POSTGRADUTED DIPLOMA IN PROJECT

MANAGEMENT

MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES & PRACTICE

---- CLASS TASK 8

YU LICHEN
19/05/2021
a) What is leadership?
List Some Characteristics of a Good Leader.

“Prentice defined leadership as the accomplishment of a goal through the direction of

human assistants and a successful leader as one who can understand people’s
motivations and enlist employee participation in a way that marries individual needs
and interests to the group’s purpose. He called for democratic leadership that gives
employees opportunities to learn and grow—without creating anarchy.” (Prentice,
2004).

Characteristics of a Good Leader:

• Share their vision
--- “Be sure to articulate your vision clearly and passionately, ensuring your
team understands how their efforts contribute to higher-level goals.”

• Lead by example
--- “As a leader, the best way to build credibility and gain the respect of others
is to set the right examples.”

• Demonstrate integrity
--- “Leaders have clear convictions about what is right and wrong and are
respected for being genuine, principled, ethical and consistent. They have a
strong sense of character, keep their promises, and communicate openly,
honestly and directly with others.”

• Communicate effectively
--- “Communication involves more than just listening attentively to others and
responding appropriately. It also includes sharing valuable information, asking
intelligent questions, soliciting input and new ideas, clarifying
misunderstandings, and being clear about what you want.”

• Make hard decisions

--- “When facing a tough decision, start by determining what you are trying to
achieve. Consider the likely consequences of your decision and any available
alternatives. Make your final decision with conviction, take responsibility for it
and follow it through.”

• Recognise success
--- “To inspire employees to give their best, they need to know that their work
will be valued and appreciated.”

• Empower others
 --- “Great leaders understand that for people to give their best, they must have
a sense of ownership over their work and believe that what they’re doing is
meaningful.”

• Motivate and inspire

--- “The best leaders drive their team forward with passion, enthusiasm,
inspiration and motivation. Invest time in the people you lead to determine their
strengths, needs and priorities.”

(Michael Page, 2021)

b) What is power and Three types of Influence in Organization?

List six bases of power

Singh (2009) quoted the definition of power by Dahl, “A has power over B to the extent
that he can get B to do something that B would not otherwise do.”, and explained that
A could use his power to order B to do something, even it went against B’s willing. For
achieving this purpose, A might have to exert a force in opposition to some or all
previously existing forces and limits on B.

“Adams and Campbell (1986) recognize authority, persuasion, and control as

methods of personal influence. They link effective authority to legitimate power,
effective persuasion to expert and referent power, and effective control to reward and
coercive power.” (Singh, 2009)

“French and Raven (1959) identified five basic sources of managerial power that have
been widely accepted in literature and are taught to this day: (1) legitimate (or formal
or bureaucratic power); (2) reward power; (3) coercive power; (4) expert power; and
(5) referent power. The first three power bases follow from a formal charter of authority;
the last two depend upon the competence and qualities of the manager. To these five
power bases, literature frequently mentions reciprocal power as a sixth, albeit
secondary, power base for achieving organizational ends and objectives.” (Singh,
2009)
Reference

1. Prentice, W.C.H. (2004) ‘Understanding Leadership’. Harvard Business Review

[online]. Available at: https://hbr.org/2004/01/understanding-leadership. (Accessed:
01/06/2021).

2. Michael Page. (2021). 8 must-have qualities of an effective leader [online]. Available

at: https://www.michaelpage.com.sg/advice/management-advice/leadership/8-must-
have-qualities-effective-leader. (Accessed: 01/06/2021).

3. Singh, A. (2009). ‘Organizational Power in Perspective’. Leadership and

Management in Engineering, 9(4) [online]. P. 165-176. Available at:
https://ascelibrary.org/doi/full/10.1061/%28ASCE%29LM.1943-5630.0000018.
(Accessed: 01/06/2021).