Achievement oriented leadership

From CEOpedia | Management online

Achievement oriented leadership is a style of leadership that focuses on setting goals and achieving them. It is a process of setting high expectations and standards for a team or individual and motivating them to meet and exceed those expectations through encouragement and recognition. This style of leadership is often used in highly competitive environments and encourages innovation and collaboration to reach the set goals.

This style of leadership can be beneficial for a team or organisation as it:

  • Encourages goal setting: By setting clear and achievable goals, it allows employees to focus their efforts and have a sense of direction.
  • Drives innovation: By setting ambitious goals, it encourages employees to push the boundaries of what is possible and come up with creative solutions to achieve the goal.
  • Promotes collaboration: By setting a common goal and working together as a team, it encourages collaboration and builds a strong team spirit.
  • Improves motivation: By setting challenging goals, it provides a sense of purpose and keeps employees motivated to reach their targets.

"Achievement-oriented leadership is characterized by a leader who challenges subordinates to perform work at the highest level possible. This leader establishes a high standard of excellence for subordinates and seeks continuous improvement. In addition to expecting a lot from subordinates, achievement-oriented leaders show a high degree of confidence that subordinates are capable of establishing and accomplishing challenging goals." (Peter G. Northouse, 2010, p. 128).

Example of Achievement oriented leadership

An example of achievement oriented leadership in action is the implementation of a new customer service strategy by a retail company. The company set a goal to increase customer satisfaction by 10%. To reach this goal, the company set up a customer service team and provided them with the necessary resources and training. The team was then motivated to reach the goal through regular feedback and recognition of their efforts. Through this process, the company was able to achieve its goal and increase customer satisfaction.

When to use Achievement oriented leadership

Achievement oriented leadership is best suited for environments where there is a need for high performance, such as sports teams, research and development departments, and competitive business environments. It is also useful for when there is a need to motivate employees or if a team or organisation needs to reach a specific goal or target.

This style of leadership should not be used in situations where there is not a clear goal or when employees are not able to reach the set goals due to external factors, such as lack of resources or a tight timeline. Additionally, it should not be used in situations where employees may become overwhelmed by the pressure of meeting the set goals, as this may lead to burnout and frustration.

Overall, achievement oriented leadership is best suited for environments where there is a need for high performance and when there is a clear goal and the necessary resources and support to reach it.

Types of Achievement oriented leadership

There are several types of achievement oriented leadership:

  • Directive or autocratic leadership: This style of leadership involves setting clear goals and expectations and using authoritative methods to ensure they are met.
  • Participative or democratic leadership: This style of leadership involves setting goals and expectations, but also involves considering the views of the team and allowing them to have a say in the decision-making process.
  • Transformational leadership: This style of leadership involves inspiring and motivating the team to exceed their own expectations by providing a clear vision of what can be achieved.

Directive or autocratic leadership is best suited for situations where time is of the essence, while participative or democratic leadership is best suited for situations where input from multiple stakeholders is needed. Transformational leadership is best suited for situations where there is a need to inspire and motivate the team to reach new heights.

Overall, there are three main types of achievement oriented leadership - directive or autocratic leadership, participative or democratic leadership and transformational leadership. Depending on the situation, different types of leadership can be used to set and achieve challenging goals.

Steps of Achievement oriented leadership

Achievement oriented leadership typically follows the following steps:

  1. Set clear goals: The leader should set clear, achievable goals for the team or individual and communicate them effectively.
  2. Provide support: The leader should provide support and guidance to help the team or individual reach their goals.
  3. Monitor progress: The leader should monitor the team or individual’s progress and provide feedback to ensure they are on track.
  4. Encourage innovation: The leader should encourage the team or individual to come up with creative solutions to reach their goals.
  5. Celebrate success: Finally, the leader should celebrate the team or individual’s success when they reach their goals.

Overall, these steps help the team or individual reach their goals while also motivating and inspiring them to do their best.

Advantages and disadvantages

Leaders practicing this style focus on what their teams achieve and their tasks, rather than focusing on people. There are several key pros and cons, here are some of them:

Advantages:

  1. They offer advice and are happy to share experience
  2. Goals are clearly communicated.
  3. The dates are in line with clearly defined objectives.
  4. They help you manage your time better.
  5. A clear bonus system.
  6. This leadership style makes results easier to achieve.

Achievement oriented leadership is a style of leadership that has many benefits for a team or organisation. It encourages goal setting and clearly defines expectations, which helps to focus efforts and provide direction. It also encourages innovation and collaboration by setting ambitious goals that require creative solutions, and it provides a sense of purpose and keeps employees motivated. Overall, this style of leadership can be beneficial for a team or organisation by helping to achieve their goals.

Disadvantages:

  1. Focus on the goal, reduces the chances of employees wanting to improve the process, and focuses on completing tasks.
  2. An employee is treated as a task, if he is unable to perform the task for personal reasons, he is often replaced without a moment's hesitation
  3. Reduces creativity and innovation.
  4. There is usually a high turnover.
  5. Causes burnout.

There are some limitations of this style of leadership, such as:

  • Pressure: By setting high expectations, it can put immense pressure on employees to reach their goals and can lead to burnout and frustration.
  • Blind ambition: By focusing solely on achieving goals, it can lead to a lack of direction and blind ambition that may not be beneficial for the team or organisation in the long run.
  • Overlooking potential: By setting ambitious goals, it can overlook potential opportunities that may be beneficial for the team or organisation in the long run.

Behaviors and values striving to achieve goals

"Leaders must be willing to let followers know what they will and will not stand for. Assertive, achievement-oriented leaders model appropriate behavior, vigorously oppose education malpractice, and involve their followers in collaborative planning and decision making. They are well informed in their respective areas of responsibility and seek continuous growth both personally and professionally. They consciously and aggressively facilitate the development of values and acceptable behavior within their areas of influence. Such values and behaviors support the achievement of system goals and outcomes." (Edward T. Joyner, Michael Ben-Avie, James P. Comer,2004, p. 94).

Basic behaviors include a combination of people types and tasks (Montgomery Van Wart,2008, p. 38):

  1. Task orientation includes explaining roles, information, delegation, problem-solving and innovation and creativity management.
  2. Focus on people, this includes personnel development, team building, management and consulting.
  3. Average level of leadership control and internal organizational orientation on the part of the leader.

Other approaches related to Achievement oriented leadership

Achievement oriented leadership is just one of many approaches to leadership. Other approaches include:

  • Autocratic leadership: This style of leadership is based on the leader making all the decisions and having absolute authority.
  • Transformational leadership: This style of leadership focuses on inspiring and motivating employees to reach their full potential.
  • Servant leadership: This style of leadership focuses on putting the needs of employees and customers first.


Achievement oriented leadership — recommended articles
Management by objectives steps — Free rein leadership — Management by objectives — Team development — Organizational culture and project management — Management by culture — Ability to work in a team — Culture and QMS implementation — Leadership and management — Forward curve

References

Author: Łukasz Gil

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