... November 11, 2010 The topic I am going to analyze in my Essay on Key Topic on Organizational Behavior assignment is Leadership. Starting with its definition, leadership is the organization of a group of people, so as to achieve a number of specific goals that the group and mostly the leader set. More specifically, a leader is considered to be somebody, who creates and communicates a vision, provides his “followers” with guidance and motivation, in order to achieve certain targets, influences others through his use of power, establishes and maintains group culture, clarifies roles and empowers the members of his group, and of course, has the ability to make tough decisions with limited information. Being a leader is totally different comparing to being a manager of a group of people. Being a leader, as already mentioned, means giving motivation, influencing and changing the behavior of people, when necessary, inspiring and creating a vision for the group of people that he manages, putting his people first, as well as acting decisively. On the other hand, being a manager means executing plans; manage resources and materials, understanding what responsibility and authority means, putting customers first. A manager has a more “practical” meaning, comparing to a leader, whose responsibility is much “heavier” in meaning. In order a leader to be...
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...Chapter 9 Charismatic and Transformational Leadership Chapter 9 Learning Outcomes • • • • • • • • • • • • • Describe personal meaning and how it influences attributions of charismatic qualities. Briefly explain Max Weber’s conceptualization of charisma. Describe the behavioral qualities that differentiate charismatic from noncharismatic leaders. Explain the locus of charismatic leadership. Discuss the effects of charismatic leadership on followers. Describe the characteristics that distinguish charismatic from noncharismatic leaders. Discuss how one can acquire charismatic qualities. Explain the difference between socialized and personalized charismatic leaders. Distinguish between charismatic and transformational leadership. Explain the difference between transformational and transactional leadership. Explain the four phases of the transformation process. Explain the basis of stewardship and servant leadership. Define the key terms listed at the end of the chapter. 2 Charismatic and Transformational Leaders • Often have a more heightened sense of who they are • Seem to have a clearer picture of their personal meaning or purpose in life sooner • Seek to actualize their personal meaning through leadership 3 Personal Meaning • Is the degree to which people’s lives make emotional sense and to which the demands confronted by them are perceived as being worthy of energy and commitment • Is the “work–life balance” ...
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...Leadership Communication A leader must be able to communicate effectively. When CEOs and other senior executives in all industries and countries are asked to list the most important skills a manager must possess, the answer consistently includes – good communication skills. Managers spend most of their day engaged in communication; in fact, older studies of how much time managers spend on various activities show that communication occupies 70 to 90 percent of their time every day (Mintzberg, 1973; Eccles & Nohria, 1991). With cell phones, e-mail, text messaging, if that same study were done today, it would yield even higher percentages. The sheer amount of time managers spend communicating underscores how important strong communication skills can be for the manager desiring to advance to leadership positions; thus, mastering leadership communication should be a priority for managers wanting their organizations or the broader business community to consider them leaders. Leadership communication is the controlled, purposeful transfer of meaning by which leaders influence a single person, a group, an organization, or a community. Leadership communication uses the full range of communication skills and resources to overcome interferences and to create and deliver messages that guide, direct, motivate, or inspire others to action. The higher up in an organization a manager moves, the more complex his or her communication demands become. Connecting Leadership and Communication Researchers...
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...Organizational leadership 3 marks 1) What do you mean by “charisma”? Ans: Charisma is a trait found in individuals whose personalities are characterized by powerful charm and magnetism (attractiveness) and superior capabilities of interpersonal communication and persuasion. According to Weber, charisma is a pure form of authority based on the gift of divine grace. The term charisma is applied to a certain quality of an individual personality by virtue of which he is considered extraordinary and treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically exceptional powers or qualities. 2) Who is a charismatic leadership? Ans: Charismatic leadership is a leadership based on the leader’s ability to communicate and behave in ways that reach followers on a basic, emotional way, to inspire and motivate. 3) Define the term “transactional leadership”. Ans: A transactional leader is one who guides and motivates his follows in the direction of establish goals by clarifying role and task requirements. It involves exchange relationship between leader and the followers. It is a perception for mediocrity and that transformational leadership leads to superior performance in organization facing demands for renewal and change. 4) Differentiate between transformational and transactional leadership. Ans: ...
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...commentary (in italics) about what I’m expecting in each section. I sometimes change the particular example given, in order to encourage them to think about particular kinds of projects. For instance, the example provided here was used in a Leadership Communication course. I’ve used the same format, but a different research project example, for a course on Organisational Communication Technology. Feel free to adapt it to your purposes. Research Proposal (Example) (Note: This is single spaced to save paper; yours should be double-spaced) To: Ted Zorn From: Chris Student Date: 1 April 2003 Subject: Research proposal Proposed Research Topic: A situational analysis of shared leadership in a self-managing team [provide a brief description or a descriptive title or a research question] Purposes: Alvesson (1996) claims that a situational approach enables leadership to be viewed and studied as “a practical accomplishment” (p. 476) rather than starting with a conceptualisation of leadership as whatever the appointed leader does. This approach seems particularly well suited to self-managing teams (SMTs), in which leadership is presumably shared. In this project, I will explore how members of a self-managing team enact leadership in their regular team meetings. In particular, I will focus on how SMT members influence the direction of the team as well as the relationships and identities of individual members and the identity of the team as a unit, and how their interaction...
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...very inspiring story about the true meaning of leadership. I found this story to be skillfully written to capture daily lessons, powerful terms, concepts, principles, thoughts, ideas, etc. in each class session. The monk, who was once a renowned former business executive, Wall Street legend and published author, taught the class. He gave up riches and a wealthy lifestyle to live as a monk in a monastery. Even though, the book was centered around John Daily a general manager of a large firm, it also depicted classroom sessions from other participants in John's class. John was advised by his pastor to attend a weeklong retreat at the Christian monastery after confessing to his pastor about his failures as a boss, husband, father and coach. As with John, each participant had their own personal reasons for attending the retreat where they all came from all walks of life. The participants included an army sergeant, a nurse, a preacher, a Hispanic principal, a black female basketball coach and so on. Each class session was a learning experience for all the participants including me. I felt like an invisible student in each class session. Each class was filled with knowledge, wisdom and understanding about the true meaning of leadership broken down into simple terms. Throughout the weeklong sessions, the meaning of leadership was defined and refined according to the daily teachings by the monk. The monk illustrated the old paradigm of leadership as top heavy beginning with the CEO...
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...LEADERSHIP UNCUT | Brian Evje Jan 30, 2013 Quick: Define Leadership If you don't know what your leadership is, how are you going to make it persuasive to others? Only a few people have a solid answer. When first working with a client, I ask, “What is your definition of your leadership?” Invariably, a pause follows. The eventual response is sometimes tentative, confused, or incomplete. This happens with new and experienced leaders, in large companies and in start-ups. Only a few people have a solid answer. Not many leaders have a clear, concise, concrete definition of what being a leader means to them. The eminent leadership scholar Ralph Stogdill observed, “There are nearly the same number of leadership definitions as there are people who have attempted to define it.” Here are just a few perspectives: * “The first job of a leader is to define a vision for the organization…the capacity to translate vision into reality.” (Warren Bennis) * “Leadership is a series of behaviors rather than a role for heroes.” (Margaret Wheatley) * “Leadership: the art of getting someone else to do something that you want done because he wants to do it.” (Dwight D. Eisenhower) It is no wonder then, that a ready answer is not on the lips of every leader. But the lack of a compelling, individual definition can be a serious defect. Why Define Your Leadership? When asked, “Why should I have a definition for my leadership?” I answer, “What is the cost of not understanding the foundation...
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...commentary (in italics) about what I’m expecting in each section. I sometimes change the particular example given, in order to encourage them to think about particular kinds of projects. For instance, the example provided here was used in a Leadership Communication course. I’ve used the same format, but a different research project example, for a course on Organisational Communication Technology. Feel free to adapt it to your purposes. Research Proposal (Example) (Note: This is single spaced to save paper; yours should be double-spaced) To: Ted Zorn From: Chris Student Date: 1 April 2003 Subject: Research proposal Proposed Research Topic: A situational analysis of shared leadership in a self-managing team [provide a brief description or a descriptive title or a research question] Purposes: Alvesson (1996) claims that a situational approach enables leadership to be viewed and studied as “a practical accomplishment” (p. 476) rather than starting with a conceptualisation of leadership as whatever the appointed leader does. This approach seems particularly well suited to self-managing teams (SMTs), in which leadership is presumably shared. In this project, I will explore how members of a self-managing team enact leadership in their regular team meetings. In particular, I will focus on how SMT members influence the direction of the team as well as the relationships and identities of individual members and the identity of the team as a unit, and how their interaction...
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...it’s intended for fairly brief proposals, not a prospectus for a masters or doctoral thesis. It gives students an example of the sort of thing I want, plus some commentary (in italics) about what I’m expecting in each section. I sometimes change the particular example given, in order to encourage them to think about particular kinds of projects. For instance, the example provided here was used in a Leadership Communication course. I’ve used the same format, but a different research project example, for a course on Organisational Communication Technology. Feel free to adapt it to your purposes. Research Proposal Proposed Research Topic: Purposes: Alvesson (1996) claims that a situational approach enables leadership to be viewed and studied as “a practical accomplishment” (p. 476) rather than starting with a conceptualisation of leadership as whatever the appointed leader does. This approach seems particularly well suited to self-managing teams (SMTs), in which leadership is presumably shared. In this project, I will explore how members of a self-managing team enact leadership in their regular team meetings. In particular, I will focus on how SMT members influence the direction of the team as well as the relationships and identities of individual members and the identity of the team as a unit, and how their interaction is enabled and constrained by social and cultural influences (eg, organisational culture, national/ethnic culture, and gender). Such a study should give...
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...Critical Reflection and Transformational Leadership Ivan F Rodriguez University of Phoenix Critical Reflection and Transformational Leadership This paper briefly examines the relevance of critical reflection practices in leadership development. Incorporating critical reflective practices in a leadership development program (LDP) helps closing loops assimilating the knowledge, updating reference frames and providing valuable feedback to the decision making and problem solving processes. It is my learned experience that using critical lenses to enable building on previous experiences and to incorporate new learning will perpetrate the transformational leadership (TL) process. The correlation between critical reflection and TL can be explained by the closed loop between outside world and inside world, it is though a reflective process how the leader encourages multiple perspectives that ultimately challenge his or her to excel in complex and uncertain environments. Leadership development practices depend on reflection-in-action. Advancing one step further, TL focuses on how leaders inspire and motivate followers to a higher moral level (Burns, 1978), its essence is inspiring follower’s commitment to achieve the vision of a desired future. TL conveys the “connection between the organization’s philosophy and shared values, and embeds those values in organizational rules and actions in order to communicate meaning and inspire followers” (Bennis and Nanus, 1985, p. 58). The...
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...Sheryl Sandberg - Leadership Communication Analysis Written Report Sheryl Sandberg is an American business leader, activist and writer currently serving as the COO of Facebook. After graduating high-school in Miami, Sandberg attended Harvard where she earned a A.B. in economics, followed by an MBA at her alma mater. After graduate school Sandberg worked for a former professor at the Treasury Department, where she became a chief of staff before moving to Google, and finally to Facebook. Sandberg’s first book, Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead, was published in 2013. A feminist call for increased female leadership in the workplace, the book was received with broad critical acclaim. Throughout Lean In, Sandberg synthesizes academic studies and her own professional experiences to encourage women to strive for leadership positions in the workplace. Through her book, speeches, and other writing, Sandberg weaves several leadership communication approaches into her overall communication style, including meaning maker, storyteller, and direction setter. Meaning Maker In her book and speeches Sandberg discusses the common experience of women in the workplace, describing a shared stake in the future as members of that group. She frequently uses terms like “we” and “our” when discussing female experiences and opportunities at work. Her language and point of view communicates supportiveness to both genders, articulating the shared goal of equality at work and at home...
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...within their ranks, to study the aspects behind leader development and leadership success is not only a wise decision but also a great responsibility. Is a leader born or can he/she be made? This paper analyzes formal contemporary studies of leader emergence and development to include personality traits, behaviors and situational factors which express leadership as both innate and formally adopted. Table of Contents Introduction 5-8 Overview 8-9 Distinctive Aspects 10-14 Trait Theory of Leadership 14-17 Situational Leadership Model 17-20 Implications 20-23 Summary and Conclusion 23-25 References 26-29 Introduction The meaning of “leadership” has been molded into numerous different meanings throughout history. Leaders have been depicted within an array of backgrounds to include prophets, kings, chiefs, idols, gods, government officials and inspirational individuals throughout the history. “The word leader dates back as early as the year 1300 but the word “leadership” did not appear until the first half of the nineteenth century” (Wren, 2008, p.50). The term “leadership” however, dates back as early as the Egyptians and Roman Greeks. “Throughout history, leadership has been defined by specific attributes that a leader is thought to have. There is not a right or wrong definition of leadership, but it is important to know the roots and history behind the term” (Coburn, 2008). Leadership is often defined as an intangible and usually difficult quality to...
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...essential and precarious part for organisations in order to fulfil their meaning and to prosper is the provision of a management system that particularly shows strong leadership. Good leadership not only allows employees to coordinate their efforts towards organisational goals, but also provides support to management in assessing the current situation and take relevant action to changes in the external environment. When those prerequisites are met, organisations function efficiently and operate more effectively. Consequently it is fundamental for managers to understand how to be effective as a leader and how to achieve those organisational goals. There have been extensive studies into what transforms a human being to a leader and their leadership, styles of leadership, how individuals work, the setting they work in, what stimulates them as well as numerous other factors influencing organisational effectiveness. This report looks first briefly into the history of leadership, discusses its meaning and some leadership styles that have evolved over time. This is followed by discussing some of the theories that resulted from the empirical research on leadership and their attempts to explain what makes an effective leader. To clarify these concepts examples are provided to some of the theories to illustrate their practical application in the real-world. Introduction Leadership The origins of leadership and its studies are dated back as far as to the beginning of civilisation...
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...3977NRS: Leadership and Management Introduction In this essay, leadership will be defined and analysed. A detailed leader profile from my workplace will be developed and described using transformational theory, as this is the most adequate theory to describe the performance, effectiveness and styles used by the leader to achieve the objectives and goals in my workplace. Moreover, the nature of the leader’s role and achievement utilising the theory will be analysed. In addition, transformational theory will be defined and analysed based on different explanations. Leadership Leadership is one of the most essential criteria of the nurse manager. It is the process of interaction between the leader and the other staff, influencing them toward workplace goals achievement (Yukl, 1998). Leadership is the ability to provide direction toward preferred future aspirations and aligns the followers toward goals achievement (Kelly-Heidenthal, 2004). Moreover, leadership is viewed as a dynamic interactive process that involves various dimensions, including planning, organising, directing and controlling. The activities of an organised group can be influenced by a process in which the efforts to achieve the goals and tasks are managed by leadership (Roussel, Russell & Swansburg, 2006). Leadership is also defined as inducing individuals or a group to take an action in accordance with the purpose of the leader. Moreover, Roussel, Russell and Swansburg (2006) correctly pointed...
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...3977NRS: Leadership and Management Introduction In this essay, leadership will be defined and analysed. A detailed leader profile from my workplace will be developed and described using transformational theory, as this is the most adequate theory to describe the performance, effectiveness and styles used by the leader to achieve the objectives and goals in my workplace. Moreover, the nature of the leader’s role and achievement utilising the theory will be analysed. In addition, transformational theory will be defined and analysed based on different explanations. Leadership Leadership is one of the most essential criteria of the nurse manager. It is the process of interaction between the leader and the other staff, influencing them toward workplace goals achievement (Yukl, 1998). Leadership is the ability to provide direction toward preferred future aspirations and aligns the followers toward goals achievement (Kelly-Heidenthal, 2004). Moreover, leadership is viewed as a dynamic interactive process that involves various dimensions, including planning, organising, directing and controlling. The activities of an organised group can be influenced by a process in which the efforts to achieve the goals and tasks are managed by leadership (Roussel, Russell & Swansburg, 2006). Leadership is also defined as inducing individuals or a group to take an action in accordance with the purpose of the leader. Moreover, Roussel, Russell and Swansburg (2006) correctly pointed out that leadership...
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