Module 1: Introduction to Leadership

What is leadership?

Process of conscious influencing attitudes and behaviors of employees by leader with the aim of achieving a jointly desired results

What are 5 components of leadership?

1.- Multiperson context (involves leaders & followers)
2.- Asymetry (unequal distribution of power)
3.- Social Interaction (interpersonal interaction results in dependence)
4.- Dynamics (different interactions between leader and followers)
5.- Goal orientation (driven by a common purpose)

What are the challenges of leadership?

* External:
1.- Increase of globalization
2.- Increase of market dynamics
3.- Increase of technology dynamics

*Internal:
1.- Increase of employees to participate in decisions of company and leader
2.- Frequent change of company
3.- Flattening of hierarquies

What is power?

Capactiy to influence others

Which are the bases of social power?

* Position power
1.- Legitimate power
2.- Coercive power
3.- Reward power

*Personal power
1.- Referent power
2.- Expert power

What means position power?

Derives from the specific position or status of a leader in a hierarchy

What means personal power?

Derives from the expertise, knowledge, skills and experiences of a leader

Explain the types of position power

1.- Legitimate power: Being the highest leader or a key member of a company
2.- Coercive power: Derives from the fear of getting a bad review or getting fired
3.- Reward power: Being the person with the capacity to give bonuses and rewards

Explain the types of personal power

1.- Referent power: Derives from the trust employees have on a leader based on the way he handled a certain situation
2.- Expert power: Derives from the experiences and skills a leader has

Difference between leadership and management

Leadership is about establishing direction, aligning people, building teams, setting clear goals, enabling and inspiring

Management is about controlling, keeping proceses and rules, resource allocation, creating schedules and agendas, planning and problem solving

Explain trait theory

Explains that leadership cannot be learned, it comes from innate personality characteristics of leaders that are largely stable and this characteristics are key to leadership success

5 personality factors

1.- Neuroticism
2.-Extraversion
3.-Openness
4.-Agreeableness
5.-Conscientiousness

Weaknesses of person-oriented leadership (trait theory)

-Too strong focus on personality traits
-Negletion of relevant factors like the environment
-Neglects behavior of leader and follower
-Neglects situational factors of leader and follower

What is the assumption behind the person-oriented approaches?

Success of a leader depends on his characteristics

What are the 3 most important person-oriented leadership styles?

1.- Charismatic leadership
2.-Transformational/ transactional leadership
3.-DISC concept

What is charismatic leadership?

Style of leadership esentially based on personal dispositions of leader which lead to strong identification of followers with leader´s values and goals

Which are the characteristics of a charismatic leader?

-Willingness to take risks
-Strong power of imagination
-Strong motive to influence others
-Sets high expectations on himself
-Communicates high performance expectations on employees
-Energetic

How can charismatic leadership be influenced?

*By the features environment --\> Work related events --\> Positive state of mind of leader --\> Work attitude --\> Charismatic behavior of leader

*Emotional intelligence of leader and personality traits of leader

What are the mechanisms of charismatic leadership?

1.- Overall goal of company
2.- Personal self-presentation that atracts employees
3.- Leader exemplifies values
4.- Leader awakens motive to action
5.- Leader sets performance expectations and trust on employees
6.- Employees take leaders values as their own
7.-Employees self-steem and performance expectations increases
8.- Employees accept high goals
9.-Employees trust leader

Pros and cons of charismatic leadership

Pros:

\-clear purposes 

\-leads to high inspiration levels on employees 

\-learns from mistakes 

\-alignment to central mission

Cons:
\-Arrogancy
\-Loss of solid ground
\-If leader has wrong values
\-If company relies too much on them, when they leave company suffers
\-May also ignore mistakes

Which leader behaviors support the charismatic leadership?

-Willigness to take risks
-Enthusiastic
-Setting high expectations on themselves and on employees
-Exemplification of values
-Pursue clear vision

Which leader behaviors support charismatic leadership?

*Willingness to take risks
*Exemplification of values
*Sets high expectations on himself
*High performance expectations on employees
*Pursuit of a clear vision
*Enthusiastic and motivates employees

Main idea of transformational leadership

Type of leadership with ^^strong proximity to charismatic^^ leadership that ^^aims to increase level of motivation^^ and ^^influence fundamental convictions of the employees^^

main idea of transactional leadership

Type of leadership based on the assumption that ^^leader and follower look to maximise their own benefit^^ from the leadership ^^exchange oriented interaction^^

What is the risk of transactional and transformational leadership?

The success depends on the needs from employee and its relationship/ fit with the leader

Explain each dimension of transformational leadership

1\.- ^^Charisma^^: sets an ^^example^^ for employees to ^^pursue a specific vision^^

2\.- ^^Inspiration^^: motivation of employees contributes to the ^^increase of well-being^^ of the employees beyond their own interests

3\.- ^^Intellectual stimulation:^^ employees ^^look at work in a new perspective^^

4\.- ^^Individual consideration:^^ leader looks to ^^develop the skills^^ from employees and reach a higher level

Explain each dimension of transactional leadership

1.- Contingent reward: In exchange of fulfilment of employee's needs, leader requires a certain performance
2.- Management by exception: Leader delegates routine tasks and he intervenes only in emergencies

Connection between dimensions of transformational and transactional leadership

The ^^combination of both leadership^^ styles allow employees to ^^perform beyond expectations^^

What is the relationship between transactional and transformational leadership?

^^Transactional leadership^^ is the stage 1 (^^structural orientation^^ frame) that brings structure and orientation that support ^^transformational leadership ( ideal orientation frame)^^ and create an ideal framework that offers values, goals and visions.

What are performance implications of transformational leadership?

1.- Organizational level: development of product and process innovations, development of market launch and process innovations
2.- Team level: Profitability, quality of team performance, efficiency of team, cost trend,
3.- Individual level: job satisfaction, job performance, creativity, work commitment

Distinction of transactional and transformational leadership

Transformational: involves intrinsic motivation, medium to long term goals, mechanisms are trust and creativity, leaders are seen as coaches, personal power

Transactional: extrinsic motivation, short term goals, mechanisms are contracts and rewards, leaders are seen as instructors, position power

What is the DISC concept?

Dominance
Initiative
Steadiness
Consciousness

Main idea of DISC

^^**A person’s behavioral tendencies**^^ can be determined by two factors: ^^perception of the social environmen^^t ( if its pleasant or unpleasant) and the ^^reaction of environment^^ ( determined or reserved)

Strengths and weaknesses of D in DISC

Dominance: ^^Leader with high determination, high need of independency^^
%%Pros: work behavior is independent, high goal orientation, logic argumentation%%

==Cons: Impulsive, impatient, not listening actively==

Strengths and weaknesses of I in DISC

Initiative: ^^high need for acceptance by others^^, broad knowledge
Pros: %%friendly, enthusiastic, open and creative, good with interpersonal relationships%%
==Cons: work overload and therefore unreliable, not good with schedules and deadlines, unstructured working style==

Strengths and weaknesses of S in DISC

Steadiness: ^^high need for safety^^, ^^predictable for employees^^
Pros: %%Loyal to company, calm and friendly, high sensitivity for employees needs, readiness for cooperation%%
Cons: ==risk aversion, limited readiness to openly deal with conflicts, tendency to hold on to trusted behavior==

Strengths and weaknesses of C in DISC

Conscientiousness: ^^high discipline, need for accuracy and caution^^
Pros: %%structured working style, well founded decision making, severe maintenance of schedules and logic in their thinking and working%%
Cons: ==limited ability to improvise, limited openness to new things, low speed of implementation due to tendency to perfectionism==

Pros and cons of transactional leadership

Pros:
*efficient
*clear structure
*achievable goals
*can lead to high performance

Cons:
*inflexible
*unispiring
*limited follower engagement

Pros and cons of transformational leadership

Pros:
*can lead to amazing results
*aims to empower
*aims to reach intrinsic motivations

Cons:
*may not be trainable
*can be a complex and blurry collection of attributes
*charisma can be potentially abused