Chapter 1

The Importance of Leadership: Setting the Stage

McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright 2009 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Learning Objectives
After studying Chapter One, you will be able to:
Define leadership and discuss its importance Know where leaders learn to lead and what people want in a leader Identify the satisfactions and frustrations of leadership Describe the elements of caring leadership

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Learning Points
Leadership excellence requires the ability to:
Attract capable people Motivate them to put forth their best effort Solve problems that arise

These are difficult tasks, which helps explain why effective leadership is so rare

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Learning Points
Consider these questions:
Have you ever been the victim of a poor leader? What made them good or bad? How do you feel about the good leaders you have known?

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What Is Leadership?
Leadership is social influence It is initiating and guiding The product of leadership is a new direction Leaders influence others by their deeds and ideas

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The Importance of Leadership

A good leader is more important than any other factor for work morale and job performance
Social conscience and conduct were influenced by Martin Luther King and Susan B. Anthony The fates of nations were determined by Alexander the Great and Joan of Arc Civilization was shaped by philosophers such as John Stuart Mill and Adam Smith
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Three Types of Leaders

There are three types of leaders:
Teachers, who are rule breakers and value creators Heroes, responsible for great causes and noble works Rulers, who are motivated by dominating others and exercising power

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Types of Leaders in History

Table 1-1
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Qualities of the Individual

Traits that correlate positively with leadership : A strong drive for responsibility and task completion Vigor and persistence Venturesomeness and originality in problem-solving Initiative in social situations
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Qualities of the Individual

Traits that correlate positively with leadership (cont.): Self-confidence and sense of personal identity Willingness to accept consequences of decisions and action
Readiness to absorb interpersonal stress

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Qualities of the Individual

Traits that correlate positively with leadership (cont.): Willingness to tolerate frustration and delay Ability to influence other persons behavior Capacity to structure social interaction systems to the purpose at hand

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Qualities of the Individual

These traits differentiate:
Leaders from followers Effective from ineffective leaders Higher echelon from lower echelon leaders

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Environmental Factors
Leadership has been viewed as an acquired competency, the product of many forces Leadership is seen as a social phenomenon, not an individual trait This explains why leaders who are successful in one situation fail in another

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Environmental Factors
Patterns of behavior deemed acceptable in leaders differ from time to time and culture to culture
Thus, the establishment of educational institutions and curricula to impart and reinforce the knowledge, skills, and attitudes deemed important by a society or group

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Environmental Factors
Throughout history, male leaders have outnumbered female leaders
Even the definition of leader is a social phenomenon Edith Wilson ran the U.S. while her husband was incapacitated, but history credits President Woodrow Wilson as leader during that time Public recognition of Mrs. Wilsons influence would not have been in line with the norms of the time
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Interaction of Individual & Environment

Leadership results from the interaction of a person with the environment
Findings from sociobiological studies support this view Example: Young male fish remained small and sexually underdeveloped until the adult male population dwindled. Then, size and sexual maturation accelerated dramatically.

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Interaction of Individual & Environment

Leaders may emerge spontaneously in social crises after filling anonymous roles for years
Polands Lech Walesa went from shipyard worker to national labor leader during the 1980s

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Interaction of Individual & Environment

Innate abilities often unfold under certain conditions
External circumstances and internal qualities interact to create a sudden, dramatic spurt of performance

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Learning to Lead: What People Want

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce sought to answer two questions:
Where do leaders learn to lead? What do people want in a leader?

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Where do leaders learn to lead?

From experience
Often sink or swim

From examples or models

They show both what to do and what to avoid

From books and school

Includes formal education, seminars, and professional reading

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Learning to Lead: What People Want

What people want most in a leader:
Integrity, also known as honesty Job knowledge People-building skills

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Leader Satisfactions and Frustrations

Satisfactions
A feeling of power and prestige A chance to help others High income Respect and status Opportunities for advancement A feeling of being in a position of knowledge An opportunity to control money and other resources
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Leader Satisfactions and Frustrations

Frustrations
Too much uncompensated work time Too many problems Not enough authority to carry out responsibility Loneliness Too many problems involving people Organizational politics The pursuit of conflicting goals
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Caring Leadership
Only when the leader cares will:
Others care There be focus and energy for the work to be done

There are two aspects of caring leadership:

Commitment to a task Concern for people

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Caring Leadership
Theodore Roosevelt advocates a life of engagement and meaning
This means a personal commitment to accomplishing a goal Goals may be a one-time endeavor or a lifes work The goal may or may not be tangible The leaders commitment becomes contagious, igniting the emotions of all present
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Caring Leadership
Caring leadership also means caring about people
The caring leader is unselfish, ready and eager to hear the other persons story He/she is dedicated to the service of others Concern for others results in loyalty and dedication to the leaders goals

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Caring Leadership
Lessons from great leaders: Jan Carlzon, former CEO of Scandinavian Airlines: there are two great motivators in life. One is fear. The other is love. You can manage people by fear, but if you do, it will diminish both them and you. The path to success begins in the heart.

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Caring Leadership
Lessons from great leaders: James Autry, former CEO of Meredith Corporation: If you dont truly care about people, you should get out of leadership; it will save a lot of people a lot of trouble and maybe even a heart attack.

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Caring Leadership
Both commitment to a goal and concern for others must be present for caring leadership to occur Without commitment, there is no passion Without concern, there is no loyalty

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Caring Leadership
Caring leadership cannot be legislated, and it cannot be an act

When the leader cares, others become focused and energized At this point direction and momentum develop and great achievements are made

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Leadership in the Work Setting

Management author John Kotter says that too many organizations are overmanaged and under-led
Too much emphasis on control Not enough on motivation and creativity Leaders need to be developed at all levels of responsibility

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Leadership in the Work Setting

What is the difference between leadership and management? Management involves four functions:
Planning Organizing Directing Controlling

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Leadership in the Work Setting

Leadership describes what takes place during the first three of these functions:
Establishing a direction (planning) Aligning people and resources (organizing) Energizing people to accomplish results (directing)

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Leadership in the Work Setting

To be successful, these processes require: Insight Decisiveness Courage Strength Resolve Diplomacy
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Leadership in the Work Setting

Management provides order and consistency Leadership produces change and movement
Successful organizations have both

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Nine Key Areas of Leadership

Leadership variables The power of vision The importance of ethics The empowerment of people Leadership principles Understanding people Multiplying effectiveness Developing others Performance management

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