Leadership Style

Among the leadership styles defined by the scholars, one can find the authoritarian, democratic, paternalistic, laisser-faire, transactional, transformational ones and some other (Baak, 2012). In spite of the fact that a pure style can be met rarely and it more often combines some elements of each other, all leaders’ types of behavior can be successful. Their effectiveness is mostly dependent on the situation, circumstances and the main aim of the organization in general or on the given stage. The main task of the leader is to motivate the workers properly in order to get the highest possible results and reach the goals of the company. The authoritarian leader can be the most suitable to bring the workers into the strict frames. Such strategy becomes necessary if the main goal on some stage is to meet the deadlines and targets. In case the work of the subordinate is not sustained and the effectiveness is low due to the violation of the working process, timetables (getting late or absences), disorganized working process or general permissiveness, the authoritarian leader is the one, who can make the workers follow the strict rules. The example of such effective leadership style was Nardelli’s work in GE. Paternalistic style is effective to make the workers feel important and cared members of the team. Such style contributes to the friendly and supportive environment at work, which is an important contribution to the effectiveness of the working process. The democratic style encourages the manifestation of the talents and new ideas. It is crucial for the mutual support, honesty and courage between the group members. If the workers are competent and skilled, the laissez-faire style is appropriate as it lets uncover the best qualities of the workers and use them efficiently for the company games. It can also become helpful to make the decisions about the promotions of the workers. Transactional style with the rewards and punishment system is appropriate in all cases. Transformational style is quite effective to show the example to the employees, to inspire them. A good example of such style was Martin Luther King. Generally, the mixture of the elements of different styles with particular attention to the circumstances and worker’s characteristics is the most effective.

A Culture of Ethics

The ethics of the leader is a disputable issue that can be regarded from different perspectives. Many considerations concerning this issue should not neglect the values of the whole organization, its rules and main aims. From the acolyte’s perspective, Steve Jobs was a strong-willed leader with great aims. The utilitarian theory is the one that can be used to support his kind of managing the company as it puts emphasis on the results and the general benefits. Even though his actions were estimated by many people as ruthless and cruel, he made the decisions that were the most beneficial to the prosperity of his company, and it worked. Considering the competition on the market, the Microsoft brand and some others, the Apple Company was not likely to reach the results it did without Jobs’ leadership style. However, what is good for business is not always good for the average workers from the moral point of view. For this reason, the rejecters pay more attention to the individual rights of people and ethical problems that the ruthlessness of the leader raised. There also exist many evidences that Jobs failed to follow some of the legal and judicial rules during his leadership. Nevertheless, in this case, the final result justified the aim as it was beneficial to the whole company as well as to the majority of the workers. This does not mean that the ethical norms were not violated; they obviously were present in many cases. However, with regard to the given situation, the leadership of Steve Jobs was effective and brought the company to the great success. Consequently, I can consider myself as a person, who can accept the unethical behavior of a leader if the goals of the whole company need it.

Nonverbal Feedback

The body language is an essential part of the everyday life of any person. It is present in a number of situations and communication between people. One should remember that the concurrence between the verbal and non-verbal messages is crucial to communicate and convince people. Non-verbal communication consists of the kinesic, physical and paralanguage component (Baak, 2012). The kinesic implies the questions on the physical level; the paralanguage aspects are those that exist apart from the words and language manifestation and lie above it; physical ones deal with the appearance of a person that can tell much about him/her. Speaking about the work, the nonverbal feedback can very often become very effective in bringing messages. However, it is also a very common way to disorientate people. For example, in the sphere of service, it is important to make the customers feel that they are important and cared by the company and the specialist who helps them. Therefore, the worker has to be able not only to speak in a calm, confident way, but use the gestures that will make the interlocutor believe his words and feel safe. For instance, it is important to look at a client instead of staring down or shift glance on the objects around. The posture has to be straight and confident. If a person deals with some sport goods and states that he uses it in the every-day life, it is important to look correspondingly. If one speaks about the high incomes as hiring someone or in some other situation, the clothing and good car should be the evidence that one says the truth. Otherwise, such things can reject the words and be even more convenient. If the worker says about a sleepless night, being nervous or some other problems the evidences are also noticeable. Instead, being perceived as a liar can lead to various failures.