LO3 - LEADERSHIP

LO3 - LEADERSHIP

1. Routes to Leadership

   • Traditional - assumed by birth/hereditary
     • Appointed
       • legitimised by going through a selection/appt process
       • Assumed
         • said to 'seize the moment' - thrust into ldrshp due to crisis or event which brings out ldrship qualities
           • e.g Rudi guilani - 9/11 attacks
           • risk as these types of leader may not go in the direction you want your org to
     • can be issues when next gen does not have same skills as predecessor

2. Functions

   • Planning
   • Initiating
   • Controlling
   • Supporting
   • Informing
   • Evaluating

3. Core Functions - Functional Approac

   • John Adair 1983
     • seminal model of 3 core functions
       • research at military academy
     • 3 Circles of Needs
       • Task Needs
         • Individual needs
           • understand team, identify and agree objectives, reward where approp, develop and train
         • Team maintenance needs
           • during task initiation and execution and at conclusion of task
         • establish, facilitate, delivery, monitor, effectiveness
       • key to success is in the leader achieving and maintaining the right balance for the group
         • great emphasis on team member needs
           • important to remember they will have concerns and priorities outside the task at hand - the team leader needs to recognise and address
     • Adairs work important for HR prof - supported the view that use of skills dev programmes was the correct way to dev leaders
   • considers what leaders do to be effective rather than examining what they are
   • Model less relevant now - we have shifted from manufacturing to service driven economy
     • leader now has to facilitate creation of the change agenda and also ldrship to its implementation
       • this model developed when there was little focus on leadership
         • more approp for junior managers
     • the model introduced considerations of team/individual these areas today have far more significance
       • leaders need to engage staff
         • greater focus on 'soft' elements of role
           • a skills only based dev prog would not fully prepare a new leader

4. LEVELS

   • front line - team leadership
   • operational - day to day
   • strategic

5. LEADERS/MANAGERS - DIFFERENCES

   • Richard Pascale 1990 - 'Managers do things right while leaders do the right thing'
   • Managers do things by the book, follow org rules; leaders follow own intuition
     • focus on detail/operationalise the vision
       • short term focus
     • linked to authoritarian leadership
   • do leaders roles involve more emotion?
   • MGT - hard skills
   • Ldrship - soft skills
     • inspiration, vision, what drives people
       • inspires trust
         • links to engagement
         • motivates
     • empower, innovate, challenge, set example
   • KOTTER - 1990 - terms are diff but complementary
     • Mgt deal with planning, budgeting, controlling - leadership is about behaviour and style
       • it drawns on emotion - seeks to align ppl with a vision and turn it into a reality
         • to be effective needs the skills of both
   • Ldrship and authority
     • can be leaders without authority - e.g technical experts

6. Distributed leadership - new model

   • system involving networks of leaders, operate at all levels across all boundaries

7. ORG STRUCTURE AND IMPACT ON ROLE OF LEADER

   • FUNCTIONAL
     • employees in each function - perform set of specialised tasks
       • can cause siloed thinking and lack of communication
         • leaders need to internally network
   • DIVISIONAL/PROD STRUCTURE
     • functional expertise dispersed, leader needs to network within the division and across the org

8. QUALITIES

   • Typology of followers - Kellerman (2007) - dev based on levels of engagement
     • Isolates
       • Bystanders
         • Participants
           • Activitsts
             • Diehards
     • Followers do not lack power
     • Cynicism can affect followership
       • to avoid - be yourself; walk the talk; listen and get close to your followers; build a send of 'we're all in it together; develop capacity; learn continuously and avoid blame culture
   • 1990 - Kouzes/Possner
     • 4 key qualities ppl look for
       • Honesty
       • competency
       • Inspirational
       • forward thinking
       • combined together = CREDIBILITY

9. THEORY

   • TRAIT THEORY
     • ppl born with certain traits of character/qualities are destined to be leaders
       • theory assumes if you can identify those with correct traits you can identify those with leadership potential
     • Roots in 19th century - 'Great Man Theory' - Carlyle and Spencer
     • recent research confirms that it is not possible to identify consistent lists accepted by all as traits of a leader
     • potential for bias where traits are used as criteria to select people - if only certain ones are used in studies then it makes the validity of data questionable
     • CRITIQIUE
       • gender bias when applying in selection processes as potential difference in perceptions of male and female ldrship qualities
       • potential for cultural issues - a key trait a recruiter is looking for may not be displayed due to cultural norms
       • nature or nurture??? - can traits be learned or are ppl born leaders?
         • HR likely to view against belief that traits are unchangeable if they have exposure to opps and support mechs to help nurture a trait
   • certain traits more likely to appear
   • some successful ldrs might be seen with specific traits but no evidence to suggest absence of that trait might make them a bad leader
   • Charismatic leaders - able by power, magnetism and well dev skills of persuasiveness to engage others to follow a course of action
     • also known as inspirational leadership - there can be ethical and unethical charismatic leaders

10. BEHAVIOURS AND STYLES

    • BEHAVIOURISTS
      • consideration factors
      • Initiation factors
      • employee or job centred - 1960/70 Michigan Studies
      • Douglas McGregor - Theory X and Y
        • linked to motivation theory - how followers are motivated to perform
        • X = controlling
        • Y= encourage initiative
    • STYLE THEORIES
      • Lewin - 1939
        • Authoritarian (Autocratic)
        • Democratic (participative)
          • found to be most effective
        • Laissez-faire (delegative)
        • research was simplistic - did not pay enough attention to the fact that situations are not absolute - relationships with team can vary
      • good leaders will use combination of all 3
      • Blake/Mouton - 1991
        • Leadership grid - primary focus in orgs
    • Effect of style on followers
      • Daniel Golman (2004) - dev 6 styles
        • effects on the emotions of those they are leading
        • Visionary, coaching, affiliative, democratic, pace setting, commanding
    • Vision - Handy 1992 - ' a leader shapes and shares a vision which gives point to the work of others'
    • Kouzes/Possner 2009 - attributes that distinguished leaders from non leaders in eyes of followers - being forward looking, shared view, enlisting others'
      • research identified honest as number one requirement