style can develop ambiguity within groups and companies (Francisco & Nuqui, 2020). It occurs when workers think the leader to be incompatible with their leadership strategy. It means that this style can be complex to execute since it needs a profound comprehension of the condition as well as the desires of the followers. To overcome this weakness can be by providing training and development for leaders on situational approach to leadership and how to implement it in practice. It can assist to form leaders’ understanding and self-esteem in their capability to use that style of leadership successfully (SEONG, 2021).

Part B: Theories, Concepts, or Ideas

The chosen problem is from week 2 which represents a dilemma for Susan with regards to sharing the profile of her diverse team which includes disabled individuals, muslims, and others. In this scenario, the useful theory or concept can be the importance of inclusiveness and diversity for leadership. It is noteworthy that diversity and inclusiveness are vital for a team to prosper. It is said that inclusion is the ideal means to develop diversity and inclusive leadership is vital for any company’s development. Inclusive leaders in susan’s case can develop a setting wherein individuals can bring their complete selves to work and perceive comfortable communicating their views and notions (Roberson & Perry, 2022). Inclusive leadership is one which confirms that all members of the team feel that they are treated regardfully and justly, are appreciated, and sense that they are confident and encouraged. This leadership needs leaders to be intentional in developing a culture wherein each one feels appreciated and welcome, irrespective of their variances. These leaders possess attributes such as open-mindedness; self-awareness; empathy; and courage. It can be said that diversified teams do better than congruent teams. The inclusive leadership at workplace can help susan to offer constant diversity and inclusion training to the workforces. It is said that the workers of the team might superiorly hold the value of inclusion and diversity and the outcomes of their doings by learning of unconscious bias, and stereotypes (Shore & Chung, 2022). The inclusive leaders will be able to inspire open dialogue on inclusion and diversity and can develop a space wherein the workers can feel comfortable exchanging their views and experiences. The concept of inclusive leadership is apt to solve the susan’s dilemma in this case since such leaders can ensure the voice of each employee is actually being heard, implemented, and secured in the workplace, irrespective of individual identity or background. It can be said that leading inclusively by instance further reflects workers vital expectations and values to obey and how to ideally treat peers in a business. This leadership allows susan not to discriminate or show favouritism on the basis of forces like caste, race, disability, and more attributes. Rather, it allows her to create a setting wherein each worker feels valued or appreciated for their exclusive contributions and viewpoints (Kuknor & Bhattacharya, 2022). It will also enable the leaders to associate with team members on an individual basis and inspire them to talk to them freely without any terror of repercussions. This leadership can allow leaders to handle diverse competently by comprehending the changing thought trends and actions of different individuals and appreciating them at a profound and individual level (Bourke et al., 2020).

Another chosen problem is from week 3 which creates the issue of joining forces with the R&D department of the bank for the new product production. In this scenario, the useful theory or concept can be collaborative leadership practice. The collaborative leaders have the ability to constantly pursue a diversity of views and notions amongst team members to form approaches and resolve issues. This leadership relies on each one cooperating around corporate boundaries, exchanging control and accountability, rather than those as the topmost holding the reins. As a consequence, workers are more involved, feel trusted, and are more probable to take possession of their work. Moreover, via this leadership theory, management and executives can develop an inclusive workplace setting which energises groups, releases innovativeness, and fosters a workplace culture which is fruitful as well as joyful (Kwan, 2020). It is said that businesses which are led by such leaders are able to establish more creative, agile, and high-functional groups which can make an enduring influence around sectors. This leadership concept will enable susan to rely on the collective intelligence of her company’s talent in resolving typical issues and stimulating innovation. Moreover, it will further enable susan to thrive to develop a constructive team environment leading to psychological security wherein individuals feel free to bring forth their notions and engage in decision-making. The cross-functional collaboration approach will imply that the workers from Susan’s team and R&D department of the business can work collectively to attain a mutual objective, each bringing their exclusive abilities and knowledge to the table. Moreover, this approach will enable the workers to take initiatives on their own hence removing the necessity for someone to guide and structure their efforts. The benefits of collaborative leadership concept entail maximisation of innovation; superior decision-making; improved worker engagement; developed trust; increased worker trustworthiness and gratification; improved workflow; and so on. Nevertheless, there exist challenges as well of the collaborative leadership concept. It can be said that this concept can result in groupthink which occurs when individuals make illogical choices out of the desire for team adherence, and fitting it without supposing any alternatives. Besides, collaborative leadership concepts can lead to conflicts. It might be possible that when the teammates are not effective communicators, the variances in their views might lead to conflicts instead of a positive communication which can bring the ideal possible solution (Bourgault & Goforth, 2021).

Part C: Leadership Practice

In order to address the dilemma of producing a new product by joining forces between throw departments, I would like to apply collaborative leadership practice. I would like to apply this leadership practice by learning, practising and reflecting. I would further implement this style of leadership by proactively and empathetic listening to comprehend the necessities, interests, and views of others. I will practise it by seeking feedback from team associates and other stakeholders, developing a safe space for them to express their viewpoints, endorsing cooperation and seizing different viewpoints. I will design certain ice-breaker sessions and tasks to assist breaking down silos and inspire individuals on the business edges to come ahead with their recommendations. Furthermore, I would like to execute a self-management structure which means when workers handle their individual work accountabilities without depending on a supervisor. Each one in this structure is required to work and progress things autonomously (Scuotto et al., 2022). It is said that self-directed workers make conscious choices and take accountability of their individual professional development. I will organise constant team meetings and brainstorming practice in which workers from diverse departments cna exchange their notions and views. Further, I would implement virtual collaboration tools to enable engagement and develop a robust team spirit. Furthermore, I would constantly ask feedback from workers on how cooperative procedures are working and what they perceive regarding the choices made. Besides, I will use pertinent key indicators to gauge business performance and worker gratification. In my future workplace, being a project manager, I would like to encourage my team members to provide their notions, and views rather than dictating activities and solutions. With this, I will be able to create a setting wherein team members can feel involved, inspired, and appreciated (Dittes et al., 2019).

References

Bourgault, A. M., & Goforth, C. (2021). Embrace teamwork to create and maintain a positive workplace culture. Critical care nurse, 41(3), 8-10.

Bourke, J., Titus, A., & Espedido, A. (2020). The key to inclusive leadership. Harvard Business Review, 6.

Dittes, S., Richter, S., Richter, A., & Smolnik, S. (2019). Toward the workplace of the future: How organisations can facilitate digital work. Business Horizons, 62(5), 649-661.

Francisco, C. D., & Nuqui, A. V. (2020). Emergence of Situational Leadership during COVID-19 Pandemic Called New Normal Leadership. Online Submission, 4(10), 15-19.

Henkel, T. G., Marion Jr, J. W., & Bourdeau, D. T. (2019). Project manager leadership behaviour: Task-oriented versus relationship-oriented. Journal of Leadership Education, 18(2), 1.

Kuknor, S. C., & Bhattacharya, S. (2022). Inclusive leadership: new age leadership to foster organisational inclusion. European Journal of Training and Development, 46(9), 771-797.

Kwan, P. (2020). Is transformational leadership theory passé? Revisiting the integrative effect of instructional leadership and transformational leadership on student outcomes. Educational Administration Quarterly, 56(2), 321-349.

Mulyana, A., Ridaryanthi, M., Faridah, S., Umarella, F. H., & Endri, E. (2022). Socio-emotional leadership style as implementation of situational leadership communication in the face of radical change. Management.

Roberson, Q., & Perry, J. L. (2022). Inclusive leadership in thought and action: A thematic analysis. Group & Organization Management, 47(4), 755-778.

Scuotto, V., Nespoli, C., Tran, P. T., & Cappiello, G. (2022). An alternative way to predict knowledge hiding: The lens of transformational leadership. Journal of Business Research, 140, 76-84.

SEONG, D. H. (2021). Sports leadership theories for improving retail service quality on customer value. Journal of Distribution Science, 19(5), 13-21.

Shore, L. M., & Chung, B. G. (2022). Inclusive leadership: How leaders sustain or discourage work group inclusion. Group & Organization Management, 47(4), 723-754.

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