UNIT I

INTRODUCTION TO LEADERSHIP
 Leadership Game
· Give 5 examples of great leaders.
· Justify your choice.
· During the class every time you participate
and give correct answer you score 10 points.
· During the class every time every time you
participate with video on and give correct
answer you score 20 points.
· Your scores will be visible on a scoring sheet.
 CONTENTS

I. What is Leadership?
II. Leadership Styles

III. Traits of Leaders

IV. Contemporary Leadership Roles

V. Challenges to Leadership Construct

VI. Understanding leadership through
literature: An overview 3
 I. WHAT IS LEADERSHIP?

Leadership
is a process whereby an individual
influences a group of individuals
to achieve a common goal.

From Northouse - Leadership Theory and Practice, Eighth Edition © 2019 SAGE Publications, Inc.

4
 Trait vs. Process Leadership

· Certain individuals
have special
innate
characteristics or
qualities that
differentiate them
from non-leaders.
· Leadership resides in
select people
· Restricted to those
with inborn talent
From Northouse - Leadership Theory and Practice, Eighth Edition © 2019 SAGE Publications, Inc.
 Trait vs. Process Leadership

· Leadership is a
phenomena that occurs
in interactions
between leaders and
followers.
· Observed in
leadership behaviors
· Can be learned

6
From Northouse - Leadership Theory and Practice, Eighth Edition © 2019 SAGE Publications, Inc.
 Assigned vs. Emergent Leadership

Assigned Emergent
· Leadership based on Leadership perceived by others
a position within an regardless of the individual’s title
organization · Emerges over time through interactions with
others
· Team leaders · Verbal engagement
· Plant managers · Gathering and providing information
· Department heads · Seeking others’ opinions

· Directors · Being firm but not rigid

· Professional competence
· Interpersonal warmth

· Affected by personality and gender

7
From Northouse - Leadership Theory and Practice, Eighth Edition © 2019 SAGE Publications, Inc.
 Leadership & Power

Bases of Social Power

Power
French & Raven (1959)
· The capacity to
influence.
· Referent
· The ability to change · Expert
others’ beliefs, attitudes, &
actions · Legitimate

· Reward
· Coercive

8
From Northouse - Leadership Theory and Practice, Eighth Edition © 2019 SAGE Publications, Inc.
 Leadership & Power

9
From Northouse - Leadership Theory and Practice, Eighth Edition © 2019 SAGE Publications, Inc.
 Leadership & Power

· Position Power · Personal Power

(assigned): derived (emergent) is influence
from rank in an derived from being seen
organization as likable & competent.

10
From Northouse - Leadership Theory and Practice, Eighth Edition © 2019 SAGE Publications, Inc.
II. LEADERSHIP STYLES

What is a Style?
· Style

· The habitual choices that one makes

· Leadership style

· The habitual choices of behavior that one makes to help others

work together to achieve a common goal.

11
 The Style Approach to Leadership
Focus 2 Groups of Behaviors
 Task behaviors
· Emphasizes the
-Help group members achieve
habitual behavior of goals and objectives
the leader -“Initiating Structure”
-“Concern for Results”
· Focuses exclusively  Relationship behaviors
on how leaders tend -Help group members feel
to act along two comfortable with themselves,
crucial dimensions. each other, and the situation
-Develop healthy relationships
-“Consideration”
-“Concern for People”
12
Leadership Grid (Blake and Mouton,
1966)

13
 Strengths of the Style Approach
· A major shift in leadership research from focusing on
traits and skills to examining behaviors and actions of
leaders
· Easy to understand system of classifying leadership
behaviors: task and relationship, validated by a broad
range of research.
· Allows leaders to classify and evaluate their own
behaviors.

14
 Criticisms
· It predicts that the most effective leadership style is the High-High style
(high task/high relationship).

· This is usually true, but not always.

· However, employees are more satisfied with supervisors who have

a high concern for people.

· No universal style of leadership is effective or ineffective in all situations.

15
III. TRAITS OF LEADERS

What is a trait?
· Traits
· Characteristics
of an individual that reflect
cognitive, emotional, or behavioral tendencies

· Trait Approach to Leadership

· Some traits are generally associated with people
perceived to be leaders.
· However, no single trait is found among all
leaders.
 Major Leadership Traits
Traits to possess or cultivate if one seeks to
be perceived by others as a leader:

· Intelligence – Verbal, perceptual, and reasoning

capabilities. Ex. Elon Musk
· Also an important factor in effective leadership

· Self-Confidence – Certainty about one’s

competencies and skills. Ex. Steve Jobs
 Major Leadership Traits
· Determination – Desire to get the job done (i.e.,
initiative, persistence, drive). Ex. Bill Gates
· Integrity – The quality of honesty and
trustworthiness. Ex. Billy Graham
· Sociability – Leader’s inclination to seek out
pleasant social relationships. Ex. Ratan Tata
5-Factor Personality Model & Leadership
 5-Factor Personality Model & Leadership

Research indicates that there is a strong relationship between

the Big 5 personality traits and leadership (perceived and
effective)
· High Extraversion – factor most strongly associated with
leadership
· High Conscientiousness – 2nd most important factor

· High Openness – next most related

· Low Neuroticism

· High Agreeableness – only weakly related to leadership, but

useful in interviews.
 Emotional Intelligence & Leadership
Definition Underlying Premise
The Ability to: · People who are
– Perceive and manage more able to
emotions in oneself and in manage their own
others and others’
emotions will be
more effective
leaders
 Focus of Trait Approach
Personality
Leader
Assessments
· Focuses exclusively on Organizations use personality
the leader assessments to find the “right”
· What traits do people
leaders exhibit? · Assumptions:
· People with certain traits will increase
· Who has these
organizational effectiveness
traits? · Specify characteristics/traits are
necessary for specific positions
· Personality assessment measures for
“fit”
· Instruments: LTQ, Myers Briggs
 Strengths of the Trait Approach
· Intuitively appeals to · Highlights the role of the
followers leader in the leadership
· Perception that leaders process
are worthy of following · Provides benchmarks for
because of their traits
what to look for when
· People “need” to view
choosing a leader
leaders as gifted
· Is credible due to a
century of research
support
 Criticism of the Trait Approach
· No definitive list of
leadership traits
· Many lists have emerged
· Doesn’t take into
account situational
effects
· Leaders in one situation
may not be leaders in
another situation
· Many lists of essential
leadership traits are highly
subjective
· Research often fails to look at
traits in relationship to
leadership outcomes
· It is always difficult to
measure a trait in an
individual
· Limited usefulness for
training & development
 V. CHALLENGES TO THE LEADERSHIP
CONSTRUCT

· Leadership Attribution Error

· Substitutes and Neutralizers

25
Leadership Attribution Error

· Refer to the tendency to believe that leaders have more impact on results than is
the actual case as “Leadership Attribution Error”. This error arises because
followers don’t have the complete picture underestimating both situational
factors and random chance.

· Leadership Attribution Error has the potential to be a disaster in the workplace.

Too much emphasis on the role of leader means that followers may abdicate
responsibility for their motivation levels, beliefs, values and behaviours. Truly
effective leadership is one that sees motivation as arising from within followers
(internal motivation) that the leader taps into by aligning goals and objectives
with motivation and values of the followers. In other words, motivation starts
with the beliefs, values and aspirations of the followers.

· Whether leader or follower, as adults we need to take responsibility for our own
behaviours. Are you attributing too much to your leader? As a leader, are you
assuming too much of the burden of motivation? Are your followers abdicating
responsibility for their own motivation and behaviours? Are you creating
passive followers? 26
Substitutes and Neutralizers
· Contrary to the arguments made throughout leadership may not always
be important. A theory of leadership suggest that, in many situations,
whatever actions leaders exhibit are irrelevant. Certain individuals, jobs
and organizational variables can act as substitutes for leadership or
neutralize the leader’s influence on his or her followers.
· Neutralizers make it impossible for leader’s behavior to make any
difference to followers outcomes. They negate the leader’s influences.
Substitutes however, make a leader’s influence not only impossible but
also unnecessary. They act as a replacement for the leader’s influence.
For instance, characteristics of employees such as their experience,
training, professional orientation or indifference toward organizational
rewards can substitute for, or neutralize the effect of leadership.
Experience and training can replace the need for a leader’s support or
ability to create structure and reduce task ambiguity. Jobs that are
inherently unambiguous and routine or that intrinsically satisfying may
place fewer demands on the leadership variable. Organizational
characteristics like explicit, formalized goals, rigid rules and procedures
and cohesive work group also replace formal leadership. 27
 VI. UNDERSTANDING LEADERSHIP
THROUGH LITERATURE

Reading serious literature can often be described as

captivating, inspiring, entrancing, and simply enjoyable.
This is essentially due to the fact that serious literature
encompasses characters and situations that a large audience
can, in one way or another, relate to.

Literature allows us to see inside of the mind of fascinating

individuals that encounter hardships, doubts, harmony, and
reflection.

28
Thank
You

29