Philosophy Of Leadership
President Obama’s speech to Libya referred to a quote from Nelson Mandela’s 1994 autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom : ‘I always remember the regent’s axiom: a leader, he said, is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind.’(Mandela N.,2009)
Abstract
Leadership philosophy is a tool that explains what to expect from the leader and how you to act. The relationship between a leader and his followers is very crucial. There is no definitive how a leader should operate and what strategies and methods he adopts. Although, this paper would talk about certain leadership philosophies that will help the leader as well as the follower. I would start by defining what leadership means to me and what is my purpose as a leader. It will identify the contributions of path-goal and leader-member exchange theory and theories from skills and situational approach of leadership continuing with transformational leadership (Northouse 2015). Certain critical leadership skills will be discussed. Concluding the paper I will talk the most dominant leadership style according to me. Before concluding, the paper I will mention some strategies for achieving goals and an approach to problem solving.
Defining Leadership
The quote mentioned above clearly indicates that followers are the most important object in leadership strategies. Leader is just the backbone of the flock. It suggests that followers will be motivated if they feel they are capable of completing the work and their efforts will lead to a worthwhile outcome. The motivated and achievement oriented perspective of the leader relates to the Path-Goal Theory. (House & Mitchell, 1974, p. 83 as cited in Northouse 2015). The concept of leadership has been summarized by various researchers who have studied leadership concepts on a wide range. According to (Bennis, 1976, p.15) a leader should be a social architect who studies and shapes ‘the culture of work’ referring to situations that are hard too discern but important in governing the way people act, their norms and values that are transmitted to groups that create binding and bonding (as cited by Bryman 1986 p.6). Further, Daft and Pirola-Merlo, believe that leadership in an influential relationship between leaders and followers who bring out real changes and outcomes that reflect common purposes. On the other hand, Northouse defines leadership as process in which an individual influences a group of people to achieve a common goal. Considering, the research work of all the researchers, my understanding of leadership that it a relationship of an individual (who governs the activity of others) with a group of individuals who work towards a common purpose with a final motive of bringing real change. The purpose of the leadership is to be influential and work on bringing out real change. They should work in groups and guide them towards sharing a common goal and motivate them towards achieving it.
Skills Approach
A major challenge for a manufacturing company is to launch its product in the new steering competitive market. The strategies that are made by the CEO are very crucial. According to (Katz 1955) it requires conceptual skills to articulate a vision that leads the firm into profitability. The leader is able to define company’s goals and economic principles that affect the company’s economy.
Early works on Katz
The early works of Katz divided the skills of a leader into three categories: human, conceptual and technical. (Northouse 2015). Technical skills described in this approach by Katz is simply proficiency in a specific type of activity. Its major focus is to develop analytical ability along with the ability to use appropriate techniques in any specialized area. On the other hand, human skills define the ability to work with people. It is necessary to realize where the company stands and where is it leading to. According to skills approach, which is highly in contrast with trait approach, any individual can become a leader by acquiring and practicing these skills. As described by Katz, this theory draws a relation between leader’s skills and knowledge and their performance.
Recent research by Mumford
However, Mumford outlined more complex components of effective leadership performance (Northouse 2015) : competencies, leadership-outcomes, career experiences and environmental influences. The most important competency is the skill of problem solving. They are directly related to leader attributes (Mumford, Zaccaro, Harding, et al., 2000 as cited in Northouse 2015) like general and crystallized cognitive ability, motivation and personality. It increases our leadership potential and intellectual level acquired over time known as crystallized cognitive ability. I support this theory the most, it is solely based on leader’s skills and experiences and focuses on leader’s attributes which makes it applicable for anyone.
Situational Approach
Situational leadership guides the leaders to be efficient in different types of organizational situations comprising of various challenging tasks (Northouse 2015).I believe this theory is the easiest to comprehend and very crucial to understand and practice. It is classified into four categories on the basis of changing the degree to which they are directive or supportive to the need of their subordinates : directing, coaching, supporting and delegating (Hersey and Blanchard, 1969 as cited by Northouse 2015) .In the figure, the leadership styles have been divided into four kinds (Northouse 2015) :
(S1) Directing style of leadership requires the leader to define roles and clarify responsibilities to the followers. The leader does not show any supportive behaviors.
(S2) Coaching style recommends to target on achieving goals along with catering socio-emotional needs. The leader gets involved with the subordinates. However, the final decision of goal accomplishment has to be taken by the leader.
(S3) Supporting style focuses majorly on enhancing and praising follower’s skills and abilities which also include being open to employee suggestions and feedbacks. The control of of daily decisions is handed over to the subordinates.
(S4) Delegating style is used to facilitate follower confidence by assigning them less work as compared to their ability. Once the target is set, the group is left on their own to handle all the responsibilities and important decision making.
Path-Goal Theory
This theory implies that subordinates feel motivated when there path is clear of obstacles, they have constant guidance and support and they have a good payoff (House R.,1971).This theory guides leaders to adapt to specific behaviors to motivate different types of subordinates in different types of situations. So far, there are four leader behaviors (House & Mitchell, 1974, p. 83 as cited in Northouse 2015) namely participative, directive, supportive and achievement oriented. In directive behavior leader sets clear rules and regulations and target goals, mainly implemented on subordinates who are dogmatic and authoritarian.(Northouse 2015). Leader considers subordinates as equals in supportive behavior for those who are in strong need for affiliation. Participative leadership requires leader to consult groups and integrate their suggestion for decision making. Those who believe that they are in charge of all actions in their life should be guided by participative leadership. In contrast, achievement-oriented leadership states to challenge subordinates to complete a given task with the best of their capabilities. It is a practical model which helps leaders to guide followers in a given situation.
Leader-Member Exchange Theory
This theory centers the leader member relation. It emphasizes on the importance of leader member interactions.
Early Studies
Researches compared the links between leader and follower as vertical dyadic linkages. At work, it is seen as a whole series of vertical linkages (Northouse 2015).
There were two major types of linkages : in-group, which were based on informal relations and required more involvement in all the affairs as compared to out-group which was a formal contract relationship between the leader and follower. It has defined roles and responsibilities and very less further subordinate involvement. These linkages basically depend on how well subordinates work with the leader and how much more responsibility they are wiling to take.
Later Studies
This part of research focused on the positive outcomes of leader-member exchanges. It was observed that high quality relations improved positive performance, higher frequency of promotions, more work assignments and greater participation in the work environment.(Northouse 2015) According to the research studies done by Graen and Uhl Biern(1991), they have divided the making of leadership in three phases : first, is the stranger phase where mainly the relations are formal and rule bound, just like out-group this phase is also based on contractual relations. Second is the acquaintance phase, which marks the opportunity put forward by the leader to the subordinate to increase involvement. It is a test phase to see if the subordinate is interested in taking up more responsibilities. Finally, the mature phase, which is when a high degree of trust and respect is developed amongst the leader and his followers. The basic challenge for the leader according to this theory is to bring all members in the out group to in-group or from the stranger phase to the partnership phase. The leader has to build effective dyads with everyone in his work environment to ensure positive outcomes.
Transformational Leadership
This approach to leadership which is quite different and as mentioned by Burns 1978, believes that leadership is not all about power as it is inseparable from follower’s needs (as cited in Northouse 2015). When employees are motivated to reach their targeted goals in promise of promotion or when students are encouraged to score good in order to receive good grades, there is a noticeable enhance in their performances as a result of being awarded for their work. This method of using contingent rewards as bait to enhance follower productivity is known as transactional leadership as mentioned by Northouse 2015. In contrast to transactional leadership, considering Mohandas Gandhi’s example, he promised freedom and raised hopes of people. He inspired his followers, he advocated non-violence becoming an ideal influence on people which in turn motivated them to fight for their freedom with unity and civil disobedience. In this process of achieving his goals, he was changed himself. There are chances that in the path of setting high standards of fairness and justice, leaders and followers both end up with higher moral values. Burns also defined a negative way to lead as adopted by Adolf Hitler or Saddam Hussain. For them leadership was all about power. They were whimsical and did not care much of how exploitive and unethical their activities were. This kind of negative transformation was referred as pseudo transformational leadership or Laissez-Faire leadership. An iconic leader Martin Luther King in his speech ‘I Have a Dream’, articulated ideological goals that communicated high expectations and had moral ethics. (King ML, Jr.,1997) He was a string role model and expressed confidence in his motives. Such behaviors observed in him are described by (House 1976 as cited by Northouse 1976) in his theory on charismatic leadership. He has conveniently classified leader characteristics into four classes which include dominance, a desire to influence, self confidence and strong moral values. According to him, several of these characteristics and behaviors have a direct influence on followers. They begin to trust leader’s ideology and exhibit unquestioning acceptance. Sometimes managers in manufacturing firms promote workers individual works and motivate them to engage in their own ideas generating intellectual stimulation. It is noticed that transformational leadership results in way better outcomes than expected.
Kouzes and Posner Model Of Leadership
A very efficient model of leadership was proposed by (Kouzes and Posner 2002 as cited by Northouse 2015) They have defined five simple steps for effective leadership. At first, leaders need to model the way for which they should be clear about their own philosophy and values followed by creating compelling visions and visualizing positive outcomes and then effectively communicating it to people. The leader must be willing to challenge the process with an intention of constantly growing, innovating and improving. Further, they have to promote teamwork and collaboration of ideas. They should be patient and open to consider all suggestions and opinions. Finally, come up with a way to encourage followers maybe by rewarding them or by providing any other worthwhile incentive.
Critical leadership skills and traits
Self- confidence is the ability to believe in oneself to make a difference, their motives can influence others opinions. Elon Musk is the founder of Tesla, a car manufacturing company working on bringing a revolution in the automobile industry. Its only because of his will and self-confidence that the company can be seen as a big potential market in the future.
Sociability is when the leader tries to reach out to everyone and have a healthy relationship in turn creating a positive environment. Google, is an excellent example for this skill. Supervisors sit, eat and relax together with their other staff.
Integrity is a very important trait because a leader needs to develop trust and confidence in his followers. The leader should be willing to be responsible for any kind of result. A good example for this is political elections which are primarily based on trust on their leader.
Intellectual skill requires the leader to be well aware of all his surroundings and to have the ability to make good rational decisions. Donald trump has great deal of knowledge on business and political aspects and has the capability to lead the country and be a good mentor for everyone.
Empowerment is a very rare quality. The leader motivates others to lead and empowers them to achieve their desired goal. Nelson Mandela motivated the whole public towards freedom and inspired them to acquire leadership qualities.
Decision making is the most crucial part of the leadership process. A good leader knows when to consult subordinates and when to take them himself. Mohandas Gandhi was just a support for the people who aspired for freedom, he sometimes just let the people decide of how they want to act.
Desire to influence is the ability of the leader to have an impact on follower’s opinions and motives. They target to bring out real change in the world. Dalai Lama’s teachings changed the way people view various aspects of their lives.
Charismatic leaders exhibit high confidence in followers and motivate task related goals in followers. In any organization the leader assigns a designated task to workers to complete in a given time.
Approach to leading change
As mentioned above, it is very important to maintain a positive work environment. The leader should focus on having a partnership relationship with every follower. For any assigned task the leader should device a strategy to complete the task and guide followers accordingly. The leader should adapt to various changing situations and adopt meaningful methods for smooth functioning. There should be effective problem solving skills that the leader is able to exhibit in order for the followers to have confidence in him. The leader becomes influential only when he takes care of all the small factors and motivates the whole group to achieve a common goal.
Summary
The two most dominant theories described above are the skills approach and the situational approach to leadership. The best part of skills approach is that it is available to everyone desiring to become a leader. These skills can be acquired with experience and knowledge. Situational approach effectively guides leaders how to act in a given situation at a given place with a given set of followers. This theory is the easiest to understand and follow. The leader should just be clear on what he has to do, it requires practice to be able to exercise this theory effectively. Various leadership skills have been described above, some of them are mentioned explicitly with examples to underline the top skills needed in a great and efficient leader. I believe that it is the will power that motivates an individual to have a vision as a leader and to build himself with all the qualities of a leader.
References
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