Responsible Leadership and Accountability

Introduction

Leadership, a process by which individuals execute influence and guidance towards his or her subordinates cannot be fully achieved without the responsibility aspect of it, which enables them to be held accountable for their actions and influence towards achievement or goals and objectives within an organization. A general understanding among researchers denotes that responsible leadership responds to both the empirical challenges facing leadership and existing gaps in the theory of leadership (Mattone & Xavier, 2013). The focus is primarily centred on responsibility matters, including trust, accountability and the correct moral decision-making. Responsible leadership, in other words, seeks to provide an insight of 'responsible' when leadership is brought into picture. It is important to note that being accountable for decisions, actions and trust are not just regarded as semantic variations when the term responsibility is mentioned but rather forms components of inherently relational construct. According to Katene (2010), responsible leadership is driven towards other people's concern and raises the question of what and to whom leaders are responsible. This paper seeks to address a critical reflection over what I studied in developing a personal leadership development plan. It expounds on various leadership theories and models that were widely covered during the module and outside research to analyse and appraise personal leadership development plan within a given scope. Various leadership models have been invented in order to explain and understand the role of leaders in line with achievement of various organisation goals and objectives. While no model is deemed perfect; one or more models can be applicable at an organisation to enhance target achievement within an organisation and build good relations between leaders and subordinates. The selection of a model however varies depending on the organisation type, leadership style, characteristics of the subordinates, time and the types of goals an organisation aims to achieve, some of the models are explored as follows;

Functional Leadership Models

The functional leadership models are mainly centres its focus on the leaders and the role they play in achieving success in an organisation against set goals and objectives. From the term functional, these models state what the leaders should do by describing their functions, roles and responsibilities within an organisation (Anderson et al., 2017). The functional models are analysed as follows; John Aldair's Action-centered model of leadership- This theory states that a leader must simultaneously pay attention to the three areas of need: team, task and individual. Despite variance in the focus placed on every circle, this model is entirely an action centred model. The most outstanding positive characteristic of this model is its simplicity for application in an organisation by the leaders and its use by anybody in leadership position despite of the rank within the organisation. Amongst provisions made by the model to be used for its effective application include; definition of task, identification of people to achieve the task, creation of a work plan, establishment of work roles, work delegation amongst various teams, creating goals and targets to be achieved by the teams, measuring performance against set goals, communication of progress to the team and assessment and re-evaluation of goals where applicable. While this model focuses on action it makes provision for and puts into consideration that different individuals react differently to leadership and therefore encourages a leader to be sensitive to individual needs, be supportive and give recognition on duties well performed as well as encourage rewards of outstanding individuals. The effectiveness in achieving goals and targets in an organisation however is questionable when the organisation consists of more experienced or learned individuals than the leader. And as the model makes provisions for leader’s actions, it does not provide accountability of the same actions by the leaders there, responsible leadership cannot be achieved in totality.

Kouzes and Posner's model of Five Leadership model- this model shifts its focus from the view of leadership as a position of control but analyses it as a set of practises by people in control. As a result of rigorous philosophical study on leadership practises, Kouzes and Posner's came up with five components that enabled the definition and view of leadership process as a practice. These five components are; Model the way: model way is the first most important component which views a leader as an example. After creation of goals and targets, a leader should behave in a manner that portrays the common value. By advocating for the same values which leaders hold their subordinates accountable, they effect accomplishment of small or large victories that build commitment, confidence and consistent progress (Luo et al., 2016). The inspiration of a common vision: in line with creation of organisation goals and objectives, such visions cannot be achieved until leaders’ share such goals. Through creation of a vision and enlisting people to achieve the same vision, this model recognises leadership in totality and builds unity of purpose through adoption of a vision from one person by multiple people (Oplatka & Arar, 2016). Challenging the process- Kouzes and Posner create a model that enables leaders to develop and come up with radical ideas for the creation of new and challenging opportunities in order to improve, grow, transform and innovate. This system recognises continues changes within the organisation that may require adoption of new ideas and with such the leader should experiment, consider involved risk and then learn from the mistakes made (Piccolo & Judge, 2018).

Allowing others to act- recognition of team effort is an important aspect of this model. While leaders are tasked with creation of visions and organisation goals, building an effective responsible leadership development plan, the leader should foster partnership by building trust and promoting cooperative goals. Team work is highly valued and leaders are encouraged to empower their staff so as to build capacity and trust in enabling the achievement of such goals and objectives. The ability of people should be enhanced by building their competence and providing necessary and visible support (Van Dick et al., 2018). Encouraging the Heart- recognition and reward has been a long serving practice in various businesses. Encouraging the heart is an aspect that involves recognition of outstanding performers and encouraging other individuals to achieve organisation and personal goals (Guilléna et al., 2015). A leader achieves this by acknowledging the member's contributions towards the success of a project. Regular celebration of the team's accomplishment in this instance is very important. The theory of Kouzes and Posner is found in the traditional 'leader-as-hero' and therefore it ignores the current ideas about sharing of leadership (Klann, 2007).

Situational Leadership Models

Situational leadership is an adaptive and flexible style of leadership that enables leaders adjust their actions or adopt new ones to enable effective handling of given challenges. One of major advantages of situational leadership is that it adopts different styles of leadership where necessary, therefore considers different leadership practises (Papworth et al., 2009). Some of the models under situational leadership are listed below as follows; The Lewin's Three Styles Model- while all leaders possess distinct strengths in leadership, Lewin identified three behavioral characteristics of leaders that could be alternated to meet different leadership requirements, the most important aspect in application of Lewin’s model is the flexibility of the organization to accept change and adapt new or different style of leadership (Kane, 2011). The three important aspects of Lewin’s model are; Authoritarian style of leadership- this style of leadership can also be viewed as a dictatorial style of leadership where the leader solely makes decisions on, states goals and work deadlines on their own without consolation. There are no creative decisions made in this kind of leadership since no group work is involved. One advantage of this style of leadership however is that it is considered ideal when making decisions of high-risk or short term scales (Marshall, 2016). Lewin demonstrated that leaders who adopt such style are likely to move far as others observe them be dictatorial and over-controlling. They are often stagnated on one behavior mode and later find it difficult relocating to participative style. Its main disadvantage is that it does not consider ideas from other individuals within an organization regardless of whether the ideas would better their general performance (Kane, 2011). Democratic or Participative style of leadership- this is a participative style of leadership where the leader expresses his own values and priorities in decision making and goals setting as well as getting involved in team work and accepting suggestions and advice from colleagues. It is, however, important to note that the leader makes the final decision. Innovation and creative problem solving can be achieved under this style of leadership as its effectiveness can be achieved in highly competitive business environment (Bush, 2015) Delegative style of leadership- This is a form of non-leadership sometimes referred to as Laissez-Faire style. In this style of leadership, the responsibility for results in handed over by the leader to the group. The leader gives freedom to the group to set goals, methods, define individual roles and work at their convenient pace. It is more of a hands-off approach. It is ideal when the group have a common direction and intent as the overall leader as well as if the leader trusts all members of the group (Chen, 2010). Notably, there is always a risk that some people may not be contented with the group's goals and their roles by losing motivation

Fiedler's Contingency Model

This model states that all styles of leadership styles and that there is no style that is better than the other. It however recognizes that effective leadership is based on the situation due to two factors- situational favorableness and leadership style. Fielder refers to this form of combination as a situational contingency (Fiedler, 2015).

Leadership style: Fielder demonstrates two fundamentals in leadership; relationship-oriented and style-task-oriented. He denotes that a task-oriented leader possesses a powerful bias in getting a given task done without caring about their relationship and bond with their followers, on the other hand relationship-oriented leaders are more worried about emotional engagement with the individuals they are working with but sometimes the results and task detriment (Morrow, 2015; cited in Dattner & Chamorro-Premuzic, 2016). According to Fielder, there is no inherently superior style. However, some leadership challenges are well suited by either of the styles. Identification of the leadership style is the immediate step needed when using this model. Fielder asserts that leadership style is rigid and therefore can be measured by the use of Least-Preferred Co-Worker Scale (Piccolo et al., 2018). This model demonstrates that task-oriented individuals often observe LPCs in a more negative manner leading to a lower score. According to him, the low LPCs are excellent at completing their task. They are often promoted in groups to have projects and task completed. Relationship-building is the least favorite. However, leaders who are relationship-oriented often observe LPCs in a more positive manner hence giving them a higher score. They are referred to as High LPCs leaders. They are known to be good at managing and avoiding conflict (Bush, 2017).

Model Selection

Having developed a theoretical understanding of leadership models, my model selection and development of a work plan would be based on the ability of the leadership model to reflect its strength on the following goals and targets with a great focus and emphasis on the responsibility aspect of leadership (Heslin & Keating, 2017). While putting into consideration that two or more leadership styles can be applied to maximize on responsible leadership, more models may be adopted where relevant. Identification and fostering leadership to member: It is very important for a responsible leader to surround themselves with competent individuals in order to meet the company's mission statement. A responsible leader is not concerned by maintaining the high-rank ego. He understand that inspiring other members will in no time push the company to achieve its goals faster than expected (Bush et al., 2019). Management of personal resources: Leaders who understand the art of leadership acknowledges that their personal resources such as emotions, minds and energy are not limitless and therefore require regular renewal. A responsible leader should take care of himself emotionally, mentally and physically (Boyd et al., 2017). Observing greater picture: A responsible leader should strive to engage his mind to always think in a bigger picture. The leader should maintain a good sense of clarity and always practice to observe things in an ever-shifting and temporary fog angle. Their sites should always be kept stable on the path ahead (Luo et al., 2016). With the above clear set goals and objectives my personal responsible leadership development Plan entails the adoption of both the functional and situational leadership models. Functional leadership models provide the basis for leadership expectations from which I base my foundation for leadership roles. While John Aldair’s model focuses on action, I adopted Kouze and Posner’s model since it puts into consideration the influence leadership has on the contribution of the rest of the team (Sharma et al., 2013). It fosters responsibility in leadership by creating a basis for a leader to be held accountable under its five provisions whereby it views a leader as a role model who others should emulate. Under situational leadership, I chose Lewin’s three style model over fielder’s contingency model due to its adaptation capabilities. With unpredictable business environment ranging from unprecedented competition to occurrence of natural disasters, Lewins model provides a flexible understanding to mitigate and handle such external pressures that may affect the business. It also creates a sense of accountability where the leader has final say in decision making despite consideration for team ideas hence encourages responsible leadership.

Dilemmas Encountered

Discrimination

As responsible leadership involves accountability for actions taken during the leadership role, one of the dilemmas I face during my commitment was discrimination accusations. Discrimination in an organization signifies lack of ethical judgment in a leader and while members complained that I showed bias by appointing to my tribe and distributing top positions to the people of my race only I lacked the power of recruitment; something they did not acknowledge. As a leader from the minority group controlling a majority of the people from the majority group, I resolved that all discriminatory accusations relied solely on second party’s opinions and no proof could establish such claims. However much these claims fueled my need to abandon the leadership position, I understood that responsible leadership required devotion and dedication, and that was why I stuck in Leadership amidst discriminative statements (Pless and maak, 2011).

Opposition and harassment

Treasury allocation and other related functions may involve going against the will of many members. There were members of the community that never applauded my struggle but instead lambasted me for weak leadership strategies, delayed achievements, and deficiency of services. They claimed that my position of Leadership could be better handled by other people that they claimed possessed all qualities of Leadership. It was always incumbent upon me to set aside some of my strong views and took different views. This helped keep the establishment afloat. I proceeded amidst the challenge as I was focused on the goals that I set to achieve. Moral courage being one of the key aspects of responsible leadership is an act I practiced through these difficult periods. (Hannah and Avolio, 2010)

Financial dilemma

This was one of the biggest challenges I faced during my regime as a savings treasurer. Organizing frequent meetings to ensure balanced development of the group was tasking due to limited funds. This delayed calling of the meetings since there were inadequate funds to facilitate welfare at the conference such as food, and drinks for the members. It is a responsible element for a leader to find ways that help them avert plunging the business into losses (Berns & Klarner, 2017; cited in Shapiro et al., 2016). While participating in active problem solving solutions, communication with stakeholders never provided immediate solution and in order to build responsible leadership practices, I communicated with other committee members to develop timely resolutions or just gain their understanding of the financial situation (Brandtset al., 2015).

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