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Chapter 1

Definition and Significance of

Leadership

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 Learning Objectives
• Define leadership and leadership effectiveness
• Discuss the major obstacles to effective leadership
• Compare and contrast leadership and management
• List the roles and functions of leaders and managers
• Explain the changes in organizations and how they
affect leaders
• Summarize the debate over the role and impact of
leadership in organizations

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 The Leadership Question

Some leaders are focused on getting things done

while others put taking care of their followers
first.
Some look at the big picture and others hone in on
the details.
Is one approach better than the other?
Which one do you prefer?

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 How to start a movement | Derek Sivers
“Leadership Lessons From Dancing Guy.”

https://www.ted.com/talks/derek_sivers_how_to_start_a_movement/transcript

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 Leadership

Communication is leadership.
The leader moves followers to action and helps
them achieve goals.

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 Leadership
Integral part of the group process.
An influence process.
The initiation of structure.
The instrument of goal achievement.
Serving to their followers.

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 Key Elements of Leadership
«A leader is a person who influences individuals and groups within an organization,
helps them establish goals, and guides them toward achievement of those goals,
thereby allowing them to be effective.»

• Group and social phenomenon: There can be no leaders without followers.

• Interpersonal influence: Leaders move others toward goals and actions.
• Goal directed and action oriented: They use influence to guide others or toward the achievement of
certain goals.

• Assumes hierarchy in a group: Formal and well-defined or informal and flexible.

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 Leadership
 The leader moves followers to action and helps them achieve
goals.

 Being a leader is about getting things done for, through and

with others.

 Leadership is the ability to influence a group toward the

achievement of a vision or set of goals.

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 Leadership
A leader is any person who influences individuals and groups
within an organization, helps them establish goals, and guides
them toward achievement of those goals, thereby allowing them
to be effective.

A leader can
provide a mission and sense of purpose with future-oriented
goals,
initiates goals and actions,
and builds a sense of shared values that allows followers to
be focused and motivated.
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 Some Myths
The Talent Myth
Talent is not the key that unlocks excellence.
Leadership is an observable, learnable set of skills and abilities.
The Position Myth
Leadership is not a rank, a title, or a place.
Leading is about the actions you take, not the position you hold.
The Strengths Myth
When confronting things they haven’t done before, people will often have to develop new
skills and overcome existing weaknesses and limitations.
The Self-Relience Myth
Leadership is a team sport and not a solo performance.
The It-Comes-Naturally Myth
Practice deliberately.
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 Effectiveness vs. Success
Effective leaders
• Focus on the work
• Focus on employees/followers
• Satisfied and productive employees
• Takes care of employees/followers
• Implements change in an organization.
Successful leaders
• Focus on politics and networking
• Promoted quickly
• Network with outsiders
• Take care of supervisor
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Definition of Effectiveness

Leaders are effective when their followers achieve their goals, can function
well together (internal stability), and can adapt to changing demands from
external forces (external adaptability).
-group performance, employee satisfaction, and organizational change-
-taking care of followers and also external factors-

Key Elements of Effectiveness

1. Goal achievement (e.g. Meeting financial goals, producing quality products, addressing the
needs of customers)

2. Smooth internal processes (group cohesion, follower satisfaction, efficient operations)

3. External adaptability (a group’s ability to change and evolve succesfully)

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 The Leadership Question

Some leaders are focused on getting things done

while others put taking care of their followers
first.
Some look at the big picture and others hone in on
the details.
Is one approach better than the other?
Which one do you prefer?

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 The Leadership Question
Revisited

• Leadership involves the tasks, people, big

picture, details, etc.
• What works depends on the leader, the
followers, and the situation
• Many styles and approaches can work
• Understanding the situation is key

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EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP

LEADER
Ability
Behavior
Experience
EFFECTIVE
SITUATIONS
Structure LEADERSHIP
Technology
Goals
STYLE
FOLLOWERS
Ability
Behavior
Experience
 Why Do We Need Leaders?
• Groups need to stay orderly and focused
– Existence of groups require some form of organization and hierarchy.
– Leaders are needed to pull the individuals together, organize and coordinate their efforts
• To keep focus on group goals, to accomplish tasks
– Leaders facilitate accomplisment with group
• To make sense of the world
– Leaders assign meaning to events and situations that may be ambiguous
• As a romantic ideal
– They represent us and symbolize our own and our culture’s ideals and accomplishments.

We need leaders to challange the status quo, create visions of the future, and inspire
organizational members to achieve the vision.
We need managers to formulate detailed plans, create efficient organizational structures
and oversee day-to-day operations.

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 Why Leaders Matter
-Significance of Leadership-
• Leadership is one of many factors that affect the performance
of organizations
• Leadership can indirectly impact other performance factors
• Leadership is essential in providing vision and direction for
followers and in integrating their activities.
• Identifying the situations in which leadership matters is
essential
• The combination of leaders with followers and other
organizational factors make an impact

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 Obstacles to Becoming an Effective
Leadership
• Environmental uncertainty creates pressure for quick response and
solutions.
• Organizational rigidity doesn’t let any experimentation.
• Falling back on old ideas and simplistic solutions that provide
temporary solutions
• Established organizational culture towards new ideas and
experiement.
• An applicable academic researches/studies

Learning/experimentation and organisational support are essential.

Organizations that allow their leaders at all levels to make mistakes, learn and develop new skills
are training effective leaders. 1-19
Factors Fueling Change

Increased
global and local
competition De
w i de mo
orld cal cha grap
W l it i e s ng hic
po ang es
ch

Changes in organizations
and their leadership

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What is the difference between a leader and
a a manager?
Manager
• Focus on functions
• Focus on the present
• Maintains the status quo
(order and consistency)
• Implement policy
• Maintain existing culture
and structure
• Remain aloof and
objective
• Use position power
Leader
• Focus on people
• Focus on the future
• Produces movement and
change
• Initiate policy
• Create new culture and
structure
• Establish emotional
bonds with followers
• Use personal power
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 Managerial Roles

• Figurehead • Entrepreneur
• Leader • Disturbance
• Liaison handler
• Monitor • Resource allocator
• Disseminator • Negotiator
• Spokesperson

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 Leader’s Role in Shaping
Organizational Culture

Leader
Vision and Strategy
mission Hiring and structure
Role
modeling Reward decisions
system

Organizational
culture
Organisations reflects the dreams and fears of its founder
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 New Roles for Leaders
Control-oriented leadership Result-oriented leadership
Plan Lead Plan
and
Organize Control organize

Lead
Do
Control
Results
Do
Leader assumes responsibility
Follower assumes responsibility
Results
Follower assumes responsibility

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 Barriers to Change

• Perceived financial pressures

• Short-term orientation
• Top management still focused on one person
• Traditional organizations
• Employee input and creativity not fully considered
• Focus on individual rather than group performance
• Traditional management styles

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In this course we have discussed;
• The essential components of the definition of leadership
• Reasons to need leaders
• Differences between effective and succesful leaders
• Differences and similarities between leadership and
management
• Roles and functions of leaders and managers
• Leaders’ roles in shaping organizational culture
• The changes in organizations and how they affect leaders

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