Cody Pennington

P ADM 510 Organizational Behavior

September 17, 2014
Term Paper Synopsis
Topic: Effective Leadership
The topic of my term paper will focus on the concept of effective leadership. Of
course, there are several facets which are crucial to have in order to achieve an effective
leadership model. The general scope of the paper will be to distinguish the differences between
being a manager versus being a leader. However, I will also acknowledge the common
ground between being an effective manager and being an effective leader. The various facets of
effective leadership will outline and define what makes a leader a leader, and not merely a
manager, and also what makes the leader effective and not just efficient. For now I only have
about eight or nine broad criteria which shall serve as the facets of effective leadership.
One such facet will be to address communication. In any organization, or even
relationship for that matter, communication is the difference between success and disaster. I plan
to use examples to illustrate instances in which proper communication has led to a positive
outcome, and when poor communication has led to utter failure (simple example: the Mars rover
crash due to unit conversion). I will also try to show how communication can have a ripple effect
according to delivery and follow-up in terms of employee/employer feelings and perceptions. By
this I mean that I will show that a leader will not only give orders and provide information, but
also listen to his colleagues and subordinates. Communication must also be structured, so I will
outline and describe a couple methods of communication which addresses disseminating
information and providing clear cut instructions. Effective leaders need to equip their followers
with valid information and an understood way to go forward.
A second facet includes motivation and attitude. Whereas a manager may only be
interested in achieving goals and producing results regardless of the costs to his employees, a
leader will create a positive atmosphere along the way. The importance of this factor is to
highlight the value of employee morale. I will expound on this idea by mentioning methods and
strategies which can foster and maintain a positive attitude while generating employee
motivation. This way, everyone involved in a task, deadline, or job will work hard and feel
satisfied in the end, and not simply used.

The third facet will talk about instilling a code of ethics and a certain level of respect. A
leader ensures that his working environment is one that parallels societal values, and not just
about reaching the bottom line at all cost. Although an organization, especially one that depends
on revenue, needs to reach a certain financial level, it is important that an effective leader
establishes decency within the workplace as well as with the clientele. This overlaps with
respect. When employees respect each other, what they do, and who they work for, then few
issues and problems arise which would otherwise impede production. I will draw upon cases
which show the benefits of respect and the consequences without.
An effective leader must also utilize the talent around him while building the weaknesses
of his team. I will talk about how a leader makes sure the strengths of each member is used to
achieve production and reach targets. On the same token, I will explain why it is important that a
leader also takes time and effort to help his teammates improve in areas of weakness, and how
going that extra mile can positively affect not only productivity, but also morale and
collaboration.
Speaking of collaboration, I will also discuss the importance of group collaboration and
how a leader ensures that every voice is heard. This will play into an open system mentality in
which co-workers come together under the direction of the leader to work as a group. Group
collaboration can also promote creative synergy, in which employees can branch off from each
others ideas to offer better solutions and approaches to current problems. On the other hand, a
typical manager approach would be to delegate tasks and give orders without allowing his most
valuable resource (his employees) to generate potentially major contributions. These are perhaps
two ideas in one, so I might merge them into one facet or divide them into two if I discover
enough differences.
Another facet I will address is decision making. Both a manager and a leader must make
important, difficult choices. These choice very often carry serious, long term consequences. I
will show that a leader should protect the core values of the organization, while a manger will
primarily protect the goals of the organization. Both the values and the goals can potentially be
the same and a manager would like to protect the values while the leader would like to protect
the goals. However, only one of those two can be maintained, a leader must choose the former.
Also, a leader will make his decisions based on a broader range of information, whereas a
manger will likely focus on financial or budgetary constraints.

A final combination of facets include planning, organizing, and reaching goals. I plan on
evaluating different planning and organizing strategies from the military, for instance, as well as
from private industries. No one plan fits every organization, however, a leaders approach will
account for key elements in developing a successful plan. Also, an effective leader will do more
guiding in order to reach goals, as opposed to dictating- an approach that a manager might
usually use. Although a leader will probably have to push his team in a certain direction, his goal
will be to lead his team to an objective together with equal input and contribution, or as close to
as possible. A manger will make sure someone is on whatever task needs to be done next and
will not be as open to his employees suggestions. This can have consequences on productivity
as well as the emotional well-being of the employees. Again, examples from the literature will be
used to highlight this importance.
Overall, after presenting the qualities and facets of an effective leader, I will conclude
with my own thoughts about why an effective leader is so crucial in the workforce. I will
emphasize that although a competent manager can be successful and be a good asset for his
organization, a leader is more flexible, adaptive, and engaging which intrinsic to having a
productive and harmonious workplace.