Contemporary Issues in Leadership
by Robert L. Taylor and William E. Rosenbach (Editors)
Westview Press © 2006
290 pages
Focus
Leadership & Mgt.
Strategy
Sales & Marketing
Finance
Human Resources
IT, Production & Logistics
Career Development
Small Business
Economics & Politics
Industries
Regions
Concepts & Trends
Take-Aways
• Great leaders often are naturals who like what they do and, therefore, excel at it.
• Leaders help people join forces to bring about positive results.
• People follow leaders who make them feel significant, share their beliefs and
generate excitement.
• To be a leader, be confident, use your power in "pro-social" ways and learn to see
the future impact of your actions.
• To think like an entrepreneur, listen to people who work directly with customers.
• Leaders relate to their followers as a group or individually.
• Hierarchical structures are better for reaching technical goals, but a circular
organizational structure is best for solving more complex problems.
• Corporate leaders still succumb to hubris, which is a sort of narcissism.
• The growing academic study of leadership stems from increasing U.S. interest in
the military, industry and politics.
• As seen in The Wizard of Oz, everyone has feelings, intellect and potential courage.
Rating
Overall
8
(10 is best)
Applicability
8
Innovation
Style
6
6
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Relevance
What You Will Learn
In this Abstract, you will learn: 1) What makes someone an exceptional leader; 2) How
leadership differs from management; and 3) Why it is important to be a good follower.
Recommendation
This collection of essays from 21 contributors is inspiring reading for those who want to
build their leadership talents or improve their companies. It is designed for good leaders,
or for people who aspire to that rank and are open to being taught. Interestingly, the book
also addresses how people can become better followers. Unlike many other books within
this topic range, this anthology makes a distinction between leadership, which it sees as
direction setting, and management, which it sees as somewhat more procedural. The essays
are interesting, wide-ranging and practical. getAbstract finds that the 21 voices here have
a unified mission: to explain why some people are better than others at getting attention,
accomplishing specific tasks and providing their followers with a sense of meaning.
Abstract
“Great leaders
are made by great
groups and by
organizations that
create the social
architecture
of respect
and dignity.”
The Leadership Puzzle
“Leadership is all about getting people to work together to make things happen that might
not otherwise occur or to prevent things from happening that would ordinarily take place.”
Students of leadership initially tended to concentrate on the leader as a “Great Person.”
However, subsequent scientific studies find that leaders are not exceptionally brilliant,
splendid speakers or highly energetic. Instead, leaders know how to forge relationships
and accomplish tasks. In fact, analysts find that leaders’ ability to accomplish tasks is
even more important than their interpersonal skills.
Transformational and Transactional Leadership
Experts focus on two types of leadership: “transactional” and “transformational.”
Transactional leaders forge a trade-off with their followers. Transactional leaders enable
their followers to act in their own self-interest, as long as the leaders achieve their goals.
Transactional leadership is commonly associated with effective management.
“Character…is
at the heart of
transformational
leadership…drives
transformational
leadership
behavior,
and…enables
such leaders
to construct
transformational
organizational
cultures.”
Followers closely identify with a transformational leader’s beliefs. That shared sense of
purpose motivates followers to act and to achieve the leader’s mission. Transformational
leaders encourage their followers to forget self-interest and to move toward fulfilling
greater ideals. This builds the followers’ self-esteem. Transformational leaders shape
their organizational cultures to reflect the values they share with their followers. The
followers’ role is to turn intangible values into concrete action, focus on particular goals,
coordinate individual efforts and unify the members of the group.
Leadership Personalities
Academic studies achieve varied results when they try to isolate the characteristics of
effective leaders. In work done in 1948 that is still well-regarded, scholar Ralph Stogdill
proposed that leaders have five “clusters” of characteristics that make them good at
leading. The five are: “capacity (intelligence, judgment); achievement (knowledge,
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“Although effective
managers must
practice good
leadership and
effective leaders
must possess
managerial skills,
leadership is not
management
or some part or
principle of it.”
“Leadership is
a relationship
between those
who aspire to lead
and those who
choose to follow.”
“Vision is not a
passing fad; it is
an increasingly
important part of
an organization’s
struggle to be
fast, flexible and
comprehensive.”
“The term vision
may actually
lead in frequency
of usage in
the mahogany
halls of senior
management,
ahead of total
quality, reengineering,
strategic intent
and competitive
advantage.”
scholarship); responsibility (dependability, aggressiveness, self control, desire to excel);
participation (activity, sociability, cooperation, adaptability)” and “status (position,
popularity).” In 1990, subsequent research identified five more factors that leaders have
in common: they are reliable, agreeable, extroverted, emotionally stable and open to new
experiences. Current theory proposes that anyone can become a leader to some degree
if he or she can:
• Be confident about taking action, and controlling his or her life.
• Use power in “pro-social” ways that extend beyond personal gain or narcissism.
• Develop personal vision by seeing the future impact of today’s actions.
Leaders must have vision, a future view of events. Good leaders have the ability to
convey their visions and make the future unfold as they hope it will. This generally
begins with writing a vision statement, a process that often goes badly. Commonly,
vision statements are confusing. They tend to cite goals that are really associated with
strategies and objectives, not vision. To craft an effective vision statement, write a brief,
memorable declaration. Then share your vision; make it more tangible by telling stories
and using metaphors.
Good leaders consistently align their actions with their verbal messages. They see their
followers in a positive light, and care about their well being. Strong leaders provide the
proper support to help their followers accept new challenges. Leaders assist others in
finding meaning in their work and in their lives.
Emotional Intelligence
Leaders forge relationships with groups or individuals. The individual relationships
tend to be more intellectual but, in both cases, good leaders exhibit highly developed
“emotional” or “social intelligence.” They are self-aware, socially skilled, disciplined and
able to deal capably with other people. People with emotional intelligence think before
they act, focus on their goals, understand other people’s emotions and have the skill to
establish common grounds for discussion.
In this instance, scholars concluded that even the most talented executive cannot succeed
without emotional intelligence. Some major corporations that wanted to encourage
future leaders in their ranks hired psychologists to sort out leadership characteristics.
The psychologists found that leaders are smart and have solid, long-term vision, but
that their emotional intelligence is twice as important as either intellect or vision. One
study shows that companies where the employees have high emotional intelligence earn
higher profits. The reverse is also demonstrably true. A workforce marked by a lack of
emotional intelligence can mean lower profits.
Leaders can learn emotional intelligence. People who know their limitations can plan
to avoid stressful situations or to work around events that tug at their weaknesses. Oneon-one training is the best way to learn how to improve your emotional intelligence.
Such training focuses on correcting undesirable social habits, such as acting impulsively
or being a bad listener. Because this process requires people to correct brain-based
emotional drives, it is time-consuming.
Natural Leaders: Confidence But Not Hubris
The current academic emphasis on studying leadership qualities stems from America’s
increasing interest in the military, industry and politics. Academics have tried to pin down
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“The most
effective leaders
are alike in one
crucial way:
They all have a
high degree of
what has come
to be known
as emotional
intelligence.”
“Leadership is not
hierarchical, topdown, or based on
positional power
and authority.”
“The dangers
of top-down
leadership, vivid
examples of
colossal folly and
disaster, are so
numerous that
one doesn’t know
where to begin.”
the complex chemistry that makes people great leaders, in hopes of then replicating these
traits by training qualified leadership candidates. The very concept that it is possible to
create leaders in a 30-day course emerges from America’s do-it-yourself mentality.
In truth, great leaders are often naturals. Could anyone learn to be Lee Iacocca, for
example? The former Chrysler CEO became a leadership legend after his triumph over
Japanese carmakers. He restored some of America’s prestige in auto manufacturing. But
Iacocca is a unique leader, as are – for instance – Colin Powell and Norman Schwarzkopf,
two generals who excelled. They became great leaders for the same reason that leadership
is hard to teach: they are naturally talented at it and they like it. They breathe leadership
and instinctively understand how it works. They are confident, but not too confident.
Overconfidence is a great leadership pitfall. Even good leaders can stumble when they
become cocky, and disregard their advisers and the norms of their societies. Napoleon’s
1812 defeat in Russia is a classic case of leadership hubris. Leading 500,000 men – the
world’s largest army to date – Napoleon predicted a quick victory. But severe winter
weather, poor planning and bad luck reduced his troops to a straggling band of 20,000
men in full retreat.
Corporate leaders continue to fall victim to hubris. In 1994, Novell, a software company,
bought WordPerfect for $1.4 billion, hoping to create an empire to rival Microsoft. But
Novell alienated WordPerfect’s employees, who defected. By 1996, Novell had to sell
WordPerfect for $124 million, 90% less than its purchase price. Similarly, Quaker Oats
bought Snapple, believing that its superior management could multiply its profits. The
effort failed, forcing Quaker Oats to sell Snapple at a $1.4 billion loss.
The right organizational structure can prevent hubris, while improving morale and
productivity. Organizations that lack the proper structure cannot implement change or
control leaders’ overconfidence, because they do not establish effective relationships
between leaders and their followers. Studies show that while hierarchical structures are
better suited to achieving technical goals, organizations with complicated “adaptive”
problems need a circular organizational structure. In complex situations, a circular
structure lets people share expertise, information and power. But, according to one
expert, a “top-down” hierarchical structure becomes “dysfunctional” and “maladaptive”
in such situations.
Acting Like a Leader
To be a contemporary leader, you must be able to do four key things:
“Hubris derives
from an
overbearing sense
of grandiosity,
need for
admiration and
self-absorption
– in a word,
narcissism.”
1. Appreciate and nurture talent – Leaders must not be afraid to hire people who are
smarter or more talented than they are. Often, leaders are not the most talented people
in their organizations. The head of Disney animation could not draw. The head of the
research center where the PC was invented was not a computer engineer.
2. Focus on what is important – When an organization loses sight of its main goals, it
becomes a slogging bureaucracy. Physicist Richard Feynman worked on the WWII
Manhattan Project to develop the atomic bomb. To maintain security, the U.S. Army
initially refused to tell the scientists what their calculations would be used to do;
Feynman objected. He persuaded the generals to tell the physicists what they were
working on and what role it would serve in ending WWII. Once the physicists knew
the importance of the work, they improved the process and worked faster.
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3. Build trust – Trust unites a group with motivation and integrity.
4. Develop a close tie between leaders and followers – Bond with your followers to
create an emotional link that pulls everyone in the organization to a higher level.
Follow the Leader
People will follow you if you meet three of their pivotal emotional needs:
“Helping people
learn by allowing
them to make
mistakes takes
true courage
and results in
organizational
learning.”
“Freedom to
uncover new
ideas and create
an environment
that encourages
followers to share
their best thinking
with their leaders
is essential
to innovation
and change.”
1. Significance – Make the participants in your organization feel like they matter.
People need to be valued and recognized. When a leader tells someone that his or her
contribution is significant, that praise adds meaning to the work, rewards the worker
and creates the basis for a relationship.
2. Shared beliefs – A common purpose builds a sense of community and mutuality.
3. Excitement – When people gather in large groups with a common cause, they share
an emotional connection that generates enthusiasm and energy.
Remember that people who are in frontline positions, though not necessarily in
leadership jobs, frequently arrive at the best solutions to problems, because they have
hands-on knowledge. Listening to the people in the trenches is pivotal to thinking like
an entrepreneur. Yet, while leaders must forge strong relationships with their followers,
not all followers should have equal access to their leaders. Followers should be educated
about the organization’s purpose and goals, but they should also be screened to determine
their level of access. Followers generally fall into four types:
• Subordinates take orders and execute their responsibilities competently. A person
can also become a subordinate if he or she does not fully endorse the organization’s
work, or regards his or her responsibilities as ‘just a job.’
• Politicians excel at managing relationships, not performing tasks. They are usually
strong “people persons” who can motivate others and unravel personnel problems.
• Contributors work hard and they are valuable, but they may not know or understand
the organization’s strategic direction, or have the interpersonal skills needed to
become leaders. They can learn those skills, but do not have them as contributors.
• Partners have high energy, build strong relationships and have strategic insight. To
participate in the global marketplace, develop partnerships as a source of new leaders.
To identify and classify followers, look at each person’s level of initiative, energy and
activity. Ask how well they work with others, how self-reliant they are when they must
solve problems and how well they cope with change.
Wizards
Good leaders display a variety of characteristics, but actor Ray Bolger, who played the
Scarecrow in the film The Wizard of Oz, may have provided the best description of
a leader when someone asked him what people should take with them from the film.
He explained that the classic movie shows that everyone has feelings, intellect and the
potential for courage.
About The Authors
William E. Rosenbach is a professor in the Eisenhower Leadership Studies program and
teaches management at Gettysburg College. Robert L. Taylor is a professor of management
and dean emeritus of the College of Business at the University of Louisville.
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