BSBMGT401A: Topic 1 Lead by example
Lead by example
Reading 1: Understanding leadership
Reading for performance criteria:
1.1 Ensure management performance and behaviour meets the organisation's requirements
1.2 Ensure management performance and behaviour serves as a positive role model for others
Contents
Introduction 2
Leadership myths 2
Myth 1 - Leadership is a rare skill 3
Myth 2 - Leaders are born, not made 3
Myth 3 - Leaders are charismatic 3
Myth 4 - Leadership exists only at the top of an organisation 3
Myth 5 - Leaders control, direct, prod, and manipulate 3
Leadership models 3
A birds-eye-view of leadership models 4
Adair: Action-centred leadership 5
Kouzes & Posner: 5 practices of exemplary leadership 6
Advantages and disadvantages of leadership models 7
Adair: Action-centred leadership 8
Kouzes & Posner: 5 Practices of exemplary leadership 8
Your leadership style 9
Introduction
“Leadership is the art of getting others to do something you want done because they want to do it.”Dwight Eisenhower
“The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority.”
Kenneth Blanchard
“Leaders are more powerful role models when they learn than when they teach.”
Rosabeth Moss Kantor
These quotations are a very small sample of some of the thoughts that many people have about leadership.
What are your thoughts about what makes a good leader – of a country, an organisation, a workplace or sporting team, or a community group? Are good leaders born with a set of leadership traits or characteristics? Can leadership be taught or developed? What do your observations about leaders you have known, and your own leadership experiences, tell you?
In this section of your reading notes for this topic, we’ll look at some myths about leadership, introduce general types of leadership theories, and explore two of the models of leadership. We’ll also discuss the importance of understanding your own leadership style.
Leadership myths
The art of leadership has been researched and studied by many people, particularly during the last 50 years. While people have different views of what makes a good leader, here are some of the more common myths about leadership.
From your observations, do you agree that these are myths? As you read, try to think of some examples of these myths from your own experience.
Myth 1 - Leadership is a rare skill
Nothing can be further from the truth. While great leaders may be rare, everyone has leadership potential. More important, people may be leaders in one organisation and have quite ordinary roles in another. The truth is, leadership opportunities are plentiful and within reach of most people.
Myth 2 - Leaders are born, not made
Don't believe it. The truth is, major capabilities and competencies of leadership can be learned. We are all educable, if the basic desire to learn is there. This is not to suggest that it is easy to be a leader. There is no simple formula, no rigorous science, no formula that leads inevitably to successful leadership. Instead, it is a deeply human process, full of trial and error, victories and defeats, timing and luck, intuition, and insight.
Myth 3 - Leaders are charismatic
Some are, most are not. Charisma is the result of effective leadership, not the other way around. Those who are good at it are granted a certain amount of respect and even awe by their followers, which increases the bond of attraction between them.
Myth 4 - Leadership exists only at the top of an organisation
In fact, the larger the organisation, the more leadership roles it is likely to have.
Myth 5 - Leaders control, direct, prod, and manipulate
This is perhaps the most damaging myth of all. Leadership is not so much the exercise of power itself as the empowerment of others. Leaders are able to translate intentions into reality by aligning the energies in the organisation behind an attractive goal. Leaders lead by pulling rather than pushing; by inspiring rather than ordering; by enabling people to use their own initiative and experiences rather than by denying or constraining their experiences and actions.
Leadership models
In addition to our own observations, we can also learn about leadership from what others have found as a result of research they have conducted, and conclusions they have drawn. Any management bookshop will have many rows of books on leadership, and the theories and models that have been developed to explain what effective leaders do and how they do it. You could also refer to the websites mentioned throughout these reading notes. In particular you could search the website of the Centre for Creative Leadership www.ccl.org/leadership
We should note that theories and models are not necessarily true, nor does any one of them tell the whole story about leadership. But they can be useful to help us reflect on what others have observed and how this might help us to further develop our own leadership skills.
A birds-eye-view of leadership models
While many different leadership theories have emerged, most can be classified as one of eight major types:
1. “Great Man” theories
Great Man theories assume that the capacity for leadership is inherent – that great leaders are born, not made. These theories often portray great leaders as heroic, mythic, and destined to rise to leadership when needed. The term “Great Man” was used because, at the time it was developed, leadership was thought of primarily as a male quality, especially in terms of military leadership.
2. Trait theories
Similar in some ways to “Great Man” theories, trait theory assumes that people inherit certain qualities and traits that make them better suited to leadership. Trait theories often identify particular personality or behavioral characteristics shared by leaders. But if particular traits are key features of leadership, how do we explain people who possess those qualities but are not leaders? This question is one of the difficulties in using trait theories to explain leadership.
3. Contingency theories
Contingency theories of leadership focus on particular variables related to the environment that might determine which particular style of leadership is best suited for the situation. According to this theory, no leadership style is best in all situations. Success depends upon a number of variables, including the leadership style, qualities of the followers, and aspects of the situation.
4. Situational theories
Situational theories propose that leaders choose the best course of action based upon situational variable. Different styles of leadership may be more appropriate for certain types of decision-making.
5. Behavioural theories
Behavioural theories of leadership are based upon the belief that great leaders are made, not born. Rooted in behaviourism, this leadership theory focuses on the actions of leaders, not on mental qualities or internal states. According to this theory, people can learn to become leaders through teaching and observation.
6. Participative theories
Participative leadership theories suggest that the ideal leadership style is one that takes the input of others into account. These leaders encourage participation and contributions from group members and help group members feel more relevant and committed to the decision-making process. In participative theories, however, the leader retains the right to allow the input of others.
7. Management theories
Management theories (also known as “Transactional theories”) focus on the role of supervision, organisation, and group performance. These theories base leadership on a system of reward and punishment. Managerial theories are often used in business; when employees are successful, they are rewarded; when they fail, they are reprimanded or punished.
8. Relationship theories
Relationship theories (also known as “Transformational theories”) focus upon the connections formed between leaders and followers. These leaders motivate and inspire people by helping group members see the importance of the task. Transformational leaders are focused on the performance of group members, but also want each person to fulfill his or her potential. These leaders often have high ethical and moral standards.
For examples of some of these types of theories, go to www.mindtools.com and follow the links through the drop-down menu ‘leadership skills’.
Adair: Action-centred leadership
This model, called Functional or Action-Centered Leadership, was developed in 1986 by John Adair while he was lecturing at Sandhurst Royal Military Academy. It combines aspects of behavioural, participative, and management theories of leadership.
Adair developed his model from the observation that, to be effective, a manager and leader must ensure that three distinct areas of need are satisfied. His research indicates that as leaders we need to consider all three areas. Ignoring any one area of need will have an adverse effect on the other areas.
The three areas of need that leaders need to consider are:
1. TASK needs
The need to succeed in achieving set goals by getting the job done. Leadership skills to address these needs could include planning, monitoring, and acquiring resources
2. TEAM needs
The need for the group to work well together. Leadership skills to satisfy these needs could include coordinating the work of the team, setting and monitoring team standards, and resolving team problems.
3. INDIVIDUAL needs
The need for each person to feel satisfied with her or his work. Leadership skills to satisfy these needs may include setting individual performance standards and goals, training and coaching each team member, and providing feedback to individuals.
For more information about this model go to www.businessballs.com and follow the links to ‘Adair’s Action-Centred Leadership’.
Kouzes & Posner: 5 practices of exemplary leadership
‘The Leadership Challenge’ by Kouzes and Posner (1995) provides another valuable framework for leadership.
They were fascinated by what made some people be someone other people wanted to follow. They set out to discover what it took to become one of these leaders. They wanted to know the common practices of ordinary men and women when they were are their leadership best – when they were able inspire people to do things they hadn’t done before.
Their analysis of thousands of cases and surveys led them to identify what they called ‘The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership’. They refer generally to leadership in many situations – and they are especially useful when considering leading people in the workplace.
These 5 practices are:
Practice 1: Model the way
Leaders set an example to others in the workplace via their professionalism, integrity and credibility.
Practice 2: Inspire a shared vision
Leaders develop plans with the end in mind; they “see” the results before starting a workplace initiative. This is called ‘strategic thinking’.
Practice 3: Challenge the process
A leader’s role is to understand which workplace processes are not contributing to the efficiency of their workplace and challenge these processes.
Practice 4: Enable others to act
A leader enables others to act by establishing cooperative, shared goals and objectives in the workplace. They foster collaboration not competition in the workplace.
Practice 5: Encourage the heart
Leaders recognise effort and reward progress by linking rewards with performance towards the goals and objectives.
To learn more about this model of leadership, go to www.leadershipchallenge.com and follow the links to about-approach-video.
Advantages and disadvantages of leadership models
As mentioned before, theories and models are not necessarily true, nor does any one of them tell the whole story about leadership. But they can be useful to help us reflect on what others have found and how this might help us to further develop our own leadership skills.
Adair: Action-centred leadership
Adair’s Action-Centred Leadership Model is most effective if used as part of an integrated approach to managing and leading, and also should include a strong emphasis on applying these principles through training. You can find out more about the importance of training for leadership on John Adair’s website: www.johnadair.co.uk.
Adair also promotes a '50:50 rule' which he applies to various situations involving two possible influencers, eg the view that 50% of motivation lies with the individual and 50% comes from external factors, among them leadership from another. This contradicts many other leadership theorists who assert that most motivation is from within the individual. He also suggests that 50% of team building success comes from the team and 50% from the leader.
Kouzes & Posner: 5 Practices of exemplary leadership
In his article ‘Kouzes & Posner on Leadership – A Critique’ Mitch McCrimmon suggests that this model has motivated a lot of people to rise to significant challenges in their organisations and other areas of their lives. However, he also believes that while Kouzes and Posner provide a very thorough portrayal of a certain kind of leadership, their theory excludes a type of leadership that is increasingly vital in our knowledge driven world: thought leadership.
Thought leadership refers to any instance of influencing others to accept a different idea or new way of looking at things. Whenever you are in a meeting with colleagues, whether they report to you or not, and you convince them to adopt your idea of how to proceed on any topic, you are demonstrating thought leadership. Such leadership is not a position; it can shift continuously around the table.
The focus of Kouzes and Posner might be called values leadership. Thought leadership refers to how new ideas are generated and assimilated while the values leadership refers to how we should live. McCrimmon believes that at is essential to develop a theory of thought leadership if we are to understand the impact of innovation on organisational success and progress in life generally. It is not just that thought leadership is important in its own right, but that a one-sided concern with values leadership may create a distorted picture of leadership in general. You can read McCrimmon’s article on www.leadersdirect.com
For some more information & some interesting articles about leadership you could also go the www.leadershipdirect.com. The main aim of this website is to promote a new vision of leadership, one that is independent of position and which shows how leadership can be bottom-up as well as top-down. The implication of this point is that leadership must be defined as the successful promotion of a new direction, leaving management the job of getting it done through people.
Your leadership style
Just as we each have our own unique appearance, skills, and talents, we all have our own unique ways of doing things and relating to others. We all have our own patterns of behaviour, including our leadership behaviour.