LD7090 Leadership in a Digital Age Assignment Sample 2023

Section 1: Leadership & Self Analysis

a. Critical reviews of leaderships theory/model

Fiedler’s Contingency Theory

Contingency leadership theory is developed by Fred fielder in the year 1960 by considering characteristics and personality studies of a leader. This theory is highly applicable in the digital Era for making decisions and managing internal and external stakeholders effectively by organisational leaders to manage their contemporary business situation and associated circumstances. According to the view of Auvinen et al. (2019), the development of appropriate ways of managing people in order to increase capabilities of human resources in organisations is highly necessary for the digital Era transformation customer buying behaviour and market operating process. The prime concept of contingency leadership theory is associated with making decisions and developing organising strategy by two potential factors that are leadership capability of leader and situational favourable.

The ability to communicate with people and the development of Creative ideas for solving Complex situations with mutual understanding and identifying common ground represent the strength of leadership quality in the contingency theory. As per the view of Sainger (2018), the development of advanced tactics and strategic approaches understanding the intention and preferences of associated people is an important skill necessary for leaders. Therefore, a leader’s capability of making decisions, solving problems, managing people and communicating with internal and external stakeholders is one of the most important factors determining leadership effectiveness in digital time. The situation is an important factor that has been considered in this theory for determining aspects and consequences associated with leadership for managing complex situations and directing an organisation in the right direction (Hoerudin, 2020). Consideration of situations for making decisions through aligning them with leader capability contributes to successful completion of achieving organisational goals and target objectives.

Figure 1: Contingency theory

(Source: Kawiana et al. 2021)

Contingency theory deals with both tasks oriented and relationship-oriented aspects of leadership according to the power and situational favour. In the digital marketing period, this theory is highly applicable for making business decisions associated with strategic and operational areas (Theng et al. 2021). By considering the situation of digital marketing and position of leaders for availing maximum opportunities in the market competition skills of task oriented is necessary. making decisions for balancing situation and demand and leadership position three categories of aspects are mainly considered that include favourable moderate and unfavourable.

Transformational Leadership Theory

Transformational leadership strategy is associated with the adaptation of positive changes with appropriate implications for the improvement of organisational situations and management of internal and external stakeholders. According to the view of Ruben and Gigliotti (2017), the transformational theory is one of the most contemporary theories of leadership engagement motivating employees to identify appropriate strategic options for bringing positive changes in the business environment. The philosophy of transformational leadership Theory believes bringing off new changes is important for aligning with the changing environment and maintaining appropriateness. In the words of Lo et al. (2019), consideration of this theory helps the organisation in adopting a digital business model by replacing their traditional store-based business model. Business organisations can benefit from the development of multiple business models including business to business, business to customers, and customers to customers on the basis of marketing environment and areas. This theory believes that changing the internal and external structure of a business organisation by aligning with the marketing environment and macro-environmental aspects can help in providing maximum satisfaction to employees and successfully retaining customers.

Figure 2: Transformational Leadership

(Source: Covelli and Mason, 2017)

The four significant elements of transformational leadership Theory are inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, idealised influence and individualised consideration.  This element helps in making the most appropriate organisational and marketing decisions for improvement by increasing the efficiency of human resources with the appropriate allocation (Covelli and Mason, 2017).

Digital leadership traits and characteristics

Contingency and transformational theory is highly important for Digital Marketing in order to manage a difficult situation for practising international business and maintaining internal and external stakeholders effectively. As argued by Hofstad and Vedeld (2021), contingency theory characteristics and principles are highly applicable for solving situations and can help in the development of situational aspects in leadership by providing task-oriented approaches for managing issues and problems. Top oriented approaches are highly beneficial for managing organisational projects by prioritising the requirement and necessity of projects for achieving targeted scope for improvement of business performances. Continuous changing customer buying behaviour due to the increase of market competition and changes of the macro-environment using contemporary policies with the best leadership is highly necessary. In the view of Hofstad and Vedeld (2021), using leader’s skills and situational favour for the development of market entry strategy with digital platforms helps in collecting information from different aspects and Marketplace for the development of most effective strategic options. Collaborating with various partners with appropriate partnership alliances contributed to business growth and development of the contemporary era through the help of marketing principles and cross-border business practices.

Transformational leadership Theory contemporary Era is also one of the most popular and commonly used approaches for managing internal and external stakeholders. As per the view of McCauley and Palus (2021), the transformation of the organisation by adopting an appropriate Change management strategy for replacing the traditional method of marketing and advertising with a digital method increase organisational efficiency for retaining customers and generating maximum revenue. This process is also important for developing completed marketing strategies for survival against major market competitors with potential risk management Strategies and organisational ability to fulfil customer demand and need.

b. Digital leadership trait

Overall leadership’s strengths

Self-analysis in order to understand my strengths and weaknesses towards digital leadership and I had focused on conducting personality insight, workplace culture, management skills and emotional control. From the utilisation of multiple tools of analysis, I identify my personality as belonging to the category of Earth Green. My individual personality is associated with caring, delivering in communication and sharing ideas, patience and relaxation, and encouragement for taking risks.  I have the ability to control my emotional state of mind and feeling for maintaining professionalism in the workplace by representing concerns according to the official requirement. My personality of caring towards people associated with my team and assignment can provide benefits of establishing positive relationships and identifying common ground of making this season for achieving goals and objectives in the digital competition. My capabilities of freely communicating with people for sharing information and discussing ideas is highly important for developing innovative and creative strategies to maximise opportunities for market competition. [Refer to Appendix 1]

My personality is also associated with showing interest in taking risks. Identification of my strength by using SWOT analysis helps me in understanding the ability of assertive communication, time management and profiling of people by observing and profiling. Therefore, overall leadership strength includes risk management, communication skills, time management and understanding people psychology. The ability to identify potential risk by close observation and implementing regular monitoring processes helps in achieving goals of leadership by managing associated people in a systematic way. In the view of Hofstad and Vedeld (2021), the strength of communication is highly necessary for establishing positive relationships with internal and external stakeholders for retention purposes and performing in a positive way in a competitive marketing environment.

[Refer to Appendix 2 &3]

Areas for development in the context of digital technical leadership

By focusing on my individual strengths and weaknesses for self-analysis I have realised I need to develop various new skills for being a successful leader in the digital era. The most important areas that need to be considered for development in the context of digital technology leadership are cyber security, social media communication and representing products to the customer. I have minimum knowledge of the importance and management of cyber security which is a necessary area that needs to be developed for leading the digital Marketplace for succeeding in business objectives. Development of technical skills for implementing safe communication with firewalls for avoiding malware and cyber-attack along with the idea of privacy protection is necessary for communicating with internal stakeholders and maintaining a flow of information for achieving goals of leadership and directing organisational strategic direction.

Another important area I need to develop for becoming a successful technical leader in the digital Era is the art of Digital Communications for designing appropriate advertisement strategies for connecting with the maximum possible. Buying behaviour of the millennium customers is different from traditional due to the improvement of Science and Technology to a great extent. The skill of understanding customer necessity and intentions for the purpose of aligning with organisational marketing and production areas is necessary for retention. Therefore, I need to develop my skill in digital communication by regularly practising and engaging with content development activities for connecting with maximum people through digital media platforms. The development of augmented reality and virtual reality skills is also necessary for identifying appropriate approaches of displaying products and services to the customer on multiple digital application platforms. As I have limited knowledge of Artificial Intelligence and model innovations I need to focus on learning the basics for developing marketing policies to ensure the maintenance of customer interest in the competitive environment.

Section 2: – Leadership Capabilities and Behaviours

Leadership capabilities and behaviour

Managing situations and human resources effectively for geographically dispersed teams strong leadership skills and practices are necessary for Organisation survival and achievement of organisational corporate goals effectively. As per the view of McCauley and Palus (2021), the major reason for considering geographically dispersed teams for a business organisation is availing huge benefits of increasing efficiency, cost-saving and management of customers and stakeholders from different geographical backgrounds. According to the requirement and importance of managing geographically dispersed teams by business organisations, the most important leadership capabilities and behaviour demands for effective management are cultural awareness, geopolitical knowledge, effective communications, emotional intelligence and management skills (Allen, 2018).

Cultural awareness: cross-cultural awareness is one of the most sensitive and potential ways towards management of workplace diversity through authenticated and management of people from different cultural backgrounds. As argued by Lejeune et al. (2021), geographically dispersed teams have to lead with people of different cultural, religious, social and educational backgrounds. The differences in places also determine the thinking process and buying behaviours of the people. The skills of cultural awareness and social practises in different areas are important leadership skill necessary for performing business in international marketing areas. This process contributes to connecting with local customers, employees and small businesses for developing trust and loyalty amongst the local environment for initiating business and marketing activities. In addition, this skill is necessary for the development of advanced Integrated Marketing Communication tools and techniques that help in business goals and objectives in order to ensure continuous development towards the achievement of business aspects (Minhas et al. 2020).

Geo-political knowledge: advanced knowledge and global political environment and changing economic perspectives is important skill required for managing geographically dispersed teams effectively for achieving business goals and objectives. According to the view of Minhas et al. (2020), global politics including International relations and cross border business implications play a significant role in performing business in the international marketplace and also monitoring the flow of products and services during import and export activities. Understanding the legal and global political system completely is an effective skill necessary for successful leaders in the digital era to perform international business. Apart from that, knowledge and skills associated with digital technology including security maintenance and safe payment gateway are also important areas that need to be focused on by managers and organisational leaders for maintaining payment and remote communication processes with geographically dispersed teams.

Clear Idea regarding the way of performing international business and methods of handling cross border conflict and political issues with business as under help in entering a new market place and ensuring business expansion in an effective way.  As argued by Kivimäki and Meriluoto (2018), in the digital marketplace, outsourcing products and services is a recent trend for reducing organisational operating costs.  Identifying appropriate suppliers from other countries to maintain the flow of product development and distribution to the competitive marketing environment is beneficial for generating maximum revenue. This process required the ability to understand international politics and regional trade news in regulation by respecting business laws and legal implications (Utting, 2017).

Effective communications skills: Effective communication skills that include the ability to Win-Win negotiation with an assertive communication style is an important skill required for a successful leader in the digital era for managing new market entry and practising business in the International regime. According to the view of Hofstad and Vedeld (2021), speaking and active listening are important for understanding differences in accent and speaking style of employees from different geographical regions and communicating with customers of different countries.

Emotional intelligence: emotional intelligence is highly required for the successful management of a geographically dispersed team in order to maintain business management and improvement of marketing practices by encouraging teams with a positive influence on emotional intelligence. Implementation of emotional intelligence in developing HR strategies contributes to increasing the success rating percentage of employee retention and achieving targeted goals (McCauley and Palus, 2021).

Management Skills: skills of making effective decisions by providing attention towards possible consequences and results for solving certain problems is one of the important skills for the management of a geographically dispersed team. According to the view of Allen (2018), the skills of managing complex investors and critical problems in supply networks are important for managing the digital business effectively.

Ethical, social and legal responsibilities of a digital leader in market entry scenario

The major ethical responsibilities of digital leaders towards management of geographically dispersed teams for entering a new marketplace are following World Trade Organizations rules, management of International Trade Laws and respecting regional treaties while performing business in the foreign lands. As per the view of Ruben and Gigliotti (2017), management transparency in the internal and external business practices is highly necessary for ethical principles management in a geographically dispersed team management process. Maintenance of code of ethics by maintaining compliance-based and integrity-based approaches help in maintaining transparency in the international marketplace against market competitors for achieving goals and objectives by Digital leaders.

The major social responsibilities of digital leaders are management of communications, the inclusion of members in decision making and avoiding any kinds of discrimination.  Respecting regional cultures and differentiation by implementing cross-cultural communication and strategy for management of internal and external stakeholders in geographical projects of marketing are potentially important social responsibilities of the leader. In the words of Ruben and Gigliotti (2017), the potential legal responsibilities of leader maintenance of effective corporate governance with implicating appropriate rules and regulations that have been provided by organisational policymakers as directed in organisational structure. Meeting all the criteria of organisational policies in practising business on an international marketplace that includes operational safety and health, corporate social responsibility towards environmental protection and cultural conservation are potential responsibilities of a digital leader in the scenario of entering the marketplace with the help of a geographically dispersed team.

Section 3: – Business Transformation

Contemporary issue

One of the most contemporary issues associated with digital business is Cyber attacks and creating of wrong websites by cybercriminals for benefit and other illegal purposes.  According to the view of Hofstad and Vedeld (2021), increasing Cyber attack in local and international business in the digital platform is one of the most concerning issues that has been arising globally resulting in loss of customer trust and organisational revenue from multiple dimensions. Maintenance of customers and employee’s private data, organisational sensitive information, communication with internal and external stakeholders are targeted by cyber criminals for attack. As argued by Gee et al. (2019), challenges for retention of customers and employees along with their investors are the major problem created by cyber attack issues in the contemporary business scenario which need to be mitigated with appropriate approaches and strategies. Focusing towards development of appropriate cyber security strategy bi following protocol save communications and privacy protection is highly necessary for maintaining transparency and avoiding occurrence of Cyber attacks that can negatively impact business growth and development.

Business transformation for solving the issue

Development of advanced digital transformation strategy by considering organisational operational area and targeted future goals is important for saving from issues like cyber attacks and creating fake accounts or websites by hackers.  In the words of Rubens (2018), important areas that need to be considered for a digital transformation of business organisations are consideration of advanced technology, management of data, development of process and organisational change. From the perspective required business transformation for the purpose of increasing cyber security the important areas that need to be considered are Cloud Security, network security and application security. As per the view of Ruben and Gigliotti (2017), organisational digital leaders need to focus and classify organisational activities into different categories for implementation and planning of effective business transformation strategy for solving the issue of Cyber attack possibilities. Designing and implementation of appropriate Cloud Security implication by including the encrypted password and strong login credentials is important for maintaining safe storage of employees and customer’s details. Cloud Security can help in maintenance of Private data of organisation by ensuring proper access control by allowing login to only authenticated people. Cloud Security benefit of avoiding vulnerabilities of organisational data by reducing the possibilities of being hacked.

Another important implication need to be considered for successful business transformation for solving the issue of cyber security in designing and adaptation of network security. As per the view of Ruben and Gigliotti (2017), implementation of appropriate network security guidelines and software can help in providing safe passage for online communication with internal and external stakeholders without providing data to any third party. Network security is highly necessary for end to end encryption processes in online Communications between organisational members and suppliers or distributors. High end encryption processes can help in avoiding possibilities of hacking and interfering by cyber attackers and protect organisational communication effectively for maintaining brand identity and operational activities safety (Utting, 2017).

Adaptation of application security for maintaining overall organisation management and data protection software is another important area of business transformation that needs to be considered for solving the issue of Cyber attack. As per the view of Rubens (2018), application security includes adding of security protocol in used organisational applications such as marketing application, finance managing applications, project management applications and others. Use applications for multiple purposes and activity in business organisations collect vital information that can be used by cyber attackers for manipulating business and creating problems for achieving targets in goals and objectives. Focusing towards designing appropriate firewalls and safety protocols for all the used applications by internal and external stakeholders for various activities in the company is highly necessary avoiding the possibilities of Cyber Attack by any means necessary.

For management of all the areas of the digital transformation for solving the issue of Cyber attack appropriate organisational structure needs to be developed. Hiring of cyber security experts for regular monitoring of organisational performance and servicing of adopted cyber security measures and help in increasing organisational capability is outperforming business by benefiting Digital Technologies. As argued by Lejeune et al. (2021), designing appropriate cyber security structures represent organisational leadership capabilities of solving a problem with advanced initiatives and appropriate decision making process. It can also help in developing positive relationships with internal and external stakeholders by providing trust and loyalty opportunities.

Benefit for organisation

Adaptation of 3 different types of security updates along with appropriate structure of controlling and managing can provide benefits of effective marketing and retention of stakeholders to the company. Network security protocols and software can provide opportunities of safe and Secure communications with internal and external stakeholders for providing appropriate updates regarding business and solving associated problems and cyber attacks. As argued by Lejeune et al. (2021), the most significant benefits this can be achieved by Digital Transformations from the business transformation are protection from unauthorised access, gaining trust of stakeholders, maintenance of organisational sensitive data. Protection for data access from third parties is important for maintaining brand identity and brand image in the competitive environment in order to establish positive relationships with stakeholders for business development and growth. Maintenance of brand reputation in the competitive environment is highly necessary for avoiding losing investors and alliances with potential companies. The process of digital transformation protecting organisational Assets and data can help in increasing the confidence of employees and customers towards organisational ability of manager privacy can help in increasing customer perceived value and organisational capabilities of satisfying customer needs (Utting, 2017).

Section 4: Personal Development Plan

Table 1: Personal Development Plan

(Source: Minhas et al. 2020)

Development of an effective personal development plan by identifying the weaknesses and areas that need to be learnt for becoming a successful leader in the digital Era is important for improvement of self depilatories and professional skills.  As per my ability and strength  along with future goals of becoming a successful leader in the digital era, important areas that need training are technical skills, social media skills, cultural evidence, customer psychology and innovative training (Bintani, 2020). I believe understanding important technical aspects and implications for controlling and managing multiple aspects and consequences of the digital marketing process is highly necessary for understanding the management associated with stakeholders. Development of Technical skills can contribute in identifying associated organisational problems in communication and networking processes in the initial state for taking appropriate measures for operation management.

Improvement of my social media marketing skills based on customer psychology and marketing demand is an important area considered in the personal development plan. I need to focus on identifying changing criteria and trends in social media. According to the view of Bukharina (2018), advertising and marketing process for availing maximum opportunities of market competition. Focusing on understanding multiple aspects and consequences of digital marketing by developing appropriate action plans and identifying proper criteria can contribute to the increasing leadership skills for leading organisations toward growth and survival.

The potential success criteria considered for identifying achievement and developing skills from Professional development plan is ability of managing stakeholders and organisational operations. Contribution towards this is growth and development with innovations and skill improvement of associated stakeholders is going to be considered as important criteria for identifying success of the personal development plan (Utting, 2017). The capabilities of cyber protection, increasing sales, employee retention, customer retention and Team Management at a major key performance indicator of personal development plan. Protecting business organisations from cyber fraud is highly important for maintaining positive relationships with investors and key stakeholders for continuing business growth and development. Through the help of continued engagement with personal development plans I will focus on improving my skill according to the demand of the current marketing situation for maximum marketing opportunities (Rubens et al. 2018).

Development of skills with the help of self-analysis is highly necessary for learning of new professional areas in order to practise business in the competitive marketing environment. Focusing towards continuous development of new skills can increase efficiency of new leaders in the digital era for increasing the confidence of employees and motivates them towards maximum engagement (Rubens et al. 2018). In addition, this process can help in bringing new opportunities for business development and reduce risk apparently. It can help in practising business in the international marketplaces and increase their efficiency for business achievement.

Reference List

Allen, W.E., 2018. Leadership Theory: A Different Conceptual Approach. Journal of Leadership Education, 17(2). https://journalofleadershiped.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/17_2_Allen.pdf

Auvinen, T., Sajasalo, P., Sintonen, T., Pekkala, K., Takala, T. and Luoma-aho, V., 2019. Evolution of strategy narration and leadership work in the digital era. Leadership, 15(2), pp.205-225. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1742715019826426

Bintani, K., 2020, August. Personal Development Plan as a Guidance and Counseling Strategy in Higher Education. In 2nd International Seminar on Guidance and Counseling 2019 (ISGC 2019) (pp. 18-22). Atlantis Press. https://www.atlantis-press.com/article/125943337.pdf

Bukharina, A.Y., 2018. Personal development plan (PDP) in practice and technology of introducing mentoring in organizations. Social Psychology and Society, 9(1), pp.162-176. https://psyjournals.ru/en/social_psy/2018/n1/Bukharina.shtml

Covelli, B.J. and Mason, I., 2017. Linking theory to practice: Authentic leadership. Academy of Strategic Management Journal, 16(3), pp.1-10. https://search.proquest.com/openview/a69a4feb2ff9219cce2892aacbdf82c6/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=38745

Gee, D., Schulte, M. and Matsumoto, R.R., 2019. An individual development plan for pharmacy students for career planning and tracking accreditation standards. American journal of pharmaceutical education, 83(6). https://www.ajpe.org/content/83/6/6825.abstract

Hoerudin, C.W., 2020. Adaptive Leadership in Digital Era: Ridwan Kamil’s Leadership Study in West Java. CosmoGov: Jurnal Ilmu Pemerintahan, 6(1), pp.89-98. http://digilib.uinsgd.ac.id/id/eprint/31179

Hofstad, H. and Vedeld, T., 2021. Exploring city climate leadership in theory and practice: responding to the polycentric challenge. Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning, pp.1-14. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1523908X.2021.1883425

Kawiana, I., DEWI, L.K.C., HARTATI, P.S., SETINI, M. and ASIH, D., 2021. Effects of Leadership and Psychological Climate on Organizational Commitment in the Digitization Era. The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics, and Business, 8(1), pp.1051-1062. https://www.koreascience.or.kr/article/JAKO202100569474375.page

Kivimäki, V. and Meriluoto, S., 2018. Holistic perspective to individual study plan: Personal Development Project Plan. In Transforming our world through design, diversity and education (pp. 514-526). IOS Press. https://ebooks.iospress.nl/volumearticle/50601

Lejeune, C., Beausaert, S. and Raemdonck, I., 2021. The impact on employees’ job performance of exercising self-directed learning within personal development plan practice. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 32(5), pp.1086-1112. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09585192.2018.1510848

Lo, P., Allard, B., Wang, N. and Chiu, D.K., 2020. Servant leadership theory in practice: North America’s leading public libraries. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 52(1), pp.249-270. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0961000618792387

McCauley, C.D. and Palus, C.J., 2021. Developing the theory and practice of leadership development: A relational view. The Leadership Quarterly, 32(5), p.101456. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1048984320300837

Minhas, J.S., Pan, D., Sze, S., Pareek, M. and Miller, C.J., 2020. COVID-19 pandemic personal development plan: A model for maximising higher specialty training. Future Healthcare Journal, 7(3), p.e80. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc7571723/

Minhas, J.S., Pan, D., Sze, S., Pareek, M. and Miller, C.J., 2020. COVID-19 pandemic personal development plan: A model for maximising higher specialty training. Future Healthcare Journal, 7(3), p.e80. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc7571723/

Reference List

Ruben, B.D. and Gigliotti, R.A., 2017. Communication: Sine qua non of organizational leadership theory and practice. International Journal of Business Communication, 54(1), pp.12-30. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2329488416675447

Rubens, A., Schoenfeld, G.A., Schaffer, B.S. and Leah, J.S., 2018. Self-awareness and leadership: Developing an individual strategic professional development plan in an MBA leadership course. The International Journal of Management Education, 16(1), pp.1-13. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1472811716301732

Sainger, G., 2018. Leadership in digital age: A study on the role of leader in this era of digital transformation. International Journal on Leadership, 6(1), p.1. https://www.academia.edu/download/60686981/120190924-7274-n4072j.pdf

Theng, B.P., Wijaya, E., Juliana, J., Eddy, E. and Putra, A.S., 2021. The role of transformational leadership, servant leadership, digital transformation on organizational performance and work innovation capabilities in digital era. JPPI (Jurnal Penelitian Pendidikan Indonesia), 7(2), pp.225-238. https://jurnal.iicet.org/index.php/jppi/article/view/1164

Utting, H., 2017. A case for a personal development plan. Planning News, 43(2), p.26. https://search.informit.org/doi/abs/10.3316/INFORMIT.658282685806545

Utting, H., 2017. A case for a personal development plan. Planning News, 43(2), p.26. https://search.informit.org/doi/abs/10.3316/INFORMIT.658282685806545

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