Overcoming Leadership Gaps and Practical Experience Through Practical Experience

Question

Task: Why is practical experience crucial in overcoming Leadership Gaps and Practical Experience and improving team performance?

Answer

Introduction

Every organization and business relies heavily on Leadership Gaps and Practical Experience among its staff to coordinate business operations smoothly. This makes it critical for the organization to have effective Leadership Gaps and Practical Experience approaches that recognized, connect and address staff needs. Effective Leadership Gaps and Practical Experience, therefore, requires for the individual to have practical knowledge and experience of the work so as to develop a connection with staff members and gain recognition and respect (Daskal, 2017). Simply having theoretical knowledge is not enough to develop a strong connection with staff members and be classified as good leader thus most major international brands like Toyota emphasis on promoting their experienced staff members to team leaders and managers manager positions as opposed to hiring new and qualified professionals to fill the position.

Some important reasons that support practical as opposed to theoretical knowledge are listed below with examples given to deliver better understanding (Wu, 2013, p. 249).

Absence of information

To effectively lead a team using Leadership Gaps and Practical Experience it is critical to have practical knowledge of the process as this allows the individual understand each detail and complications staff may be experiencing on the during the process (DuBrin, 2013, p. 214). The theory usually differs from the actual process and this is especially true while performing engineering jobs since the individual doing the work will usually encounter complications and need to adopt alternative solutions.

To understand such a situation we need to image a vehicle has been brought in to the Toyota workshop to replace the exhaust system. Theoretically, on paper, this is a process which should last 30 minutes on a new vehicle. But the mechanical engineer is likely to encounter some practical complications such as rusted bolts which are old and worn out or rusted. This needs the individuals to adopt alternative approaches to open or cut them loose. Only an experienced leader can anticipate such a difficulty and would understand the individual’s reason for taking extra time to get the job done.

Reference to Old Information and Techniques

Theoretical based Leadership Gaps and Practical Experience management also mainly depends on published information for knowledge enhancement but in many situations, the information may be out-dated or incorrect leading to a conflict of interest (Weiss & Molinaro, 2010). An example of this can be observed on many mechanical engineering books with relation to handling rusted bolts and nuts. According to the most mechanical engineering literature, rusted bolts require to be treated with petroleum products to loosen the rust before attempting to open them but this approach is incorrect.

A leader with adequate mechanical engineering experience will know the rusted bolts and nuts should be lubricated with water based lubricants or even simple water and allowed to rest before they are opened. Water is responsible for rusting metal but is also more effective at loosening the rusted metal parts due to water molecules being able to penetrate the rust faster while attempting to reach fresh metal to corrode. This makes water based treatments more effective for treating and loosening rusted bolts as compared to oil based rust treatment sold in the market.

Conclusion

The two above examples clearly show how practical knowledge and experience play an important role towards Leadership Gaps and Practical Experience since the leader understands the process better which allows them to build a better connection with the team members who look up at the individual and approach them for guidance and help.

Bibliography

Daskal, L. (2017). The Leadership Gaps and Practical Experience Gap: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness. New York: Penguin.

DuBrin, A. (2013). Handbook of Research on Crisis Leadership Gaps and Practical Experience in Organizations. Northampton: Edward Elgar Publishing.

Weiss, D., & Molinaro, V. (2010). The Leadership Gaps and Practical Experience Gap: Building Leadership Gaps and Practical Experience Capacity for Competitive Advantage. Mississauga: John Wiley & Sons.

Wu, B. (2013). New Theory on Leadership Gaps and Practical Experience Management Science. Oxford: Chartridge Books Oxford,.