Project Title A Research Project Report on Leadership Styles and its impact on the performance of Employees.

Introduction
This project is regarding the impact of various styles of leadership on the performance of employees in a Sri Lankan organization. Leadership is more a quality than it is a talent. It is one that for some takes time to develop whilst in others it exists naturally. Therefore as this may suggest, it is very difficult to describe and there are a vast number of theorists that have almost as many different definitions for leadership. However a common attribute to most of these is that Leadership is the ability to influence, a leader should possess the ability to influence members of his team. Leadership is also associated to the view of one person leading the group. Based on this we can breakdown the scenario of leadership into a few key aspects. Leading involves influencing others (Followers /subordinates). The followers (subordinates) do as they are lead. Leaders are able to think beyond the existing constraints and guide the team or group on the path towards the desired target or objectives. Leaders tend to immerge in crisis or high pressure situations ( they stand out when they perform and are eager to take charge, be responsible)

Leaders are innovative and charismatic individuals that demonstrate the ability to influence others in making the right decisions and providing direction in applying the ideal solutions towards achieving their objectives. The Following are a few general styles of leadership: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Transactional Leadership Autocratic Leadership Transformational Leadership Servant Leadership Charismatic Leadership Democratic/ Participative Leadership Laissez Faire Leadership

There is a however some confusion where a leader is taken in similar light as a manager or an expert. The main issue here is that Leaders are not always managers and not all managers are leaders. Further, being an expert is excelling at what you do or rather one particular task or objective, which diverts from the need for a leader to be flexible and adaptive as per the situational needs. Present day organizations in Sri Lanka display various changes in terms of the company culture, policies & procedures, technology in use and the general attitude/ focus of its employees, as opposed to the same, several years ago. Thus leaders today require a vast range of skills and need to be able to harness

these effectively, they need to have greater awareness, be relevant, effective and focused in order to make the right decisions at the right times. An integral component to leadership is the relationship maintained between the leader and members of the team. The latest research indicates engaged employees supercharge productivity, reduce turnover, and amplify customer focus, possibly by as much as 20 percent, Wallace et al. (2009). Unequivocally, the leadership of the immediate manager is more important than any other organizational variable. Great leadership engenders high levels of engagement that drive organizational performance. Wallace et al. (2009).

Focus of the Study

The Focus of this study will be on the impact different styles of leadership have on the performance of employees in organizations operating in the Sri Lankan Business environment. The Sri Lankan business environment was selected to make this study as relevant as possible, also the changes in the economic and political situations in the country makes the study more focused and unique. This study also offers a change, shifting from the traditional concentration on methods of leadership alone towards the resulting impact it has on the performance on employees. Qualities of leadership are vital to the success of the team however it is also essential for a leader to be able to motivate and influence the team members towards the achievement of organizational objectives. An effective means of which would be the ability to guide employees in achieving the set targets through the realization of their own personal goals. This would shed light on the importance of the interpersonal relations required in present day leadership. We will discuss in detail several styles of leadership along with the effectiveness and impact. Based on this we would be able to further our research on understanding the reasons for success and failure in each case, thereby enabling the identification of the key features that are needed in effective leadership in an organization. Culture plays a significant role within an organization, understandably this would also affect the study, and therefore the study would focus on the Sri Lankan business environment.

Objectives
The objective of this study can be stated as follows: To investigate the impact of leadership style on workers' performance in the Sri Lankan business environment. To Analyze the importance of the Leader-Employee relationship in achieving company objectives To identify issues associated with leader-employee relations within the business environment To make suggestions on leadership strategy with the view of improving employees performance

Research Methodology
The study will be conducted by collecting and analyzing both primary and secondary sources of data. Primary Data will be the main focus of the study; this will be sourced by way of a general survey. A comprehensive questionnaire will be designed and distributed to the target segment of the employee population of corporate organizations in Sri Lanka. The sample of employees would be requested to include as much detail wherever possible. For comparative analysis we will try to implement a survey distribution policy to cover a range of industries to widen the scope of the study. The feedback from these questionnaires will be analyzed in detail to identify the similarities as well as the differences in the views of the employees. Based on the results a sample of the most descriptive employees will be interviewed to get better feedback and identify the main issues faced within their respective organizations The results of the survey and interviews would then be displayed in a pie chart and cross referenced to the relating style of leadership. These would then be utilized in the analysis and recommendations made in the conclusion of the study.

References
1. Drucker, P.F. (2008) Management. Revised edn, United Kingdom; HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. 2. Understanding Leadership Styles and its Impact on Organization, (no date) [Online] Available at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/20925869/Understanding-Leadership-Styles-and-ItsImpact-on-ion/ (Accessed: 13 Jan 2011). 3. Wallace, L. and Trinka, J. (2009) Leadership and Employee Engagement, Public Management, 1, (June), pp. 10. 4. Graen, G. and Uhl-Bien, M. (1995): Relationship-based approach to leadership: Development of leader-member exchange (LMX) theory of leadership over 25 years: Applying a multi-level multidomain perspective. Leadership Quarterly, (6), pp. 219 247.

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introduction lit erature review methodology findings n analysis' conclusion n recomendation Appendices

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intro-1000 lit review-4500 methodolgy-1500 finding 1000 0r 2000 nt sure cnclusion 1000