December 11, 2006
Leadership: University Studies
When people think of the University of Michigan and The Ohio State University they tend to think about football. However, both of these universities have also done studies on leadership from the 1930’s to 1950’s (Tucker 224). The University of Michigan studies from this time resulted in a one dimensional leadership model in which on one end of the spectrum there is job-centeredness, the extent in which a leader takes charge of getting a job done, on the other end of the spectrum there is employee-centeredness, leaders who place emphasis on building relationships instead of simply on getting a job done. The Ohio State University study of the time resulted in a two dimensional model with a consideration axis, essentially the same as employee-centeredness from the University of Michigan study, and a initiating structure axis, essentially the job-centeredness from the University of Michigan study. The overall result of these studies has influenced business and influenced phrases such as, "A happy worker is a productive worker."
Leadership & Management: Trait Theory
Some people believe that there are six core traits that contribute to effective leadership: drive, motivation, honesty and integrity, self-confidence, knowledge of the business and cognitive ability (Tucker 222). The drive trait reflects ambition, energy tenacity and initiative. The motivation is the desire to influence and lead others. Honesty and integrity contribute to build trust in the credibility of the leader. Self-confidence is the ability to convince others that ones actions are correct. Knowledge of the business is a strong knowledge of their company, industry and technical matters. Finally, cognitive ability is an above average intelligence that allows one to absorb complex information and use it to develop successful strategies.
Leadership: Admired Characteristics
In examining the most admired characteristics followers see in leaders the first four are honesty, forward-looking, inspiration and competency, in that order (Tucker pg 220). These are likely the most important four characteristics because they suggest that the leader will make the correct decisions for the company and the employees. Of these major characteristics the honesty shows that the leader acts on strongly held beliefs and values. The forward-looking characteristic shows a vision for the future of the organization. The inspiration is the vehicle in which a leader communicates his or her vision and the competency shows the knowledge and ability to accomplish communicated goals.
Leadership: X and Y
In trying to understand a leader's behavior Douglas McGregor came up with the X and Y theories of leadership (Tucker 226). The Theory X leader, or autocratic leader, in essence holds the view that employees work for money and status rewards. The Theory Y leader, or participative leader, in essence holds the view that employees aspire to independent responsibility and self fulfillment. Also, a major part of Theory Y leaders is the view that employees need to feel respected as capable of assuming responsibility and correcting their mistakes on their own. Based upon Management 250 lectures and the HR Simulation many companies will favor Theory Y leaders as managers because of their ability to better motivate employees compared to Theory X leaders.
Leadership: Relationship vs. Task
When trying to get work done there can be many ways to examine the needed leadership. Two general leadership orientations using contingency models (Tucker 228) are the relationship oriented leaders and the task oriented leaders. The relationship oriented leader focuses on forming and maintaining good work relationships with their subordinates in order to get things done. The task oriented leader focuses on the work to get done and does not focus on the relationship building. Generally, it is thought that relationship oriented leaders do best in situations that are either very difficult or very easy.
November 09, 2006
Leadership: Leader in training
Some people are born leaders, others are not born leaders. Which ever is the case, effective leadership models, such as the one seen in "The Leadership Challenge" by Kouzes and Posner, involve five specific behavioral practices.
Leaders look for opportunities to change the status quo. Leaders enlist others to see a similar future as they do. Leaders strengthen others by building strong teams. Leaders set the example, create standards of excellence and help people as they work toward objectives. Leaders recognize individual contributions and celebrate their accomplishments.
Whether or not you are a born leader, if you strive to improve yourself on these five practices you have one critical component that these five practices could not do without, self-motivation. So even if you are not a born leader but you have self-motivation it might be more accurate to say you are a leader in training.
Leadership: Initating Change
As a leader it can be difficult to initiate change. Often times in the process of change comments such as, "We tried that before and it did not work," or "No one will want to do that" arise. These comments can sometimes be correct because the method used to initiate change can sometimes force the attempt at change to fail. Many times attempts at change fail to incorporate seven certain keys to successful changes.
First, there has to be a clear need for change. Second, the objectives of the change must be clearly stated. Third, group participation to clarify the changes might be needed. Fourth, broad guidelines to achieve the objectives must be stated. Fifth, details of a change that will most affect a group should be left to that group. Sixth, state the expected rewards from the change. Seventh, reward those who helped in the change (Tucker pg 339).
If an organization follows these key parts it should be possible for them to make productive changes.