The Role of Contemporary Leaders in Organizations

As opined by Macdonald, Burke and Stewart (2017), the leaders within the spectrum of the contemporary organizations are increasingly playing an important role and as a matter of fact they have become an integral part of the organizations itself. Murphy and Louis (2018) are of the viewpoint that the contemporary leaders are required to perform not only the job roles of the leaders but at the same time they are imbued with the responsibilities of the managers as well. In this capacity, they are increasingly seen as the stewards of the business organizations and the fortunes of the organizations depend greatly on the effectiveness with which they are being able to dispense their job roles (Randel et al. 2018). In this regard, it needs to be said that they are no longer entrusted with the job roles of leading and motivating the subordinates but at the same time they need to offer mentoring, coaching, participate in performance management, create effective job designs and other similar kinds of job roles within the framework of the organizations (Wagner 2016). Thus, it can be said that the leaders have emerged as an indispensible part of the contemporary organizations.   

According to Shirey (2017), positive leadership is generally defined as the kind of leadership which believes in bring together for the attainment of a common purpose or goal or objective. More importantly, Nel, Stander and Latif (2015) have articulated the viewpoint that the positive leaders are required to help the followers to set various kinds of milestones for the attainment of the overall goals or the objectives outlined by the followers. Furthermore, it is seen that the individuals taking the help of this framework of leadership are required to take into effective consideration the entities of ethics and morals and establish effective relationship with the subordinates, which will be based on these values (Gordon 2017). The primary of this is to obliterate favoritism in the workplace and thereby create the kind of environment within the workplace wherein the employees would feel motivated to perform in a much better manner (Luthans and Youssef-Morgan 2017).

Rego, Lopes and Nascimento (2016) are of the viewpoint that the entity of character traits distinguishes the leaders from the followers and also the leaders are required to have various kinds of character traits which are likely to help them to complete their job roles in an effective manner. In this regard, it needs to be said that the positive leaders are required to possess various kinds of character traits like effective communication, critical decision making, time management, motivating, coaching and others (Luthans, Youssef and Avolio 2015). Furthermore, the positive leaders are required to ensure the fact that the concepts of ethics and morals should dictate their actions and also the manner in which they deal with the followers who are associated with. As opined by Zubair (2015), the central lacuna of the positive leaders behind the usage of these traits is to ensure the fact that the job productivity of the employees is enhanced in a positive manner. In addition to these, the positive leaders through the usage of ethical practices are required to reduce the work stress of the workers and also ensure that they are able to maintain work-life balance so as to enhance the well-being of these employees (Olaniyan and Hystad 2016).  

Defining Positive Leadership and Its Importance

As stated by Carleton, Barling and Trivisonno (2018), one of the most important job roles of the various positive leaders is to positively enhance the productivity of the different followers who are associated with them. In this regard, it needs to be said that the positive leaders through the use of ethics are not only required to create ethical relationships with the followers but at the same time are required to develop as well as utilize the psychological capital of the different employees in an effective manner (Bouckenooghe, Zafar and Raja 2015). This is important from the perspective that the overall productivity of the employees depend significantly on the manner in which the psychological capital of these individuals is being developed and also utilized for the completion of the job roles that they are performing. More importantly, the positive leaders through the use of ethics and removal of favoritism create the kind of workplace wherein the employees are able to perform as per their maximum capacity. This is directly related to their productivity since recent researches have revealed the fact that the entity of organizational culture had a positive impact on the employees (Friend et al. 2016). In addition to this, it is seen that the positive leaders try to enhance the engagement among the different employees so as to enhance the productivity of the employees.     

Chughtai, Byrne and Flood (2015) have articulated the viewpoint that the contribution made by the positive leaders within an organization becomes not only apparent in the enhancement of the productivity of the employees but at the same time in the manner in which they contribute towards the wellbeing of the employees. As opined by Goswami et al. (2016), the productivity of the employees depends greatly on the extent to which they are being able to handle the work pressure or stress and also on the level of engagement among the different employees. In this regard, it needs to be said that the positive leaders by virtue of the creation of ethical relationships with the followers try to create the kind of workplace environment wherein the employees would feel less stress or pressure. For the attainment of this they try to enhance the engagement level among the different employees which is important not only from the perspective of wellbeing but at the same time from the perspective of productivity as well (Othman et al. 2018). It is seen that through the process of employee engagement the employees can not only reduce the stress felt by them through engagement or communication but also learn new skills from their colleagues as well. Thus, the positive leaders through the removal of favoritism try to create the kind of environment wherein the employees feel less stress and are also able to work in a much better manner.

Character Traits and Ethical Practices of Positive Leaders

Carasco-Saul, Kim and Kim (2015) have articulated the viewpoint that the emotional laborers are the ones who are required to actively utilize their emotional abilities for the job roles that they are required to perform. Some of the examples of the emotional laborers are the nurses, care-givers, writers and others who are not only required to understand the emotions of the people that they are dealing with but at the same time are required to utilize their emotional capabilities for the completion of their job roles (Gordon 2017). In this regard, it needs to be said that the positive leaders are required to effectively the psychological capital of these kinds of employees like hope, optimism and others so that they are being able to complete their job roles in an effective manner and also perform as per the expectation of the clients.  

As stated by Wagner (2016), the concept of psychological capital can be defined as the entities which help in the positive development of the individuals so that they are being able to complete their job roles in an effective manner. According to American Psychological Association (2019), the psychological capitals of the individuals are hope, optimism, resilience and self-efficacy. This is important not only from the perspective of the mental health of the individuals but at the same time from the perspective of the cognitive development of these individuals as well. The net result of this is that the organizations and also the leaders take the help of different kinds of measures for the effective development of the various psychological capitals of the workers so as to enhance their productivity and also wellbeing in an effective manner (Shirey 2017). In this regard, it needs to be said that the major psychological capital of the emotional laborers like nurses, care-givers and others are hope and optimism.   

There are various strategies which the positive leaders use for the enhancement of the productivity as well as the wellbeing of the employees like emotional intelligence, employee engagement, ethical relationships, effective communication and others (Murphy and Louis 2018). More importantly, each of these strategies is intended to develop the psychological capital of the employees and thereby enhance the productivity as well as wellbeing of the employees through the effective utilization of these psychological capitals (Macdonald, Burke and Stewart 2017). Furthermore, the stress of these kinds of leaders is on the creation of ethical relationships with the followers and also the creation of the kind of workplace place wherein the individuals would not only be able to develop their psychological capital but at the same time be able to effectively utilize them as well.

Enhancing Employee Productivity through Positive Leadership

Randel et al. (2018) are of the viewpoint that the tool of employee engagement is perhaps one of the most important ones which is being used by the positive leaders for the creation of ethical relationship among the employees and also for the enhancement of their performance. The primary objective of the positive leaders behind the usage of this strategy is to offer the kind of opportunity to the employees through the usage of which they would not only be able to enhance their skills but at the same time would be able to develop their psychological capital in a positive manner (Luthans and Youssef-Morgan 2017). This becomes especially important from the perspective of the emotional laborers like nurses, care-givers and others since they are not only required to communicate actively with their clients but also use their emotions for the completion of their job roles. More importantly, through the use of this strategy the workers get the required opportunity to speak about their job and thereby release the work related stress that they face (Othman et al. 2018). Thus, the strategy of employee engagement if utilized in an effective manner can not only enhance the productivity but at the same time the wellbeing of the employees as well.  

The positive leaders for the effective utilization of the construct of employee engagement can take the help of different kinds of measures or exercises. For example, organization of regular social or recreational events wherein the employees would get the opportunity to interact with each other in an effective manner is one such exercise that the positive leaders can utilize (Carasco-Saul, Kim and Kim 2015). Secondly, creation of social media groups wherein the employees would be able to interact with each and also share the problems that they are facing while learning new skills from their colleagues is another exercise that the positive leaders can take the help of for the enhancement of employee engagement among the employees (Chughtai, Byrne and Flood 2015).

Recent researches have revealed the fact that the construct of employee engagement had a positive impact on the productivity as well as the wellbeing of different kinds of employees including the emotional laborers (Murphy and Louis 2018). For example, through the effective usage of this constructs the emotional laborers are being able to positively release the work stress that they feel on the score of the work activities that they need to perform (Gordon 2017). In addition to this, the nurses, care-givers and other kinds of emotional laborers are required to use effective communication skill and also utilize their emotions for the completion of their different job roles (Friend et al. 2016). Furthermore, the effective usage of this framework also enhances the job satisfaction level of the employees and thereby reduces the rate of employee turnover (Othman et al. 2018). The framework of employee engagement thus offers them the opportunity to not only develop their communication skills but also offers them the opportunity to utilize their emotions in their day-to-day activities.  

Creating a Positive Work Environment for Emotional Laborers

Conclusion

To conclude, the framework of positive leadership has emerged as one of the most important forms of leadership in the present times because of the various benefits that it renders to the followers and also the organizations. For example, it is seen that the positive leaders through the usage of the entities of ethics and morals have been able to positively enhance the productivity as well as the wellbeing of the employees. More importantly, it is seen that the positive leaders also helps the workers to effectively develop as well as utilize the psychological capital that they have for the completion of different kinds of job roles.

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