Leadership Practices
Essay (2000 words)
Critically analyse the role of people (leader/s and follower/s) in leadership effectiveness. Illustrate your analysis by referring to a high profile example from ‘popular’ sources (eg, media) as well as ‘scholarly’ sources (eg,, textbooks and journal articles).
You must write on:
Transformational Theory- Leader PM Modi
Kelley’s model of followers- Followers selected as Indian Residents
Here are some suggestions of high-profile leadership examples you could use to illustrate your analysis for this essay:
· Leadership during Covid19 or other ‘crisis’ situations globally and locally
· Leadership in organisational and cultural change
· Leadership in specific contexts (eg., sport, music, virtual projects, politics)
Note:
This part must be presented as a formal academic essay.
Essay (2000 words)
Critically analyse the role of people (leader/s and follower/s) in leadership effectiveness. Illustrate your analysis by referring to a high profile example from ‘popular’ sources (eg, media) as well as ‘scholarly’ sources (eg,, textbooks and journal articles).
You must write on:
Transformational Theory- Leader PM Modi
Kelley’s model of followers- Followers selected as Indian Residents
Here are some suggestions of high-profile leadership examples you could use to illustrate your analysis for this essay:
· Leadership during Covid19 or other ‘crisis’ situations globally and locally
· Leadership in organisational and cultural change
· Leadership in specific contexts (eg., sport, music, virtual projects, politics)
Note:
This part must be presented as a formal academic essay.
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Transformational Leadership
Introduction
The relationship between leaders and followers is fundamental to the leadership process. It distinguishes that relationality is the critical determinant to successful leadership and a good influence on followers. Leadership may be explained in two binary connections. First, their relationship followers is a connection between leaders and followers in which their responsibilities alternate in complex ways. Second, any person can simultaneously be a leader and a follower, depending on the responsibility assigned to that person. This makes the leader-follower relationship even more complex, challenging, and diverse. Several theories have been developed to describe leadership-followership relation, including Kelly’s, transformational, contingency, trait, situational, and charismatic theories.
Divya and Suganthi (2018) suggest important achievements mould that leadership in a leader’s life. Although some view leadership as an inborn personality trait, there is no existing research to support this claim. Normative claims suggest that efficient leadership is authentic, resonant, ethical, interactive, which makes leadership relational and not merely positional. Besides, leadership is defined based on the influence it creates to followers rather than based on the power that gives authority. This manuscript will critically analyze the responsibilities of leaders and followers’ drivers of leadership effectiveness. This analysis will be supported by describing the transformational theory of leadership using the Indian Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) as the public reference figure. The paper will also discuss Kelly’s model of followers using Indian residents as reference followers.
1. Transformational Theory- Leader PM Modi
Prime Minister Modi is considered as a successful transformational leader in the political, social, and economic fronts. Under his influence, India has experienced an economic boom, especially before the eruption of COVID-19 pandemic. His organized leadership has earned him respect among Indians and outside India. Here, the transformational leadership qualities
he has exemplified in high-profile leadership situations are discussed.
a) Leading by example
PM Modi is recognized worldwide because of how he sets examples of great leadership. He understands that he has to exhibit leadership to earn trust among the natives, visitors, and the diplomat community. Modi was raised in an economically disadvantaged community and helped his family to grow economically. He managed to earn respect among the citizens, and he has continued to set a perfect example to be adored by others. After COVID-19 outbreak, he guided his team in managing the pandemic and urged citizens to observe control measures that had been set up by his government. In doing so, he has set a good example for others to follow. Indeed, his handling of the coronavirus crisis has earned him acclaim from global leaders, philanthropists, and international agencies. In a worldwide survey
conducted by Morning Consult, Modi got the highest approval rating of 84% among global leaders for his handling of the health crisis in India. Because of leadership by example, 94% of Indians have supported the lockdown and other measures he has passed in the country. Without setting a perfect example, people can refuse to observe the measures passed by leaders.
b) Express strong enthusiasm
From a generation of leaders and since the days of Mahatma Gandhi, India has found an enthusiast leader in Modi, who has established visions that have transformed the Indian economy and health sector. PM Modi proves his willingness to be a transformational leader of the 21st Century. He exhibits relentlessness, selfless dedication, the pursuit of a purpose, and ability to bring revival in numerous domains. Enthusiasm and intense passion are among the leadership qualities that one can observe from PM Modi. He spends many hours seeking solutions and developing progressive agendas for the nation. He has strongly advocated transforming India towards the creation of a manufacturing hub. If his plan becomes successful, foreign investors would be attracted by this opportunity, the economy would receive a boost, while many new jobs would be created. Transformational leaders work harder even in tough times because they are enthusiast to their vision.
Any person willing to become extraordinary like PM Modi must express relentless enthusiasm.
c) Understanding the people
A great leader understands people, especially their needs. During his reign as Gujarat’s chief minister, the Indian GDP grew above the overall GDP growth of the nation. He also made it easier for people to do business by easing restrictions, taxation, and other barriers that create a block against successful investment. Most leaders fail because they think being a successful leader is about power. Still, Modi understands what the citizens need and acts accordingly to establish an environment where people can flourish. In these periods of COVID-19, his handling of COVID epidemic has proved that he values the lives of people, and he has established a humanitarian response to shape the nation’s global image. The poor global image of India in the previous years was because of economic backwardness driven by insensitive leaders who did not respond to the sufferings of citizens. Modi has shown a remarkable understanding of hardships that people undergo. In the health crises, he has often adopted effective and real-time actions to control the spread. For that reason, India has improved its global image. Also, his transformational policies have brought many out of poverty at a quicker rate than his predecessors. He recognized that many Indians did not have access to good sanitation, but the situation has now improved. Almost the entire Indian villages have been connected to electricity compared to only 40% when he became the prime minister.
d) Thinking long-term
The Indian PM considers both the present and the future of India to ensure that he leaves India prepared to handle the current and future challenges. His administration has seen the GDP grow tremendously to make India one of the fastest-growing economies worldwide. His long-term vision is to transform India from an import-dependent nation into a manufacturing-dependent nation. He has encouraged foreign investors to open up manufacturing companies in India in order to create jobs and to introduce a manufacturing culture. One of his projects is the Clean India project that was integrated to eliminate open defecation. A transformative leader understands that he/she has so much to accomplish to create a better future for the citizens. As part of his long-term plans, Modi has embraced the integration of technology to transform various programs, including healthcare, financial inclusion, climate-change mitigation, and affordable housing. His digitization plan has already empowered many Indians by eliminating exploitative intermediaries, corruption, inequalities, and allowed for effective pension and social security disbursement of the state-provided benefits.
e) Inspirational motivation
Inspiration motivation represents the level to which a leader can articulate a vision that encourages and inspires people to outperform their expectations. Thus, such leaders carry higher expectations for their followers. Prime Minister Modi is always optimistic because he believes that the Indians are capable of meeting their life goals. For example, back in 2001, Modi was selected as a candidate to become a Chief Minister. He has often initiated projects that he seeks to achieve in specified timelines. He announces his plan of creating 100 smart cities with running high-speed locomotives and interconnected rivers. He also announced his ambitious vision of generating millions of jobs in the manufacturing sector. This is because he believes that he has a competent team that can implement his plans effectively. He also has the capability of identifying opportunities and develop an action-plan to materialize that opportunity. His inspirational character has enabled him to influence followers to make effective decisions that would lead to prolonged growth of the Indian cities, industries, health sectors, and private sectors. Overall, inspirational leaders create a vision and empower followers to materialize the vision through strategic actions. Modi is doing that successfully by making people believe that his leadership is capable of bringing better days for India.
2. Kelley’s Model of Followership
Kelly’s Model has five fundamental followership styles, which include exemplary, passive, pragmatist, conformist, and alienated styles (Hinojosa, McCauley, Seng, & Gardner, 2014). These followership domains are founded on dimensions of critical thinking and engagement. Under passive engagement, followers await direction from leaders before deciding to take actions. For example, after the first case of Covid-19 were reported, the Indian citizens awaited for the government to announce containment measures. After a lockdown call was made and citizens had to wait for the government to announce its plan. Thus, the follower’s decision to reopen their businesses depends on governmental decisions and call. Underactive engagement, followers take initiatives to actively participate in governmental or organizational tasks. For example, Indian citizens have an active engagement in democratic processes. They take initiatives to vote leaders during election periods. Critical thinking is classified into independent thinking where followers refuse to accept information that is not evaluated to identify opportunities and concerns. Dependent uncritical followers accept information without validation and assessment of consequences. In some companies, employees accept decisions made by their leaders without question. However, the Indian citizens are independent and critical thinkers who are ready to question and challenge the decisions reached by the leaders. For instance, when leaders propose constitutional amendments, they have to be consulted to makes sure that the amendments serve their interests. If they feel that these decisions have destructive outcomes, they raise questions and dispute such decisions.
The exemplary follower is both independent critical thinkers and actively engaged. These followers think indigently and react by proposing alternative solutions whenever they disagree with their leaders. Besides, they proactively back leadership decisions and governmental or organizational goals that are corresponding to what they believe. There is a portion of Indian residents who are exemplary followers who assume roles and exert pressure on leaders to accomplish governmental goals. For example, the college and university students work with civil rights associations to ensure that the government meets their educational needs. When the leaders impose policies that go against their wish, they challenge the leadership through riots and associations by presenting alternative to these leaders.
Conformist Indian citizens are independent uncritical actors but have active engagement. They are often described as ‘yes people” because they are active doers who unquestioningly observe leadership directions. Passive followers are citizens who are dependent on uncritical actors who follow leadership directions without questioning leadership decisions. After executing their responsibilities, passive followers await leaders to give directions before they start the next task. Indian taxpayers may well be described under this category because they rarely participate in tax reforms. This is because they do not have a direct jurisdiction to enact tax reforms. Alienated followers are extremely independent critical actors who have very little engagement. Although they think independently, they are negative skeptics who cannot propose alternative solutions to their leaders. They perceive themselves as nonconformists who are ready to oppose their leaders. Pragmatist followers are moderate-level critical thinkers with a moderate degree of engagement. They do not commit themselves but await to witness the end results of leadership decisions before taking action.
According to Gyensare, Kumedzro, Sanda, and Boso (2017), Indians oppose leaders who tend to dictate their roles and fate. Indians want leaders who consider them as equals in shaping the nation. As equals, followers and their leaders share powers, make decisions through consensus, and create a joint reward that is shared when their partnership achieve goals. Indian followers want leaders who they can jointly make visions and drive towards that vision.
Conclusion
This manuscript will
critically analyze the responsibilities of leaders and followers’ drivers of leadership effectiveness. This analysis supported the transformational theory of leadership using the Indian Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) as the public reference figure. It also discusses Kelly’s model of followership using Indian residents as reference followers. Based on this analysis, effective leadership involves sharing rewards and possible risks. Transformational leaders create a vision and empower followers to materialize the vision through strategic actions. A transformative leader understands that he/she has so much to accomplish in the present to create a better future for the citizens. They also exhibit relentlessness, selfless dedication, the pursuit of a purpose, and the ability to bring revival in numerous domains. Indian Citizens should be exemplary followers who are both independent critical and actively engaged. They should think independently and react by proposing alternative solutions whenever they disagree with their leaders.
References
Divya, S., & Suganthi, L. (2018). Influence of transformational-servant leadership styles and justice perceptions on employee burnout: a moderated mediation model. International Journal of Business Innovation and Research, 15(1), 119-135.
Gyensare, M. A., Kumedzro, L. E., Sanda, A., & Boso, N. (2017). Linking transformational leadership to turnover intention in the public sector. African Journal of Economic and Management Studies.
Hinojosa, A. S., McCauley, K. D., Randolph-Seng, B., & Gardner, W. L. (2014). Leader and follower attachment styles: Implications for authentic leader–follower relationships. The Leadership Quarterly, 25(3), 595-610.
�Minor note: suggest removing the headings and sub-headings throughout as this isn’t required for an academic essay (
�Just checking whether the qualities in the following sub-sections are specific components of transformational leadership, or how you arrived at this? It might be good to also briefly outline transformational leadership as well in this paragraph since your essay/analysis needs to be grounded in theory (
�Suggest providing references to support claims like this, throughout the essay
�Another example of a sentence/claim that will benefit from referencing – there are a couple of other examples throughout the essay that need referencing. These can be both academic and public sources (e.g.; news articles for some)
�A lot of the essay so far is reading a bit like a profile of Modi. Instead, consider where you can link his leadership effectiveness back to theoretical models of leadership (e.g.; transformational leadership) using references to support your analysis.
�If you can link back more strongly to your chosen example (Modi) and his followers here, that would be better than generally discussing Indian citizens as followers (
�Also see note about referencing, from earlier comments
�Somewhere in your essay it would also be good to consider broader contextual factors that have influenced leadership effectiveness (e.g.; the pandemic and its influence on leadership and followership, or any relevant sociopolitical factors). This will be much easier to do once you’ve focused your analysis more on the specific leadership example of Modi, and explicitly linked the roles of leaders and followers in leadership effectiveness
�Can reframe into past tense here and talk about what you did outline in the essay