INTRODUCTION TO

LEADERSHIP
These teaching and learning materials are protected under the
Copyright Act 1987. Duplication, in any form, including
digitally, is prohibited by law and a punishable offence.
©2021
 1. An Introduction to Leadership
Questions to ponder
• How do you see
yourself?
• How do you see others?
• How do you see
situations and the
world?
• How do you see
yourself in the situations
you are facing in your
world?
• What do you think
about life?
• How do you “frame”
issues, questions, and
situations? How are you
framing your life story?
Today, the
leadership
bench is
alarmingly
thin. What
will you do
about it?
Quick Activity A

1. Think of a leader …

2. Now write down the actual behaviours and

actions that you have observed or are aware of
that the person engaged in that support why you
believe he or she is a leader
Quick Activity B

1. Think of behaviours that make you to WANT to

work with someone ...

2. Now think of individuals who demonstrate these

behaviours.

Which Quick Activity version was actually harder

for you to do, A or B?
Where We Start Our Thinking Matters:
• What is the crucial difference between Quick
Activity A and B?
• If we start with the idea that leadership is a
position, we automatically exclude all non-
positional leaders from the conversation. If we
start thinking about what we would like our
leaders to be like, or if we believe that influence
is leadership, our brains start opening up and
including others, including those who don’t hold
official positions of leadership, but people we
respect and who can exert influence.
• Who are these
people?
• Would you willingly
follow them? If yes,
why? If no, why?
• Who is the ‘person’
called ‘leader’?
• Who are these
people?
• Would you willingly
follow them? If yes,
why? If no, why?
• Who is the ‘person’
called ‘leader’?
▪ Leadership has often been seen as something only
for a certain few who are “natural born leaders”, or
who possess the “gift”, “talent” or “right
personality” (Great Man and Trait theories of
leadership).
▪ Popular culture and media tend to exalt / worship
heroes and heroines (leader figures).
▪ This is perhaps why many of us continue to NOT see
ourselves as leaders.
▪ Much of leadership teaching, especially in business
schools and management literature, has been
focused on leaders instead of followers, on “CEO”
type-issues, and on top-down hierarchy.
▪ Culture, media and popular teachings about leadership
have placed tremendous pressure on those who take on
official roles and positions of leadership in society and
organisations.
▪ When leaders fail ethically, make mistakes, abuse power
and hurt others, we often blame them for character
defects, for bad judgment, for being “dumb”, “cruel” and
“merciless”. We call them “dictators”. We brand them as
people who are ambitious and who love power.
▪ Our current pace of work in organisations also give us
the impression that being in management is a deeply
stressful experience that we do not want.
▪ With such negative perceptions, many shy away from
leadership opportunities and refuse to see themselves as
leaders.
▪ This course wishes to challenge traditional, common
notions of leadership and invite us to look at leadership
itself, instead of leaders (although we will learn from
them) and to consider new definitions and perspectives
regarding followers.
▪ Leadership can be learnt. We can grow in our daily acts
of leadership. We can learn to engage in heroic acts, in
becoming ethical agents of positive influence.
▪ The journey begins (and ends) with who we are, i.e. our
identities.
▪ Leadership research demonstrates and reveals that
leadership happens in very complex environments and
is very often shared and that “followers” are better
viewed as “participants”, “co-creators” and
“collaborators”.
▪ Can we ever, truly know ourselves?
▪ Is this a philosophy course? How is it
practical?
▪ What about research and theory?
▪ The ancient question: “Who am I?”
Try this site to get started:
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/identity-
personal/

▪ Which leads to: “Who are you?” in our dealing

and interactions with others, as our identities
touch one another.
▪ In leadership, there is a necessary response to
the world, not a 3rd question. It goes: “Here is my
gift to you” or “Here is my art”, or “Here is my
service and labour of love”, and “I have
grown, and I am giving back”.
When you
look at
yourself in
the mirror,
what do you
see?
 Source: http://mslangleysyear11englishclass.wikispaces.com/Identity+%26+Belonging

• Identity: a) multi-dimensional, b) never static; grows and evolves over

time and through learning, feedback, experience, c) influenced by
others.
• Knowing and understanding one’s identity requires patience and
effort, self-awareness and reflection. This can become a resource to
help determine one’s purpose. Look for emerging patterns. Learn to
“listen” to what your life is trying to “say” to you.
 Authentic: genuine; worthy of trust, reliance, or belief

The ‘Peeling Back the Onion’ approach to identity,

purpose, and authentic leadership development
George, B. (2007). True North – Discover Your Authentic Leadership.
San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, p. 77
▪ Self-Awareness – reflects on strengths, weaknesses,
beliefs, and values; taps into upbringing, heritage,
culture, background, life experiences.
▪ Relational Transparency – shares thoughts, beliefs,
and feelings openly, but strives to maintain wise
balance (knows when not to over-display emotions or
over-express thoughts).
▪ Balanced Processing – actively listens and seeks
feedback; is open to opposing viewpoints and
considers other perspectives fairly.
▪ Internalized Moral Perspective – commits to integrity
and moral courage in relationships, work and decision-
making; does not give in to external pressures to
conform.
▪ Being “authentic” can often be misunderstood as an
excuse to avoid growing or dealing with issues, or
“being a jerk” (all in the name of “being true to
oneself”). This is a narrow view, and a misinterpretation
of what it means to be authentic and what it means to be
an authentic leader.
▪ A truly authentic person and authentic leader:
a) Is always learning and growing
b) Understands that identity is never static or fixed, and
that it is multifaceted (like a diamond seen from
different angles) – we all have different “selves” at
different times, and this is all true of us and does not
necessarily mean we are not being authentic.
c) Is flexible, not rigid, about one’s identity in different
situations and contexts
 Source: George, B. (2007). True North – Discover Your Authentic Leadership. San Francisco, CA:
Jossey-Bass, p. 16; Cleverism, https://www.cleverism.com/authentic-leadership-guide/

Warning:
Derailment Transformation
can happen in from “I” to “We”
this zone
▪ As long as your ego is at the centre, and as long
as you are in this journey for yourself, your
leadership will never truly reach its peak level,
and never fully become authentic or
transformative.
▪ Real, true leadership is about what you give,
whom you serve, and the legacy you leave
behind. Technique, style, and positional power
will only get you so far. The rest will be the true
test of your values and character. People will
respect and follow authenticity over the long
term. This is how you transform from “I” to “We”.
Source: George, B. (2007). True North –
Discover Your Authentic Leadership. San
Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, p. xxxv
▪ Leadership as music – each life is an “unfolding
story”, a narrative, a musical composition
consisting of specific movements (a movement
within, a movement towards others, a movement
towards the world). The movies use this idea
very well.
▪ Leadership as the “hero’s journey” – using our
mythology, folklore, popular stories, fairy tales,
superhero and fantasy epics, we can see parts of
ourselves in these stories.
▪ Leadership expressed through arts, crafts, and
other mediums – our learning journey this
semester will utilize the concept, vehicle, and
medium of the ‘magazine’.
▪ This is a famous model or framework introduced by
researcher Joseph Campbell in classic The Hero with
a Thousand Faces.
▪ Campbell’s in-depth, extensive global studies
investigated and examined all the world’s ancient to
modern cultures for their mythology, folklore,
legends, children’s fairy tales and stories and
uncovered a striking pattern and set of similar
themes running like a pattern in and through all of
them.
▪ We can see these patterns, these same themes
and phases playing out even in our national
stories, mythology, local legends, folklore, fairy
tales, politics, things we hear on the news and,
very clearly and interestingly, in our movies. We
see different symbols used in similar ways.
▪ We love our heroes. We are drawn to stories of
heroes and heroines. We need to ask ourselves
why. Is it because we see part of ourselves in
them? Is it because they stir a longing inside of us
to do something with our lives? Is it because our
lives and our present world have become so dark
that deep inside, we yearn for hope? Silently, deep
inside the human psyche, we dream of a better
world.
 Special
World
(Crucibles)
Ordinary
world
▪ Combined with the lenses of psychology, other social
sciences, the humanities and the arts, Campbell’s model
serves as a tool to help us see our lives as following
similar patterns and phases in our personal quest for
meaning and our desire to make a difference. In fact, it
is never a one-time journey for most of us. We go
through it, again and again, simply because we keep
growing and new challenges arise in life.
▪ What the model can teach us is that like what Gandhi
taught: Instead of worshipping heroes, we must focus on
heroic acts. Everyone can learn to grow and exercise acts
of leadership on a daily basis. We can start in small ways.
▪ Key idea: Leadership is not about titles and positions.
Leadership is a choice to know yourself, to grow, to
express your true self and to act ethically with others
as agents of change through genuine relationships.
1) Leadership is a concern of all of us.
2) Leadership is viewed and valued differently by
various disciplines and cultures.
3) Conventional views of leadership have
changed.
4) Leadership can be exhibited in many ways.
5) Leadership qualities and skills can be learned
and developed.
6) Leadership committed to ethical action is
needed to encourage change and social
responsibility.
 Shared mindset that
represents a fundamental
way of thinking about,
perceiving, and
understanding the world

32
▪ Our times involve change that is rapid and
unpredictable.
▪ Conventional ways of approaching problems
no longer work.
▪ Instead of individual determinism,
competition, and predictable structures, we
seem to need organizations that are:
❖Nimble and able to respond quickly
❖Collaborative
❖Aware of shared values that honor our
diversity
▪ Focus on the leader. ▪ Focus on the
relationships and
▪ Assumption that the processes between
manager of the everyone in the
group is the one group.
person doing
leadership.
▪ The leader has the ▪ Group purposes are
vision and mutually
motivates the determined with
followers to work to input from everyone
achieve it. in the group.
35
It seems woefully inadequate to call group
members by the term followers, implying
they are following someone or something,
unable to think for themselves, or remaining
indifferent to the group’s goals, when actually
they are creating and shaping the context
themselves.
Rather than follower, which implies a passive
role in the group, scholars are searching for
new terms.
▪ Constituents
▪ Co-creators (my personal favourite)
▪ Co-adventurers
▪ Collaborators
▪ Participants
Two different meanings for leader:
▪ Positional leader
❖The person filling a position in an
organizational structure (elected, selected,
or hired)
❖Usually has a title (president, chair, team
captain)
▪ Anyone actively engaging in the leadership
process (the meaning used in this course)
❖Can be operating from a position or not
▪ In this course, leadership is assumed to have
an intentional purpose.
❖To make a positive difference in some way
❖To engage in the community
❖To advance the welfare and quality of life
for all
▪ This is in contrast to other leadership studies,
aimed at learning how to achieve a position
of power or authority and keep it.
▪ Leadership is a social construction.
▪ The context in which it happens plays a role
in how it is analyzed.
❖For example, academic discipline or field
of study
Leadership development requires taking on a
life-long attitude of being open to learning.
▪ Taking personal responsibility for one’s
learning and self-development
▪ Maximizing learning from experience
❖Take on challenging new roles.
❖Reflect on those experiences.
❖Form new theories to operate from.
One definition of leadership …
 Influence-based relationship
among leaders and followers
who intend real changes and
outcomes that reflect their
shared purposes
What are the pros and cons of both
definitions? Are there better definitions?
Can you come up with a better one?
44
▪ … influencing others to come together
around a common vision
❖Multi-directional
❖Non-coercive
▪ … is reciprocal in nature
▪ … involves creating change
▪ … understanding and accepting that
qualities required for effective leadership are
also needed to be an effective follower

45
▪ Effective followers are:
❖Self-thinkers who do assignments with
energy and enthusiasm
▪ Leaders are:
❖Committed to the common good rather
than self-interest
❖Firm in their beliefs

46
Source: Based on John P. Kotter, A Force for Change: How Leadership Differs from Management (New York: The Free Press, 1990) and ideas in Kevin
Cashman, Lead with Energy, Leadership Excellence, (December 2010) :7; Henry Mintzberg
47
Great man theories

• Leadership was conceptualized as a single Great Man

who put everything together and influenced others to
follow along based on the strength of inherited traits,
qualities, and abilities

Trait theories

• Leaders had particular traits or characteristics that

distinguished them from non-leaders and contributed
to success

48
Behavior theories
• Leaders’ behavior correlated with leadership
effectiveness or ineffectiveness

Contingency theories
• Leaders can analyze their situation and tailor their
behavior to improve leadership effectiveness
• Known as situational theories
• Emphasized that leadership cannot be understood
in a vacuum separate from various elements of the
group or organizational situation

49
Influence theories

• Examined the influence processes between

leaders and followers
• Charismatic leadership - Influence based on
the qualities and personality of the leader

Relational theories

• Focused on how leaders and followers interact

and influence one another
• Transformational leadership and servant
leadership are two important relational
theories
50
51
 What is Level 5 Leadership?

Source: Level 5 Leadership – The Triumph of Humility and Fierce Resolve, by Jim
Collins, Harvard Business Review, 1 January 2001, available at:
https://hbr.org/2001/01/level-5-leadership-the-triumph-of-humility-and-fierce-
resolve-2
Phenomenon wherein individuals
can’t advance further because of a
mismatch between job needs and
their personal skills and qualities

54
Performance problems
• Failing to meet business objectives because of too much time
promoting themselves and playing politics, a failure to fulfill
promises, or a lack of hard work

Problems with relationships

• Being insensitive, manipulative, critical, and not trustworthy in
relationships with peers, direct reports, customers, and others

Difficulty changing
• Not learning from feedback and mistakes to change old
behaviors
• Defensive, unable to handle pressure, and unable to change
management style to meet new demands
Difficulty building and leading a
team
• Poor management of direct reports
• Inability to get work done through others
• Not identifying and hiring the right people

Too narrow management

experience
• Inability to work effectively or collaborate
outside their current function
• Failing to see big picture when moved into
general management position over several
functions
56
Source: Based on “Guidelines for the Apprentice Leader,” in Robert J. Allio, “Masterclass: Leaders and Leadership—Many Theories, But What Advice Is Reliable?”
Strategy & Leadership 41, no. 1 (2013): 4–14.
58
▪ Leading teams and conflict resolution.
▪ “Leaders eat last”.
▪ Servant leadership.
▪ Why leadership communication must be
different from other types of communication.
▪ Why leaders suffer.
▪ Leading with love rather than fear.
▪ Leading people from “here” to “there” – the pain
and joy of the change journey.
▪ Leaving a legacy.