An+Introduction+to+New+Imaginative+Leadership+Approach

= = toc = Introduction =

The leadership approach has changed over a period of time in relation to changing economic conditions and various factors. For example, recession, political change and culture of an organisation you belong. In real life leadership is not a subject that everybody can learn or become expert in. This involves a lot of self-reflection, understanding, experience, determination and natural intelligence. Perhaps without the aforementioned considerations, the reader may find it difficult to lead effectively. In addition, Boomer (2012) states ‘the lack of management and leadership talent is the No.1 challenge’ (2012:34). For instance, a common example of failure can be seen when a leader employs an inappropriate leadership approach, which does not suit their personalities and/or natural ability. It is important to note that every employee is different, and all have various different needs. Applying the same strategy on every employee ensures equality; on the other hand, it limits the leader and his employees from rising to his/her full potential. This article will focus to identify various factors that lead to a failure in leadership within different scenarios. In particular this will be illustrated through a case study of president Barack Obama. Furthermore, a new leadership approach will be suggested, which attempts to minimise the possibility of leadership failure and enhance overall flexibility.

= Leader ‘or’ Manager =

First of all, you need to reflect on your knowledge and understanding in Leadership and management (L/M), whether you are able to distinguish the difference between them. Historically and contemporarily many journal articles and scholars have contested the differences between these two terminologies. This has lead to a degree of confusion within topic. Highlighting this point, Bass (1990) //cited in// Washbush (2005) states ‘there are almost as many different definitions of L/M as there are persons who have attempted to define the concept’ (2005:1079). Nevertheless, Washbush still overlaps the definitions between L/M as he mentions in his argument that ‘managers can be more effective if they are also good leaders, and even more effective if they can develop leadership skill and potential in those under them’ (2005:1081). This shows that his view about L/M is still confused – hence, we shall look at various studies to distinguish the differences between L/M.



Clarifying the Definitions of 'Leadership' and 'Management'
The recent article by Gary Boomer (2012) outlines that the expectation and successfulness of managers is essentially based on their ‘ability to attain the goals’ (2012:34). Therefore, managers should be considered in becoming capable, in addition to becoming an effective leader. Additionally, in 2010, Don Marker conducted a study in leadership and management, with an intention to explore the connections and dissimilarities. Marker’s investigation (2010) shows that:

- A good manager has the power of command and authority to delegate others to complete the task he/she wants.

- Secondly, a good leader has ability to encourage and influence others to do what he/she wants.

Marker’s research illustrates several similarities with George B. Weathersby’s article called ‘Leadership vs. Management’ (1999). Both Weathersby (1999) and Marker (2010) state the fundamentals in management are commanding and controlling whereas leaders should be focus on how to persuade or encourage others (Weathersby, 1999, p.5; Marker, 2010, p.32). Furthermore, management could be seen as ‘//déjà vu//’, seen it all before. Whereby leadership usually deals with unseen situations, which can be called ‘//vu jàdé//’ (Grint, 2005, p.1472 //cited in// Siraviwat, 2014, p.3). Hence leader should have good sense of i//magination//, //vision// and //creativity//.

= Leadership Failure =

Before designing or introducing you to a new leadership approach, it is important to explore the existing leadership weaknesses. Hence, we can understand the problems from inside out and avoid repeating the same or similar mistakes. For Instance, [|Otto von Bismarck] who was a Prussian and German statesman, who died in 1898, stated that ‘the intelligence people learn from the mistake of others. If you learn from your mistake, you then be so called fool’. In the soul of Bismarck’s statement, we shall look at ‘what other leaders have done in the past that cause failures’.

According to Howard M. Guttman (2012) there are seven common ways that leader or executive fail in becoming successful. His research findings strongly support the notion that leaders can typically be over confident when they are in a leadership position. Developing this, he describes how leaders avoid feedback on their performances, stick to the status quo, hold onto technical prowess, limit their team performance, do not hold people account for success, and fail to build strong interpersonal relationships with their team (Guttman, 2012, p.17). These are seven easy and common mistakes that any leader or even us can fall into.

Case Study: Barack Obama and Monsanto
An interesting argument is put forward in the article ‘Obama: pass or fail?’ David E. Sanger (2008) shows a different view of leadership failure in various contexts. Throughout [|Obama]’s time as a president, he has endured an economic meltdown, passed a universal health care reform, and rescued the US auto industry. However, one of the most significant aspects of his presidency was in the elimination of Osama bin Laden in 2011; which increased his popularity by approximately 9 per cent to 57 per cent from the previous month (March 2011). Yet, his popularity did not last long, as in November the figures of his support dropped down to 43 per cent. Despite the fact that youth (aged 16-to 24) unemployment rates were still as high as 18 per cent and 8 per cent for young students graduating from collage and university (Sanger, 2012). Hence it can visibly be seen that his perceived trustworthiness among the American public had significantly declined. Furthermore, one of the worst decisions that Obama made in 2013 was to sign the “[|Monsanto Protection Act.]”, which was lobbied by the [|Monsanto Company] (Global Research Centre, 2013). This is also known as ‘[|HR 933]’ or [|GMO (genetically modified organisms)]bill (Global Research centre, 2013; Sheets, 2013). So why is this bill considered as one of Obama biggest mistakes?



Monsanto corporation: how does it effect our food consumption?
Monsanto is a worldwide leading [|genetic engineering] and agricultural [|biotechnology] corporation, based in the United States of America. Monsanto makes farmers believe that by buying their generic seeds, it will protect their crops from insects, and allow them survive in any weather condition and of course make them produce more profit (Null, 2013; Sheets, 2013). Mosanto’s interests do not just surround genetically modified crops but also now extend to animals, which are currently being tested and will probably be available for consumption (Null, 2013). Provide that, the bill ‘HR 933’ will protect and free Monsanto from any further claims of liability (e.g. cancer, environmental hazard and farmers’ right) in the future. In addition, Monsanto has the gained right to sue those farmers, who stop buying seeds from the company in relation to their agreed contract (Global Research Centre, 2013; Null, 2013; Sheets, 2013) In the long run, farmers buying these genetically modified seeds; cause many of the farmers to accumulate debt. This has even been linked to cases of farmers’ suicide in India (Barry, 2014).

Despite these consequences, as a leader, Obama has to take responsibility, by backing Monsanto a genetic engineering and agricultural biotech company. Therefore, being a leader is a difficult attribute that means there has to be new methods in approaching leadership, which will be explored in the next section, explain in more depth.

// Note: Visiting the video links for broader information about 'What Monsanto actually do' and 'how Monsanto and/or GMO's products could affect our health, farmers and animals'. //

media type="custom" key="25396790" width="108" height="108"

media type="custom" key="25397278"

= Induction to Imaginative Approach (IA) =

Despite the fact that every employee has different needs, skills and perceptions, the process of identifying individual performance is the most important element for effective leadership. This can be done through individual face-to-face discussions with employees. This will also allow managers and/or leaders to keep track of the progression of their employees. Medlar (2011) states a leader who fails to evaluate individual perceptions and apply a suitable approach of which relate to aforementioned identifications usually result in leadership failure. Additionally, most of the leadership theories and approaches are very complex and difficult to understand when trying to distinguish the fundamental principles of the authors’ theory. Hence, Washbush (2005) states almost all the leadership literature tend to force us to believe that the most important elements in leadership is that of the leaders behavior and personality (2005:1081), for example, leadership traits, situational leadership theory and contingency model. However, these are not the only factors that are paramount in establishing theories of leadership.

Accordingly, we are currently in a condition of competitive business, political tensions and economically unstable environments (Taranenko, 2012). Thus, leaders hold huge accountability for their companies’ success or failure. Hence they need to be in a position to adapt, and apply an appropriate approach in response to these changing conditions. Thus it is ultimately the leaders responsibility to maximise his/her level of flexibility within their role of leadership. Such a concept is seen as the corner stone of the IA with its vital elements being composed around //flexibility//, //innovation//, //trustworthiness// and an ability of //foresight//.

Leader’s Trustworthiness
In any leadership position, being a trusted leader is one of the most advantageous factors in directing a team. If someone chooses you to be a leader, it means that they trust you that you can do the job and lead the team to success. Therefore the first stage of becoming an amazing leader is to build trust and continuously improve your interpersonal relationship among your team members and organisation more widely. This can also apply within a family context. Whilst even if a leader is flexible, innovative or even has amazing foresight. Ultimately if a leader is //dishonest// to his employees (followers), they will not be abide and follow your decisions and/or commands. This would lead to failure within the company and the leaders themselves. In some economic conditions (e.g. crisis, bankruptcies or recessions) businesses need to make quick, steadfast and effective decisions. Therefore a loss of trustworthiness in leadership could cause massive failures. Furthermore, without being trusted by their followers, leaders are just like ‘the puppet on a string’, in the sense that they have no authoritative affect. However, there are five suggestive steps to enhance your level of trustworthiness and strengthen your authority.

Five steps developing leadership skills
The five suggestive steps are put forward by [|Dr. Frank Benest] (2009), who is an ICMA’s (International Capital Market Association) senior advisor in Palo Alto, California. His five leadership development steps are:
 * //**Step 1**//**:** //Reevaluating your previous experiences// – it is vital to step back and have a think about your past experience (Benest, 2009). Such experiences may not be related to your new leadership position (Benest, 2009). Hence, at the first stage, you must gradually learn on the job through experienced subordinates, thus you should not perceive yourself as a boss.
 * //**Step 2**//**:** //Searching for volunteering opportunities// – some people may find volunteer jobs as a waste of time and opportunity. However, Benest (2009) argues that being a volunteer would help leaders to develop both leadership and negotiation skills in various environments (2009:11). Furthermore, such volunteering will strengthen your CV for your next job application.
 * //**Step 3**//**:** //Applying for L/M training course(s)// – touching on my earlier statement regarding to the current unstable business environment, a leader should attend to extra training course(s) to ensure that your leadership style and/or strategies are up to date. Moreover, training courses will offer you opportunities to exchange, practice and share your L/M knowledge.
 * //**Step 4**//**:** //Demanding for L/M opportunities within your belonging organisation// – Benest (2009) states ‘the only way to learn or improve your leadership skills is to lead people’ (2009:11). These L/M opportunities, such as interim assignment, project leader, or supervising others can be acquired speaking to your superior. Since you have additional experiences, knowledge and skills, this might be a chance for you to shine.
 * //**Step 4a**//**:** //Self-evaluating your achievement// – It is always worth to stop and question yourself on whether you have achieved what you are aiming to achieve. This is because no one is ever perfect and there will be some room for improvements. An example of self-evaluating question could be ‘did you learn how to exert personal leadership without relying on having a full positional authority? (Benest, 2009, p.11 //cited in// Siraviwat, 2014, p.8)
 * //**Step 5**//**:** //Feedback from colleagues// – we all have to understand that as humans we usually act over optimistically about ourselves, when it comes to self-reflection. This sometimes minimises our opportunity to become a better person. Therefore, feedback from colleagues, mentors or coaches would allow us to refresh our mind.

Leader’s Innovative
As we are in the era of rapid technological development, the term ‘innovative/innovation’ becomes popular and important in our everyday life. Taranenko (2012) emphasises ‘the contradictions of the world development’ that are ‘caused by the influence of globalisation processes’ have ‘become more significant under the conditions of innovative technological changes’ (2012:123). The term innovative can simply be defined as a process of bringing in or introducing something new, in which the level of acceptance is unknown. This can be seen as introducing a new idea, method or device (Adair, 2007, p.5). According to Grint (2005), he states leaders are dealing with unknown situations. Thus, leaders are expected to apply a novel strategy in some leadership environments. Furthermore, Joanna Brash’s (2008) survey research with the number of companies’ senior executives also showed that ‘the majority of interviewees think innovation will be at least one of the top three drivers of growth for any companies in the next few years’ (Barsh et al. 2008). Therefore one of the most significant characteristics in leadership as we enter future is that of innovation. This has lead strategic thinkers to move beyond the traditional or old fashion product and/or service categories to explore the innovations in business processes, distributions value chains, business models, and even the functions of management (Barsh et al. 2008). I shall discuss an example of innovative leadership along with the ability to foresight as the two are inextricably linked.

= Innovative case study approach in leadership in different economical sector =

As presented before there are steps in order to be a successful leader, I will use two case studies of two particular people, which will give more of an understanding of how leadership is built and what techniques are used to make it successful. The first candidate is manager José Mourinho who has the ability to mix the relationship of a being a manager and being a leader at the same time drive his team into victory. Mourinho is currently a manager at Chelsea Football club, in his recent clubs and tournaments he has won 17 trophies, this indicates he has a unique ability to adapt in different environment and still be able to win major trophies. His five elements of success of being a brilliant leader are: 1. Work ethic: most leader have natural leadership skills, others have to learn leadership skills but the most important skills is having the drive, to be dedicated at work and the efforts you put in, going the extra mile to achieve your goals. “You must work hard and work well” (Mourinho, undated) a balanced concept of doing hard work and working effectively can lead success; otherwise it does not give the leadership the true ability to perceive. 2. Influential leader: That a leader must demonstrate strength and huge confidence. Has the ability to inspire people (essential co-worker and team leaders), when they are numerous disadvantage felt by people he is trying to inspire. Trusting the people you work with and their abilities in order to reach objectives and overall potential success. 3. Motivating Team leader: same principle of inspiration, but finding the right technique that makes your team leader able to co-ordinate a winning team, because individuals rarely achieve perfection therefore team-work pushes each others standard of your abilities to new level. 4. Man Management: ‘the most difficult thing is to lead men with different cultures, brains and qualities’ (Mourinho, undated) and ability to acquire to understand people and their individual differences. This might happen in the workplace so using this approach when it’s originated in the football industry can be useful in companies operation. 5. Master of communication: the art of communication is a key attribute to have in leadership skills. Leading a team ‘the secret is to control his emotions in order to relate to the team in a dynamic way, rather than shouting and screaming all the time.’ This will be the difference between failure and success, clear communication in business, needs to be clarified otherwise mis-communication could lead to misdirection and not meeting objectives and aims. Mourinho presents himself as a successful leader as he has lead the way for his previous clubs and current club into countless victories and trophies, making him a unique individual to learn his imaginative approach to leadership in workplace and different environment in order to practice a successful leader. His five elements have made a big impact on his career and the football industry, therefore applying his approach to leadership can be innovative for other leaders to follow.

Another case study is a Belgian teacher using a negative approach to leadership in order to gain authority from the students. Most of the students are well behaved but sometimes there are a percentage of pupils that disturb the class, a teacher has to manage and be a leader at the same time. The teacher used the principle ‘fear factor’ most of the student after school hours, watch a popular TV show called ‘Games of Thrones’ which is based on novels written by Geroge R.R. Martin, so the teacher took the initiative to read all the games of thrones book, as the TV shows are still a lot of episodes behind, before catching up with the latest novel written. So the teacher decided if the class misbehaves the teacher would write the names of key character being killed off, using a blackmail technique to discipline the children. This can be seen as an imaginative method to approach in leadership, but it is consider being a bad sign to motivate students to be learning in a classroom environment. If the method is working regardless of it being bad with no harm or consequence, the principle should be used in approach to leadership, gives a different perspective in order to command your unit in a workplace or in a different playing field. If this concept is used it would be against on of the key element of inspiring people to be motivated, people working for this particular method of a leader, there would be no happiness in he work-place. In the book one minute manager, it identifies two managers: one who is prescient on workers getting in on time and delivering on meeting on objectives and aims. The other manager is laid back, no motivated, and lets employees come whenever they want, applying the friend concept. The same outlines can be portrayed in leadership, where one leadership pushes his own voice and commands that the person be taken serious, whereas another will look to reason, would not be approaching to finish any set goals or objectives.

Leader’s Foresight
We all know that in every leading position, such as CEO, manager or even if you are the head of your family’s finances, you tend to make many strategic decisions, which are based on predicting future events. This means that the important key factor for success in any leader role is to understand what the future may entail. Arguably, to prevent the misunderstanding of the term foresight, Randy Emelo (2011) suggests ‘vision often flows from the use of strategic foresight of which is different to guessing about the future or forecasting current trends into the future’ (2011:8). Alternatively, foresight strategies and decisions should outline future opportunities that are emerging and planning how to make the most of them today. This is difference to applying current trends to the future, which consist of different conditions than that of the present. However, in an organisational context, a leader’s foresight and vision should not always focus on an unseen future. Instead it should also consider and embraces the past events and situations, which can be indicative of patterns and implications which may arise in the future (Emelo, 2011, p.8).



Corporate case study: Steve Job (Apple Inc.)
[|Steve Jobs], who was an ex-CEO of [|Apple Inc.] He is one of the most common examples of a leader with incredible innovation and foreseeable vision. During his career operating as CEO of Apple Inc., he had been frequently challenged to design products and services that were desired or thought of as unthinkable consumers. The few examples of Apple Inc. products and services, which were introduced by Steve Jobs were the iPod, iPhone, iPad, iTunes and Apple TV. These products of innovation captured the world’s attention, and offered consumer happiness by giving them the latest in technological advancement. In comparing both Apple Inc. and [|Microsoft Corporation], both companies’ product and leadership approach are innovative and apply the visionary of foresight. However, Dolliver (2010) states that Apple wins the prize in such areas and in turn they should gain recognition in their superior innovative development over Microsoft (2010:19). This is purely on account of their attractive new product’s presentation, which Microsoft is still far behind in achieving (2010:19). Moreover, some can argue that Steve Job was trusted because of is intelligence as a //nerd//. Due to his life profile ([|Jobs: film], 2013), he was always being seen as hardworking, risk-taking, clever and innovative – hence, these enhance his trustworthiness to both create and be admired by his unique company’s culture.

// Note: Visiting the video links for biography of Steve Jobs life (official trailer and full movie) //

media type="custom" key="25429094" align="left"
media type="custom" key="25429714"

Leader’s Flexibility
The simplest definition from Encarta Dictionary (//cited in// Barad 2013) states ‘being flexible is the capability to bend without breaking’ (2013: 6803). This can be extended to its context within leadership. This is, as leaders require adaptability and responsiveness to various changes - thus, they need to apply suitable approaches in different situations. Additionally, leaders need to bear in mind that it is their accountability to manage their time, availability, and strategy, which can bring the most effective results from their employees.

Case Study of Flexible Organisational Culture in School and University
School and university organisations could be considered as a flexible organisational structure. This is because teachers have full authoritative power to design their classes, making decisions and planning their teaching secessions – thus, teachers are in the position of sharing the leadership role with the principle. Hence, the results of flexible culture in such organisations have directly motivated and increased teacher productivity levels and creates a lively teaching environment. In addition, Stegall and Linton (2012) sate being the principle and holding the position of both manager and leader of an organisation, it is important to listen and take on broad of the feedback from teacher, who can suggest areas in which the system can be improved and become more efficient (2012:64). This flexible organisational culture develops the students’ academic performance by approximately 21.5 per cent between 2006 and 2010 (Stegall & Linton, 2012, p.65). Such application within a schooling system perhaps indicates the potential benefits of applying a flexible culture within leadership of a business organisation.

= Usefulness and Limitation of Imaginative Approach =

First of all the imaginative approach is new and has not been tasted on a real-life situation. However, in theory, IA would help the user to enhance their leadership skills effectively and helping them to progress in both the short-term and long-term. IA suggests that the greatest success in leadership is solely based on the leaders’ abilities to quickly adapt to changes and make the most out of future opportunities. The leadership knowledge about the previous assumptions that based on economy and technological development would enhance an effectiveness of this particular approach. In addition, it is equally important to know your employees from inside out before giving them command or authority – hence, everyone is different. Therefore, if you could achieve these aforementioned circumstances, you are then more likely to gain trust and respect among your team. Even though, you do not yet master the knowledge within your leadership area.

= References =

Anderson, B. (2013) 'Flexible, Agile, Innovative, Authentic'. //Leadership Excellence// [Online] Vol. 30 (12): 19-20. Available from:[]. [Accessed 8 March 2014].

Barad, M. (2013) 'Flexibility development – a personal retrospective'. //International Journal of Production Research//. 51(23/24): 6803-6816.

Barry, E. (2014) //After Farmers Commit Suicide, Debts Fall on Families in India// [Online] Available from: []. [Accessed 17 March 2014].

Barsh, J., Capozzi, M.M. & Davison, J. (2008) 'Leadership and innovation'. //Mckinsey Qyearwey// [Online] Vol. 1(1): 36-47. Available from: []. [Accessed 12 March 2014].

Benest, F. (2011) //Career Compass: An Anthology//. Washington: ICMA.

Boomer, L.G. (2012) 'Leadership, management and administration: What's the difference?'. //[|Accounting Today]// [Online] Vol. 26 (9): 34. Available from: []. [Accessed 12 March 2014].

Dolliver, M. (2010) 'Is Microsoft or Apple The More Innovative?'. //[|Adweek]// [Online] Vol. 51 (7): 19. Avaliable from: []. [Accessed 12 March 2014].

Emelo, R. (2011) 'Strategic Foresight'. //Leadership Excellence// [Online] Vol. 28 (3): 8. Available from: []. [Accessed 10 March 2014].

Global Research News (2013) //Monsanto Protection Act Signed By Obama, GMO Bill “Written By Monsanto” Signed Into Law// [Online] Available from: [|http://www.globalresearch.ca/monsanto-protection-act-signed-by-obama-gmo-bill-written-by-monsanto-signed-into-law/5329388]. [Accessed 17 March 2014].

Grint, K. (2005) ‘Problems, problems, problems: the social construction of Leadership’. //Human Relations//. 58 (11): 1467-1494.

Guttman, H.M. (2012) 'Seven Ways to Fail'. //Leadership Excellence//. [Online] Vol. 29 (11): 17. Available from: []. [Accessed 10 March 2014].

//Jobs// (2013) [DVD] Joshua Michael Stern. United State: Endgame Entertainment Five Star Feature Films.

Medlar, M. (2011) 'A Flexible Approach to Leadership'. //Public Management// [Online] Vol. 93 (2): 23. Available from: []. [Accessed 14 March 2014].

MOVIECLIPs Trailers (2013) //Jobs Official Trailer #1 (2013) - Ashton Kutcher Movie HD// [Online video] Available from: []. [Accessed 21 March 2014].

Null, G. (2013) //Seeds of Death: Unveiling The Lies of GMO's - Full Movie//. [Online video] Available from: []. [Accessed 18 March 2014].

Rutter, K. (2013) //GMO A-Go-Go An informative Anti-Monsanto Cartoon// [Online video] Available from: []. [Accessed 17 March 2014].

Sanger, D.E. (2012) 'Obama: Pass Or Fail?'. //New York Times Upfront// [Online] Vol. 144 (8): 12-15. Available from: []. [Accessed: 10 March 2014].

Sheets, C.A. (2013) //Monsanto Protection Act: 5 Terrifying Things To Know About The HR 933 Provision// [Online] Available from: []. [Accessed 17 March 2014].

Siraviwat, T. (2014) //Guide to leadership and Management//. Bath: Bath Spa University.

Stegall, D. and Linton, J. (2012) 'Teachers in the lead'. //Phi Delta Kappan// [Online] Vol. 93 (7): 62-65. Available from: []. [Accessed 13 March 2014].

Stern, J.M. (2013) // Jobs (Full Movie) (2013) //. [Online video] Available from: []. [Accessed 21 March 2014].

Taranenko, I.V. (2012) 'The Globalization and Innovation Development of Counties at Unstable Economic Environment'. //Review of General Managemen//t. 15(1): 122-133.

Washbush, J.B. (2005) 'There is no such thing as leadership, revisited'. //Management Decision//. 43 (7/8): 1078-1085.

Weathersby, G.B. (1999) 'Leadership vs. Management'. //Management Review// [Online] Vol. 88 (3): 5. Available from: []. [Accessed 10 March 2014].

Mourinho, J. (undated) //Live and Learn consultancy: Top 5 leadership tips form Jos////é// //Mourinho// [Online] Available from: [] [Accessed on: 13.05.2014]

Blanchard, K. and Johnson, S. (2011) //One minute Manager// .London: Harper

Wyatt, D (2014) //Games of Throne spoiler threats used by teacher to silence noisy students// [Online] Available from: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/game-of-thrones-spoiler-threats-used-by-teacher-to-silence-noisy-class-9212670.html[Accessed on: 13.05.2014]

Gurney, J. (2014) //Games of Thrones spoiler threats silences disruptive class// [Online] Available from: [] [Accessed on: 13.05.2014]