Understanding the effects of stress on organizational leadership is a growing field of study (Thompson, 2010). Leaders now have research to support the effects that stress can have on their thinking and decision making that affects the success or demise of the organizations they lead (Amabile & Kramer, 2011; Kaipa, 2014; Thompson, 2010). Great leaders under duress make decisions that they may not have made under pleasant situations. After all, leaders are human. In fact, the reason stress affects them proves it (Amabile & Kramer, 2011; Kaipa, 2014). Humans make decisions consciously and unconsciously from birth. The decisions result from several factors. Each member of the organization has a personal life of family, friends and community and an inner work life. One’s “inner work life is the confluence of perceptions, emotions, and motivations that individuals experience as they react to and make sense of the events of their workday” (Amabile & Kramer, 2011, p. 20). Organizational leaders, however, have the charge to make decisions not only for themselves but for the benefit of those they lead and the organization itself. Consequently, the inner work life of the leader touches the inner work life of all their employees and the successful operation of the company. This paper will explore the magnitudes stress has on a leader’s decision making process. First, it is imperative to understand the science and psychology behind and the components of a leader’s inner work life
He advances the idea that modern organizational superiors seek a sense of their own mortality through manipulation of people and objects at the expense of their subordinates. Slavery, he asserts, is the state of being a mere instrument, and the organization can reduce man to the stature of a thing. Instead of constructing human relationships on the outworn patterns of labor and authority he advances the alternative: leadership based on deriving meaning, action and continuity in our work in complex organizations. He suggests that leadership should not be seen as merely a position someone holds but rather as a dynamic that occurs within a group or organization. He suggests that the face-to-face encounter is the essence of freedom and it is also the primary unit of analysis in self-discoveries. This new definition of leadership has three essential functions: (1) to help the group or organization understand its needs and potential (2) integrate and articulate the group’s vision and (3) act as a "trigger" or stimulus for group action. When viewed developmentally, this form of leadership can be enabling and fulfilling in Denhardt's estimation. However, this places a very high value on communication skills and tilts again toward Freud: what we feel and why. Denhardt further advocates the notion that leadership should be distributed throughout society because leadership's essence is to create an energizing effect. The necessary
Emotions of a leader are so important in this aspect of leadership. It is through emotions that the leader will be categorized as ‘toxic’ or
Stress and anxiety in the average college student. Selye (1936) defined stress as “the non-specific response of the body to any demand for change” (The American Institute of Stress, 2017). Stress can lead to feelings of anxiety. Anxiety is a normal part of life, but can be considered a type of worry or fear that can inhibit everyday life. College students show higher stress/anxiety than average individuals. Major sources of stress are from new responsibilities, campus living, money issues, and classwork (Ross, Niebling, & Heckert, 1999). There have been a number of studies circled around how stress can affect college students. Females and males show differences in anxiety/stress in college. (Misra and McKean (2000)) found that females
Leadership is a process of social influence, which maximizes the efforts of others, towards the achievement of a goal. The article “Leadership That Gets Results” by Daniel Goleman is an article that helps readers understand that there is not only one way of becoming a successful leader. Research indicates that leaders with best results do not rely on only one leadership style. Goleman, describes leaderships styles as array of clubs in a golf pro’s bag. Over the course of the game, the pro picks clubs based on the demands of the shot. Thinking is involved during the selection, but usually it is automatic. The pro is aware of the challenge ahead, quickly utilizes the right tool, and puts it to work. It has also been found that emotional intelligence
The organization that will be the topic of my discussion in my final project paper will be Pratt Industries Inc.
Heifetz, R. A., & Laurie, D. L. (1997). The work of leadership. Harvard Business Review, 75(1),
An individual’s perspective and perception become their reality. We spend so many hours of our lifetime attempting to prove to others that we are correct about certain points or principles; perhaps we have drawn conclusions based on limited information that is not always correct. Worldview, culture, religion, family and many other factors influence our lives and the way that we think and view things. In business, the best way to make decisions is a corporate mentality, getting input from all of the key players involved. Individuals can develop tunnel vision and miss key points in situations that other eyes and minds may see. The best leaders listen to their subordinates, getting fresh ideas and learning
Work related stress has been emerging as one of the main causes of adverse symptoms of mental health in today’s industrial societies. The direct result of excessive pressures and/or demands placed on individuals at work, work-related stress has caused some people to develop symptoms of depression, anxiety, and other adverse mental health effects. While it might be possible that other co-factors contribute to the development of anxiety and depression in some population groups, evidence suggests that pressure from works is more likely to trigger adverse reactions in some people. In fact, positive correlations have been established between symptoms of work stress and mental health problems. That is, it is not uncommon to witness loss of
As a pervious leader, I have felt the strain of leadership in the past. What I have learned from this is that the only way to become victorious over stress and any problems is to persevere in everything. Stress is something we have all felt, especially in our time as high school students. But we do not let our stress rule us; we often are victorious over our problems, our stressors, our strife. Being a leader is indeed stressful. But I know that I can persevere over any stress, any problems, any strife that finds me on my road as Tri-M
Making prodigious decisions is an everyday challenge. A great deal of the time, those tough decisions is dependent on who it affects. Thus, when the impact of that decision touches thousands of individuals, the pressure is multiplied beyond measure. Moreover, there are several key factors that a great leader should keep in mind when the decision making time is ready. Firstly, will this pronounced decision compromise the safety of anyone? Secondly, how can the decision made by the leader be communicated throughout the workgroup?
The topic of leadership evokes curiosity about our leaders and their approaches in decision making, leadership styles and the effectiveness of their leadership. At time leaders are critiqued for their actions or views on different business affairs. In today’s working environment leaders set the tone, vision, and goals of any organization. Leadership has a huge impact on the culture of an organization and how people communicate within the organization (Northouse, 2009). The actions of leaders should inspire and positively impact their followers. The approach of leaders in handling adversities highlights many features of their character.
Being an effective leader is essential in making you and your team successful. Staying focused and dedicated takes time and effort but overall, gets the job completed. Tom Bigsby and Jennifer Wilks live very complex lives between home and work. The comparison between the two shows work capacity and emotional intelligence within the same industry. Both of them handle similar tasks, just in different atmospheres in which they are completed. Tom is faced with getting his annual budget required denied as it is viewed as unreasonable (Neck, Manz, & Houghton, 2017, p.182). Jennifer on the other hand, has her budget greatly appreciated on by the committee members during her proposal. Tom and Jennifer’s day consists of getting several tasks done in
This paper will highlight the world's leading psychologist's thinking and research towards leadership who examined leadership as the psychological process (Bligh and Meindl, 2005) .This paper will cover the diversity of topics covered in this field including; psychological concept of leadership; major key psychological theories underpinning leadership behavior, power and influences; cognitive process that categorize individuals as leaders and
Studies from different parts of the world made by different health organizations have showed that long working hours and pressured work lead to stress which affects the employees mentally and physically and leads indirectly to low productivity levels. Not only stress, but it can cause a lot more of health issues like extreme fatigue including sleepiness, poor concentration, and increased susceptibility to illness. These symptoms can a have a noticed effect on the general productivity of an organization.
Leader’s choices and actions are the result of the leader’s experiences (Bennis & Goldsmith, 1997). Leadership in organizations is driven by uncertainty. How leaders make decisions based on that uncertainty determines the performance of an organization (Hatch, 1997). Decisions are made on the basis of information available about various environmental variables. However, the variables are many and complex in nature. They may be related to political, economic, social, or other unknown variables. It is not possible to study all such variables in depth because of inadequate information or data. This leads to inaccuracy in decision-making.