Unit 3: LeadingNature of Leadership

What is the nature of leadership?

Leadership. The process of inspiring others to work hard to

accomplish important tasks.

Contemporary leadership challenges: Shorter time frames for accomplishing things. Expectations for success on the first attempt. Complex, ambiguous, and multidimensional problems. Taking a long-term view while meeting short-term

demands.

Visionary leadership. Vision

A future that one hopes to create or achieve in order to improve upon the present state of affairs.

Visionary leadershipA leader who brings to the situation a clear

and compelling sense of the future as well as an understanding of the actions needed to get there successfully.

Meeting the challenges of visionary leadership:Challenge the process.Show enthusiasm.Help others to act.Set the example.Celebrate achievements.

Figure 13.1 Leading viewed in relationship to the other management functions.

Power. Ability to get someone else to do something you want done

or make things happen the way you want. Power should be used to influence and control others for the

common good rather seeking to exercise control for personal satisfaction.

Two sources of managerial power: Position power.

Based on a manager’s official status in the organization’s hierarchy of authority. (Sources: Reward, Coercive, Legitimate)

Personal power.Based on the unique personal qualities that a person

brings to the leadership situation. (Sources: Expert, Reference)

Figure 13.2 Sources of position power and personal power used by managers.

Turning power into influence …Successful leadership relies on acquiring and

using all sources of power.

Use of reward power or legitimate power produces temporary compliance.

Use of coercive power produces, at best, temporary compliance, often accompanied by resentment.

Use of expert power or referent power has the most enduring results and generates commitment.

Ethics & The Limits to Power Acceptance theory of authority.

For a leader to achieve true influence, the other person must:Truly understand the directive.Feel capable of carrying out the

directive.Believe the directive is in the

organization’s best interests.Believe the directive is consistent with

personal values

Leadership and empowerment. Empowerment.

The process through which managers enable and help others to gain power and achieve influence.

Effective leaders empower others by providing them with:

Information.

Responsibility.

Authority.

Trust.

How leaders can empower others: Involve others is selecting their work assignments and task

methods.

Create an environment of cooperation, information sharing, discussion, and shared ownership of goals.

Encourage others to take initiative, make decisions, and use their knowledge.

Find out what others think and let them help design solutions.

Give others the freedom to put their ideas and solutions into practice.

Recognize successes and encourage high performance.