In interactive leadership, the leader favors a consensual and collaborative process.

Leadership

1. Define leadership and explain its importance for organizations.

There is probably no topic more important to business success today than leadership. Leadership occurs between people, involves the use of influence, and is used to attain goals. Influence means that the relationship among people is not passive. A definition of leadership is the ability to influence people toward the attainment of goals. This definition captures the idea that leaders are involved with other people in the achievement of goals. Leadership is dynamic and involves the use of power. Power is the potential ability to influence the behavior of others. Power represents the resources with which a leader effects changes in employee behavior.

2. Describe how leadership is changing in today’s organizations, including Level 5 leadership, servant leadership, and authentic leadership.

The turbulence and uncertainty of the environment in which most organizations are operating has significantly influenced leadership styles in recent years. Ethical and economic difficulties, corporate governance concerns, globalization, changes in technology, new ways of working, shifting employee expectations, and significant social transitions have contributed to a shift in how we think about and practice leadership.

A key characteristic of Level 5 leaders is an almost complete lack of ego, coupled with a fierce resolve to do what is best for the organization. In contrast to the view of great leaders as larger-than-life personalities with strong egos and big ambitions, Level 5 leaders often seem shy and unpretentious. Although they accept full responsibility for mistakes, poor results, or failures, Level 5 leaders give credit for successes to other people.

The concept of servant leadership, first described by Robert Greenleaf, is leadership upside down, because leaders transcend self-interest to serve others and the organization. Servant leaders operate on two levels: for the fulfillment of their subordinates’ goals and needs and for the realization of the larger purpose or mission of their organization. Servant leaders give things away—power, ideas, information, recognition, credit for accomplishments, even money. Servant leaders truly value other people. They are trustworthy and they trust others. They encourage participation, share power, enhance others’ self-worth, and unleash people’s creativity, full commitment, and natural impulse to learn and contribute. Servant leaders can bring their followers’ higher motives to the work and connect their hearts to the organizational mission and goals.

· Authentic leadership refers to individuals who know and understand themselves, who espouse and act consistently with higher-order ethical values, and who empower and inspire others with their openness and authenticity.

· Authentic leaders pursue their purpose with passion. When leaders demonstrate a high level of passion and commitment to purpose, they inspire commitment from followers.

· Authentic leaders practice solid values. People come to know what the leader stands for, which inspires trust.

· Authentic leaders lead with their hearts as well as with their heads. They maintain compassion for others as well as the courage to make difficult decisions.

· Authentic leaders establish connected relationships. They surround themselves with good people and work to help others grow and develop.

· Authentic leaders demonstrate self-discipline. They avoid excessive or unethical risks that could harm others and the organization, and openly admit their mistakes.

3. Discuss how women’s style of leading is typically different from men’s.

Some of the characteristics associated with Level 5 leaders and authentic leaders are also hallmarks of interactive leadership, which has been found to be associated with female leaders. Interactive leadership means that the leader favors a consensual and collaborative process, and influence derives from relationships rather than position power and formal authority. According to surveys, women rate higher than men on motivating others, fostering communication, producing high-quality work, and listening to others, while men and women rate about equally on strategic planning and analyzing issues.

 4. Identify personal characteristics associated with effective leaders.

Traits are the distinguishing personal characteristics of a leader such as intelligence, values, self-confidence, and appearance. In addition to personality traits, physical, social, and work-related characteristics have been studied; however, these traits do not stand alone. The appropriateness of a trait, or set of traits, depends on the leadership situation. The same traits do not apply to every organization. Studies have shown that optimism is the single characteristic most common to top executives. However, optimism can also lull leaders to laziness and overconfidence. Therefore, rather than just understanding their traits, the best leaders recognize and hones their strengths. Effective leadership isn’t about having the “right” traits, but rather about finding the strengths that one can best exemplify and apply as a leader.

5. Define task-oriented behavior and people-oriented behavior and explain how these categories are used to evaluate and adapt leadership style.

Task-oriented behavior and people-oriented behavior are two basic categories of behavior identified as important for leadership. People-oriented behavior is the extent to which the leader is mindful of subordinates, respects their ideas and feelings, and establishes mutual trust. Task-oriented behavior is the extent to which the leader directs subordinate work activities toward goal attainment. Leaders with this style typically give instructions, spend time planning, emphasize deadlines, and provide explicit schedules of work activities.

In some cases, employees may need very little direction, but may require more personal interaction and coordination on the part of a leader to enable them to work effectively together (e.g., university faculty). These cases would call for a greater focus on people-oriented behavior. In other cases, employees may need little personal interaction, but may require a great deal of direction to function effectively (e.g., military personnel in a combat environment). These cases would call for a strong focus on task-oriented behavior.

6. Describe the situational model of leadership and its application to subordinate participation.

The situational model of leadership, which originated with Hersey and Blanchard, focuses a great deal of attention on the characteristics of employees in determining appropriate leadership behavior. Subordinates vary in readiness level. People low in task readiness, because of little ability or training, or insecurity, need a different leadership style than those who are in high readiness and have good ability, skills, confidence, and willingness to work. The leader should evaluate subordinates and adopt whichever style is needed. If one or more followers are at low levels of readiness, the leader must be very specific, telling them exactly what to do, how to do it, and when. For followers high in readiness, the leader provides a general goal and authority to do the task as they see fit.

7. Discuss how leadership fits the organizational situation and how organizational characteristics can substitute for leadership behaviors.

The organizational situation or variables can be so powerful that they actually substitute for, or neutralize, the need for leadership. A substitute for leadership makes the leadership style unnecessary or redundant. Highly professional subordinates who know how to do their tasks do not need a leader to initiate structure for them and tell them what to do. A neutralizer counteracts the leadership style and prevents the leader from displaying certain behaviors. If a leader has no position power, or is physically removed from subordinates, the leader’s ability to give directions to subordinates is greatly reduced.

8. Describe transformational leadership and when it should be used.

Managers deal with organizational complexity; leaders initiate productive change. Transformational leaders are similar to charismatic leaders, but are distinguished by their special ability to bring about innovation and change. They have the ability to lead changes in the organization’s mission, structure, and management of human resources. They emerge to take an organization through major strategic change, such as revitalization.

 9. Explain how followership is related to effective leadership.

Many of the qualities that define a good leader are the same qualities as those possessed by a good follower. Effective followers, like effective leaders, are critical, independent thinkers who exhibit active behavior in their organizations. They develop equitable relationships with others and do not try to avoid risk or conflict. They are capable of self-management, discern strengths and weaknesses in themselves and others, are committed to something bigger than themselves, and work toward competency, solutions, and positive impact.

10. Identify sources of leader power and the tactics leaders use to influence others.

Power is the potential ability to influence the behavior of others. Power represents the resources with which a leader effects changes in employee behavior. Within organizations there are typically five sources of power.

· Legitimate power comes from a formal management position in an organization and the authority granted to it.

· Reward power stems from the manager’s authority to bestow rewards on others.

· Coercive power, the opposite of reward power, refers to the manager’s authority to punish or recommend punishment.

· Expert power results from a leader’s special knowledge or skill.

· Referent power comes from leader personality characteristics that command subordinates’ identification, respect, and admiration so that they wish to emulate the leader.

Leaders use six primary tactics to influence others.

· Use rational persuasion.

· Help people like you.

· Rely on the rule of reciprocity.

· Develop allies.

· Be assertive—ask for what you want.

· Make use of higher authority.

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