Essay: Exploring Leadership Styles for Innovation

1.0 Section I – Introduction
The title of the journal is Warit Wipulanusat, Kriengsak Panuwatwanich, Rodney A. Stewart. (2017). Exploring Leadership Styles for Innovation: An Exploratory Factor Analysis. The objective of the study is to determine on the relationship between innovation and style of leadership that leads to engineer’s quality and efficiency in Australia Public Service (APS). The target respondents are 3570 engineers in Commonwealth Department and the number of respondents that responded to the survey was reduced to 3125 engineers. This study was took place in APS in year 2014. Issues raise in the study is to explore on the factor contributes to enhance quality and effectiveness of government service towards leadership style for innovation. Another issue highlighted in this study is the limitation scope is only for APS, where the writer has limitation on the culture. The study focus to explore the style of leadership culture that influence innovation.
The study was using quantitative approach where the independent variable drives to dependent variables, which are transformational and consideration leadership drives to increase an organizational innovation.
Figure 1: Theoretical Framework
 
The author had summarized the study by recommended that transformational and consideration leadership to merged each other into the management training and development programmed. Moreover, author also recommended Commonwealth Departments to employ worker with both styles of leadership to perform well in the department or section. The contribution of the study is increasing the quality and efficiency among Australia Public Service.
2.0 Section II (a) – Issue synthesizing
Variation style of leadership may boost the innovation in APS such as transformational leadership, transactional leadership and consideration leadership. Different style has different approach in order to increase and improve the quality and efficiency of public service through innovation. Leadership is important to lead people towards achieving the aims or objective of an organization. Warit & Kriengsak (2017) stress that transformational leadership is more significant compared to transactional leadership because the subordinates will be encourage and motivate by their leader to achieve the aim of the organizational. Refer to Rama Shankar (2013); it is also been classified as positive effect on innovation. Alegre & Chiva (2008) explain that one of the main roles of leader to be success in innovation is by express their willingness to transform the organization with creative thinking and support on new ideas. In contrast, consideration leadership emphasizes on welfare of the organizations such as treat all people equally and always be in positive environment i.e. friendliness, warmth, approachability and trust for followers.
In my opinion, both style of transformation and consideration leadership is significant for innovation because both approaches can improve the innovation level of thinking towards better efficiency in an organization. Nanjundeswaraswamy (2014) believe that an effective leader influences others in achieving goals. Either the leader needs to transform and drives the organizational to be highly motivated and inspires by him/her or the leader needs to show their concern and support on subordinates welfare, both approach is important for innovation in an organizations.
Besides that, there are different perspectives of leadership style for innovation. Ali Yassin (2014) stated that the leadership style could be divided into three categories that are transformational leadership, transactional leadership and Laissez-Faire leadership. The approach of Laissez-Faire is different compared to Transformational approach which this leadership style is towards passive action that leaders influence subordinates to be more independent. Meanwhile, Bart (2004) is focus on style of leadership such as charismatic innovation, instrumental innovation, strategic innovation and interactive innovation leadership. All this element is clearly explained under transformational-transactional leadership style drives to innovation.
I strongly agree that all elements in Transformational, Transactional and Consideration leadership should be implemented and practice to produce great leaders with innovative thinking. Meanwhile, I disagree with Laissez-Faire leadership style because it may lead to inefficient leadership because of leader might allow their subordinates to make own decision and handing their job task over their responsibilities. It is not an effective ways towards achieving aim of an organizational. By quoting the verses of the fighter for the rights around the World in the Year 1990, Nelson Mandela, ‘Real leaders must be ready to sacrifice all for the freedom of their people’. In short, style of leadership is importance to produce a great leader for better innovation in the public sector.
In addition, in my opinion, innovation also can be applied in the context of Malaysia Public Sector. Referred to 11th Malaysia Plan, the aim of the plan is to focus on people-centric growth, improvement and technology reformation on innovation that acts as a key driver in economic growth. It was divided into two categories, which are entrepreneurship innovation, and social innovation that helps to improve the efficiency and quality in public service. The approach of leadership is similar to APS approaches and the style of leadership is also significant to Malaysia Public Service. Besides that, 11th Malaysia Plan also highlight on the creativity of public servants through publish of New Horizon Innovative and Creative Group which Malaysia government believe that the creative and innovation may give a high impact services to people.
Another contributing factors for innovation is inculcating creative and innovative culture by reducing cost, create a product or service that give a high impact to the country and rapidly executed as highlighted in National Blue Ocean Strategy (NBOS). Malaysia Public Service believes that by implementing creativity and innovation culture, it will improve the economic growth. The example of programmed to increase the innovation level are 1Malaysia EnTrepreneurs, and Malaysia Global Innovation and Creativity Centre (MaGIC). The creative approaches in NBOS helps public service to strive for enhance in delivering service to people not only focus on leadership but, it focus to all level of people to strive for better innovation.
3.0 Section II (b) – Implication of the study towards Malaysia Public Service
Innovation may change the level of efficiency and quality of public service in Malaysia. It is a must to have a great and innovative leader to shape or lead the organization in parallel with the aims of the organization. The factor of leadership style such as transformational leadership i.e. leader drives subordinates to perform, motivates subordinates to be a better worker, focus on the organizational objectives and consideration leadership i.e. highly concern on subordinates welfare and fairness needs to be adopt in Malaysia Public Service to produced high quality and efficiency public servants. Referring to the verse quotes by Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib, Prime Minister, he infer that Malaysia Public Service needs to focus on Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Innovation. This approach will bring positive impact to the public sector even social innovation will not benefit directly to the public sector but it will increase the level of people’s satisfaction.
In my opinion, leadership innovation is important to ensure the government aim and initiatives being reached. The styles of leadership need to be practice in the leader’s behavior. As an example in NBOS approach, the government initiatives such as Urban Transformation Centre (UTCs), Rural Transformation Centre (RTCs), 1SERVE, and many more. As the aim is to provide friendly and efficient service to peoples, leader needs to drive and inspires their subordinates to well perform in the service. As to maintain the service delivering quality, a leader should be creative in innovation such as to decrease the number of service counter in the future to one or two counter only because the particular job i.e. produce Identification Cards, License Renewal, Passport Renewal or any other service can be deliver by using systematic automated approach. I believe that all the factors in transformational and consideration leadership style can be practice, implement and improve all leaders in Malaysia to be more creative and innovative towards achieving vision and mission of the organizational.
4.0 Section III – Lesson learn
In my opinion, using tools learnt during Innovation & ICT Module can identify issue highlighted in this study. The second step, which is issue redefinition in Four Step Innovative Thinking Process, can be one of the tools to address the issues. For example, 5 focus area in Step 2 which are analyze the issues into details, identify the root cause, map the system, authenticate redefined issues and clarify the assumptions can be used to develop innovation thinking and be more systematic in solving the issues.  Moreover, the issues that have identified clearly lead to proper proposed solution, increase efficiency and shorten the lead-time.
In addition, I think that Innovation Management Approach i.e. structure, process and strategy will helps to explore on the factor that contributes to enhance quality and effectiveness of government service towards leadership style for innovation. We need to be creative in planning the strategy in solving an issue. For example, we can do observation to identify the relationship between two variables or used random creative technique to find out the correlation between the problems. The strategy will structure the issues and the valuable ideas will be produced.
Next, the leadership culture that learnt in Innovation & ICT Module is important to develop innovation among leaders, which we should have positive behavior on the assumption about people ideas, assumption about openness, assumption about being proactive and assumption about middle managers. To be a great and innovative leader, we as PTD officer must be smart to handle with surrounding. Moreover, I think that tools of innovation management and creative thinking drive to produce a great innovation leadership style in public sector. In parallel with Prime Minister verse in NBOS 2016, Malaysia Public Service needs to focus more on Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Innovation. It is important for us as future leaders to understand well on the innovation leadership concept. It means that training given in Innovation & ICT Module can be applied to solve the issues or to identify the problem in the future project. There are 8 competencies can be applied to be a great innovative leaders. All the elements derive in Innovation & ICT Module will definitely helps to identified the problem in the case study given.
5.0 Section IV – Conclusion
In conclusion, there are a lot of leadership style that can be practice towards developing innovative leader such as Transformational Leadership, Transactional Leadership, Lassez-Faire Leadership and Consideration Leadership. In parallel with 11th Malaysia Plan that aim to focus on social innovation and entrepreneur innovation, Malaysia can adapt the elements in APS leadership style to produce high quality and efficiency public servants. I strongly agree that transformational and consideration leadership style brings positive value in developing innovative leader towards achieving vision and mission of an organization. Moreover, the Innovation & ICT Module helps to boost the knowledge and leadership style for us to be a great and innovative future leader. As a Pegawai tadbir & Diplomatik (PTD) officer, I need to apply what I have learned during Innovation & ICT Module to ensure the smoothness of an organization as par with international standard and to increase the quality and efficiency in Malaysia Public Sector.