Create a chart comparing at least 3 leadership theories

The Importance of Leadership

Upon every wave of political history has been a Caesar, an Elizabeth, a Napoleon, or a Saladin. In every lull, leadership has been absent. Consider the period of approximately AD 800 to 1000:

Europe lapsed into utter decentralization, and lost for centuries the administrative unity that the reign of Charlemagne promised. A heavy blow was dealt at the slowly developing culture that the eighth century produced. It was not without justice that the ninth and tenth centuries have been called “the Dark Ages.” The internal history of continental Europe became a dismal record of tiresome local feuds and private wars.7

Page 3Leadership is important not only in government, but in other areas of life as well. Social conscience and conduct have been influenced by reformers such as Martin Luther King and Susan B. Anthony:

Susan B. Anthony was a passionate advocate, who saw “the vote” as the symbol of women’s emancipation and independence as well as the indispensable condition of a true government. … Although still voteless, she declared, “The world has never witnessed a greater revolution than in the status of women during the past half century.”8

The fates of nations have been determined by military figures such as Alexander the Great and Joan of Arc:

Alexander the Great opened a new era in the history of the world and, by his life’s work, determined its development for many centuries. The permanent result of his life was the development of Greek civilization into a civilization that was worldwide.9

Civilization has been shaped by philosophers such as John Stuart Mill and Adam Smith:

John Stuart Mill was one of England’s greatest philosophers, hardly surpassed by thinkers of the highest order. Mill taught that a popular representative government (democracy) inevitably makes for progress.10

The initiative of leaders has a formative place in history. At times their eloquence, like Churchill’s, may be worth a thousand regiments; their skill, like Napoleon’s, may win battles and establish states. If they are teachers or prophets, like Muhammad, wise in insight, their words may inspire good deeds.

Leadership in the Work Setting

Leadership is an important and difficult task, and it is the cornerstone of organizational success. Management author John Kotter describes the need for effective leadership at work, saying that too many organizations are overmanaged and underled. Too much emphasis on order and control, and not enough emphasis on motivation and creativity, can reduce vitality and lead to failure. What is needed is development of leadership capacity at all levels of responsibility. With good selection, training, and encouragement, many more people can play valuable leadership roles.32

The question is often asked, What is the difference between leadership and management? These are terms that are often used interchangeably. Management involves four functions or processes first identified by Henri Fayol in 1916: planning, organizing, directing, and controlling, all of which are essential for organizational success. The term leadership is popularly used to describe what takes place in the first three of these functions—establishing a direction (planning), aligning people and resources (organizing), and energizing people to accomplish results (directing). These processes require insight, decisiveness, courage, strength, resolve, diplomacy, and other important leadership qualities to be successful.33

Another way to describe the difference between management and leadership is to say that management denotes formal authority and accountability is delegated, while leadership is the ability to influence the activity or behavior of people. The primary purpose of management is to provide order and consistency, a bottom-line focus; the primary function of leadership is to produce change and movement, a top-line focus.

Successful organizations have excellent management to ensure execution and great leadership to provide vision and strategy. If an organization has strong management without leadership, the result can be reliable accomplishment of the wrong things. If an organization has strong leadership without management, the result can be inconsistent performance.34

The political theorist Karl Marx observed that the manner in which a society does its work shapes most of the other things the society believes and does. Harvard philosopher Alfred North Whitehead wrote: “The behavior of the community is largely dominated by the business mind. A great society requires leaders in business to think greatly of their functions. Low behavior means a descending standard of life. These beliefs add to the importance of leadership in the work setting. Principles and practices on the job are repeated and have impact in the home and larger community.”35

Nine Key Areas of Leadership

The successful leader must master the art of leadership, with nine key areas for success. If people cannot decide which course of action to take or if they are not making satisfactory progress along a chosen path, breakdown occurs. Breakdown can be traced to deficiency in one or more of these areas:

The leadership equation—understanding the influence of leadership qualities, the characteristics of followers, and the nature of situations.

The power of vision—establishing a clear and compelling direction and a plan to succeed.

The importance of ethics—leading by moral principles, goodness of character, and personal courage.

The empowerment of people—fostering a high-performance culture through participative leadership and service to others.

Leadership principles—demonstrating human relations skills, managing morale, and developing a winning team.

Understanding people—comprehending human motivation, the art of persuasion, and the value of diversity.Page 11

Multiplying effectiveness—using delegation skills and dealing effectively with different kinds of people.

Developing others—understanding the role of the leader as teacher, helping people through change, and developing adaptive capacity.

Performance management—achieving organizational success through personal humility, fierce resolve, and sustained discipline.

Each key area is discussed in the following pages. Also included are principles and techniques to improve leadership effectiveness, along with questionnaires and learning exercises to personalize the concepts. These apply at all levels of leadership responsibility and to the full range of leadership situations, from leading intellectuals in the lab, to leading artists in the studio, to leading producers in the field.36

Chapter One Summary

After reading Chapter One, you should know the following key concepts, principles, and terms. Fill in the blanks from memory, or copy the answers listed below.

Leadership is social influence. By (a) and , leaders light the path and influence the behavior of people. Types of leaders include (b), , and . Two basic factors that influence the leadership process are (c) and . People learn to lead primarily from (d), , and . The three qualities people want most in a leader are (e), , and . Satisfactions of being a leader include (f), , and ; frustrations of being a leader include (g), , and . The two essential elements of caring leadership are (h) and . Leadership, in essence, is (i), , and (j) both and believed principles and practices on the job are repeated and have impact in the home and larger community.

Answer Key for Chapter One Summary

ideas, deeds, page 2

teachers, heroes, rulers, page 3

qualities of the individual, environmental factors, page 5

experience, examples, books and school, page 6

integrity, job knowledge, people-building skills, page 6

(any three) a feeling of power and prestige, a chance to help others, high income, respect and status, opportunities for advancement, a feeling of being in a position of knowledge, an opportunity to control money and other resources, page 8

(any three) too much uncompensated work time, too many problems, not enough authority to carry out responsibility, loneliness, too many problems involving people, organizational politics, the pursuit of conflicting goals, page 8

commitment to a task, concern for people, page 9

establishing a direction, aligning people and resources, energizing people to accomplish results, page 10

Karl Marx, Alfred North Whitehead, page 10