Introduction

The corporate world has evolved drastically in the past few decades, and currently we reside
in a connected environment which is unpredictable and rapid. Fast-paced technological
developments have created a world in which the Internet, phones and social networking are
appearing everywhere, and the global financial crisis has amplified the sense of uncertainty,
risk and unpredictability in the economy. The word VUCA which is an acronym for
volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity was introduced due to the continuous
change in the external environmental factors we live in. This state of continuous change has
switched the level of certainty and stability that people have been used to (Tiefenbacher,
2019), therefore, making it evident that it is a VUCA environment. The emerging global
health-care issue COVID-19 can be taken as an example. From a market point of view, this
current world is fundamentally shifting in the context of a VUCA climate (Andreux, 2020).
As corporate choices become greatly influenced by external factors, the future leaders need to
effectively navigate the complexity of this global phenomenon (Encombe, 2008)(Deloitte,
2019).

In this current era, power to the stakeholders is dominant and the autocratic leadership style is
not the best leadership style to use. Today, becoming a leader involves taking others with
you, joining in on corporate goals and reducing the consequences associated with leadership
(Nolan, 2007). Also, the latest technology used back then are now outdated and traditional
leaders can consider this change to be a challenge. It is known that Generation Y is stepping
into the business world and is rapidly growing to be tech-savvy specially, with social media
marketing which is another point to consider since traditional leaders are not very
comfortable using latest technology (Caramela, 2017). Since modern leadership styles are a
mix of traditional leadership styles, Asrar –ul-Haq and Anwar (2018) state that there is a
research gap in the modern leadership styles. Sharma, et al. (2019) also agreed on the fact
that modern leadership styles need more significance.

Ethical leadership

According to Freeman & Stewart (2006), ethical leaders refers to the reflection of one’s self
of who they are, what they can turn out to be, how they live their life and in what way can
they make their lives better. Freeman & Stewart (2006) also mentioned that ethical leadership
is about encouraging individuals to do the correct thing rather than interpreting it as stopping
individuals from doing the incorrect thing. Brown et al. (2005) describe ethical leadership as
showing a good standard of conduct through one’s actions and relationships between people
and encouraging others to such conduct through communication and decision making.

One of the main advantages of this leadership style is honesty within the organizational
culture. Since this leadership style promotes workers to be honest, they won’t feel stressed
out to talk and be honest when something goes wrong which will strengthen the relationship
within the whole organization. Secondly, while employees strive to achieve the goals and
objectives, adding values and ethics to the process gives more satisfaction which eliminates
guilt, thus resulting in a state of being a prosperous organization. .
The main drawback of this leadership style is the fact that implementation is costly.
Practising an ethical leadership style will need an ethics compliance program which can be very
costly for many organizations. Also, when the company keeps growing and expanding, ethical
policies will have to be continuously updated to be in line with the changes.

This leadership style can benefit the organization in many ways. In an individual and team
point of view, this leadership style will help individuals sustain a healthy and positive work
culture and also get others to follow by their ethical conduct. Productivity and work attitude
can be enhanced due to the positive communication which is practised in this leadership
style. This will assist in achieving organization targets. In an organizational point of view, the
success of an organizations depends on the wellbeing of the employees. Due to this
leadership style, the positive environment created lets employees grow and achieve their
goals and objectives effectively and efficiently. Although this leadership style has many pros,
there are some cons that need consideration. One main drawback of this style is that all
employees and especially the top management have to support this style and ethical
behaviour to make it a success. When one or few leader acts unethically, it attracts more
employees and that behaviour keeps building, making this style less effective.

Also, this leadership style can create disruption to the organization. Since each person has his
or her own set of ethics which they believe are ethically right, it can vary from person to
person thereby creating an argument. Agreeing on what is ethical and unethical can create
conflict among employees.

Servant leadership

This style was first introduced by Robert K. Greenleaf with the main aim to have a different
perspective on leadership .This leadership style mainly focusses on serving others rather than
taking control or gaining power. This style aims to include employees in decision-making
that is firmly focused on ethical behavior, which promotes individual development thus
enhancing work culture and motivation. _______ explain this leadership style as fulfilling the
needs of the team first before serving one’s self. The reason behind this belief is that, servant
leaders assume that a better quality of work can be obtained effectively and efficiently when
the members in the team are personally and professionally satisfied. Team work and
employee satisfaction are key concepts in this leadership style. This leadership style is
beneficial for organizational growth because this assists in creating an environment where
employees in all levels are respected and valued. It has been proved that organizations that
individuals who move forward with this leadership style have a more positive working
culture with high morale and employee engagement. These factors directly affect the growth
of the business in terms of sustainability. Since this leadership style aims to benefit everyone
in the organization, the benefit serves everyone and helps them develop because they work as
a team to achieve a mutual benefit. It also lets employees view things from different
perspectives because of the diversity created in the organization. Although this has been
stated as an advantage, making decisions that is advantageous to everyone has a major
weakness. It is the fact that it takes longer to make decisions. In this VUCA environment
when everything is fast paced, time is a key factor consider and stay competitive in the
market. Since the decision has to benefit everyone, organizations can take much longer
because of different points of view that needs to be considered.

Authentic leadership

Authentic leadership is an area that is now being highlighted in academic researches which was once
not important. This context emerged in the 1960s as a way of explaining how an entity represents
itself by authenticity. Some authors claimed that through accountability, problem solving, and
innovation, an organization could function authentically as a single individual would. This is a
leadership style that puts great emphasis on bringing up the acceptance of the leader and not
power, by forming authentic partnerships with employees that respect their opinions and are
founded on an ethical basis. In General, people who possess this leadership style are positive and
honest about themselves and is open about it. By strengthening trust and getting honest help from
others, these leaders can boost the performance individually and as a team because of the trust
placed by their followers. This leadership style has been widely adopted by many leaders who see
this as a way to focus on individuals and ethics rather than profits. For example, Martin Luther King
Jr.

This leadership style can remove many legal problems in an organization. Authentic leadership
removes a variety of civil and ethical problems. Since these leaders focus their behaviour and
judgments on strong ethical values, they never find themselves guilty of cruelty, or harassment to
workers. The decision-making is based on competitiveness and efficiency, yet through your own
views, you understand the importance of workers as individual beings. It makes for a cohesive
environment in which workers are members of a group that works in a common direction. You are
the primary decision maker, but you gain from the support of the employees.

Regardless of the great values that come with being an authentic leader, being authentic can also be
problematic if the leader has negative emotions. Emotions can spread quickly within organization,
furthermore, when a leader appears depressed or upset, those feelings will be taken by everyone
they communicate with and spread through the organisation. For example, if an employee doesn’t
feel right about something, they most likely seek assistance upwards. This is because authentic
leaders act as emotional role models and under these cases it may be harmful to the organization
because of the negativity spread by the leader.

Responsible leadership

This leadership style has been explained by many authors in different ways. Woszczyna et al (2015)
explains this leadership style as a value-based leadership style in the search for the method of
inspiring and connecting, economic and social change and sustainable growth by enabling and
influencing people to follow a modern vision of sustainable growth and the required suggested
change. Burton-Jones (2012) defines Responsible leadership as a trend affecting people, teams and
organisations that prioritize leadership effectiveness, ethical practice, respect and social and
environmental sustainability activities. The main reason why this leadership style is needed in an
organization is because for instance, when the top management is chosen by the Board of directors,
they would want an individual who will be responsible the growth of the organization. This shows
that responsibility is a key element that is looked into in modern leadership. One of the most
highlighted benefits of this leadership style is the fact that current problems can be solved.

Conclusions

In conclusion,

To some extent, the capacity for great leadership is innate. However, learning how to be a more
effective leader is within everyone’s grasp – whether you lead multiple teams, an entire company or
just one staff member. Effective leaders periodically assess their personal strengths and
shortcomings. Knowing personal weakness does not make the leader weak; on the contrary, it
allows delegating responsibilities to others who have those abilities, in order to achieve the common
goal. Great leaders should hire people who complement, rather than supplement, their skills.
Acknowledging weaknesses will improve the leadership ability and will make the person in question
more human. Efficient leaders have honest communication with their teams and peers, and a
thorough understanding of how they are perceived. Testing others’ perception can be as simple as
observing their behavior. Good leaders are responsive to the group’s needs. Some teams value trust
over creativity; others prefer a clear communicator to a great organizer; building a strong team is
easier when knowing the values and goals of each individual, as well as what they need from their
leader. Professional leaders know the organization’s overall purpose and goals, and the agreed-upon
strategies to achieve such targets; they also know how their team fits into the big picture, and the
part they play in helping the organization grow and thrive. Full knowledge of the organization is vital
to becoming a leader. Great leaders develop loyal followers by developing these four interpersonal
leadership techniques: listening and giving feedback to subordinates in order to succeed in their
roles; communicating by telling the truth, encouraging dialogue, and remaining open to others’
suggestions; persuading by framing ideas and solutions in a way that makes the followers believe in
them; convincing others to take action is an essential leadership skill, based on credibility;
collaborative leaders trust their followers, allow them to take risks and make mistakes, and give
them the tools they need to succeed; they use influence rather than authority to make things
happen; all great leaders were followers at some point. Leadership can be found at any level of an
organization. One does not have to be a manager to be a leader. Trust and responsibility are major
ingredients in leadership, built through authenticity, integrity, transparency, and respect

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