Organizational leadership vs dynamics

DeWit and Meyer (2004) describe two dimensions of organizational perspectives: leadership supporting a controlled system creating strategy and implementing it top-down, and dynamics, creating disorganization to achieve strategic renewal. Both dimensions have their value and an organization should consider which perspectives it utilizes in its strategy and operations, or if it can benefit from both - experimenting from new or different ways of working and innovating.

International corporations have grown so big that it is purely impossible to lead purely based on authority and control. Companies are affected by new working methods, new media and generations, who require and impose a less authoritarian way of working. There are demands for new communications tools, virtual collaboration and self management. Time differences and cultures bring new elemnets to having new perspectives.

Sustainability is affecting people´s behaviour and social expectations in respect to travel, production methods and collaboration. New working methods bring cost savings, employee satisfaction and efficiency. It also creates frustration since letting go of the old and learning new is always difficult.

Elements of organizational leadership bring some assets to having a clear direction. It is important however that in a top-down organization strategy is implemented by involving teams in the creation process and encouraging initiative.

Leader behaviour analysis

At an summerish eMBA class on organizational behaviour, we conducted an assignment covering 20 business situations. Each included a question on "how would you act" as a leader in a specific situation. The objective of the exercise was to see if you can match your leadership skills with the situation at hand.

The interesting part of the experiment was the scores with our foreign students. You cannot generalize too much, but it was obvious that specific cultures somewhat impact our behaviour, including our leadership qualities.

When planning and implementing change, it is an art thinking of and preparing for needed stages; exploring, informing, engaging, influencing, executing and refining. Analyzing the possible outcome but also the likely situation at hand of a person helps to utilize an optimal style throughout the process.

In order to build your own leadership skills, you first need to do some self-evaluation to understand your own behaviour and competencies. Knowing yourself helps analyze situations and behaviours of others.

To get started and to have a nice comparison with your colleagues, to go 9types.com.

Hanna Viita