Chap11 Notes Markup

CHAPTER 11 BECOMING AN EFFECTIVE LEADER . CHAPTER

OUTLINE AND LECTURE NOTES

Leadership is the process of bringing about positive changes and influencing others to achieve organizational goals. Change and influence are the key words. Effective leadership at the top of organizations is necessary for prosperity and even survival. Today people at all levels in the organization are expected to exert some leadership. 1 .

TRAITS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE LEADERS Effective leaders have the "right stuff," meaning that certain inner qualities contribute to leadership effectiveness in a wide variety of situations. Effectiveness means that the leader helps group members accomplish their objectives without neglecting satisfaction or morale. Many of the important traits and characteristics of leaders can be developed and refined. The purpose of leadership is to create more leaders not more followers. In fact leadership is not contingent on having followers. A. Self-Confidence and Courage Self-confidence helps assure group members that activities are under control. The leader who functions best is self-confident enough to reassure others and to appear in control. But, if the leader is so self-confident that he or she will not admit errors, listen to criticism, or ask for advice, that too creates problems. Self-confidence often takes the form of the courage to face the challenges of taking prudent risks and taking initiative in general. Leaders must be able to face up to responsibility and be willing to put reputations on the line, even if this means taking a course of action others would not advise. B. Emotional Intelligence Emotional intelligence (EQ) is considered a major contributor to leadership effectiveness. EQ refers to managing ourselves and our relationships effectively with an emphasis on dealing with emotion. Emotional intelligence can be developed through working on some of its components such as learning to control your temper, and developing empathy by listening to people carefully. C. Trustworthiness and Character Both leaders themselves and group members believe that being honest and sustaining trust are important. Today's cliche is that leaders walk the talk. Trust is a person's confidence in another individual's intentions and motives, and in the sincerity of that individual's words. It takes a leader a long time to build trust, yet one brief incident of untrustworthy behavior can destroy it.

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Having certain character traits contributes to being trustworthy and being perceived as a trustworthy person. Character, in this context, refers to doing the right things despite outside pressures to do the opposite. Table 11-1 lists and defines twelve traits that are part of The United States Air Force character program.

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D. Strong Work Motivation and High Energy Leadership positions are mentally and physically demanding. Strong motivation is also needed to accept the heavy responsibility that being a supervisor entails. E. Cognitive Skills and Openness to Experience. Leaders need to be mentally sharp. Problem-solving and intellectual skills are referred to collectively as cognitive skills. A cognitive skill of major importance is knowledge of the business, or technical competence. Closely related to cognitive skills is the personality characteristic of openness to experience, a positive orientation toward learning. F. Assertiveness. Assertiveness is a widely recognized leadership trait. If you are self-confident, it is easier to be assertive with people. Assertiveness helps leaders perform many tasks and achieve goals.

,G. Charisma. An important quality for leaders at all levels is charisma, a type of charm and magnetism that inspires others. An effective leader usually needs some degree of this quality, although some effective leaders are not charismatic. Here we focus on three of the many characteristics of charismatic leaders. 1. Vision. Effective leaders create a visual image of where the organization, or unit, is headed. Effective leaders project ideas and images that excite people, and therefore inspire employees to do their best. 2. Passion. Enthusiasm. and Excitement. Because of their contagious excitement, charismatic leaders stimulate group members. Enthusiasm helps build good relationships with team members, and excitement is contagious. The leader can express enthusiasm verbally and non verbally through gestures, nonsexual touching, and so forth. 3. Sense of Humor. Humor is a component of charisma, and a contributor to leadership effectiveness. Humor helps leaders influence people by reducing tension, relieving boredom, and defusing anger. The most effective form of leadership is tied to the situation rather than telling rehearsed jokes.

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BEHAVIORS AND SKILLS OF EFFECTIVE LEADERS In addition to personal attributes, a leader has to do things that influence group members to achieve good performance. A. Practice Strong Ethics Being trustworthy facilitates a leader practicing strong ethics, the study of moral obligation, or separating right from wrong. Workers are more likely to trust an ethical leader. Good ethics serves as a positive model for group members, thus strengthening the organization. Ethical leaders help group members avoid common ethical pitfalls such as lying, divulging confidential information, and covering up accidents. B. Direction Setting Given that leaders are supposed to bring about change, they must point people in the right direction, including establishing a vision. C. Develop Partnerships with People In a partnership, the leaders and group members are connected in such a way that the power between them is approximately balanced. A partnership involves an exchange of purpose, a right to say no for either side, joint accountability, and absolute honesty. D. Help Group Members Reach Goals and Achieve Satisfaction The leader smoothes out the path to goal attainment, and also looks out for the satisfaction of group members. One important way to do this is to provide the necessary resources to group members. Another way of helping group members achieve goals is to reduce frustrating barriers to work accomplishment. E. Set High Expectations Group members live up (or down) to the leader's expectations according to the Pygmalion effect. The manager's expectations become a self-fulfilling prophecy in part because when a leader expresses faith in group members, the members become more confident.

F. Give Frequent Feedback on Performance Feedback is informational and rewarding. Effective leaders inform employees how they can improve and praise them for things done right. G. Manage a Crisis Effectively Crisis management, including managing adversity, is becoming the mode in organizations. H. Ask the Right Questions Leaders can make a major contribution by asking the right questions. Although being knowledgeable about the group task is important, there are many times when asking group members penetrating questions is more important. This is especially true because in today's complex and rapidly changing business environment, the collective intelligence of group members is needed. I. Be a Servant Leader A humanitarian approach to leadership is to be a servant leader, one who serves group members by working on their behalf to achieve their goals, not his or her goals. Servant leadership stems naturally trom a commitment to service. A good starting point is for the leader to see himself or herself as a humble servant. Although a servant leader is idealistic, he or she recognizes that one individual cannot accomplish everything.

III. LEADERSHIP STYLE AND FLEXIBILITY A leadership style is a leader's characteristic way of behaving in a variety of situations. A. The Classic Dimensions of Consideration and Initiating Structure Consideration is the degree to which the leader creates an environment of emotional support, warmth, friendliness, and trust. Leaders create this environment by being friendly, approachable, looking out for the welfare of the group, and keeping the group informed about new developments.

Initiating structure means organizing and defining relationships in the group by engaging in such activities as assigning specific tasks, specifying procedures to be followed, scheduling work, and making expectations clear. Four Combinations of Initiating Structure and Consideration. B. The Participative (Team) Leadership Style Participative leaders share decision-making authority with .the group and motivate group members to work as a team toward high level goals. The three main types of participative leaders are 1. Consultative Leaders - Solicit opinions from the group before making a decision, yet do not feel obliged to accept the group's thinking. 2. Consensus Leaders - Encourage group discussion about an issue and then make decisions that reflect the consensus of the group.

3. Democratic Leaders - Confer final authority on the group. Function as collectors of opinions and takes a vote before making decisions. In contrast, autocratic leaders attempt to retain most of the authority granted to the group. They make all of the major decisions and assume subordinates will comply without question.

C. Style Flexibility and Adaptability Although leadership style refers to a person's characteristic approach to dealing with leadership tasks, effective leaders adapt their style, to fit the situation. IV. HOW LEADERS SUBORDINATES

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A. The Leader-Member Exchange Model The leader-member exchange (LMX) model focuses on the quality of relationships between leaders and members, and recognizes that leaders develop unique working relationships with each group member. B. Suggestions for Attaining Good Relationships with Subordinates 1. Solicit opinions before taking action. 2. Fight for their demands. 3. Give out recognition. 4. Listen to the problems and suggestions of group members. 5. Be courteous.

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DEVELOPING YOUR LEADERSHIP POTENTIAL Because leadership is not based entirely on genetic factors, leadership potential can be developed. Five key strategies are recommended. 1. General education and specific training. Almost any program of career training or education can be considered a program of leadership development. 2. Leadership development programs. Specialized programs of leadership development, such as outdoor training, can be useful. 3. Acquire broad experience. Because leadership varies somewhat with the situation, a sound approach to improving leadership effectiveness is to attempt to gain supervisory experience in different settings. 4. Modeling effective leaders. Carefully observing an effective leader and then imitating some of his or her most effective behaviors can help one develop as a leader. 5. Self-development o/leadership characteristics and behavior. Study leadership characteristics and behavior, and target one or two for improvement through self-determination and self-monitoring of behavior. 6. Practice a little leadership. Look for opportunities to exert a small amount of helpful leadership in contrast to waiting for opportunities to accomplish extraordinary deeds. Mentoring would be. an example of practicing a little leadership. 7. Practice self-leadership. Lead and influence oneself without waiting for an external leader to lead one. 8. Become an integrated human being. The leader is first and foremost a fully functioning person. Leadership development is therefore the process of self-development. As a result, the process of becoming a leader is similar to the process of becoming an integrated human being.