Leadership challenges in organizational culture and power dynamics

Leadership

Taking the Helm

Assuming leadership of Pequod, Inc., will not be an easy task. The previous leaders left suddenly, creating an atmosphere of infighting, challenge, disorder and confusion, and now the organization is having significant trouble operating as a cohesive unit. As the newly appointed CEO of the firm, it will be my responsibility not simply to maintain operations and keep various departments goal-oriented and on target, but also to instill a culture that promotes the ongoing fulfillment and success of the company and the individuals that are a part of it.

According to leaders with practical as well as scholarly experience, an environment that supports gossip, factions, and power struggles is directly counter-productive to empowering employees, even those not directly involved in such conflicts (Kraft, 2010). An empowering leader creates a culture where all employees, managers, and executives have ownership and responsibility for the operation, which leads to increases in knowledge sharing, efficacy, and overall performance (Kraft, 2010; Srivastava et al., 2006). Not only that, but empowering leadership translates directly to increased creativity and intrinsic motivation, and thus striving to lead in a manner that recognizes and utilizes the talents of all employees and gives them authority over their tasks is ideal from all perspectives (Kraft, 2010; Zhang & Bartol, 2010).

Given the above research, it is clear that leaders can have an enormous impact organizational effectiveness and that using politics and power struggles as a means of accomplishing things is ineffective and ultimately disastrous. Instead of political games and power differentiation, leaders should make sure every individual has power over their tasks and responsibilities in certain ways in order to empower members of the organization at all levels. Currently, Pequod, Inc. is being torn apart from the inside due to the effects of power conflicts and politics in the wake of a sudden leadership absence, and thus empowerment might be difficult to achieve as it will necessarily mean limiting certain individuals' power in areas where it has extended too far. A more empowered culture is necessary for the continued success of the company, however, and should be of paramount concern in this new leadership role.