LEADERSHIP AND CHANGE

Leadership and Change

Leadership and Change

Contemporary Leadership Theory

Contemporary leadership theory is typically associated with the body of work emerging as part of what Rost called the postindustrial paradigm. Broadly, these theories reframed leadership as a dynamic and reciprocal process between people pursuing a common goal. Much of this literature also situates leadership as inherently directed at improving the common good and grounded in social responsibility. A number of contemporary leadership theories have either been critical in the advancement of this line of thinking or offered unique contributions in a specific area. These theories emphasize the relational, collaborative nature of leadership (Turner, et, al., 2002, pp. 304-311).

Servant Leadership

The concept of servant leadership is one that has attracted substantial interest among many leaders over the past few decades. Many scholars attribute the concept of servant leadership to Robert K. Greenleaf, a notable management consultant who, prior to entering that field of work. The servant-leader is servant first, it begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve. In this sense, leadership begins with a commitment from the potential leader to serve others rather than pursuing his own self-interest, and this essentially is what is central to a leader's greatness. Greenleaf believed the primary purpose of business organizations should be to create a positive impact on their employees and surrounding community (Turner, et, al., 2002, pp. 304-311).

Transformational leadership

Transformational leadership involves the motivation of employees and members to perform normal expectations for meeting the organization's mission and for achieving organizational goals. It inspires staff and members to put aside personal self-interest for the common good of the organization and to have confidence in their ability to achieve the “extraordinary” challenges before them (Burns, and Avolio, 2004, pp. 1559-1567).

Transactional leadership

Transactional leadership is about maintaining an alignment between the organization's mission and goals on the one hand, and the motivation and interests of employees and members in achieving set objectives on the other (Burns, and Avolio, 2004, pp. 1559-1567).

Creativity and Innovation

Creativity has been described as a core leadership competence, an essential component of effective organizational leadership and a “crucial qualification” for political leaders.

Links between Leadership and Creativity

They are both interdisciplinary subjects that can be approached from a variety of academic perspectives. They freely cross and combine domains of knowledge and researchers in leadership and creativity can be found in academic fields as varied as education, psychology, business, and the humanities. The terms creativity and leadership are both difficult to define because of this interdisciplinary because both consist of large sets of concepts that are often more easily defined by examples than by sets of identifiable traits. Successful creators and leaders tend to be judged by the results of their actions, or lack of results, rather than by the process of how they arrived at those results. The process for both is often concealed, misunderstood, or of little interest to most people.

Leadership is open to innovation but, that openness should be tempered with skepticism. These two attitudes are not mutually exclusive but are ...