In this article, I would argue if leadership does, in fact, help to manage cooperation within organizations in the post-bureaucratic era. I agree with the comment that administrative procedures help to monitor interaction with the advancement of post-bureaucratic approaches. In the post-bureaucratic period, effective communication management plays a major role in forming relationships and leadership activities.
Leadership Models in Post-Bureaucratic Times
There are various leadership models that are often seen in post-bureaucratic times. It is worth noting that different types of leadership produce different outcomes (Peck and Dickinson 2009, p.63). The post-bureaucratic approaches presuppose that employees should be trusted and relied upon while providing independence to them. According to most leaders, they view engagement of the employees when deciding the best channel to a champion for the success of the organization through the acquisition of optimum performance levels. Moreover, leaders believe that the employees get empowered when they are engaged in such process as decision making.
The Role of Leaders in Effective Communication
Besides, leaders play a critical role in the society and organizations through their engagement in effective communication that functions as a tool of motivation, influence and directing the employees to achieve organizational goals and objectives. There has been an increase in creativity, awareness, and innovation as a result of a breakthrough made in post-technological advances. The nature of leadership qualities/approaches of participating in the job has enhanced the motivational and satisfactory level as employees prefer leaders who do not dictate them autocratically. The engagement of leaders in transformational styles of leadership enables the organization to undergo a smooth transition during the stages of change in management. In some cases, the group may prefer leaders to be a principle example. The social responsibilities that come together with governance are installed to the leaders within the society to achieve positive outcomes. However, the number of research conducted to establish the link between the style of leadership and effective communication have been confined to specific limit despite substantial evidence supporting the claim. In this paper, the diverse leadership practices and their contribution in managing communication using post-bureaucratic processes will be analyzed (Clegg et al. 2016, p.32).
Communication Styles of Leaders
According to the various studies conducted on leadership practices, there are two styles of communication that openly come out to assert the nature of a leader. The two forms of communication that affirm the kind of a leader is the ability to befriend your subordinates and being able to dominate in your conversation. In the modern era, organizations have made a step further to concentrate on effective communication among the employees to be able to manage and share knowledge among them. The choice of a communication style to be adopted by the employees has always been the primary challenge to leaders. The leaders are focused on providing a compelling communication style to their subordinates to encourage them to learn new information and share knowledge. The method of leadership portrayed by the leaders defines their relationship with the employees. The leaders whose primary focus is giving directions and instructions to subordinates are described as being autocratic and are always task-oriented. The task-oriented leadership style does not consider motivation as a factor for employees to do their work efficiently, it has their focus on getting the job done on time and correctly instead. The people-oriented leaders have a very different approach to the tackling of issues compared to task-oriented leaders; their focal point is the use of motivation and empowerment as a way of increasing efficiency within the organization. In this style of leadership, employees are encouraged to use dialogue and discussions as a way of solving the issues affecting them within the body. Furthermore, in people-oriented leadership, the leader advocate for trust and clear relationship at work. Moreover, the decisions of this type that a leader makes are solely dependent on the views and suggestions of every member of the team.
Styles of Communication in Leadership
The task-oriented and people-oriented leaderships can be further subdivided into the four styles of communication which are telling, delegating, participating, and selling. The task-oriented leaders focus their attention on telling and giving directions to their subordinates. However, in the post-bureaucratic style of communication, a leader mainly takes his emphasis on explaining how the tasks will be done and the best decisions will be made. In the selling style of communication, the employees are given a chance to participate in decision making and raise queries if any. Moreover, in this style of communication, employees are provided with directives by their leaders from time to time. The leaders who participate in discussions with their workers believe in the need to uphold behaviors inclined to people's interest rather than focus on task delivery. The participative leadership does not provide duties to the employees but rather takes its focus on suggestions and feedbacks from every member of the team. Based on the recommendations from the group, a participative leader can be able to make a decision. The last style of communication in leadership is delegating. In this method, a leader disputes the need for tasks observation or having a focus on a relationship. In this mode of communication, the center is mainly in the process of implementing the decision made by the team.
Leadership and Effective Communication
According to Josserand, Teo, and Clegg, they observed that managing communication and practicing leadership efficiently may lead to the effective performance of a team. The scholars further found that leaders oriented to people as the center of focus use effective communication tools to manage (Josserand et. al.2006, p.48). The leaders geared to humans rather than tasks largely depend on effective communication to carry out an initiated process. These types of leaders provide interpersonal concern to team members as a way of holding their self-esteem high. In a democratic leadership, the team members are allowed to participate in making decisions and providing suggestions about a particular matter.
Democratic Leadership and Effective Communication
The communication of vision and mission of an organization to the employees plays a vital role in establishing a successful leadership. Democratic leaders can efficiently create an organizational culture by trust, efficient communication, and commitment. Democratic leaders take into consideration the opinion of the team members and treat them as equals when making decisions. According to the various scholarly articles, charismatic and transformational leaders aim individuals with skills of content and oration through effective communication. Prior research has demonstrated that there is a significant effect on workers when charismatic leadership style is linked to that of inspirational. Additionally, several academic researchers have found that charismatic leadership has positive impacts on the attitude and performance of the workers.
The Shift in Leadership Perspective
According to the traditional theories of leadership, an individual's trait and behaviors measure the central aspect of leadership. However, the evolution of leadership practices has led to the rise of another perspective of viewing leadership. In the modern era of leadership, there is a high level of engagement, dialogue, and discussion through communication. The democratic administration is likely to work best in situations where change management is involved. Although changes are inevitable in the way we handle cases/issues in an organizational setup, it is worthwhile to note that not all employees are ready to embrace the change. The refusal may come about as a result of adverse perception from the public on change. However, due to the flexible nature of democratic leadership, it provides staff resistant to change a chance to negotiate and be involved in negotiations which can eventually change their mindset. Therefore, this leadership style ensures that there is a smooth transition to the process that has been changed.
Empowerment Through Communication
In a democratic setting, leadership practices play a significant role in making sure that the underlying objectives and requirements of the company are met with full expectations. Leadership practices in a democratic setting ensure that workers are empowered through effective communication management. The empowerment of the staffs motivates them to perform their duties efficiently. Leaders must draw a perfect balance to make sure that the objectives of the organization are attained through effective communication thus thwarting the failure of workers' performance. In democratic leadership, an individual is presented with a challenge of articulating his/her concepts using optimal engagement in communication. The ideas and concepts are proposed conversationally, then evolve into the trial; experimentation, and lastly they are put into practice. Leaders who can communicate their ideas and visions efficiently and put them into practice constitute to competent leaders. Modern democratic leaders should be able to implement communication channels successfully through engaging themselves in brainstorming practices, dialogue, and inquiry (Men 2014, p.48).
Communication in Servant Leadership
The practice of democratic leadership encourages members of a team to involve themselves in two-way communication through the participation of discussion and dialogue. The two-way communication bridge the gap between workers predetermined goals and objectives that are achieved. Another practice of leadership is servant leadership which is the latest introduction into an organizational setting. According to Greenleaf, the description of a servant leader matches the one who is capable of being a living example to others. In servant leadership, the suggestions of the followers are listened to and taken into consideration. The ability of a servant leader to listen to his/her followers' places him/her in a unique position as listening is one of the best communication skills (Van Dierendonck 2011, p.72). Active listening skills translate into useful communication ability as the leader will be able to listen to the opinions of the team members patiently and engage them in reflective thinking to find a solution for that particular issue. An effective decision making is solely based on the leader's ability to listen and evaluate the problem reflectively. In the modern period, leading as an example signifies the willingness to adhere to the practices and ideas as a leader. This would result in most teammates deciding to follow the stipulated guidelines within the organization. Servant leadership is a relatively unique style of leading an agency or an institution due to the leaders' ability to actively participate in interpersonal communication as they seek to strike a balance between the parties involved. The type of leadership portrayed by servant leaders is commonly used in non-governmental organizations (Evans 2017, p.54).
Conclusion
In conclusion, communication can be described as a central pillar to any leadership in the post-bureaucratic era (Vie 2010, p.43). Therefore, the modern approaches of excellent leadership revolve around the ability of the leader to convey his intended message efficiently through communication. To create a reputation for your leadership in a post-bureaucratic era, then the establishment of clear communication channels may serve the purpose (Burns 2012, p.36). The creations of such channels give room for members of the team to express themselves freely and bring suggestions to the table. To attain the vision of the company, subordinates should be made aware of the guidelines and processes involved. However, this may be possible only if the leaders have established an interpersonal two-way means of communicating with each member within the organization.
In any successful organizational management, communication serves as an essential element during formulation and implementation of corporate policies. Moreover, effective communication in an organization plays a significant role in change management practices. Moreover, to have a smooth transition of strategies or management, clear communication to the workers is paramount. This will create a sense of understanding of why specific changes are taking place within the organization and what is expected of him/her from the company. To achieve the ultimate goal of a body in the post-bureaucratic era, more focus is relayed on effective communication.
References
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Evans, C. M. 2017. Interpersonal communication application to leadership, in V. Wang (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Strategic Leadership and Management, IGI Global.
Joserrand, E., Teo, S. & Clegg, S. 2006, ‘From bureaucratic to post-bureaucratic: the difficulties of transition’, Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol.19, no 1, pp.54-64.
Men, L.R. 2014, ‘Strategic internal communication: transformational leadership, communication channels, and employee satisfaction management communication’, Quarterly, vol.28, no.2, pp.264-284.
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Van Dierendonck, D. 2011, Servant leadership: a review and synthesis, Journal of Management, vol.37, no.4, pp.1228-1261.
Vie, O. E. 2010, Have post-bureaucratic changes occurred in managerial work?, European Management Journal, vol.28, no.3, pp.182-194.
