CFLM2-CHARACTER FORMATION 2

CHAPTER 2 : LEADERSHIP

Objectives: 1. Distinguish what is leadership.

2. Identify the character of leadership.

Leadership: a Definition

According to the idea of transformational leadership , an effective leader is a person

who does the following:
1. Creates an inspiring vision of the future.

2. Motivates and inspires people to engage with that vision.

3. Manages delivery of the vision.

4. Coaches and builds a team, so that it is more effective at achieving the vision.

Leadership brings together the skills needed to do these things. We'll look at each
element in more detail.

1. Creating an Inspiring Vision of the Future

In business, a vision is a realistic, convincing and attractive depiction of where
you want to be in the future. Vision provides direction, sets priorities, and provides a
marker, so that you can tell that you've achieved what you wanted to achieve.
Therefore, leadership is proactive – problem solving, looking ahead, and not
being satisfied with things as they are.
Once they have developed their visions, leaders must make them compelling
and convincing. A compelling vision is one that people can see, feel, understand,
and embrace. Effective leaders provide a rich picture of what the future will look like
when their visions have been realized. They tell inspiring stories , and explain their
visions in ways that everyone can relate to. Leadership combines the analytical side of
vision creation with the passion of shared values, creating something that's really
meaningful to the people being led.

2. Motivating and Inspiring People

A compelling vision provides the foundation for leadership. But it's leaders'
ability to motivate and inspire people that helps them deliver that vision.
One of the key ways they do this is through Expectancy Theory . Effective
leaders link together two different expectations:

1. The expectation that hard work leads to good results.

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2. The expectation that good results lead to attractive rewards or incentives.

This motivates people to work hard to achieve success, because they expect to
enjoy rewards – both intrinsic and extrinsic – as a result.

Other approaches include restating the vision in terms of the benefits it will
bring to the team's customers, and taking frequent opportunities to communicate the
vision in an attractive and engaging way.

What's particularly helpful here is when leaders have expert power . People
admire and believe in these leaders because they are expert in what they do. They
have credibility, and they've earned the right to ask people to listen to them and follow
them. This makes it much easier for these leaders to motivate and inspire the people
they lead.
Leaders can also motivate and influence people through their natural charisma and
appeal, and through other sources of power , such as the power to pay bonuses or
assign tasks to people. However, good leaders don't rely too much on these types of
power to motivate and inspire others.

3. Managing Delivery of the Vision

Leaders must ensure that the work needed to deliver the vision is properly
managed – either by themselves, or by a dedicated manager or team of managers to
whom the leader delegates this responsibility – and they need to ensure that their
vision is delivered successfully.

4. Coaching and Building a Team to Achieve the Vision

Individual and team development are important activities carried out by
transformational leaders. To develop a team, leaders must first understand team
dynamics.
A leader will then ensure that team members have the necessary skills and
abilities to do their job and achieve the vision. They do this by giving and receiving
feedback regularly, and by training and coaching people to improve individual and
team performance.
Leadership also includes looking for leadership potential in others. By
developing leadership skills within your team, you create an environment where you
can continue success in the long term. And that's a true measure of great leadership.
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_41.htm

THE CHARACTER OF LEADERSHIP

Leaders with character achieve results that transcend everyday organizational

imperatives and outcomes. A study of world leaders over the past 150 years asserts

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that managers who possess strong character will create a better world for everyone,
while leadership generally is vital to the social, moral, economic, and political fabrics
of society.

However, we often take the character of leadership for granted. We expect good
leaders to be strong in character, that is, to have a moral imperative underwrite their
actions. These leaders with character have been identified as authentic leaders: They
are what they believe in; show consistency between their values, ethical reasoning and
actions; develop positive psychological states such as confidence, optimism, hope, and
resilience in themselves and their associates; and are widely known and respected for
their integrity.

Nonetheless, the key attributes of authentic leaders, or leaders with character,

remain problematic. To identify these attributes and better understand them, we
undertook a study. This paper is based on that study and in it we identify the three
underlying dimensions of leadership character – universalism, transformation, and
benevolence. We also suggest ways of further enhancing these dimensions and their
constituent attributes.

A. Universalism- represents an understanding, appreciation, and tolerance for the

welfare of people generally, and is a macro perspective approach to work and
life. The character attributes of respectfulness, fairness, cooperativeness, and
compassion in particular fit best with this definition of universalism.
1. Fairness is treating people equitably and in a just manner.
2. Cooperation- the ability to work as a team has been praised as a strategic
advantage. Unfortunately, many corporations prevent good teamwork
through antiquated organizational structures and protocols.
3. Compassion has deep religious connotations, for it refers to showing
concern for the suffering or welfare of others, and shows mercy to others. In
a company sense, compassion manifests itself when leaders make an effort
to understand the needs of their employees and take steps to address those
needs and concerns
4. Spiritual Respect for individual beliefs and customs has a long history. In
Athenian society, Plato viewed leadership as “an activity with utility for the
polis, the activity of giving direction to the community of citizens in the
management of their common affairs, especially with a view to the training
and improvement of their souls.” The reference to soul suggests that leaders
engage the full person and help make him or her a productive and morally
strong member of society through their contributions in the workplace.

B. Transformation

Transformation is how leaders achieve universal and benevolent outcomes,

and is the second main factor of leadership character. Transformational
leaders with character have courage, passion, wisdom, competency, and
self-discipline in their leadership repertoire.

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1. Courage is having strong convictions about the strategic objectives of the

company and being prepared to harness the minds of workers and
company resources to achieve those objectives. There are no second-
place getters in this approach to business. Courage is not constrained by
fear of the unknown and thrives in the problems and promises of
dynamic environments.
2. Passion is about energy and deeply committed enthusiasm to producing
the best one can. In business, passion is an indicator of a company’s
guiding principles, its raison d’etre, and helps others identify the
underlying culture of the organization.
3. Wisdom is the ability to draw on one’s knowledge and experience to make
well-formed judgments. It also involves the use of one’s power and
personal authority to implement an effective course of action.

4. Those actively pursuing a career as a leader need to be competent in

order to maintain the confidence of others. They need to be expert in
something to the extent that their expertise commands the respect of
peers and followers.
5. Leaders with self-discipline exercise appropriate personal control over
their thoughts and actions and are able to manage and express emotions
in constructive ways. They are well organised and able to persist in the
face of difficulties. Through self-discipline, leaders engender confidence
in their followers that they can be relied upon to make rational and
logical decisions. As a consequence, their capacity to influence others
often increases. Lao Tzu proposed that through mastering ourselves we
find true power.

C. Benevolence- The third major dimension of leadership character is benevolence,

and is associated with loyalty, selflessness, integrity, and honesty.

1. Loyalty - Leaders who demonstrate organisational loyalty show a deep

commitment to building organisational sustainability. Such leaders
have been described as having the resolve to do whatever it takes to
make a company great irrespective how hard the decisions or how
difficult the task.
2. Selflessness-The character attribute of selflessness requires leaders to
put others’ interests ahead of their own.
3. Integrity-The word integrity comes from the Latin word ‘integritas’,
meaning wholeness, coherence, rightness, or purity. Integrity has been
defined as consistency between word and deed or “the perceived
degree of congruence between the values expressed by words and
those expressed through action.”
4. Honesty- is absolutely essential to leadership and character. People
value working for leaders they can trust.

https://iveybusinessjournal.com/publication/the-character-of-leadership/

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