“The real power of a leader is in the number of minds he can reach, hearts he can touch, souls he can move, and lives he can change.” – Matshona Dhliwayo
The corporate behemoth represents an enormous organization, a creature of intelligent thought, a manifestation of evolution in human practices, as also an expression of business culture. Behemoths require sustained guidance to thrive in modern times, and therefore competent stewardship remains a primary imperative in driving the dynamics of organizations. In this context, leadership style assumes importance because this intangible could mold the performance of organizations and direct human energies toward productive outcomes. Therefore, it is necessary to consider leadership style a vital ingredient that shapes the fortunes of organizations in domains as diverse as trade and commerce, science, research and development, exploration, entrepreneurship, and others. Those who wish to, can seek to decipher the varieties of leadership styles through the agency of connected diagrams.
- Leadership through Transactions
Observers have noted the transactional leadership style represents a contemporary form of guidance that suits the requirements of teams, groups, and organizations. Such leadership is predicated on communication between leaders and their wards and stresses various forms of rewards/censure to drive team performance. The structures and contours of such leadership style can be designed within flowcharts and deploying such diagrams spotlights the importance of viewing leadership as a matrix of activities, motivations, guidance, and participation. In addition, it works to enumerate the benefits of such style within spaces of diagrams, creating lines of validation for this form of leadership. It is also possible to discern patterns of activity that enable, enlighten and animate this brand of corporate leadership as it operates in various contexts.
- Power of Transformation
The idea of transformational leadership remains work-in-progress; such leadership style is primarily based on the depth and expanse of a corporate vision pertaining to modern organizations. Leaders must personally endorse the idea and concept of transformations, and therefore transformation is essentially a slow process, one that thrives on the constant application of intelligence (and experience) to the paradigms and mechanisms underlying organizations. Transformation can operate through many layers hence it would be beneficial to ideate on this phenomenon through the agency of flowcharts. For instance, leaders may elect to transform the corporate culture of an organization through sustained practices and efforts – the steps can find expression through various stages/sub-stages etched in flowcharts. Similarly, leadership style becomes operational when stewards and captains seek to analyze transformation and refine its many aspects.
- The Matter of Operational Excellence
Coaching and formal instruction, from advisors/experts, remain key to determining the leadership style of an individual. Further, potential leaders could examine the various forms of operational excellence that flow from types of leadership. When rendered inside flowcharts, such analysis could point leaders toward intelligent ideas that may propel new forms of leadership. Flowcharts can operate as experimental constructs that empower and embellish a novel leadership style. Coaches may deploy such analytical devices to frame new constructs, experiment with ideas and empirical data, and inform/enrich the body of knowledge underlying such ventures. They may also fashion subsidiary methods that empower the performance of junior leaders and groom them for senior leadership positions. The prime value of such techniques resides in their ability to enlighten the minds of leaders and generate positive outcomes.
- Ideating on Leadership Styles
“Leadership style is a whirlpool of our values, our natural strengths and abilities, and our beliefs and experiences.” Thus, the telescope the strengths and abilities of individuals onto the expanse of flowchart diagrams. In one such scenario, leadership style may manifest in terms of excellence in operational guidance – this technique allows us to develop specific sets of values that promote the expansion of technical skills in potential leaders. Similarly, separate editions of diagrams could portray the qualities of effective executive leadership that could guide the energies of organizations. Hence, flow-based diagrams would be enablers that drive ideation on leadership styles. These constructs may also empower individuals to develop bespoke sets of skills that can elevate a leadership style beyond standard conceptions of leadership.
- Expanding Servant Leadership
Emerging leaders may prioritize serving their organizations at different levels; we could affix the label ‘servant leadership’ to this concept. Pursuant to this leadership style, stewards of organizations and the senior leadership could invest their energies in developing and expanding the sinews that power organizational performance. It would help to delineate the idea of such leadership inside flowcharts since this analytical stance serves to educate modern leaders and spotlight the various locations of their participation in the dynamics of organizations. In addition, designing interesting sub-stages within diagrams in the pursuit of fashioning sub-types within the said type of functioning, could prove helpful. These sub-stages could portray a variety of strategies that imbue leadership style with distinctive values that elevate the position of modern leaders and encourage employees to identify with these values.
- Examining the Idea of Participation
Participatory stewardship – also known as democratic leadership – represents an emerging brand of leadership style. Further, the leading lights of organizations can invite employees/associates to attain consensus in terms of modes of functioning. A flowchart can visually describe the contours of such practices – it can enumerate the positive aspects and relate these to the growth of organizations. Leaders may also utilize flowcharts to develop and diversify this brand of leadership, and build additional tiers of meaning into this brand. Flow-based diagrams may also serve as platforms that enable constructive comparisons between different methods of leadership style. Further, organizations may encourage this leadership style as a method that empowers stewards to harness the human potential to drive growth and attain objectives. Therefore, participatory leadership is an intelligent indicator of growth in modern organizations.
- Diversifying Legacy Models
Clearly-defined roles and models for arriving at decisions distinguish the bureaucratic leadership style. This stance focuses on hierarchy and silos embedded within the structures of organizations. This style of leadership is thus essential to the operation of large organizations since it also resonates with the idea of legacy operating at the core of organizational dynamics. New leaders may develop flowcharts to build variations and improvements on the primary scaffolding of bureaucratic mode of functioning. Such actions represent experimentation and innovation – these are ideas that can flower within spaces of connected diagrams. Consultants and domain specialists may participate in upgrading/expanding roles and models. This allows for new methods to operate and thrive in modern landscapes. In addition, analysts can use flowcharts to develop and diversify the various roles and models that operate within organizations. This may encourage the emergence of hybridized methods and models that can diversify the functioning of leadership styles.
- To Conclude
These examinations of leadership style can educate our thoughts on the headline topic. Such explorations are best undertaken through analytical constructs because these encourage diverse lines of ideation, experimentation and promote innovation. Additionally, flow-based illustrations can ally with the human intellect to harness (individual and collective) experience in constructing the future of organizations. A wide selection of flow-based diagrams could form the core of new initiatives that drive progress toward the growth of organizations, new lines of thought in management theory, and the emergence of enlightened modes of executive/operational decision making. Reviewers, on their part, could evaluate the merits of such activity through flow-based diagrams. They may offer suggestions and new prescriptions to upgrade the quality of leadership and reinforce its impact on the fortunes of organizations.
