Learning Objectives

LO 11-1 Explain the basic concept of leadership.

Leadership is a process of providing general direction, from a position of influence, to individuals or groups toward the success­ful attainment of goals. Effective leaders today are most likely to be critical thinkers who lead from a position of influence rather than power, and who use their decision-making, motivational, and communication skills to inspire others with their vision in order to generate results.

LO 11-2 Distinguish between formal and informal leadership and between leadership and management.

A formal leader such as a CEO is designated by the organization, whereas an informal leader does not have a formal designation but may still be perceived by others as a leader. Leaders create visions, introduce change, and influence others to achieve goals, while managers maintain the status quo, promote stability, and ensure the smooth running of operations.

LO 11-3 Contrast the four basic types of leaders.

Directive leadership is characterized by implementing guide­lines, providing information on what is expected, setting definite performance standards, and ensuring that individuals follow rules. Transactional leadership is a behavioral type of leadership that proposes that employees are motivated by goals and equita­ble rewards. Visionary leadership uses charisma to encourage followers to share in the mission and commit to and work towards the desired goal. Empowering leadership shifts the focus from the leader to the follower through the idea of self-leadership.

LO 11-4 Describe the trait, behavioral, and contingency leadership perspectives.

The trait leadership perspective explores the relationship between leaders and personal qualities and characteristics, and how we differentiate leaders from non leaders. It assumes effec­tive leaders are born, not made. The behavioral leadership per­spective proposes that specific behaviors distinguish leaders from non leaders. Subsequently, the contingency leadership per­spective suggests the effectiveness of the leader relates to the interaction of the leader’s traits or behaviors and situational factors.

LO 11-5 Compare the inspirational, relational, and follower-centered leadership perspectives.

Although early leadership perspectives enhanced our understand­ing of leadership and follower behavior, inspirational and relational leadership perspectives built on these theories to examine how leaders motivate and build relationships with followers to achieve performance beyond expectations. More recently, there has been a shift from a leadership-centric to a follower-centered approach.

LO 11-6 Discuss the power-distributing leadership perspectives of empowering, shared, and self-leadership.

Empowering leadership gives or delegates power to employees that motivates and inspires them to achieve goals. Shared leadership distributes influence among groups and individuals to achieve organizational or team goals, or both. Self-leadership is a process through which people inten­tionally influence their thinking and behavior to achieve their objectives, using behavior-focused strategies, natural reward strategies, and constructive thought pattern strategies.

LO 11-7 Describe the values-based leadership perspectives of authentic, spiritual, servant, and ethical leadership.

Authentic leadership is a pattern of leadership behavior based on honesty, practicality and ethicality. Spiritual lead­ership is a values-based style of leadership that motivates employees through faith, hope, and vision and encourages pos­itive social emotions such as forgiveness and gratitude. The concept of spirituality is not necessarily connected with religion; rather it is communicated in the workplace through shared val­ues, attitudes, and behaviors. Servant leadership emphasizes employees and the community rather than the leader. Servant leaders share their power and are empathic, good listeners, perceptive, and committed to growth in the organization and the community. Ethical leadership is the influence of others through personal values, morals, and beliefs.

LO 11-8 Discuss leadership across cultures.

Cross-cultural leadership is the process of leading across different cultures. The key findings of the GLOBE project cen­tered around six global leadership attributes: (1) charismatic/ value-based, (2) team-oriented, (3) participative, (4) humane ori­ented, (5) autonomous, and (6) self-protective.

LO 11-9 Identify gender issues in the context of leadership.

Although more women are achieving leadership positions, they are still under-represented in higher levels of organizations around the world. Factors that contribute to gender inequality are leadership style, the unequal burden of family and career demands, unequal access to professional networks, discrimina­tion, and stereotypes.