10 discussions - due in 40 hours - 200 words each

combs

01CH_Weiss_Leadership_2e_U.pdf

Home >Education homework help >10 discussions - due in 40 hours - 200 words each

1 Leadership: Persons, Processes, and Systems

Learning Outcomes

After completing this chapter, you should be able to:

1. Define leadership and describe how followers are important to leaders and leadership.

2. Explain the organizing framework of leadership as persons, processes, and systems.

3. Explain why leadership matters.

4. Discuss the relationship between natural leadership traits and situational factors.

5. Describe the different roles of leadership and management.

6. Understand your own leadership qualities.

iStock/Thinkstock

Leadership involves influencing others to achieve a common goal, and with entrepreneurial leaders this often means doing things differently and often innovatively. This was the case with Steve Jobs at Apple®, Sam Walton of Walmart, Herb Kelleher at Southwest Airlines, and Oprah Winfrey at her media firm Own Your Power Communications Inc.®, to name a few. More recently, other ordinary individuals became extraordinary leaders. They include found- ers and CEOs of businesses like Salesforce, Airbnb, and Netflix®. These entrepreneurs led fol- lowers to transform industries and societies.

For example, Salesforce’s Marc Benioff guides his Fortune 500 company by four core values: trust, customer success, innovation, and equality. Benioff wanted a company that not only offered great products—he wanted to improve the world. Benioff led Salesforce to commit to social responsibility, a form of self-regulation in which financial profit cannot take priority over social or environmental impacts (Mish & Scammon, 2010).

When Salesforce launched in 1999, it was among the pioneers of cloud computing and the software as a service (SaaS) business model. For this, Forbes named Benioff “Innovator of the Decade.” Benioff believed the SaaS model would replace software as a product, essentially transforming software from discs in a box to a service residing in the cloud and accessed on the Internet. In 2018, Salesforce surpassed $10 billion in annual revenue and was ranked first in Fortune magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” (Salesforce, 2019).

But consider this: The first product from Sony, led by cofounder Akio Morito, was a rice cooker that burned rice. Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard before starting Microsoft (Truong, 2011). Both companies have been named to the 2019 list of “World’s Most Ethical Companies”—as has Salesforce.

Sometimes we get swept away in the romance of success stories; in reality, leaders and suc- cessful businesses require many hours of very hard work and struggle. But strong leadership is generated from a wide and complex variety of factors, not the least of which are persistence and a willingness to be and do better.

As a field of study, leadership includes theories and practices that continue to evolve over time. Theories provide a system of ideas based on principles; practices are activities and methods that have been experienced. Both work together. And it seems in this globalized, high-tech 21st century that the cycle of change is becoming ever faster as the interaction between leadership theory and practice also quickens through the exchange of ideas and experience in social media, blogs, as well as academic journals. This book explores the evolution of leadership in order to better inform and prepare you to be an effective, knowl- edgeable leader.

The rest of this chapter gets us started on this exploration of leadership. We begin by trying to establish a working definition of leadership and by trying to understand leadership in the dynamic framework of people, processes, and systems. Then we touch on some of the core questions regarding leadership, such as why it matters, how leaders are created, and what is leadership’s relationship to management. We conclude with a self-assessment of your own leadership qualities.

Section 1.1 Defining Leadership

1.1 Defining Leadership Leadership is the ability to influence followers to achieve common goals through shared pur- poses (Rost, 1993; Rost & Barker, 2000). Leadership is both art and science. There is no exact mathematical formula for being an effective leader; leaders in hospitals, banks, retail stores, government agencies, the military, and classrooms have the ability to influence others around common goals and shared purposes to achieve organizational visions and missions. There are, however, some characteristics and behaviors that are constant—even measurable—among influential and effective leaders. Kouzes and Posner (2012) found that leaders’ actions—that is, “commitment, loyalty, motivation, pride, and productivity” (p. 25)—contribute more to employees’ workplace engagement than any other single variable.

The ability to influence others is also a distinctive part of the def- inition of leadership; “leaders are influential in determining the fate of their organizations through their decisions, strate- gies, and influence on others” (Dinh et al., 2014). Influence refers to a person’s ability to affect or to change the actions, behaviors, and opinions of oth- ers, and sometimes of indus- tries and even societies, as Elon Musk is doing. Leaders motivate others to perform certain tasks and may even influence them to act ethically (Provitera, 2003; Schaubroeck et al., 2012). An example is Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors since 2014. In her first year as CEO, Barra led the organization through the recall of more than 30 million cars due to a faulty ignition switch. Under her leadership, she shifted the organization from one characterized by internal conflict to one of productive collaboration (DeBord, 2018).

Followers are those who are influenced by leadership; they are not necessarily subordinates, but, depending on the level and structure of the organization, can be peers, team leaders, vice presidents, directors, and supervisors. We use the term subordinates generically and inter- changeably with the term followers for the remainder of the book. Leaders need followers in order to help them achieve their goals; it is difficult, after all, to accomplish much on one’s own. Likewise, followers need the direction that leaders provide. This critical relationship requires mutual trust, respect, and an understanding that the two groups need each other; it is not a mindless relationship. Just as there are effective and ineffective leaders, there are effective and ineffective followers. Leaders should not assume they are “better” than follow- ers, and followers should not simply be “yes people” (Bennis, 2004). In fact, the qualities of effective leaders are often the same as those of high-performing followers. As you read through the text, think about the situations in which you have the opportunity to be a leader or a follower.

John Raoux/Associated Press Elon Musk has proven his ability to attract followers across the multiple companies he has founded, including two he sold before founding SpaceX, an aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company.

Section 1.2 Leadership in the Context of Persons, Processes, and Systems: A Multidimensional Perspective

The phrases “common goals” and “shared purposes” reveal the need for unity in the leader–follower relationship. “Common goals” refers to the desired future or end state of the organization. Common goals help leaders and followers orient themselves in the same direction. “Shared purposes” is similar in meaning but speaks more to how leaders and fol- lowers arrive at common goals. Imagine a rowboat with two oars, one for the leader and the other for the follower. The two rowers need to row in the same direction, otherwise the rowboat will simply turn in circles. Thus, even though a leader may set the goal, followers must agree with it; and, the com- mon goal must supersede the individual goals. In our rowboat example, if one rower’s goal is to row as fast as possible while the other rower’s goal is to row at a deliberate pace, the rowboat will struggle to reach its intended destination even though the two are rowing in the same direction. A group can have multiple common goals, and they may be as simple as completing a task before lunch or as com- plex as becoming an industry’s market leader and increasing productivity and profitability.

It is important to note that for decades scholars and researchers have dedicated time to the broader study of effective leadership. From this research, we’ve come to learn much more about the impor- tance of context, interpersonal dynamics, commu-

nication skills, gender, culture, generational divides, and so on.

1.2 Leadership in the Context of Persons, Processes, and Systems: A Multidimensional Perspective

Figure 1.1 shows us an inclusive model that incorporates the importance of a leader’s influence and actions to achieve common goals through shared purposes. This framework is referred to throughout the text, and it shows that leaders do not act or influence others in a vacuum. All leaders and their followers work within the context of organizational systems that call for the different processes and skills needed to accomplish work in different situations.1

Figure 1.1 takes into account broader, integrative contexts, namely “persons, processes, and systems” (Avolio, 1999, 2007; Dinh et al., 2014). Persons count. In other words, lead- ers and followers must understand their personality traits and behaviors before they’re able to start exerting effective influence. As the saying goes, “If you can’t lead yourself, you can’t lead others.” A classic Harvard Business Review article (Goffee & Jones, 2000) entitled “Why should anyone be led by you?” also supports this point. Individual leaders, in particular, and also followers, stakeholders, and stockholders exert influence on organizational goals and performance.

Jim West/age fotostock/SuperStock After Mary Barra became CEO of Gen- eral Motors, she guided the company through a financial crisis and led its transition to a focus on electric vehi- cles and productive collaboration.

PERSONS

LEADERSHIP

-Ethics, values, beliefs -Personality and traits -Relationships -Follower characteristics

PROCESSES

-Leadership styles -Communication -Negotiation -Persuation, power, influence -Creativity, innovation -Diversity, globalizing -Conflict management

SYSTEMS

-Ethics and compliance leader, follower, context “fit” -Vision, mission, values -Strategy, goals -Culture, mental models -Change

Section 1.2 Leadership in the Context of Persons, Processes, and Systems: A Multidimensional Perspective

Processes also matter. Leaders rely on and use strategic communication, values, decision mak- ing, negotiation, conflict resolution, and problem-solving skills, which enable followers and others to guide and keep organizations on course. Dinh et al. (2014) argued that “By under- standing how leaders influence underlying processes that lead to organizational outcomes, scholars can also develop integrative perspectives that unify diverse theories and stimulate novel leadership research in the new millennium.”

Systems (strategies, structures, cultures) are both partially created by leaders and also serve as the contexts in which leaders align persons and processes toward goal attainment. “[L]eaders are embedded within organizational systems that are continually evolving, cre- ating a more complex picture for understanding how individuals think, feel, and behave in response to changing events” (Dinh et al., 2014, p. 55).

When you are hired into an organization or company and are assigned a supervisor, you are already involved in the leader–follower influence process within a system. It is helpful to understand the larger landscape of organizations from a person, process, and system per- spective to see the different interconnecting layers of leadership and know where you are located in that landscape. Figure 1.1 illustrates such a landscape. It also presents an overview of this text’s coverage of the field of leadership. Building on the previous discussion, leaders do seek to influence followers and they do so in organizational settings through processes

PERSONS

LEADERSHIP

-Ethics, values, beliefs -Personality and traits -Relationships -Follower characteristics

PROCESSES

-Leadership styles -Communication -Negotiation -Persuation, power, influence -Creativity, innovation -Diversity, globalizing -Conflict management

SYSTEMS

-Ethics and compliance leader, follower, context “fit” -Vision, mission, values -Strategy, goals -Culture, mental models -Change

Figure 1.1: Persons, processes, and systems

All persons—leaders as well as followers—work within the context of organizational systems that call for the different processes and skills needed to accomplish work in different situations. This is the leadership context.

Section 1.2 Leadership in the Context of Persons, Processes, and Systems: A Multidimensional Perspective

that relate to leadership styles and ways of communicating, influencing, and managing people to accomplish goals and objectives.

Individuals, followers, teams, and groups are the starting point for understanding leadership. Whether an organization is as large and complex as Microsoft®, General Electric, or Apple or as small as a start-up, it is still the founders, current CEOs, and other individual leaders whose per- sonalities, histories, visions, ethics, values, and missions direct, guide, and influence those inside and outside the organization. It is also to leverage leaders who are hired, promoted, and often times fired when performance and other goals are derailed or fail to work. Relationships are also at the heart of leadership. Whether in dyads, triads, groups, or teams, in one or multiple locations around the globe, it is leaders who influence individuals in corporations, institutions, and nations.

Leaders also influence followers and constituencies through processes—that is, procedures, mechanisms, methods, practices, roles, and styles. Leaders use different styles, roles, and methods to communicate, negotiate, problem solve, resolve conflicts, and innovate depending on the nature and requirements of particular environments, tasks, individuals, and groups. One size (or “process”) does not fit all. Learning leadership styles that fit different followers, tasks, and organizational settings is a major part of leadership effectiveness.

Leaders are charged with identifying strategies, goals, and the dominant culture (ethics and values) within their teams in order to guide and navigate an organization’s overall direction and performance. These dimensions are also the systems within an organization. How effec- tively leaders and their teams “fit” the overall strategies, goals, and culture to an organiza- tion’s external environment determines the effectiveness of the leader and these leadership systems. The persons and processes of leadership are integral parts of the systems. So, taken together, this multidimensional approach involves understanding the persons, processes, and systems of leadership in organizations, and how these dimensions fit (or not) to affect their environments. The Competing Values Framework (CVF) discussed at the end of this chapter offers examples of how these systems work together to respond to the external environmen- tal demands of leaders and organizations.

Because leadership involves relationships, understanding your own style and that of leaders and followers with whom you will be working is important to your success. After reading and studying the first few chapters of this book, you will be able to identify and evaluate your own leadership style and the style of others. You will begin to see how your style and others’ styles fit (or not) with different organizational strategies and cultures. You will also learn to evalu- ate the effectiveness of both your and your leader’s personal and professional style from a full range leadership model (McCleskey, 2014), which is discussed later in this book.

Systems, from this view, refers to particular perspectives and mind-sets, or “mental models,” that leaders and team members in organizational departments form as part of their culture. As new employees, learning to “read” and discover these perspectives is important because it will help you “fit” within a team. You will also be able to question assumptions and contribute to the effectiveness and efficiency of a team after you understand how members’ beliefs and values impact work assignments. Your own knowledge and perspective about how an organization’s culture fits (or not) with its strategy and stated ethics will become more evident. Leaders’ and followers’ perspectives within and across departments in organizations differ and may or may not always be in alignment with the larger organization’s direction, mission, and values. After you read and study this text, you will get a more realistic picture of what type of organizational

Section 1.3 Why Leadership Matters

culture, strategy, and system you prefer and what type best suits your current emerging leader- ship style. Keep Figure 1.1 in mind as a road map while reading the text.

1.3 Why Leadership Matters The need for leadership is clear. Think of situations in your life—or even in the news—where the person or persons in charge made all the difference, whether it was a corporate scandal, a tragic event, or just a group project. Or perhaps consider how simply setting a positive example—going to college, doing the right thing, championing a cause—can motivate others. Much of this text examines leadership in an organizational setting, but leaders are every- where; and leadership practices and development are in demand now more than ever before.

The following excerpt provides a brief overview of the current changing business environ- ment in which leaders are needed and where they work. A recent survey of 2,532 business and human resources (HR) leaders in 94 countries around the world identified the follow- ing urgent top concerns: “leadership, retention and engagement, the reskilling of HR (human resources), and talent acquisition. . . .”2 The report states

Building global leadership is by far the most urgent. . . . Companies see the need for leadership at all levels, in all geographies, and across all functional areas. . . . In a world where knowledge doubles every year and skills have a half-life of 2.5 to 5 years, leaders need constant development. This ongoing need to develop leaders is also driven by the changing expectations of the workforce and the evolving challenges businesses are facing, including two major themes underlying this year’s trends: globalization and the speed and extent of technological change and innovation.3

Leaders must create and manage change while dealing with the economic effects of an expand- ing global economy, unstable political events, an increasingly diverse workforce, unpredict- able consumer markets, misconduct, and sometimes corruption. Organizational responses to these changes include flatter structures, virtual and dispersed teams, and increased use of information technologies for faster and more frequent communication, often while having to “do more with less.” Organizational leaders are called on to reimagine, recreate and reener- gize a sense of purpose, mission, values, and practices in a multigenerational workforce who require constant development to stay competitive and be successful. So, are you ready to be a leader? Take Assessment 1.1 to get a better sense of your leadership readiness.

Assessment 1.1: Are You Ready to Be a Leader?

Instructions Indicate the extent to which you agree with each of the following statements, using the following scale: 1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = neither agree nor disagree, 4 = agree, and 5 = strongly agree

(continued)

Section 1.3 Why Leadership Matters

Assessment 1.1: Are You Ready to Be a Leader? (continued)

1. I am energized when people count on me for ideas.

2. As a practice, I ask people provocative questions when we are working on projects together.

3. I take delight in complimenting people that I work with when progress is made.

4. I find it easy to be the cheerleader for others, when times are good and when times are bad.

5. Team accomplishment is more important to me than my own personal accomplishments.

6. People often take my ideas and run with them.

7. When involved in group projects, building team cohesiveness is important to me.

8. When involved in group projects, coaching others is an activity that I gravitate toward.

9. I find pleasure in recognizing and celebrating the accomplishments of others.

10. When involved in group projects, my team members’ problems are my problems.

11. Resolving interpersonal conflict is an activity that I enjoy.

12. When involved in group projects, I frequently find myself to be an idea generator.

13. When involved in group projects, I am inclined to let my ideas be known.

14. I find pleasure in being a convincing person.

Scoring and Interpretation Sum your responses to the 14 questions and then divide that number by 14. Your score should fall between a low of 1 and a high of 5. A tentative interpretation of your scoring is as follows:

4.5 and higher implies a high motivation for leadership.

3.0 implies uncertainty about your motivation for leadership.

1.75 and lower implies a low motivation for leadership.

My leadership motivation (readiness) score is . Source: Pierce, J. and Newstrom, J.W. Leaders and the Leadership Process, 4th ed, p. 67. Reprinted by permission of McGraw-Hill Education. Reprinted by permission of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Section 1.4 Who Can Be a Leader: Are Leaders Born or Made?

1.4 Who Can Be a Leader: Are Leaders Born or Made? When describing leaders, sometimes the tendency is to think that they have somehow inher- ited leadership through no effort of their own: They were born with the qualities or traits that make them good leaders, or they simply stepped into the position by being in the right place at the right time. However, if leaders are everywhere, this suggests that there is more to leadership than winning the “leadership lottery.”

To say that someone is born a leader implies that only a select pool of candidates is qualified to be leaders. (We discuss this later in the section on trait theory.) Although some scholars argue that some individuals possess a natural predisposition for leadership, others prefer, as previously discussed, to describe leadership as a process and as systems. In other words, leadership can be developed over time and in context to other factors. Individuals can learn to be leaders by honing the needed skills—such as communicating, planning, and negotiating, among other things—and by working to better understand themselves and how they inter- act with others. From a persons, process, and systems perspective leadership is available to everyone, not only to a formally appointed leader. Leadership is not a destination that can be arrived at; it is a continual learning experience.

There is more than one path to becom- ing a leader. Leadership is assigned when people, such as a company vice president or a police officer, are named to positions of power and are given formal authority. However, lead- ership often extends beyond these assigned positions; some individuals exhibit leadership abilities and are recognized as leaders by their groups despite not having a formal title. This phenomenon is referred to as emer- gent leadership, and scholars have pointed to certain characteristics that those who emerge as leaders share.

Emergent leadership is considered a necessary and desired trait at com- panies like Google, video game devel- oper Valve, and W. L. Gore & Associates, makers of Gore-Tex. Google’s Vice President of Peo- ple Operations said “For every job. . . the No. 1 thing we look for is general cognitive ability, and it’s not I.Q. It’s learning ability. It’s the ability to process on the fly. It’s the ability to pull together disparate bits of information” (Friedman, 2014). Fisher (1971) observed specific communication behaviors: Emergent leaders ask for other opinions, remain firm but flexible, and initiate compelling, new ideas. Smith and Foti (1998) suggested that emergent leaders exhibit common personality traits. In their study of 160 male college students, they found that dominance, intelligence, and confidence in one’s ability to perform (self-efficacy) were relevant traits that characterized emergent leaders. Because the sample consisted of male students only, it is uncertain whether the results apply to women (Northouse, 2013). Because leadership involves multiple levels that create top-down and bottom-up emergent outcomes (Yammarino & Dansereau, 2011), leaders can adopt values and create climates and cultures that foster emergent and other desired follower behaviors and outcomes (Lord & Dinh, 2012).

iStock/Thinkstock Whether an organization is large or small it is still the founders, current CEOs, and other individual leaders that direct, guide, and influence those inside and outside the organization.

Section 1.5 Leadership and Managerial Roles

1.5 Leadership and Managerial Roles Now that we have covered a basic definition of leadership, we will examine the many roles leaders perform to help us better understand the function and efficacy of leadership. Leader- ship roles are expected behaviors and activities related to leaders’ jobs. Based on his classic but relevant study of the actual work habits and time management of chief executive officers (CEOs), Mintzberg (1973, 2009) identified 10 specific roles that could be categorized into three sets: interpersonal, informational, and decisional. The interpersonal role set involves meeting and working with other people both inside and outside the organization. The infor- mational role set works with and transmits data and information. The decisional role set helps make critical decisions that can affect how an organization works.

Take the Lead Informational Roles of a Leader You are a marketing VP at a Fortune 500 organization. Among the marketing department’s many responsibilities, you have been tasked with identifying the marketing plan for a new product release. The initial product release was focused solely in the United States for distribution; however, with this upcoming release the organization’s leadership believes there is a global marketplace that could likewise benefit from the product being offered. This new release represents the organization’s first global-reach initiative.

You pride yourself on thoroughness and intend to put in your typical due diligence in performing your analysis. However, you have limited experience and exposure to non-U.S. markets.

The informational roles of a leader involve working with and transmitting information. The volume of information that is available for each of us to digest daily is staggering. In 2008, Americans consumed information for about 1.3 trillion hours, an average of almost 12 hours per day (University of California, San Diego Global Information Industry Center, 2009). With this in mind, and considering the informational roles of a leader, take the lead! Consider the following in determining what you would do:

1. What information is crucial for you to identify as you plan the new product release? 2. Where will you mine information? 3. What guidelines will you establish for information resources that will ensure

credibility of sources and content? 4. What methods will you deploy to distribute information inside the organization?

Outside it? 5. Will there be full transparency of content? 6. Who should be the spokesperson for the marketing information? Will this person be

the same or different for the purposes of new product releases?

See the appendix for possible answers.

Section 1.5 Leadership and Managerial Roles

Interpersonal Role Set 1. Figurehead: Leaders, usually in high-level roles, perform ceremonial and symbolic

duties as heads of organizations. This role is not trivial. As the face, voice, and public image of an organization, a leader upholds the organization’s reputation, personality, and presence to external stakeholders and stockholders. This role involves entertaining clients in an official capacity and presiding at meetings, dinners, and official functions.

2. Leader: This role influences how leaders excel in all the other roles. In this capacity and this particular role, they foster a proper work atmosphere, motivate and develop subordinates, evaluate performance, hire employees, and give instructions.

3. Liaison: This role involves interacting with people both inside and outside the orga- nization: gathering and sharing information, networking, and maintaining relation- ships. It also involves managing politics inside and outside the organization. Leaders have to serve on and lead committees, attend professional and trade-association meetings, and stay in touch with key stakeholders.

Informational Role Set 4. Monitor: As part of their information-processing functions, leaders gather and

analyze internal and external information relevant to the organization. They have to keep current on memos, reports, professional trade and association publications, news, and media. These days they have to keep current on competitive and competi- tors’ products, prices, and business processes and practices.

5. Disseminator: In this role, leaders transmit factual and value-based information to others in the organization. Currently this can be done through electronic as well as face- to-face contact. Leaders spend time in one-to-one discussions and group meetings.

6. Spokesperson: Leaders provide information to people outside the organization. They report to the board of directors, owners, managers, and team leaders. They also represent the organization to the media, community groups, and professional associations, regarding the organization’s news, performance, and policies.

Decisional Role Set 7. Entrepreneur: Leaders participate in designing and initiating change and improve-

ments in the organization. More leaders are taking on entrepreneurial roles in the current competitive business environment. Leaders are involved in collaborating with venture capitalists, developing new or improved products and services, and finding new ways to process services and products.

8. Disturbance handler: Leaders must deal with unexpected events, crises, and operational breakdowns. They have to be ready to represent and take action quickly, especially in these days when global media are ubiquitous. Leaders have to handle striking unions, equipment and operations breakdowns, and unforeseen mishaps.

9. Resource allocator: Leaders are in charge of ensuring that the organization’s resources are operationally, legally, and ethically managed. They must also schedule, authorize, and oversee budgeting activities of people and equipment.

10. Negotiator: Leaders represent their organizations when they participate in nego- tiation activities with individuals and groups inside and outside the organization. They must be involved in both routine and nonroutine negotiations, such as pay and

Section 1.5 Leadership and Managerial Roles

benefits packages for employees; union labor contracts; customer and supplier con- tracts; and prices for sales, service, and delivery of products and services.

Mintzberg’s work depicted the range of responsibilities and behaviors required of leaders. However, leaders do not usually have to perform all roles at once, nor do they perform all the roles in the same way. Mintzberg observed:

Although individual capabilities influence the implementation of a role, it is the organization that determines the need for a particular role, addressing the common belief that it is predominantly a manager’s skill set that deter- mines success. Effective managers develop protocols for action given their job description and personal preference, and match these with the situation at hand. (Mintzberg, 1973)

In today’s business environment, changing technology, daily problems, and external factors can affect how leaders communicate and function in these different roles (House & Aditya, 1997). Mintzberg found that most CEOs are not reflective strategists who carefully plan their company’s next move; leaders act and react constantly. Applying Mintzberg’s roles to yourself can provide helpful insights (“Mintzberg’s Management Roles,” 2014). See “Take the Lead: Decisional Roles of a Leader” to apply concepts.

Take the Lead Decisional Roles of a Leader You are the CEO of a service organization that earns $250 million in revenue annually. The economic downturn forced you and your leadership team to lay off a significant portion of your workforce nearly 2 years ago. With the impending rebound in the economy and a possible increase in business, you see an opportunity to hire again—potentially rehiring some of the associates you had to let go earlier. When you mention this during an executive meeting, another organizational leader suggests that you are being overly optimistic about the economic recovery and the company’s growth.

The decisional roles of a leader help make critical decisions that can affect how an organization works. At the core of decision making, a leader is faced with how to deal effectively with change, proactively prepare for an unexpected business climate, ensure that organizational resources are adequately engaged, and negotiate on behalf of the organization while maintaining its mission, vision, and values, as well as trending toward current goals and objectives. With this in mind, consider the following:

1. What are the alternatives available for staffing future initiatives? 2. How can the atmosphere of economic uncertainty be overcome? 3. Are there processes or procedures you could use to avoid being overly optimistic? 4. What can you leverage in order to maintain proper levels of staffing engagement? 5. At what level should you seek to engage your staff? 6. Are there negotiations that you should seek to hold in order to staff your operation? 7. What can you do so that the negotiations are favorable for the business?

See the appendix for possible answers.

Section 1.5 Leadership and Managerial Roles

Management and Leadership Compared In defining his 10 managerial roles, Mintzberg did not distinguish between leaders and man- agers, choosing—as many scholars have—to see the two roles as interrelated: two sides of the same coin. However, the terms leadership and management often have different connota- tions for different people, and other experts in the field argue that the characteristics and duties of leaders and managers are indeed distinct. Can leaders be managers and vice versa? What is the difference between leaders and managers? Do their processes differ significantly? Are they different types of people?

While scholars differ on whether individuals can be both leaders and managers, they agree that both are needed for an organization to be suc- cessful, especially depending on the situation and skills required (McCles- key, 2014). Zaleznik (2004), however, believed that managers and leaders are distinctly different; you are either a leader or a manager. He argued that managers are reactive and work with people collaboratively but with lit- tle emotional involvement. Leaders, however, shape and change ideas and are very emotionally involved with people. Managers limit choice; lead- ers expand options to solve problems. Leaders change other people’s atti- tudes, while managers only change people’s behavior (Rowe & Boulgarides, 1992).

For example, President John F. Kennedy reoriented the nation’s thinking and attitudes toward exploring space by describing it as illustrative of American ingenuity, progress, and sense of adventure. Managers at NASA helped make that dream possible by equipping astronauts to reach the moon.

Rowe and Boulgarides (1992) contended that leaders and managers possess different philo- sophical perspectives. Managers are deterministic; they believe that their respective orga- nizations, industries, and environments determine their work and the way they conduct themselves. Leaders believe in free will; they believe that their choices affect and shape their organizations, industries, and environments. Rowe also argued organizations need both strong management and strong leadership. Organizations that have strong management but little or no leadership are too bureaucratic, constraining creativity and innovation. On the other hand, organizations with powerful leadership and little or no management may adopt change for the sake of change and be misguided (Rowe, 2007).

Other scholars agree that organizations need both effective managers and leaders but have argued that an individual can hold both roles simultaneously, integrating management and lead- ership functions for high performance (Yukl & Lepsinger, 2005). This view has been and is sup- ported by several scholars (Bass, 1985; Seltzer & Bass, 1990; McCleskey, 2014; Robbins & Judge,

iStock/Thinkstock The Smith and Forti study found that dominance, intelligence, and confidence in oneself were traits that characterized emergent leaders.

Section 1.5 Leadership and Managerial Roles

2015). Still, not all leaders are compe- tent managers and many managers neither desire nor can become excel- lent leaders, although tasks and roles are interchangeable. It is helpful to see some of the distinctive characteristics of each so that you may better under- stand your own current preferences, skills, and aspirations.

Kotter (1990, 1996), whose distinc- tions between managers and leaders are outlined in Table 1.1, called for “leader–managers.” Managers are needed to handle complexity through planning and budgeting, organiz- ing and staffing, and controlling and

problem solving. Leaders are required to handle change by setting direction and aligning, motivating, and inspiring people. Kotter contended that organizations are overmanaged and underled, but also pointed out that strong leadership with weak management may create worse situations.

Mintzberg (1990) argued that managers lead and leaders manage, and individuals need to be managers and leaders simultaneously. He described managers as leading with “a cerebral face,” which emphasizes calculation, sees an organization as a portfolio of components—that is, departments and functional areas (human resources, production, sales, etc.)—and oper- ates with rationality. Leaders lead by using “an insightful face.” This face emphasizes commit- ment and sees organizations through an integrative perspective, grounded in the image and

Caia Images/Caia Images/Superstock What do you think? Can leaders be managers and vice versa?

Table 1.1: Management and leadership

Management Leadership

Direction Plans for the bottom line Creates a shared vision and strategy

Alignment Focuses on the organization Creates common culture and values that reduce boundaries

Relationships Occupies a position of power; plays the role of the boss; focuses on production

Desires to motivate and inspire people and followers; plays the role of coach; mediates, facilitates, and serves

Personal qualities Emotionally separated; highly talk- ative; expert minded; in favor of standardization

Emotionally engaged; listens to oth- ers; open-minded; diversified

Outcomes Stability and predictability; efficiency Change and effectiveness

Source: Based on A force for change: how leadership differs from management, by J. P. Kotter, 1990, New York, NY: The Free Press.

Section 1.6 Leadership Is Everyone’s Business

feel of integrity. Mintzberg argued that managers need to be “two-faced,” that is, they need also to be leaders when required.

Management has been characterized as planning, organizing, staffing, and controlling orga- nizational resources, while leadership is viewed as focusing on people and creating vision, culture, and change. However, both leaders and managers influence people and participate in the achievement of common goals—key to our definition of leadership—and we will not distinguish between the two roles in this text. You may take Assessment 1.2 to determine whether you are a manager, a leader, or both.

1.6 Leadership Is Everyone’s Business “Becoming a leader is synonymous with becoming yourself. It’s precisely that simple, and it’s also that difficult” the late Warren Bennis once said (Ignatius, 2015, p. 10).

Leadership is also relational; it happens among people and it is codependent in nature. Follow- ers need leaders, but leaders, whatever role they play in their organization, need thoughtful followers to work toward and achieve their common goals. Leadership, then, involves persons, processes, and systems. At the same time, some individuals will either emerge or be appointed to take the lead in helping make a difference in groups, teams, organizations, and nations. Zenger and Folkman (2014) made the observation posed as a question, “Individual contributors some- times ask themselves, ‘What will it take for others to recognize my potential?’” These authors noted that such contributors may only want “acknowledgement of the importance of the work they do. Or they may aspire to move into management” as they watch others advancing in orga- nizations ahead of them. The authors’ study of 4,158 individuals’ responses on 360-degree assessments (i.e., performance-appraisal data collected from “all around” an employee’s peers, subordinates, supervisors, and self [“businessDictionary,” 2015]) over four years that looked at average versus high performers’ productivity found that exceptional contributors as compared to good contributors showed the following leadership behaviors:

• Set stretch goals and adopted high standards for themselves (the single most power- ful differentiator)

• Worked collaboratively • Volunteered to represent the group • Embraced change rather than resisted it • Took initiative • Walked the talk • Used good judgment • Displayed personal resilience • Gave honest feedback

This book includes both classical and contemporary leadership studies, which focus on lead- ers and followers in formal organizational settings. But consider that you are a leader, even if you are not the CEO of an organization. After all, you must lead yourself, and you may have to lead your family, team, peers, supervisors, suppliers, vendors, and others at some point during your life. Many individuals are capable of leadership. Leadership can be learned and developed (Jago, 1982); it is not an innate set of characteristics granted to chosen individuals.

Section 1.6 Leadership Is Everyone’s Business

In addition to current, relevant leadership skills and concepts, the chapters that follow pre- sent a historical overview of major theories and approaches that have shaped and continue to shape leadership research and practice. As the organizing framework in Figure 1.1 shows, you will learn about leaders as persons and individuals through personalities, traits, and abil- ities that are thought to distinguish leaders from nonleaders (“great man” theory and trait theory). Then effective leadership styles and processes (style and behavior approaches) are explained, and how these styles interact with different work environments (situational and contingency approaches) is covered.

You will have an opportunity to see practical models and assessments that management con- sultants use, and to profile yourself using short assessments. The assessments are designed to help you understand what type of leader best suits your style and professional needs, and to help you understand what type of leader you are, or wish to be. Warren Bennis, a renowned pioneer in executive leadership education and consulting, noted that “leadership is a function of knowing yourself, having a vision that is well communicated, building trust among col- leagues, and taking effective action to realize your own leadership potential” (Barini, 2007 pg. 165).

Because leadership does not exist in a vacuum, you will learn about effective communication, conflict management, persuasion, and other processes that leaders use to influence not only followers but also organizations and systems. You will also understand what it means to also be a better follower. The subject of leadership really is everybody’s business.

Assessment 1.2: Are You a Leader or a Manager?

Instructions Questions 1–6 are about you right now. Questions 7–14 are about you if you were one day the head of a major department at a corporation. Answer “Mostly False” or “Mostly True” to indicate whether the item describes you accurately, or whether you would strive to perform each activity as a department head.

Now

Mostly False Mostly True 1. When I have a number of tasks or homework

assignments to do, I set priorities and organize the work to meet the deadlines.

2. When I am involved in a serious disagreement, I hang in there and talk it out until it is completely resolved.

3. I would rather sit in front of my computer than spend a lot of time with people.

4. I reach out to include other people in activities or discussions.

(continued)

Section 1.6 Leadership Is Everyone’s Business

Assessment 1.2: Are You a Leader or a Manager? (continued)

5. I know my long-term vision for career, family, and other activities.

6. When solving problems, I prefer analyzing things myself to working through them with a group of people.

Head of Major Department Mostly False Mostly True

7. I would help subordinates clarify goals and ways to reach them.

8. I would give people a sense of long-term mission and higher purpose.

9. I would make sure jobs get out on time. 10. I would scout for new product or service

opportunities. 11. I would give credit to people who did their jobs

well. 12. I would promote unconventional beliefs and

values. 13. I would establish procedures to help the

department operate smoothly. 14. I would verbalize the higher values that the

organization and I stand for.

Scoring and Interpretation Count the number of “Mostly True” answers to even-numbered questions: . Count the number of “Mostly True” answers to odd-numbered questions: . Compare the two scores.

The even-numbered items represent behaviors and activities typical of leadership. Leaders are personally involved in shaping ideas, values, vision, and change. They often use an intuitive approach to develop fresh ideas and seek new directions for the department or organization. The odd-numbered items are considered more traditional management activities. Managers respond to organizational problems in an impersonal way, make rational decisions, and work for stability and efficiency.

If you answered yes to more even-numbered than odd-numbered items, you may have potential leadership qualities. lf you answered yes to more odd-numbered items, you may have management qualities. Management qualities are an important foundation for new leaders because the organization first has to operate efficiently. Then leadership qualities can enhance performance. Both sets of qualities can be developed or improved with awareness and experience. Sources: Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading change. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press (p. 26); Rost, J. C. (1993). Leadership for the Twenty First Century. Westport, CT: Praeger (p. 149); B. Dumaine (1993). The New Non-Manager Managers. Fortune, 127(4), 80–84.

Summary & Resources

NOTES

1. Avolio, B. (1999). Full leadership development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. This section is based on Avolio’s book.

2. Barry, L., C. Benko, D. Foley, J. Hagel, D. Helfrich, T. Hodson, S. Holland, M. Stephan, H. Stockton, A. van Berkel, B. Walsh, and J. Wong, (Eds). (2014). Global human capital trends, engaging the 21st century workforce. A report by Deloitte Consulting LLP and Bersin by Deloitte. Note: Different parts of this introduction are based on this report.

3. Ibid., p. 5.

Summary & Resources

Chapter Summary Leadership—part art, part science—is the ability to influence followers to achieve common goals through shared purposes. Leadership is in urgent demand, globally and locally. Young aspiring and emerging leaders are particularly in demand because they can grow and develop with certain organizations that seek high-demand skills. But in a very real sense, everyone is a leader to some degree. Everyone has to lead themselves—as followers, family members, and members of society that are becoming more global and competitive, demanding abilities that leaders must demonstrate.

Understanding leadership in organizations involves observing it as a field that includes over- lapping and interrelated relationships among persons, processes, and systems as illustrated in Figure 1.1, the roadmap for this text. Effective and efficient leaders understand themselves first and then understand others. Leaders require personal knowledge of ethics, personality, abilities, vulnerabilities, and blind spots. To successfully influence others, leaders require a capacity for emotional and intellectual intelligence and an ability to persuade, communicate, and listen. It is necessary to understand the processes of leadership (i.e., styles, roles, meth- ods, procedures) because leaders’ ways of communicating, negotiating, and decision making help determine their effectiveness with particular followers, tasks, and environments. At the organizational level, higher level leaders must help define and guide an organization’s strate- gies, culture, ethics, and social responsibility with stakeholders and stockholders. Leaders are called on to model the cultural values and characteristics that they want others to help create and follow. These systems (strategy, culture, goals), together with individual leaders and their teams’ processes, help explain how effectively and efficiently organizations respond to their external environment’s competitive demands.

As you read this text, you are invited to participate in leadership as a process of self-discovery. You will learn to observe and analyze leadership characteristics (or the need for such) in oth- ers around you, in organizations you may already work, study, and belong to. Begin with a very important question: Are you a leader or a manager? This is a first step toward awakening your interest and identifying your strengths and needed areas of development in this process of becoming a leader. Then as you read about the roles leaders assume, you can consider which of those you need to learn and why. The assessments and chapters in the text provide you with awareness and information about the skills these different roles require.

Summary & Resources

Web Resources

Imagine Leadership

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuuTlQ0FzEU What does leadership mean to you? XPLANE and Harvard Business School offer an introductory video.

CEO Brain Scans

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11730685 What makes a good leader? The BBC examines the brain scans of CEOs to see if anything can be revealed.

Leadership Versus Management

http://www.build-creative-writing-ideas.com/stephen-covey-leadership-versus-management .html A writer looks at the difference between leadership and management.

Critical Thinking Questions

1. Do you agree with the definition of leadership? What would you add or change and why?

2. Argue for and against this statement: “Everyone is to some extent and in some ways a leader.”

Argue for and against this statement: “Leaders are born, not made.” 3. In which particular leadership and managerial roles do you excel? In which do you

need development? Explain. 4. In what ways is emergent leadership important and why? Also, in what ways could

emergent leadership be problematic, and for whom? Why? 5. Explain why leadership is important, and to whom? 6. Do you consider yourself more a manager or a leader? Explain. Which would you

aspire to be, a leader or manager? Why? 7. What do you believe it takes to become a higher level, formal leader in an organiza-

tion, perhaps one in which you have, had, or wish to work? Explain.

Key Terms

decisional role set Leadership roles that include decision makers, entrepreneurs, resource allocators, and negotiators.

disseminator Leadership and managerial role that includes transmitting factual and value-based information to others in the orga- nization. Currently this can be done through electronic as well as face-to-face contact.

disturbance handler A leadership and managerial role that involves dealing with unexpected events, crises, and operational breakdowns. Disturbance handlers must be ready to represent and take action quickly, handling such issues as strik- ing unions, equipment and operations breakdowns, and unforeseen mishaps. Larger disturbances include crises that

http://www.build-creative-writing-ideas.com/stephen-covey-leadership-versus-management.html

Summary & Resources

may involve the entire organization and its reputation.

emergent leadership Extends beyond assigned positions; some individuals exhibit leadership abilities and are recognized as leaders by their groups despite not having a formal title.

entrepreneur Leadership role that includes participating in designing and initiating change and improvements in the organization. Entrepreneurs are involved in collaborating with venture capitalists, developing new or improved products and services, and finding new ways to process services and products.

figurehead An interpersonal role that involves performing ceremonial and sym- bolic duties as head of an organization.

followers Those who are influenced by leadership; they are not necessarily subordi- nates, but depending on the level and struc- ture of the organization, they may be peers, team leaders, vice presidents, directors, and supervisors.

informational role set Leadership roles that include monitoring and disseminating information and serving as a spokesperson.

interpersonal role set Leadership roles that involve meeting and working with other people both inside and outside the organiza- tion (what some would consider the primary role of a leader). Roles in this set include figurehead, leader, and liaison.

liaison An interpersonal role that involves interacting with people both inside and out- side the organization: gathering and sharing information, networking, and maintaining relationships.

monitor Part of the informational role set of a leader and manager that involves information- processing functions and gathering and analyzing internal and external information relevant to the organization.

negotiator A leadership role that involves representing the organization when nego- tiating activities inside and outside the organization with individuals and groups. This includes both routine and nonroutine negotiations, such as pay and benefits pack- ages for employees; union labor contracts; customer and supplier contracts; and prices for sales, service, and delivery of products and services.

resource allocator A leadership and managerial role that ensures that the organi- zation’s resources are operationally, legally, and ethically managed. They must also schedule, authorize, and oversee the budget- ing activities of people and equipment.

spokesperson Leadership role that pro- vides information regarding the organiza- tion’s news, performance, and policies to people outside the organization. In this role leaders represent the organization to the media, community groups, and professional associations.