\"CH2MHill Leadership\" - When Kurt Workman, digital communications manager CH2M
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Question
"CH2MHill Leadership" - When Kurt Workman, digital communications manager CH2M Hill, thinks about leadership, he thinks of it along a spectrum. On one side is a leader who is liked by everyone; on the other, is someone who is feared by everyone in the organization. To Workman, a great leader is someone who falls in the middle of this spectrum, and who is respected. He lists the traits of a great leader and discusses a project manager he worked with who exemplified great leadership. "CH2MHill Human Resource Management" - Finance director Heidi Debeneditti discusses the process CH2M Hill uses when looking for the right employees and how to retain these employees. It starts very early—before a job is ever posted. Debeneditti emphasizes how important it is to think about what the role will do, expectations, how the role might evolve, and the type of personality that would best fit. She also discusses the challenges of dealing with long-term employees who do not like change and how critical communication is in these situations. After watching the two videos above, discuss leadership characteristics versus management characteristics with respect to CH2M Hill. Consider the link between leadership, management, and human resources in any organization. Then, comment on how management and leadership facilitate strategic management through the Human Resource function and discuss any legal issues that could evolve from this process. Remember, if you refer to someone else's thoughts, ideas, or words, you must include in-text citations and a reference page. As per the syllabus, you must substantially post your answer and thoroughly respond to at least two other students by the due date shown on the Course Calendar. Follow the Discussion Board Rubric, which is provided here and within the Course Resources module. This assignment is worth 20 points. Late postings and/or responses will not be accepted.
Explanation / Answer
Human civilization has developed under the able leadership of people from different spheres of life ranging from science to politics. The world has faced several difficult situations ranging from food shortage to wars but it has still managed to stay on track of growth and prosperity (Toney, 2012). This has only been possible because of the able and dynamic leadership displayed by great men over centuries. A lot of research and study have been carried on the field of leadership in order to understand the different characteristics and skill sets of a leader. One such theory that has been identified is the exemplary leadership practice. There are certain attributes or traits which are quite common among great leaders and exemplary leadership identifies those qualities. There has been a detailed discussion about the leadership principles in this framework and how to implement them in an organizational setting in the following sections.
There are several leadership theories that have been identified through research and study. Two of the most popular theories among them have been the transactional and transformational leadership. Transactional leadership is about creating well defined processes and systems in an organization. The subordinates are instructed to follow orders as defined by the leader in a transactional leadership environment. The reward and punishment structure is implemented in order to encourage favourable behaviour and discourage anything which is not approved by the leader. One the other, the structure which is implemented by a transformational leader is all about inspiring the subordinates and making them believe in the common goal as created by the leader. In this situation, a leader shares his or her vision with the subordinates who then work collaboratively to achieve the common goal of the organization.
There are several aspects of leadership which need to be looked into before giving judgment about one’s capabilities. Over the years several attempts have been made to understand the concept of leadership and the skills required for such talent. Research that has been done in the domain of leadership theory has led to the development of two prominent theories namely the trait theory and behavioural theory. Trait theory is one which is in favor of stating that leadership is an inborn quality and the attributes or skills required for becoming leaders comes from within and are incorporated at birth. Leaders cannot be made is the cornerstone of this theory (Marques, 2016). However there is another school of thought like the behavioural theory which talks about the behavioural based experiences gathered by one during his life journey which makes him a leader. Leadership is something which can be acquired through experiences, indulging in new challenges and connecting with people from various walks of life. The attributes or traits that are developed within a person is a direct result of the work that they have done, interaction they had with the people around them and the kind of challenges they faced in their life.
Therefore, leadership should be looked into as a process rather than a position. Management is about getting things done in the limited resources that are available at one's disposal. Leadership is about creating a sustainable future for the organization by using human resource as one of the core assets. It is about developing the core capability in line with the vision and mission of the company. This is how leadership, management and human resource all comes together in an organziation.
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