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1/3/2021 Dunham and Pierce's Leadership Process Model - Setting Direction and Thinking Long Term
Model reproduced (with permission) from "Leaders and the Leadership Process" by
Jon Pierce and John Newstrom. © 2010 McGraw-Hill Education.
The model shows the relationship between four key factors that contribute to leadership
success or failure. They are:
1. The Leader: the person who takes charge, and sets the direction for the group or
team.
2. Followers: the people who follow the leader's directions on tasks and projects.
3. The Context: the situation in which the work takes place. This could be a regular
workday, an emergency project, or a challenging, long-term assignment, for
example. Context can also include the physical environment, the resources available,
or events in the wider organization.
4. Outcomes: the results of the process, such as reaching a particular goal, developing
a high-quality product, or resolving a customer service issue. There can also be
outcomes such as improved trust and respect between the leader and the followers,
or higher team morale.
The model shows the way in which the leader, the followers, and the context
combine to affect the outcomes. It also shows how outcomes feed back to affect the
other three factors.
Most importantly, the model demonstrates that leadership is a dynamic and ongoing
process. So, it's important to be flexible (bearing in mind the context and the desired
outcome), and to invest continually in your relationship with your followers.
As the diagram shows, each factor impacts the others. Negative actions will likely
feed back into the process to adversely affect future performance, while positive actions
will likely improve future performance.
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1/3/2021 Dunham and Pierce's Leadership Process Model - Setting Direction and Thinking Long Term
No matter what you do, your decisions, behavior, and actions directly affect your
followers. Every action has a reaction, or will likely influence the actions of a follower.
As a leader, it's essential that you keep this in mind. Saying something thoughtless or
lashing out at a team member will have consequences, even if you don't see them
immediately. Ultimately, these consequences might include diminished performance,
reduced morale, increased absenteeism, or accelerated staff turnover.
Note:
It's very important to control your emotions at work and to keep a level head, as
this will help your decision-making process. It's also helpful for your team if you act as a
good role model , and lead by example.
Note:
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1/3/2021 Dunham and Pierce's Leadership Process Model - Setting Direction and Thinking Long Term
Read our articles on the Four Dimensions of Relational Work and Task
Allocation for more information on how to match tasks to particular situations, and
to your people's individual skills.
Key Points
The Leadership Process Model highlights the dynamic and long-term nature of
leadership. It shows how your actions and behavior influence your people, just as their
actions and behavior influence you.
When you understand the model, you can apply lessons from it by doing the following:
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1/3/2021 Dunham and Pierce's Leadership Process Model - Setting Direction and Thinking Long Term
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