Transcript Approaches to reviewing leadership literature

Assumptions in Theories of Leadership
The leader
(trait, style, behavior,
vision, charisma)
The led (follower)
(motivations, readiness,
attitudes)
The organization
(structural, political, moral purpose, etc.)
The task
(from holistic to
reductionism,
needing discretion or
direction)
The Importance of Perspectives
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An Englishman visiting Rome for the first time. As he
strolled through the ancient boulevards, he saw three
men laboring over a patch of stone and concrete. He
asked what they were doing.
“I’m breaking my back for a lousy 475 lira an hour.”
“I’m putting up bricks for a big wall.”
“I’m building a cathedral.”
Each man’s efforts were probably influenced by his
perspective on the task at hand.
Personality Perspectives
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Personality perspectives view leadership
as a function of individual person’s trait,
behavior, style, cognition, affection,
charisma, or other characteristics.
In propaganda, North Korean leader portrayed
as mythic figure
May, 8 1977
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WASHINGTON (AP)—For those armies of intelligence
analysts starved for insights into the world of North
Korea’s reclusive leader Kim Jong II, his loyalists have
served up a literary feast of fact and fiction.
Kim was a “baby giant” when he was born—in a log
cabin—and grew up to be an astounding shot with a
gun and a master of all things military.
Unpretentious, he prefers cotton blossoms to rose
petals and likes wearing patched clothing.
In propaganda, North Korean leader portrayed
as mythic figure
May, 8 1997
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He is a heck of a writer. With more than 890 major “pieces of
writing” to his credit over the past 30 years, the speed and
quantity of his writing is “unparalleled in history.” One piece
along contains “all the truths of the world.”
Even his birth was special. In a log cabin at a secret “antiJapanese” guerrilla camp at Mount Paekdu on February 16,
1942, the cry of “baby giant” pierced the stillness. It was Kim.
At the moment of his birth, the book says, the sound of ice
cracking on a nearby lake resounded throughout the
mountains– “as if the great fortune of Korea was gushing out
from the bottom of Lake Chonji.”
History of the Personality Perspectives
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Leadership
Leadership
Leadership
Leadership
Leadership
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and
and
and
and
and
and
charisma
personal trait
attitude
behavior and style
charisma
emotional intelligence
leadership and personal trait
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IQ and leadership
Measurement and statistics
.25 (Stogdill, 1974) to .49-.82 (Kenny &
Zaccaro, 1983) of the variance
Unchangeable traits
leadership and attitude
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McClellan (1982), 237 AT & T managers;
“high need of achievement predicts success
for lower-level managers”
Miner (1978) studied the motives of those
who were most frequently promoted; “the
motives most strongly linked to promotion
were desire to exercise power, desire to
compete with peers, and positive attitudes
toward authority.
Leadership and behavior or style
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Ohio State leadership Studies –initiating
structure and consideration
Michigan Leadership Studies—employee
and production orientations
Blake & Mouton—impoverished, country
club, task, middle-of-the-road, team
Leadership and Charisma
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Weber (1947)
rediscovered by, e.g., Starratt (1993)
charisma—difficult in defining; charisma is a
person’s quality in its totality or entirety
an example—”Charisma is the ability to make
someone else behave in a particular way”
(Broussine & Guerrier, 1985)
few empirical studies—mystified, lack of
subjects, difficulty to quantify, artistic vs
scientific
Weber (1947) distinguished three bases
for leaders’ authority
1. Rational grounds –resting on a belief in the legality of patterns
of normative rules and the right of those elevated to authority
under such rules to issue commands (legal authority)
2. Traditional grounds –resting on an established belief in the
sanctity of traditions and the legitimacy of the status of those
exercising authority under them (traditional authority)
3. Charismatic grounds—resting on devotion to specific and
exceptional sanctity, heroism or exemplary character of an
individual person, and of the normative patterns or order
revealed or ordained by him (sic) (charismatic authority)
Weber’s definition of charisma
(1947, p. 329)
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“A certain quality of an individual
personality by virtue of which he (sic) is
set apart from ordinary men and
treated as endowed with supernatural,
superhuman, or at least specifically
exceptional qualities”.
IQ and technical skills are important, but emotional intelligence is the sine qua
non of leadership
What makes a leader?
By Daniel Coleman, 1998
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“Every business person knows a story about a highly intelligent,
highly skilled executive who was promoted into a leadership
position only to fail at the job. And they also know someone
with solid — but not extraordinary—intellectual abilities and
technical skills who was promoted into a similar position and
then soared.”
“Such anecdotes support the widespread belief that identifying
individuals with the ‘right stuff’ to be leaders is more art than
science. After all, the personal styles of superb leaders vary:
some leaders are subdued and analytical; others shout their
manifestos from the mountaintops. And just as important,
different situations call for different…”
The Five Components of Emotional
Intelligence at Work by Daniel Goleman
Definition
Hallmarks
Self
Awareness
The ability to recognize
and understand your
moods, emotions, and
drives, as well as their
effect on others
Self-confidence
Realistic self-assessment
Self-deprecating sense
of humor
Self
Regulation
The ability to control or
redirect disruptive
impulses and moods;
The propensity to
suspend judgment-to
think before acting
Trustworthiness and
integrity
Comfort with ambiguity
Openness to change
The Five Components of Emotional
Intelligence at Work (Cont.)
Motivation
A passion to work for reasons
that go beyond money or status
A propensity to pursue goals
with energy and persistence
Strong drive to achieve
Optimism, even in the face
of failure
Organizational commitment
Empathy
The ability to understand the
emotional makeup of other
people
Skill in treating people
according to their emotional
reactions
Expertise in building and
retaining talent
Cross-cultural sensitivity
Service to clients and
customers
Social skill
Proficiency in managing
relationships and building
networks
An ability to find common
ground and build rapport
Effectiveness in leading
change
Persuasiveness
Expertise in building and
leading teams
Summary
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From deterministic to educable
characteristics
From the totality to simple
characteristics and back to the totality
From one dimension (task vs personal
relationship) to multiple dimensions
Still a prevailing perspective on
leadership