IN ORDER BY SYLLABUS!
Week 1: February 1: Introduction
Leider, R. (2004). Is Leading Your Calling? Leader to Leader, 31, 36-40.
Bennis, W. (2005). Tackling a Leadership Crisis. Inspiration.
Leider, R. (2004). Is Leading Your Calling? Leader to Leader, 31, 36-40.
Main Points (very short, abstract article)
· “What is your calling” is the question needed to be asked continuously throughout our lives
· Great leaders know to ask the more beautiful question to open the follower’s mind
· Our seed of destiny is the full potential within us that comes out by expressing our gifts
· Heeding our calling = giving our gifts naturally, to make distinct contributions to the world
· Heeding = asking uneasy questions
· Developing as a human being means being integrated form the inside out – authenticity
· There is a sacred bridge between the inner life of our followers and the outer life known as the real world.
· Heeding our own call is the first essential step to bringing out callings in others
· The search for callings is in our DNA
· The most meaningful lives are ones in which we directly serve others or create products that make life better for others
· Lives are not problems to be solved but callings to be answered
· Address question of who before question of what
Sidebar: Shopping for a leadership coach:
· coaching is not advice or therapy – it is a relationship to develop change
· 5 golden rules for hiring a leadership coach:
1) get real – need to open up
2) get referrals
3) get specialized – coaches have specialties – match them up with your needs
4) get going – set up an appointment, your doing the hiring so ask questions
get a sounding board – people to help you keep focused, give support and counsel
Bennis, W. (2005). Tackling a Leadership Crisis. Inspiration.
A Leadership Crisis:
· The world is facing many problems right now but the most ugent is the lack of leaders to effectively deal with these problems
· There is an unconscious conspiracy to discourage leaders because so much of society calls for us to fit in, not stand out – play it safe.
Personal Responsibilities:
· Truly successful leadership today requires teams, collaboration, diversity, innovation, and cooperation.
· The learning process (of becoming a leader) is one that includes self-critical examination, taking risks and reaching goals.
Leadership Myths:
· Leadership is a rare skill
· Leaders are born not made
· Leaders are charismatic
· Leadership exists only at the top of an organization
· The leader controls, directs, prods and manipulates others
New Demands:
· Most successful organizations are characterized by these three elements:
1. Alignment with a common vision
2. Empowerment of all involved
3. A learning, inquiry based and reflective culture
· Such organizations demand that their leaders have the ability to:
1. galvanize, energize and enthrall
2. generate and sustain trust
3. purvey hope for the future and a commitment to getting there
4. convert purpose and vision into action
Leaders, not managers:
Does the right things / Does things right
Conquers the context / Surrenders to the context
Produces visions, concepts, plans and programmes / Adopts the truth from others and implements it without probing the facts
Is concerned with effectiveness / Is concerned with efficiency
Asks "what?" and "why?" / Asks "how?"
Is concerned with trust and people / Is concerned with systems, controls, procedures, policies and structure
Innovates and initiates / Copies and manages the status quo
Opts for "pull" rather than "push" / Opts for "push" rather than "pull"
Looks at the horizon / Looks at the bottom line
Where have all the leaders gone? The answer lies partly within all of us.
: Shamir, B. & Eilam, G. (2005). “What’s your story?” A Life-Stories Approach to Authentic Leadership Devleopment. The Leadership Quarterly, 16, 395-417.
“Here, we suggest that leaders acquire these characteristics by constructing, developing and revising their life-stories. Life-stories can provide leaders with a meaning system from which they can act authentically, that is interpret reality and act in a way that gives their interpretations and actions a personal meaning (Kegan, 1983, p. 220). Therefore, leaders are authentic to the extent that they act and justify their actions on the basis of the meaning system provided by their life-stories. This suggestion implies a shift of focus from the current emphasis on the development of skills and behavioral styles to an emphasis on leaders’ self-development, and especially to the development of their self-concepts through to the construction of life-stories.”
We’re looking for life-stories, as opposed to life histories. Life stories are a “depository of meaning” (Gabriel, 2000, as qtd. in the article)
Authentic leaders:
1. Be themselves (role of leader as central component of self-concept)
2. Act out of conviction (high level of self-resolution)
a. Eudaimonically (being true to one’s true self) motivated
3. Are original (reflect a personal point of view) (self-concordancy [goals represent actual passions and reflect central beliefs rather than societal demands]: leaders are internally rather than externally motivated)
4. Act they way they talk (consistency between action and belief) (behavior is self-expressive)
“The development of authentic leadership does not depend only on the existence or development of authentic leaders but also on followers who authenticate the leader and follow him or her authentically.” --> Authentic leadership = Authentic leaders + Authentic followers
Four types of leadership life-stories
1. Leadership development as a natural process
2. Leadership development out of struggle
3. Leadership development as finding a cause
4. Leadership development as learning from experience
Leaders, when presenting their life-stories, have an internal locus of control in regards to their development as leaders.
“Life-stories are not only ‘who am I’ stories but also ‘why am I here’ stories (Simmons, 2002).”
*** “Life-stories are not testimonies to the objective events that happened, but the manifestation and expression of the events as perceived and interpreted by the individual that experienced them.” à “We suggest that the events and experiences chosen by authentic leaders to appear in their life-stories reflect the leaders’ self-concepts and their concept of leadership, and allow or enable them to enact their leadership role.”
Life-stories as the basis for leader authentication: “The life-story is perhaps the most legitimate and convincing means by which leaders can convey their claim for authenticity, more legitimate and convincing than directly declaring their traits, values and convictions.”
Reflecting on one’s life-story and on other great leaders and role models’ life-stories, one may help cultivate authentic leadership.
“Authentic leader development therefore includes reflecting on the past, acting in the present, and reflecting on present action, and all aspects should be attended to in an attempt to facilitate the process.”
Week 2: February 6, 8: Janusian Thinking
W. E. B. Du Bois (1903). The Talented Tenth. In The Negro Problem: A Series of Articles by Representative American Negroes of Today. J. Pott & Company.
· The main idea presented in this article is that the exceptional people are the one’s who are going to make a difference, in this case: save the black race. This group of exceptional people is what is meant by “the talented tenth”
· It always has been and always will be that cultures filter from the top down.
· Two historic mistakes:
1. thinking that no more could ever rise than those few already risen
2. thinking it would better the uprising to pull the risen down.
· He argues for a meritocracy in the college system because no everyone can go to school so those few exceptional ones need to because they will work to pull everyone else up.
· “What under the present circumstance must a system of education do in order to raise the Negro as quickly as possible in the scale of civilization? The answer to this question seems to me clear: It must strengthen the Negro's character, increase his knowledge and teach him to earn a living.”
· There is no point in opening up common schools and industrial schools without first providing higher training to the best teachers so that they can then teach the students.
· Big Point: we need teachers and they need to be well-trained and well-paid.
· Higher training is the source and support for the manning of trade schools and manual training.
· ‘If you do not lift them up, they will pull you down. Education and work are the levers to uplift people.”
· “Education must simply not teach work – it must teach life.
– Kirkpatrick, S. A. & Locke, E. A. (1991). Leadership: Do Traits Matter? Academy of Management Executive, 5 (2), 48-60.
Overview: research shows that the possession of certain traits alone does not guarantee leadership success but there is evidence that effective leaders are different from other people in certain key respects; including:
· Drive (including achievement, motivation, ambition, energy, tenacity, initiative)
· Leadership motivation (desire to lead but not to seek power as the end to itself)
· Honesty and integrity
· Self-confidence (whish is associated with emotional stability)
· Cognitive ability
· Knowledge of business
· Other Traits: charisma, creativity/originality, flexibility
Key leadership traits help the person become a leader
History of Theories of Leadership
1. “Great Man” leadership (19th and early 20th centuries)
a. great men were born not made
b. leadership qualities were inherited
2. Trait theory (early 20th century)
a. leaders characteristics are different from non-leaders
b. traits both inherited and learned
3. Ralph Stogdill (mid-century)
a. possession of a combination of traits not enough, situational factors also matter
….So what we have today: a combination of trait theory plus situation. Evidence indicates that certain core traits significantly contribute to business leaders success. These traits, however, are only a precondition. Leaders must also take certain actions to be successful (ie. Formulating a vision, role modeling, setting goal).
Core Traits do matter
Drive: Leaders must have relatively high desire for achievement. Satisfaction comes from completing challenging tasks, attaining standards of excellence, and developing better ways to do things. Ambition gives leaders the desire to get ahead and set hard, challenging goals for themselves and their organizations. Energy is needed to sustain a high achievement drive and get ahead. Tenacity gives leaders the ability to work with distant objects in view and strength of will/perseverance to complete goals. Initiative allows leaders to make choices and take action that leads to change instead of just reaction to events or waiting for things to happen. (constant over time)
Leadership Motivation: Leaders prefer to take a leadership role rather than subordinate role. Power is a leader’s currency to get things done in an organization. Effective leaders, however, do not see power as something that is competed for but rather as something that can be created and distributed to followers without detracting from their own power. Personal Power Motive is when a person seeks power as an end to itself. These people want power solely to dominate over others. Socialized Power Motive, in contrast, is when people use power as a meant to achieve desired goals, or a vision.
Honesty and Integrity: without these qualities, leadership is undermined. There needs to be a trusting relationship between leader and followers. (does not require skill building, conscious choice)
Self-Confidence: a person riddled with self-doubt would never be able to take the necessary actions nor command the respect of others. This confidence helps in decision-making and gaining others trust. Self-confident leaders are more likely to be assertive and decisive. Emotional Stability is important so that leaders remain even-tempered. This helps when resolving interpersonal conflicts and when representing the organization. (is likely to parallel individuals growth in knowledge)
Cognitive ability: Leaders mush be able to gather, integrate, and interpret enormous amounts of info. Intelligent enough to formulate suitable strategies, solve problems, and make correct decisions. (least trainable)
Knowledge of Business: leaders should have high degree of knowledge about the company, industry, and technical matters. “Expertise” (comes from formal training and experience)
Other traits: these traits may be important for leaders but not as much evidence supports their importance. Charisma (especially for political leaders), creativity, and flexibility (for adapting to environment).
To implement their vision, leaders must engage in these six activities:
Structuring: so that info flows in all directions to all parts of company
Selection and Training: people they hire must have traits need to accept and implement the vision.
Motivation: stimulating others to do work in many ways. By: being the boss, being a role model, building subordinate self-confidence, delegating authority, creating specific and challenging goals, and giving correct rewards and punishments.
Managing Information: effective info gatherers because they are good listeners and encourage people to express opinions.
Team Building: achieving goals requires collaboration among many individuals. Leaders can’t do everything, but they can insure that everything gets done by hiring, training, and motivating skilled people who can work together effectively
Promoting Change and Innovation: leaders must always promote this
* Leaders are not like other people
* Place matters but it takes a special kind of person to master the challenges of opportunity
Chemers, M. M. (200). Leadership Research and Theory: A Functional Integration. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 4 (1), 27-42. http://content.apa.org.ezp1.harvard.edu/journals/gdn/4/1/27.pdf
Leadership – a process of social influence in which one person is able to enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task.
Great man theory of leadership – not believed anymore, traits of personality and character that set apart leaders from ordinary followers; found that no single variable or cluster of variables was related to leadership across a variety of situations.
Leader behavior – LBDQ (Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire); found that 1)consideration 2)initiation of structure were factors that affected leadership. But these weren’t successful in predicting leadership effectiveness.