What is leadership?

Leading people
Influencing people

Commanding people

Guiding people
 Introduction

Good leaders are made, not

born. If you have the desire and
willpower, you can become an
effective leader. Good leaders
develop through a never ending
process of self-study,
education, training, and
experience (Jago, 1982)
 Introduction cont....
To inspire your follower into higher levels of
teamwork, there are certain things you must
be, know, and, do. These do not often come
naturally, but are acquired through continual
work and study. Good leaders are continually
working and studying to improve their
leadership skills; they are NOT resting on their
past laurels.(achievements or sucesses)
 Definitions of Leadership
• Leadership is a process by which a person
influences others to accomplish an objective
and directs the organization in a way that
makes it more cohesive and coherent.

Some other popular definitions of Leadership

include:
 A process whereby an individual influences
a group of individuals to achieve a common
goal (Northouse, 2007, p3).
 Definitions of leadership
A process by which a person influences others to
accomplish a mission (U.S. Army, 1983).

 Leadership is inspiring others to pursue your

vision within the parameters you set, to the
extent that it becomes a shared effort, a shared
vision, and a shared success (Zeitchik, 2012).

 Leadership is a process of social influence,

which maximizes the efforts of others, towards
the achievement of a goal (Kruse, 2013).
What can we learn from the definitions?

Leadership applies when a person

influences others through
team/group/social influence, not power, to
get something accomplished (bosses use
power to get things done).

Leadership requires others to get something

accomplished.

Leadership applies when there is a need to

accomplish something.
 What are major Factors influencing
Leadership?

Leaders carry out this process by applying their

leadership knowledge and skills. This is called
Process Leadership (Jago, 1982). However, we
know that we have traits that can influence our
actions. This is called Trait Leadership (Jago,
1982), in that it was once common to believe
that leaders were born rather than made.
These two leadership types are shown in the
chart below (Northouse, 2007, p5):
 Factors influencing Leadership
While leadership is learned, a leader's skills and
knowledge can be influenced by his or hers
attributes or traits, such as beliefs, values,
ethics, and character. Knowledge and skills
contribute directly to the process of leadership,
while the other attributes give the leader certain
characteristics that make him or her unique.
For example, a leader might have learned the
skills in counseling others, but her traits will
often play a great role in determining how she
counsels.
 Factors influencing Leadership

A person who has empathy will be a better

counselor than a person who thinks the
employees are simply there do accomplish her
orders.

Note

Skills, knowledge, and individual attributes make the

leader.
 Aspects of Leadership

There are four primary factors of leadership

(U.S. Army, 1983)
 Leader

You must have an honest understanding of

who you are, what you know, and what you
can do. Also, note that it is the followers, not
the leader or someone else who determines if
the leader is successful. If they do not trust or
lack confidence in their leader, then they will
be uninspired. To be successful you have to
convince your followers, not yourself or your
superiors, that you are worthy of being
followed.
 Followers

Different people require different styles of

leadership. For example, a new hire requires
more supervision than an experienced
employee does. A person who lacks motivation
requires a different approach than one with a
high degree of motivation. You must know your
people! The fundamental starting point is
having a good understanding of human nature,
such as needs, emotions, and motivation. You
must come to know your employees' be, know,
and do attributes.
 Communication

You lead through two-way communication.

Much of it is nonverbal. For instance, when
you “set the example,” that communicates to
your people that you would not ask them to
perform anything that you would not be willing
to do.

What and how you communicate either builds

or harms the relationship between you and
your followers.
 Situation

All situations are different. What you do in one

situation will not always work in another. You
must use your judgment to decide the best
course of action and the leadership style
needed for each situation. For example, you
may need to confront an employee for
inappropriate behavior, but if the
confrontation is too late or too early, too harsh
or too weak, then the results may prove
ineffective.
 Situation

Also note that the situation normally has a

greater effect on a leader's action than his or
her traits. This is because while traits may have
an impressive stability over a period of time,
they have little consistency across situations
(Mischel, 1968). This is why a number of
leadership scholars think the Process Theory
of Leadership is a more accurate than the Trait
Theory of Leadership.
 Bass' Theory of Leadership

Bass' theory of leadership states that there

are three basic ways to explain how people
become leaders (Stogdill, 1989; Bass,
1990). The first two explain the leadership
development for a small number of people,
while the third one is the dominant theory
today. These theories are:
 Some personality traits may lead people
naturally into leadership roles. This is the
Trait Theory.
 A crisis or important event may cause a
person to rise to the occasion, which brings
out extraordinary leadership qualities in an
ordinary person. This is the Great Events
Theory.
 People can choose to become leaders.
People can learn leadership skills. This is the
Transformational or Process Leadership
Theory. It is the most widely accepted theory
today
 Management verses Leadership

While management and leadership have a

great deal in common, such as working with
people and accomplishing the goals of the
organization, they do differ in their primary
functions (Kotter, 1990):
 Management verses Leadership

Management's main function is to produce

order and consistency through processes,
such as planning, budgeting, organizing,
staffing, and problem solving. While
leadership's main function is to produce
movement and constructive or adaptive
change through processes, such as
establishing direction through visioning,
aligning people, motivating, and inspiring.
 Are you a Boss or Leader?
Although your position as a manager, supervisor,
Head of department/unit,etc gives you the authority
to accomplish certain tasks and objectives in the
organization (called Assigned Leadership), this
power does not make you a leader, it simply makes
you a boss. Leadership differs in that it makes the
followers want to achieve high goals (called
Emergent Leadership), rather than simply ordering
people around (Rowe, 2007). Thus, you get
Assigned Leadership by your position and you
display Emergent Leadership by influencing people
to do great things.
 What makes a person accepted as a good
leader?
People want to be guided by leaders they respect
and who have a clear sense of direction. To gain
respect, they must be ethical. A sense of direction
is achieved by conveying a strong vision of the
future.
When people are deciding if they respect you as a
leader, they do not think about your attributes,
rather, they observe what you do so that they can
determine who you really are. They use this
observation to tell if you are an honorable and
trusted leader or a self-serving person who
misuses authority to look good and get promoted.
 Principles of Leadership
To help you be, know, and do, follow these
eleven principles of leadership (U.S. Army,
1983).

1.Know yourself and seek self-improvement - In

order to know yourself, you have to understand
your be, know, and do, attributes. Seeking self-
improvement means continually strengthening
your attributes. This can be accomplished
through self-study, formal classes, reflection,
and interacting with others.
 Principles of leadership cont..
2. Be technically proficient - As a leader, you
must know your job and have a solid familiarity
with your employees' tasks.
3. Seek responsibility and take
accountability for your actions - Search for
ways to guide your organization to new heights.
And when things go wrong, as they often tend
to do sooner or later — do not blame others.
Analyze the situation, take corrective action,
and move on to the next challenge.
 Principles of leadership cont..
4. Make sound and timely decisions - Use good
problem solving, decision making, and
planning tools.
5. Set the example - Be a good role model for
your employees. They must not only hear
what they are expected to do, but also see.
“We must become the change we want to
see.” - Mahatma Gandhi
6. Know your people and look out for their well-
being - Know human nature and the
importance of sincerely caring for your
workers.
 Principles of leadership cont..
7. Keep your workers informed - Know how to
communicate with not only them, but also
seniors and other key people.
8. Develop a sense of responsibility in your
workers - Help to develop good character/
traits that will help them carry out their
professional responsibilities.
9. Ensure that tasks are understood,
supervised, and accomplished - Effective
communication is the key to this
responsibility.
 Principles of leadership
10. Train as a team - Although many so
called leaders call their organization,
department, section, etc. a team; they
are not really teams... they are just a group
of people doing their jobs.
11. Use the full capabilities of your
organization - By developing a team
spirit, you will be able to employ
your organization, department, section,
etc. to its fullest capabilities.
Attributes of Leadership: BE, KNOW, and DO

According to U.S. Army, (1983),respected

leaders concentrate on Be, Know, and Do.i.e
 who they are [be] (such as beliefs and
character)
 what they know (such as job, tasks, and
human nature)
 what they do (such as implementing,
motivating, and providing direction)
BE a professional. Examples: Be loyal to the
organization, perform selfless service, take
personal responsibility.
BE a professional who possess good character
traits. Examples: honesty, competence,
commitment, integrity, courage, imagination and
straightforwardness,.

KNOW the four factors of leadership — follower,

leader, communication, situation.
KNOW yourself. Examples: strengths and weakness
of your character, knowledge, and skills.
KNOW human nature. Examples: human needs,
emotions, and how people respond to stress.
KNOW your job. Examples: be proficient and be
able to train others in their tasks.
KNOW your organization. Examples: where to go
for help, its climate and culture, who the
unofficial leaders are.

DO provide direction. Examples: goal setting,

problem solving, decision making, planning.
DO implement. Examples: communicating,
coordinating, supervising, evaluating.
DO motivate. Examples: develop morale and
esprit de corps in the organization, train, coach,
counsel.
 Important Leadership Skills for Workplace
Success

Whether one is an office manager or a project

leader, head of unit etc requires a number of
soft skills to help him/her to positively interact
with employees or team members. Effective
leaders have the ability to communicate well,
motivate their team, handle and delegate
responsibilities, listen to feedback, and have
the flexibility to solve problems in an ever-
changing workplace situations.
 Leadership skills

Leadership skills are the strengths and abilities

individuals demonstrate that help the oversee
processes, guide initiatives and steer their
employees toward the achievement of goals.

Leadership skills are an essential component in

positioning executives to make thoughtful
decisions about their organization's mission and
goals, and properly allocate resources to achieve
those directives.
 Leadership skills

Valuable leadership skills include the ability to

delegate, inspire and communicate effectively.
Other leadership traits include honesty,
confidence, commitment and creativity.
 Top 10 Leadership Skills

1. Communication
As a leader, you need to be able to clearly and
succinctly explain to your employees everything
from organizational goals to specific tasks.
Leaders must master all forms
of communication, including one-on-one,
departmental, and full-staff conversations, as
well as communication via the phone, email, and
social media.
A large part of communication
involves listening. Therefore, leaders should
establish a steady flow of communication
between themselves and their staff or team
members, either through an open-door policy
or regular conversations with workers. Leaders
should make themselves regularly available to
discuss issues and concerns with employees
 2. Motivation

Leaders need to inspire their workers to go the extra mile

for their organizations; just paying a fair salary to
employees is typically not enough inspiration (although it
is important too). There are a number of ways
to motivate your workers: you may build employee self-
esteem through recognition and rewards, or by giving
employees new responsibilities or opportunities for
further studies. Leaders must learn what motivators work
best for their employees or team members to encourage
productivity and passion
 3. Delegating
Leaders who try to take on too many tasks by
themselves will struggle to get anything done.
These leaders often fear that delegating tasks
is a sign of weakness, when in fact it is a sign
of a strong leader.
Therefore, you need to identify the skills of
each of your employees, and assign duties to
each employee based on his or her skill set.
By delegating tasks to staff members, you can
focus on other important tasks.
 4. Positivity

A positive attitude can go a long way in an

office. You should be able to laugh at yourself
when something doesn't go quite as planned;
this helps create a happy and healthy work
environment, even during busy, stressful
periods.
Simple acts like asking employees about their
vacation plans will develop a positive
atmosphere in the office, and raise morale
among staff members.
If employees feel that they work in a positive
environment, they will be more likely to want to be at
work, and will therefore be more willing to put in the
long hours when needed. Some skills that help make
for a positive atmosphere in the workplace include:
 Caring
 Conflict management
 Developing rapport
 Diplomacy
 Encouraging
 Empathetic
 Friendliness
 Helping others
 Positive reinforcement
 Respect etc
 5. Trustworthiness

Employees need to be able to feel comfortable

coming to their manager or leader with
questions and concerns. It is important for you
to demonstrate your integrity – employees will
only trust leaders they respect.
By being open and honest, you will encourage
the same sort of honesty in your employees
Some skills and qualities that will help you convey
your trustworthiness as a leader:
 Ability to apologize
 Accountability
 Business ethics
 Confidentiality
 Conscientious
 Consistent in behavior towards employees
 Credibility
Respectfulness
 Standing up for what is right
 Thoughtful etc
 6. Creativity

As a leader, you have to make a number of

decisions that do not have a clear answer; you
therefore need to be able to think outside of the
box.
Learning to try nontraditional solutions, or
approaching problems in nontraditional ways, will
help you to solve an otherwise unsolvable
problem.
 7. Feedback

Leaders should constantly look for

opportunities to deliver useful information to
team members about their performance.
However, there is a fine line between offering
employees advice and assistance, and
micromanaging. By teaching employees how
to improve their work and make their own
decisions, you will feel more confident
delegating tasks to your staff.
 8. Responsibility

A leader is responsible for both the

successes and failures of his or her team.
Therefore, you need to be willing to accept
blame when something does not go
correctly.
If your employees see their leader pointing
fingers and blaming others, they will lose
respect for you. Accept mistakes and
failures, and then devise clear solutions for
improvement
Here are some skills and qualities that help
leaders convey their responsibility:

 Acknowledging mistakes
 Being open to customer feedback
 Evaluating best solutions
 Forecasting
 Learning from past mistakes
 Listening to feedback from employees and
managers
 Project planning
 Resolving problems
 Transparency
 9. Commitment

It is important for leaders to follow through

with what they agree to do. You should be
willing to put in the extra hours to complete
an assignment; employees will see this
commitment and follow your example.
Similarly, when you promise your staff a
reward, such as an office party, you should
always follow through. A leader cannot
expect employees to commit to their jobs
and their tasks if he or she cannot do the
same
 10. FLEXIBILITY

Misfortunes and last-minute changes always

occur at work. Leaders need to be flexible,
accepting whatever changes come their way.
Employees will appreciate your ability to
accept changes in stride and creatively
problem solve.
Similarly, leaders must be open to suggestions
and feedback. If your staff is dissatisfied with
an aspect of the office environment, listen to
their concern and be open to making
necessary changes.
Employees will appreciate a leader's ability to
accept appropriate feedback. Skills related to
flexibility include:
 Ability to learn new skills
 Ability to respond to new problems or issues
 Adaptability
 Improvising
 Negotiating
Note:
Leadership needs not just one skill but rather a
combination of several different skills working
together as discussed above.

 Patience and Empathy

 Active listening
 Reliability
 Dependability
 Creativity and Positivity
 Effective feedback
 Timely communication
 Team building
 Flexibility
 Risk-taking
 Ability to teach and mentor.