Leadership in Organisation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Leadership in Organisation - Essay Example There is a growing presence of women in almost all aspects of employment, and particularly in top management positions, in recent years. The contribution of women, in executive level in organizational success over the years, is unprecedented, thus indicating their strong leadership skills and professionalism at the workplace. There is also a change in their social expectations, and their advocacy by various groups, to ensure equal opportunities at the workplace has further ensured honing of such skills. It is on account of these reasons, that the performance of women managers and leaders, that the case for a strong ethical leadership, irrespective of the gender, has gained momentum. Furthermore, the rise in complexity and composition of the global markets has expanded the scope of businesses as never before, thus leading to more pressure on the top level management to perform and excel in their respective fields. Such external factors have led to retention and promotion of skilled wo men in managerial positions, across all levels in the organizational hierarchy. Such an increase in female corporate leaders in recent times can be attributed to the changing dynamics of the industry, as well as the change in conventional definitions and practices of the concept of leadership in general. Contrary to the conventional definition of the concept, leadership in the post-industrialized era refers to the ability of individuals to motivate, empower and engage the employees and subordinates, and team members as well as empathize with them. (Hammer & Champy, 1994; Senge, 1994). Research suggests that there is still a vast difference between the leadership and management styles followed by male and female leaders. It is on account of this reason that the proverbial ‘glass ceiling’ still exists in terms of appointment of women in top management positions particularly in fields such as finance and technology. According to Schein (2001) the ‘think manager, think male’ approach to appointing individuals in top leadership positions, ex ists in various countries across the globe, despite the change in socio-cultural environment, and the advancement of policies advocating equal opportunities to women. It has also been observed that in the developed