AbstractThis report presents three (3) different types of contemporary leadership models through various published reports. Firstly, the impact of social media on the cognition of followers is presented, as it appears that an individual that is able to master their presence on social media today will thrive as a leader. Secondly, the views of the non-dominant leader are presented as well as how one may be forced to emerge as a non-dominant leader. Finally, the premise behind the traditional leadership styles of religious leaders is presented, as these models are often the most successful.
Introduction – Contemporary Leadership Models
Great leadership models always stand apart from mediocre attempts to steer an organization towards a common goal. Where some models fail, others (if applied correctly and effectively) will be destined to succeed. Of course the model that is selected in any mission or goal is not always key to success or any indicator that success will be achieved. It is noted that there are always considerations of attributes and outliers that cannot be quantified, but that determine if a leadership model will be successful. These include, resources, drive, feasibility, character of the individual leaders, goals, etc. This report investigates the writing of multiple authors whom provide their perspective of different leadership strategies and/or models. The three primary models investigated within this report are limited to: (1) Emerging forms of leadership, (2) Non-Dominant Leadership Paradigms, and (3) Traditional Leadership Paradigms. In order to apply a clear level of focus to the three (3) previously stated models, peer-reviewed sources will be selected and described. The articles chosen for this report, in addition to the models that will be described all fall under the category of “Contemporary Leadership Models”. It is noted that Contemporary Leadership is “An interpersonal influence directed toward the achievement of a goal or goals, where influence is defined as the power to affect others and goals are defined as the end results that one strives to attain,” (Leadership, 2011). Understanding the dynamic relationship between the leader, goals, and participants is the key to understanding how to apply different styles of contemporary leadership. This report assumes that one knows little about contemporary leadership styles and elaborates on the information that is provided within the referenced sources.
Emerging Leadership Paradigms – The Ties that Lead: A Social Network Approach to Leadership
A look at the mechanisms of any major political campaign (candidate or cause), indicates that social media presence is a must to win over any majority and to attain general support. Perhaps the most revolutionary forms of leadership today all originate form the platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc. Candidates that are able to capture the public through these outlets are provided with a major advantage over those who are not. These outlets allow for low-cost (in comparison to other platforms), dispersal of information that can be sent towards a targeted population. The report: The Ties that Lead: A social network approach to leadership by Prasad Balkundi and Martin Kilduff, does not provide any instructions of how one may utilize virtual platforms to gain support. In contrast, this report looks into how individuals are swayed by information that is dispersed through social media. It is the belief of these researchers that social media networks act on the cognitive structures of the mind and facilitate “constrained action,” (Balkundi et.al, 2006). During the process of linking social networks to leadership the authors proceed to reference research that is based on the cognitive functions of leadership in general. They determine that the key aspects to leadership structures are: (1) Cognition structures such as schemas, which they believe are critical when shaping leadership attitudes and behaviors (Balkundi et.al, 2006). One organizational leadership perspective that is described in this paper highlights “hard-core” ideas that are tied to networking.
Accordingly, there are four unrelated principles that generate various networking theories: (1) The importance of relations between organizational actors, actions in the social field, use of social network connections, and patterning of social media action (Balkundi et.al, 2006). Hence, simply creating a social media account and sending out various posts is not enough to create a meaningful impression on the targeted base. The timing of the account creation as well as adding the right people, and sending our structured messages that function to create more followers and generate a lasting impression will lead to a more profound impact on the cognition of the followers. In essence, this paper indicates that once an individual becomes a master at the art of social media usage he/she has the ability to amass followers without too much footwork. The report focuses on the nature of people to flock towards popular ideas and beliefs and if one is able to display what the people want and when they want it, through these platforms, then success will abound.
Non-Dominant Leadership Paradigms: Walking between Two Worlds – Indigenous Women and Educational Leadership
The subsequent article described within this report focuses on the population of women in the world that are not able to learn (and therefore lead). While it may seem a given to those living in developed nations where education is easy to access, this is actually a luxury that is often overlooked. Projects conducted within New Zealand, Australia, and Canada assesses how indigenous and non-indigenous women may learn. The authors title the report brilliantly as there is a stark contrast in the life of women who are indigenous and must step out to obtain education. Hence, they walk between two worlds. The indigenous woman usually begins her learning process at a far later stage in life than their counterparts. Hence, to the process of being an effective leader is almost always one that requires them to lead without presenting themselves as a force. Non-dominant leaders that are educated as indigenous women must conglomerate their support essentially behind the scenes (Fitzgerald, 2014). The essence of this report captures the extremes of how leaders that originate from harsh environments (with educational oppression) are able to lead. Almost always they end up leading through non-dominant paradigms (Fitzgerald, 2014).
Traditional Leadership Programs – Leadership with Inner Meaning: A Contingency Theory of Leadership based on the Worldviews of Five Religions
In addition to leading through social media and more under the radar methods that are attributed to non-dominant leadership paradigms, a traditional leadership program may also be embraced. Some of the most successful forms of traditional leadership have been based on Religion. The authors within this report present on the five major religions: (1) Christianity, (2) Islam, (3) Judaism, (4) Hinduism, and (5) Buddhism. Successful religious leaders within these religions were able to focus their rationale (or goal) to the specifications of a religion. In addition, there was almost always some kind of ground-work that was already established that the leader could draw upon. Religious leaders will have the ability to reference a higher calling and are therefore presenting a divine message to their followers (Kriger et.al, 2005).
Conclusion – A Summary of Described Articles
While traditional religious leaders are able to select defined principles to address with their followers, they must also have the ability to connect to their followers by means of a conduit. Hence, they are presented as the messenger delivering a word, belief or principles that comes from a more divine being. In contrast, the presentation of the non-dominant leader is quite the opposite as they are often not even associated in a firm fashion with the ideas that they are pushing. Whatever the form of leadership that is chosen, one can capitalize on today’s technologies by becoming a master of social media. An individual that is able to control their social media handle in an appropriate fashion will have the ability to make a long lasting cognitive impression on their follows and become great leaders through these engines.
- Balkundi, P., & Kilduff, M. (2006). The ties that lead: A social network approach to leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 17(4), 419-439.
- Fitzgerald, T. (2014). Walking Between Two Worlds – Indigenous Women and Educational Leadership.
- Kriger, M., & Seng, Y. (2005). Leadership with inner meaning: A contingency theory of leadership based on the worldviews of five religions. Leadership Quarterly. doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2005.07.007
- Leadership. (2011, August 26). What is the difference between traditional and contemporary leadership?
- Styress, S. (2010). Walking in Two Worlds: Engaging the Space Between Indigenous Community and Academia. York University.
