Leadership in Organisations (HRM 09105)

Tutorial Three: Week Commencing Monday 28th September 2020

In this third Tutorial, it will be important to consider:

 Leadership outcomes – the ‘dependent’ variable’/the effect of leadership.

 The meaning, and practical implications, of the etymology of leadership.
 The definition (s) of leadership.

In advance of this Tutorial, students are asked to read Chapter Two (pp 35-54) of the core text
Leadership: The Current State of Play.

First, the Teaching Team – and considering Leadership Input and Output – will ask you to give
examples of:

 The performance and growth of the leader’s group or organization.

 The group’s preparedness to deal with challenges or crises.
 Follower satisfaction with the leader.
 Follower commitment to the group objectives.
 The psychological well-being and development of followers.

The key point is that you must consider the effect of your ‘leading’ on tasks/people.

Second, and considering some of the key terms from the etymology of leadership (see below), how
will you translate these terms into ‘leading’ in an organisation?

1
Moving forward to the present, the Online Etymology Dictionary (http://etymonline.com/) offers
definitions for lead (the verb) and leader and leadership (nouns):

 Lead: “To guide," Old English lædan (transitive) "cause to go with oneself; march at the head
of, go before as a guide, accompany and show the way; carry on; sprout forth, bring forth; pass
(one's life)."
 Leader: Old English lædere "one who leads, one first or most prominent," agent noun from
lædan "to guide, conduct" (see lead (v.)). Cognate with Old Frisian ledera, Dutch leider, Old
High German leitari, German Leiter. As a title for the head of an authoritarian state, from 1918
(translating Führer, Duce, caudillo, etc.).
 Leadership: "Position of a leader, command," from leader + -ship. Sense extended by late 19c.
to "characteristics necessary to be a leader, capacity to lead."
 Leading, then, and at its roots, is about going places, about movement and about guiding.

Third, the Teaching Team will ask you to discuss the chronological definitions of leadership (Table 1:
Chronological Definitions of Leadership) (pp 48-51). In detail, how have the definitions changed
from to the present and why? Of note, you may want to consider how the definitions may/will
change in the next 30 or so years of your professional careers.

WBH