ILM Level 4 Assignment 01: Developing Leadership Styles: An Action Plan for Effective Leadership and Team Engagement

Assignment 1

Developing your Leadership Styles (406)

Learning outcomes (the learner will)

Assessment criteria (the learner can)

• Understand the outcomes of effective leadership
  • 1.1 Evaluate the importance of performance and engagement with followers in an organisation.
• Be able to assess own leadership styles
  • 2.1 Review own leadership styles by using a diagnostic.
  • 2.2 Assess the effectiveness of own leadership styles.
• Understand the implications of own leadership styles for self and for leadership within own organisation
  • 3.1 Using the self-assessment of own leadership styles activity described in assessment criteria 2.1 and 2.2, evaluate the implications for self and own organisation
  • 3.2 Evaluate the impact of changes in the situation on the effectiveness of the adopted style.
• Be able to assess own leadership behaviour, in terms of the factors which determine effective leadership
  • 4.1 Evaluate the factors which impact on leadership effectiveness.
  • 4.2 Assess own leadership behaviour in terms of these factors.
• Understand how to develop own leadership style and effectiveness
  • 5.1 Produce an action plan for developing own leadership style and effectiveness.
  • 5.2 Explain the benefits of implementing the action plan.
  • 5.3 Explain how you will monitor and evaluate the action plan.

1.1 Evaluate the importance of performance and engagement with followers in an organisation:

Firstly, it is important understand that even with effective leadership, an organisation or individual projects can succeed or fail depends on the actions and behaviors of followers (Wigston, 2019). To be an effective follower active participation in the pursuit of organisational goals is required (Wigston, 2019). Therefore, it is important to understand performance and engagement with followers in a particular organisation.

Performance has been defined as the “the achievement of results, the outcomes to which purposeful activities are directed” (Bagyo, 2014). Performance depends on identifying a model that describes how actions today can influence outcomes in the future, where overall performance represents the sum of all processes leading to a future sequence of results (Dias and Borges, 2017). Team and organisational performance are usually tied to the effectiveness of leadership within the team or organisation (Dias and Borges, 2017).

Dutra (2010 cited in Dias and Borges, 2017) suggests that performance can be generated by the development, effort, and behavior of a follower within an organisation:

• The level of development of the follower is related their maturity and autonomy and determines the organisation’s expectation about their performance. For example, a new follower to an organisation may experience poor performance in the early onset of their career but with development processes in place and maturity within the organisation this can result in an increase in their performance over time.
• The effort, which differs from the level of development as it relates to the quality of the value added. Effort is linked to the motivation of the individual and the conditions which are offered by the organisation at a particular moment in time (Dias and Borges, 2017). Poor performance can result from job satisfaction diminishing as working environments become less pleasant or when followers feel the organisation has failed to protect them during periods of change resulting in less dedication or motivation (Open University, 2019).
• The behaviors of the followers which may or may not affect the development and effort of followers which is related to a pattern of behavior defined by the organisation (Dias and Borges, 2019). Poor behaviors such as showing resistance towards a leader (Open University, 2019) which result in a loss of trust in their leader resulting in reduction of efforts. This could also be related to negative impacts of the well-being of followers where they could experience stress without adequate support from an organisation.

Engagement related to followers can have multiple definitions and many meanings across different professionals. However, the general meaning of engagement in this context can be defined by Bagyo (2014) in which “Engaged employees are physically, cognitively, and emotionally connected with their work roles. They feel full of energy, are dedicated to reach their work-related goals, and are often fully immersed in their work.” A team of people who are motivated and feel valued will perform more effectively than one where the members feel underappreciated and ignored (Open University, 2019a).

First (2018) suggests that follower engagement can be typically viewed from four viewpoints, a cognitive, emotional, and behavioral perspective:

• The cognitive aspect revolves around the employees’ perception and beliefs regarding the organisation, its leaders, and working conditions (Furst, 2018). This can be the clarity of the job role and its expectations, whole organisation ethos and values and rewards and recognition on offer. Together with opportunities for personal and professional development to allow individuals to enhance their skills and knowledge.
• The emotional aspects relates to whether the employee has a positive or negative attitude toward the organisation and its leaders (Furst, 2018). The emotional perspective is influenced by the cognitive element (Furst, 2018). This can be developed from the quality of working relationships with co-workers, superiors and the overall organisational culture. Resulting in followers having commitment to the organisation with feeling of attachment and intending to stay.
• The behavioral aspect of engagement fosters the employee’s willingness to apply his or her discretionary effort to their work, resulting in a value-added benefit to the organisation (Furst, 2018). This can be developed from the organisation’s culture, which develops over time as a company evolves. Any inconsistent culture can create a disconnect with their followers (Shetty, 2018). Examples of good behaviors in an organisation may be development of citizen behaviors, going the extra mile and helping colleagues or the organisation beyond what the job requires (CIPD, 2019).

For organisations, research has repeatedly shown that measures of engagement go hand in hand with higher performance (CIPD, 2019). For example, NIHR (2007) suggests that an individual company with highly engaged employees typically achieves a financial performance four times greater than a company with poor employee attitudes.

CIPD (2019), summarises four key enablers of employee engagement:

1. Leadership that gives a ‘strong strategic narrative about the organisation’.
2. Line managers, who motivate, empower, and support their employees.
3. Employee voice throughout the organisation, to involve employees in decision making.
4. Organisational integrity that stated values are reflected in the actual organisational culture – “what we say is what we do”.

(CIPD, 2019)

CIPD, 2019 suggests that there is a danger when developing engagement strategies that organisations should not assume that followers are inherently de-motivated, and the solution is to lead and direct them in an ‘inspiring way’. People are naturally motivated to do a good job and become de-motivated when they feel overworked, unsupported, or frustrated (CIPD, 2019). Approaches to engagement should be entirely holistic, focusing on motivation and well-being, and helping employees understand their contribution to the organisation’s purpose, objectives, and culture (CIPD, 2019).

2.1 Review own leadership styles by using a diagnostic

An appropriate diagnostic was selected to review my own leadership style, the diagnostic used was provided by www.skillsyouneed.com. This tool assessed my leadership style based on the six leadership styles developed by Goleman et al (2002). This diagnostic identifies which leadership styles which are well developed and which styles may need to be developed further. The diagnostic available at: https://www.skillsyouneed.com/quiz/325444

The six leadership styles identified within the diagnostic are:

• Coercive (or Commanding)
• Pace-setting
• Authoritative
• Affiliative
• Democratic
• Coaching

These six styles derive from different emotional intelligence competencies, with each style working best in particular situations which results in differing effects of the organisational climate (Goleman, 2000). Four of these styles (Authoritative, Coaching, Affiliative, and Democratic) promote harmony and positive outcomes, while the remaining two styles, Coercive and Pacesetting can create tension and negative outcomes (Goleman, 2000).

The diagnostic identified that I have three well developed leadership styles which are:

1. Affiliative leader – “Values and creates emotional bonds and harmony, believing that ‘People come first’.”
2. Democratic leader – “Builds consensus through participation, constantly asking ‘What do you think?’, and showing high levels of collaboration, team leadership and strong communication skills.”
3. Coaching leader – “Develop people, allowing them to try different approaches in an open way.”

(Skillsyouneed.com, 2019)

The diagnostic identified two fairly well-developed leadership styles which require improvement, these are:

• Pace-setting leader –“leads by example, but this type of leadership only works with a highly-competent and well-motivated team.”
• Authoritative leader – “move people towards a vision, so are often described as ‘Visionary.’”

(Skillsyouneed.com, 2019)

My least well-developed leadership style is:

• Coercive leader – “demand immediate obedience. In a single phrase, this style is ‘Do what I tell you.’”

(Skillsyouneed.com, 2019)

Goleman (2000) States that the more styles a leader has mastered the better. In particular, being able to switch among the authoritative, affiliative, democratic, and coaching styles as conditions dictate will create the best organisational climate whilst optimising business performance (Goleman, 2002).

It is noted that the strongest leadership style which was identified within the diagnostic was the affiliative style. Given that I am recently new to the organisation and manage a team that has had fragmented leadership over a number of years this approach seems to be well suited to the environment which I am in. Bachus (2018) identifies this style of leadership is highly focused on creating trust and the emotional bonds that promote belonging to the organisation or department. Goleman (2002) suggests that the approach more valuable “when trying to heighten team harmony, increase morale, improve communication or repair broken trust in an organisation.”

The team which I manage have also been within the roles for a number of years with a wealth of knowledge and experience within their respective fields. The Democratic leadership style which identified in the diagnostic identifies that I build on this knowledge of the team to develop a consensus on the development and direction of the team as the members are competent and informed enough to offer sound advice.

Given that I have developed the more participatory leadership style which is lacking the authoritative style which will require further development. However, Goleman (2000), suggests that this approach is not appropriate with teams that are highly experienced however as my confidence as a leader develops this should be another leadership style that could be developed further.

Given my current role leading the Projects Team at Teignbridge and the requirement to react to situations such as design matters and incidents on site a coercive leader approach should be considered.

2.2 Assess the effectiveness of own leadership styles

Effective leadership is the extent to which a leader continually and progressively leads and directs followers to the agreed destination which is defined by the whole group (Bhatti et al, 2012). Based on the leadership styles identified by Goleman (2000), it is noted that effective leaders don’t implement just a single style they are competent across the range of styles and have the flexibility to switch between styles as the circumstances dictate.

The primary style, in which the diagnostic identified in my case, is the use of the Affiliative style. This style is particularly suitable when trying to build team harmony, increase morale, improve communication, or repair broken trust (Wilkins, 2014). This is effective in opening up positive communication across the team and develops a shared equality (Goleman, 2002).

However, Leaders Edge (2018) identifies that Affiliative leaders tend to focus on the positive which can result in the overlooking of situations where performance issues are required to be addressed. This can result in environments where mediocrity is tolerated or acceptable (Bachus, 2018). Goleman (2000) suggests that when followers need a clear direction through complex challenges the Affiliative style leaves them rudderless. As such consideration should be given to combining the style with the authoritative style.

Authoritative leaders state a vision, set standards, and let people know how their work is furthering the organisation’s goals (Goleman, 2000). This should alternate with the caring, nurturing approach of the affiliative leader providing a strong leadership combination (Goleman, 2000). The diagnostic highlights this as an area which requires development as such should be taken forward as an action to allow me to develop an effective leadership style.

Another style which was identified as being well developed was the Democratic style. This style allows for followers to develop a voice in decisions, building organisational flexibility and responsibilities developing fresh ideas (Goleman, 2000). This leadership style is likely to improve the performance in both short term and long term and versatile in a number of situations (Igbal et al, 2014).

The Democratic approach is best suited when a leader is uncertain about the best direction to take and needs and guidance from able followers (Goleman, 2000). Even if a strong vision exists, the democratic style works well to generate fresh ideas to develop the vision further (Goleman, 2000). The main limitation of the effectiveness of the Democratic style is that during crisis situations where time is of the essence or when the group is under-informed to offer the sufficient guidance to make quick decisions the leadership style fails to deliver (Bachus, 2018).

The final well developed leadership style which was identified was the Coaching style. This style helps followers identify their unique strengths and weaknesses and consider their personal and career aspirations (Wilkins, 2014). This style of leadership works well when followers are already aware of their weaknesses and want to improve but not when they are resistant to changing their ways (Goleman, 2000). The style works particularly well when followers are already aware of their weaknesses and would like to improve their performance (Goleman, 2000). Investment of time in coaching allows for organisational efficiencies to be developed (Bachus, 2018); however conversely inefficiencies can be developed should the followers not be receptive. Therefore careful use on the type of follower is required. The style can also foster a perception of “micromanagement” which can also be counterproductive (Bachus, 2018).

In general the style of leadership is very much participative, Igbal et al (2014) states that participative styles will be unproductive in the short term but in the longer time period the style is more productive for an organisation. This productivity increase results due to the feeling of empowerment and more commitment from followers to their work and organisational goals (Igbal et al, 2014).

3.1 Using the self-assessment of own leadership styles activity described in assessment criteria 2.1 and 2.2, evaluate the implications for self and own organisation

It is noted that the strongest leadership style which was identified within the diagnostic was the affiliative, democratic and coaching styles. I am recently new to the organisation and manage a team that has had fragmented leadership over a number of years. My current team had been without a permanent leader for over 6 months before I was appointed and through feedback from my manager, the team has been in a state of flux for at least 5 years due to organisational reshuffles and cuts. This had led to despondency amongst the team, lack of vision and motivation and lack of focus on organisational goals or objectives.

The Affiliative style of leadership which was ranked highest in the diagnostic appears to offer the biggest impact for the team given its previous history. Bachus (2018) identifies this style of leadership is highly focused on creating trust and the emotional bonds that promote belonging to the organisation. Goleman (2002) suggests that the approach more valuable “when trying to heighten team harmony, increase morale, improve communication or repair broken trust in an organisation.” This is effective in opening up positive communication across the team and develops a shared equality which has been missing in the team for a number of years.

However, Leaders Edge (2018) identifies that Affiliative leaders tend to focus on the positive which can result in the overlooking of situations where performance issues are required to be addressed. As such, the robust PDP process which is implemented in Teignbridge District Council (TDC) (currently being refreshed) will allow for working closely with team members to set very specific, measurable actions which include developing project plans with clear timescales which can be reviewed at the regular one-to-ones to prevent any performance issues arising.

Goleman (2000) suggests that combining the affiliative style with the authoritative style should be given consideration particularly as the maturity of the team and trust builds. Authoritative leaders state a vision, set standards, and let people know how their work is furthering the organisation’s goals (Goleman, 2000). My leadership style which is lacking at present is the ability to utilise the authoritative style. Goleman (2000) indicates that the authoritative leadership can maximise commitment to the organisation’s goals and strategy by framing individual tasks within an organisation’s vision and the leader defines standards that evolve around that vision.

Within TDC the ten-year Council Strategy entitled ‘Teignbridge Ten’ sets out TDCs vision, goals and how this will be achieved to meet the needs of local people, businesses and visitors whilst providing value for money in a time when funding is reducing. Although the team have an understanding of how their roles fit with the organisational vision, by adopting an Authoritative style to this approach, I can better embed these values and ensure that we are undertaking work to efficiently meet the strategy. Goleman (2000), suggests that the authoritative approach is not appropriate with teams that are highly experienced (as discussed below); however as my confidence as a leader develops this should be another leadership style that could be developed further.

The process of developing the Authoritative style has begun with a review of the organisational goals and objectives and assessing how my team fit within these. Having an understanding of the organisational goals and objectives I am now in a position to be able to assess how well my team are performing and ensure that they have an understanding of how they fit into the overall strategy and provide measurable targets. This is used in the PDPs described above.

The team which I manage have also been within their roles for a number of years with a wealth of knowledge and experience within their respective fields. The Democratic leadership style which identified in the diagnostic identifies that I build on this knowledge of the team to develop a consensus on the development and direction of the team as the members are competent and informed enough to offer sound advice.

One of the advantages of Democratic leadership is that a good working environment can be developed as employees at all levels can be given a level of responsibility to challenge themselves with employees more likely to enjoy their work. This is a critical path to developing the current team. The real disadvantage with a democratic style of leadership is that decisions can often take too long as the consultation which happens prior to decisions being made. However, there is less chance of a wrong decision being made by the leader benefitting the moral of the group as a whole (DCC, 2016). As the team matures, the democratic approach can be developed to ensure that decisions being made by myself represent the team without hindering timescales or no decisions being made on the future direction of the team.

Given my current role leading the Projects team at Teignbridge and the requirement to react to emerging situations such as problems on site and contractual matters, the development of the coercive leader approach should be developed further. These situations require decisions to be undertaken immediately and at the right time. Given my preferred leadership styles identified above, my current style would hamper my effectiveness during emergency situations. The Coercive style is very effective in a quick turnaround situation; however it should be used in right situations as it inhibits the organisation’s flexibility and decreases motivation (Goleman, 2002). The style should only be used for emergency situations and the other styles implemented in the norm. Goleman (2000) states “the long-term impact of their insensitivity to the morale and feelings of those he leads will be ruinous.” if the Coercive style of leadership continues.

3.2 Evaluate the impact of changes in the situation on the effectiveness of the adopted style

The situation in which a leader finds themselves in will influence the style of leadership required. As discussed above, my current role requires me to react in times to emerging situations and my chosen participatory leadership style would be impacted during these times.

In emergency situations where time is critical, opting for a democratic style of leadership could result in decisions not being made quickly enough resulting in greater impacts for the community (in the case of flooding) or wider reputational risks to the authority. This is as a result of the time required to consult all parties involved in the decision-making in order to seek their opinion regarding the issue or as suggested within the democratic approach delegating decision making to others in the team. The current structure in my team results in specialisms being split between Project Management and Design issues. Whilst this approach is motivating and useful when complex decisions are required where alternative specialist skills are required, mistakes can result if the decisions being undertaken at the time by an individual who is not skilled or experienced enough in that particular field (Intense School, 2014).

Therefore, in order to minimise the impact of the change in situation of my chosen style, implementation of a more authoritative style needs to be developed. This could be developed by seeking a mentor in a different organisational group in the council, such as the advice of the Council’s emergency planner where such situations are commonplace, to develop the skills to make decisions in emergency situations.

Another change in situation which might result in an impact upon the change of leadership style is organisational change. My leadership style which implements Affiliative and Democratic style of leadership would become more effective. Organisational change is usually feared, because it means disturbance of the status quo, a threat to people’s vested interests in their jobs, and an upset to established ways of doing things (Thuijsman, 2015). During organisational change people need support and guidance to help them overcome the natural ‘implementation dips’ (McKimm and Phillips, 2009). The Affiliative (and coaching) styles allow for the understanding of people’s responses to change and guide individuals through the process of change (McKimm and Phillips, 2009). In addition, the coaching style identified above will assist in developing people during change and identifying their own capacity.

Thuijsman (2015) states that managers should empower employees and motivate them during change, but above all, let the employees participate in the change process. Applying a Democratic approach to leadership, participation is a key underpinning and involving individuals during change will better understand what change is occurring and why and allow them to participate and find their way through change.

4.1 Evaluate the factors which impact on leadership effectiveness

Leadership effectiveness is the result of an interaction of the individual (skills, experience, abilities, and behaviors), the situation (job requirements and expectations), and the context (immediate manager, peers, and organisation culture) (Collings et al, 2017). All three of these factors can interact in many ways and can impact the predictability of a leader’s state of effectiveness (Collings et al, 2017).

An individual factor which would impact a leader’s effectiveness would be their experience. This is recognised as one of the primary factors that affect leadership (Walters, 2017). People become leaders within an organisation based on their past experiences and roles within an organisation and potentially they do not have a full range of experiences which directly correlate to the leadership position which they assume (Walters, 2017). Leaders often need experience in making difficult decisions, thinking quickly, and motivating people (Walters, 2017) together with their technical specialism of the role. New leaders will not have the full breadth of experience to be able to manage all situations which are likely to be faced and therefore likely to reduce their effectiveness.

However, leaders need to understand their own attributes and limitations thereby seeking continuous self-improvement (Collingwood, 2019). This will result in skill sets being strengthened and ensuring that the right skills are available to become an effective leader.

A contextual impact which can impact the effectiveness of leadership is that of support within the organisation. Leadership obviously implies followership, leaders cannot do it alone (Sogunro, 1998). Studies have shown that the personality characteristics of group of followers are fundamental to leadership effectiveness (Sogunro, 1998). As discussed above, leaders will have some qualities that make them suitable for a leadership role but not necessarily have the full competency to handle specific situations (Walters, 2017). To be effective in these situations, a leader must utilise the unique characteristics of others in the group and form a collaborative approach (Sogunro, 1998).

As well as followers, leaders also need support from the hierarchy of management which sits within the organisation. The leadership style and expectations of a leader’s leader and the flow of information from the hierarchy of the organisation is also important in the effectiveness of leadership. Without this strategic direction, leaders within the team are unable to set their own direction and align team goals to the overall organisational vision.

4.2 Assess own leadership behaviour in terms of these factors

With regard to experience, I am new to a leadership role having progressed through my specialism in Civil Engineering and accepted an opportunity to progress to the Projects Manager role at TDC. Therefore, at present I am early in my career in terms of the experience of a leader. However, I have technical skills which allow me to make important decisions regarding the specialist subject area. A particular weakness is around people management and as such I lack experience when dealing with difficult situations or motivating followers. When these situations have arisen, I have sought the advice of previous managers in the similar post and peers within the organisation which has facilitated my experience in these areas.

Coming from an operational role, my strategic awareness of the organisation is lower than compared to those who have been with a manager’s role for a significant amount of time. In order to develop my strategic skills (which will aid in developing goals and objectives for the team) it would be beneficial to seek a mentor at a more senior level who will be able to offer advice and support in the development of my strategic skills.

Given the team experiences and their past experiences with reorganisations and lack of direction, they are there to support my growth as an early leader. My management style reflects supporting the team to develop and given their significant experience allows for the support in the direction of travel for the team.

TDC has robust mechanisms to allow support at varying levels of the organisation. At the team levels, these are provided by one-to-ones with individuals and support through monthly team meetings. The format of the meetings allows for an opportunity for team members to talk about individual projects so that the team is aware of the variety of work being undertaken. This helps to build a collaborative team with distinct specialisms. As well as discussing individual projects, the team meetings provide an opportunity to discuss new ideas and develop new ways of working as a team, particularly looking at how we can work more effectively and ways in which we can achieve organisational goals and objectives.

5.1 Produce an action plan for developing own leadership style and effectiveness

Description of the Action Plan: Developing Leadership Style and Effectiveness

Aim of the Action Plan: Develop leadership style and effectiveness in line with TDC values and associated behaviors. Leadership should support the overall delivery of the 10-year Council Strategy entitled ‘Teignbridge Ten’. This strategy sets out TDC’s vision, goals, and how this will be achieved to meet the needs of local people, businesses, and visitors whilst providing value for money in a time when funding is reducing.

Plan Start Date: February 2023

Plan End Date: February 2024

5.2 Explain the benefits of implementing the action plan:

Action planning has a number of specific benefits. It provides an opportunity for reflection. It is helpful to firstly look at the strengths and weaknesses of current leadership styles together with the current leadership competencies and technical skills. The action plan allows assessment of previous achievements and whether they have contributed to career growth and development. The plan will also facilitate in highlighting where gaps exist in current knowledge or skills.

The plan clarifies the objectives of personal development. By undertaking and implementing the plan, it provides the opportunity to clarify exactly what changes are required rather than undertaking ad-hoc training activities.

The action plan creates ownership and accountability with appropriate timescales. Setting out tasks that need to be done to achieve a particular objective and what resources are available for each task allows for a realistic assessment of how long the overall action plan will take and what resources are required to ensure that all actions proposed are realistic and achievable (IMD, 2019).

An action plan identifies measures of success. Measures of success are like stepping stones towards a larger objective providing a way of measuring progress towards that goal (Open University, 2019).

5.3 Explain how you will monitor and evaluate the action plan:

As the action plan will be a living document it should be revisited on a regular basis to ensure that the areas of improvement that have been identified are progressing and meeting the timelines set.

The plan will be monitored through 1-to-1s with my appropriate line manager to look at key areas for development and how they are progressing. This will also identify if additional resources are required, or additional time needs to be put aside. Feedback will be sought from my team and peers to understand where I can continue to make improvements. It would be appropriate to gain this feedback during monthly team meetings and monthly team leader meetings with peer groups.

As each development activity in the action plan is undertaken, appropriate evaluation of the activity will be undertaken. This evaluation should determine whether it was appropriate and worthwhile; and whether and how my skills or working behavior have improved as a result (CMI, 2013). The CMI (2013) suggests that evaluating development activities involves asking the following questions:

1. What am I able to do better as a result?
2. Has this experience thrown up further development needs?
3. How well did this development method work?
4. Could I have gained more from this activity?
5. Would I follow this approach again?

Evaluation of the action plan also provides a key lead for the next stage of the continuing cycle of development as goals change, tasks vary, and new needs will emerge (CMI, 2013). This resulting evaluation should form ongoing revisions of the action plan.

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