Research Paper on Organizational Leadership

Introduction

In an organization, some people are considered to be answerable to the people above them in the hierarchy of power. When a person earns the title manager, the can be said to be a leader (Maxwell, 2012). Leaders make decisions that influence the running of the organizations where they work, which is why they are expected to be inspirational, knowledgeable and influential enough to gain respect among his or her subjects. Subjects are people who depend on the decisions of the leaders to help them execute mandates in organizations (Boatmun, 2017). In the case of social or cultural leaders, they represent the expectations of the people from the group they represent. Identifying a leader from the other members of a cultural or social group is simply through pointing out the one who controls the groups (Maxwell, 2012). In the case of an organization, a leader inspires the other workers in the organization. Hence, they are bound to believe in them, follow their instructions and have faith that the decisions they make will help in achieving the goals of the organization. In organizations, the levels of leadership place people in the positions that make their decisions influence the company at different levels (Boatmun, 2017). However, in most cases of small business or privately owned business, individuals might be the manager and the rest of the workers in the organization are floor workers. Since the person interviewed in this case was the Choctaw Casinos Resort's Manager on Duty, his mandates and job descriptions including being in a position of decision making defines him as a high ranking leader in the organization. Based on the descriptions of a leader above, the interviewee, can be called a leader as he has subjects who depend on his instructions and he influences the activities that take place at the Casino whenever he is on Duty. The responses given by the interviewee during the interview are important in describing his leadership skills as they represent what he believes in and what he does in situations such crisis. Studying the responses against the course material is important in grading the quality of his leadership. There are differences and similarities between the responses by the interviewee and the course materials that need to be explored.

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One similarity between the response by the interviewee and the course materials is the leadership philosophy of leading by example. Since employees and subjects depend on the inspirations, directions, and knowledge of the leader, in this case, the manager, it is important that he leads from the top. He can do this by leading an exemplary life, having the right education and being resourceful enough to earn the respect of his subject (Mackoff, 2014) s. Leaders who lead by example, as put by the interviewee, inspires trust to the extent that the subjects do not feel like they are conflicting their interests when they have a matter to consult (Boatmun, 2017). The Casino manager stated that he leads by example so that his subjects can trust in his decision making. When a leader does not walk the talk, that is, he does not dress or is knowledgeable enough about the company policies and operations, his decisions can be easily disputed by the people. An aspect of trust development through good leadership is also expressed in the response by the interviewee (Mackoff, 2014). From the course materials, the building of trust makes a person in a position of leadership to have their mandates executed faster as the subjects do not have doubts in the ability of the leader to make rational decisions. Leading by example in leadership means being above the average by being ahead of the employees in terms of thinking of solutions to problems (Maxwell, 2012). Besides, leaders must also be able to accept corrections and ideas from others so that his ideas can also be accepted by his subjects.

On the question of the most important aspects of being an effective supervisor, the interviewee cited knowledge and confidence. These traits are among the many traits of a supervisor. First, one cannot be employed as a supervisor when they do not have the required skills and knowledge on what they are supposed to supervise. Since supervisors are expected to lead the employees to the right answers, it is important that they have the right answers first. More than anyone else in an organization, the supervisor should have the deepest possible knowledge on the processes they are supposed to supervise as they are supposed to have the ability to point out mistake early enough so that they be corrected in time (Master Class, 2012). The supervisors should be able to understand the abilities of the workers so that I case of delegation of new projects they can effectively delegate the corresponding responsibilities based on the abilities of the workers. Supervisors in businesses such the Hotel and Casinos, they should understand what is expected of the people serving the customers as well as the rules that need to be observed by the customers so that he or she can be fair in passing judgment in case an argument starts between an employee and a customer. Being a good supervisor, as stated by the interviewee, means that he has to make sure that the customers do not lose their profits in the gambling game. Based on this, one can say that the interviewee is aware of the basic and most important qualities of a supervisor (Master Class, 2012). A manager should be able to assume the role of most of the other leaders in the organization as he or she is expected to be all-rounded in terms of the knowledge necessary in running all the affairs of the organization or business (Boatmun, 2017). It can, therefore, be said that the response by the interviewee has a similarity to the course material on the qualities of a good supervisor and the reason why supervisors need to have such qualities.

Another important similarity is in response to the question of the important aspects of being effectively supervised. When a supervisor has observed an employee for a long time, they get to know if they are interested in their job, if they enjoy what they do and if they can be trusted to work under little or no supervision (Covey, 2012). According to the interviewee, when the supervisor or the boss stop being worried about an employee is doing, it is a sign that he or she has been effectively supervised and has mastered what needs to be done averagely well. The interviewer insinuates that second-guessing employees and having the supervisors watch over their shoulders constantly indicate that they can still make mistakes and so the supervisor cannot entrust the activities, processes or assignments to them under little or no supervision (Covey, 2012). Supervision by leaders is meant to observe what the employees can or cannot do when they are left to work on projects by themselves. However, when the employees show that they have a vast or adequate knowledge in what is expected of them, the supervisor is only left with one aspect to look into, which is the commitment. Once an employee is committed, he or she will do the right thing even when he or she is not under the watchful eyes of the supervisor (Maxwell, 2012). It can, therefore, be said that the interviewee echoed the entails of the coursework as regards the fundamentals of supervision as understood by the worker.

On the question of structuring the day and determining what the priority is, the interviewee said he first assess what is of priority when he gets to work. He sets priorities on need basis as he claims everyday things are different, and so are the priorities. Assessment is one of the ways through which a manager can analyze the available list of responsibilities and set priorities right. Setting priorities is important as one needs to address what is of utmost importance first, rather than jumbling up issues and risking being caught up with deadlines (Covey, 2012). Managers who plan their work schedule in the morning when they arrive at work always assess the schedule and arrange the activities according to their deadlines and importance. Prioritizing tasks helps save time, deliver on orders that that should be done in a certain order and increase productivity. Since gambling is done by the use of machines, it is proper that the manager ensure that they are working efficiently so that the customers will get the service they pay for. From the response of the interviewee, serving the interests of the customers is among the priorities he has. Some of the challenges that he tries to find solutions to include customer disappointment such as loss of the profits he or she makes during gambling. It is therefore correct to say that the client addressed the issue of prioritization of responsibilities according to the leadership course readings.

However, on the structuring of days, which means planning the days as a leader, some similarities and differences with the way leaders ought to structure their days. In my opinion, I think the difference is caused by the negligence the interviewee had. The negligence is in the way the plan given by the interviewee did not include anything to do with the personal life. Leaders have a personal life that must be included in their schedules (Kaufman, 2012). The personal life, in this case, includes family, religious endowment, leisure, friends among other non-work related engagements that are equally important in the life of a leader. Leaders should not neglect their responsibilities to their family just because their schedules are tight (Maxwell, 2012). Family time is one of the things that leaders should take seriously so that he or she can inspire the subjects positively. According to the response by the interviewee, his schedule only includes work, as he claims he has a lot to accomplish and so he sometimes plans a two-week schedule. What makes the claims less of a leader like is that he acts as if his life is all about work, yet in another instance, he claims that he loved his children when he was asked about his favorite quote. In my view, this is a contradiction that should not be in a leader. One important quality of a leader is consistency in action that is also expressed in words (Maxwell, 2012). A leader who does not have time for the family can be said to lack compassion, which is a necessity as one is not only a leader at work but also at home.

According to the employee, solutions to challenges or issues that face organizations require different approaches and solutions. The interviewee claimed that he faces a lot of challenges by handles them successfully because he treats then distinctly. That is a good characteristic of a leader as he acknowledges the fact that one should not run away from challenges, but seek solutions. Seeking solutions implies that his business runs regardless of the threats and challenges that would make other leaders fret and opt for closing down the business (Kaufman, 2012). For instance, he was faced with the tornado, that would sweep the Casino, even after he received a warning from the police that the casino should be evacuated, instead of following the advice, he followed the instinct that told him that the effect of the tornado will remain in the other part of the country and will not affect the business. This makes him a leader who looks for extraordinary solutions to problems if needed. Sometimes, the answers leaders look for a lie in confidence they have in their instinct (Kaufman, 2012). The interviewee's instinct saved his business and made him protect the interests of his customers who would have missed the services of their beloved casino. According to the course materials, a leader should be a person who is solution oriented, that makes the interviewee a quality leader who is a solution seeker and not a runaway from responsibilities and challenges. When a pe...