Subtle Forces in Leadership
Mini Research Paper

11/3/2011

Introduction
Fusion leadership is a term used to represent the fusion effect that leadership can bring about in an organisation by realising an optimal combination of subtle forces. Subtle forces are rarely noticed and are hugely underrated. In most cases forces are intangible and that makes the detection of subtle forces that are weak in nature impossible as compared to the strong forces. Usage of subtle forces in an organisation ensures the level of independence in employees an alternative range of choices as compared to the imposed rules in case of strong forces (Daft & Lengel, 1998). Subtle forces cannot be ignored and has to advance in organisations to the optimal fusion effect. Fusion leadership leads to a positive organisational change by bringing out the best in employees.
There are six subtle forces and they are mindfulness, vision, heart, courage, communication and integrity
Mindfulness:
Mindfulness represents independent thinking, personal creativity and an open mind. (Daft & Lengel, 1998). It is a quality that makes a leader sets apart his prejudices and his opinions and makes him have an open mind which is open to ideas. Mindfulness is also a key component that links knowledge with behavioral capability (valentine et.al, 2009). Adopting the concept of mindfulness will emphasize on the importance of self awareness that leads to a purposeful action. It increases the observation power of a person without prejudices, analyze and respond to situation intentionally rather than reactively. Bringing up mindfulness in an firm will lead to both horizontal development and vertical development. These developments ensure qualitative and quantitative improvement in the performance of the organization. Mindful leader builds a bridge between the gaps that occur in an organization. Adopting mindfulness leads to a feeling of accountability by the employees for the profits and loss of an organization (Ray et. al, 2011). Mindfulness is extremely important in today’s organizations due to the nature of the changing environments. One of the natures of a mindful organization is that they pay attention to what is happening in the organization and not what is supposed to be happening (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2006). Expertise is not measured in a person through his hierarchical position in the case of a mindful organization. Mindful organizations adapt change very easily and still manage to live in the present.
Being mindful helps others to see the subtle forces, maintain a open mind, helps to be tentative, helps to set aside the opinions, ask questions and yield answers. They will challenge assumptions simultaneously welcoming the opposites, find the subtle flows and relationships and analyze things as a whole and a part by encouraging multiple approaches (Daft & Lengel, 1999).
Vision:
An organization is faced by lots of issues in the case of growth, change, customization, globalization, and technology. In the middle of all this the aim of an organization tends to be lost. In order to overcome this it becomes necessary to arrange a pathway towards success and sustainability (Cartwright & Baldwin, 2006). A vision should be set to have an aim for the strategies that are framed. A vision should be inspirational in nature. It is very important for an organization to have a single, unified vision and along with it also needs employees and managers required to fulfill this vision by framing strategies and working towards realizing the vision (Collins & Porras, 1991). A vision helps to paint a clear and compelling picture. It helps to realize who you are, where you are going, and what will guide your journey. Knowing these will instill the power to move ahead with full force (Blanchard, 2003).
A vision creates a future along with facilitating hopes and dreams. It pursues the ultimate aim of the organization that is a higher purpose by inspiring people by focusing on