Leadership Principles and Practices

Leadership Principles and Practices Introduction to Leadership Leadership is an influence relationship among leaders and followers who intend real changes that reflect their mutual purposes. Elements of Leadership – – – – –

Influence Leaders and followers Intention Shared purpose Situational factors

Developing an Understanding of Leadership and Yourself

Approaches to Leadership –

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Transformational Leadership  Individualised consideration of others’ needs and inspirational motivation through a vision Transactional Leadership  Influencing followers through a series of rewards and punishments Servant Leadership  Holistic and altruistic approach characterised by the leader’s central focus on followers’ needs and development Authentic Leadership  Developed either through leadership-shaping events, life experiences or selfawareness Charismatic Leadership  Compelling followers to achieve the organisation’s vision with a larger than life and out-of-the-ordinary personality Ethical Leadership  A moral person who is fair and trustworthy, who encourages employees to act in a moral way

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Destructive Leadership  Dominance, coercion and manipulation of others characterised with a selfish orientation Corrupt Leadership  Leading in corrupt circumstances that actively attempts to engage in corrupt practices

Managers vs. Leaders Managers Set targets for the immediate future Monitor results and identify deviations Focus on systems and structure

Leaders Develop a vision of the distant future Satisfy human needs for achievement, sense of belonging and recognition Focus on investing in people

Pre-Modern, Modern and Post-Modern Views of Leadership Leadership Styles –

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Trait Approach: Distinguishing personal characteristics of a leader E.g. Personality, appearance, temperament, intelligence and values  Maintains the view that leaders have distinct, innate qualities and characteristics that non-leaders do not  A leader with certain traits could be effective in one situation but ineffective in a different situation Behavioural Approach: Examines what leaders do and the behaviours they exhibit

Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Theory: Use of different patterns of leadership depending on the maturity level of the individual subordinate  Job Maturity o Task-relevant skills and knowledge  Psychological Maturity o Self-confidence and self-respect

Leadership Thought throughout Time – – –

Socrates  Leader’s main duty is to educate and to bring truth out of others Lao Tzu  Being selfless and putting others first Machiavelli  Manipulating others and employing deceptive tactics believing that the end justifies the means

Leadership Development Strategic Leadership Development Three Core Components –

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Being  Concerns with the motive behind a particular decision/action in which challenges and shapes a leader’s initial motive Knowing  Cognitive mastery and understanding of a subject or field Doing  Focussed on the leader’s development of skills or abilities which can be taskoriented and people-oriented

Crucibles of Leadership A Crucible refers to an intense, transformative experience through which an individual comes to a new or an altered sense of identity. – – –

A point of deep self-reflection Compels people to examine their values, question their assumptions and sharpen their judgement Can be a positive or negative experience

Four Major Types of Crucibles – – – –

Mentoring relationship Enforced reflection E.g. Military boot camp Insertion into foreign territory E.g. Overseas secondment Disruption or loss E.g. Death

Early Leadership Development – – –

Most of the strategic efforts to develop leadership probably start too late in the life cycle to optimise the impact on genuine leadership development One’s behaviour, personality and skills are more able to be influenced at a young age than adulthood Leader development is like learning a new language; you can do it in adulthood, but it’s easier to do it at a young age

Visionary Leadership A Vision is a clear mental image of a desired future seen by the leader but invisible to others. Vision as Creative Tension

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Gap between the desired future state (vision) and the current reality creates tension, which becomes the fuel to rise to the vision