Leadership learning and development Kets de Vriers and Korotov, 2010 explains that if organisations do not have proper controlled leadership development processes in position, those organisations will be at a disadvantage. In other words it is assumed that if organisations take leadership development seriously, they will surpass competition. The world has significantly changed, they further explain, as a result, it is irrelevant to have one single leader (the "Great man" trait theories) however by the capacity to spur, work together and oversee systems. The Great man theory assumed that personal attributes of the great man determined the course of history (Denmark, 1993, p.344) In other words, he was believed to have unique and exceptional features and qualities that distinguished him from his followers (Bass, 1990). Under the Great man theory as further elaborated by Kets de Vriers and Korotov, 2010, leadership is born, not made and priviledged to that exalted personality who has the rare skill to direct and lead a group. However the changing environment of workers and the remarkable growth in organisational complexity has necessitated a more collaborative outlook organisational leadership (Covey, 1991; Kets der Vries, 2006). Furthermore, the greater dependency on technologies and the rise of distributed work arrangements have placed new demands on how leaders interact with their people. More distributed view of leadership is in the rise, thus shifting the focus from the traditional single leader to an intricate and complex web of leaders who possess a range of abilities and experiences necessary to ensure that the leadership function is carried out to the benefit of the wider organisation. Kets de Vriers and Korotov further ela... ... middle of paper ... ...ffective in the current environment, leaders need to adapt to their style to suit different situations that they will face. Additionally, Greenleaf and Spears, 1998, suggested that the most effective kind of leadership has a value driven base. The assumption is that authenticity marks the difference and dysfunstional leadership. Here authenticity means being honest, open, transparent and being real. Such people not only inspire those around them, but know how to bring people together around a shared value and a common set of values, and motivate them or create value for themselves and everyone involved (Kets de Vriers, Korotov, and Florent-Treacy, 2007). The main challenge to leadership development is that focus has been on leader development instead of leadership development (Day, 2001). As such, if that leader leaves the organisation, they have to start all over
In an effort to understand the questionnaire, one must first understand the definition of an Authentic Leader. Genuine, trustworthy and reliable are a few words that are interchangeable with the term authentic. Authentic leaders exhibit qualities of confidence, transparency, and high moral standard and are usually very confident (Gardner, Avolio, Luthans, May and Walumbwa, 2005). A person that is considered to be authentic is one who taking account for their behavior and a person who is true to themselves and what they think. A quality of an authentic leader is that he/she exudes the level of authenticity through their actions that encourage others to want to behave the same way. The leader who acts in this manner believes that all individuals have something to contribute to a goal and
There have been countless books, lectures, and and trainings, and retreats constructed around the idea of cultivating leadership in an individual. However, cultivating individuals’ ability to follow great leadership has received far less attention. Who are these people leading if each person within an organization is being trained to be a leader? The word follower has negative connotations, evoking the images of a weak, uncreative, milquetoast personality. However, Jimmy Collins, in his book, “Creative Followership: In the Shadow of Greatness”, suggests that the ability to be led brings as much creativity, consciousness, and indeed leadership to an organization or team as the leader himself.
When I signed up for this class, I expected to learn a few new things about leadership. I figured that with the amount of leadership development I had already been through, there could not be that much more I could learn from a class. I expected this introduction to leadership development class to be a simple rehashing of everything else I have ever learned about leadership, but I quickly found that I was very wrong with this class leading me to a great deal of insight about leadership and myself. In this final paper, I hope to bring together what I have learned about leadership as an idea and as a personal practice through this class.
There has been various theories on leadership by leading management scholars attempting to review, explain and define leadership. Cole (1996, p.51) defines leadership as a “dynamic process in a group whereby one individual influences the others to contribute voluntarily to the achievement of group tasks in a given organisation.” He further argued that leadership is not just personality or by accident or appointment but linked with behaviour, clearly a stand against the “great man” philosophy (Cole, G.A., 1996).
Leaders do not need to know how to manage, but managers need to know how to lead. This analysis will provide a background on leadership theory, in the process defining leadership and management, and discussing trait approach, contingency theory, and leader-exchange theory.
This information allows me to better understand my unique talents because it shows me what kind of a person I am. I now understand that I am a person that needs balance in life and that I like predictability. I have realized that I am a fixer and that I like to problem-solve. I think that I understand myself better and I can look back on my life and understand why I have a few very close friends and why I have made decisions a certain way before.
One of the earliest studies of leadership, Galton’s (1869) Hereditary Genius emphasized a basic concept that informed popular ideas about leadership (Zaccaro, 2007). The idea is that leadership is a characteristic ability of extraordinary individuals. This conception of leadership, known as the great man theory, evolved into the study of leadership traits, only to be supplanted later the theories under discussion here (Landis, Hill, and Harvey (2014). Bass and Wren expressed leadership theories as they related to the nature of leadership and the different variables involved.
Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality - Warren Bennis" Now-a-days, leaders play a key role not only in the development of any organization but also in helping the organization to take a successful path. Therefore, most of the current researchers are focusing on the traits of the leaders and effective leadership style. There are different opinions and notions on the concepts of leadership and its importance in the real world, including: if leaders are born or made, do they have to be virtuous (noble and honorable) and do they need to change according to the situation. What is the concept of leadership? The concept of leadership depends on the notion of that word.
George, B. et al (2007) Harvard Business Review: Discovering your authentic leadership. pp 1-10 [online] available at: http://www.aawccnatl.org/assets/authentic%20leadership.pdf. Accessed 14th May 2014
When seeking to improve leadership skills it is important to become immersed in concepts that foster an environment conducive to high performance teams. Two of these concepts have been discussed in length: Conflict Resolution and Team Building. This essay will discuss the importance of these ideas as they relate to leadership and what aspiring leaders can learn. Second, which of the topic readings create the “best” model for effective leadership within an organization? Lastly, what impact can be expected on the organization if these ideas are not implemented? All of these are relevant questions that those who aspire to be great leaders must answer.
Through this venture we will analyze the past, present, and future of leadership development as well as how the view of what it takes to be a good leader has changed and is changing. What in one point in time was considered to be a crucial skill for leadership, is now seen obsolete and new skills and competences have taken place to define success now and in the future.
Leadership is a process of effective influence, which maximizes the efforts of the people, towards the achievement of a goal. Leaders might be of many different kinds and we can say that each field of our existence in a civil society demands specific leaders. It involves guiding the team towards the target and communicating it to the people. Then inspiring, motivating and empowering them to achieve organisational goals. According to James Macgregor Burns, Leadership is “the reciprocal process of mobilizing by persons with certain motives and values, various economic, political and other resources in a context of competition and conflict, in order to realize goals independently or mutually held by both leaders and followers” (James Macgregor Burns, Leadership. New York: Harper & Row, 1978, p. 425). Developing Leadership qualities requires anyone to know his/her positives and negatives and a continuous effort to develop his/her skills, attitude, and knowledge. Business leaders are required to possess a different qualities than those of political and community leaders. Successful business leaders have often demonstrated the following qualities;
The dynamics of leadership require that one look at more than just the leader. In order to assess leadership one must consider the situation, the leader’s behaviors and the followers; all must be analyzed and the leader must understand how to interact depending on the situation (Northouse, 2010). This means, the leader must deal with situations differently. Because of this, it is possible that a person may be a great leader in one setting or situation and not successful in another. This in itself proves that leadership is not defined by a cookie cutter design of traits. However, traits, behaviors and situations are all important components of leadership. A leader must be introspective and cognizant of personal strengths and weaknesses. In addition, a leader’s ability to recognize different personalities of followers or subordinates and deal with individuals differently is important. Even though followers or subordinates must be treated fairly no two people are alike, thus, it is important that a leader be equipped with the ability to deal not only with the group dynamic, but with individual personalities. Different people have a different hierarchy of needs and, therefore, need to be managed diffidently, if they are to reach their potential. For example, persons in high “nAch” may require more frequent performance feedback (Gibson, Ivancevich, Donnelly & Konopaske, 2009). Therefore, in order for any leader to be successful it is necessary that he understand the different theories. This will allow the leader to apply the appropriate leadership style depending on the situation, the people, and the internal and external forces that the leader and the organization may be facing.
“True leadership cannot be awarded, appointed, or assigned. It comes only from influence, and that can’t be mandated. It must be earned” (Maxwell, 1998, p. 4). Leaders who successfully earn the respect, appreciation, and admiration of their followers unlock opportunities for growth and open doors to greatness that may remain closed and locked otherwise. Great leaders rely on their influence to build and leverage relational equity so that together, the leader and his or her followers can achieve exponentially more than they ever could have as individuals. As much as followers need leaders, leaders also need followers. Pisapia (2009) found that strategic leaders use social influence to engage their followers and move them from simply compliant to fully committed.
This theory can be considered as a branch of the Great Man Theory. The main assumption of this theory is that some specific traits of person give him a virtue to be a leader (Furham, 2005). These leadership traits – either personality traits or behavioral characteristics – are innate and instinctive qualities that person inhered in family and passed on genetically. This theory hypothesizes that exhibiting and sharing those common traits and characteristics by leaders is the core of their success Turner and Muller (2005).