CUTTING-EDGE APPROACHES TO STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP
The most current approaches to looking at leadership are discussed.
The research we’ve discussed has described transactional leader. What is the difference between
transactional and transformational leaders?
1. Transactional leaders are leaders who guide or motivate their followers in the direction of
established goals by clarifying role and task requirements.
2. Transformational leaders are leaders who provide individualized consideration and intellectual stimulation and possess charisma.
3. Transformational leadership is built on top of transactional leadership.
4. The evidence supporting the superiority of transformational leadership over the transactional
variety is overwhelmingly impressive.
a. Transformational leaders motivate subordinates to perform at expected levels by helping them recognize task responsibilities, identify goals, acquire confidence about meeting desired performance levels, and understand how their needs and the rewards that they desire are linked to goal achievement.
b. Transformational leaders motivate individuals to perform beyond normal expectations by inspiring subordinates tofocus on broader missions that transcend their own immediate selfinterests, to concentrate on intrinsic higher-level goals (such as safety and d security), and to have confidence in their abilities to achieve the extraordinary missions articulated by the leadership.
c. Transformational leadership is not a substitute for transactional leadership; it is an enhancement.
d. Charismais the leader’s ability to inspire pride, faith, and respect; to recognize what is really important, and to articulate effectively a sense of mission, or vision, that inspires followers. – Charisma was once thought to be an inborn personality trait.
Charismatic-Visionary Leadership
Charismatic leadership theory is an extension of attribution theory and suggests that followers make attributions of heroic or extraordinary leadership abilities when they observe certain behaviors.
1. Five personal characteristics of charismatic leaders have been identified.
a. Have a vision
b. Are able to articulate that vision
c. Are willing to take risks to achieve that vision
d. Are sensitive to both environmental constraints and follower needs
e. Exhibit behaviors that are out of the ordinary
2. An increasing amount of research shows impressive correlations between charismatic leadership and high performance and satisfaction among followers.
3. Most experts think that individuals can be trained to exhibit charismatic behaviors.
4. Charismatic leadership may not always be needed to achieve high levels of employee performance. It may be most appropriate when an employee’s job has a lot of ideological content.
Visionary leadership is described as going beyond charisma with the ability to create and articulate a realistic, credible, attractive vision of the future for an organization or organizational unit that grows out of and improves on the present.
1. If the vision is properly selected and implemented, it can be so energizing that it incites individuals to use their skills, talents, and resources to make it happen.
2. A vision differs from other forms of organizational direction in that it uses compelling imagery, taps into people’s emotions and energy, and creates the enthusiasm that people need to bring energy and commitment to the workplace.
3. The key properties of a vision are that it has inspirational possibilities that are value centered, are realizable, have superior imagery, and are well articulated.
4. What skills do visionary leaders have?
a. The ability to explain the vision to others.
b. The ability to express the vision not just verbally but through behavior.
c. The ability to extend or apply the vision to different leadership contexts.
Another important contemporary issue for leaders is creating a culture of trust and credibility.
1. Credibility is the degree to which followers perceive someone as honest, competent, and able to
inspire.
2. Trust is the belief in the integrity, character, and ability of a leader.
3. Research has identified five dimensions that make up the concept of trust.
a. Integrity (honesty and truthfulness)
b. Competence (technical and interpersonal knowledge and skills)
c. Consistency (reliability, predictability, and good judgment in handling situations)
d. Loyalty (willingness to protect a person, physically and emotionally)
e. Openness (willingness to share ideas and information freely)
4. Given the fact that many organizations have moved to self-managed work teams, trust is extremely important because many of the traditional control mechanisms have been removed.
5. How should leaders build trust? Here are eight suggestions.
a. Practice openness.
b. Be fair.
c. Speak your feelings.
d. Tell the truth.
e. Show consistency.
f. Fulfill your promises.
g. Maintain confidences.
h. Demonstrate competence.
Team Leadership
As the usage of work teams grows, the role of team leader becomes increasingly important.
1. The challenge for most managers is learning how to become an effective team leader.
2. Effective team leaders have mastered the difficult balancing act of knowing when to leave their teams alone and when to get involved.
3. There are two priorities for a team leader.
a. Managing the team’s external boundaries
b. Facilitating the team process
4. These priorities can be broken down into four specific leadership roles.
a. Liaisons with external constituencies
b. Troubleshooters
c. Conflict managers
d. Coaches
Gender and Leadership
The next contemporary leadership issue we want to discuss is gender and leadership. This topic is one that still creates controversy! What, ifany, differences exist between male and female leaders and what implications would these differences have?
1. The evidence generally has found that males and females douse different leadership styles.
a. Women tend to adopt a more democratic or participative style and a less autocratic or directive style than men do.
b. Women are more likely to encourage participation, share power and information, and attempt to enhance followers’ self-worth.
c. Men are more likely to use a directive, command-and-control style.
d. Men rely on the formal authority of their position for their influence base.
e. Men use transactional leadership, handing out rewards for good work and punishment for bad.
2. Is different better? The best managers (leaders) listen, motivate, and provide support to their people. They inspire and influence rather than control. Generally speaking, women seem to do these things better than men.
3. However, gender doesn’t imply destiny. Which leadership style is effective depends on the situation. Gender simply provides a behavioral tendency in leadership style.
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