Leading lesson 1 What is leading

Definition of Terms

Leading:

a management function that involves inspiring and influencing people in the organization to achieve a common goal

Managing :

the process of working with and through others to achieve organizational objectives efficiently and ethically amid constant change. It also deals with planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling

What is leading?

Successful leading n must begin with a focusing on the psychological capital of both the employer/leader and the employee/subordinate. Looking for what is right with people rather than for what is wrong is suggested to prevent mental and behavioral problems which are barriers to achieving both organizational and individual goals. Personality of Human Resources Personality pertains to the unique combination of physical and mental characteristics that affect how individuals react to situations and interact with others, and if unhealthy or not fully functioning could cause conflicts/problems among individuals. A person is said to possess a healthy personality if he or she is fully functioning in mind, body, and spirit; he or she is an optimal person functioning at the highest level. Ideally, individual human resources of organizations must have a healthy personality because when one is functioning at the highest level, one, inevitably, becomes efficient in his or her work, cooperative with managers and coworkers, and, therefore, could easily be influenced by organization leaders to work toward the achievement of a common organizational goal. Leading individuals in organizations becomes effortless for the manager and leader, especially if he or she has a healthy and fully functioning personality.

Big Five Personality Characteristics:

According to Robbins and Coulter (2009), "research has shown that five basic personality dimensions underlie all others and encompass most of the significant variation in human personality." The five personality traits in the Big Five Model are:

1. Extraversion:

the degree to which someone is sociable, talkative, and assertive

2. Agreeableness:

the degree to which someone is good natured, cooperative, and trusting

2.Conscientiousness:

the degree to which someone is responsible, dependable, persistent, and achievement-oriented

4.Emotional Stability:

the degree to which someone is calm, enthusiastic, and secure (positive), or tense, nervous, depressed, and insecure (negative)

5.Openness to experience:

the degree to which someone is imaginative, artistically sensitive, and intellectual

The Big Five Model provides more than just a personality framework. Research has shown that important relationships exist between these personality dimensions and job performance.

Meanwhile, emotional intelligence (El) pertains to the ability to manage one's self and interact with others in a positive way. Kreitner and Kinicki (2013) gave four key components of El self-awareness, self management, social awareness, and relationship management based on a study by Daniel Goleman (1995) who tried to associate these characteristics with leadership effectiveness. El, at present, is still a controversial topic because it cannot be measured, hence making its validity in connection with leadership questionable. However, El has come to be associated with jobs that require social interaction. Tactless individuals who do not have much concern for others' feelings or those who are low in emotional intelligence are not well-liked and they get involved in trouble often. They are, therefore, not suited to jobs that are socially interactive.

Leading an Organization Key work attitudes exhibited by groups/teams of workers must be taken into consideration in leading organizations because of the diversity of their attitudes toward things and events at work. Managers and leaders must focus their leadership strategies on the following key work attitudes in order to avoid distraction caused by varied reactions and behaviors.

Psychologist Daniel Goleman is the author of the book Emotional Intelligence (1995). The book was named as one of the 25 Most Influential Business Management Books" by TIME Magazine, while Goleman was recognized by the Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, and Accenture Institute for Strategic Change as among the most influential business thinkers.

Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB)-refers to employee behavior that exceeds work role requirements and also behaviors that go beyond the call of duty. Leading organizations becomes easy for managers and leaders when employees exhibit OCB and show efficiency, personal interest in the work of others, care for organizational property, punctuality, and attendance that go beyond standard levels. Such behavior brings about organizational level outcomes (productivity, lower costs, and customer satisfaction among others). Organizational Commitment refers to the extent to which an individual employee identifies with an organization and its goals. Leading employees with organizational commitment is a plus factor for managers and leaders of organizations as it results in faster attainment of organizational goals. Having organizational commitment is an important work attitude because committed individuals are expected to display willingness to work harder to achieve organizational goals and to remain employed in the firm for a long period of time. Since commitment is significantly related to job performance, managers and leaders can increase productivity by trying to enhance workers' organizational commitment. Job Satisfaction and Productivity - job satisfaction refers to employees general attitude toward their respective jobs.

Those with high level of job satisfaction have a positive attitude toward their respective jobs. On the other hand, those with low level of job satisfaction have a negative attitude toward their respective jobs, thus affecting their productivity and the profits for their organization. According to the Hawthorne Studies, cited by Robbins and Coulter (2009), "Managers believed that happy workers were productive workers" Some researchers expressed doubts about this statement; however, there were those who said that "the correlation between job satisfaction and productivity is fairly strong. Organizations with more satisfied employees tend to be more effective than organizations with fewer satisfied employ- ees." Therefore, managers are advised to find ways and means to make their employees happy at work.