Leadership style in Telstra
Culture and value are essential part of every organization. As the same way, it also plays a significant role in Telstra. Telstra is the biggest telecommunication company that provides innovative internet and telecommunication services and products to the customers around the globe. Along with this, the report highlights that how Telstra maintain dynamic culture and how it uses innovative leadership styles to fulfill the demands and needs of the customers. Moreover, the report emphasizes the on the challenges that are faced by leaders while using team based leadership. It explains how emotional intelligence plays a major role in increasing effectiveness and efficiency of the workers.
Telstra is an Australian based telecommunication company which is working on a large scale for the betterment of its customers. The company was formed in 1975 in Australia (Tesltra 2018). The company provides innovative and advanced telecommunication services and products to the customers around the globe. The firm is connected with majority of people for providing ample of opportunities to the customers around the globe. That is why the company is able to create an excellent and dynamic connected future for every person. Telstra is proud to be supporting customers improve and enhance the ways in which they live and work through connectivity.
It is a value based company and serves its customers by providing best services to them. The company works with advanced technologies and helps them in reaching and developing connection between their customers. The supplier code of conduct highlights that people care about how the partners do business in a hassle free manner. The core values include trust, courage, simplicity, care, responsibility, humility, and determination that help the company to grow and survive business in the international market (Tesltra 2018). There are around 32,000 employees working in the organization to conduct business functions and operations globally (Tesltra 2018).
Leadership style means analyzing, advocating, encouraging and motivating people of the organization to effectively run the business. Leadership style helps in managing the business in a strategic manner (Gronn 2008). It is an efficient way for the company to motivate and encourage their employees towards the work and brings out there in a capability of walking with the organization. It is a way of building and leading business with a professional approach in a systematic manner. Leadership style also helps the company in showcasing their practical approach in running a business. Leadership style has many certain types which include democratic leadership style, strategic leadership style, transformational leadership style, team leadership style cross, cultural leadership style, facilitative leadership style and laissez- faire leadership style (Cocks 2009).
Leadership style in Telstra Australia is seen at various levels. One of the major styles that used by Telstra is strategic leadership style where the authority of the organization provides a direction and motivates its people and employees to work towards the goal set by the company. The management team also uses transformational leadership style to make effective and unique decisions in the organization (Jamison and Castaneda 2011). By using transformational leadership style, the company focuses on certain changes that can be put together with the help of other employees, groups or individuals. By implementing this strategy, the CEO at Telstra is trying to motivate and inspire the workers for performing roles and responsibilities effectively and efficiently. The leaders at Telstra are passionate and dedicated about core values and improving the progress and success in the international market (Rhode 2017).
Level of personal and social incompetency in Emotional Intelligence
It has been studied that leader also uses democratic leadership to make effective decisions in the global market. Democratic leadership is also known as participative leadership style in which members of the group take a more effective and participative role in the decision making process (Raelin 2011). Strong democratic leaders in the company inspire respect and trust among the subordinates to motivate and assist the workers internationally. By initiating this strategy, the company has been able to maintain strong and open communication at the workplace (Liu and Baker 2016).
Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand the emotions of the others and handle them by giving ample of solutions to it. Emotional intelligence helps in analyzing the view of the other person and develops the feeling of sympathy towards the person (Goleman, Boyatzis and McKee 2013). Having emotional intelligence is very much needed in Telstra as it helps in knowing the state of mind of the employees that are working in the organization and helping the employees by providing them solutions to find those emotions that becomes the obstacle in their performance. Emotional intelligence can be seen divided over two competencies which include personal incompetence and social competencies. Personal Incompetence works on self awareness and self analysis of an individual and in an organization personal Incompetence is seen from men employed to employee (Boyatzis 2008). Personal incompetence in Telstra helps in recognizing and determining the emotions of the employees and employers (Antonakis, Ashkanasy and Dasborough 2009).
The firm analyses and evaluates the personal problems and challenges of the employees and helps them in getting out of those problems and developing confidence and trust among them. It also teaches its employees the process of self management and having control over emotions in a better and effective way (Cherniss 2010). The company makes the employees aware of the capability they possess and their strengths and weaknesses. With the involvement of the company in their personal Incompetence employees feel encouraged and develop a feeling of loyalty and trust towards the company which helps them in working for the welfare of the business. Social Incompetence includes the skills that are needed to successfully adapt the societal needs which involves social, emotional, cognitive and behavior by the organization. It is noted that employees at Telstra use emotional intelligence to conduct business activities smoothly and effectively (Boyatzis 2009).
In a team based leadership there are number of challenges that Telstra has to go through before implementing the style. A team based leadership turns out to be very challenging for the organizations running on a large scale as leading number of employees is not an easy task. Since Telstra has number of employees it becomes convenient for the organization to lead the employee with the help of group of people who are involved in managing and motivating them by dividing themselves in numbers (Mohammed and Nadkarni 2011). This leadership involves many leaders who are the professionals of the company to support and help their subordinates in making them aware about the requirements of the company and its target. The challenges in team based leadership scene at Telstra include employees who are not ready to listen to their leaders and show an argumentative approach which costs time (Jing and Avery 2008). Hence this argumentative approach by the employees of the organization is time consuming, expensive and disturbs the environment of the business. Leading a group of people is not an easy task. This leadership style also creates conflicts in the organization between the employee and the leader. Team- based leadership style requires a professional and a proper way of leading the employees which sometimes become difficult in managing and handling. Team- based leadership is an effective approach that is used in companies like Telstra but also requires a proper way of pursuing it (Mohammed and Nadkarni 2011).
Challenges of team-based leadership
The cultural environment of the organization depends on its employees and authorities. The environment of any organization must be disciplined and well maintained. Social environment consists various values, beliefs, practices and traditions that a group of people perform in Telstra in order to maintain harmony in business. Social environment of the employees in any organization is influenced by the society (George 2015). In Telstra, the environment of the organization is cooperative and warm to support the employees at the workplace. Along with this, diversity is maintained by Telstra at the workplace to make happy the employees. They are keeping in mind the requirements and needs of the people without harming its natural resources. The influence of the society in Telstra is used through marketing advertising and by targeting strategies with the help of public relations. These effective approaches balance the social environment between the organization and the society. Through the sustainability, the company aims in providing information on the issues relating to sustainability which is considered necessary for the business (Densten and Sarros 2012).
Whereas, the cultural environment of the business shows a great impact on the employees by making them except the norms and values of the organization and work is according to the culture of the company. The culture of the company in general refers to the beliefs and values that the organization implements and expects its employees to follow them strictly. The cultural environment of Tesla functions between language, religion, and other aspects that vary from an individual to individual (Macnamara 2010). The cultural environment of the business focuses on the capabilities of its people. Effective code of conducts and ethics practices is followed by the people at Telstra. Apart from this, there is no discrimination between men and women on the basis of race, religion, caste and sex. The top management at Telstra motivates subordinates to perform tasks and duties in a hassle free manner (Pernecky and Lück 2013).
The culture at Telstra is comfortable and employees of the organization work in harmony. Since the organization follows a team- based leadership style therefore, the employees are never left alone on the matters and can be questionable to the leaders. The culture of the organization is very dynamic and unique to train the new employees. The changes that are needed in the organization are implemented immediately for the welfare of the society. Telstra Company is diversified and innovative to teach the workers. It serves every individual including employee, an individual, society, etc. Being a telecommunication company, Telstra believes in showing care, working together, developing trust and finding courage in the employees at the workplace. Telstra being a value- led company seeks to have responsibility, determination towards work, humility towards people and society, desire of learning and must have courageous attitude which can be beneficial for them in bringing change in society. These values help the company in making the kind, generous, impactful or motivating environment for its workers. Telstra works on a large scale and provide its employees flexibility and choice, growth opportunities, stimulating and challenging work, diversity and inclusion, ability to sustain and rewards and awards for encouragement (Venables, Tan and Miliszewska 2013).
This is a most valued and trusted company who believes in advocating its employees to work for the welfare of the society and customer’s satisfaction which brings harmony in the business. The company is committed in achieving positive educational, health and economic results for the people of Australia and believes that by promoting diversity and inclusion they will enrich their communities, their workforce and the experience of their customers. In general, the culture of business is calm and composed where people or employees work with concentration and give their best to the work. The culture of the organization therefore has to significant for the employees as it becomes the leading factor in raising the growth and success in business The culture creates a harmonistic environment for the people and encourages them to work with dedicated heart. At Telstra, the company is created an inclusive and dynamic environment where talented, skilled and experienced people with a broad range of beliefs, values, skills, backgrounds and experiences can all thrive together. The top management provides training and development coaching the employees to train them effectively (Steel 2012).
Team development is a way of developing a group of people by keeping them at one place according to their specialty. Team development is needed in business to make it run effectively and efficiently. A team is a group people working on a same task by possessing different approach in doing the work. It is important to have a team working on common matters as it saves times and also produces new and diversified opinions from different employees. Developing a team in the organization is good idea as it helps the company to do more work in less time with a proper and planned way. A team development involves 5 stages which include:
Forming: The forming stage helps in analyzing the specific and common goals and desires of the employee and putting it to his desired place. This helps the employee in performing better and with interest. It also forms and shapes the employee by grooming them and inculcating the corporate culture of the business. At forming, the employees get to know about the needs and requirements of the company that the employee has to focus on fulfilling it (Lee et al 2010).
Storming: This stage is term to be a conflict that rises in the organization. It is a second stage of team leadership development as no leadership can sustain without any negotiation and conflicting activities. Storming helps in focusing on the issues that raises conflicts and provide a chance to showcase manager leadership quality by solving those conflicts (Wheelan 2009).
Norming: This stage is accepted by any company to run the business actions and operations successfully and effectively. The norming stage includes shared goals, team cohesion, coping and acceptance of the employees. In other words, norming means the norms set by the company to maintain the decorum of the business by asking employees to follow it on a strict level. Telstra uses this team stage to maintain a favorable working environment at the workplace.
Performing: It is the fourth stage of team development. It highlights the way an employee performs and articulates things. The performance of the employee helps the organization in the image building of an individual by looking at his performance. The performance of the organization depends on the performance of the employees. Telstra implements this team stage to increase and enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the workers (Wheelan 2009).
Adjourning: This is last stage of team development includes the discontinuation of the employees by looking at their performance. The employees have to discontinue if their performance is not effective and correct to perform roles. The reason for employee’s discontinuation is only because they might not be able to stand on the expectations of the company. Adjourning therefore becomes the last stage of team development.
It is noted that workplace plays a major role in Telstra to stand out over the rivals in the international market. The favorable and positive working environment lead high profit and revenue and it also helps in attracting and retaining talented workforce towards the attainment of objectives and goals. The positive and unique workplace at Telstra also helps the top management to maximize and increase market share and sale in the international market (Woodcock 2017).
There are various recommendations to be a leader in telecommunication in near future that has been discussed below.
- It is recommended that Telstra Company should focus on the advertisement and promotional strategies to promote internet and telecommunication products in the international market. The leaders should appoint a talent management system to identify and recruit the potential candidate for performing duties and responsibilities.
- The customer focused marketing strategy shall be used by the leaders to satisfy the needs, demands and requirements of the customers. The leaders must focus on the motivation theories and strategies to increase and enhance the satisfaction level of the workers.
- Along with this, the Telstra must focus on the pestle analysis, SWOT analysis and porter five forces analysis to stay in the competitive market. Along with this, it should focus on the differentiation strategy to distinguish its products and services from the competitors.
Conclusion
On the above analysis, it is noted that Telstra is one of the growing and leading telecommunication companies in the world. It is stated that the company maintains dynamic culture and environment to attain maximum profit and revenue. The above report concludes that appropriate and suitable leadership styles are used by the leaders in the organization. The social and cultural environment of the company is excellent and effective to motivate the workers for achieving goals and objectives.
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