Leaders hold the responsibility to train, develop and provide direction for a team. Organizational leadership is the person or people established to govern and have authority over a particular business, government or organization. The leadership over an organization sets the tone of the corporate culture, company expectations and a vision for the company. Various leadership issues can arise in organizational leadership that can hinder the organization's effectiveness and productivity. Identifying and addressing the organizational issues is the first step in resolving the issues and implementing positive change.

Lack of Communication

Communication is the exchange of ideas, thoughts and information through actions, words and symbols. Organizations use two types of communication: upward communication and downward communication. Upward communication is when subordinates send message to those above them. Downward communication is sending messages from upper management to subordinates. When communication lacks from leadership, subordinates are left without direction adn purpose and lose motivation to perform their daily tasks well. Lack of communication can manifest in lack of spoken words or action from the leadership.

Inability to Provide Feedback

Organizational leadership that does not provide opportunities for subordinates to provide feedback is limiting their ability to implement change. Without feedback, subordinates may feel limited, restricted and disrespected. Feedback gives a voice to followers in an organization so they feel like they play a role in the decisions that are made and overall success of the company. Feedback provides the followers with a sense of purpose and a personal investment in the organization. Implementing an “open door policy” can help encourage subordinates to share their concerns, ideas and desires to leadership.

Ineffective Leadership Style

The use of the wrong leadership style in an organization can hinder the success of the company. For example, if the military used a democratic leadership style where subordinates are encouraged to question directives, wars would not be won and orders would take too long to follow. An authority’s leadership style is appropriate for military leadership where a command is given and followed without question. If a manager of a marketing department attempted to use an authoritative leadership style it would stifle creativity and work against the department’s objective. More appropriately a democratic or laissez faire leadership style would empower free-thinking, conceptual thinking and problem-solving.