Leadership Styles and Impacts on Employee Satisfaction4
LeadershipStyles and Impacts on Employee Satisfaction
NameCourseTutorUniversityDepartmentDate
Relationshipbetween Leadership Styles and the Impacts It Has On EmployeeSatisfaction at Standard Bank Business
Leadershipstyles are strategies employed by managers and team leaders inorganizations to provide the direction in pursuit of the goals set bythe companies. It is paramount to point out that the leadershipstrategy adopted by each manager in an organization has a lot ofinfluence on the productivity of the team. The leadership stylesdetermine every aspect of the organizations including brand image,perceptions of the body by the consumers and the stakeholders amongother attitudes developed (De Vries, et, al, 2006, p. 54). Theleadership styles have a huge impact on the employee and hence asignificant effect on the productivity of the enterprise due to thelinear nature of the interaction between the leaders and theemployees. It is pivotal to point out that there are two main stylesof leadership styles within the organizations mainly,transformational leadership and transactional leadership styles. Themain discrepancy between the two is that transformational leadersseek to achieve long-term goals of the organizations whiletransactional leaders are short-term in their approach. This paperexamines the impact that leadership styles have on employees`satisfaction with an objective to reach a more informed position oneffects of organizational leadership strategies (Jensen and Luthans,2006, p. 134).
Leadership
Transformationalleadership
Transformationalleadership approaches are necessary strategies to organizations asthey endeavor to provide services to customers and also to meet theexpectations of the stakeholders (Ahearne, Mathieu, and Rapp, 2005).In the application of the transformational leadership styles, themanagers and team leaders endeavor to exert influence on theindividuals rather on entire members of the groups or the teams. Inthe approach, each employee is treated as an individual rather than amember of any given group or team (Westerman and Yamamura, 2007, p.23). The management of the bank should recognize the importance ofacknowledging the individual differences in its approach so that theindividual employee is provided with the opportunity to offer theirbest performance. The individual employee is given space todemonstrate different strengths without necessarily comparing themwith anyone else, giving them the chance to bring out the bestversions of themselves (Bassett-Jones and Lloyd, 2005). Although thecontribution of an employee is important, it is the individualcontributions that ultimately affect the eventual results of theentire teams. For example, an individual member`s input in themarketing department ultimately has an influence on the outcomes ofthe whole marketing team. The members of a team who are treated asindividuals can eventually bring out the best of themselves due tothe continued support and encouragement (Skakon, et al. 2010,p 125).
4I’s
Thetransformational leaders use intellectual stimulation in their styleof management (Emery, and Barker, 2007). The employees are providedwith space for innovation and creativity by enriching theirenvironment with factors that are thought-provocative (Westerman andYamamura, 2007,p. 155). The bank should provide the employees withenvironments where they are free to think and hence can come up withunique ideas and innovations that eventually are beneficial to thebank. The managers challenge the employees to come up with ideas thatare exclusive to fit the particular circumstances of theorganizations. The leaders also provide the employees with thenecessary resources for the enhancement of creativity and innovation.Employees who are intellectually stimulated are creative in theirapproach to problem-solving (Tims, Bakker, and Xanthopoulou, 2011, p.66). Such employees have confidence in themselves and require minimumsupervision. They also look at any problem from differentperspectives before making decisions. They are also not restricted intheir approach and analyze situations based on the current contexts. The employees are highly empowered and always create differentinnovations in the management of the various departments oforganizations. Due to high levels of stimulation, the employeesalways come up with innovations that are relevant to the individualcontexts of their companies. Customer care, marketing, humanresources and other departments are always on innovative paths due tothe efforts of the individual employees (Bommer, Rich, and Rubin,2005, p.18). The employees are taught and coached by the managers sothat they are empowered to explore different approaches in their workand hence enhance the goals of the enterprise. The directors arealways on hand to provide help in exchange for efforts made by theindividual employees. The consequence of this style of leadership isthat the employees feel empowered at all times and can makeinitiatives that eventually contribute to overall achievements ofgoals of the companies.
Thetransformational leaders influence the individuals and notnecessarily the members of the entire teams or groups. Whereas theorganizations recognize the importance of the teamwork, leadersunderstand the need to influence individuals so that improvements inperformance are made at a personal level, so that ultimately theindividuals can affect their various teams and hence improveproductivity. The leaders recognize the strengths of each employeeand hence identify the areas that such employees should be influencedfor improvement. Leaders who control the employees individuallyeventually contribute a lot to the enhancement of the performance ofthe teams. For example, an employee from the sales department who ispersonally coached ends up improving his performance at a personallevel and ultimately increasing the sales of the entire organization.The style has been adopted by the organizations for extended periodsand has been quite successful in the various departments ofcompanies. According to the behavioral theory, whereas influencing agroup is important, it is the individual differences that ultimatelycount (Barbuto and Wheeler, 2006, p. 315). The managers of theorganizations are aware of the fact that influencing of theindividual employees eventually influences everyone. For exampleaffecting an employee at the human resources department would alsolead to improvement of the overall performance in the office. Theemployees who are influenced as individuals are more motivated thanthose influenced within the group context (Coomber and Barriball,2007, p. 17).
Transformationalleaders inspire and motivate the employees of their organizations.Due to the particular attention given to the employees, they feelrecognized and appreciated, and that has a lot of effect on theirproduction. The employees at the companies have a general feelingthat each of their individual efforts is recognized. The leadershipwithin enterprises inspires the employees and allows them to beexploratory in their approaches which instill a sense of optimism inthe employees (Nielsen, et al. 2009, p.1240). The employees are madeto feel that they are part of the team that should spearhead thetransformation of the organization. The leaders motivate each of theemployees to play their designated roles to effect change within thevarious departments which ultimately affect the entire business. Theleaders who motivate and inspire have developed satisfied employees.The employees are made to look beyond the current circumstances(Chang and Lee, 2007. The transformational leaders act in ways thatbuild respect among the employees of the entire organizations. Theleaders are enthusiastic of what needs to be done and accomplished,which motivate the employees. They also instill a long-term vision tothe employees so that the workers view the companies away from thecurrent circumstances. The leaders who motivate and inspire make theemployees happy even while outside the organizations. Such employeeshave stable marriages and happy families. The employee is satisfiedwith their work and is more productive (De Jong and Den Hartog, 2007,p. 54).
Transactionalleadership
Theorganizations also employ transactional leadership style where themanagement uses recognition and rewards to motivate the workers.Companies recognize the employees who perform exceptionally well atthe end of each project, as a way to demonstrate to the rest of theemployees that their effort would indeed be recognized when theydeliver the set objectives (Bono, et al. 2007, p. 82). Workers whoare aware of the fact that their effort would be rewarded at the endof each project are committed and focused on the implementation ofthe goals. Such employees are diligent and creative for they areaware of the fact that all efforts would be rewarded (Pellegrini andScandura, 2008, p. 31).The organizations that employ this strategyhave been rewarding exceptional workers at the end of each financialyear, with the program being borrowed by several other institutions.The strategy has been effective in the increasing of productivity ofemployees in all the departments of the organizations. Employees whoare recognized and rewarded for goals achieved are more productive,happy and satisfied in their current work positions (Kirkman, et al.2009).
Byuse of the management by exception style, the organizationalleadership ensures that only significant deviations from the plannedbudgets are brought to the attention of the management (Bakker andDemerouti, 2008). By adopting the style of leadership, the managersare satisfied that the operations of the companies continue asinitially planned with each deviation of the budget reported to theteam leader depending on the amounts involved (Brown, Treviño, andHarrison, 2005,p.125). For example, a budget difference of $4000 isreported to the departmental manager while a variation of $60,000 isreported to the bank vice president. The effect of the communicationon the management of the organization is to ensure that the normaloperations of the companies do not halt or get disrupted. Forexample, the marketing departments of the organizations are compelledto adjust the budget due to logistical changes (Boerner, Eisenbeiss,and Griesser, 2007, p. 50). Depending on the changes involved,smaller amounts are only reported to team leaders while moresignificant changes have been brought to senior managers (Kelloway,et al. 2005, p. 68). Whenever the budgetary changes are brought tothe company directors’ attention, they can handle the issue as theylet the rest of the team members continue with their coreresponsibilities which ensure that smooth operations of theenterprise are not interrupted at any point in time. Theorganizations have regular, timely and accurate reporting system thatprovides all the appropriate intervention measures so that theyaddress any existing gaps (Tims, Bakker and Xanthopoulou, 2011, p.51). The operations in the financial sector reveal that budgeting issensitive in the functioning of the organizations and should be givenattention at all times which hence call for appropriate reportingchannels so that the team leaders take actions at the opportunemoment to normalize the operations of the organizations. Theleadership of any organization should be quite sensitive to budgetissues and therefore the elaborate communication channels set by theinstitution (Barbuto and Burbach, 2006). The effect of the clearchannels of communication is that the employees can focus on theresponsibilities of the organization and are hence more settled whichenhances their production capacity. The workers are therefore moresatisfied with the overall management of their organizationsandtherefore relaxed as they handle their responsibilities.
Values-BasedLeadership
Values-basedleadership involves motivating the employees by relating theorganizational objectives to employees’ personal values(Bowling, 2007,p. 17).The connection tells the group members how to behave so that they canfulfill corporate goals. The leaders talk about the values of theorganizations in relationship to values of the employees so thatindividual employees can identify with the company and its mission.Such leaders focus on the strengths and character of theorganizations(Laschinger, Finegan, and Wilk, 2009, p.230).The Leadership manages the groups by example hence continuouslycommunicate the values to the entire workforce hence making theemployees adjust according to trends in the market. The effect of thestrategy is the improvement of the production and well satisfiedemployees.
Employeesatisfaction
Thereare several ways in which an employer can improve the employeesatisfaction. A satisfied employee is more productive and depicts apositive image for the organization .Organizational leaders canachieve employee satisfaction by giving them more control so thatthey are self-driven and do not have to be supervised to performtheir responsibilities. The employees should give more control oftheir environments, tasks, and schedulesGumusluoglu, and Ilse, 2009, p. 465).Flexible working programs would significantly enhance independence tothe employees hence go out of the way to perform duties at theirconvenience, based on personal programs. Time wasting is a greatavenue for customer dissatisfaction. Managers can eradicate timewastage by shortening the meetings or even circulating memos insteadof holding meetings so that individual duties are not disrupted. Theoffices should be more organized to ensure efficiency hence save timespent in the organization and office arrangements .Small Arrangementssuch as standing during the meetings ensures that only the mainissues are focused and hence a lot of time is saved. Any effort thatsaves time reduces stress and enhances productivity. Managers shouldencourage social connections as interactions are good ways to boostmoods. It would be useful for example to create an office arrangementwhere employees can see and talk to each other. Leaders should alsoencourage work-related social activities during holidays, birthdaysand even weddings. The gatherings do not have to be expensive as theindividuals can carry own lunch, as the idea is to create moments forsocialization. Such opportunities provide moments of sharing which isrefreshing and a good way to overcome any pressures of life.Socialization should not be confined to office hours. Outdooractivities such as volunteer programs provide the opportunity toshare outside the work environment and at the same time depict theorganization in a positive way. Managers should create an atmospherefor growth at the workplace so that the employees see a future inwhat they currently do(Jaramillo, Mulki, and Marshall, 2005, p. 710).The managers should make the jobs to be more than sources of income,but also a place to grow and learn. Jobs that provide opportunitiesfor training, and acknowledging benchmarks are more satisfying thanthose that seek to offer high salaries. The managers should encouragethe employees to learn new skills to embrace any new responsibilitiesthat could emerge based on the changing terrain of the labor market.
Conclusion
Theorganizations employ both transformational and transactional stylesof leadership. The two strategies, though different, have contributedto employees` satisfaction at the bank. Through the application ofthe transformational style, the bank managers should coach and teachthe individual employees to improve the productivity of each of theset goals. The employees are also treated as individuals rather thanmembers of teams as a way of instilling confidence and self-esteem inthe employees. The bank leadership should provide assistance inexchange for the effort made by the employees and also acts in waysthat build respect (Bowling, 2007, p. 43). The employees areintellectually stimulated and hence are innovative in theirresponsibilities. The leadership style eventually has an effect ofensuring that the workforces are satisfied in their work and are notuncertain about the future. The management also applies contingentreward which recognizes the employees for their performance. Allthese efforts by the entire leaderships of the companies contribute alot to the employees` satisfaction within the organizations.
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