Leadership notes

Aim

Course outline
Chapter 1 : Introduction to leadership

Leadership is a highly sought-after and highly valued commodity. People continue to ask
themselves and others what makes good leaders. As individuals, they seek more information
on how to become effective leaders, as well as they believe that leadership is a way to
improve their personal, social, and professional lives. Corporations seek those with leadership
ability because they believe that they will bring special assets to their organizations and,
ultimately, improve the bottom line.
In addition, leadership has gained the attention of researchers worldwide. A review of the
scholarly studies on leadership shows that there is a wide variety of different theoretical
approaches to explain the complexities of the leadership process. Some researchers
conceptualize leadership as a trait or as a behavior, whereas others view leadership from an
information-processing perspective or relational standpoint. Leadership has been studied
using both qualitative and quantitative methods in many contexts, including small groups,
therapeutic groups, and large organizations. Collectively, the research findings on leadership
from all of these areas provide a picture of a process that is far more sophisticated and
complex.

EVOLUTION of LEADERSHIP
There are almost as many different definitions of leadership as there are people who have
tried to define it.

1900–1929
Definitions of leadership appearing in the first three decades of the 20th century emphasized
control and centralization of power with a common theme of domination. For example, at a
conference on leadership in 1927, leadership was defined as “the ability to impress the will of
the leader on the people led and induce obedience, respect, loyalty, and cooperation” (Moore,
1927, p. 124).

1930s
Traits became the focus of defining leadership, with an emerging view of leadership as
influence rather than domination. Leadership is also identified as the interaction of an
individual’s specific personality traits with those of a group, noting that while the attitudes
and activities of the many are changed by the one, the many may also influence a leader.

1940s
The group approach came into the forefront with leadership being defined as the behavior of
an individual while involved in directing group activities (Hemphill, 1949). At the same time,
leadership by persuasion is distinguished from “drivership” or leadership by coercion
(Copeland, 1942).

1950s
Three themes dominated leadership definitions during this decade:
- continuance of group theory, which framed leadership as what leaders do in groups;
- leadership as a relationship that develops shared goals, which defined leadership
based on behavior of the leader; and
- effectiveness, in which leadership is defined by the ability to influence overall group
effectiveness.
1960s
Although a tumultuous time for world affairs, the 1960s saw harmony amongst leadership
scholars. The prevailing definition of leadership as behavior that influences people toward
shared goals was underscored by Seeman (1960) who described leadership as “acts by persons
which influence other persons in a shared direction” (p. 53).

1970s
The group focus gave way to the organizational behavior approach, where leadership became
viewed as “initiating and maintaining groups or organizations to accomplish group or
organizational goals” (Rost, 1991, p. 59). Burns’s (1978) definition, however, is the most
important concept of leadership to emerge: “Leadership is the reciprocal process of
mobilizing by persons with certain motives and values, various economic, political, and other
resources, in a context of competition and conflict, in order to realize goals independently or
mutually held by both leaders and followers” (p. 425).

1980s
This decade exploded with scholarly and popular works on the nature of leadership, bringing
the topic to the apex of the academic and public consciousnesses. As a result, the number of
definitions for leadership became a prolific stew with several persevering themes:
- Do as the leader wishes. Leadership definitions still predominantly deliver the
message that leadership is getting followers to do what the leader wants them to do.
- Influence. Probably the most often used word in leadership definitions of the 1980s,
influence is examined from every angle. In an effort to distinguish leadership from
management, however, scholars insist that leadership is non coercive influence.
- Traits. Spurred by the national bestseller In Search of Excellence (Peters &
Waterman, 1982), the leadership-as-excellence movement brought leader traits back to
the spotlight. As a result, many people’s understanding of leadership is based on a trait
orientation.
- Transformation. Burns (1978) is credited for initiating a movement defining
leadership as a transformational process, stating that leadership occurs “when one or
more persons engage with others in such a way that leaders and followers raise one
another to higher levels of motivation and morality” (p. 83).

Into the 21st Century

After decades of dissonance, leadership scholars agree on one thing: They can’t come up with
a common definition for leadership. Debate continues as to whether leadership and
management are separate processes, while others emphasize the trait, skill, or relational
aspects of leadership.

Ways of Conceptualizing Leadership

In the past 60 years, as many as 65 different classification systems have been developed to
define the dimensions of leadership (Fleishman et al., 1991). One such classification system is
the scheme proposed by Bass (1990, pp. 11–20). He suggested that some definitions view
leadership as the focus of group processes. From this perspective, the leader is at the center of
group change and activity and embodies the will of the group. Another set of definitions
conceptualizes leadership from a personality perspective, which suggests that leadership is a
combination of special traits or characteristics that some individuals possess. These traits
enable those individuals to induce others to accomplish tasks. Other approaches to leadership
define it as an act or a behavior—the things leaders do to bring about change in a group. In
addition, some define leadership in terms of the power relationship that exists between leaders
and followers. From this viewpoint, leaders have power that enables them to effect change in
others. Others view leadership as a transformational process that moves followers to
accomplish more than is usually expected of them. Finally, some scholars address leadership
from a skills perspective. This viewpoint stresses the capabilities (knowledge and skills) that
make effective leadership possible.

DEFINING LEADERSHIP
Despite the multitude of ways in which leadership has been conceptualized, the following
components can be identified as central to the phenomenon: (a) Leadership is a process, (b)
leadership involves influence, (c) leadership occurs in groups, and (d) leadership involves
common goals. »
Based on these components, the following definition of leadership can be kept: « Leadership
is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common
goal.
Defining leadership as a process means that it is not a trait or characteristic that resides in the
leader, but rather a transactional event that occurs between the leader and the followers.
Process implies that a leader affects and is affected by followers. It emphasizes that leadership
is not a linear, one-way event, but rather an interactive event. When leadership is defined in
this manner, it becomes available to everyone. It is not restricted to the formally designated
leader in a group.
Leadership involves influence. It is concerned with how the leader affects followers.
Influence is the sine qua non of leadership. Without influence, leadership does not exist.
Leadership occurs in groups. Groups are the context in which leadership takes place.
Leadership involves influencing a group of individuals who have a common purpose. This
can be a small task group, a community group, or a large group encompassing an entire
organization. Leadership is about one individual influencing a group of others to accomplish
common goals.
Others (a group) are required for leadership to occur. Leadership training programs that teach
people to lead themselves are not considered a part of leadership within the definition that is
set forth in this discussion.
Leadership includes attention to common goals. Leaders direct their energies toward
individuals who are trying to achieve something together. By common, we mean that the
leaders and followers have a mutual purpose. Attention to common goals gives leadership an
ethical overtone because it stresses the need for leaders to work with followers to achieve
selected goals. Stressing mutuality lessens the possibility that leaders might act toward
followers in ways that are forced or unethical. It also increases the possibility that leaders and
followers will work together toward a common good (Rost, 1991).

The people who engage in leadership will be called leaders, and those toward whom
leadership is directed will be called followers. Both leaders and followers are involved
together in the leadership
process. Leaders need followers, and followers need leaders. Although leaders and followers
are closely linked, it is the leader who often initiates the relationship, creates the
communication linkages, and carries the burden for maintaining the relationship.

Leadership and management

Leadership is a process that is similar to management in many ways. Leadership involves
influence, as does management. Leadership entails working with people, which management
entails as well. Leadership is concerned with effective goal accomplishment, and so is
management. In general, many of the functions of management are activities that are
consistent with the definition of leadership we set forth at the beginning of this chapter. But
leadership is also different from management. Whereas the study of leadership can be traced
back to Aristotle, management emerged around the turn of the 20th century with the advent of
our industrialized society.
Management was created as a way to reduce chaos in organizations, to make them run more
effectively and efficiently. The primary functions of management, as first identified by Fayol
(1916), were planning, organizing, staffing, and controlling. These functions are still
representative of the
field of management today.
In a book that compared the functions of management with the functions of leadership, Kotter
(1990) argued that the functions of the two are quite dissimilar provide order and consistency
to organizations, whereas the primary function of leadership is to produce change and
movement. Management is about seeking order and stability; leadership is about seeking
adaptive and constructive change. (Figure 1.1).

Figure 1.1 : Functions of Management and Leadership