Lesson 6: Leadership

Leadership

Guidance of others in the pursuit of individual and collective goals, often by directing, coordinating, motivating, supporting, and unifying their efforts; also, the ability to lead others.

Influence process

Leadership Is an ____. Experts have defined leadership in many ways, but most definitions return to one core quality— ____:

Bass 

Leadership is the “successful influence by the leader that results in the attainment of goals by the influenced followers” (____, 2008, p. 19)

Yukl

”Leadership is the process of influencing others to understand and agree about what needs to be done” (___, 2013, p. 7).

Northouse

Leadership is “a process whereby an individual influences a group” (___, 2013, p. 5)

Gardner

Leaders are “individuals who significantly influence the thoughts, behaviors, and/or feelings of others” (____, 1995, p. 6).

Leaders

And some lead by setting an example that they hope others might follow. ___ don’t just order, demand, and require but also persuade, cajole, and guide.

Leadership is not equal to management or supervision

• Leaders may hold supervisory positions in groups, but holding a position does not always translate into leadership; there are many bosses, supervisors, and managers who are not leaders.

• Conversely, many individuals in groups and organizations who do not hold formal positions of authority are leaders, for they influence others as they pool their efforts in the pursuit of shared goals.

Process

Leadership is more about ____, rather than position.

Reciprocal

• Leadership is a cooperative, ____ relationship

• Leaders do not force others to follow them, but instead the leader-follower relationship is a cooperative, consensual one

Goal-oriented

• Leadership is a ____ process.

• Leadership is an adaptive, ___ process, for it organizes and motivates group members’ attempts to attain personal and group goals.

• suggests that groups prosper when guided by good leaders.

Two-factor model of leadership

A descriptive model of leadership, which maintains that most leadership behaviors can be classified as either performance maintenance or relationship maintenance.

Task leadership

focuses on the group’s work and its goals.

Relationship leadership

focuses on interpersonal relations within the group.

Agentic 

Despite changes in the roles of men and women in contemporary society, when men and women gather in groups, the men tend to be ____ — Task-oriented, active, decision-focused, Independent, goal-oriented

Communal

whereas women are more ____ — helpful to others, warm in relation to others, understanding, aware of others’ feelings.

First and only

Those born ___ in their families and ____ are hypothesized to be more driven to seek leadership and control in social settings.

Middle-born

____ children tend to accept follower roles in groups, and children born later are thought to be rebellious and creative (Grose, 2003).

Laboratory

Those who emerge as leaders tend to be more extraverted, conscientious, emotionally stable, and open to experience, although these tendencies are stronger in ____ studies of leaderless groups (Judge et al., 2002).

Masculine individuals

are more likely to emerge as leaders than are feminine individuals (Lord, De Vader, and Alliger, 1986)

High self-monitors

are more likely to emerge as leader of a group than are low self-monitors, since they are more concerned with status-enhancement and are more likely to adapt their actions to fit the demands of the situation (Bedeian & Day, 2004)

Integrity

Doing what is right, being honest, transparent, and ethical in actions and decisions.

Self-awareness

Understanding one's own strengths and weaknesses and committing to personal growth.

Empathy

Recognizing and considering the feelings and concerns of others.

Courage

Being brave enough to speak truth, make difficult decisions, and be open about shortcomings.

Resilience

The ability to handle both positive and challenging situations effectively.

Authenticity 

Staying true to oneself.

Made, social, never stops.

• 3 Core truths about the traits of good leaders.

• Good leaders are ___, not born.

• Leadership is a ____ process.

• Good leadership ____.

Height and leadership

• Physical Appearances

• Leaders tend to differ physically from their fellow group members. They are often taller, healthier, and older than the average group member. _____ and ____ emergence are correlated, on average, at .30.

Diversity 

• Leaders tend to differ physically from their fellow group members

• Leadership is not limited to any particular cultural, ethnic, or racial group, for the role of leader is firmly embedded in the traditions of African, European, Latino, Asian, and Native American groups.

• But individuals who are members of a minority group, whether based on ethnicity, religion, or race, are less likely to be recognized as group leaders.

Sex

Both men and women, when surveyed, express a preference for a male rather than a female boss .

Authoritarian or autocratic leader

took no input from the members in making decisions about group activities, did not discuss the long-range goals of the group, emphasized his authority, dictated who would work on specific projects, and arbitrarily paired the boys with their work partners.

Democratic leader

made certain that all activities were first discussed by the entire group. He allowed the group members to make their own decisions about work projects or partners and encouraged the development of an egalitarian atmosphere.

Laissez-faire 

rarely intervened in the group activities. Groups with this type of atmosphere made all decisions on their own without any supervision, and their so-called leader functioned primarily as a source of technical information.

Shared leadership

• is a common emphasis on breaking the leader’s monopoly on power, influence, and authority in the group and distributing responsibility for core leadership functions to all the group members.

• Shared methods of leadership are also more effective in smaller rather than in larger groups and are well-suited to organizations that rely on small, self-directed teams or networks of distributed, relatively independent employees.

Followership theory

• First, the best followers are committed to the group and their role within it; they are actively engaged in their work rather than passive and withdrawn.

• Second, effective followers can be self-reliant, when necessary. By definition, they follow the leader, but they must also be able to exercise their independence and monitor themselves and their progress.

Conformist followers

(yes people) are active and energized, but they are devoted to the leader; they do not think to question the leader’ s directions and will defend him or her vigorously.

Passive followers (sheep)

follow the lead of others, but without great enthusiasm or commitment. They put time into the group and will eventually finish their assignments, but they must be continually monitored or they will simply stop contributing.

Pragmatic followers

are the rank-and-file members of the group; they are not clearly active, passive, conforming, or independent, but make up the group’s basic, and essential, workforce.

Alienated followers

are not committed to the group or its goals, in part because they stead-fastly maintain their independence from others’ influence. They are often sullenly silent, but when they speak they are critical of their fellow members for remaining true to the group, and they question the leader’s choices.

Exemplary followers (stars)

are actively engaged in the group, but they do not simply do what they are told. If they have issues with the leader’s position, they express their dissent openly, but constructively. The leader can delegate responsibilities to them, and they can be trusted to complete the task with an enthusiasm that springs from their concern for the group’s interests.

Transactional leadership

A traditional form of leadership that involves contributing time, effort, and other resources in the pursuit of collaborative goals in exchange for desired outcomes.

Transformational leadership

An inspirational method of leading others that involves elevating one’s followers’ motivation, confidence, and satisfaction, by uniting them in the pursuit of shared, challenging goals and changing their beliefs, values, and needs.

Learner 

• A Hierarchy of Thinking Styles

• I might be wrong

• Surrounding yourself with people who challenge your thought process and changing your mind in the face of stronger logic and evidence. 

Critical thinker

• That might be wrong!

• Engaging with diverse sources of information and questioning their credibility.

Contrarian

• You’re all wrong.

• Finding the laws in other people’s arguments but being blind to the limitations of your own.

Politician

• Preaching your side’s gospel and prosecuting the other sides

• They’re wrong! We’re right

Cult leader

• I’m always right

• Treating your own thoughts as gospel.