Leading Strategic Decision Making
Introduction
There is possibly no dyadic relationship that is more important than that which exists between leaders and their followers. Majority of studies that have been done previously on leadership have focused on different dyadic relationship between a leader and a follower, the development of such a relationship and its impacts. It has been observed that the power and influence of a leader affects the work outcomes in a group , and such effects stems from the individualized relationship established between the leader and every follower in that specific group. Dyadic approach to leadership focus is pegged on the argument that a leader will create different kinds of relationships with separate followers and, support the ideas and actions of a follower, builds their confidence their ability and integrity and concentrate on their needs and feelings. This means that in a team, the leader influences how the team is able to create social ties between members and their participation in making important decisions in organizations.
This paper provides a critical examination on the role played by leaders in work teams in an organization setting. The leader-follower relationship is reciprocal in nature and its impact can be seen in the behaviors and attitudes of followers in a team’s mutual interaction. The role a leader established by such a relationship touches on followers’ outcomes, communication and decision making functions. Leadership is normally an ever-present aspect of human societies and there is enough anthropological evidence that shows that humans have always existed in groups and where a leader-follower relationship is bound to emerge. This can also be found in an organization where a team leader normally determines the performance of the group and its success.
The leader and team outcomes
The dyadic relationship between a leader and a follower determines the attitudes and behavior of team members towards the tasks which they are supposed to carry out. The nature of this relationship is reciprocal, since any collaboration between supervisors and subordinate is likely to thrive in situations where there are growth opportunities for both individuals (Mossholder, Niebuhr & Norris, 1990). When the leader-follower relationship is in its early stage, there is expected more collaboration and contact, as the supervisor provides instructions on what is expected. The follower , on the other hand , tend to show some level of in ambiguity or inadequacy in carrying out their tasks and are expected to pay more attention to the behavior of the leader (Mossholder et. al 1990). That way, the follower is able to collect information that is relevant to their tasks from a person who has large control over their employment. The role of the leader in this case is to influence the attitude of the team members and more specifically on an individual basis, since each follower in a team is striving to learn how to perform their tasks from the relationship with the leader. Moreover, the impact of the leader on the team changes with duration as dyad relationship time lengthens. As this duration increases, the follower becomes more informed in requirements of tasks and values in the team and the desires of the team leader (Mossholder et. al 1990). This suggests that the impact of the leader on the performance of the follower is more pronounced at the early stage of their relationship and it diminishes as time goes and the new member in the team becomes acquainted with the tasks.
From a social –cognitive perspective, the followers in a team are able to perceive the inherent qualities of a leader and establish their effectiveness in directing the activities of a team. The social cognition of a follower plays an important role in mediating upon the effectiveness of behavior exhibited by the leader in a team and their perception is likely to influence the over outcome of a team (Thomas, Martin, & Riggio, 2013). Hence, it is important to explore what followers in a team are thinking about their leader, his effectiveness and ability to make strategic decision required in a team. The perception of the team about their leader brings about categorization of the leader, and this in turn has vital ramifications for the endorsement of the leader and his influence. The leader will have a strong influence on the attitude and behavior of the team if members have favorable view of his leadership (Morgeson et. al 2010). Leaders who are able to fit into followers implicit theories of leadership are likely to build quality relationship with their team members, and this gives them an opportunity to positively influence the followers on work satisfaction and commitment (Morgeson et. al 2010).
For instance, research has shown that for male leaders, the perception of followers on their leadership will give them an advantage if the perception is based on their dominance, intelligence and health while female leaders’ advantage stems from perceived intelligence (Naidoo et. al 2011). This means that followers in a team are likely to trust their leaders to make best strategic decisions that will improve their performance and satisfaction with the work if they hold a positive attitude towards them. This shows the association between the teamwork performance, and the relationship that is developed between individual members in a team and their follower. The role of the leader is determined by the nature of the relationship established with every member of the group and how the group perceives him or her.
Moreover, a team is simply a group of people working towards a common purpose and the membership of this group provides individuals with a sense social identity, with leaders expressing, epitomizing and shaping this identity (Thomas, Martin, & Riggio, 2013). The theory of social identity has a basic principle of members of a given group becoming more relevant; with members identifying more with such a group of the leader is more prototypical if the team. The leader will be perceived as being more effective than a leader who identifies less with this group (Thomas et. al 2013). Thus, the role of the leader will be more pronounced if they are perceived to identify more with the team, and the extent to which they can match leadership schemas in perception of the followers or team members. Therefore, initiating the development of an identity in the team and embracing that identity is a major role of the leader.
Creation of a team and mission definition
The relationship between team members and their leader informs the team performance and behavior. A key role of this relationship is the composition of the team, which relates to the attributes and characteristics of people who make up the team. Elements of a team’s composition including personality traits at team-level; demographic diversity and abilities have closely been associated with interpersonal relationships in terms of communication, coordination and cohesion among members (Morgeson, DeRue & Karam, 2010). The interpersonal relationship is greatly influenced by the leader who decides the individuals to be involved in any project. Therefore, composing a team is one of the major roles of a leader and team composition impacts on performance and processes. The dyadic relationship enables the leader to understand the abilities, knowledge and experiences of a person in a team and deciding whether they are able t o complete the tasks allocated to them. The leader also evaluates the interpersonal skills and values of such individuals and provides the required motivation for effective collaboration and working of the team. In a team, the leader is able to deploy the various capabilities and attributes when needed and making any replacement where necessary (Morgeson et. al 2010).
The established relationship between a leader and his team members gives him or her role of focusing their attitudes and behavior towards activities that are goals oriented. The follower looks up to the leader to determine what is expected of the team in terms of performance and hence setting the mission of the team (Thomas, Martin, & Riggio, 2013). The leader has to establish the expected performance and involve every team member in developing strategies on how such expectations are to be met. The performance expectation of a team can also be related to what is expected of the relationship between the leader and the follower. The setting of the expectations can also be influenced by the power exuded by the follower in the dyadic relationship and this will affect the overall outcome in terms of team performance. For the leader to succeed in influencing positive ,they have to seek the support of individuals in a team in making various strategic decisions aimed at ensuring expectations are met in the organization.
Work communication
The dyadic leader-follower relationship can be used to examine the role of a leader in communication within a team. The leader-follower communication in a team is enhanced by the proper leader behavior, and such process of communication is independent. Strong leadership can stem from a dyadic exchange between the leader and follower in team and prepares the stage for communication process. The role of the leader involves establishing quality relationships with a team or work group and this is necessitated by a good communication process. The dyadic relationship is the basic form of communication and such communication has vital implications on the performance of the whole team (Mayfield & Mayfield, 2009). In fact, dyadic relationships involves information exchange and influencing the members of an organization and a leader is given the official authority to evaluate and direct all activities done by subordinates towards achieving the goals set (Ismail , Hamzah, Ngah , Mustaffa , Zakaria & Noordin, 2012). The leader, therefore, undertakes the function of directing the communication process in a team so as to enhance collaboration and improved performance. The leader will have to communicate to the followers in a team that about the decisions made, strategies to implement the decisions and the expected level performance. Inefficient communication within the group means that frustrations and anxiety will set in, and negatively impact on the performance of an individual and general team. Coordinating and monitoring activities being carried out by a team requires hard work and a team leader is expected to be informed of what is happening for all the activities (Ismail et. al 2012).The leader will have to ensure that the communication process encourages a collaborative behavior within the organization inside a team.
The perception of the follower on the ability of the leader to deliver relevant information and at the same time encouraging a good environment for giving feedback will improve the effectiveness of team leadership. The collaboration behavior within a team is based on a good communication process that contributes towards social relationships within a group and effectiveness of the organization (Mayfield & Mayfield, 2009). The followers in a high quality relationship with their leader expect frequency and great openness in communication, safety in communication, opportunities for voice and feedback and even participation in decision making process. The role of ensuring that such aspects are addressed in teamwork is assumed by the leader of that particular group. The dyadic relationships also involve various activities that have an impact on the communication process between the superior and subordinate. The same is also expected in a teamwork environment where the various activities carried out by the team influence how the communication process between the leader and followers will be while exchanging information. The magnitude of work in a working unit can determine the time spent by the leader in communicating with team members and communication among the followers or subordinates (Mayfield & Mayfield, 2009). Any difference in quality of communication by the leader with their followers will affect every member of team. Any member of the team will get to know of any existing differential treatment and the leader should expect a reaction in return. Those individuals in a team who feel that they have a low quality relationship with the leader will become more affected by the differential treatment than those in a quality relationship (Ismail et. al 2012). The role of the leader is to ensure that there is no preferential treatment in the communication process so as to avoid any cases of conflict or dissatisfaction in the team.
The relationship between the leader and his or her followers also influence the decision making function in a work group or a team. The team members look up to their leaders to make strategic decision on important operations of an organization. Team leadership requires assumes the role of enhancing effectiveness in carrying out various activities through team composition, communication and collaboration which eventually influence on the outcomes of team members. Great leaders are those who utilize the team situations to achieve success for the team itself and the entire organization in terms of performance. Good examples of leaders who have succeeded in using teamwork situations include Warren Buffett, the Berkshire’s CEO and Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon Inc. Warren Buffet has led an organization with 300,000 employees using hands-off style that allows managers incentives like company owners. He has been recognized as leader in business filed who provides inspiration for others through effective communication (Ward, 2017). Jeff Bezos has used the style of disagreeing and committing in a group, where he has been able to influence colleagues to give him a chance for ideas amidst disagreement (Lashinsky, 2017). The leaders have used team work to steer their firms to among the most valuable globally.
Conclusion
Effective team leadership is based on good dyadic relationship between leaders and followers. There is possibly no dyadic relationship that is more important than that which exists between leaders and their followers. The leaders assume the role of forming teams, communication and influencing the outcomes of team members.
References
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Morgeson, F. P., DeRue, D. S., & Karam, E. P. (2010). Leadership in teams: A functional approach to understanding leadership structures and processes. Journal of management, 36(1), 5-39.
Naidoo, L. J., Scherbaum, C. A., Goldstein, H. W., & Graen, G. B. (2011). A longitudinal examination of the effects of LMX, ability, and differentiation on team performance. Journal of Business and Psychology, 26(3), 347-357.
Thomas, G., Martin, R., & Riggio, R. E. (2013). Leading groups: Leadership as a group process.
Mayfield, M., & Mayfield, J. (2009). The role of leader-follower relationships in leader communication: A test using the LMX and motivating language models. The journal of business inquiry, 8(1), 65-82.
Ismail, N. Q. A., Hamzah, M. H., Ngah, K., Mustaffa, J., Zakaria, Z., & Noordin, N. (2012). Work unit context: The dyadic, team members relationships and group outcomes in a Malaysian organization. Business Management Dynamics, 1(1), 22-32.
Ward, M., (2017).Jeff Bezos says using this phrase can make teams twice as productive. Retrieved from: http://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/20/jeff-bezos-says-using-this-phrase-can-make-teams-twice-as-productive.html
Lashinsky, A.,(2017).What Makes Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos Such a Visionary Leader. Retrieved from: http://fortune.com/2017/04/14/data-sheet-be-like-jeff-bezos/
