the effect of manager's leadership style on productivity
TRANSCRIPT
1
The Effect of Manager's Leadership Style on Productivity
Student’s Name:
Institutional Affiliation:
Course Name:
Instructor:
Date:
2
The Effect of Manager's Leadership Style on Productivity
Scholars have dedicated a lot of time trying to understand the concept of leadership.
Different scholars have provided different definitions of leadership. According to Northouse
(2004, p 3 as cited in Fairholm, 2015), "Leadership is a process whereby a leader influences a
group of individuals to achieve a common goal." According to Rauch & Behling (1984, p.46, as
cited in Fairholm, 2015), "Leadership is the process of influencing the activities of an organized
group toward goal achievement." These two definitions of leadership focus and emphasize a
leader's ability to influence others as the central ideal of leadership. The ability of a leader to
steer their subordinates towards a given predetermined goal is also clearly highlighted.
Leadership can, therefore, only occur when there are followers and certain goals that need to be
met. A leader's effectiveness is determined by their ability to inspire their subordinates to achieve
the set goals and objectives (Tewari et al., 2019).
Considering the development of leadership concepts and ideas; currently, it is essential to
investigate the effects of leadership styles on teams' productivity. This paper will explore how
managers' leadership styles influence employee productivity. The paper will mainly focus on the
author's past experiences in a work environment.
Historical Development of Leadership Thought
As scholars have studied leadership, four main threads of leadership thought have
emerged: the behavior theory, the trait theory, the situational theory, and the value-based
transformational theory (Fairholm, 2015; Yasir et al., 2016; Ali et al. 2015). The trait theory is
the earliest leadership theory to be developed, with its emergence being most prominent in the
1960s. The trait theory views leadership as simply the study and evaluation of great leaders,
3
including their traits and qualities. The trait theory seeks to answer the question of what makes a
good leader. The basic assumption of the trait theory is that leaders will be born and not made.
This central assumption of the trait theory establishes the theory's different components, which
include personal qualities, personality, and character (Fairholm, 2015). The trait theory triggered
the advent of the great man theory, which encouraged the study of legendary historical leaders
and biographies as the benchmarks of leadership. According to the trait theory, the ideal
leadership traits that will define a successful leader include weight, height, energy, fluency of
speech, physique, intelligence, appearance, judgment, knowledge, and the decision-making
abilities of the leader (Fairholm, 2015). The trait theory also posits that great leaders should be
ambitious, persistent, take the initiative, be responsible, have adequate social skills, self-
confidence, and exemplary emotional control (Fairholm, 2015).
The behavioral theory is also a prominent leadership thread that has been utilized in the
bid to understand leadership. The behavioral theory is quite different from the trait theory in
trying to explain leadership in that the theory focuses on the leader's actions as opposed to a
leader's traits (Yasir et al., 2016). The behavioral leadership theory thus focuses on the functions
and behaviors of leaders. The behavioral theory defines leadership as the sum of the total
4
dominant behaviors that a great leader will exhibit, including getting things done and relating
well with people (Yasir et al., 2016).
The situational theory is also a central theory that has been developed to define
leadership. The situational theory attempts to improve the behavioral theory, which is seen as not
effective in explaining leadership in complicated organizational environments and societies.
Therefore, the situational theory is based on the premise that leaders will exhibit specific
behaviors in specific environments and situations. Therefore, the situational theory defines
leadership based on the actions of a given leader in specific situations, with the actions being
expected to differ based on internal and external processes (Ali et al., 2015). The situational
leadership theory has played a big role in establishing a distinction between leaders and
managers.
In the present times, the focus of the study of leadership has shifted from individuals'
study to the more philosophical examination of leadership. This has resulted in the onset of the
value based transformational theory. This theory focuses more on the broader relationships
among people that are less definable than specific traits and behaviors that show leadership
(Tewari et al., 2019). Value-based transformational leadership does not focus on leaders or
5
specific situations in defining leadership but on common relationship elements exhibited over a
long period and characterize leadership (Tewari et al., 2019).
Leadership Styles
The development of leadership studies has given rise to establishing five leadership styles
exhibited in different contexts. These include transformational, laissez-faire, democratic,
autocratic, and servant leadership styles (Amanchukwu, 2015). The transformational leadership
style entails motivating employees to take ownership of their duties and roles and perform such
roles beyond expectations. Transformational leaders promote a sense of independence and
innovation by not assigning a task from the top and encouraging initiative. Transformational
leaders, therefore, lead by example.
On the other hand, the democratic leadership style encourages and welcomes input from
subordinates and communications when making decisions. Democratic leaders value
relationships and go the extra mile to make their teams feel comfortable and willing to express
their opinions, voice concerns, and ideas. A democratic leader also sees value in consistently
6
providing feedback to their subordinates and views two-way communication as effective
(Fairholm, 2015).
Laissez-Faire leadership is a common leadership style, especially among inexperienced
or new leaders. This leadership style is referred to as hands-off, with the leaders involved rarely
providing feedback or directions to their teams. Leaders who adopt Laissez leadership give their
team members the freedom to perform the functions as they prefer without providing any strong
supervision. Laissez-faire leaders are not seen as strong decision-makers (Yasir et al., 2016).
The autocratic/authoritarian leadership style is also a common leadership style, which is
in stark contrast to the laissez-faire leadership style. Autocratic leaders adopt a hands-on
approach and make all the decisions for their team members. Autocratic leaders also rarely
consider their subordinates' input and take unilateral decisions while withholding information
from their team. Autocratic leaders also show little tolerance for mistakes (Ali et al., 2015).
Overview of the Employer, Management, and Staff Structure
In the past, the author has worked in an organization that utilized a centralized
organizational structure. This organization had an established centralized leadership and chain of
7
command. In the organization, decisions were made by those in leadership positions, with
employees receiving directions from their managers and team leaders. The organization that the
author worked in also adopted the functional organizational structure. Therefore, the functional
organization structure involved the departmentalization of the employees based on common job
functions (Amanchukwu, 2015). In the organization, different employees were grouped into
departments according to their roles. For instance, salespeople were grouped in one department,
accountants in another, and customer service in their own department. Each department had its
own managers and team leaders, with the executive management overseeing all departmental
managers. The functional structure of the organization the author worked for in the past allowed
for a high degree of specialization for all employees and ensured the management of the huge
number of staff who were at least 500.
Analysis
General Findings on the Effect of Leadership Style Employee Productivity
The leadership styles of managers will affect the effectiveness, motivation, and
productivity of employees. This makes the adoption of different leadership styles generate
8
different results in an organization (Tewari et al., 2019). Different leadership styles are
sometimes adopted in the same organization, with a given style being the dominant style, while
some styles are incorporated across different departments. By understanding how different
leadership styles affect productivity, managers can effectively analyze such strategies and adapt
to be more effective.
According to Fiaz et al. (2017), the democratic leadership style will take the approach
that all the team members' opinions will count. Managers who utilize the democratic style are
able to make employees happy and more involved as they will feel more engaged and
empowered in the success of all the organizations. However, despite its benefits, the democratic
leadership style has a shortcoming in that the input of employees on major organizational
decisions can be negative. When managers adopt the democratic leadership style, they may also
risk creating divisions in the organization, for instance, in cases where a given group of
employees outvote others, leading to resentment developing among the losing group as their
ideas will not be effectively implemented. The democratic leadership can also create a lot of
confusion relating to the direction of an organization as there is no individual who will be
providing a sense of direction (Fiaz et al., 2017).
9
According to Islam et al. (2018), the coaching leadership style will generally positively
impact the productivity and morale of employees in an organization. Managers who adopt the
coaching leadership style will encourage their subordinates and be adaptive in ways that they
will effectively review what is working and what is not working and target areas of
improvement. Managers who adopt the coaching leadership styles will promote a sense of good
feeling among employees. Such managers will also provide a clear sense of direction to
employees through effective action plans that will help the employees improve instead of
focusing on negative issues such as performance challenges and problems (Islam et al., 2018).
The use of the coaching leadership style by the manager also makes employees feel that the
organization is actively investing in their success. However, the coaching styles of leadership
may not work if it's not conducted consistently and as a standard part of the employees' review
and training (Islam et al., 2018).
The pacesetting leadership style is a style adopted by managers as a way to set the bar for
productivity mainly through their personal actions. Managers who adopt the pacesetting style are
inspiring. However, they may eventually make their subordinates get burn out, trying to keep up
(Mensah et al., 2018). The pacesetting leadership style can result in a loss of motivation as
10
employees may feel that there is no way that they would keep up with their managers and
therefore retort to stop trying. According to Mensah et al. (2018), the pacesetting leadership
styles can only be effective when supplemented with the coaching leadership style so as to build
the skills and abilities of employees to improve their performance.
In a bid to increase employees' productivity, the manager may also adopt an authoritative
leadership style. This leadership style involves setting strict guidelines related to performance
and enforcing such guidelines without flexibility (Madaan, 2015). Authoritative leadership styles
can be effective in some areas of an organization, such as in sales teams, where employees are
expected to hit certain targets. However, when managers decide to take up the authoritative style
as the most dominant style in an organization, employees may become fearful and stressed.
Managers also adopt other leadership styles, such as the coaching leadership style, so as to help
nurture employees in a way that they can meet and exceed set goals (Madaan, 2015).
Impact of Leadership on Productivity
According to Ibrahim & Daniel (2019), each of the leadership styles will impact the
creation or reforming of company culture. Each style will also produce short and long-term
11
effects. When a manager adopts the authoritative leadership styles, they may produce great
results in the short-term. However, if the manager continues to use authority for an excessive
period of time, employees' productivity will decrease in the long term. Employees under
excessive authoritarianism may get fed up and leave, which may eventually lead to an increase in
turnover. Employees who stay may seek only to perform as per expectations with no creativity or
innovation in their work (Ibrahim & Daniel, 2019).
In contrast, the participative leadership style may appear to be unproductive in the short
term. However, an organization can become more productive in the long-term by adopting the
leadership style. According to Tewari et al. (2019), most managers do not make it to the point of
high productivity through the use of participative style. This is because when such managers see
the productivity in their organizations, dropping they change their leadership style. Adopting
effective leadership styles is, therefore, important in enhancing productivity levels in
organizations. The key issues that managers face trying to adopt the most effective leadership
styles include the lack of patience, organizational environment and settings, and employees'
attitude towards their leadership styles (Ibrahim & Daniel, 2019.
Discussion
12
Past Employers management style and impact on productivity
In the past, the author worked in a medical equipment manufacturing company as a sales
agent. The author's job was to visit healthcare facilities and market the company products. The
organization utilized a centralized organizational structure with a clear chain of command. The
centralized organization was further devolved into a clear functional structure with
departmentalization in the organization based on the role that employees played. For instance,
there was a product development department, innovation department, accounting department,
human resource department, sales department, and customer service department, among many
others. Each department had a manager and team leader with a high degree of specialization, as
all employees played a specific role.
In the medical equipment manufacturing company that the author worked for, the
manager adopted the authoritative leadership style. The manager thus adopted a hands-on
approach and made all the decisions for the sales team members. The manager also rarely
considered the input of their subordinates and took unilateral decisions while withholding
information from the team on many occasions. The manager also showed little tolerance for
mistakes and always expected every member of the sales team to hit their sales target. The
13
authoritative leadership style affected the productivity of the sales team negatively. Though the
team posted great results, especially at the beginning of the year, the performance would stagnate
and eventually fall off. This is because the manager's autocratic leadership style did not allow for
creativity and innovation. This made workers perform only as per expectations and not seek to
push their limits. Most of the employees also decided to leave, complaining that the manager was
not accommodative and that the manager's consistent pressure for them to perform was stressing
them. This led to a high turnover in the sales department with the company needing to frequently
hire new salespeople. The time and resources are taken to train new employees negatively
affected the productivity of the whole team.
Significance of Findings
A manager's leadership style will, therefore, have a great effect on the productivity of
employees in an organization. Each leadership style will have a great effect on company culture
and will produce both short term and long term effects. The democratic leadership style can help
promote creativity, innovation, and productivity in a company. However, the consideration of all
the employees' views may hamper the sense of direction of an organization. The democratic
leadership style may also consume a lot of time in consultations, which may have a negative
14
effect on productivity (Fairholm, 2015). The coaching-style will have a positive effect on morale
and productivity as employees will feel that a company wants them to succeed. The coaching-
style enhances productivity by highlighting areas that employees need to improve on and guiding
them on how to improve (Yasir et al., 2016). Finally, the authoritative leadership style, which
entails providing strict guidelines that employees should follow with no deviation, may promote
employee productivity in the short term but can be largely ineffective in the long run (Fiaz et al.,
2017).
Suggestions for Employer and Future Research
Considering the significant effects that a manager's leadership style will have on
employees' productivity, it is important for managers to adopt the ideal leadership styles such as
the coaching leadership style that will promote growth while encouraging team members to
create, innovate and perform. The coaching leadership style provides employees with a template
of how to perform while still giving them the freedom to innovate (Ibrahim & Daniel, 2019).
In the future, more studies need to be conducted on the use of a combination of different
leadership styles as per the situation that affects managers and how the effect of such
15
combination would have on the productivity of employees. Such a study would be vital in
helping to guide the manager in the adoption of flexible leadership styles as per the situations
that they face.
Conclusion
Leadership styles will have an impact on the creation or reforming of company culture.
Each style will also produce short and long-term effects. The most common leadership styles
managers frequently adopt include the authoritarian, democratic coaching, and the pacesetting
leadership style. Of all the leadership styles, the coaching leadership style is the most effective
style in maintaining productivity in a company in the long run. The coaching leadership style
provides a balance between employee guidance and supervision and creativity and innovation
while also promoting a sense of belonging among employees. The authoritarian leadership style
will have the most devastating effects on productivity as it leads to high employee turnover,
resentment, and lack of motivation. Authoritarian leadership also limits creativity and innovation
in the workplace. The most effective leaders are, however, those that do not stick to a given style
but rather adopt the most appropriate style based on their work environment and situations facing
them.
16
References
Ali, N. M., Jangga, R., Ismail, M., Kamal, S. N.-I. M., & Ali, M. N. (2015). Influence of
Leadership Styles in Creating Quality Work Culture. Procedia Economics and Finance,
31, 161–169. doi:10.1016/s2212-5671(15)01143-0.
Amanchukwu, R.N., Stanley, G.J., Ololube, N.P., (2015). A Review of Leadership Theories,
Principles and Styles and Their Relevance to Educational Management, Management,
Vol. 5 No. 1, pp. 6-14. doi: 10.5923/j.mm.20150501.02.
Fairholm, M. (2015). Defining Leadership. Researchgate.net.
https://doi.org/10.1188/2158256016675396
Fiaz, M., Su, Q., Ikram, A., & Saqib, A. (2017). Leadership styles and employees' motivation:
Perspective from an emerging economy. The Journal of Developing Areas. 51. 143-156.
10.1353/jda.2017.0093.
Ibrahim A. U. & Daniel C. O. (2019). Impact of leadership on organisational performance.
17
International Journal of Business, Management and Social Research, 06(02), 367-374.
https://doi.org/10.18801/ijbmsr.060218.39.
Islam, M., Rahman, M., & Siddiqui, K. (2018). Leadership Styles Navigate Employee Job
Performance. SSRN Electronic Journal. 5. 87-109. 10.2139/ssrn.3504262.
Madaan. S. (2015). Impact of Leadership on Employees Productivity. International Journal of
Engineering Technology Science and Research. Vol. 2, Iss.11.
Mensah, P., Addaquay, A.S., & Davis, M.S. (2018). Effects of Leadership Styles on
Productivity Of Secretaries In The Public Sector. International Journal of Business and
Management Review. Vol.6, No.10, pp.14-32.
Tewari, S., Gujarathi, R., & Maduletty, K.. (2019). Leadership Styles and Productivity. Asian
Social Science. 15. 115. 10.5539/ass.v15n4p115.
Yasir, M., Imran, R., Irshad, M. K., Mohamad, N. A., & Khan, M. M. (2016). Leadership Styles
in Relation to Employees' Trust and Organizational Change Capacity: Evidence From
Non-Profit Organizations. SAGE Open. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244016675396.
18