Leadership

1. Leadership What is it?

2. Don't tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results. ~George S. Patton

3. Born to Lead? • Some people have charisma or even personal magic. Is this always a sign of a good leader? • Some people grow up with the expectation to lead in the future: 1. Royalty or Family Dynasties or 2. those who try to learn power / leadership through looks.

4. Thrust into Leadership? • Leadership is the act of gaining cooperation from people in order to accomplish something. If you can do that – you can lead. • Are there any instances where people are pushed or thrust into leadership?

5. Learn to Lead… factors that form a foundations of leadership. • Something needs to be done • No one person can do the task • Others are interested in helping get the task done. • You can take responsibility for accomplishing the task • You harness the combined efforts for success

6. Early History of Leadership • History’s greatest philosophical writings from Plato’s Republic to Plutarch’s Lives have explored the questions of “What qualities distinguished an individual as a leader?” http://www.philosophypages.com/ph/plat.htmhttp://www.bostonleadershipbuilders.com/plutarch/index.htm • Early recognition of the importance of leadership and the assumption that leadership is rooted in the characteristics that certain individuals possess. This idea that leadership is based on individual attributes is known as the trait theory of leadership.

7. Theories • Trait Theory: explored in early history. 1841, Heroes and Hero Worship by Thomas Carlyle identifies the talents, skills, and physical characteristics of men who rose to power. 1869, Hereditary Genius by Francis Galton examined the leadership qualities in the families of powerful men. Galton came to the conclusion that leadership is inherited. In other words, leaders are born, not developed. This led to support that leadership is rooted in the characteristics of the leader.

8. What studies concluded about traits and leadership…. • Researchers conducted over a hundred studies proposing a number of characteristics that distinguish leaders from nonleaders: intelligence, dominance, adaptability, persistence, integrity, socioeconomic status, and self-confidence.

9. Researchers moved away from the trait theory in the 1940s and the 1950s. Although they believed that some traits were common in studies, they noticed that people who are leaders in one situation may not necessarily be leaders in another. Leadership began to be characterized by the situation, along with traits. Although the trait theory continued to be a dominant theory in the study of leadership, now situational leadership, as well as an attribute pattern approach were explored. The attribute pattern approach took into account individual characteristics on outcomes and by looking at people individually.

10. Behavioral and Style TheoriesWhat does a good leader do? • Theorists began to research leadership as a set of behaviors. “To lead; self-confidence and a high self-esteem is useful, perhaps even essential.” • Lewin’s styles were determined by evaluating the performance of groups and how the leader exercised his influence regarding the type of group decision making, praise, and criticism, and the management of the group tasks according to three styles: Authoritarian, Democratic, and Laissez-faire. *these are referred to theories and/or styles

11. The three styles continued… Authoritarian: • Leaders who make decisions alone • Demands compliance to his orders • Not necessarily hostile, but aloof from participation in work (does not consult staff, nor allowed to give any input) • Offers praise and criticism for the work done (structured set of rewards and punishments)

12. Democratic: • Collective decision making process, assisted by the leader • Also known as participative style • Encourages staff to be a part of the decision making • Keeps staff informed about everything that affects their work and shares decision making and problem solving responsibilities • Allows staff to establish goals • Encourages staff to grow on the job and be promoted • Recognizes and encourages achievement

13. Laissez-faire: • Freedom to the group for policy determination without any participation from the leader • Leader remains uninvolved in work decisions unless asked • Leader does not participate in the division of labor • Leader very infrequently gives praise

14. Other Behavioral theories… • The Managerial Grid Model: suggests there are 5 leadership styles based on the leaders’ concern for people and their concern for goal achievement. The styles are impoverished, country club, team leader, produce or perish, or middle of the road. • Positive Reinforcement -developed by B.F. Skinner: the use of positive reinforcement is a successful and widely used technique to motivate and attain desired behaviors.

15. Situational or Contingency theories – How does the situation influence leadership? • Appeared as a reaction to the Trait theory. • The best leadership style is contingent on, or depends on, the situation. • Tries to predict which leadership style is best in which circumstance. • 4 contingency leadership theories: Fiedler contingency model, Vroom-Yetton decision model, the path-goal theory, and *the Hersey-Blanchard situational theory (this is the one Dr. Page uses)