Leadership
Leadership is both a research area and practical skill encompassing the ability of an individual or organization to lead or guide other individuals, teams, or the entire organization. Contemporary literature contains numerous explanations, classifications, theories, and definitions about leadership. A lot of effort has been put to classify and clarify different dimensions of active leadership thus generating considerable research of leadership theories, models, and concepts. Research has shown that leadership is a flexible developmental process which keeps on changing.
For an organization or an institution to run smoothly, it requires good and well-managed leadership, for instance, in a learning institution with good leadership, realistic goals and targets are set, relationships are built and there is authenticity hence benefiting the whole learning environment.
The purpose of this paper is to look at how hospitality and tourism industry; to be specific International Hotel and Tourism Institute has been practicing effective academic leadership – which is the leadership that includes roles such as creating vision and mission based on science and research data for the organization, setting up creative ideas and providing teamwork – based on the theories, models, and concepts of leadership hence leading to effective leadership.
Theories
There are several leadership theories that are used in different organization which seeks to explain how and why certain people become leaders. Such theories often focus on the characteristics of leaders, but some attempt to identify the behaviors that people can adopt to improve their own leadership abilities in different situations. As interest in the psychology of leadership has increased over the last 100 years, a number of different leadership theories have been introduced to explain exactly how and why certain people become great leaders.
Many questions arise, for instance, what exactly makes a great leader? Do certain personality traits make people better suited to leadership roles, or do characteristics of the situation make it more likely that certain people will take charge? When we look at the leaders around us—be it our employer or our teacher - we might find ourselves wondering exactly why these individuals excel in such positions.
People have long been interested in leadership throughout human history, but it has only been relatively recently that a number of formal leadership theories have emerged. Interest in leadership increased during the early part of the twentieth century. Early leadership theories focused on what qualities distinguished between leaders and followers, while subsequent theories looked at other variables such as situational factors and skill levels. Below are some of these theories;
CHARISMATIC THEORY
Charismatic leadership is a trait-based leadership theory, which emphasizes the leader’s ability to convince the subordinates to work towards a specific vision. Since charismatic leaders are willing to take risks and look beyond the horizon, they can have a positive impact on an organization or an institution. The charismatic leadership style relies on the charm and persuasiveness of the leader. Charismatic leaders are driven by their convictions and commitment to their cause. For instance, in the tourism and hospitality industry, there was a study to investigate the dominant leadership style of managers working in 4 and 5-star hotels in Northern Cyprus and to determine whether demographic factors influence their leadership styles. A total of 120 managers participated in the study. The results indicated that charismatic leadership is the dominant leadership style.
TRANSFORMATIONAL THEORY
Transformational leadership is a theory of leadership where a leader works with teams to identify needed change, creating a vision to guide the change through inspiration, and executing the change in tandem with committed members of a group. According to Bass and Avolio (1994), transformational leadership is comprised of four primary dimensions. The first dimension is the idealized influence. Idealized influence is described as the behavior that results in follower admiration, respect, and trust. Idealized influence involves risk-sharing on the part of leaders, a consideration of follower needs over personal needs, and ethical and moral conduct. The second dimension is inspirational motivation. This dimension is reflected by behaviors that provide meaning and challenge to followers’ work. It also includes behaviors that articulate clear expectations and demonstrate the commitment to overall organizational goals, and arouse a team spirit through enthusiasm and optimism. The third dimension is intellectual stimulation. Leaders who demonstrate this type of transformational leadership solicit new ideas and creative problem solutions from their followers, and encourage novel and new approaches for performing work. An example, in the tourism and hospitality industry, the managers opt to consult the chefs and waiters on what products are selling most. The fourth dimension is the individualized consideration. This is reflected by leaders who listen attentively and pay special attention to follower achievement and growth needs.
It has been proposed that transformational leaders formulate a vision, develop a commitment to it from internal and external stakeholders, implement strategies to accomplish the vision, and embed their values in the culture of the organization (Yukl, 1994). While the ability to accomplish the goals that are defined by the vision may be a function of the situation, success may also be due to a leader’s ability to clearly articulate the vision (Bennis and Nanus, 1985; Tichy and Devanna, 1985; Conger and Kanungo, 1987).
MODELS
Leadership models may be defined as guides that suggest specific leadership behaviors to use in a specific environment or situation. Below are the models used.
Autocratic Leadership
In the autocratic leadership model, it’s all about chain of command and top-down instructions. There is little collaboration and decision-making is largely dictated by the people on top, who have all the power and authority in the group or organization. The rest of the team may or may not give their own input, but the final decision will always lie with the leader regardless. The team’s duty is to implement the choices and decisions of their leader. For instance, in tourism and hospitality industry directors give orders to managers who then pass to supervisors than to the employees on the ground.
While this may seem like a poor model, it does work and can be really effective, depending on the organization. For example, in situations where major decisions have to be made quickly and frequently, taking others’ input can become a waste of time. A good example, in the tourism and hospitality industry, the rigidity of the autocratic model often makes for much more strict supervision, which is productive and profitable for the institute.
Situational Leadership
In situational leadership, the focus is on the current level of employees and staff — their capability and capacity to effectively carry out and complete certain tasks. Here, the leader has a much better awareness of the capabilities of the people who work for them. This means that work deadlines and expectations are much more realistic, and workers better feel that their leader can relate to them. A major advantage of situational leadership is that leaders will be pushed not only to improve their own skills but also to launch initiatives that will also improve the capabilities and knowledge of rank-and-file employees. As a result, the company’s talent pool grows, which means a better chance of continuing to evolve the organization to meet current needs and keep abreast of the latest trends and challenges. Situational leaders are good for the growth of an organization as a whole.
Concepts
Courage
When we’re in a leadership role, we have to acknowledge that we are not always the smartest person in the room. We might not always be the first one to see an opportunity. For instance, room attendants may give new ideas on how to arrange guest rooms. It takes courage to pull together the talents on your team. It takes courage to direct and manage employees well and consistently.
Clarity
The hallmark in my opinion of a great leader is somebody who can lead with clarity in times of uncertainty. Those times of uncertainty, those are the times that can paralyze us.
They force us to question ourselves. People are looking to us for guidance. And if we are not able to lead with vision and get a group moving forward during those times, we’re just going standstill or hit a plateau and start going backward.
Coaching
You may think you are really good at what you do. If you look around you, you look at your colleagues. You may even feel like you’re better than everyone else around you in certain skill sets.
Without a coach, you’ll never be as good as you could be. If your goal is to move further, faster then working with a coach will accelerate your leadership growth meaningfully.
Character
You can lead without character and we all know some of those leaders, but you won’t be a leader worth following. Character provides us with the moral authority that we need to bring together people and resources to move an enterprise, a mission, a vision, a project forward. Character is very essential in leading at a hospitality department.
References
Madgerova, R., 2006. Contemporary Approaches And Strategies For Sustainable Tourism. Икономика и управление, 2(2), pp.5-10.
Williams, D., 2005. CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES TO HOSPITALITY CURRICULUM DESIGN. Consortium Journal of Hospitality & Tourism, 9(2).