Empirical studies show that leadership has a direct effect on the organizational success [or failure] (Clark & Clark, 1996). It is either the person can leader or not; it's either the person can inspire the organization to succeed or plunge it to failure. There are always two sides of the coin – and this is the reason why organizations are always looking for leaders who can drive the organization in achieving its goals and objectives. Simply., leadership is a big factor to the success of the organization because it can motivate employees – and other organizational factors – to drive toward achievement of goals.
One of the most important facets that employees get meaning from their work experience is organizational leadership (Wylie, 2009). This means that leadership is a big factor to the satisfaction of employees. When employees know that they are working for the right person who can help them to succeed personally and grow intellectually, they would drive toward the achievement of organizational goals and objectives. The satisfaction of employees in their work experience determines the level of dedication that they exert for the job.
We need to understand that employees are people who have emotions and perceptions. The satisfaction of employees is dependent on the emotion and perception they have on the organization – and to the leaders behind the organization. How they perceive the actions of leaders can affect their satisfaction. For instance, when the organization's leaders cut the compensation rate of employees, their emotions would affect their satisfaction toward the organization. And the same emotion or perception drives them to work for better or for worse. As for the case of compensation rate cut, employees would naturally feel deprived of what they should deserve and they will think that the leadership of the organization does not see their importance to the success of the organization, which would end up employees not working to their fullest potential.
Porter, et.al. (2003) assert that the influence of transformational leadership decreases when leader's behaviors have been causing high stress for employees. This is what Wylie (2009) calls counterproductive leadership. Instead of inspiring and motivating employees to work for the highest productivity of the organization, counterproductive leadership exposes employees to frustration, which leads to the disenfranchisement of employees. This is a problem with the counterproductive leadership, the exact opposite of the motivational leadership cited above, because it tries to put employees on the sideline, rather than put them in the central focus of the organization's operation and productive. This is the sidetracking of employees in favor of goals, capital, and results.
At the top of the demand for organization success is the personal development of employee (Salvendy, 2001). Of course, other organization elements are important, but employees are the drivers that make things happen. Without proper credit to employees, it would difficult for the organization to achieve its goals. The idea of personal development as directly embedded on the employee satisfaction is deeply anchored on motivation, empowerment, and morality, which are all embedded on the idea and conception of leadership. It is necessary for a person to get all these three components so he or she can further develop himself or herself for the benefit of the organization. When leaders look at this need, they become more transformational leaders than just goal-oriented leaders. Instead of focusing on the achievement of the goals, they work for the betterment of individual employees who can translate those goals and objectives.
According to Kroth (2007), Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs theory provides a model for the analysis of the satisfaction of employees' needs in the workplace. It should be understood that it is important for the organization's leader to motivate employees to the top of what of they can do by meeting the needs of employees according to the pyramid of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. At the top of these needs is self-actualization, which ensures that the person realizes the potential he or she can become, is the highest of all needs. And this is where leadership enters. When the aid of satisfying all lower needs, the organization can focus on self-actualization with the leader's motivation and influence on the employee.
For Salvendy (2001), transformational leadership motivate followers to drive toward success by meeting their self-actualization needs through motivation. This is the exact contrast to the transactional leader who tries to forge a bargain of the needs of the employee for them to work for the organization's goals and objectives achievement. Perhaps, transformational leaders are more effective in bringing the best out of their employees because they are not just after what employees need at the moment, but they are after what employees can become in the future and what needs must be met to bring that best out of them (Winkler, 2010). By forming a concept in the mind of the follower or the employee, the leader brings them out of their shell and makes the best person out of them. And in this part, the organization together with the leader gets what is being expected and sometimes beyond what is expected from employees.
Salvendy (2001), in promoting the need of a transformational leader, even asserts the need of a transformational leader who can uplift the moral development of employees. And this is definitely the thrust of almost all entrepreneurs, according to Swilling (2012) of Forbes Magazine. This is the reason why leaders should energize employees to avoid lackluster performance. This is the value of motivational leadership. Employees should know that they are the first priority of the organization, as cited above, and that there is more to life than work. It is necessary to employees to have a holistic and integral personal development – in terms of emotional, mental, spiritual, and physical.
Frey & Osterloh (2002) said that employees "should become active in the program of their own volition and do not feel obliged to part for reasons of image or even compensation (p. 247)." When the motivation influence of the leader is properly used, it will yield to the change of attitude of employees, from being self-centered to a collective perspective. They would see things differently. This is an important part of motivational leadership because it creates a series of reality that the action of employees are interdependent on each other. As a result, employees would be more productive and careful in exerting their effort for the benefit of the entire organization.
Moreover, transformational leadership does not seek to control employees, but leadership should motivate employees to boost their morale and enhance their performance (Silva, 2009). In this regard, it should be clearly understood that good transformational leadership should yield to the empowerment of employees, after they understand their self-actualization needs. They should be empowered to do things according to their way of thinking. This ensures that employees are growing within the organization. If we look closely, this can be considered as the final impact of leadership on the followers. It is the making of another leader in a person or an employee. As a result, the organization harvests a new leader who can rise to occasions when necessary and who can readily keep the organization floating when needs be.
As much as the goal of leadership is to motivate employees to do their jobs well, to go beyond what is expected of them, and work best for the benefit of all, the goal of leadership is to create a new leader who can continue the legacy of driving an organization (Denning, 2011). It is a clear-cut understand that leaders, sooner or later, will fade away and must pass on the torch to another band. If there is a leader made out of the motivation and transformational leadership in the past, the organization's success can be maintain or doubled.
There is always a good question to what kind of leader an organization needs. But the matter is all about what kind of leader can motivate employees. Whatever the style of leadership be employed by the organization, it is important to keep people at the top priority. It is necessary to influence people when necessity demands – mostly at odd times – but the thing is: how well can a leader influence employees. Is there a strong connection between leaders and employees of the organization. If the line is bridged properly, motivation is easy to come. Otherwise, it would be a hard task to do and it won't be good for an organization.
The value of motivational leadership does not change. The principles that are shaped by the need to empower employees, to keep them motivated, and to ensure that they keep the morality they had should remain at the top of the organization's core value in times of bad times, or in good times. When one forgets about the value of employees, the organization looks only at employees as machines for production and income-generation. This scenario leads to a series of failure. The failure to inspire and motivate people to go beyond what they can do. And when this scenario happens, everything within the organization – as long as human beings do them – will fail.
References:
Clark, K. & Clark, M. (1996). Issue 327 of Report (Center for Creative Leadership), No. 327. Center for Creative Leadership.
Denning, S. (2011). The Secret Language of Leadership: How Leaders Inspire Action Through Narrative Volume 40 of J-B US non-Franchise Leadership. John Wiley & Sons.
Frey, B. & Osterloh, M. (2002). Successful Management by Motivation: Balancing Intrinsic and Extrinsic Incentives. Springer.
Kroth, M. (2007). "Maslow - Move Aside, A Heuristical Motivation Leaders in Career and Technical Education." Journal of Industrial Teacher Education. University Idaho.
Porter, L., et.al. (2003). Organizational Influence Processes. M.E. Sharpe.
Salvendy, G. (2001). Handbook of Industrial Engineering: Technology and Operations Management. John Wiley & Sons.
Silva, S. (2009). Does Empowerment Motivate Employees in the Hospitality Industry ( Sri-Lanka) to Increase Performance. GRIN Verlag.
Winkler, I. (2010). Contemporary Leadership Theories: Enhancing the Understanding of the Complexity, Subjectivity and Dynamic of Leadership. Springer.
Wylie, K. (2009). Dr. Robert Waller: Visionary Leader and Skilled Manager. GRIN Verlag.
Zwilling, M. (2012). "8 Ways Leaders can Motivatre Employees Beyond Money." Forbes Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/martinzwilling/2012/01/10/8-ways-leaders-can- motivate-employees-beyond-money/
