CHAPTER 11 BECOMING AN

EFFECTIVE LEADER
. CHAPTER OUTLINE AND LECTURE NOTES

Leadership is the process of bringing about positive changes and influencing others
to achieve organizational goals. Change and influence are the key words. Effective
leadership at the top of organizations is necessary for prosperity and even survival.
Today people at all levels in the organization are expected to exert some leadership.
1 TRAITS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE LEADERS
. Effective leaders have the "right stuff," meaning that certain inner qualities
contribute to leadership effectiveness in a wide variety of situations.
Effectiveness means that the leader helps group members accomplish their
objectives without neglecting satisfaction or morale. Many of the important traits
and characteristics of leaders can be developed and refined.
The purpose of leadership is to create more leaders not more followers. In fact
leadership is not contingent on having followers.

A. Self-Confidence and Courage

Self-confidence helps assure group members that activities are under control.
The leader who functions best is self-confident enough to reassure others and
to appear in control. But, if the leader is so self-confident that he or she will
not admit errors, listen to criticism, or ask for advice, that too creates
problems.

Self-confidence often takes the form of the courage to face the challenges of
taking prudent risks and taking initiative in general. Leaders must be able to
face up to responsibility and be willing to put reputations on the line, even if
this means taking a course of action others would not advise.

B. Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence (EQ) is considered a major contributor to leadership
effectiveness. EQ refers to managing ourselves and our relationships
effectively with an emphasis on dealing with emotion.

Emotional intelligence can be developed through working on some of its

components such as learning to control your temper, and developing empathy
by listening to people carefully.

C. Trustworthiness and Character

Both leaders themselves and group members believe that being honest and
sustaining trust are important. Today's cliche is that leaders walk the talk.
Trust is a person's confidence in another individual's intentions and motives,
and in the sincerity of that individual's words. It takes a leader a long time to
build trust, yet one brief incident of untrustworthy behavior can destroy it.

I
 Having certain character traits contributes to being trustworthy and being
r perceived as a trustworthy person. Character, in this context, refers to doing
the right things despite outside pressures to do the opposite. Table 11-1 lists
and defines twelve traits that are part of The United States Air Force character
program.

D. Strong Work Motivation and High Energy

Leadership positions are mentally and physically demanding. Strong
motivation is also needed to accept the heavy responsibility that being a
supervisor entails.

E. Cognitive Skills and Openness to Experience.

Leaders need to be mentally sharp. Problem-solving and intellectual skills are
referred to collectively as cognitive skills. A cognitive skill of major
importance is knowledge of the business, or technical competence. Closely
related to cognitive skills is the personality characteristic of openness to
experience, a positive orientation toward learning.

F. Assertiveness.
Assertiveness is a widely recognized leadership trait. If you are self-confident,
it is easier to be assertive with people. Assertiveness helps leaders perform
many tasks and achieve goals.
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G. Charisma.
An important quality for leaders at all levels is charisma, a type of charm and
magnetism that inspires others. An effective leader usually needs some degree
of this quality, although some effective leaders are not charismatic. Here we
focus on three of the many characteristics of charismatic leaders.

1. Vision. Effective leaders create a visual image of where the organization,

or unit, is headed. Effective leaders project ideas and images that excite
people, and therefore inspire employees to do their best.

2. Passion. Enthusiasm. and Excitement. Because of their contagious

excitement, charismatic leaders stimulate group members. Enthusiasm
helps build good relationships with team members, and excitement is
contagious. The leader can express enthusiasm verbally and non verbally
through gestures, nonsexual touching, and so forth.

3. Sense of Humor. Humor is a component of charisma, and a contributor to

leadership effectiveness. Humor helps leaders influence people by
reducing tension, relieving boredom, and defusing anger. The most
effective form of leadership is tied to the situation rather than telling
rehearsed jokes.
II. BEHAVIORS AND SKILLS OF EFFECTIVE LEADERS
In addition to personal attributes, a leader has to do things that influence group
members to achieve good performance.

A. Practice Strong Ethics

Being trustworthy facilitates a leader practicing strong ethics, the study of
moral obligation, or separating right from wrong. Workers are more likely
to trust an ethical leader. Good ethics serves as a positive model for group
members, thus strengthening the organization. Ethical leaders help group
members avoid common ethical pitfalls such as lying, divulging confidential
information, and covering up accidents.

B. Direction Setting
Given that leaders are supposed to bring about change, they must point
people in the right direction, including establishing a vision.

C. Develop Partnerships with People

In a partnership, the leaders and group members are connected in such a way
that the power between them is approximately balanced. A partnership
involves an exchange of purpose, a right to say no for either side, joint
accountability, and absolute honesty.

D. Help Group Members Reach Goals and Achieve Satisfaction

The leader smoothes out the path to goal attainment, and also looks out for
the satisfaction of group members. One important way to do this is to provide
the necessary resources to group members. Another way of helping group
members achieve goals is to reduce frustrating barriers to work
accomplishment.

E. Set High Expectations

Group members live up (or down) to the leader's expectations according to the
Pygmalion effect. The manager's expectations become a self-fulfilling
prophecy in part because when a leader expresses faith in group members, the
members become more confident.
F. Give Frequent Feedback on Performance
Feedback is informational and rewarding. Effective leaders inform employees
how they can improve and praise them for things done right.

G. Manage a Crisis Effectively

Crisis management, including managing adversity, is becoming the mode in
organizations.

H. Ask the Right Questions

Leaders can make a major contribution by asking the right questions. Although
being knowledgeable about the group task is important, there are many times when
asking group members penetrating questions is more important. This is especially
true because in today's complex and rapidly changing business environment, the
collective intelligence of group members is needed.

I. Be a Servant Leader
A humanitarian approach to leadership is to be a servant leader, one who serves
group members by working on their behalf to achieve their goals, not his or her
goals. Servant leadership stems naturally trom a commitment to service. A good
starting point is for the leader to see himself or herself as a humble servant.
Although a servant leader is idealistic, he or she recognizes that one individual
cannot accomplish everything.

III. LEADERSHIP STYLE AND FLEXIBILITY

A leadership style is a leader's characteristic way of behaving in a variety of
situations.

A. The Classic Dimensions of Consideration and Initiating Structure Consideration is

the degree to which the leader creates an environment of emotional support,
warmth, friendliness, and trust. Leaders create this environment by being friendly,
approachable, looking out for the welfare of the group, and keeping the group
informed about new developments.
 Initiating structure means organizing and defining relationships in the
group by engaging in such activities as assigning specific tasks, specifying
procedures to be followed, scheduling work, and making expectations clear.

Four Combinations of Initiating Structure and Consideration.

B. The Participative (Team) Leadership Style

Participative leaders share decision-making authority with .the group and
motivate group members to work as a team toward high level goals. The
three main types of participative leaders are

1. Consultative Leaders - Solicit opinions from the group before making a

decision, yet do not feel obliged to accept the group's thinking.

2. Consensus Leaders - Encourage group discussion about an issue and then

make decisions that reflect the consensus of the group.

3. Democratic Leaders - Confer final authority on the group. Function as

collectors of opinions and takes a vote before making decisions.

In contrast, autocratic leaders attempt to retain most of the authority

granted to the group. They make all of the major decisions and assume
subordinates will comply without question.

C. Style Flexibility and Adaptability

Although leadership style refers to a person's characteristic approach to
dealing with leadership tasks, effective leaders adapt their style, to fit
the situation.

IV. HOW LEADERS GET ALONG WELL WITH

SUBORDINATES

A. The Leader-Member Exchange Model

The leader-member exchange (LMX) model focuses on the quality of
relationships between leaders and members, and recognizes that
leaders develop unique working relationships with each group
member.

B. Suggestions for Attaining Good Relationships with Subordinates

1. Solicit opinions before taking action.

2. Fight for their demands.
3. Give out recognition.
4. Listen to the problems and suggestions of group members.
5. Be courteous.
V. DEVELOPING YOUR LEADERSHIP POTENTIAL
Because leadership is not based entirely on genetic factors, leadership potential
can be developed. Five key strategies are recommended.
1. General education and specific training. Almost any program of career
training or education can be considered a program of leadership
development.
2. Leadership development programs. Specialized programs of leadership
development, such as outdoor training, can be useful.
3. Acquire broad experience. Because leadership varies somewhat with the
situation, a sound approach to improving leadership effectiveness is to
attempt to gain supervisory experience in different settings.
4. Modeling effective leaders. Carefully observing an effective leader and
then imitating some of his or her most effective behaviors can help one
develop as a leader.
5. Self-development o/leadership characteristics and behavior. Study
leadership characteristics and behavior, and target one or two for
improvement through self-determination and self-monitoring of behavior.
6. Practice a little leadership. Look for opportunities to exert a small amount
of helpful leadership in contrast to waiting for opportunities to accomplish
extraordinary deeds. Mentoring would be. an example of practicing a little
leadership.
7. Practice self-leadership. Lead and influence oneself without waiting for
an external leader to lead one.
8. Become an integrated human being. The leader is first and foremost a fully
functioning person. Leadership development is therefore the process of
self-development. As a result, the process of becoming a leader is similar
to the process of becoming an integrated human being.