Definition of Leadership
The meaning of a message is the change which it produces in the image. — Kenneth Boulding in the Image: Knowledge in Life and Society
Before we get started, let’s define leadership.
Leadership is a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an
objective and directs the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and
coherent. This definition is similar to Northouse's (2007, p3) definition —
Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals
to achieve a common goal.
Leaders carry out this process by applying their
leadership knowledge and skills. This is called Process Leadership (Jago,
1982). However, we know that we have traits that can influence our actions.
This is called Trait
Leadership (Jago, 1982), in that it was once common to believe that
leaders were born rather than made. These two leadership types are shown in the
chart below (Northouse, 2007, p5):
While leadership is learned, the skills and
knowledge processed by the leader can be influenced by his or hers attributes
or traits, such as beliefs, values, ethics, and character. Knowledge and skills contribute
directly to the process
of leadership, while the other attributes give the leader certain
characteristics that make him or her unique. Skills,
knowledge, and attributes make the Leader,
which is one of the:
Four Factors of Leadership
There are four major
factors in leadership
Leader
You must have an honest
understanding of who you are, what you know, and what you can do. Also, note
that it is the followers, not the leader or someone else who determines if the
leader is successful. If they do not trust or lack confidence in their leader,
then they will be uninspired. To be successful you have to convince your
followers, not yourself or your superiors, that you are worthy of being
followed.
Followers
Different people require
different styles of leadership. For example, a new hire requires more
supervision than an experienced employee. A person who lacks motivation
requires a different approach than one with a high degree of motivation. You
must know your people! The fundamental starting point is having a good
understanding of human nature, such as needs, emotions, and motivation. You
must come to know your employees' be, know, and do attributes.
Communication
You lead through two-way communication.
Much of it is nonverbal. For instance, when you “set the example,” that
communicates to your people that you would not ask them to perform anything
that you would not be willing to do. What and how you communicate either builds
or harms the relationship between you and your employees.
Situation
All situations are
different. What you do in one situation will not always work in another. You
must use your judgment to decide the best course of action and the leadership
style needed for each situation. For example, you may need to confront an
employee for inappropriate behavior, but if the confrontation is too late or
too early, too harsh or too weak, then the results may prove ineffective.
Also note that the situation normally has a
greater effect on a leader's action than his or her traits. This is because
while traits may have an impressive stability over a period of time, they have
little consistency across situations (Mischel, 1968). This is why a number of
leadership scholars think the Process
Theory of Leadership is a more accurate than the Trait Theory of Leadership.
Various forces will
affect these four factors. Examples of forces are your relationship with your
seniors, the skill of your followers, the informal leaders within your
organization, and how your organization is organized.
Boss or Leader?
Although your position as
a manager, supervisor, lead, etc. gives you the authority to accomplish certain
tasks and objectives in the organization (called Assigned Leadership), this power does
not make you a leader, it simply makes you the boss (Rowe, 2007).
Leadership differs in that it makes the followers want to achieve high
goals (called Emergent
Leadership), rather than simply bossing people around (Rowe, 2007).
Thus you get Assigned
Leadership by your position and you display Emergent Leadership by
influencing people to do great things.
Bass' Theory of Leadership
Bass' theory of
leadership states that there are three basic ways to explain how people become
leaders (Stogdill, 1989; Bass, 1990). The first two explain the leadership
development for a small number of people. These theories are:
o
Some personality traits may
lead people naturally into leadership roles. This is the Trait Theory.
o
A crisis or important event may
cause a person to rise to the occasion, which brings out extraordinary
leadership qualities in an ordinary person. This is the Great Events Theory.
o
People can choose to become
leaders. People can learn leadership skills. This is the Transformational or
Process Leadership Theory. It is the most widely accepted theory today and the
premise on which this guide is based.
Total Leadership
What makes a person want
to follow a leader? People want to be guided by those they respect and who have
a clear sense of direction. To gain respect, they must be ethical. A sense of
direction is achieved by conveying a strong vision of the future.
When a person is deciding
if she respects you as a leader, she does not think about your attributes,
rather, she observes what you do so that she can know who you really are.
She uses this observation to tell if you are an honorable and trusted leader or
a self-serving person who misuses authority to look good and get promoted.
Self-serving leaders are not as effective because their employees only obey
them, not follow them. They succeed in many areas because they present a good
image to their seniors at the expense of their workers.
Be Know Do
The basis of good
leadership is honorable character and selfless service to your organization. In
your employees' eyes, your leadership is everything you do that effects the
organization's objectives and their well-being. Respected leaders concentrate
on (U.S. Army, 1983):
o
what they are [be] (such as
beliefs and character)
o
what they know (such as job,
tasks, and human nature)
What makes a person want
to follow a leader? People want to be guided by those they respect and who have
a clear sense of direction. To gain respect, they must be ethical. A sense of
direction is achieved by conveying a strong vision of the future.
The Two Most Important Keys to Effective Leadership
According to a study by
the Hay Group, a global management consultancy, there are 75 key components of
employee satisfaction (Lamb, McKee, 2004). They found that:
o
Trust and confidence in top
leadership was the single most reliable predictor of employee satisfaction in
an organization.
o
Effective communication by
leadership in three critical areas was the key to winning organizational trust
and confidence:
1.
Helping employees understand
the company's overall business strategy.
2.
Helping employees understand
how they contribute to achieving key business objectives.
3.
Sharing information with
employees on both how the company is doing and how an employee's own division
is doing — relative to strategic business objectives.
So in a nutshell — you
must be trustworthy and you have to be able to communicate a vision of where the organization needs to go. The next section, Principles of Leadership,
ties in closely with this key concept.
Principles of Leadership
To help you be, know,
and do, follow these eleven principles of leadership (U.S. Army, 1983).
The later chapters in this Leadership guide
expand on these principles and provide tools for implementing them:
1.
Know yourself and seek
self-improvement - In order to know yourself,
you have to understand your be, know, and do, attributes. Seeking
self-improvement means continually strengthening your attributes. This can be
accomplished through self-study, formal classes, reflection, and interacting
with others.
2.
Be technically proficient - As a leader, you must know your job and have a solid
familiarity with your employees' tasks.
3.
Seek responsibility and
take responsibility for your actions - Search for
ways to guide your organization to new heights. And when things go wrong, they
always do sooner or later — do not blame others. Analyze the situation, take
corrective action, and move on to the next challenge.
4.
Make sound and timely
decisions - Use good problem solving, decision
making, and planning tools.
5.
Set the example - Be a good role model for your employees. They must not only
hear what they are expected to do, but also see. We must become the change
we want to see - Mahatma Gandhi
6.
Know your people and look
out for their well-being - Know human nature and
the importance of sincerely caring for your workers.
7.
Keep your workers informed - Know how to communicate with not only them, but also seniors
and other key people.
8.
Develop a sense of
responsibility in your workers - Help to
develop good character traits that will help them carry out their professional
responsibilities.
9.
Ensure that tasks are
understood, supervised, and accomplished -
Communication is the key to this responsibility.
10. Train
as a team -
Although many so called leaders call their organization, department, section,
etc. a team; they are not really teams...they are just a group of people doing
their jobs.
11. Use the full capabilities of your organization - By developing a team spirit, you will be able to employ your
organization, department, section, etc. to its fullest capabilities.
The Process of Great Leadership
The road to great
leadership that is common to successful leaders:
o
Challenge the process - First, find a process that you believe needs to be improved the
most.
o
Inspire a shared vision - Next, share your vision in words that can be understood by your
followers.
o
Enable others to act - Give them the tools and methods to solve the problem.
o
Model the way - When the process gets tough, get your hands dirty. A boss tells
others what to do; a leader shows that it can be done.
o
Encourages the heart - Share the glory with your followers' hearts, while keeping the
pains within your own.
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