Introduction to The Nature of Leadership
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Your job is to advance the objectives of the
organization
1. I’ll tell you the objectives
2. You figure out how to achieve them
3. Come to me when you need help.
2
There are almost as many definitions of
leadership as there are people attempting to
define the concept.
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1.
2.
3.
4.
The behavior of an individual who is directing the
activities of a group toward a shared goal;
The process of influencing the activities of an
organized group toward goal achievement;
Articulating visions, embodying values, and
creating the environment within which things can
be accomplished;
A process of giving purpose or meaningful
direction to collective effort, and causing willing
effort to be expended to achieve stated goals
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1. Only a select few with superior wisdom should be leaders – Plato;
2. From the moment of their birth, some are marked for subjugation
and others for command – Aristotle
3. Those princes who had the cunning and the ability to organize
power and knowledge in the defense of the state should be followed –
Machiavelli
4. Only those deemed worthy through divine blessing could truly lead
– St. Paul;
5. Many believed God chose leaders through royal or aristocratic
birth
1-5
“Leadership is the process of influencing others
to understand and agree about what needs to
be done and how to do it, and the process of
facilitating individual and collective efforts to
accomplish shared objectives.”
Trigger Warning: It is often difficult to pin one
leadership style with accomplishing goal (i.e. The
answers are not always in a leadership textbook. You
have to figure it out yourself!)
1-6
Leadership
Management
=
=
people
things or assets
You cannot lead a tank into battle. You can only
lead the people who are driving the tank;
However, you can manage the deployment of
tanks in a battle
1-7
Figuring out why it is so difficult to assess
leadership effectiveness
1-8

Characteristics of the Leader

Characteristics of the Follower

Characteristics of the Situation
1-9






Traits (motives, personality)
Values, integrity, and moral standards
Confidence & optimism
Skills & Expertise
Influencing tactics
Mental models ( beliefs & assumptions)
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Traits – needs, values, self-concept
Confidence & optimism
Skills & expertise
Identification with the leader
Task commitment & effort
Satisfaction with the job and the leader
Cooperation and mutual trust
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1. Type & size of the organization
2. Position power and authority of the leader
3. Nature of the task and complexity
4. Organizational culture
5. Environmental uncertainty & change
6. External dependencies and constraints
7. National cultural values
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
Trait Approach –
Emphasizes attributes of the leader e.g.
personality, motives, values and skills.
Underlying assumption is that some people are
endowed with certain traits not possessed by
others
1-13

Behavior Approach

Rather than try to figure out who effective leaders are,
researchers tried to determine what effective leaders do,
how they delegate tasks, how they communicate with and
try motivate their followers or employees, how they carry
out their tasks, etc. Behaviors, unlike traits, can be learned
so it follows that individuals trained in appropriate
leadership behaviors would be able to lead more
effectively.
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
Power-Influence Approach

This research seeks to explain leadership
effectiveness in terms of the amount and
type or power possessed by a leader and
how power is exercised.
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
Situational Approach

Emphasizes the importance of contextual factors
that influence leadership[ processes

Situational variables may include:

a. characteristics of the followers
b. The nature of the work itself
c. The type of the organization
d. The nature of the external and competitive
environment
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
Integrative Approach

Involves more than one type of variable
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

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Many different indicators
Immediate and delayed outcomes
Stakeholders with different preferences
Different conceptions of leadership
Development of a composite measure
1-18
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High group performance
Follower satisfaction
Improved group processes
Career success of leader
1-19
In groups of three, please articulate your
definition of leadership
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Assignment:
Re-read chapter 1
Read and prepare to discuss chapter 2
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