Write a profile describing a leader in a diverse organization

Module 1 - Leadership Primer

What's the benefit of studying this topic?

Leadership is often taken for granted or assumed–and professional careers can be side-tracked as a result. Becoming clearer about leadership roles assists you in focusing your strategy for career advancement. Additional insight about leader-manager actions will support direct, successful interactions with peers, direct reports, and superiors.

Module 1 Leadership Primer: The Basics of Leading and Why You Need to Know

Introduction to this Module and our course work:

What makes a leader a leader? What are the characteristics or skills that make a group of people trust and follow an

individual? Those questions and similar ones have been the subject of considerable research for years, especially in the

last century. There are about as many answers and proposals as the number of studies themselves. Economist John

Kenneth Galbraith, who served in the administrations of four presidents (Roosevelt through Johnson) observed, “All of the

great leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of

their people in their time. This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership.”

For the purpose of this course, Northouse (2013) offers a definition that merits consideration. “Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal” (p. 5) Management and leadership are frequently confused. Can you have one without another? Are all good leaders, good managers and vice versa? How do managers impact leaders and how do leaders relate to managers in organizations? In the late 19

th century Henri Fayol proposed that there are five functions of management. As illustrated in the chart below,

those in blue are predominately management areas; those in red are predominately leadership areas.

Five Functions of Management

Planning Organizing Staffing Directing Control

Vision Mission Strategy: ● What business are we in? ● What business should we be in? ● How? Goals: Income -Costs = Profit Timetables Market share Growth Investment Diversification etc. Need Metrics

The organization supports the strategy. What form? • By function • By product • By geography • By customer • By some other means Structure? Rules? Policies? Procedures?

Human Resources

Evaluate present & future needs. Five years out? • Recruit • Assess • Train • Compensate • Benefits • Promote • Terminate

Some call this function Coordinating or Motivating? Leading Communicating Inspire Energize Empower Seek commitment Build teams Recognize needs

Measure progress toward the goals, note the deviations and make corrections ↓ ↓ ↓

↑ ← ← ← ←

Blue = Predominantly Management Areas; Red = Predominately Leadership Areas

Tough Economic Times Adds to Leadership Expectations:

The Center for Creative Leadership recently surveyed and analyzed research from corporate executives for leadership ideas during challenging times.

Especially Useful Actions

for Leading During

Economic Difficulties

Comments from a "Real World" Leader about Effort Needed

Confront Reality "Always question whether the 'halo effect' of a business or business situation is blinding you to what lies on the horizon.” – Herbert Henkel chairman, president, and CEO of Ingersoll Rand (IR is a multi- national, industrial machinery business, headquartered in Ireland with $13.2 billion in business)

Be transparent with employees

"The only way to address uncertainty is to communicate and communicate. And when you think you've just about got everybody, then communicate some more." – Terry Lundgren, chairman, president, and CEO of Macy's (a consumer retail business headquartered in Ohio with 167,000 workers and $24.9 billion in business)

Be open with investors

"Our policy is: 'If in doubt, communicate.' We always want to conduct our business with integrity and forthrightness." – Ron Sugar, chairman and CEO of Northrop Grumman (a military contracting and shipbuilding business recently announcing a move to the WDC region for its headquarters; has a revenue of 33.9 billion and 123,600 workers)

Build and protect your culture and people

"Stay focused on culture, people, and values: it's the area most likely to get compromised in this environment." – Eric Foss, chairman and CEO of Pepsi Bottling Group (headquartered in NY, this soft drink company is multinational, with more than 66,000 employees and a revenue of 13.8 billion

Keep faith with the future

"If you don't invest in the future and don't plan for the future, there won't be one." – George Buckley, chairman, president, and CEO of 3M, an global, industrial conglomerate, headquartered in MN, with $25+billion in revenue and 79,200 workers

(Center for Creative Leadership, 2010).

Research on Leadership: Large Number of Articles Reveals Trends:

In his text on leadership, Northouse credits an earlier researcher (Stogdill, 1974) with observing “. . . there are almost as many different definitions of leadership as there are people who have tried to define it” (Northouse, 2013, p. 2). With more

than 11,000 articles reported from 2005-12, that number of publications alone, indicates the keen interest for answers and approaches to effective leading. The topics within peer -reviewed journals suggest that theorists, researchers, and behavioral experts are most interested in these leadership topics:

 Distinctions between leading and managing, with continued attention to the idea that leaders are also managers, as an aspect of performance-driven decision-making

 Attitudes and skills for creativity and innovation, which suggest ongoing attention to development and communication of vision

 Impact of continuous organizational change on how followers perceive leadership roles and responsibilities  Attention to followers and interacting in ways which promote trusted relationships, with a related idea about social

identity. This concept ties to the role of being more or less like the group for seeking to influence (Business Source Complete Data Base, 2012)

Effective Study of Leadership Builds on Tested Concepts

Throughout the course you will examine leadership from a variety of vantage points, views, and theories within an overall multicultural frame to inquire, assess and determine answers for what is an effective leader. At the risk of over- simplification, studies of leadership can be broken down into three main categories posed as questions:

1. Are leaders born? The Trait Approach

During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, “great man” theories dominated leadership discussions. The great man concept suggested that leaders possessed special traits or characteristics that allowed them to ascend above others and enhanced their ability to be leaders (Hollander and Offermann 1990b). Although Stogdill (1948) suggested that no consistent set of traits differentiated leaders from non-leaders across a variety of situations, nevertheless others have proposed dozens of possible characteristics. There is general agreement that they have the following five in common:

• Intelligence • Self-confidence • Determination • Integrity • Sociability

2. Can leadership skills be learned and developed? The Skills Approach

“Beginning in the early 1990s, a multitude of studies has been published that contend that a leader’s effectiveness depends on a leader’s effectiveness in solving complex problems” (Northouse, 2013, p. 43). The Three-Skill Approach can be broken down as follows:

• Technical Skill: Most important at lower and middle-level management. • Human Skill: People skills; important at all three management levels. • Conceptual Skill: Ability to work with ideas and concepts; most important at top management levels.

3. Is leadership a matter of behavior? The Style Approach

“The style approach focuses exclusively on what leaders do and how they act . . . to include the actions of leaders toward subordinates in various contexts (Northouse, 2013, p. 75). According to the theory, leadership is composed of two general kinds of behaviors:

• Task Behaviors: Goal accomplishment. • Relationship Behaviors: Comfort with selves, the group, and the situation

4. Several other approaches have been proposed by researchers which could be broadly categorized as Style: • Situational Approach: Different situations demand different kinds of leadership requiring a leader to serve in

both directive and supportive capacities. • Contingency Approach: Depends on effectively matching the leader with the situation. • Transformational Approach: Incorporates charismatic and visionary leadership. Moves followers to

accomplish more than is usually expected. • Path-Goal Approach: Meets subordinates’ motivational needs to help them achieve their goals. • Leader-Member Exchange Theory (LMX): Rather than treating followers in a collective way, LMX theory

assumes a dyadic relationship (i.e. one leader – one follower) between the leader and each of the leader’s followers.

• Servant Leadership: An approach that runs counter to common sense. Leaders are attentive to the concerns of their followers, empathize and nurture them.

5. Special Consideration can be given to select approaches.

• Women and Leadership: Studies indicate that while women are no less effective at leadership or committed to their work, they are less likely to self-promote than men are.

• Team Leadership: Organizational teams have gained increased importance.

Acts of Leading Focus on Appropriate Influence of Others (Followers and Potential Followers):

Types of Leader Power:

Category Description

Referent Power

Influence is derived from deep respect and appreciation for the leader's ways. Gandhi and Martin Luther King were leader examples who exerted referent power.

Expert Power Use of this power is driven by knowledge and ability to contribute that knowledge to major problem solving. Professional football coaches are often hired because they are seen as experts for assuring a winning season. A local leader, who speaks the language of the community, offers expert power for explaining and negotiating the customs of a desired market.

Legitimate Power

Influence which accompanies position within a recognized company, business or institution. A judge holds legitimate power due to his or her appointment as a member of the court system.

Reward Power The use and access to resources desired by others (who then follow). Rewards include work benefits (raises, bonus distribution, time off, vacations, etc). A supervisor frequently uses reward power to support employee commitment to project or unit goal achievement.

Coercive Power

Influence which goes against the will of others to punish or penalize. In exerting this power, leadership is viewed as unfair, not ethical. Fear becomes the primary motivator. A manager is using coercive power when s/he makes a planning mistake but blames staff for that decision.

(Northouse, 2013; Raven and French (1959).

Next Steps:

Through your course study you will uncover multiple leadership aspects and approaches. Leadership likely means something slightly different to your classmates because people see and feel leadership through our own observations and experiences. Beginning now, how would you describe or explain leadership, based on your experience?

As weeks of the course are completed, consider how you can explore each module to compare and contrast the understanding you have from your observations. What ideas seem to be most relevant? How you might adjust, fine-tune, or change your leadership to become more effective in your career or organization?