**5. Significance of leadership perspectives in organizations**

Social work practice in organizations is significant and unique in that it seeks to concurrently navigate across and within macro and micro leadership approaches in order to effective address and resolve problems using appropriate leadership skills from its social work perspectives. These situations fundamentally require the leaders to choose the apt leadership styles appropriate in social work organizations reading the signs of the times in an organizational setting. For example, it has been evidently stated that multiple social work organizations focus on various activities with different groups like child adolescent, children in conflict with the law, older persons among others with some form of membership, elected leaders, full time staff members which all require different brands of leadership apt to the needs of the people. From these social work perspectives, the social work profession continues to face an unprecedented periods of challenges and uncertainties which obviously require the development of appropriate leadership capabilities at each level of the workforce and in the society [11].

Furthermore, most organizations are basically a heterogeneous group which requires effective social work leadership techniques because some exist for a variety of reasons, usually to further the political or social goals of their members or funders. Regardless of the traits of the leader, most social work organizations in various realms are launched to complement the efforts of National Governments with the purpose of improving the standard of living of the individuals, groups and communities. Earlier studies found that lack of a robust empirical foundation is a particular confront for social work leadership in such organizations which call for improvement in any perspectives ([5] in [11]). More remarkably, social work is practiced in a diversity of settings and interacts with different discourses that are dominant in its diverse fields of practice [14]. In practice, Government organizations are controlled by the state and depend on tax payers, bilateral aid, and multi-lateral aid or tied aid. However, others are operational and advocacy social work organizations which are registered, and have donor accountability, act as gap fillers of the state activities characterized by their flexibility in emergency situations moreover obtain grants per capita and voluntary sources, social work organizations. These local, national, regional and international organizations exist in various forms and sizes which require the use of appropriate leadership theories and models depending on their classification as some are operational nature while others are involved in advocacy work. Studies have shown that developing the knowledge base about social work leadership in whichever organization helps to address concerns of knowledge base being applied from outside social work practice with the associated lack of social work values [5]. Moreover, even if social work and non-social work organizations differ in terms of hierarchy, both

share similarities in that they all require some form of structures like an office and a budget as well as some form of understanding of the rightful leadership styles and theories in delivering the services. Over and above, a number of organizations have been classified as independent sector, volunteer sector; civil sector, grassroots organizations, and private voluntary organizations moreover have administrative structures and complement each other. Studies have shown that the related professions have decades, if not a century, of knowledge to utilize and yet there is a lack of leadership topics and training in social work education on the correct leadership models and theories which fails to address the profession's oversight [15].

The combination of their sources of funding to carry out their activities are availed in the form of grants per capita, loans, donations, volunteering and the lack of an empirical base which is fundamental for any social work organization can be a major challenge. The missing pedagogical content can be connected to other elements of social work practice, such as the inability to professionally advance in improving the curricula without moving into effective leadership in organization. The leader may lack 'clinical leaders' knowledge base as well as verbal abilities to drive up standards [16]. Even though social work has adopted a more momentous and holistic approach to understanding and intervening in social organizations using different leadership approaches, the profession has been blamed for starting on a more scientific footing aimed at controlling and reforming individuals. These alleged complications however require the robust leadership's ability to redirect from within the profession; presenting solutions that promote social work values, in order to be grasped by social workers on a wide scale [5].

### **6. Leadership gaps in social work organizations**

Generally within the social work organizations, some gaps from social work perspectives have been substantial over the past decades. Due to the global complexities and diversities of the evolving organizations and resource constraints at different levels, some social workers have been seen throwing in to their failures to achieve the desired social work organization goals and objectives. In that regard, most social workers have seemed to use the wrong leadership models either used in religious fraternities or the military styles used in academy which obviously do not match with the evolving diversities and complexities of the evolving social work organizations from the onset. Moreover, it has been confirmed by Taylor [17] who observed that teaching on organizational leadership skills has been largely absent from the social work education curriculums. Thus unskilled and uninformed social workers in organizations have been operating in predicaments using inappropriate leadership brands to suit their current situation. Hafford-Letchfield et al. [6] suggest that understanding the organization's style of operation is crucial, for example, whether professionals expected to operate relatively independently or are they expected to rely heavily on the direction of their supervisors. In searching for acceptable leadership category from a social work perspectives, Harworth et al. [5] citing in Lawler and Bilson; Holosko; Perlmutter agree that there is limited attention to leadership in social work education and a potential incongruence between education for frontline practice and education for leadership. In social work organizations, leadership approaches using the leadership styles generally used in spiritual organizations and armed forces which are not appropriate for social work organizations have been alleged to create ongoing leadership tensions and pressures. Bolzan [18] citing in Alston and McKinnon [19]

#### *Perspective Chapter: Fostering Effective Leadership in Social Work Organisations DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106281*

affirm by calling for social work education to take some responsibility for the lack of progress in fostering healthy and effective leadership styles in social work organizations. The authors emphasize that various governing bodies have to formulate a vision that allow them to take a lead in reshaping the structures and policies of the state that would be egalitarian and open to reducing opportunities for bias, racism, and prejudice in groups and communities. Haworth et al. [5] crowned the entire saying a consistent definition, models of practice, and development opportunities throughout professional social work careers are the building blocks for success in leadership used in social work organizations. Informed by the above observations, it has been found that many questions concerning leadership style from social work perspectives have been raised many questions in social work organizations which have remained unanswered like; 1. What are the appropriate leadership models used by social work organizations in the contemporary society? 2. What are the responses by social work organizations, society, community, family and individuals that benefit from those leadership styles? 3. Which leadership styles could be used in social work organizations of this contemporary society? This book chapter seeks to discuss leadership and organization to determine proper definitions, leadership styles and theories from social work perspectives.
