Wk 6 – Leading

Key Definitions

 Leadership: The process of inspiring people to work hard in order to achieve

high performance.
 Visionary Leaders: Leaders who convey a strong and compelling sense of the
future and the actions needed to get there, turning vision into results.

Leadership Principles (Schermerhorn et al., 2020)

1. Challenge the Process: Encourage innovation and support innovative

individuals.
2. Show Enthusiasm: Inspire others with personal enthusiasm for a shared
vision.
3. Help Others to Act: Support the efforts and talents of team members.
4. Set the Example: Act as a role model for how others should behave.
5. Celebrate Achievements: Emphasize emotional engagement in the
workplace and celebrate successes.

Example of Visionary Leadership

 Jane Lu and Showpo: Transitioned from a brick-and-mortar store to a global

online retail presence, leveraging social media trends.

Leadership and Gender

 Masculinity and Leadership: Early equating of leadership with masculinity,

countered by evidence that effective leadership is not gender-exclusive (Billing
& Alvesson, 2002; Appelbaum et al., 2003).

Leadership vs Management

Etymology

 Manager: From Latin "manus" (hand), related to directing and doing.

 Leader: From Anglo-Saxon "laed" or "laeden," meaning path or road and to
travel, implying guiding people from one place to another.

Definitions and Differences

 Management: Attaining organisational goals efficiently and effectively

through planning, organising, leading, and controlling resources.
  Leadership: Inspiring people towards high performance, distinct from
management's focus on organisational smooth operation.

Theoretical Perspective (Zaleznik, 1977)

 Management: Concerned with organisational mechanics, risk control, reacting

to events, enforcing rules, and coordination.
 Leadership: Focuses on seeking opportunities, changing rules, inspiring belief,
and encouraging achievement, leading to adaptive or useful change.

Power and Leadership

Sources of Power

 Definition of Power: The ability to get someone to do something you want,

according to Schermerhorn et al., 2020.

Types of Power

1. Position Power:
 Based on one's role within an organization.
 Independent of the individual holding the position.
 Examples: CEO authority, the ability to reward or punish, seen as a
legitimate right to influence behavior.
 Reward Power: Motivating through financial incentives (wages,
bonuses, promotions).
 Coercive Power: Disciplining through denial of promotions, job
assignments, verbal reprimands, or termination.
 Legitimate Power: Influencing through authority; compliance
because one is the boss.
2. Personal Power:
 Tied to unique individual characteristics, independent of organizational
role.
 Based on expertise or referent power.
 Expert Power: Influencing through specialized knowledge or
skills, such as medical professionals during the COVID-19
pandemic.
 Referent Power: Gained by admiration or identification with the
person, allowing influence over others’ choices, beliefs, or
support for causes.

Power Dynamics
  Followers' Power: Highlighting that followers can wield power, indicating that
power in organizations and society is negotiated and shared.
 Group Power: Derived from solidarity and collective action, such as
unions or social movements (#metoo, Black Lives Matter), emphasizing
the influence of numbers and collective capacity.

Historical Theories of Leadership

Evolution of Leadership Theories

 Trait Theory → Behavioral Approaches → Contingency Approaches →

Modern Approaches

Trait Theory

 Objective: Identify inherent traits of great leaders.

 Traits Identified: Drive, self-confidence, creativity, cognitive ability, business
knowledge, motivation, flexibility, honesty, and integrity.
 Problems: Lack of behavioral consistency among leaders, effectiveness in
contemporary contexts, and consideration of female leadership.

Behavioral Approaches

 Development: Emerged from the limitations of Trait Theory, focusing on

leaders' behaviors.
 Key Behaviors:
 Task-Oriented: Specifying tasks, creating plans, setting standards,
ensuring task completion.
 People-Oriented: Engaging in two-way communication, supporting,
respecting, and trusting followers.

Leadership Grid (Blake and Mouton)

 Concept: Five leadership styles based on concern for production and people.
 Styles:
 Impoverished Manager: Low concern for both.
 Country Club Manager: High concern for people, low for production.
 Authority-Obedience Manager: High concern for production, low for
people.
 Middle-of-the-Road Manager: Moderate concern for both.
 Team Manager: High concern for both.

Contingency Approaches
  Principle: Effective leadership depends on matching leadership style with the
situation.
Fiedler’s Contingency Theory
 Key Elements: Leader-member relations, task structure, and position power.
 Outcome: Identifies the best leadership style (task-oriented or relationship-
oriented) based on situational characteristics.
Hersey-Blanchard’s Situational Theory
 Focus: Adjusting leadership style based on the willingness and ability of
followers.
 Leadership Styles:
 Telling Style: For followers needing direction.
 Selling Style: For followers needing guidance and support.
 Participating Style: For followers needing encouragement in decision-
making.
 Delegating Style: For competent and confident followers.

Key Insights

 Trait Theory offers a foundation by highlighting inherent qualities of leaders.

 Behavioral Approaches shift the focus to actions and interactions with
followers.
 Leadership Grid provides a framework for balancing concerns for production
and people.
 Contingency Approaches introduce the importance of situational context,
suggesting that leadership effectiveness is contingent on the alignment of
leadership style with specific situational factors.
 The evolution from Trait to Modern Approaches indicates a progression
from static qualities to dynamic interactions and adaptability in leadership
practices.

Modern Approaches to Leadership: Leading in the Current Era

Current Challenges for Organizational Leaders

 Building high-performance teams.

 Achieving work-life balance.
 Responding flexibly to new ideas.
 Creating and delivering effective organizational change.

Traits and Behaviors of Modern Leaders

 Possession of leadership traits.

  Display of leadership behaviors adaptable to situations.
 Ability to inspire others with vision.
 Reappraisal of leadership styles, including a focus on women's leadership
styles.

Charismatic Leadership

 Skilled in verbal and emotional communication.

 Inspires followers with a compelling vision.
 Makes personal sacrifices for the collective identity.
 Challenges the status quo with innovative approaches.

Transformational and Transactional Leadership

 Transformational Leadership: Inspires extraordinary accomplishments and

delivers change.
 Key areas: Idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual
stimulation, individualized consideration.
 Transactional Leadership: Focuses on task accomplishment and
organizational performance.
 Both types of leadership are complementary, with transactional leadership
serving as a foundation for transformational leadership.

Dark Side of Leadership

 The case of Elon Musk illustrates potential negative aspects of

transformational leadership, such as treating employees poorly.

Servant Leadership

 Emphasizes service to others, ethics, virtues, and morality.

 Focuses on the character and commitment of the leader to serve.
 Identifies ten characteristics including listening, empathy, healing, awareness,
persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to growth,
and building community.

Authentic Leadership

 Centers on genuineness and being true to one's self.

 Grounded in moral and ethical leadership foundations.
 Emphasizes knowing and acting in accordance with core values.
 Examples include Jacinda Ardern's leadership style.

Followership
  Highlights the importance of effective followers in achieving organizational
success.
 Characteristics of effective followers include honesty, competence,
dependability, cooperation, and loyalty.

Insights

 Modern leadership theories focus on adaptability, ethical considerations,

vision, and effective communication.
 There is a growing recognition of the diverse styles and approaches to
leadership, including the significant contributions of women leaders.
 The role of followers is increasingly acknowledged as crucial to the success of
leadership and organizational outcomes.

The Past and Future of Leadership: Insights from the World's

Oldest Living Culture

Learning from Indigenous Leadership

 Leadership practices from Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

peoples, with over 60,000 years of history, provide valuable insights into
leadership.
 Research emphasizes the importance of examining leadership within the
context of Indigenous arts and community development to understand
broader applicability and gain new insights.

Key Articles and Chapters on Indigenous Leadership

1. Navigating the Territories of Indigenous Leadership

 Focuses on Australian Indigenous artists and arts leaders.
 Suggests that Indigenous leadership practices offer new insights into
leadership, emphasizing embodied and spatially anchored practices.
2. The Wisdom of Differentiating Between Indigenous Leader and Indigenous Leadership
 Highlights the significance of kinship relationships and collective experiences
in shaping Indigenous leaders.
 Discusses how cultural knowledge and kinship systems influence group
interactions, values, and norms.
3. Between Two Worlds: Indigenous Leaders Exercising Influence and Working Across
Boundaries
 Explores the emergence of Indigenous leaders within community
development, management, and administration.
 Identifies distinct attributes of Indigenous leadership, emphasizing relational
aspects and cultural dimensions.
Reflections on Leadership

 Reflecting on historical and modern leaders prompts questions about the

nature of leadership, including figures like Mohandas Gandhi and Jane Lu, and
contrasting with controversial leaders like Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and
Genghis Khan.
 Raises the debate on the essence of leadership: whether it is defined by
serving the greater good or can be considered leadership when pursuing self-
serving aims.

Insights on Leadership

 Indigenous leadership provides unique perspectives on leadership,

emphasizing the importance of cultural identity, kinship, and collective
experiences.
 The contrast between leaders who serve the greater good and those driven by
self-serving purposes challenges traditional views on leadership.
 The discussion encourages a broader examination of leadership across
different cultures and epochs, suggesting that the future of leadership may
continue to evolve with a greater emphasis on inclusivity, ethical
considerations, and cultural sensitivity.