Organizational Management and Leadership

1 Organizational Management and Leadership Leadership and management established on trust sets precedence in the whole organization. This makes other workers be willing to follow their leader, increases job performance and satisfaction, facilitates information flow and commitment to the organizational goals. A trustworthy leader speaks the truth always, has concern for others, is responsible and predictable, and people are comfortable with the decisions he or she makes. People decide to follow their leader depending on the leadership style and the trust they place on the leader. In situations where a leader has selfish interests, does not share information, and is not dependable mistrust tends to develop.

Trust in an organization can be strategic, organizational or personal. People follow a person they trust even when they do not have the same view point on something. Leadership and management must develop trust because they require acceptance and agreement of their followers to be able to improve the value of the organization. Common goal, creativity and productivity can only be achieved in an environment of trust.

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2 Effective leadership requires trust as a major component. Trust is defined by integrity, competence, consistency, loyalty and openness. People follow someone who has their best interests in mind and is honest. Strategic trust is the trust that is founded on the mission to achieve success for the organization. Organizational trust is “the trust that the organization's policies will be fairly administered and implemented as stated” (Galford & Drapeau, 2002, p.1).

Personal trust is “the trust that subordinates place in their manager to be fair and to look out for their interests” (Galford & Drapeau, 2002, p.1). Using Galford and Drapeau’s five stage model, a leader may build personal trust. The leader may start by engaging the employees using a common ground to relate to them. Next, the leader listens to the employees to show there is concern, giving them time to ask questions. Third, the leader should frame the situation by ensuring that the employees are fully aware of the message and its significance. Forth, the leader should envision the potential results and help the other person move in the right direction.

Lastly, both parties should commit to moving toward the vision together (Galford & Drapeau, 2002).

Organizational trust can be promoted by a combination of factors such as aspiration, ability, action, alignment and articulation. The leaders and managers should build organizational trust by defining the business vision/aspiration so as to motivate people in the organization to trust one another. People should be provided with the means and resources to achieve their aspirations hence enhancing their abilities. Through actions, leaders ensure that people work towards the set goals without losing focus. The aspirations, abilities and actions of the employees should be balanced and merged, thus be aligned. The leaders should also spelling out the aspirations, abilities, actions and alignment to all the people in the organization (Galford & Drapeau, 2002).

3 Dealing with change is the leader's most important role. He/she must be able to overcome resistance to change. There are many catalysts for change, including technology, competition, customers and shareholder expectations. As people prefer predictability and consistency in their work environments, change causes them disturbance and discomfort. It is the role of a leader to manage and discourage resistance which might come in many forms. Leaders and managers should spearhead: Planning and budgeting; setting targets or goals for the future, setting a direction; developing a long term vision for the future and strategies for producing change, organizing and staffing; setting up the organizational structure and jobs to support plan requirements, delegating, and communicating, aligning people; communicating the new vision to all parties that may indirectly or directly have an impact on its success, controlling and problem solving; monitoring results by preparing reports, meetings, and calling action to repair any deviations, motivating and inspiring. Leaders must keep employees energized and moving in the right direction by cueing in on their basic human needs (Lee et al., 2010). Leaders have a role of building personal trust as a prerequisite to be able to influence people. This will be a great asset for them while dealing with change. Change will be difficult to accomplish if the leader assumes formal authority as a manager. Whereas the function of a manager is to accomplish tasks, a leader’s role is to inspire and provide vision. The role of management in exercising execution, administration and supervision duties in the organization can only be achieved in an environment founded on trust. Similarly, the process of leadership in influencing people to attain the organizational goals must be founded on trust.

4 References Antje, D. (2011). Trust and leadership - learning culture in organizations. International Journal of Management Cases, 13(4), 218-223.

Galford, M. & Drapeau, A. S. (2002). The trusted leader: bringing out the best in your people and your company. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.

Hitt, A., Ireland, D., & Hoskisson, E., (2010). Strategic management: Competitiveness and globalization, concepts. Mason, OH: South Western Cengage Learning.

Lee, P., Gillepsie, N., Mann, L. & Wearing, A. (2010). Leadership and trust: their effect on knowledge sharing and team performance. Management Learning, 41(4), 473-491.