MSL 70 XX
MSL 70 STUDY GUIDE
Identify influence tactics used by leaders.
This unit covers different tactics leaders use to influence their followers. Coverage will include emotional intelligence (EQ), ethical leadership, moral development, and servant leadership.
For leaders to survive and influence their followers in today’s complex world, they must not only lead from their head but also their heart to give individuals a sense of meaning and purpose. Leaders should be alert to their own mental model and forego any blocks that may constrain their understanding at all times. Daft (2015)
shares four key areas relevant to expanding and developing a leader’s mind:
1. independent thinking (mindfulness),
2. open-mindedness,
3. systems thinking, and
4. personal mastery.
Research indicates that “emotion, more than cognitive ability, drives our thinking and decision making” (Daft, 2015, p. 146). Leaders must understand that individuals have both positive and negative emotions, each affecting the organization as well as the leader’s behavior effects. Emotional intelligence (EQ) describes “a person’s abilities to perceive, identify, understand, and successfully manage emotions in self and others” (Daft, 2015, p. 146). The components of EQ are listed below.
Self-awareness: understanding how your emotions affect others
Self-management: the ability to control one’s own emotions
Social awareness: an understanding of others
Relationship management: an understanding of how to connect and build healthy relationships with others
Leaders use EQ as a means of motivation, growth, development, and expanding their own mind and heart
through repetition and conscious usage.
Everyday leaders juggle multiple roles and are primarily responsible for the ethical climate in their organization. With the competitive pressures that leaders face, there are potential pressures every day to meet short-term goals with inaccurate numbers so the organization will look good. Unfortunately, this type of climate often results in scrutiny and corruptness. With all the temptation, it is important to note that the leader’s (ethical) behavior is the primary driver that sets the tone for the organization. Employees will likely follow the steps of their leader and intake their behavior as a normal practice. Professional growth and
development often depends upon the daily mentorship displayed.
In addition to being ethical, leaders should act like moral leaders. Organizations should not assume their existence is to just make a profit; instead, there should be some focus on serving the general welfare of employees and customers. Most organizations have a code of ethics that employees are expected to uphold. Whether or not your organization has a code of ethics, here are a few behavioral traits that leaders can follow to build a moral leadership environment:
Articulate and uphold high moral principles.
Be honest with yourself and others.
Develop a backbone—show zero tolerance for ethical violations.
Do the right thing in both private and professional life—even if no one is looking. (Daft, 2015, p. 172)
Moral leadership “distinguishes right from wrong and doing right, seeking the just, the honest the good, and the right conduct in achieving goals and fulfilling purpose” (Daft, 2015, p. 174). Individuals and leaders typically know right from wrong, but how does one act upon their choice of acknowledgement? One answer to this question is the level of moral development.
There are three levels of personal moral development: preconventional, conventional, and postconventional. At the preconventional level “individuals are egocentric and concerned with receiving external rewards and avoiding punishments” (Daft, 2015, p. 174). At the conventional level “people learn to conform to the expectations of good behavior as defined by colleagues, family, friends, and society” (Daft, 2015, p. 174). Most leaders operate at this level. At the postconventional level, often referred to as the principled level, “leaders are guided by an internalized set of principles universally recognized as just and right” (Daft, 2015, p. 174). Individuals will often disobey rules and violate principles at this level. Regardless of the level, individuals typically want leaders that are honest, that are trustworthy, and that demonstrate the importance of serving others, serving society, and stewardship
The four principles that framework stewardship—as outlined by Daft (2015)— are as follows:
1. Adopt a partnership mindset.
2. Give decision making power and the authority to act to those closest to the work and the customer.
3. Tie rewards to contributions rather than formal positions.
4. Expect core work teams to build the organization. (p. 177)