Lecture 8 Contemporary Issues in Leadership BBA 352

Lecture 8 Contemporary Issues in Leadership BBA 352 Organizational Behavior Department of Business Administration Dr. S. Chan Charmaine@chuhai. edu. hk http: //home. chuhai. hk/~charmaine/

Chapter Learning Objectives Ø After studying this chapter, you should be able to: – Show framing influences leadership effectiveness. – Define charismatic leadership and show it influences followers. – Contrast transformational with transactional leadership and discuss how transformational leadership works. – Define authentic leadership and show why ethics and trust are vital to effective leadership. – Identify the three types of trust. – Demonstrate the importance of mentoring, self-leadership, and virtual leadership to our understanding of leadership. – Identify when leadership may not be necessary. – Explain how to find and create effective leaders. – Assess whether charismatic and transformational leadership generalizes across cultures.

Inspirational Approaches to Leadership Ø The focus is leader as communicator Ø Framing: – A way of communicating that shapes meaning – A way for leaders to influence how others see and understand events, including selecting and highlight one or more aspects of a subject while excluding others. – Ignored in traditional leadership studies: the ability of the leader to inspire others to act beyond their immediate self-interests. Ø Two contemporary leadership theories: – Charismatic Leadership – Transformational Leadership

Charismatic Leadership 魅力型領導 Ø Originated from Charisma (Greek “gift”) Ø Robert House’s Charismatic Leadership Theory: – Followers make attributions of heroic or extraordinary leadership abilities when they observe certain behaviors Ø Four characteristics of charismatic leaders: – Have a vision –idealized goal that proposes a future better than the status quo, and is able to clarify the importance of the vision which are understood to others; – Are willing to take personal risks to achieve the vision, including high costs, engage in self-sacrifice to achieve vision; – Are sensitive to follower needs– perceptive of others abilities and responsive to their needs and feeling; – Exhibit behaviors that are out of the ordinary and unconventional; Ø Traits and personality are related to charisma Ø People can be trained to exhibit charismatic behaviors

How Charismatic Leaders Influence Followers Ø A four-step process: 1. Leader articulates an attractive vision • • Vision Statement: A formal, long-term strategy to attain goals Links past, present, and future 1. Leader communicates high performance expectations and confidence in follower ability 2. Leader conveys a new set of values by setting an example 3. Leader engages in emotion-inducing and often unconventional behavior to demonstrate convictions about the vision

Charismatic Leadership Issues Ø Importance of vision – Must be inspirational, value-centered, realizable, and given with superior imagery and articulation Ø Charismatic effectiveness and situation – Charisma works best when: • • The follower’s task has an ideological component There is a lot of stress and uncertainty in the environment The leader is at the upper level of the organization Followers have low self-esteem and self-worth Ø Dark Side of Charisma – Ego-driven charismatic allow their self-interest and personal goals to override the organization’s goals

Transactional & Transformational Leadership Ø Transactional Leaders比較交易領導 – Leaders who guide or motivate their followers in the direction of established goals by clarifying role and task requirements Ø Transformational Leaders轉型領導 – Inspire followers to transcend their own self-interests for the good of the organization; they can have a profound and extraordinary effect on followers – Leaders pay attention to the concerns and developmental needs of individual followers, change followers awareness of issues by helping them to look at old problems in new ways, able to excite, arouse and inspire followers to put extra efforts to achieve group goals. Ø Not opposing, but complementary approaches to leadership – Great transformational leaders must also be transactional; only one type is not enough for success

Characteristics of the Two Types of Leaders Transactional Ø Contingent Reward: – Contracts exchange of rewards for effort, promises rewards for good performance, recognizes accomplishments Ø Management by Exception: – Active: Watches and searches for deviations from rules and standards, takes corrective action – Passive: Intervenes only if standards are not met Ø Laissez-Faire: – Abdicates responsibilities, avoids making decisions Transformational Ø Idealized Influence: – Provides vision and sense of mission, instills pride, gains respect and trust Ø Inspiration: – Communicates high expectations, uses symbols to focus efforts, expresses important issues simply Ø Intellectual Stimulation: – Promotes intelligence, rationality, and problem solving Ø Individualized Consideration: – Gives personal attention, coaches, advises

Issues with Transformational Leadership Ø Basis for Action: – Transformational leadership works by encouraging followers to be more innovative and creative and by providing ambitious goals Ø Evaluation Based on the Research: – This theory does show high correlations with desired outcomes – This style of leadership can be taught Ø Transformational vs. Charismatic Leadership: – Similar concepts, but transformational leadership may be considered a broader concept than charisma. – Instrument-based testing shows the measures to be roughly equivalent

Authentic Leadership: Ethics and Trust Ø Authentic Leaders: – Ethical people who know who they are, know what they believe in and value, and act on those values and beliefs openly and candidly – Primary quality is trust Ø Build trust by: – Sharing information – Encouraging open communication – Sticking to their ideals Ø Still a new topic; needs more research

Ethics, Trust, and Leadership Ø Ethics touch on many leadership styles – As the moral leaders of organizations, CEOs must demonstrate high ethical standards – Socialized charismatic leadership: leaders who model ethical behaviors Ø Trust: – The positive expectation that another person will not act opportunistically – Composed of a blend of familiarity and willingness to take a risk – Five key dimensions: integrity, competence, consistency, loyalty, and openness

Five Key Dimensions of Trust Ø Integrity – Honesty and truthfulness Ø Competence – An individual’s technical and interpersonal knowledge and skills Ø Consistency – An individual’s reliability, predictability, and good judgment in handling situations Ø Loyalty – The willingness to protect and save face for another person Ø Openness – Reliance on the person to give you the full truth

Basic Principles of Trust Ø Mistrust drives out trust Ø Trust begets trust Ø Trust can be regained Ø Mistrusting groups self-destruct Ø Mistrust generally reduces productivity 13 -13

Contemporary Leadership Roles: Mentoring Ø Mentor: – A senior employee who sponsors and supports a less-experienced employee (a protégé) – Good teachers present ideas clearly, listen, and empathize – Two functions: • Career – Coaching, assisting, sponsoring • Psychosocial – Counseling, sharing, acting as a role model – Can be formal or informal – Mentors tend to select protégés who are similar to them in background: may restrict minorities and women

Contemporary Leadership Roles: Self-Leadership Ø Self-Leadership – A set of processes through which individuals control their own behavior – Effective leaders (superleaders) help followers to lead themselves – Important in self-managed teams Ø To engage in self-leadership: 1. Make a mental chart of your peers and colleagues 2. Focus on influence and not on control 3. Create opportunities; do not wait for them

Contemporary Leadership Roles: Online Leadership Ø Leadership at a Distance: Building Trust – The lack of face-to-face contact in electronic communications removes the nonverbal cues that support verbal interactions. – There is no supporting context to assist the receiver with interpretation of an electronic communication. – The structure and tone of electronic messages can strongly affect the response of receivers. – An individual’s verbal and written communications may not follow the same style. – Writing skills will likely become an extension of interpersonal skills.

Finding and Creating Effective Leaders Ø Selection – Review specific requirements for the job – Use tests that identify personal traits associated with leadership, measure self-monitoring, and assess emotional intelligence – Conduct personal interviews to determine candidate’s fit with the job – Keep a list of potential candidates Ø Training – Recognize that all people are not equally trainable – Teach skills that are necessary for employees to become effective leaders – Provide behavioral training to increase the development potential of nascent charismatic employees

Global Implications Ø Certain types of leadership behaviors work better in some cultures than in others Ø Charismatic/Transformational Leadership – Seems to work across cultures – May be an “universal” aspect of leadership in its focus on: • • Vision and foresight Providing encouragement Trustworthiness Dynamic, positive, and proactive traits Ø Globalization may be the cause of these common concerns – we may be able to train a “universal” manager, if that person is culturally sensitive!

Summary and Managerial Implications Ø Companies are looking for transformational leaders – even if they only “look the part” Ø Transformational style crosses borders reasonably well Ø Effective managers must build trust with those they lead Ø Leadership selection and training are important to longterm success