Defining Leadership

Defining Leadership

Leadership is the process by which an individual mobilizes people and resources to achieve a goal.

LEARNING OBJECTIVE

• Describe the relationship between leaders and followers

KEY POINTS

• Leadership is the process by which an individual motivates others and mobilizes resources to achieve a goal.
• Leadership is both a set of behaviors that can be learned and a set of traits that can be nurtured.
• Leadership is a relationship between followers and those who inspire and provide direction for them. It involves emotional ties and commitments.

TERM

• Transformational Leadership

  A theory of leading that enhances the motivation, morale, and performance of followers through a variety of mechanisms.

Defining Leadership

Leadership is the process by which an individual mobilizes people and resources to achieve a goal. It requires both a set of skills that can be learned as well as certain attributes that can be nurtured. Leaders inspire, challenge, and encourage others. They can persuade and influence, and they show resilience and persistence. All aspects of society have leaders. The concept of leader may call to mind a CEO, a prime minister, a general, a sports team captain, or a school principal; examples of leadership exist across a variety of organizations.

Leaders motivate others to aspire to achieve and help them to do so. They focus on the big picture with a vision of what could be and help others to see that future and believe it is possible. In this way, leaders seek to bring about substantive changes in their teams, organizations, and societies.

Leadership is a relationship between followers and those who inspire them and provide direction for their efforts and commitments. It affects how people think and feel about their work and how it contributes to a larger whole. Effective leaders can mean the difference between increasing a team's ability to perform or diminishing its performance, between keeping efforts on track or encountering disaster, and even between success or failure.

Leadership and Management

Leadership is one of the most important concepts in management, and many researchers have proposed theories and frameworks for understanding it. Some have distinguished among types of leadership such as charismatic, heroic, and transformational leadership. Other experts discuss the distinctions between managers and leaders, while others address the personality and cognitive factors most likely to predict a successful leader. The many dimensions of leadership indicate how complex a notion it is and how difficult effective leadership can be.

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Management versus Leadership

Though they have traits in common, leadership and management both have unique responsibilities that do not necessarily overlap.

LEARNING OBJECTIVE

• Distinguish between managerial roles and responsibilities and leadership roles and responsibilities

KEY POINTS

• Many view leaders as those who direct the organization through vision and inspiration; managers are results-oriented and more focused on task organization and efficiency.
• Managers sustain current systems and processes for accomplishing work, while leaders challenge the status quo and make change happen.
• Such distinctions may create a negative concept of managers. "Leader" brings to mind heroic figures rallying people together for a cause, while "manager" suggests less charismatic individuals focusing solely on efficiency.

TERMS

• management

  The act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively.

• leadership

  A process of social influence in which one person enlists the aid and support of others in accomplishing a common task.

Leaders vs. Managers

The terms "management" and "leadership" have been used interchangeably, yet there are clear similarities and differences between them. Both terms suggest directing the activities of others. In one definition, managers do so by focusing on the organization and performance of tasks and by aiming at efficiency, while leaders engage others by inspiring a shared vision and effectiveness. Managerial work tends to be more transactional, emphasizing processes, coordination, and motivation, while leadership has an emotional appeal, is based on relationships with followers, and seeks to transform.

One traditional way of understanding the differences between managers and leaders is that people manage things but lead other people. More concretely, managers administrate and maintain the systems and processes by which work gets done. Their work includes planning, organizing, staffing, leading, directing, and controlling the activities of individuals, teams, or whole organizations for the purpose of accomplishing a goal. Basically, managers are results-oriented problem-solvers with responsibility for day-to-day functions that focus on the immediate, shorter-term needs of an organization.

In contrast, leaders take the long-term view and have responsibility for where a team or organization is heading and what it achieves. They challenge the status quo, make change happen, and work to develop the capabilities of people to contribute to achieving their shared goals. Additionally, leaders act as figureheads for their teams and organizations by representing their vision and values to outsiders. This definition of leadership may create a negative bias against managers as less noble or less important: "Leader" suggests a heroic figure, rallying people to unite under a common cause, while "manager" calls to mind less charismatic individuals who are focused solely on getting things done.

A Leader's Vision

A clear and well-communicated vision is essential for a leader to gain support and for followers to understand a leader's goals.

LEARNING OBJECTIVE

• Explain the relationship between vision, mission, and strategy as it pertains to leadership

KEY POINTS

• Vision is defined as a clear, distinctive, and specific view of the future that is usually connected with strategic decisions for the organization.
• A thriving organization will have a vision that is succinct, understandable, and indicative of the direction that the company wants to head in the future.
• Leaders are essential for communicating the vision of the organization and promoting the vision through the decisions they make and the strategies they pursue.

TERM

• vision

  A clear, distinctive, and specific view of the future that is usually connected with a leader's strategic advances for the organization.

A vision is defined as a clear, distinctive, and specific view of the future; it is usually connected with strategic advances for the organization. Effective leaders define a vision and build followers' commitment to it. The ability to express a vision and use it to inspire others differentiates a leader from a manager.

Many researchers argue that vision is an essential quality of effective leaders, along with the ability to communicate and to build trust. Effective leaders communicate their vision of the organization. Their decisions and strategies reflect their view of what an enterprise can be rather than what it currently is. A strong leader builds trust in the vision by acting in ways that are consistent with it and by demonstrating to others what it takes to make the vision a reality.

Vision is an essential component of an organization's success. A thriving organization will have a vision that is succinct, understandable, and indicative of the direction that the company wants to head in the future. The more employees are aware of, understand, and accept the vision, the more useful it is in directing their behavior toward the desired end.

Vision and mission are sometimes used interchangeably, but there is a useful distinction between the two. A vision describes an organization's direction, while its mission defines its purpose. By focusing on the value an organization creates, the mission helps prioritize activities and narrow alternatives for decisions.

Vision also plays a significant role in a leader's strategy for the organization. By setting the direction, a vision underscores the necessity of all the areas of a business working toward the same goal. This unity of purpose often involves changing what is done and how, and aligning the activities and behavior of people is critical to fulfilling a leader's vision. A vision reduces ambiguity and provides focus – two benefits that are especially valuable in turbulent or rapidly changing times.

Leadership Traits

Traits of effective leaders are conditionally dependent and have been debated for years, but researchers have identified some commonalities.

LEARNING OBJECTIVE

• Summarize the key characteristics and traits that are predictive of strong leadership capacity

KEY POINTS

• Early findings regarding trait theory show that relationships exist between leadership and individual traits such as intelligence, adjustment, extroversion, conscientiousness, openness to experience, and general self-efficacy.
• Stephen Zaccaro, a researcher of trait theories, argues that effective leadership is derived from an integrated set of cognitive abilities, social capabilities, and dispositional tendencies, with each set of traits adding to the influence of the other.
• Zaccaro's model points to extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness, neuroticism, honesty/integrity, charisma, intelligence, creativity, achievement motivation, need for power, oral/written communication, interpersonal skills, general problem-solving, and decision making.

TERMS

• Proximal

  Located close to a reference point.

• distal

  Located far from a reference point.

Researchers have debated the traits of a leader for many decades. Early trait theory proposed that merely a few personality traits have the ability to determine the success of a leader. Researchers have since distanced themselves from this idea and theorized that the success of a leader requires more than just a few essential traits. Researchers now attest that while trait theory may still apply, individuals can and do emerge as leaders across a variety of situations and tasks. Research findings show that significant relationships exist between leadership and a number of individual traits, among them intelligence, adjustment, extroversion, conscientiousness, openness to experience, and general self-efficacy.

One prominent researcher in trait theory, Stephen Zaccaro, proposes a number of models that show the interplay of the environmental and personality characteristics that make a good leader. These models rest on two basic premises about leadership traits. First, leadership emerges from the combined influence of multiple traits, as opposed to coming from various independent traits. In other words, Zaccaro argues that effective leadership is derived from an integrated set of cognitive abilities, social capabilities, and personal tendencies, with each set of traits adding to the influence of the other. The second premise suggests that leadership traits differ in their proximal(direct) influence on leadership. In this multistage model, certain distal or remote attributes (such as personal attributes, cognitive abilities, and motives/values) serve as precursors for the development of personal characteristics that more directly shape a leader.

Some of the inherent leadership traits in Zaccaro's model include extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness, neuroticism, honesty/integrity, charisma, intelligence, creativity, achievement motivation, need for power, oral/written communication, interpersonal skills, general problem-solving, decision making, technical knowledge, and management skills. Although these characteristics may resemble a laundry list of traits, Zaccaro and many other researchers have shown that they are all predictors of a successful leader.

Leadership Styles

Leaders may adopt several styles according to what is most appropriate in a given situation.

LEARNING OBJECTIVE

• Explain how different leadership styles may be adopted according to the demands of a given circumstance

KEY POINTS

• There are five primary leadership styles: engaging, authoritative, laissez-faire, participative, and transformational. All five styles can be effectively used in appropriate circumstances.
• An engaging style of leadership involves reaching out to employees and understanding their concerns and working situations.
• Under the autocratic leadership style, all decision-making powers are centralized in the leader. Leaders do not entertain any suggestions or initiatives from subordinates.
• A person using a laissez-faire style of leadership does not provide direction, instead of leaving the group to fend for itself. Subordinates are given a free hand in deciding their own policies and methods.
• A participative or democratic style of leadership involves the leader's sharing decision-making authority with group members while also promoting the interests of group members and practicing social equality.
• Transformational leadership motivates and inspires people to change their behaviors in service of a greater good.
• Narcissistic leadership is a common form of leadership and can be either healthy or destructive.
• Transactional leaders motivate their subordinates by using rewards and punishments.
  
  

TERM

• narcissistic
  Obsessed with one's own self-image and ego.
  
  
• laissez-faire

  French term literally meaning "let [them] do"; it also broadly implies "let it be", "let them do as they will", or "leave it alone".

Finding the Right Style of Leadership

A leader can take a number of different approaches to leading and managing an organization. A leader's style of providing direction, setting strategy, and motivating people is the result of his or her personality, values, training, and experience. For example, a leader with a laid-back personality may lead with a less formal style that encourages autonomy and creativity.

Engaging Leadership

Engaging styles of leadership involve reaching out to employees and understanding their concerns and working situations. Dr. Stephen L. Cohen, the senior vice president for Right Management's Leadership Development Center of Excellence, describes the engaging leadership style as communicating relevant information to employees and involving them in important decisions. This leadership style can help retain employees for the long term.

Autocratic/Authoritarian Leadership

Under the autocratic leadership style, decision-making power is centralized in the leader. Leaders do not entertain any suggestions or initiatives from subordinates. Autocratic management is effective for quick decision making but is generally not successful in fostering employee engagement or maintaining worker satisfaction.

Laissez-faire/Free-Rein Leadership

A person may be in a leadership position without providing clear direction, leaving the group to choose its own path in achieving aims. Subordinates are given a free hand in deciding their own policies and methods. Laissez-faire is most effective when workers have the skills to work independently, are self-motivated, and will be held accountable for results.

Participative or Democratic Leadership

A participative or democratic style of leadership involves the leader's sharing decision- making authority with group members. This approach values the perspectives and interests of individual group members while also contributing to team cohesion. Participative leadership can help employees feel more invested in decision outcomes and more committed to the choices because they have a say in them.

Transformational Leadership

The transformational leadership style emphasizes motivation and morale to inspire followers to change their behavior in service of the greater good. The concept was initially introduced by James MacGregor Burns. According to Burns, transformational leadership is when "leaders and followers make each other advance to a higher level of morality and motivation". Researcher Bernard M. Bass used Burns's ideas to develop his own theory of transformational leadership. Bass clarified the definition to emphasize that transformational leadership is distinguished by the effect it has on followers.

Transactional

The transactional style of leadership was first described by Max Weber in 1947, and then later described by Bernard Bass in 1981. Mainly used by management, transactional leaders focus their leadership on motivating followers through a system of rewards and punishments. There are two factors which form the basis for this system: contingent reward and management by exception. Contingent reward provides rewards (materialistic or psychological) for effort and recognizes good performance. Management by exception allows the leader to maintain the status quo; the leader intervenes when subordinates do not meet acceptable performance levels and initiates corrective action to improve performance.

Narcissistic

Narcissistic leadership is a common form of leadership. The narcissism may be healthy or destructive, although there is a continuum between the two. To critics, narcissistic leadership (especially destructive) is driven by unyielding arrogance, self-absorption, and a personal egotistic need for power and admiration. A study published in the journal, Personality and Social PsychologyBulletin, suggests that when a group is without a leader, a narcissist often takes charge; researchers found that people who score high in narcissism tend to take control of leaderless groups. Freud considered "the narcissistic type... especially suited to act as a support for others, to take on the role of leaders and to... impress others as being 'personalities'".

When to Use Different Styles

Different situations call for particular leadership styles. Under intense time constraints, when there is little room to engage in long discussions that seek consensus, a more directive, top-down style may be appropriate. For a highly motivated and cohesive team with a homogeneous level of expertise, a democratic leadership style may be more effective. Similarly, a participative leadership style may be most appropriate for decisions that will require changes in behavior from a large group of people.

Each style of leadership can be effective if matched with the needs of the situation and used by a skilled leader who can adopt a deft approach. The most effective leaders are adept at several styles and able to choose the one most likely to help the organization achieve its objectives.

Four Types of Leadership Theory

Theories of effective leadership include the trait, contingency, behavioral, and full-range theories.

LEARNING OBJECTIVE

• Discuss differing theories and approaches to defining and understanding leadership

KEY POINTS

• Modern trait theory proposes that individuals emerge as leaders across a variety of situations and tasks; significant individual leadership traits include intelligence, adjustment, extroversion, conscientiousness, openness to experience, and general self-efficacy.
• Behavioral theory suggests that leadership requires a strong personality with a well-developed positive ego; self-confidence is essential.
• Contingency theory assumes that different situations call for different characteristics, and no single optimal psychological profile of a leader exists.
• According to the full-range theory of leadership, four qualities are essential for leaders: individualized consideration, intellectual stimulation, inspirational motivation, and idealized influence.

TERM

• Contingency

  Likely to happen in connection with or as a consequence of something else.

For a number of years, researchers have examined leadership to discover how successful leaders are created. Experts have proposed several theories, including the trait, behavioral, contingency, and full-range models of leadership.

The Trait Theory of Leadership

The search for the characteristics or traits of effective leaders has been central to the study of leadership. Underlying this research is the assumption that leadership capabilities are rooted in characteristics possessed by individuals. Research in the field of trait theory has shown significant positive relationships between effective leadership and personality traits such as intelligence, extroversion, conscientiousness, self-efficacy, and openness to experience. These findings also show that individuals emerge as leaders across a variety of situations and tasks.

The Contingency Theory of Leadership

Stogdill and Mann found that while some traits were common across a number of studies, the overall evidence suggested that persons who are leaders in one situation may not necessarily be leaders in other situations. According to this approach, called contingency theory, no single psychological profile or set of enduring traits links directly to effective leadership. Instead, the interaction between those individual traits and the prevailing conditions is what creates effective leadership. In other words, contingency theory proposes that effective leadership is contingent on factors independent of an individual leader. As such, the theory predicts that effective leaders are those whose personal traits match the needs of the situation in which they find themselves. Fiedler's contingency model of leadership focuses on the interaction of leadership style and the situation (later called situational control). He identified three relevant aspects of the situation: the quality of the leader's relationships with others, how well structured their tasks were, and the leader's amount of formal authority.

The Behavioral Theory of Leadership

In response to the early criticisms of the trait approach, theorists began to research leadership as a set of behaviors. They evaluated what successful leaders did, developed a taxonomy of actions, and identified broad patterns that indicated different leadership styles. Behavioral theory also incorporates B.F. Skinner's theory of behavior modification, which takes into account the effect of reward and punishment on changing behavior. An example of this theory in action is a manager or leader who motivates desired behavior by scolding employees who arrive late to meetings and showing appreciation when they are early or on time.

The Full-Range Theory of Leadership

The full-range theory of leadership is a component of transformational leadership, which enhances motivation and morale by connecting the employee's sense of identity to a project and the collective identity of the organization. The four major components of the theory, which cover the full range of essential qualities of a good leader, are:

• Individualized consideration: the degree to which the leader attends to each follower's concerns and needs and acts as a mentor or coach
• Intellectual stimulation: the degree to which the leader challenges assumptions, takes risks, and solicits followers' ideas
• Inspirational motivation: the degree to which the leader articulates a vision that is appealing and inspiring to followers
• Idealized influence: the degree to which the leader provides a role model for high ethical behavior, instills pride, and gains respect and trust.