Leadership

D e f i n i t i o n o f L e a d e r s h i p

The meaning of a message is the change which it produces in the image. —

Kenneth Boulding in The Image: Knowledge in Life and Society

Before we get started, lets define leadership. Leadership is a process by which a person

influences others to accomplish an objective and directs the organization in a way that

makes it more cohesive and coherent. This definition is similar to Northouse's (2007, p3)

definition — Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of

individuals to achieve a common goal. Leaders carry out this process by applying their

leadership knowledge and skills. This is called Process Leadership (Jago, 1982).

However, we know that we have traits that can influence our actions. This is called Trait

Leadership (Jago, 1982), in that it was once common to believe that leaders were born

rather than made. These two leadership types are shown in the chart below (Northouse,

2007, p5):

F o u r F a c t o r s o f L e a d e r s h i p

There are four major factors in leadership (U.S. Army, 1983):

L e a d e r : You must have an honest understanding of who you are, what you know, and what

you can do. Also, note that it is the followers, not the leader or someone else who determines if

the leader is successful.

F o l l o w e r s : Different people require different styles of leadership.

C o m m u n i c a t i o n : You lead through two-way communication. Much of it is nonverbal.

S i t u a t i o n : All situations are different.

B a s s ' T h e o r y o f L e a d e r s h i p

Bass' theory of leadership states that there are three basic ways to explain how people

become leaders (Stogdill, 1989; Bass, 1990). The first two explain the leadership

development for a small number of people. These theories are:

o Some personality traits may lead people naturally into leadership roles. This is

the Trait Theory.

o A crisis or important event may cause a person to rise to the occasion, which

brings out extraordinary leadership qualities in an ordinary person. This is the

Great Events Theory.

o People can choose to become leaders. People can learn leadership skills. This is

the Transformational or Process Leadership Theory. It is the most widely

accepted theory today and the premise on which this guide is based.

T h e T w o M o s t I m p o r t a n t K e y s t o E f f e c t i v e L e a d e r s h i p

According to a study by the Hay Group, a global management consultancy, there are 75

key components of employee satisfaction (Lamb, McKee, 2004). They found that:

o Trust and confidence in top leadership was the single most reliable predictor of

employee satisfaction in an organization.

o Effective communication by leadership in three critical areas was the key to

winning organizational trust and confidence:

1. Helping employees understand the company's overall business strategy.

2. Helping employees understand how they contribute to achieving key

business objectives.

3. Sharing information with employees on both how the company is doing

and how an employee's own division is doing — relative to strategic

business objectives.