Running head: READING ESSAY 5 1

Reading Essay Topic #5

My Nguyen

OGL 343: Social Processes in Organizations

Instructor: Dr. Emily Mertz

June 15, 2020

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Reading Essay Topic #5

Prompt #1 

The leadership paradox usually occurs within self-managing or self-directing teams

(Thompson, 2018, p.53). Leaders contribute to team effectiveness through facilitation,

coordination, and motivation. Therefore, teams usually require leadership. However, the

presence of a leader can threaten the freedom of self-managing or self-directing teams because

the members of such teams are accustomed to autonomy (Thompson, 2018, p.51). Hence, the

existence of a paradox.

Consequently, leaders cannot make an impact in environments that may perceive

leadership as a threat. In newly formed teams or groups with a participative management system,

leaders may encounter difficulty due to resistance. People may not be willing to relinquish

control or accept changes to the team dynamic. In turn, leadership could have a negative impact

on team performance.

Transformational leaders are visionaries who exhibit self-sacrificing behaviors. They are

usually charismatic individuals who engage in intellectual stimulation and show concern for the

development of others (Thompson, 2018, p.61). Transformational leaders are more concern with

organizational performance than self-interest. They tend to be more open to new ideas and can

improve team performance through inspiration and a proactive, transactional approach.

Thompson declares that transformational leaders put in effort to motivate their teams toward

goals and higher-order outcomes (2018, p.60). Some studies have also linked transformational

leadership with resilience enhancement and positive workgroup climates. Thompson states that
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transformational leadership can create teams that are open to experience, who are more

agreeable, extraverted, and conscientious (2018, p.62).

Transactional leaders work to reinforce the efforts of team member for their

contributions. This type of leadership style tends to lay the groundwork for a competitive

relationship (Thompson, 2018, p.60). Personally, when I exhibit a transformational leadership

style during training sessions, I tend to work with individual strengths in order to develop weaker

areas. The overall organizational performance increases with this style. When I use a

transactional approach, I find that team members complete their tasks, but do not understand the

meaning behind the work. Also, I noticed that team members would only put in effort if there are

incentives. This style creates a lack of initiative.

Prompt #2

To encourage participative management in the workforce, leaders could delegate tasks

after determining the skill levels of their team members. This action will empower team

members and allow them to demonstrate their abilities. When team members experience success

in using their skills, they are more inclined to engage in participative management. In order to

implement this strategy, leaders need to access the skill levels of the team members as well as the

nature of the tasks (Thompson, 2018, p.77). Another strategy is to create opportunities of parallel

suggestion involvement. In doing so, leaders give team members a voice regarding

organizational procedures and processes. Leaders can create suggestion boxes or quality circles.

However, this strategy requires that leaders weigh the amount of knowledge and information that

each member can contribute to solving a problem (Thompson, 2018, p.79). Another strategy to

encourage participative management is to make tasks more rewarding or more autonomous.

Leaders can implement this strategy by restructure tasks or training team members with new
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skills to help increase their job scope (Thompson, 2018, p.79). Regarding participative

management, I found my work more enjoyable when the work was meaningful. When I started

to lose interest in repetitive work, I asked my manager to delegate some tasks to me. She

promoted a learning environment and provided opportunities for me to be involved in business

operations. The fact that I was able to be involved in my organization’s operations allowed for

new challenges and new growth. This environment pushed me to be more proactive in my

position.
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References

Thompson, L. L. (2018). Making the team : A guide for managers (6th ed.). New York. Pearson