Leadership: an introduction
Ed Walker MD, MHA
Director, UW Healthcare Leadership Development Alliance
What is your definition of leadership?
Pick a word or phrase that best describes what you think
leadership is
Four important components of a definition of leadership
Leadership is a
1) process whereby an
2) individual influences a
3) group of individuals to
4) achieve a common goal.
But what exactly is it?
Trait of the leader?Skill set?Situational moment?Stylistic processA set of transactions?Ability to influence or manipulate?A transformational experience of inspiration?Knowledge of people and their motivations?Clear understanding of goals and paths?
Trait vs. Process Leadership
Certain individuals have special innate or inborn characteristics or qualities that differentiate them from nonleaders. – Resides in select
people– Restricted to those
with inborn talent
Trait definition of leadership:
LEADER
FOLLOWERS
Leadership• Height• Intelligence• Extroversion• Fluency• Other Traits
Trait vs. Process Leadership
Leadership is a property or set of properties possessed in varying degrees by different people (Jago, 1982).– Observed in
leadership behaviors– Can be learned
Process definition of Leadership:
LEADERLEADER
LeadershipLeadership
(Interaction)(Interaction)
FOLLOWERSFOLLOWERS
Assigned vs. Emergent Leadership
Leadership based on occupying a position within an organization– CEO– Chief of Staff– Director of HR– Department heads
An individual perceived by others as the most influential member of a group or organization regardless of the individual’s title– Emerges over time
through communication behaviors
– The virtual org chart
AssignedAssigned EmergentEmergent
Leadership & Power
Five Bases
of
Power
Five Bases
of
Power
Major activities of management and leadershipare played out
differently; BUT, both are essential for an organization to
prosper.
Leadership & Management Kotter (1990)
My gender?
My skills and learned
behaviors?
My ability to capitalize on
circumstance?
My personal style?
My ability to influence and
negotiate?
My group’s ability to form a team?
The culture of my
organization?
My flexibility to adapt?
My genes?
Who I am Who I leadHow I lead
What makes me a good leader?
Is leadership a trait?
Great ManTheories
Early 1900s
•Research focused on individual characteristics that universally differentiated leaders from nonleaders
Traits Interacting With Situational
Demands on Leaders
1930-50s
• Landmark Stogdill (1948) study - analyzed and synthesized 124 trait studies - Leadership reconceptualized as a relationship between people in a social situation
• Mann (1959) reviewed 1,400 findings of personality and leadership in small groups - Less emphasis on situations - Suggested personality traits could be used to discriminate leaders from nonleaders
Revival of Critical Role of Traits in LeaderEffectiveness
• Stogdill (1974) - Analyzed 163 new studies with 1948 study findings - Validated original study - 10 characteristics positively identified with leadership
• Lord, DeVader, & Alliger (1986) meta-analysis - Personality traits can be used to differentiate leaders/nonleaders
• Kirkpatrick & Locke (1991) - 6 traits make up the “Right Stuff” for leaders
Historical Shifts in Trait Perspective1970’s - Early 90s
Innate Qualities
Situations
Personality / Behaviors
Today
• Intelligence• Self-Confidence• Determination• Integrity• Sociability
5 MajorLeadership
Traits
Big Five Personality Factors
5-Factor Personality Model & Leadership
Emotional Intelligence & Leadership
People who are more sensitive to their emotions & their impact on others will be more effective leaders
Underlying Premise Definition Ability to perceive and:
– apply emotions to life’s tasks
– reason/understand emotions
– express emotions– use emotions to facilitate
thinking– manage emotions within
oneself & relationships
Is leadership more of a well developed skill set?
Basic Administrative Skills – Katz (1955)Management Skills Necessary at Various Levels of an Organization
Leaders need all three skills – but, skill ability/ importance changes based on level of management
Skills Model
Skills Model of Leadership
Maybe leadership is a matter of interactive style?
Balancing people and productivity
Blake-Mouton Grid
Ok, maybe leadership is just the flexibility to adapt to a
given situation?
Blanchard and
Hersey
Telling
Participating
Delegating
Selling
Followers Developmental level
Followers Developmental level
D1 Low CompetenceHigh Commitment
D2 Some CompetenceLow Commitment
D3 Mod-High CompetenceLow Commitment
D4 High CompetenceHigh Commitment
LeadersLeadership style
LeadersLeadership style
S1 – DirectingHigh Directive-Low Supportive
S2 – Coaching High Directive-High Supportive
S3 – SupportingHigh Supportive-Low Directive
S4 – DelegatingLow Supportive-Low Directive
How Does The Situational Approach Work?How Does The Situational Approach Work?
Perhaps leadership is just staying out of the way and
letting people do their jobs?
Path-Goal Theory
Is leadership more than just getting the job done?
Transformational Leadership…
A process of charismatic and visionary leadership that changes and transforms individuals
A form of influence that moves followers to accomplish more than what is expected of them
Concerned with emotions, values, ethics, standards, and long-term goals
assesses followers’ motives, satisfying their needs, and treating them as full human beings
both specific (one-to-one with followers) and broad (whole organizations or entire cultures)
follower(s) and leader are inextricably bound together in the transformation process
Transformational Leadership Factors
Leaders who exhibit TL: have a strong set of internal values & ideals are effective in motivating followers to support greater good over self-interest
Leaders who exhibit TL: have a strong set of internal values & ideals are effective in motivating followers to support greater good over self-interest
Transformational Leadership
TLs empower and nurture followers
TLs stimulate change by becoming strong role models for followers
TLs commonly create a vision
TLs require leaders to become social architects
TLs build trust & foster collaboration
Describes how leaders can initiate, develop, and carry out significant changes in organizations
Focus of Transformational Leaders
Focus of Transformational Leaders
Overall ScopeOverall Scope
An example of Transformational Leadership
• Model the WayExemplary leaders set examples by their own behavior
• Inspire a Shared VisionEffective leaders inspire visions that challenge others
• Challenge the ProcessLeaders are willing to innovate, grow, take risks
• Enable Others to ActLeaders create environments where people can feel good about their work & how it contributes to greater community
• Encourage the HeartLeaders use authentic celebrations & rituals to show appreciation & encouragement to others
Kouzes & Pozner (1987, 2002)Kouzes & Pozner (1987, 2002)
Wait, maybe it’s not about the leader at all – it’s about
the team that’s being led
Team Leadership
Team Leadership is about performing functions
Wait – we’ve gotten too far from the focus on the leader
and the complexity of the kinds of people we really are
Psychodynamic Approach
Function of leader – To become aware of his or her own personality type and the personalities of followers
Underlying assumptions– Personality characteristics of individuals are deeply ingrained
and virtually impossible to change in any significant way
– People have motives & feelings that are unconscious
– Person’s behavior results from observable actions, responses AND from emotional effects of past experience
Eric Berne and Transactional Analysis
Four dimensions important in assessing personality:
1. Where a person derives energyderives energy – internally or externally
2. Way in which a person gathers informationgathers information – precise, sequential way or more intuitive & random
way
3. Way in which a person makes decisionsmakes decisions – rationally & factually or in a subjective, personal
way
4. How the person is oriented to the world --oriented to the world --
planning & organized or, more spontaneous & pliant
Carl Jung & Personality Types
Carl Jung and Personality
TypesPsychological Preferences and Leadership
Sixteen Types and LeadershipPsychological Types and Leadership
Maybe it’s all about gender – do men or women make
better leaders?
Overall, multiple meta-analyses show that men and women were equally effective, but with some differences:– women and men were more effective in leadership roles congruent
with their gender
– women were less effective to the extent that leader role was masculinized
– women were less effective than men in military positions more effective than men in education, government, and social
service organizations substantially more effective than men in middle management
positions; interpersonal skills highly valued less effective than men when they
• supervised a higher proportion of male subordinates
• greater proportion of male raters assessed the leaders’ performance
Meta-analysis of Gender and Leadership Effectiveness
(Eagly et al, 1995)
What about culture? Does that make a difference?
Dimensions of Culture
House et al’s (2004) research on the relationship between culture and leadership resulted in the GLOBE research program
– Initiated in 1991 – this program involved more than 160 investigators
– Used quantitative methods to study the responses of 17,000 managers in more than 950 organizations, 62 different cultures
– Developed a classification of cultural dimensions – identified nine cultural dimensions
ResearchResearch
Dimensions of Culture
GLOBE research program – nine cultural dimensions– Uncertainty Avoidance:
extent to which a society, organization, or group relies on established social norms, rituals, and procedures to avoid uncertainty
– Power Distance: degree to which members of a group expect and agree
that power should be shared unequally
– Institutional Collectivism: degree to which an organization or society encourages
institutional or societal collective action.
ResearchResearch
Dimensions of Culture
GLOBE research program – nine cultural dimensions– In-Group Collectivism:
degree to which people express pride, loyalty, and cohesiveness in their organizations or families
– Gender Egalitarianism: degree to which an organization or society minimizes
gender role differences and promotes gender equality
– Assertiveness: degree to which people in a culture are determined,
assertive, confrontational, and aggressive in their social relationships
ResearchResearch
Dimensions of Culture
GLOBE research program – nine cultural dimensions– Future Orientation:
extent to which people engage in future-oriented behaviors such as planning, investing in the future, and delaying gratification
– Performance Orientation: extent to which an organization or society encourages and
rewards group members for improved performance and excellence
– Humane Orientation: degree to which a culture encourages and rewards people
for being fair, altruistic, generous, caring, and kind to others.
ResearchResearch
GLOBE researchers divided the data from 62 countries into regional clusters– Clusters provide a convenient way to
Analyze similarities & differences between cultural groups
Make meaningful generalizations about culture & leadership
– Clusters were found to be unique– Regional clusters represent 10 distinct
groups
Clusters of World Cultures
Clusters of World
Cultures
Characteristics include - Anglo – competitive and result-oriented
Confucian Asia – result-driven, encourage group working together over individual goals
Eastern Europe – forceful, supportive of co-workers, treat women with equality
Germanic Europe – value competition & aggressiveness and are more result-oriented
Latin America – loyal & devoted to their families and similar groups
Characteristics of ClustersObservations
Characteristics include - Latin Europe – value individual autonomy
Middle East – devoted & loyal to their own people, women afforded less status
Nordic Europe – high priority on long-term success, women treated with greater equality
Southern Asia – strong family & deep concern for their communities
Sub-Sahara Africa – concerned & sensitive to others, demonstrate strong family loyalty
Characteristics of ClustersObservations
Developing Leadership with Strategic Thinking
Balancing Rigor and Relevance
50
51
52
SelfPersonal
Readiness(Once)
TeamTeam Dynamic(Three times)
Your LeadershipPeer & Self
Rating (Three times)
Global MindsetSelf
(Once)
FALLWinter
SPRING
53
For Team Dynamics we repeat the same team measures 3 times
54
Authentic Leadership Model:•Self-Awareness•Transparency•Balanced Processing•Moral/Ethical Behavior
Full Range Leadership (Transformational - TF):•Four Is:
• Individualized Consideration• Intellectual Stimulation• Idealized Influence• Inspirational Motivation
•Contingent Reward (Transactional - TA)
55
Transactional Contingent
Reward“Utilities”
Self-AwarenessTransparencyBalanced Processing
Moral/EthicalBehavior
Transformational“Walls”
Authentic“Foundation”
Strategic“Crown”
56
Clapp-Smith Model
Focus on state-like attributes (not traits)Leverage experience (trigger moments)Increase self-awarenessDevelop reflective learning capabilities
(e.g., journaling, after action reviews, etc.)Provide challenge, feedback and support
58
59
FALL
WINTER
SPRING
A leader trained in an evidence-based system of development …
Knows his or her strengths and is always self-aware Continuously reflects by thinking about how he or she thinks Has a clear self concept and goal orientation Is motivated to learn and motivated to lead Maintains and appreciates perspective and is morally
grounded Is adaptable, tolerant of ambiguity and is self efficacious in
the face of adversity Is socially and culturally aware Balances individual and team effectiveness Becomes an authentic leader: self aware, balanced
processing, moral perspective, transparent Demonstrates psychological capital: self-efficacy, hope,
optimism and resiliency
So what have we learned?