Leading

Learning Objectives

I. What exactly is leadership?
II. In what ways can individuals exercise leadership?
III. What makes an effective leader?
i. What is effective leadership?
ii. What are the indicators of effective leadership?
iii. Use and critique models of evaluating effective leadership.

© 2013 Berlin Asong. All rights reserved. 2

Controlling
Leading is
considered one
of the core Influencing Planning

functions of
management. Organising


?
LEADERSHIP

influence
Ability to

the behaviour or actions of people (towards the attainment of goals.)


Influence is an expression
of power but power is not necessarily
an expression of influence.
Berlin Asong (2009)


…as depicted here. Lone
man stood tall against the military
power of the Chinese authority,
Tiananmen Square 1989.

Source: Jeff Widener(1989)


We’re constantly exerting
influence at home, work, in
our communities, etc.


Implication…
You have manifested
someserves to dispel some myths about leadership such as…
This assertion
form of leadership.


"Not EVERYONE
can be a leader".


The tension between who can and can’t be a leader is a question of…
how one defines
leadership & how the leader
expresses influence.


So how
do I express
influence?


Your question requires us to identify the…

SOURCES OF

INFLUENCE

Expert power
Resource power
Legitimate power
Reverent power
Initiative power
Reward power
Coercive power


Expert Power

Derived from
one’s expertise
in a subject.


Your expertise is influential
if it’s relevant to and recognised
by the employed environment.


Have you led or managed a
group of highly talented people?
What was your experience?


Studies and anecdotal evidence have shown…

being an expert doesn’t
necessarily mean you’re a
good leader of people.


An expert influencer can be susceptible to…

hubris, thought-rigidity,
expertcentricism, learning-
avoidance, etc.


Resource Power

Derived from possessing
something that has economic
or social value to others.
Information, knowledge affiliation, money, technology, etc.


Really? I can get
2

the info for
your… 1


How?
3
…my people
on the ground.
4


A Resource influencer
is the gatekeeper between
you and your goal.


Resource Influencers
Information hoarders
Well-connected individuals
Key decision-makers
Ideas generators
Wealth owners
Security agents
Etc.


Reverent Power

Derived from
being liked
or admired
by others.
Former President of South Africa—
Nelson Mandela Former UN Sec Gen. Kofi Annan

Usually referred to as…
Charismatic
leaders;
…heroes, geniuses or legends.


What separates reverent influencers from their counterparts is…

the strong affective
relationship that exists
between them and people.


They owe their
reverent status to the
people they serve.


Is there a
formula of
becoming a
reverent
influencer?


It’s a simple question without a simple answer.
Studying the trajectories
of reverent influencers
(like football coaches, footballers, family figures, people in authority, employees, community members),
the findings paint a mixed picture.


His actions before
joining the military and
during his military
service proved he had
no deliberate plan to
gain reverent status.
Lance CorporalJohnson GideonBeharry, recipient (2005)ofthe Victoria Cross, the
highest military decoration forvalour inthe British andCommonwealth armedforces.

Source: Wikipedia

…same for
former South African
President Nelson
Mandela, a symbol
of the anti-apartheid
movement.

Source: www.pitchengine.com

However, there are some design aspects that catapulted them to reverence.

The values (they believe in)
that influence their actions.


Consider the case of Steve Jobs…

Apple Inc. Former CEO Steve Jobs

Initiative Power

Taking a lead
in something.


Reward Power

Derived from
using incentive to
influence people.

Coercive Power

Derived from
using the threat
of punishment.

Legitimate Power

Derived from
the position
one occupies
on the social
stratum.

Which position do you
hold in your organisation?
1) Top-level management
2) Middle-level management
3) Frontline management
4) Experienced (non-management)
5) Newbie


Sadly, most leadership
literature focus on
legitimate power.


What makes an
effective leader?


Let’s get to understand what is…

EFFECTIVE
LEADERSHIP


One that effects
top-line & bottom-
line growth?


One that
serves the
aspirations
of people?

One that
impacts
humankind?

Microsoft Founder—Bill Gates

One that
overcomes
adversity?

Former South Africa President Nelson Mandela

One that
admits to
mistakes?
Ex New YorK Governor Eliot Spitzer
resigned in March 2008 amid a sex scandal.

Source: usliberals.about.com


One who is
always there
for me?

The implication …

effective leadership is
interpreted in many ways.
This presents a problem as we shall find out in a moment.


Why are some
individuals effective (or
unsuccessful) in their
leadership roles?


Factors Determining
Leadership Effectiveness.

Leader’s qualities
Followers’ qualities
Environment
Leader’s actions

Use of innate and non-innate
qualities to explain a leader’s
effectiveness or ineffectiveness.


Personality Traits


Cognitive Skills

US President Barack Obama

Social Skills

Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi


Character

Mark Hurd
Ex HP CEO resigned after admitting to expense misrepresentation (2010).


Yahoo CEO Scott
Thompson stepped
down after it was
revealed he doesn’t
have a computer
science degree as
stated in his CV.
May 2012


Technical Skills

Toyota’s CEO Akio Toyoda

Self-awareness

Ability to understand one's own emotions,
needs, weaknesses, strengths and drives.

PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi

Self-regulation

Ability to control one's own emotions,
needs, weaknesses, strengths and drives.

Mahatma Gandhi


Empathy

Ability to see and understand the world
from the viewpoints of other people.


Critique
Leader’s Qualities Theory


It explains
why
individuals
become (and to an
extent how they become)
leaders.


Some have boiled down
leadership effectiveness to traits like…
Visionary
Determined
Inspiring
Intelligent
Assertive


Was Hitler an effective leader?
Do the traits below explain his
effectiveness or ineffectiveness?

Visionary
Determined
Inspiring
Intelligent
Assertive Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini


Was Bin Laden
an effective leader?
Do the traits below
explain his effectiveness or
ineffectiveness?
Visionary
Determined
Source: www.timgough.org
Inspiring
Intelligent
Assertive

Do the traits below
explain Jobs’ effectiveness
as a leader at Apple?
Visionary
Determined
Inspiring
Intelligent
Assertive


The leader’s qualities theory
raises the question whether leaders
are born or nurtured?


Would Steve have
been a successful
leader at Nintendo,
GE or Oracle?


2

Leader’s qualities
are unreliable to predict
leadership effectiveness.


3

It ignores the environmental
and time factors that contribute
to leadership effectiveness.


The leader’s effectiveness or ineffectiveness is explained through…

the attributes
of the followers.


Followers’ Aspirations

-The type of aspirations.
- The number of aspirations.
- The degree of alignment between the aspirations of followers
and that of leader.


Skills & expertise


Followers’ Attitude


Cohesion


Commitment & Character


Awareness

Ability to understand their actions and those
of the leaders.


Awareness is a bifurcating factor of leadership effectiveness or ineffectiveness. For example…

Followers’ low understanding
of the leader’s actions can contribute
to leadership effectiveness and
ineffectiveness.
How?


Critique
Followers’ Qualities Theory


1

It offers a plausible
understanding why some
leaders are effective.


The people element
…as exemplified by former
South African President
Nelson Mandela, a symbol of
the anti-apartheid movement.


2

However, it’s mistaken to think…

…all leaders interact with
homogenous groups of people
sharing same goals.


Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Facebook Inc. Mark Zuckerberg

Consider the case of Facebook CEO & Co-Founder
Mark Zuckerberg

…many have questioned his
ability to lead a public
company; from dealing with
shareholders’, lawmakers’,
to employees’ and users’
concerns.

Source: cleveland.com

3

Mark’s aspirations might be
aligned with those of his employees
but that doesn’t necessarily make
him a successful leader.


4

It’s also disingenuous to ignore
how brilliantly he has steered
Facebook since its inception.


5

Talks whether Mark is the next Bill Gate or Steve Jobs…

underlie the problems found
in most metrics used to evaluate
leadership effectiveness.
Leadership effectiveness should be viewed in context (environment).


What makes an
effective leader?


It depends…


Environmental theory adheres to the notion that…

leadership effectiveness is
influenced by systems outside
the leader and followers.


John McAuley, Joanne Duberley and Phil Johnson, Organization Theory: Challenges and Perspectives, 1st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2007


Organisation’s Characteristics
E.g. Goals, Resources, Competences, etc.


Characteristics of organisational tasks


Employees’ Characteristics


Organisation’s External Environment


Critique
Environmental Theory


1

In the eyes of environmental theorists…

there's no such thing
as traits that can predict the
effectiveness of a leader.


because a leader was
successful in firm A, doesn’t
necessarily mean that would
be the case in firm B.


March 2012

Sacked after
failing to repeat his
Porto-success at
Chelsea.

Former Chelsea FC Manager Andre Villas Boas

Source: independent.co.uk


because a leader was successful
in firm A, doesn’t necessarily mean
that would be the case in subsequent
years for the same firm.


May 2011

Fired after failing
to repeat his streak
of successes with
other clubs and
Chelsea.

Former Chelsea FC Manager Carlo Ancelotti


2

Does that mean
there’s no formula
for leadership
effectiveness?


It appears environment theorists squashed any
hope of finding the holy grail of effective leadership.

Not quite.


The leader’s actions theory tries to understand…

the actions of the leader;
why and how they were made.


How &why
“it” is made.

Niche consultative style

Mass consultative style

Delegated style

Participative style

Autocratic style

GOALS

Employees Investors

Suppliers/distributors

Consumers

Organisation

Government/Regulators
Communities


Leadership effectiveness is judged by

the actions taken,
& not necessarily the results
stemming from them.


Leadership Metaphors

Orchestra conductor Football coach Father

Therapist Judge Grand mum


Which one of these metaphors
fits the type of leader you prefer
to work with? Explain why.


Leading

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