What is Organizational Leadership?
7 Min Read
Leadership is essential in any workplace, especially with the rise of flexible work environments and a remote-first culture. In modern workplaces, traditional management techniques alone are not enough to tip the scales of productivity. Today, rallying a workforce toward common goals is more valuable to the organization than managing employee hours and output.
Organizational leadership, a management approach that involves guiding and influencing teams toward common goals, can help companies grow and prosper in the changing business landscape.
Organizational Leadership vs. Traditional Leadership
While traditional team leadership focuses on managing people toward static goals, organizational leadership is about long-term planning and optimizations to maximize a group’s potential. This difference affects how managers think about leadership. Traditional leadership primarily focuses on routines and guidelines, and organizational leadership is concerned with a broader scope view that allows for flexibility and innovation.
A company with solid organizational leadership will encourage employees to innovate and adapt instead of maintaining the status quo. This approach can increase an organization’s agility and its ability to adjust to the changing business landscape. While traditional managers focus on day-to-day operations and task management, organizational leaders motivate workers to see beyond the current way of doing things and exceed expectations.
Here are some highlights of the differences between the two approaches:
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Working as an organizational leader takes a unique approach. Those transitioning to an organizational leadership approach must gain skills to lead with a new outlook.
Organizational Culture and Leadership: What Makes Organizational Leaders Effective?
Organizational leadership blends strategic thinking and inspiring management to achieve key goals over time. Based on principles and practices that define how leaders guide, influence, and motivate teams in an organization, organizational leadership helps a group achieve common goals and adapt to changes in their environment.
Managers taking an organizational leadership approach define their team’s vision, objectives, and direction. These leaders must be able to make critical decisions, pivot with changes, allocate resources and time efficiently, and keep the organization’s vision in mind. It’s vital that they create a positive workplace that cultivates the best in their team members and encourages differences, collaboration, and creativity. Successful organizational leaders inspire employees to do their best, contribute to excellence, communicate clearly, and achieve business and personal goals.
This important role can shape an organization’s culture and ultimately determine whether workers are achieving their full potential and fulfilled by their work. Effective organizational leaders can have an incredible impact on a company’s success. Where leadership is lacking, companies may experience high turnover costs. A 2019 survey from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) found that one in three people say their manager doesn’t know how to lead them. The survey also noted, “Nearly three in 10 employees lack trust in their manager to treat them fairly, while another three in 10 workers say their manager doesn’t encourage a culture of open and transparent communication.”1
Knowing that poor leadership can have such adverse effects on an organization, it’s essential to recognize what makes leadership effective.
Key Principles of Effective Organizational Leadership
An organizational leader understands an organization’s structure, workers’ motivations and strengths, and how to achieve success. Each organization is different – no specific set of organizational principles will work across the board. Still, understanding the following will serve all organizational leaders well:
Communication:
Strong communication skills are vital when it comes to organizational leadership. A leader is only as strong as their ability to communicate common goals, provide feedback, and explain changes. Without clear communication from a leader, an organization will have a hard time finding its way and performing cohesively.
Empowerment:
Organizational leaders are less concerned with their abilities than they are with cultivating the talent in others. A good leader can bring out the best in their employees, empowering them to go above and beyond for their goals and the health of the organization.
Understanding:
To effectively encourage team members’ individual growth and performance, organizational leaders must understand people’s motivations, challenges, and goals. In addition, organizational leaders need a strong understanding of their business and industry to lead effectively.
Accountability:
For a work environment to encourage growth and innovation, accountability is essential. Leaders who hold themselves accountable set the tone for the rest of the organization, allowing teammates to count on each other and communicate after failures.
Adaptability:
The idea of being fluid with processes, ideas, and output takes a level of adaptability. An organizational leader should be able to adapt their leadership style to motivate individual employees and encourage others to adapt to changing business landscapes, processes, and more.
An organizational leader must break down barriers to employees’ full potential. Overall, anything a leader can do to make their employees feel heard, safe, and able to grow will help a company benefit from organizational leadership approaches.
Opportunities for Women in Organizational Leadership
In a 2021 study by behavioral scientist Mansi P. Joshi, researchers found that the presence of a female leader led people to anticipate fairer treatment than they would expect from a male leader.2 In addition, a 2022 study led by M. Asher Lawson, a researcher who looks at the science of decision making, stated, “The present research suggests that appointing women to the top tiers of management can mitigate these deep-rooted stereotypes that are expressed in language.”3
The perception of fair treatment and transition away from stereotypes helps organizational leaders ensure their employees thrive. When people feel comfortable and cared for, they’re more likely to innovate, create, and care about the work they’re doing, leading to the positive effects that organizational leaders want to generate.
It’s encouraging for women pursuing career growth that the principles of this type of leadership embody perceptions that many women encourage in the workplace.
Organizational Leadership Training: How Do You Become an Organizational Leader?
Earning a bachelor’s in organizational leadership online at The American Women’s College (TAWC) of Bay Path University is a significant first step toward becoming an effective organizational leader. The degree empowers you to pursue management roles and advance your career with an organizational leadership approach. You’ll graduate ready to think entrepreneurially, make evidence-based decisions, and inspire employees with confidence.
Our graduates are prepared to make positive changes in their organizations. TAWC students get expert instruction and leadership training from industry professionals who prepare you for the real challenges of advanced roles and ensure you can thrive throughout your career. In addition to a comprehensive curriculum, you’ll complete the We Empower Learners and Leaders (WELL) program, which can be found only at Bay Path. Over three courses, you’ll develop your leadership style and gain experience, allowing you to stand out for the role you want.
Get started on your 100% online Bachelor of Arts in Leadership and Organizational Studies.
The leadership and organizational studies major can also be taken as a Certificate in Leadership and Organizational Studies and applied to any online degree program, allowing you to specialize further in your area of study.
Sources
- “The High Cost of a Toxic Workplace Culture.” Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). Retrieved June 3, 2024 from https://www.shrm.org/content/dam/en/shrm/research/SHRM-Culture-Report_2019.pdf.
- Joshi, Mansi P. “My Fair Lady? Inferring Organizational Trust From the Mere Presence of Women in Leadership Roles. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. Retrieved May 31, 2024 from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/01461672211035957.
- Lason, M. Asher. “Hiring women into senior leadership positions is associated with a reduction in gender stereotypes in organizational language.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Retrieved May 31, 2024 from https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2026443119.