Leadership

Topic 10: Emerging

Leadership
Issues
*Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
*Diversity
*Women in Leadership
*Cultural Intelligence
*Virtual & Global Teams
*Authentic Leadership
*“Corporate Social Responsibility is the continuing
commitment by business to contribute to economic
development while improving the quality of life of the
workforce and their families as well as of the community
and society at large.” [World Business Council for
Sustainable Development (WBCSD) ]
Justifications For CSR
*Porter and Kramer (2006) contend that the main
reasons organisations should consider their
corporate social responsibility obligations are:
*Moral obligation: To “do the right thing”
*Sustainable development: Focused on
environment
*License to operate: Since corporations need
approval to do business
*Reputation: In terms of the company’s image,
brand, morale, or stock value.
Putting CSR into Practice
Approaches to Managing Diversity
*The 'discrimination-and-fairness paradigm'
• This paradigm analyses diversity in terms of equal
opportunity, fair recruitment and employee
treatment practices and compliance with
legislative requirements.
• However, although staff come from an increasingly
diversified pool, often the work activities do not
change.
• People are required to 'assimilate' and take on
board the values of the majority in the
organisation.
*The 'access-and-legitimacy paradigm'
• The primary driver of this approach was the business
need to appeal to new consumer groups and market
segments emerging in multicultural societies.
• Thomas and Ely (1996) identify a number of limitations
to this approach:
Diversity within the organisation is often motivated
by short-term considerations (e.g. the need to
quickly gain access to a niche market).
Whilst organisations celebrate the differences of
each group, they do little to understand them or
learn from them, and fail to integrate new values
into the culture.
*The 'learning-and-effectiveness paradigm'
• This approach draws on both traditional paradigms,
but encourages workplace diversity to drive change
within organisations and actually alter workplace
practices and approaches.
• With genuine organisational leadership commitment
and support, the 'learning-and-effectiveness' approach
to managing workplace diversity can become a source
of competitive advantage for the company.
*Manning and Curtis (2007: 255) suggest a number of
obstacles women may face when climbing the corporate
ladder:
• Lack of cross-training and work-experience opportunities:
Often, women are discouraged from taking on traditionally
male leadership positions even at the ground levels of an
organisation. This, in turn, limits their exposure to essential
work experiences and reduces promotional opportunities.
• Lack of encouragement from senior-level executives who
play a vital role in grooming the next generation of leaders.
Many male leaders select other males to mentor and coach
for leadership roles.
• Comparatively reduced number of opportunities for
promotion coupled with the psychological effects of
disillusionment over career progression limitations and
inequalities in pay.
 *Double standards that signify women need to be more
competent and skilled than their male counterparts in
order to be accepted.
*It has been argued that many women in leadership roles
will employ transformational leadership, preferring to
build relationships with followers and to lead more
democratically.
*However, that pursuing this line of argument (traits and
behaviour) may encourage the proliferation of
stereotypes.
*To ensure the organisation's long-term success, current
leaders must ensure that their succession plans take into
account diversity issues,when they look at their:
*recruitment and selection policies and procedures
*leadership development initiatives
*mentoring and coaching programs
*empowerment and delegation skills.
“The ability to observe, understand, and pick up on the subtle
nuances of another culture, and the ability to adapt to (and
perhaps mimic) the socially acceptable behaviours of others”.
According to Earley and Mosakowski (2004), there are three main
elements to cultural intelligence:
*The mind (cognitive): It is the objective or rational component.
It is based on reason and the capacity to develop mental
structures which enable us to understand the encounter, to
think about what is going on and to make judgments based on
conceptual frameworks and language.
*The body (physical): This component is about what happens
during an encounter, what we decide to do based on our
judgments about the situation coming from the emotional
and rational data we have collected.
*The heart (emotional): This dimension is the motivation to
generate solutions
*A virtual team is made up of
geographically or organisationally
dispersed members who share a common
purpose & are linked primarily through
advanced information &
telecommunication technologies (Daft)

*Global teams are work teams made up of

culturally diverse members who live &
work in different countries & coordinate
some part of their activities on a global
basis (Daft)
To cope with the demands of leading either a virtual or a
global team, leaders should develop their:
*cultural intelligence and cultural sensitivity
*virtual communication skills (e.g. learn how to
conduct effective 'webinars' and videoconferences)
*cross-cultural communication and negotiation skills
*time-management skills.
*The essence of authentic leadership is leading in a way that is
true to yourself
*Goffee and Jones (2005) identify four main qualities that are
important for authentic leadership:
*Manage the perception others have of you
*Know yourself and others
*Use where you come from
*Conform—but only just enough
*To develop your authentic leadership skills you should:
*Understand your own purpose. Be clear on your goals and
what you want to achieve and accomplish.
*Be passionate about your goals and the direction you want
others to take. Live and breathe your goals each and every
day, and maintain the passion even in times of dissent
amongst others around you.
*Develop your emotional intelligence—your self-awareness, self-
regulation, motivation, empathy and social skill.
*Acknowledge your personal weaknesses and own up to mistakes.
Seek out honest feedback from your core support group,
encourage open communication and take the time to evaluate and
act upon constructive criticism.
*Engage with your staff, empower them to develop their skills and
give them the requisite opportunities they need to succeed.
Provide them with feedback regularly and develop their leadership
skills.
*Act as a role model and demonstrate self-discipline in everything
you do. The adage 'actions speak louder than words' holds
especially true in the authentic leadership context. If your
followers sense any form of hypocrisy, their support for you can
diminish rapidly.
*Seek out opportunities to gain experience in different
environments, including other countries, and try to extend
yourself beyond your comfort zone.