Module 3 – Leadership

Nature and Importance

of Leadership

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I. The Meaning of Leadership

To be a leader, one has to make a difference and facilitate

positive changes. Leaders inspire and stimulate others to
achieve worthwhile goals. A useful definition of leadership is
the ability to inspire confidence and support among the
people who are needed to achieve organizational goals.

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Articles and books about leadership indicates 533 million. In all those
entries leadership has probably been defined in many ways. Several
other representative definitions of leadership are the following:

§ Interpersonal influence, directed through communication

toward goal attainment.
§ The influential increment over and above mechanical
compliance with directions and orders.
§ An act that causes other to act or respond in a shared
direction.
§ The art of influencing people by persuasion or example to
follow a line of action.

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• The principal dynamic force that motivates and coordinates

the organization in the accomplishment of its objectives.
• A willingness to take the blame (as defined by legendary
football quarterback Joe Montana)

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A. Leadership as a Partnership

§ A current perspective on leadership is that it constitutes a

partnership, being connected to another in such a way that
the power between the two is approximately balanced.
Partnership occurs when control shifts from the leader to the
group member.

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According to Peter Block, a partnership involves (a) an exchange

of purpose, (b) the right to say no (c) joint accountability and (d)
absolute accountability. A closely related idea is stewardship
theory that repicts group members (or followers) as being
collectivists, pro-organizational and trustworthy.

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B. Leadership as a Relationship

§ A modern study of leadership emphasizes that leadership is

a relationship between the leader and the people being led.
Research indicates that having good relationship with group
members is a major success factor for the three top
positions in large organizations. Building relationships with
people is such an important part of leadership that the
theme will be introduced at various points.

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II. The Satisfactions and Frustrations of being a leader

The team leader has a positive connotation for most people. To

be called a leader is generally better than to be called a follower
or subordinate. Yet being a leader, such as a team leader, class
president, and other higher positions, does not always bring
personal satisfaction. Some leadership job are more fun than
others, such as being the leader of a successful group with
cheerful team members.

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A. Satisfaction of Leaders

The types of satisfactions that you might obtain from being a

formal leader on your particular leadership position. Factors such
as the amount of money you are paid and the type of people in
your group influence your satisfaction.

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Seven sources of satisfaction that leaders often experience:

1. Feeling of power and prestige- Being a leader automatically

grants you some power. Prestige is forthcoming because many
people think highly of people who are leaders.

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2. Chance to help others group and develop- A leader works

directly with people, often teaching them job skills, serving a
mentor, and listening to personal problems. Parts of a leader’s
job is to help other people become managers and leaders.

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C. Leadership versus Management

• To understand leadership. It is important to grasp the

difference between leadership and management. Leadership
is but one of the four major functions of management
(planning, organizing, controlling and leading). Current
thinking emphasizes that leadership deals with change,
inspiration, motivation and influence. In contrast,
management deals more with maintaining equilibrium and
the status quo.

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• According to John P. Kotter, a prominent leadership theorist,

managers must know how to lead as well as manage. Without
being led as well as manage, organizations face the threat of
extinction. Following are several key distinctions between
management and leadership.

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Leaders and Managers

LEADER MANAGER
Visionary Rational
Passionate Business-like
Creative Persistent
Inspiring Tough-minded
Innovative Analytical
Courageous Structured
Imaginative Deliberative
Experimental Authoritative

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Independent Stabilizing
Shares Knowledge Centralizes Knowledge
Trusting Guarded
Warm and radiant Cool and reserved
Expresses humility Rarely admits to being wrong
Initiator Implementor
Act as a coach, consultant, Act as a boss
teacher
Does the right things Does things right

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• Despite these distinctions, organizational leaders must still

be good managers, and effective managers must also carry
out leadership activities.

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The Impact of Leadership on Organizational Performance

An important justification for studying leadership is that

leaders effect organizational performance. Many faltering
business firms and athletic teams bring in a new top leader
to spearhead a turn around.

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A. Research and Opinion: Leadership Does Make a Difference

§ A smattering of evidence supports the contention that

leadership affects organizational performance. A team of
researches investigated the impact of transactional (routine)
and charismatic (inspirational) leadership on financial
performance, as measured by net profit margin.

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They found that transactional leadership was not related to

performance and that charismatic leadership was most strongly
related to performance in an uncertain environment. A case
example is that Allen Questrom achieved some good results in
attempting to turn around a poorly performing J.C. Penney.

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Whether or not leaders do make a difference, organization

members perceive that they do, as suggested by attribution
theory, the process of attributing causality to events.

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B. Research and Opinion: Formal Leadership Does not make

a Difference

According to the anti leadership argument, leadership has a

smaller impact on organization outcomes than do situational
forces.

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1. Substitutes for Leadership. One viewpoint is that many

organizations contain substitutes for leadership, factors in
the work environment that provide guidance and inceptives
to perform, making the leaders role almost superfluous.

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These substitutes for the leader and the leadership function

include closely knit teams of highly trained individuals, intrinsic
satisfaction, computer technology (monitoring of work by
computer) and professional norms.

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• Closely knit teams of highly trained individuals intrinsic

satisfaction computer technology professional norms
• Closely knit teams of highly trained individuals intrinsic
satisfaction computer technology professional norms

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§ Closely knit teams of highly trained individuals - When

members of a cohesive, highly trained group are focused on
a goal, they may require almost no leadership to accomplish
their task.

§ Instrinsic satisfaction – Employees who are engaged in work

they find strongly self-motivating or intrinsically satisfying
require a minimum leadership.

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• Computer technology – Companies today use computer –

aided monitoring and computer networking to take over many
of the supervisor’s leadership function. So instead of a
supervisor for assistance, some employees use the
computer network to ask for assistance from other workers.

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• Professional norms – Workers who incorporate strong

professional norms often require a minimum of supervision
and leadership.

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2. Leader Irrelevance. Prefer argues that leadership is

irrelevance. Pfeffer argues that leadership is irrelevant to most
organizational outcomes because factors outside the leader’s
limited control over resources, and that top leaders whose
values are compatible with those of the firm are chosen. We
believe strongly that despite these constraints leaders still have
key roles.

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3. Complexity Theory. This theory holds that organizations are

complex systems that cannot be explained by the usual rules of
nature. Leaders and managers can do little to alter the course of
the complex organizational system.

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III. Leadership Roles

Understanding leadership roles helps explain

leadership. A role is an expected set of activities
or behaviors stemming from the job. Leadership
roles are a subset of the managerial roles studied
by Henry Mintzberh and other researchers.

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The 9 Leadership Roles

1. Figurehead – Leaders, particularly high –
ranking managers, spend some part of their
time engaging in ceremonial activities. Four
specific behaviors fir the figurehead role of a
leader:

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The 9 Leadership Roles

• Entertaining clients or customers as an official
representative of the organization
• Making oneself available to outsiders as a
representative of the organization.
• Serving as an official representative of the
organization at gatherings outside the organization
• Escorting official visitors

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2. Spokesperson – Managers acts as a

spokesperson, the emphasis is on answering
letters or inquiries and formally reporting to
individuals and group outside the managerial
leader keep five groups of people informed about
the units activities, plans, capabilities, and
possibilities (vision):

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• Upper – level management

• Clients or customers
• Other important outsiders such as labor unions
• Professional colleagues
• The general public

Dealing with outside groups and the

general public is usually the responsibility of top-
level managers.

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3. Negotiator – Part of almost any manager’s job

description is trying to make deals with others
for needed resources. Researchers have
identified there specific negotiating activities:

• Bargaining with superiors for funds, facilities,

equipment or other forms of support

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• Bargaining with other units in the organization

for the sue of staff, facilities, equipment or other
form of support.
• Bargaining with suppliers for services,
schedules and delivery items.

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4. Coach and Motivator – An effective leader

takes the time to coach and motivate team
members. This role includes four specific
behaviors:

• Informally recognizing team members’

achievements

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• Providing team members with feedback

concerning ineffective performance
• Ensuring that team members are informed of
steps that can improve their performance
• Implementing reqards and punishments to
encourage and sustain good performance

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5. Team Builder – A key aspect of a leaders

role is to build an effective team activities
contributing to this role include:

• Ensuring that learn members are recognized

for their accomplishments such as through
letters of appreciation

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• Initiating activities that contribute to group

morale, such as giving parties and sponsoring
sports teams.

• Holding periodic staff meetings to encourage

team members to talk about their
accomplishments, problems, and concerns.

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6. Team Player – Related to team – builder role is

that of the team player. Three behaviors of team
players are:

• Displaying appropriate personal conduct

• Cooperating with other units in the organization
• Displaying loyalty to superior by supporting their
plans and decision fully.

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7. Technical Problem Solver – It is particularly

important for supervisors and middle managers
to help members solve technical problems. Two
activities contributing to this role are:

• Serving as a technical expert or adviser

• Performing individual contributor task on a
regular basis, such as making transaction calls
or repairing machinery.

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8. Entrepreneur – Although not self-employed,

managers who work in large organizations have
some responsibility for suggesting innovative
ideas or furthering the business aspects of the
organization. Three entrepreneurial leadership
role activities are:

• Reading trade the publications and professional

journals to keep up with what is happening in
the industry and profession.

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• Talking with customer or others in the

organization to keep aware of changing needs
and requirements.
• Getting involved in situations outside the unit
that could suggest ways of improving the unit’s
performance, such as visiting other firms (Other
RTC/s Regional Offices), attending professional
meetings, and participating in educational
programs.

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9. Strategic Planner – Top – level managers

engage in strategic planning usually assisted by
input from others throughout the organizational.
Carrying out the strategic – planner role
enables the manager to practice strategic
leadership. Specific activities involved in the
role include:

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• Setting a vision and direction for the organization

• Helping the organization deal with the external
environment
• Helping develop organizational policies

An important implication of these roles is that

managers at all level can and should exert
leadership.

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IV. The Satisfactions and

Frustrations of being a Leader
• The term leader has a positive connotation for
most people. To be called a leader is generally
better than to be called a follower or
subordinate. Yet being a leader, such as a team
leader, class president, and other higher
positions, does not always bring personal
satisfaction.

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A. Satisfactions of Leaders

• The types of satisfactions that you might obtain from

being a formal leader depend on your particular
leadership position. Factors such as the amount of
money you are paid and the type of people in your
group influence your satisfaction.

Seven sources of satisfaction that leaders often

experience:

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1. Feeling of power and prestige – Being a

leader automatically grants you some power.
Prestige is forthcoming because many people
think highly of people who are leaders.

2. Chance to help others group and develop – A

leader works directly w i t h p e o p l e , o f t e n
teaching them job skills, serving as mentor, and
listening to personal problems.

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3. High Income – Leaders, in general, receive

higher pay than team members. In some
situations a team leader earn virtually the same
amount of money as other team members.
Occupying a leadership position, however, is a
starting point on the parth to high-paying
leadership positions.

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4. Respect and status – A leader frequently

receives respect from the group members. He
or she also enjoys a higher status than people
who are not occupying a leadership role. When
an individual’s personal qualifications match
position, his or her status is even higher.

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5. Good opportunities for advancement – Once

you b e c o m e a l e a d e r y o u r a d v a n ce m e n t
opportunities increase. Obtaining a leadership
position is a vital first step for career
advancement in many organizations.

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6. Feeling of “being in on” things – A side benefit

of being a leader is that you received more
inside information. For instance, as a manager
you are invited to attend management meetings.
In those meetings you are given information not
passed along to individual contributions.

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7. An opportunity to control money and other

resources – A leader is often in the position of
helping to prepare a department budget and
authorize expenses. Even though you cannot
spend this money personally, knowing that your
judgment on financial matters is trusted does
provide some satisfaction.

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B. Dissatisfactions and Frustrations

of Leaders
Despite the glory of being a leader, occupying a
leadership or management role has many built
– in potential frustrations.

Seven sources of dissatisfaction and

frustrations that leaders often experience:

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1. Too much uncompensated overtime – People in

leadership jobs are usually expected to work longer
hours that other employees. Such unpaid hours are
called casual overtime.

2. Too many headaches – It would take several pages

to list all the potential problems leaders face. Being
a leader is a good way to discover the validity of
Murphy’s Law: “If anything can go wrong, it will” A
leader is subject to a batch of problems involving
people and things. Many people find that leadership
position is a source of stress and many manager
experience burnout.

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3. Not enough authority to carry out responsibility

- as a leader, you might be expected to work
with al ill – performing team member, yet you
lack the power to fire him or her.

4. Loneliness – being a leader limits the number

of people one can confide in

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5. Too many problems involving people – A major

frustration facing a leader is the number of
human resource problems requiring action.
6. Too much organizational politics – As a leader
you have to engage in political by play from three
directions: below, sideways and upward.
7. The pursuit of conflicting goals – A major
challenge leader’s face is to navigate among
conflicting goals.

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V. A Framewaork for Understanding

Leadership
• Certain major sets of variables influence leadership
effectiveness. The basic assumption underlying the
framework is as follows:

• L – f (l,gm,s)

• This formula means that the leadership process is a

function of the leader, the group members and other
situational variables. The model presented below
extends the situational perspective.

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A FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING

LEADERSHIP

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The model states that leadership effectiveness

can best be understood by examining its key
variables: leader characteristics and traits, leader
behavior and style, group member characteristics,
and the internal and external environment.

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VI. Skill Development in Leadership

• Leadership skills are in high demand.

Developing leadership skills is more complex
than developing a structured skill, yet these
skills can be developed by following a general
learning model:

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1.C o n c e p t u a l k n o w l e d g e a n d b e h a v i o r a l
guidelines –presents useful information about
leadership.

2.Conceptual informational demonstrated by

examples and brief descriptions of leaders in
action – Much can be learned by reading about
how effective (or ineffective) leaders operate.

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3. Experiental exercises – Provides an opportunity for

practiced and personalization through cases, role plays
and self-assessment quizzes are included.

4. Feedback on skill utilization, or performance from

others – Implementing some of the skills outside the
classroom will provide opportunities for feedback.

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5. Practice in natural settings – A given skill has to be

practices many times in natural settings before it
becomes integrated comfortably into a leader’s mode of
o p e r a t i o n .

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