Innovation and Leadership- Critical Analysis Assignment

Innovation and Leadership- Critical Analysis - Assignment Example Consequently organizations are increasingly faced with the need for constantly changing their ways and strategies in business in order to stay ahead of competitors. Innovation plays the key role in today’s organizations as they strive to design better ways and better processes to satisfy their customers. Innovation is said to play a leading role in satisfying customers in businesses through better quality of services, and increased durability of products. Some of the leading organizations in the world have changed the face of the world with their innovative and cutting edge technology. These innovative technologies have consequently changed the working of households and businesses at large. However, the initiatives towards change must be backed by effective leadership and guidance in order to be successful. In an organizational context, innovation is positively related with organizational efficiency, productivity, competitiveness, market share, quality and other aspects. The p roject seeks to bring forth how innovation is critical for the success of organizations in the competitive world. This is followed by the role of leadership in implementing the change initiatives in organizations. A critical analysis is provided in this context in terms of previous research results and findings on the subject. Arguments, both for and against the subject are put forth in the project. This is coupled with real life organizational examples depicting how effective leadership has been instrumental in implementing innovative methods and techniques in the organization which have consequently taken it towards growth and success. Leadership and its importance Much has been written about the role and effectiveness of leadership in driving organizations towards success. Leaders play the most prominent role in driving an organization through a change process. Among the range of definitions that leadership has, the simplest one is its ability to influence others in achieving goa ls and objectives (Selman, 2002, p.1). The personal attributes of a leader plays a significant role in influencing the innovative initiatives taken by executives However there lays a distinct difference between a leader and an innovator. The development of spontaneous leadership within the workforce of any organization is a slow process which remains unresponsive to external elements and this necessitates strategic interventions in the organization. However an innovator might not always play the leader’s role effectively. The initiative towards a new process is generated by the innovator and the change process through which the organization is led is done by the initiative of the leader. That is why extensive research has been conducted to analyse whether innovation is possible without effective leadership. Researchers and practitioners have brought forth views both for and against the subject (Selman, 2002, p.1). Extensive research has gone into the subject of importance and criticality of leadership in organizations. Researchers have primarily made three divisions of the tasks associated with leadership. They are task oriented, relation oriented and participative leadership. Authors have particularly emphasised on such fields of leadership including participative leadership, empowerment and delegation. These studies are particularly helpful for managers for identifying the appropriate decisions to be taken in different situations and circumstances in the