Contemporary Leadership Styles

The past century has seen significant changes, especially in the leadership spectrum. While the old economic era favored the adoption of autocratic styles of leadership, today’s world calls for more adaptive leadership models which respond to the ever-changing needs brought by globalization. To this end, the leadership methods of the past century are not suitable for the today’s economy. 

Early theories of leadership centered on masculinity. Great leaders were perceived to possess unique features which distinguished them from their followers. As a result, leadership was considered as a reserve for significantly few individuals because of the limited number of people who had leadership abilities. Individuals poised to be leaders were born with leadership characteristic (Rowley & Ulrich, 2016). For this reason, effective leadership was linked with masculine attributes. 

            The great man theory provides an example of early leadership theories. While this theory was popular in the last century, it has been a subject of criticism in the new age. For instance, Landy and Conte (2016) preach that while there is substantial support for the great man theory of leadership, its results opened windows for additional considerations to understand leadership fully. The criticism underpins the inadequacies of the theory. 

While transactional and transformational theories of leadership have gained popularity towards the end of the 20^thcentury and the beginning of the current century, the most used leadership styles involved autocratic, democratic, and laissez-faire. Under democratic leadership, every individual within an organization is encouraged to participate in decision-making(Brooks & Brooks, 2015). Meanwhile, autocratic leadership is a model of leadership in which one individual takes charge of the affairs of an entity, directs others, and makes decisions on issues affecting a company in his or her preferred way of action. Often, an autocratic leader makes all critical decisions that have priority in a business enterprise(Pfähler, 2017). Contrary, laissez-faire is a bit different from the latter two. Under this leadership style, the leader accords the members of an organization absolute freedom to make decisions. Many times, the leader serves as a figurehead as well as an individual who offers coordination between the staff. The signature feature of this leadership approach is that it gives maximum freedom to employees, resulting in freedom of expression and creativity(Murugan, 2013). The choice of either of these leadership methods depends on individual or organization’s unique needs.

The 20^thcentury leadership styles have attracted intense criticism. For instance, Kurt Lewin’s approach towards autocratic and democratic leadership has been severely faulted. Brabandt (2016)reports that owing to their polarization, democratic and authoritarian models of leadership “do not allow a gradual continuum of behavior between the poles” (134). Besides, Murugan (2013) argues that employees do not perform well under autocratic leadership since they desire to be part of the decision-making process. Similarly, transactional leadership has been criticized. Yukl argues that the model fails to develop a link between the transactional exchange and the associated behavior because the leadership style entails items which are involved in impersonal exchange process (Chin, Trimble, & Garcia, 2017). In fact, the transactional exchange also recognizes subordinates, a separate type of behavior. 

            In today’s changing world, globalization has become a significant challenge to leaders. In particular, globalization has brought about the aspect of the global skill set which goes beyond the confines of language capabilities and social etiquettes. Instead, it touches multiculturalism based on an accommodative attitude and respect for other culture (Wadhwa & Parimoo, 2013). Coping with this trend is a challenge for leaders and requires a change in leadership style. Leaders are torn between focusing on high fliers or recruiting and nurturing employees who adhere to the set standards, make rational contributions, and execute rules carefully. Leaders are called upon to build bridges between different cultures and geographies to optimize the benefits of globalization. As a result, the emphasis ought to be on having global managers as opposed to local ones (Wadhwa & Parimoo, 2013). Besides, the global managers should have a mindset for building and promoting a value-creation mental framework which necessitates inter-disciplinary learning and reduction in the barriers between departments and functions. 

            In its globalization pursuit, Uber has faced serious cultural and political challenges. While the US is centered on individualist principles, other regions are adhering to premises that foster social order. For this reason, Uber’s aggressive entry strategies and the inability to build local relationships have resulted in underperformance in foreign countries (Salomon, 2016). The issues in overseas markets are also completion of Uber’s leadership style characterized by autocracy. The company’s CEO, Travis Kalanick, embraced a combative leadership model (Tobak, 2017). This leadership approach failed to accommodate cultural diversity and geographical differences of markets and people. 

In this backdrop, it is plausible to say that the leadership styles of the 20^thcentury are not suitable for the modern-day business environment. As a result, there is a need for future leadership theories to focus on adaptive foundations. Moreover, the future leadership theories should consider feminine aspects as opposed to the conventional masculine elements. Developing a leadership theory based on these premises will help organizations to cope with the challenges of the knowledge-oriented economy. 

References

Brabandt, N. (2016). Finding a solution to leadership: The development of an effective and sustainable leader-ship concept based on the considerations of the pioneers of management and leadership.Norderstedt: BoD – Books on Demand.

Brooks, J. S., & Brooks, M. C. (2015). Urban educational leadership for social justice: International perspectives.Charlotte, NC: IAP.

Chin, J. L., Trimble, J. E., & Garcia, J. E. (Eds.). (2017). Global and culturally diverse leaders and leadership: New dimensions and challenges for business, education and society.Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing.

Landy, F. J., & Conte, J. M. (2016). Work in the 21st century, binder ready version: An introduction to industrial and organizational psychology.Hoboken, NJ : John Wiley & Sons.

Murugan, S. (2013). Social welfare administration.Coimbatore: Social Work Department, PSGCAS.

Pfähler, P. (2017). Leadership style and communication. The example of Larry Page.Munich: GRIN Verlag.

Rowley, C., & Ulrich, D. O. (Eds.). (2016). Leadership in the Asia Pacific: A global research perspective.London, UK: Routledge.

Salomon, R. ( 2016 , March 7). The real reason Uber is losing in China. Retrieved from http://fortune.com/2016/03/07/uber-china-2/

Sengupta, D. (2014, August 5 ). 5 ways to avoid being an autocratic leader. The Economic Times.Retrieved from https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/slideshows/work-career/how-to-recover-your-unpaid-salary-pending-reimbursements/wheres-the-bonus/slideshow/39520224.cms

Tobak, S. ( 2017, March 3). Uber CEO Travis Kalanick’s leadership problem. Fox Business. Retrieved from https://www.foxbusiness.com/features/uber-ceo-travis-kalanicks-leadership-problem

Wadhwa, S., & Parimoo, D. (2013). Leadership and its challenges in the globalizing world. Journal of Management Sciences And Technology, 1(1), 30-37.