Unisa Study Notes



Study Unit 1Leadership, power and influenceIn its simplest form, a leader is one who leadSecond, the definition implies that the leader is in front, determining the direction and setting the pace for others to follow. The third implication is that a leader need not only be an individual, it can be a group, an organisation, an industry, a political party or even a country. Vodacom a leader in the cellular industry.“Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group ofindividuals to achieve a common goal.”We see that influence is a key element – the individual needs the ability to influence his/her followers, to motivate and enable them to contribute to the success of the organisationTHE NATURE OF LEADERSHIPTable 1.1: Four approaches to leadership -GRINTApproachKey questionDescriptionLeadershipas vested in apersonWHOThis approach asks the question: “Isit WHO leaders are that makes themleaders?”Leadership as aprocessHOWThis approach asks the question: “Is itHOW leaders get things done that makesthem leaders?”Leadership as apositionWHEREThis approach asks the question: “Is itWHERE leaders operate that makes themleaders?”Leadership basedon resultsWHATThis approach asks the question: “Is itWHAT leaders achieve that makes themleaders?”LEADERSHIP AND POWERWhenever there are relationships between people, power is present? “Power is the product of the position that a person holds in an organisation”? “The ability to mobilize resources to get things done”? “The absolute capacity of an individual to influence the behaviour or attitudesof one or more designated target persons at a given point in time.FOCUSED ON THIS“Power is the ability of a leader to influence the behaviour or attitudes of his/her follower(s) at a given point in time.Sources of PowerInformational power: the ability to provide information about a subject or task in such a way that the recipient (or follower) will accept that information and behave in the way that the leader suggests.Reward power: the ability to reward or threaten a follower.Coercive power: the ability to enforce compliance through fear.Legitimate power: the follower accepts that the leader has the right to direct, request or demand a change.Expert power: the leader is believed to possess knowledge or insights that are accepted as superior and s/he can therefore influence the follower to change his/her behaviour.Referent power: the follower holds the leader in high regard, admires his/her behaviour and trusts his/her judgement, and so is happy to emulate him/her.The sources of a leader’s power can also be grouped under the headings of soft and hard power. Soft power is personal; it refers to the ability to work at relationships to achieve a goal. It is expert or referent power.Hard power consists of power that comes with a position of authority; it is the power to coerce, reward or punish. It is legitimate power.A last source of power is called ecological power, which refers to the power to change the physical work environment through activities such as creating open-plan offices for staff or the power to change technology.LEADERSHIP AND INFLUENCEInfluence is when a leader uses his/her ability to build good relationships, and generate cooperative and collaborative strategies for the organisation. In this sense, influence is seen as the exercise of personal power (expert and referent power, as defined in the previous section) rather than positional power (the coercion, reward and punishment power explained in the previous section). While power is an element that can be used to get things done, influence is the impact of power being used in terms of effecting changes in the attitudes, values, beliefs and actions of others.Table 1.2: Leadership tactics to influence the behaviour and decisions of followersTacticLeader makes use of ……. to influence behaviourand decisionsRational persuasion facts, evidence and logicApprising benefits to follower(s)Inspirational appeals emotional commitmentConsultation involving follower(s)Exchange offering something of value to follower(s)Collaboration offering resourcesPersonal appeals friendship or personal loyaltyIngratiation compliments and praisesLegitimising tactics his/her position, policy, rules or normsPressure threatening words and behaviour, micromanagement and demandsCoalition tactics building a coalition of colleaguesOvert InfluenceForce: the blunt instrument of power. The person deploying this tactic has a large physical presence and perhaps control over resources. Bullying is an obvious example of this form of influence.Exchange: a transaction which depends on one actor having something that the other actor values. This could take the form of a normal business transaction, a trade-off between senior managers or, in extreme cases, a bribe.Rules and procedures: the power behind this form of influence comes mainly from position and resource power, as the instigator and implementer of the rules must be seen to have both the accepted authority to introduce rules and the ability to reward or punish those who follow or break the rules.Persuasion: based on the skills of critical thinking (facts, logic, assumptions, inference and argument) and on expert and personal power. Persuasion is the preferred method of influencing and the one most people try first, before resorting to other means, if necessary. Unseen influenceEcology: the potential of leaders to use the physical environment to influence the behaviours of many employees. The physical environment refers to the office space and arrangement of people, the levels of heat, light and noise, the organisation of business processes and individual job descriptions, the structure of the business and its geographical spread, and other physical factors under the control of leaders, such as the climate of the organisation.Magnetism: derived from the personal power a leader may have. This is the acceptance of influence from someone we like, admire, trust and respect. Influence based on magnetism is easily shattered, as once trust is broken it is difficult to regain.Table 1.3: The use of overt and unseen influenceTactic?Leader makes use of ……. toinfluence behaviour and decisionsOvert influenceForce Bullying?Exchangea normal business transaction, tradeoffbetween senior managers or a bribe?Rules & Proceduresposition and resource power?Persuasionskills of critical thinking, expert andpersonal powerUnseen InfluenceEcologythe physical environment?Magnetismpersonal powerA modern leader is one who has the ability to develop good relationships with peers, colleagues and followers. The leader works through relationships to empower and engage the organisation, generating collaborative approaches that focus on achieving a common goal. Leadership, then, is about developing the skills needed to build coalitions that will move an organisation closer to its defined ends.Study Unit 2The leadership/management debateINDUSTRIALISATION AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENTIFICMANAGEMENTFrederick Winslow TaylorDeveloped the concept of scientific managementnoticed the natural differences in productivity between workersInitially, he attributed these differences to the talent, intelligence or motivation of individual wersTaylor believed that working practices based on standardisation would produce better-quality outputs and more efficient production than the old craft-related ‘rules of thumb’ which he still saw in operation around him.Putting this belief into effect, he instigated wide-ranging ‘time and motion studies’ to carefully observe how specific work tasks were accomplished most effectively, and wrote detailed step-by-step procedures based on his findingsThe application of these procedures was contingent on a high level of managerial control over employee work practices. ‘Management’ was considered a necessary control and administration task because workers were seen as unwilling.Taylor and a number of his followers tried (unsuccessfully) to implement his scientific approach to management. Reasons for their failure include the fact that (i) different people have different talents and skills, and the application of the scientific approach to management failed to take into account that the most effective way of working for one person could be totally different from the effective way for another person; (ii) the economic interests of workers differ tremendously from those of management, which has an impact on how new methods are viewed by each party. By applying the scientific approach to management, workers felt they were being exploited by business owners. Taylor recognised these challenges, but was still unable to make a lasting success of any of his trials of scientific management.Henry GanttHenry Gantt developed the famous Gantt chart, in which a series of horizontal lines show the amount of work done or the production completed within certain periods of time, in relation to the output planned for those periods.Today, the Gantt chart is still used as an important project management tool.Gantt’s legacy is mainly related to production management. For example, his ‘task and bonus’ system linked the bonus paid to managers to how well they taught their employees to improve performancehe believed businesses have obligations to the welfare of the society in which they operate – the forerunner of today’s writing on corporate governance, as well as corporate and social responsibility.Henri Fayoldeveloped a general theory of business administration – often known as Fayolism – which became one of the most influential contributions to modern concepts of managementAs defined by Fayol, business administration consists of the performance or management of business operations and thus the making or implementing of major decisions within an organisationIn this context, ‘administration’ refers to the all-encompassing process of organising people and resources efficiently so as to direct activities toward common goals and objectives.it is clearly recognisable as ‘management’ as we know it today. Fayol’s was one of the first comprehensive statements of a general theory of management: it put forward six primary functions of management, namelyforecastingplanning organisingcommandingcoordinatingcontrollingSome writers3 reduce these functions to four, namely planning, organising, leading and controlling,Fayol also proposed 14 principles of managementManagement principleExplanationDivision of work and labourThe division of work refers to the practice ofdividing a job, task, assignment or contract intosmaller tasks, and may include a schedule forthese tasks. Fayol’s principle was based on thebelief that specialisation increases the outputor performance of a worker by making him/hermore efficientAuthorityFayol believed managers must have authorityand give orders to employeesDisciplineEmployees need to obey and respect the rulesthat govern the organisationUnity of commandEach individual employee should receive ordersfrom only one superiorUnity of directionAll the efforts of a group need to be focusedon one goal, directed by one manager, usingone planSubordination of individualinterests to the generalinterestThe interest of the organisation should alwaysbe deemed more important than the interestof an individualRenumerationWorkers must receive a fair wage for renderingservicesCentralisationThe optimum degree of centralisation anddecentralisation needs to be found for eachsituationChain of commandThe chain of command refers to the line ofauthority from top management right downto the lowest levels of management in anorganisation, and communications should followthis chainOrderPeople, material and components should be atthe right place at the right timeEquityManagement should treat followers kindly andfairlyStability of tenure ofpersonnelLow employee turnover is more efficient thanhigh employee turnover, therefore managementshould plan human resources carefully andensure replacements for vacant positionsInitiativeEmployees need to be given the opportunity totake initiative in the workplace, which will resultin high levels of effortEsprit de corpsManagers need to promote team spirit, andbuild harmony and unity in the organisationNone of the researchers and contributors to our body of knowledge regarding leadership versus management (discussed above) differentiated between leadership and management. The first researcher to do so was Max WeberMax Weber Weber focused on understanding bureaucracy and classifications of authority.He divided authority into three types, namely legitimate, traditional and charismatic. Here we have the first sense of a difference between leadership and management, and the impending rise of the latter in importance both as a practice and an academic area of studyWeber defined charismatic authority as power which drew its legitimacy fromthe leader’s exceptional personal qualities or accomplishments, which were such that they inspired loyalty and obedience in followers. In this definition we can clearly see the origins of charismatic leadership and the notion that a ‘leader’ is somehow more than, or different from, a manager.LEADERSHIP IS ABOUT CHANGEJohn Kotter Is known especially for his epigrammatic linking of management to complexity, and leadership to change. Kotter maintained that management is about coping with complexity, and that its practices and procedures are largely a response to one of the most significant developments of the twentieth century: the emergence of large organisations.Leadership, by contrast, is about coping with change. Part of the reason why it has become so important in recent years, is that the business world has become more competitive and more volatile than ever.thus attributed the rise of leadership in an organisational context to the change of pace and growth of uncertainty to be observed there.he sets out the functions served by leadership and management respectively in relation to directing the organisation, developing employees, and implementing and achieving outcomes. So, for example, leaders establish direction, communicate vision and strategy, and energise people to overcome obstacles while managers decide action plans and timetables, develop policies and procedures, and take corrective actions against shortfalls. In each case, it can be seen that the more dynamic or exciting tasks fall to the leader, while the more mundane activities are the lot of the manager.Differences between managers and leadersManagersLeadersCopes with changeCopes with complexityAdministersInnovatesis a copy and imitates is an original and originatesplans and budgets sets a directiveorganises staff align people to outcomescontrol and solves problems motivates and inspires people and trust maintains developsaccepts reality investigate realityfocus on systems and structuresfocus on peoplehas a short term viewhas a longer term viewaccepts the status quochallengers the status quodoes things rightsdoes the right thingsminimise risktakes calculated riskshas objectives and goals has a visioneyes the bottom lineeyes the horizonStudy Unit 3Born versus made: Early approaches to understanding leadershipAre leaders born?Do effective and good leaders learn to lead?Are leaders made?THE TRAIT THEORIES OF LEADERSHIPIntroduction to the trait theories of leadershipThomas Carlyle was the 1st researcher to investigate the traits of successful leadersFocused not only on who they are but also on the effect they have or the events they cause or set in motion in a specific situation.Carlyle is famous for his “Great Man Theory” which states that a Great Man was always as lightning out of heaven, the rest of men waited for him liked fuel and they too would flame.Assumption that leaders were born to a certain social class and gender. Qualities were inherited.Various leadership traits were identifiedDriveIntelligenceInsightMotivationHonestyIntegritySelf ConfidenceSociabilityEmotional IntelligenceExtroversionThe five main factors of personalityFactor DescriptionSurgency or extraversionThe leader is outgoing and assertive,possibly even a thrill seekerAgreeablenessThe leader is trustworthy, gentle andwarmConscientiousness or dependabilityThe leader has a desire for achievementand the ability to be dependableEmotional stability (versusneuroticism)The leader is emotionally stable,where stability is usually defined bythe neuroticism elements of anxiety,depression and mood swings, whichare more easily measuredOpenness to experience (or intellect)The leader is creative, imaginative andthoughtfulFurthermore, they realised that a narrow definition of attributes would not suffice. Instead, a much broader understanding of what differentiates leaders from non-leaders is necessary. This understanding includes personal qualities such as motives, values, knowledge and expertise, as well as social and problem-solving skills. These realisations led to the development of a model of leadership traits that is defined by the integration of several sets of attributes, namely cognitive capacities, personality attributes, motives and values, and social capacities. These attributes are explained below.Cognitive capacities: defined as the total amount of information an individual’s brain is capable of retaining at any particular moment. In the leadership traits context, cognitive capacity includes the intelligence, creativity and cognitive complexity of the leader. An individual’s capacity is finite (100%). Personality attributes: the attributes that are distinct to an individual, for example a leader might be an extrovert and open to experience. The “Big Five” personality traits are openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism.8Motives and values: a motive is simply the reason for doing something, while a value refers to one’s judgement of what is important. In a leadership context, motives and values refer to the leader’s desire to achieve and his/ her motivation to lead. Social capacities: this refers to the negotiation and persuasion skills of the leader as well as his/her social and emotional intelligence.THE BEHAVIOURAL THEORIES OF LEADERSHIPThe behavioural theories of leadership sought to compare what successful leaders do. In other words, the behavioural approach sought to measure the observable characteristics that leaders demonstrated on an everyday basis.The Ohio State studies asked subordinates to evaluate their leaders against 150 criteria contained in the Leader Behaviour Description Questionnaire (LBDQ). Subordinates were asked to comment on how often a leader actually demonstrated the described criteria. The results were analysed and categorised, giving rise to two main dimensions of leadership behaviour, namely consideration and initiation:Consideration: this dimension of leadership behaviour focuses on relationships and feelings in terms of the leader seeking to support and involve his/her followers, valuing open communication, encouraging teamwork and striving towards mutual trust. A leader who scored high on this element received a correspondingly high satisfaction rating from subordinates.Initiating structure: this dimension relates to the task in which the leader is focused on the goals of the organisation, and on planning, controlling and criticising – all to ensure the delivery of the organisational goal. A leader with a high score on this element was considered more effective, but if s/he did not also score highly on consideration, s/he experienced greater discontent on the part of employees, as shown by a higher number of grievances and higher absenteeismAt the same time, researchers from the University of Michigan examined the effect a leader’s behaviour had on small groups. The Michigan studies identified two main categories of leadership behaviour, namely employee orientation and production orientation: Employee orientation: leaders with an employee orientation focus on human relations. They work towards building trust and respect, and encourage participation in the workplace.Production orientation: leaders with a production (or technical) orientation focus on aspects of the job. They primarily use employees as a means to an end.Task/relationship approaches to leadership(i) Blake and Mouton’s leadership gridBlake and Mouton’s grid developed from the original research into employee and production orientations. Underpinning their approach is the belief that “there is one consistently sound style for exercising leadership across different situations”.13 The grid utilises two variables, namely a concern for people, which draws on the description of an employee orientation, and a concern for production, which draws inspiration from the description of the production orientation. Blake and Mouton view these variables as interdependent, in that at their point of connection they cease to be separate variables and combine to create something new. This implies that if a leader’s score on one variable changes, it will have an impact on his/her score on the other variable. The original grid depicted four main areas of intersection to which a fifth was later added by Blake and McCanse.Impoverished leadership style (1,1): a leader who adopts this style has a low concern for people and production. S/he is satisfied with minimum effort to get the very basics of the job done. For example, an impoverished leader at a university might assign courses to academics without considering their own academic records, abilities and experience, and might also ignore their productivity and quality control.Produce or perish leadership style (9,1): also called an authority-compliance leadership style, a leader who adopts this style has a high concern for results/production, but a low concern for people. For example, an authority-compliance leader at a university will expect staff to be world class researchers, administrators and community workers, with little concern for the work-life balance of those staff members. Middle-of-the-road leadership style (5,5): a leader who adopts this style will be satisfied with adequate organisational performance, through balancing the necessity to get work done while maintaining the morale of staff at a satisfactorily level. Such a leader at a university might, for example, casually monitor job progress and allow staff to sort out their duties and targets themselves.Country-club leadership style (1,9): such leaders create a great working environment, while sacrificing the speed of task completion. For example, at a university a country-club leader will be concerned with maintaining high morale amongst staff, while paying less attention to the quality of the work they produce.Team leader (9,9): a team leader ensures that work is accomplished by committed staff. His/her followers work interdependently, sharing common organisational goals. Followers trust and respect the leader and their coworkers. For example, a leader at a university who follows a team leader approach will have the highest success and output rates – s/he will maintain high staff morale while attaining the goals of the organisation. (ii) Likert’s relationship approach to leadershipLikert’s research in terms of leadership indicated that there were patterns in managerial behaviour and the effects thereof. Likert grouped these patterns into the Four Systems model, where each system explains the behaviour of a leader in terms of his/her relationship with followers. These four systems are explained below.System 1: Exploitative authoritative leadership approach: this system advocates a dictatorial approach from autocratic leaders. The leader delegates and involves his/her followers to the bare minimum. Followers are motivated through punishment or fear of punishment. System 2: Benevolent authoritative: with this system, a leader delegates to and involves his/her followers in decision making, although to a minimal extent. The leader motivates followers through rewards. System 3: Consultative: the leader shares information and followers are involved in decision-making processes. Some teamwork is in evidence and there is more trust than with systems 1 and 2. System 4: Participative: the leader actively involves followers in decisions. There is open communications at and between all levels. Having the leader involve followers leads to high levels of trust.Likert’s Four Systems modelCONTINGENCY/SITUATIONAL APPROACHES TO LEADERSHIPFiedler’s situational approach to leadershipThe two variables (employee orientation and production orientation) were the basis on which Fiedler16 developed his initial contingency approach to leadership.Fiedler used a survey that asked subordinates to describe the manager or leader they had least enjoyed working for. The results of this survey became known as the Least-Preferred Co-worker (LPC) scale. Leaders with a low LPC score were thought to be more task focused and those with a high score were thought to be more relationshipfocused.Fiedler to analyse situations and leadership styles against three criteria which he feltallowed a leader to assess the favourability of a given situation:Leader–member relations: the first criterion used in Fiedler’s research was leader–member relations, which he associated with the quality of relationships, and the presence of trust and respect between the leader and his/her followers.Task structure: this refers to the clarity with which the task – that the leader and his/her followers need to perform – has been described, designed and structured.Leader position power: this refers to the formal position of the leader in the organisation as well as his/her ability to reward and punish.Fiedler found that those leaders who favoured a task-oriented over a relationship-oriented approach tended to lead best in situations where they had a high degree of control and influence over their followers. Leaders who favoured the relationship orientation tended to lead best in situations where their level of control and influence was neither high nor low.Hersey, Blanchard and Dewey’s situational approach to leadershipHersey, Blanchard and Dewey19 believed leadership behaviour could change not just foreach situation, but specifically for each subordinate. Their model was based on the belief that effective leadership requires three main competencies, namely diagnosing, adapting and communicating (see below): Diagnosing: this refers to the cognitive ability of the leader to understand complex and dynamic situations.Adapting: the behavioural ability of the leader to change the way s/he behaves as a leader to match the situation (as s/he has understood it). Communicating: defined as a process skill of the leader, in other words the leader needs to know how to get his/her message across to individual employees in any given situation. According to Hersey, Blanchard and Dewey’s theory, leaders can (i) improve the ability to understand the situations in which they need to lead their followers and can adapt to it; and (ii) there is no one best way of leading that is applicable in all possible situations. This theory therefore supports the belief that leaders can be made!Hersey and Blanchard’s situational approach to leadershipHersey and Blanchard developed their situational approach to leadership which againfocuses on the behaviour of the leader towards his/her followers. The approach is based on three interrelated variables: Task-focused direction: this refers to the level of task-focused direction the leader gives his/her followers. Leaders need to tell their followers exactly what is expected of them, including what, how, where and when to do the task.Relationship-focused support: this refers to the level of relationship focused support the leader gives his/her followers. This includes the way the leader communicates with his/her followers, how well they listen to him/her and how leaders support their people. Readiness of the follower: this important dimension of the Hersey and Blanchard situational approach to leadership refers to the readiness of a follower to deliver the task expected of him/her. The readiness of followers is a function of their ability (which includes their knowledge, experience or skill) and willingness (which includes their confidence to do the job, their commitment and motivation).Hersey and Blanchard’s situational approach to leadership suggests that the leader’s style needs to change in relation to the readiness of the employee for any given PETENCY FRAMEWORKSA competency framework can be described a model that broadly defines the blueprint for ‘excellent’ performance within an organisation. Within the organisational leadership context, such a framework consists of a number of competencies that a leader should have in order to be successful. Competency frameworks have moved from assessing the individual leader’s attributes needed to perform a specific job or task, to the capabilities of the leader doing the job or task. In other words, a move away from what is needed to complete the task, to how the task is achieved.Soderquist, Papalexandris, Ioannou and Prastacos20 outline three distinct perspectives on competenciesGeneric versus organisation-specific competencies: competencies for a specific job or job family, or a specific job in a specific organisation.Managerial versus operational competencies: competencies for a specific role. Managerial competencies tend to include more interpersonal petencies as skills versus competencies as behaviours: competencies that are learned and observed as behaviours, or are inherent and influence how an individual does a job.Study Unit 4Transactional, transformational and charismatic leadershipOne of the most popular approaches to understanding leadership at the present time is that of transformational leadership.New leadership refers to a collection of approaches which all share a number of common themes relating to the emotional and symbolic aspects of leadership. Theseapproaches place greater emphasis on the charismatic and affective elements of leadership, and draw extensively on intrinsic motivation and follower needs as the underpinnings of effectiveness. As such, they seem to signal a new way of conceptualising leadership, and of researching and practising it. As students of leadership, these new approaches provide us with further insight into the effective practise of leadership.TRANSACTIONAL AND TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIPTransactional leadership – also known as managerial leadership – focuses on the supervision, organisation and performance tasks of a leader. It is a leadership style in which leaders promote compliance amongst their followers through both rewards and punishments. Transactional leaders motivate their followers by appealing to their self-interest. For example, corporate leaders contract employees to perform certain tasks and activities. In exchange, they pay employees and offer them status for their work effort. Transformational leadership differs from transactional leadership, in the sense that the former is a process in which leaders and followers raise one another to higherlevels of morality and motivation, while the latter involves an exchange ofrewards for compliance. When employees are successful, their transactional leaders reward them; when they fail, they are reprimanded or punished.2 A transformational leader has followers who trust and admire their leader, show loyalty and respect for him/her and are motivated to do more than is expected of them. Followers who are led by transformational leaders report higher levels of performance and satisfaction than workers led by other types of leaders. The reason for this is that transformational leaders have positive expectations of their followers, believing that they can do their best. As a result, they inspire, empower and stimulate their followers to exceed their normal levels of performance.The main proponents of transformational leadership in an organisational context are Bernard Bass and Bruce Avolio. These researchers conceptualised four components of transformational leadership, commonly referred to as ‘the Four I’s.4 Their framework identified four factors which, together, constitute the practice of transformational leadership, namely (i) idealised influence; (ii) inspirational motivation; (iii) intellectual stimulation; and (iv) individualised consideration The four I’s of practising transformational leadershipFactor DescriptionIdealised influenceThis factor requires leaders to act as strong role models for their followers. Leaders need to demonstrate high standards of ethical and moral conductInspirational motivationTransformational leaders need to motivate their followers through communicating the high expectations they have of their followers. Transformational leaders need to inspire their followers to make organisational interest their priority, rather than self-interestIntellectual stimulationTransformational leaders need to encourage their followers to be creative and innovative. Leaders can give their followers challenging tasks which allow them to explore their own beliefs and values, as well as those of the leader and the organisationIndividualisedconsiderationTransformational leaders should develop their followers to the highest levels of their ability. This can be done through the creation of a supportive and enabling environment in which the leader listens closely to the followers’ needs. Leaders may also provide coaching and mentoring, if necessaryTransformational leadership results in higher performance levels amongst followers than a transactional approach to leadership does Different researchers have diverse views in this regard: some are of the opinion that transactional and transformational leadership are at the opposite ends of a spectrum,6 while others7 believe that transactional and transformational leadership are separate dimensions which could either be practised together or separately. Based on the latter conceptualisation, the original transformational leadership model was extended to include a third approach to leadership, called laissez-faire. Laissez-faire leadership is effectively the absence of leadership, representing behaviours that are non-transactional such as abdicating responsibility, delaying decisions, giving no feedback, and so on. The three elements – transactional, transformational and laissez-faire leadership – were combined to create the full-range leadership model.Let us now look at the factors which make up transactional and laissez-faire leadership. Transactional leadership differs from transformational leadership in that it does not individualise the needs of followers and is not concerned with their personal development. Its primary aim is the achievement of predetermined organisational goals through the exchange of things which are of value to each party. The transactional leader has three tools, namely (i) contingent reward; (ii) management by exception – active; and (iii) management by exception – passive. These tools are explainedThe three tools for practising transactional leadershipFactor DescriptionContingent rewardThe transactional leader can distribute specific rewards in return for the efforts of his/her followers. The leader has an agreement with his/ her followers, whereby they perform certain tasks in exchange for rewards such as a salaryManagement by exception can taketwo forms – active or passive:Management by exception – activeThe transactional leader can provide corrective criticism, negative feedback and negative reinforcement activities. Active management by exception requires the leader to watch his/her followers closely for mistakes, rule violations and other shortcomings, and to take corrective action on each occasionManagement by exception – passivePassive management by exception occurs when the leader intervenes only after certain standards have not been met or certain goals have been missed, with smaller or less significant contraventions being allowed to pass uncorrectedCHARISMATIC LEADERSHIPCharismatic leadership can be described as the process a leader follows in encouraging certain behaviours in his/her followers, by making use of his/her personality, powers of persuasion and eloquent communication. Charismatic leaders inspire their followers to do things or to do things better, by conjuring up enthusiasm in others for a stated vision or goal. There are three approaches to charismatic leadership: the behavioural, the attributional and the follower self-concept. The behavioural approach was developed by House, whereas the attributional and follower self-concept approaches were developed by Conger and Kanungo,9 and Boas Shamir10 respectively. House11 saw charismatic leadership as underpinned by certain personality characteristicsThe personality characteristics of charismatic leadersRegardless of whether the charismatic leader follows the behavioural, attributional or follower self-concept approach, s/he will have certain characteristics. The first is a dominant personality. An individual with a dominant personality tends to be decisive and direct. The second characteristic is a person’s desire to influence others – a charismatic leader wants to influence his/her followers. The third characteristic is self-confidence, and the last is strong moral values. The four main personal characteristics of a charismatic leader emerge as behaviours. A charismatic leader is a strong role model for his/her followers. S/he shows competence in performing his/her tasks as a leader, clearly articulates the goals of his/her followers and has high expectations of them. Lastly, a charismatic leader expresses confidence and is a motivator – s/he can motivate his/her followers to act in such a way that they accomplish their goals. These leader behaviours have a certain effect on followers. In turn, the followers trust the leader’s ideology, believe there are similarities between themselves and the leader, unquestioningly accept the charismatic leader and show affection towards him/her. Furthermore, followers are obedient, they identify with the leader and are emotionally involved in their relationship with the leader. Lastly, charismatic leadership leads to higher goals being set and boosts follower confidence. The relationship between the personality characteristics of the leader, his/her behaviours and the consequent effectsthereof on followers,House’s model of charismatic leadershipPersonality characteristics of the leaderLeader is dominant, with a high desire to influence followers, is self-confident with strongmoral values.26765258890000Leader behaviourLeader is a strong role model, competent, articulate goals, has high expectations fromfollowers, express confidence in followers and motivates them.267652510033000Effects on followersFollowers trust the leader, belief in similarities, accept the leader and have affection for him/her, are obedient, identify with the leader, are emotionally involved, goal oriented and act with confidence.The behavioural approach to charismatic leadershipAccording to House,11 the behaviours of charismatic leaders are centred around competence and role modelling, articulating goals and communicating high expectations, as well as fostering encouraging, motivational interaction with followers.these behaviours are seen as producing trust in, affection for, and obedience towards the leader, and increased confidence and performance in followers.The attributional approach to charismatic leadershipConger and Kanungo14 developed the attributional approach to charismatic leadership. These researchers were more concerned with the mechanism through which such leadership operates than with the behaviours or character of the leader. They proposed that followers will attribute charisma to a leader, if a certain combination of leader behaviours is present and depending on aspects of the situation. Thus, different leaders may exhibit different individual behaviours, and their relative importance to followers (in attributing charisma) would depend, in part, on how those followers perceive the situation in which the behaviours are exercised. Nonetheless, Conger and Kanungo identified five behavioural/situational combinations that were most likely to prompt followers to attribute charismatic leadership to their leader:Advocating a vision that is markedly different from the status quo, but is not so radical as to be unrecognisable to followersActing in unconventional ways in order to achieve the visionTaking personal risk and being willing to make personal sacrifices in order to achieve the visionAppearing confident , both in themselves and in the success and expediency of their visionUsing visioning and persuasive appeals to engage followers, rather than relying on either authority or participationCharismatic leadershipThe five behavioural/situational combinations that will most likely lead to the attribution of charismatic leadership.Follower self-concept and charismatic leadershipThe third approach to understanding charismatic leadership is that of Boas Shamir. His theory builds on the behavioural approach to charismatic leadership. Shamir, House and Arthur15 saw the social identification, internalisation and augmentation of self-efficacy mechanisms (collectively designated as the self-concept theory) as being more significant. Let us first explain these concepts further before focusing on the theory itself. Self-efficacy is the belief that an individual has the ability to succeed in a specific situation or to accomplish a certain task.16 For example, as a Business Management student you possess self-efficacy, based on your belief that you have the ability to complete your studies successfully. Your sense of self-efficacy can play a major role in how you approach goals, tasks and challenges (such as your studies). Applying this definition of self-efficacy to leadership, the follower self-concept plays a major role in how they approach their tasks, goals and challenges. Shamir, House and Arthur postulate that charismatic leaders are able to harness followers’ self-efficacy or self-concepts – their sense of identity – to the goals and aspirations of the organisation, and to bring about the internalisation of these organisational goals, both collectively andindividually, in their followers. They identify four mechanisms through which this motivational change is brought about:Changing follower perceptions of the work itself, to make it appear more valuable or worthyOffering an appealing vision of the future, of which followers feel a partDeveloping a deep collective identity among followers, such that they are willing to put this before their own individual identityHeightening both individual and collective self-efficacy, such that followers believe in their own ability to deliver on demanding goalsCharismatic leadershipStudy Unit 5Leading teams: Delivering team PerformanceTherefore, the leader needs to have the skills to effectively lead the team towards delivering team performance of an acceptable level. What makes this task even more challenging is that leaders face numerous barriers and challenges in the process of leading their teams. For instance, virtual teams are becoming increasingly common in the workplace, and leaders need to learn how to lead this kind of team. Technology paves the way for numerous opportunities in the modern workplace, but also brings problems and challenges.DEFINING ORGANISATIONAL TEAMSAn organisational team can be defined as a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goal and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable.Departmental teams: also called cross-functional teams, they usually consist of people with different functional expertise, who work towards a shared goal. Such teams may include team members from finance, marketing, operations and so on.Production/service/leadership teams: these kinds of teams are usually responsible for the physical production of a product, e.g., a team consisting of film producers. Self-directed teams: a self-directed work team (SDWT) combines different skills and talents to work – without the usual managerial supervision – towards a common purpose or goal. Advisory teams: they act in an advisory capacity to other teams, e.g., a team consisting of human resources specialists will provide advice on human resources to other departments or sections of the organisation. Project teams: a team whose members usually belong to different functions (e.g., finance, procurement, operations, marketing and so on) who are assigned to activities on the same project. A team can be divided into subteams according to need. Usually project teams form for a defined period of time, and disbanded once the project is deemed complete. Virtual teams: such teams consist of individuals from different geographic locations who work together and rely on communication technology such as email, fax, and video or voice conferencing services in order to collaborate. Team members have complementary skills and are committed to a single purpose, whereas a group comprises a number of people working in a collaborative style, with individual input and individual accountability.3 The key difference between a team and a group is that the actual work of a group tends to come about individually, and that there is no pressure on groups to cohere or for members to be accountable to one another.DEFINING TEAM LEADERSHIPFirst, team processes exist which successfully integrate the actions of individuals into a collective whole. Second, teams possess the ability to use these team processes to operate in complex and dynamic environments.Third, team goal-setting and the structuring of the team’s activities to accomplish these goals happen through leadership. Characteristics of organisational teamsTeam leaders foster the integration of the actions and contributions of their followers to achieve a common goal(s) and vision. By emphasising the differences between groups and teams, and by defining team leadership in this way, we can conclude that team leadership is a subtle yet different species within the leadership genus, which produces a different leadership theory.HOW GROUPS BECOME TEAMSGroups become teams through a five-stage processStage of DevelopmentExplanationForming(ritual sniffingA number of individuals come together, but they are not a team yet. A great deal of uncertainty pertaining to the group’s purpose, leadership and structure existsat this stage.Storming(infighting)Members accept the existence of the team. Tensions, raised emotions and conflict are characteristic of this stage.Norming(experimentation)Now the team begins to function as a cohesive unit and members work together around common standards and working methods.Performing(effectiveness)At this stage, the team is mature and functions well. The structure of the team has been established and members all work together to attain its goals.Adjourning(mourning)If required, the team can disband at this stage when its work has been accomplished.HIGH-PERFORMANCE TEAMSOrganisations expect teams to perform, and to perform well. The ultimate goal of a team is to be a so-called “high-performing team”. Such a team has all the characteristics of a real team, but in addition it shows commitment to the personal growth of team members. High-performance teams perform beyond the expectations of those around them. To perform well, certain critical conditions must be met, such as:Recognised performance need: this means the organisation must recognise the need for the team to perform well.Personal commitment: each individual team member needs to be committed to the performance of the team.Mutual accountability: high-performance team members share accountability for the team and its performance.Shared trust: team members of a high-performance team trust one another.Effective operation of leadership roles: as the team develops, leadership roles become clear and effective.In summary, to be a high-performing team, members need to recognise the need to perform, they need to be committed, they are held mutually accountable, they share trust, and leadership roles are effectively implemented.MODELS OF TEAM LEADERSHIPIn theory, teams have more collective talent, experience and resources than individuals working on their own. Still, so often teams are less effective than individuals. One possible reason why teams perform less effectively than people working individually, is the behaviour of team leaders. Team leadership can guide effective teams, but it can also lead to team inefficiencies. It is the task of the team leader to create the key conditions which will enable the team to succeed.What are these key conditions?The team leader needs to ensure that the team is a “real team”. In other words, the team needs to meet the characteristics of a team.The team needs to have a compelling sense of direction.The team needs to operate in an enabling environment, in other words, an environment that provides members with opportunities to become a high-performing team.The team needs to operate within a supportive organisational context. This is crucial – all the efforts of a team should be aligned with the overall goals and objectives of the organisation. Therefore, the organisation should provide a supportive context for the team.Teams need access to expert coaching. We can actually add mentoring, training and skilling to this. To create and ensure the sustainability of these conditions, the leader needsa number of skills, as discussed belowEnvisioning skill: the team leader needs the ability to envision and articulate desired states.Inventive skill: this is the ability to be creative in solving problems and looking beyond the obvious. Negotiation skill: team leaders need to work persistently and constructively with others to secure resources or support.Decision-making skill: a team leader needs the ability to make sound choices, even in the face of limited information or uncertainty.Teaching skill: this refers to the leader’s ability to support team members’ learning, either through direct teaching or the provision of supportive experiences.Interpersonal skill: this refers to the leader’s ability to use a range of communication skills and styles to work constructively with others, even in difficult situations.Implementation skill: the leader also needs the ability to get things done, at all levels of complexity.A FUNCTIONAL APPROACH TO LEADERSHIP IN TEAMSThe main idea of the functional approach to leadership in teams, is that a leader’s main job is to do (or get done) whatever is not being adequately handled in meeting the needs of the group. This approach proposes that a leader is effective if s/he ensures that all tasks and functions which are critical to team performance, are satisfactorily performed either by him/herself or by team members.Study Unit 6Leading changeTHE ROLE OF LEADERSHIP IN ORGANISATIONAL CHANGEOrganisations that did best at implementing change initiatives appeared to have strong leaders who were closely involved with the organisational change process. Being involved in change processes means that leaders need to play various roles, ranging from that of director (i.e., someone who takes a controlling stance and sees the desired outcomes of the change as being wholly achievable) to that of nurturer (i.e., someone who recognises that even small changes may have a big impact on an organisation, and that management is unlikely to be able to control all the outcomes of any given change). The nurturing role of a leader means that s/he sees his/her role as enabling positive self-organising by members of the organisation.Another view of the roles of the leader in the change process is that effectiveleaders possess six attributes:CreativityA team orientation;Good listening skills;Good coaching skillsA sense of accountability;An appreciation for others.Regardless of the role leaders play in organisational change, workers will always show a measure of resistance to change initiatives,RESISTANCE TO CHANGEOne of the most profound barriers to the successful implementation of organisational change is resistance to change from those people at the receiving end, in other words, the people who did not make the decision to change, but need to implement the change. People in general, and employees in particular, fear change and yearn for stability in what they do and how they do it – they prefer the status quo. At an organisational or macro level, change requires the mobilisation of effort in a new direction, the adoption of new behaviours to achieve change objectives, and the introduction of new ways of working into the organisational culture. These three stages are On an individual level, the process can be depicted asWhile some of us are more open to change than others, the research suggests that all of us go through broadly the same stages of reacting to any changes that are likely to affect us. The research3 indicates that people’s responses to personal loss (particularly to bereavement) are similar to a worker’s responses to organisational change. People tend to go through the so-called “transition curve” when they need to deal with change (see Figure 7.1 in the prescribed book), which maps the confidence and competence levels of employees dealing with change over time. The curve suggests that individuals undergoing change pass through the following seven stages:Stage 1: Shock: initially, as the need for change is forced on individuals, they suffer feelings of shock in realising that their own skills may become obsolete and their behaviours will have to change. The curve predicts that the individual’s self-confidence will receive a knock, as a result.Stage 2: Denial: after the initial shock there is likely to be a period of denial, when individuals either convince themselves that the proposed changes will not happen or that their own behaviour will not need to change. This process of rationalisation leads to a return of self-confidence, but actually prevents the individual from moving forward in the ways required to meet the changing needs of the situation. S/he may attempt to perform new roles or fulfil changed job requirements by performing in the same old way, and hence will not perform well.Stage 3: Awareness of incompetence: over time, awareness of underperformance will be forced on individuals, either through their own growing self-awareness or as a result of feedback from the change initiators, leading to a further drop in confidence accompanied by feelings of inadequacy or deskilling. Stage 4: Acceptance: in parallel with the awareness incompetence of stage 3, is likely to come an acceptance of the need for change, both in the individual and in the organisation as a whole, together with a willingness to let go of past behaviours and attitudes, and adopt new ones. Stage 5: Testing: gradually, as individuals test new behaviours and find them effective in generating improved performance, their confidence will be rebuilt. Through trial and error, they will discover which behaviours work and which do not.Stage 6: Search for meaning: during this stage, individuals will start to make sense of the overall pattern of change and how their own role fits into it. This part of the process represents a search for meaning and identity in an initially alien and daunting situation. Stage 7: Integration: finally, there ceases to be a gap between individuals’ competence to perform their new role and the level of performance expected of them. New behaviours and attitudes are fully integrated into their sense of “the way we do things around here”.NORMATIVE MODELS OF CHANGEJohn Kotter outlined eight ‘errors’ which he had seen companies make in an attempt to implement major change initiatives. This research established a basis of his “eight stage” model of change. Kotter’s was one of a number of normative models that suggested that successful change required the change process to go through a linear series of stages, each of which needed to be completed in order to generate the desired outcome(s). Most basic amongst these stages is the one of Kurt Lewin4 (1958) called the “unfreeze–move– refreeze” model.While this model is still widely used, one of the main criticisms levelled against it is that in the modern world, where change is ongoing, this is a very static model. Recognition that refreezing will almost inevitably be followed by a further unfreezing and moving has resulted in the initial phase often being referred to as mobilising, and the third phase being renamed institutionalisingOne the best-known ‘n-step models’ is Kotter’s eight-step change model, which involves the following stagesStage 1: Establish a sense of urgency: during this stage, the change initiator (i.e., the individual or group that starts the change process) establishes a sense of urgency. What typically happens is that the change initiator examines the management environment in which the organisation functions and, based on this information, identifies organisational opportunities, threats, strengths and weaknesses, which are then used to create a perception of the need for change.Stage 2: Create a guiding coalition: here, a team is brought together with enough power and influence to spearhead the change.Stage 3: Develop a vision and strategy: the group or team created during the previous stage now creates a vision of what the changed organisation (section/unit/department) will look like, in order to give direction to the change effort and to develop strategies for achieving that vision. Stage 4: Communicate the change vision: the group or team is now ready to start communicating with the wider organisation. Stage 5: Empower broad-based action: this stage involves the removal of obstacles to change. Here, people should be encouraged to take risks in trying out new ideas or activities. This is often the stage at which unintended outcomes can arise.Stage 6: Generate short-term wins: to help control and direct the change process, the guiding coalition (brought together in stage 2) needs to generate short-term wins that are a clear indication that the change process is delivering the intended results. Stage 7: Consolidate gains and produce more change: by building on the credibility generated through short-term wins, change leaders can progressively change all the systems, structures and policies that no longer fit the transformation vision and/or do not fit the changes that have already been implemented. This stage includes activities such as recruiting, promoting and training people to align with the vision, and empowering them with the skills and abilities to effect change. During this stage it may also be necessary to get rid of those individuals who do not have the skills and abilities to carry the change process forward. Change is an ongoing process, meaning that change processes need to be repeatedly reinvigorated by introducing new projects.Stage 8: Anchor new approaches in the culture: this final stage involves the anchoring of new approaches in the organisational culture.The change models of Kotter and LewinComplexity in the management environment makes it highly unlikely that change will occur as the simplified, linear process described above. Organisational managers and leaders will be confronted with unanticipated problems and opportunities, as well as resistance to change. In the next section, we focus on more sophisticated models of change, known as contingency models.CONTINGENCY MODELS OF CHANGEContingency models of change recognise that change is not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ process, but that different responses are required in different situations – much like the contingency models of leadership. The two most frequently cited models are those of Dunphy and Stace6 and Kotter and Schlesinger.Kotter and Schlesinger focus on the causes of resistance to change and offer a systematic approach to selecting appropriate strategies to dealing with it. This is a micro-level model – in line with the transition curve depicted in Figure 6.5 – which considers human responses to organisational change efforts and how these responses can be addressed, should they counter the organisational goals. According to Kotter and Schlesinger, individuals and groups can react very differently to change – from passively resisting change, to aggressively trying to undermine it, to wholeheartedly embracing it. The prescribed book explains the four common reasons for resisting change (according to Kotter and Schlesinger) which you should study from the book. Figure 6.8 depicts these reasons.The desire not to lose something of valueMisunderstanding the change and its implicationsThe belief that the change does not make sense for the organisationLow tolerance for change The question that now arises is how leaders can deal with different types of resistance. Kotter and Schlesinger propose six different strategies, each suited to dealing with different types of resistance. These strategies are explained in the prescribed book and summarised below:Strategy 1: Education and communicationStrategy 2: Participation and involvementStrategy 3: Facilitation and supportStrategy 4: Negotiation and agreementStrategy 5: Manipulation and co-optationStrategy 6: Explicit or implicit coercionCONTEXTUAL MODELS OF CHANGEContextual models of change offer a more implementable and realistic approach to organisational change. The basic premise of contextual models of change is that the ‘n-step models’ to which they are an alternative are too linear to deal with the complexity and uncertainty of attempting to initiate change, and propose a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution to an essentially context-specific problem. Contextual models propose that the design and management of any change process should be dependent on the specific situation or context of each organisation. It is dangerous to apply change formulae that worked in one context directly onto another.Power: this includes the power of stakeholders and the autonomy of the organisation.Time: this refers to whether the organisation is currently in crisis, and whether the change process is envisaged for the long or short term.Scope: this element answers the question how much change is envisaged, i.e., the breadth and depth thereof.Preservation: preservation refers to whether change will be tangible or intangible, what needs to be preserved and what needs to be destroyed.Diversity: one of the major elements to consider, diversity refers to whether uniformity or diversity is present, the sources of diversity, and the impact of loyalty and identity on the change process. Capability: the capability of both the individuals associated with the organisation and the organisation itself. Capacity: this aspect should be investigated in terms of money, time and people.Readiness: the awareness and commitment to the change process of all parties involved.The contextual models of change further suggest that a series of stages need to be undertaken in identifying the right design choices in any particular context. These include the following:Answering ‘why and what’ questions: this involves an analysis of the organisation’s competitive position and an identification of its desired future state.Answering ‘how’ questions: this relates to an analysis of the critical features of the change context, the choice of a change approach, and the levers and mechanisms needed to support the transition process.Leadership questions: all leadership issues relating to the change need to be analysed. Success questions: the final analysis involves determining how the success of the change outcomes will be evaluated.Design choices are at the heart of the contextual models of change. They demonstrate the true complexity of organisational change and why the ‘onesize- fits-all’ approach is deemed so inadequate. Design choices fall into six categories, namely:Change path: the type of change to be undertaken in terms of the nature of change and the desired end result.Change start-point: the main choice here is whether change is to be topdown or bottom-up within the organisational structure, but other variations in between are also possible.Change style: the extent to which the change will be brought about collaboratively or forcefully.Change target: the main focus of the change, be it in people’s attitudes and values (i.e. culture change), their behaviours or specific outcomes.Change levers: what mechanisms and interventions will be deployed in actually bringing about change. Options here include technical, political, cultural and interpersonal.Change roles: decisions about who will lead the change and what roles different individuals and groups will play in the implementation process.Study Unit 7Strategic LeadershipSTRATEGY AND STRATEGIC LEADERSHIPa strategy is nothing more than a game plan – a plan of action, designed or drawn up to achieve a long-term (or overall) goal. ‘Master plan’, ‘grand design’ or ‘plan of action’ are the terms used as synonyms for ‘strategy’. So what do we mean when we talk about ‘strategic leadership’? Strategic leadership is often equated with executive leadership, in other words leadership by the top management of an organisation, its senior executives. Strategic leaders have many responsibilities, the most important of which is to manage the resources and capabilities of the organisation in the most efficient and effective manner, to ensure the sustainability of the organisation, and to create and maintain a competitive advantage. Strategic leadership can also be seen as the leadership of organisations, and contrasted with supervisory theories of leadership which relate to leadership in organisations.1 As such, strategic leadership relates to the creation of meaning and purpose for the organisation2 and the execution of the activities necessary to attain its purposeSix requirements of a strategic leaderStrategic leadership can also be viewed as an attitude, and specifically an attitude towards the organisation and its social context. This view suggests that the strategic leader should4 be concerned withthe role that his/her organisation plays in society: good leadership is characterised by formulating the broad perspectives and responsibilities of the organisation and ensuring that the organisation acts in an environmentally conscious and ethical manner.his/her own role as strategist, manager and leader: good leadership is characterised by integrity and genuineness, respect for differences, self- knowledge, empathy and energy, and social competence.the entire organisation, the various parts thereof, coordination and independence: good leadership is characterised by an analysis of the business environment, its objectives and meaningfulness, results and logistics. uncertainties in the management environment: good leadership is characterised by insight into new patterns, openness and involvement, the identification of challenges, timing and innovation. the unknown, the risky and the relative: good leadership is characterised by questioning, experimentation and innovation.MODELS OF STRATEGIC LEADERSHIPBoal and Hooijberg5 see the essence of strategic leadership as being the creation and maintenance of absorptive capacity6 or the ability to learnthe creation and maintenance of adaptive capacity7 or the ability to changemanagerial wisdom,8 which combines properties of discernment in relation to variations in the environment, and timing9 or the capacity to take the right action at a critical momentThe essence of strategic leadership, as explained above, is depicted in Figure 7.3.Our discussion of strategy and strategic leadership cannot be complete without acknowledging that various constraining factors may limit the success and performance of strategic leaders, includingExternal determinants: organisational performance depends largely on external factors which are beyond the control of executive management and strategic leaders. For example, fluctuations in the economic environment, current market conditions, the existence of government policies and regulations, and the pace of technological change have an impact on the success of the organisation, although strategic leaders have no control (or any influence) over these factors.Limited discretion: a newly appointed senior executive inherits an organisation with an existing culture, structure and stakeholders. This may result in his/her ability to act being constrained by powerful internal forces or coalitions, the financial condition of the organisation, a deeply embedded organisational culture, and rigidities within the organisation’s primary markets, powerful external stakeholders, and perceptions of the organisation’s performance.Biased attributions: members of the organisation may make biased attributions in relation to the actions of their senior executives and the impact these actions have. Thus they might exaggerate the influence of individual leaders (positively or negatively) as a way of making sense of complex and confusing events. Leaders, in turn, may engage in impression management activities to deliberately play on this tendency and make themselves appear more powerful and/or effective than they really are. In this context, symbols and rituals such as elaborate inauguration ceremonies reinforce the perceived importance of leaders and their responsibility for delivering high-level performance. Not surprisingly, successes are announced and celebrated, while failures are suppressed or downplayed.The constraining factors explained above are summarisedNotwithstanding these constraints, we need to acknowledge the crucial role of strategic leaders in organisational performance and sustainability. At this point, we also need to note that we are not limited here to a consideration of a senior executive as a strategic leader only. Executive teams can exercise strategic leadership in a collective or collaborative fashion, and can often have advantages over a single, high-profile individual. By bringing a broader range of skills and experience to the decision-making process, they can often make better decisions than a single individual can (although the potential for compromise decisions also exists!). Their collective strength can compensate for individual weaknesses, ensuring that important tasks are not overlooked; a team-based structure is more likely to support effective succession planning and leadership transitions.Strategic leadership theory can be broadly divided into three separate streams of research, some more directly related to the field of strategy than others. These three streams are the upper echelon theory, new leadership theories and emergent leadership theories. Each stream is briefly explained below: Upper echelon theories:11 the first stream deals specifically with the notion that those at the top of the organisational hierarchy are responsible for its strategic direction, i.e., it considers the question of executive accountability. Evolving over time into strategic leadership theory12 per se, this strand of research treats organisational performance as a dependent variable, and measures it in terms of return on investment, return on equity, etc. New leadership theories: the second stream, which comprises the so-called ‘new’ leadership theories – charismatic, transformational and visionary leadership is less concerned with strategic outcomes and more focused on the practise of leadership by individuals. Charismatic and transformational leadership are well covered in Learning Unit 4 of this module. Visionary leadership can be defined as the articulation of how past, present and future come together to shape organisational change.Emergent leadership theories: these explore issues of behavioural and cognitive complexity within the practice of leadership, as well as such themes as the role of social intelligence and competing values theory. Study Unit 88Authentic and ethical leadershipWhat is authentic leadership?Authenticity7 is a measure of how true you are to your own internal value sets, to your character and your spirit, in spite of pressure from the external environment to act in a different way. An authentic person is actively engaged in a continual process of investigating his/her own experiences, needs, thoughts, wants, emotions, preferences and beliefs.Authentic leaders can be described as persons who possess keen insight into their own self and are aware of their strengths, weaknesses, values and principles. Authentic leaders are consistent in the application of these principles, despite any external pressures that may encourage them to act in another way thus being true to themselves, their values, character and spirit. The authentic leader’s consistency of application attracts followers.An authentic leader uses his/her natural abilities; recognises his/her own shortcomings and works hard to overcome them; leads with purpose, meaning and values; builds enduring relationships with people; is consistent and self-disciplined; refuses to compromise when his/her principles are tested; and is dedicated to developing him/herself, because s/he knows that becoming a leader takes a lifetime of personal growth. People will choose to follow an authentic leader because they know where they stand with him/her.Dimensions and characteristics of the authentic leaderAn authentic leader has the following characteristics: has a clear purpose and mission (i.e., the leader knows where s/he and his/her followers are headed). The leader works relentlessly and with passion to achieve this mission.holds strong values (i.e., principles or standards of behaviour; the leader’s judgement of what is important in life and what is not) and behaves accordingly. builds good relationships with his/her followers and stays connected with them. Good relationships involve working together, trusting one another, and mutual accountability in getting the job done.practises self-discipline consistently in the execution of his/her duties. This means s/he has the ability to control his/her own feelings and overcome his/her own weaknesses.leads wholeheartedly (with complete sincerity and commitment) andwith compassion.Authentic leaders know who they are, what they think and how they should behave. They are perceived by others as being aware of their own and others’ values/moral perspective, knowledge and strengths; are aware of the context in which they operate; and are confident, hopeful, resilient and of high moral character. Such leaders know who they are, where they are going and why.What are the contemporary dimensions of an authentic leader?The original conceptualisation of authentic leadership that we explained in the preceding section, was developed over time by a number of researchers 9 who eventually produced a model consisting of four dimensionsWhat are the causes and results of authentic leadership?Two elements are commonly thought to have an impact on creating an authenticleader, and the development of authentic leadership:Personal and environmental elements that have an impact on authentic leadershipAuthentic leadership (based on self-awareness and self-regulation) leads (through positive modelling) to authentic followership (also characterised by self-awareness and self-regulation). Authentic followership results in various follower outcomes (e.g., trust, engagement and workplace wellbeing). Lastly, follower outcomes result in follower performance, namely a sustainable and veritable organisation Alignment between authentic leadership, authentic followership and the results thereofGood leaders have the right mindset when it comes to leading organisations and people. What is the right mindset? It involves regarding leadership as a responsibility and not a right, having self-awareness, self-regulation, emotional intelligence and integrity. Good leaders know that they have to earn the privilege to lead. Through positive modelling, leaders create authentic followers who follow the leader’s direction and desire to make tomorrow better than today. Furthermore, Pretorius believes that authentic leaders and followers will lead to an environment characterised by trust, engagement and follower wellbeing, in other words follower outcomes. Lastly, follower outcomes will lead to follower performance.ETHICAL LEADERSHIPA leader has to be both morally good and good at what they do in order to be called a good leader. An ethical leader is someone who does the right thing, in the right way and for the right reasons.This definition of ethical leadership brings together two philosophies on business ethics, namely deontology and teleologyThe deontological perspective of business ethics argues that a leader should act out of a sense of duty, or an adherence to the rules.The teleological or consequentialist perspective argues that a leader is deemed ethical if the outcomes of his/her actions can be judged to have conceived something good, regardless of the actions themselves.These two descriptions highlight the fact that ethical leadership involves the character as well as the actions of the leader. The character of a leader will depend on whether s/he is a moral person and a moral manager. The moral development of a leader can pass through three different stages: Stage 1 is the preconventional stage, where ethical and moral norms are seen as being imposed externally.Stage 2, the conventional stage, is where ethical and moral norms come from the leader’s close associates.Stage 3, the post-conventional stage, is where the leader reasons for him/herself what is right and wrong from ideas of rights and justice. The moral development process of a leader is summarised belowLeaders should not only focus on themselves and their values, but also on their virtues that are, unlike values, developed through continual practice. Typical virtues that ethical leaders would do well to adopt and continually practise, include the followingAltruism: a leader needs to be willing to do things that will be to the benefit of others. Prudence: exercising careful and good judgement, based on past experience and knowledge.Temperance: the ability to exercise self-restraint.Justice: the ability to administer fairness.Fortitude: mental and emotional strength in facing difficulty, adversity, danger or temptation.Wisdom: the ability to think and act using his/her own knowledge, past experiences and understanding of a situation.Holiness: being endowed with moral character. Courage: the ability to do something that is difficult or dangerous.Righteousness: the willingness to follow moral laws.SERVANT LEADERSHIPServant leaders15 can be described as people who empower and develop others. They show humility, are authentic, accept people for who they are, provide direction, and are stewards who work for the good of the whole. Servant leaders have a number of attributes, namely:Communication skills: the ability to listen, understand and communicate effectively.Withdrawal: the ability to withdraw and reorient oneself.Acceptance and empathy: the ability to accept what is offered, even if it is imperfect, and to understand and be interested in the thoughts, feelings and positions of others.Intuition: ‘a sense for the unknowable’ and the ability to ‘foresee the future’.Awareness and as wide a perception as possible: the ability to see the past, present and future as one entity.Persuasion: rather than relying on the resource of power (discussed in Learning unit 2), a servant leader persuades people to his/her vision.Healing: to provide healing for others, and to gain healing for oneself through service to others.Stewardship: someone who sees his/her own position, their staff and their organisation as being given to them in trust; a commitment to help people grow and undertaking to build the community.SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIPSpiritual leadership can be seen as a method of facilitating a culture in the workplace that allows employees to find a greater purpose and feel socially connected (in a membership sense). We can highlight three central dimensions of spiritual leadership, namely a vision, altruistic love and hope/faith:Vision: a spiritual leader will provide a vision of where the organisation is headed in the future. This should be compelling and (perhaps most importantly for this perspective) it should provide people with a clear sense of meaning for their work that they can commit to and strive for. The vision of a spiritual leader should encompass high ideals or moral standards, and encourage in followers a sense of hope and faith.Altruistic love: it produces feelings of wholeness, harmony and wellbeing in the workplace through focusing on recognising others, appreciating them, and being caring and having concern for all. Underpinning this concept is a set of values, virtues and behaviours which includes acceptance, kindness, patience, forgiveness, compassion, humility, selflessness, truthfulness, self-control, trust and loyalty.Hope and faith: hope is aligned with the vision of the organisation and, as such, is a destination or desire which is expected to be attained. The faith element suggests that all employees will have a firm belief that the organisation can reach its goal, even in the face of great difficulties.Study Unit 9Responsible leadership for a sustainable worldThe business dictionary defines responsibility as “the duty or obligation to satisfactorily perform or complete a task (assigned by someone, or created by one’s own promise or circumstances) that one must fulfil and which has a consequent penalty for failure”.1 In an organisational context, leaders have a responsibility to satisfactorily perform or complete organisational tasks (assigned to them by higher authorities), with a consequent penalty for failure.RESPONSIBLE LEADERSHIPResponsible leadership can be defined as “the art of building and sustaining morally sound relationships with all relevant stakeholders of an organization”.2 An important aspect of this particular definition is the use of the term ‘stakeholder’. Stakeholders are those persons who have (or claim to have) ownership, rights or interests in an organisation and its activities in the present (but also in the past and in the future). Such rights or interests are the result of transactions with, or actions taken by, the corporation and these may be legal or moral, individual or collective.3 If we unpack this definition of a stakeholder, we learn the following:The stakeholders of an organisation are NOT only the owners (or shareholders);Stakeholders do not necessarily have ownership of the organisation – they may have rights or other interests in the activities of the organisation;Organisational activities include activities performed in the past, present and future, which implies that stakeholders also have a claim to the outcome or effect of organisational activities which are still being planned for the future. Organisational activities conducted in the past have an effect on the organisation’s performance, and will have an impact on the environment and society in both the present and the future. A good example is the BP oil spill, which released millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico on 20 April 2010,4 which had immediate, devastating consequences – 11 workers died, harm was done to many Gulf Coast residents’ properties, not to mention the ecological and economic damage of the spill. BP is still responsible for the financial damages which need to be paid to residents and the families of the workers who lost their lives. Also, the shareholders of the company were affected by the loss of revenue due to the oil spill.If we adopt this definition of a stakeholder, it is clear that organisational leaders have a responsibility towards all stakeholders, be they internal stakeholders shareholders/owners, investors, employees and management) or external stakeholders (community, local and national government, activists, competitors, the media, various associations, organised labour, customers, suppliers and the environment). We can now revisit our definition of responsible leadership and phrase it as follows:Responsible leadership is the art of building and sustaining morally sound relationships with all people or groups of people who have, or claim to have, ownership, rights or interests in an organisation and its activities in the past, present and future.CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR)Focus on CSR, which is a business approach that contributes to sustainable development by delivering economic, social and environmental benefits for all stakeholders (including shareholders). CSR is a concept with many definitions and practices. The core principles of CSR are the following:Principle 1: CSR is about considering the impact an organisation can have on its wider stakeholder group (see preceding section).Principle 2: CSR is about a process of engaging with stakeholders to consider what role an organisation should play in a wider societal context.Principle 3: The responsibility of an organisation stretches more widely than the confines of the company premises, and includes a responsibility towards society at large, including the environment. The three principles of CSR indicate that it is the responsibility of organisations and their leaders to understand the expectations that the wider society (and not only shareholders or owners) have of them. This view has been condensed into four broad areas The primary responsibility of business is to be profitable – referred to as the economic responsibility (see Figure 9.2). Organisations need to offer the products and services that people want and need in a profitable manner, and thus must be able to offer employment that allows staff to earn wages, and in turn help develop the economy. Second, the organisation has legal responsibilities – to obey the law, in other words to comply with the ethical norms of society that have been codified into law in every region and country where the company operates. This applies at the corporate and the individual level.Third, organisations have ethical responsibilities – to act in an ethical manner, in other words to understand and comply with those ambiguous and emerging norms of society that have yet to become law.Fourth, the organisation has philanthropic responsibilities – to be a good corporate citizen, in other words to go beyond the expectations of society. It is important to note that these four broad areas of CSR are not mutually exclusive, but are interdependent areas of responsibility. Typically, organisations are strong in some areas and weak in others.SUSTAINABILITY AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENTWhat is sustainability in a business context? We can define sustainability as the ability of an organisation to continue to do business over the long term – and possibly indefinitely. But, most importantly, sustainable business is tied up with the impact that the business has on the environmental resources of the world that it consumes in the process. Sustainability suggests that business leaders need to critically consider how their organisations can reduce and minimise their impact on the natural resources they utilise. By doing this well, business leaders can help to ensure that their businesses will be around in the future, and that future generations will continue to have the ability to support themselves and to flourish, thanks to the impact of current business strategiesand practices.Sustainable development has three core elements, namely:Society: this refers to people living in a particular country or region as a nation, where they share customs, common traditions, values, laws, activities and interests.The environment: in the context of sustainability and sustainable development, the environment refers to the natural environment, the biosphere in which humanity and all other life on earth exists. The economy: this refers to a community’s system for using its resources to produce wealth.The three elements of sustainable development, as explained above (society, the environment and the economy), are all related and interconnectedThe three elements of sustainable development should be viewed in no particular order, meaning that one is not more important than the other. Furthermore, these elements should be balanced – an organisation cannot pursue a profit maximisation goal at the expense of the environment or to the detriment of society. By the same token, an organisation will not be able to survive in the long term (i.e., be sustainable) if it does not make a profit to sustain its business. Every decision that the leader makes, every project that is considered, should be done in a sustainable manner. This means that the leader should link the economic, social and environmental component to strengthen it in anisations respond to the challenges of responsibility and sustainability either by taking a position on, or by moving through, six levels or phases of commitment:8Phase 1: Rejection: a focus on exploiting all resources (human and ecological) for the sake of maximising profit. Leaders here would not accept responsibility or listen to sustainability arguments, and would actively work against possible regulation or activism. Phase 2: Non-responsiveness: characterised by a lack of awareness or ignorance of sustainable or social issues, rather than active opposition to these issues.Phase 3: Compliance: complying with laws and regulations to avoid risk, or complying with self-regulatory measures to avoid legislation which may limit the activities of the firm. Phase 4: Efficiency: sustainability is seen as a cost reduction and efficiency strategy. Principles of sustainability are incorporated into everyday business practice. Phase 5: Strategic pro-activity: sustainability is viewed as potentially giving competitive advantage as well as ensuring cost efficiencies. Leaders here see sustainability as a strategic route to taking a position of leadership in an industry, and thus maximising returns.Phase 6: The sustaining corporation: one that is committed to the principles of social and ecological sustainability, that is maintaining returns, but is focused on meeting the needs of the present without compromising the opportunities of future generations.Phases of commitment to sustainabilitySUSTAINABLE LEADERSHIPBeing a responsible leader means accepting that you have obligations to the health of the business, to your workers, customers, the community and nature.9 A sustainable leader recognises the challenges in terms of sustainability and sustainable development. Where the traditional business model focuses on profit maximisation, a sustainable leader is able to conceive a different business model – one where the full price of resources can be paid and where an equal focus on profit, people and planet is good for business. This is a very different conceptualisation of ‘good business’, which can also be described in two alternative and extreme approaches, namely the locust leadership approach and the honeybee leadership approach:Locust leadership is aligned with the idea that the only purpose of business is to do business, to maximise profit and return profits to shareholders. In this approach the world is perceived as primarily being a competitive place, where the survival of the fittest is the main rule. Leadership is, according to this approach, particularly ruthless and asocial, where employees are treated as a means to an end and not ends in themselves, and where society and the environment are legitimate areas on which to externalise business costs. The typical behaviour of locust companies includes taking short-term decisions aimed at improving share prices in the next quarter, paying the lowest wages possible, avoiding or evading tax, and giving or accepting bribes. The mantra of the locust leader is shareholder value, which is sold as the most important value to which the organisation has no choice but to adhere. Honeybee leadership is in sharp contrast to locust leadership. The honeybee approach to leadership presents a more positive idea. This is an approach Characterised by the community-focused behaviour of bees which work together for the good of all, and in the process improve their surroundings by pollinating various plants in their neighbourhood. Honeybee leadership is therefore more complex, focusing on the business but also on society and a wide range of stakeholders. Rather than short-term decisions, this type of leadership views business from a long-term perspective, aiming to take all stakeholders of the business on a journey together. The characteristics of a honeybee business include investment in innovation, training and development, high levels of trust between management and workers (as employees are seen to be valued in themselves), internal succession plans, ethical and sustainable decision making, and a long-term view taken by investors.Anyone seeking to be a responsible leader for a sustainable world would adopt a leadership approach closer to the honeybee model than the locust model; developing successful, productive businesses that work in collaboration and partnership with others and balance the needs of all stakeholders, including the shareholders.Study Unit 10Leadership development and performanceLeader development is said to work at an individual level. It seeks to improve an individual’s mastery of the cognitive, socio-emotional and behavioural skills associated with leadership to aid the development of self-awareness and increase the individual’s capacity to take on the role of leader. By contrast, leadership development focuses on developing the quality and collective capacity for leadership in an organisation, and as such is more focused on social processes and structures, group or team activities, and is more tightly tied in with ideas of organisational development.LEADER DEVELOPMENTBy developing these three skills, a leader has the capacity and the capability to learn through situations that are complex and problems s/he has not encountered before, and for which there is no obvious solution.Cognitive skills: ‘cognitive’ refers to conscious mental activities such as thinking, reasoning, understanding, remembering and learning – in other words, what you are currently achieving! ‘Cognitive skills’ therefore refer to an individual’s ability to perform activities related to thinking, reasoning, understanding, remembering and learning. Within the category of cognitive skills, leader development seeks to enhance a leader’s ability to think, reason, understand, remember and learn.Socio-emotional skills: often called ‘soft skills’, these are perhaps more widely known as interpersonal skills. The concept refers to an individual’s ability to work with other people. In a leadership context, it refers to a leader’s ability to communicate with other individuals and groups/teams of people, to understand individuals, groups/teams and situations, and mentor others in order to develop capability in the wider team. Behavioural skills: generally speaking, these involve the reflective ability of an individual in relation to the situation s/he is facing. In the leadership context, behavioural development is focused on how a leader’s behaviour impacts on his/her followers, groups and teams.Key leader attributes are very similar to the characteristics of the authentic leader, described in Learning Unit 8, and include self-awareness, openness, trust, creativity, as well as practical, social and general intelligence. The acquisition of these skills and attributes allows a leader to develop the ability to be adaptable in dealing with the difficult problems arising in today’s world of businessDuring leader development programmes, three categories of capabilities are usually developed, namelySelf-management capability: this refers to a person’s ability to manage him/ herself in a work situation and in his/her private life. To have self-management capabilities, the leader first needs self-awareness – in other words, the conscious knowledge of his/her own character and feelings. Second, the leader needs to be able to balance conflicting demands. For example, the shareholders of an organisation will demand the highest possible return on their investments in the organisation, while the leader’s followers will demand fair remuneration, good working conditions and an enabling environment. A leader needs to balance these conflicting demands. Third, the leader needs to constantly learn – new approaches, the application of new technology and so on. Fourth, a leader needs to have strong leadership values, a concept discussed numerous times in this module.Social capability: this refers to a person’s ability to work well with others. To have social capabilities, the leader first needs to be able to build relationships – not only with his/her followers, superiors and peers, but with all other stakeholders. Second, the leader needs to be able to maintain those relationships. Third, s/he needs the ability to build effective teams – as explained in detail in Learning Unit 5. Fourth, the leader needs to have the ability to communicate well – with followers, superiors, peers and all other stakeholders. Lastly, the leader needs to have the ability to develop others (mainly his/her followers).Work-facilitation capabilities: the business organisation exists in order to meet the needs of various stakeholders. In Learning Unit 9, we defined responsible leadership as the art of building and sustaining morally sound relationships with all the relevant stakeholders of an organisation. The work facilitation capability has to do with the ability of the leader to do what needs to be done in order to meet the needs and demands of all stakeholders of the organisation. First, the leader needs management skills – the ability to plan, organise and control. Second, the leader needs strategic thinking and execution abilities (see Learning Unit 7). Third, the leader needs to be able to think creatively and implement creative ideas. Lastly, the leader also needs to initiate and deliver change, as discussed in detail in Learning Unit 6.The point here is that a leader develops his/her leadership skills through gaining experience, having the ability to learn while working through an experience, and beingable to reflect on and learn from experiences. These experiences should be varied in nature, have a certain level of challenge to them, and be supported by constructive feedback, in order to be most effective.LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENTLeadership development focuses on developing the quality and collective capacity for leadership in an organisation, and as such is more focused on social processes and structures, group or team activities, and more tightly tied in with ideas of organisational development. One of the key successes of leadership development programmes is that they allow time and space for groups to discuss, contextualise and develop their own understanding of the issues around leadership. In what follows, we focus on leader/leadership development tools and techniques.LEADER/LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT TOOLS AND TECHNIQUESVarious tools and techniques can be implemented to develop leaders and leadership in organisations. In this section, we focus onAction learningThere can be no learning without action and no (sober and deliberate) action without learning.Action learning, as suggested by the name, is a learning (rather than training) approach to individual and organisational development. At its essence, action learning involves collaborative problem solving, in which individuals come together in a learning set to discuss the difficult issues they face. As such, it is a method of learning through experience, using workplace issues as the main vehicle for learning, asking questions to further understanding about the issue, and generating action to be taken to address the issue.6 Action learning has become a popular leadership development tool. The rapidly changing nature of the global economy, and the continuous change faced by companies has created a need for leaders to be able to understand and learn their way through complex problems, to be at ease with this complexity and purposeful in action at the same time.Coaching, mentoring and counsellingThe terms ‘coaching’ and ‘mentoring’ are used interchangeably in leadership development literature.the simplest level, coaching is a process and a relationship within which the person being coached decides what their course of action will be and devises their own solution. In this sense, coaching is seen as a non-directive form of cognitive development, where the coach facilitates the coachee to discover their own solutions. Characteristics of coaching are the followingCoaching is non-directiveThe coach does not give the coachee adviceThe focus is on solutionsCoaching is based on the belief that individuals hold the answersCoaching is based in the present and the futureThe focus is on strengthsCoaching is committed to specific actionsCoaching promotes a high degree of independenceCoaching relies on skills such as questioning, reflecting and clarifying.As regards mentoring, the mentor is usually a more experienced person from the same company or a similar sector or industry to the person being mentored. The mentor’s job is to provide advice and specific knowledge about the area in question. One possible danger in granting mentoring advice is the status difference between the mentor and the mentee, which could lead the mentee to feel pressured to act on advice s/he is not convinced about. In contrast, coaching seeks to enable someone to take his/her own decisions and seek his/her own advice and guidance, as necessary. Mentoring has the following characteristics:The mentor has expert knowledge/experienceThe mentor gives specific adviceMentoring may be solutions focused or explorativeThe mentor has ‘real’ answersMentoring is usually directive at some levelMentoring may/may not result in specific actionsMentoring can promote dependence on the mentorMentoring uses the skills of questioning, reflecting, clarifying and telling.Counselling in the workplace can be described as the supply of short-term sychological therapy for the employees of an organisation. This intervention is paid for by the organisation. The service includes, inter alia, face-to-face sessions, a telephone helpdesk and legal advice to assist employees. The upside is that this type of intervention could reduce employees’ stress levels. The characteristics of counselling are the following: Counselling looks backwards and at the presentThe process is non-directiveNo advice is given Counselling is not usually solutions focusedCounselling is based on the belief that individuals hold the answersThe process often operates at an emotional levelCounselling may promote a degree of dependenceDepending on the style of counselling, it may use the skills of questioning, reflecting, clarifying and regressing. Leadership coachingLeadership coaching is a dynamic relationship, usually one-to-one between the leader and the coach, which is geared towards the development of the leader.7 Leadership coaching, as a form of leadership development, focuses on four main areas, namely:The needs of the leader within the organisational contextThe unique skill set required by the coachThe importance of the relationship between the coach and the coacheeFlexibility in the process used during coaching in order to achieve preagreedobjectives.The purpose of leadership coaching is to enhance skills and performance, and possibly to enable the development of a vision, direction or objectives for the organization.8 “Coaching is the art of facilitating the performance, learning and development of another.”MentoringMentoring is a relationship between a more experienced and a less experienced leader. As with coaching, the relationship is focused on the development of the mentee, sometimes referred to as the protégé.10 The mentor can help the mentee feel more comfortable in his/her new role as leader, and it is argued that gaining an effective mentor can increase the effectiveness of leader development in individuals.11 Effective mentoring may lead to improved morale and commitment to the organisation, plus promotion and better pay for the mentee.Experiential learningExperiential learning in leader development programmes can be thought of in two ways: the first is the development of a leader’s ability to reflect on his/ her own practice, essentially to be able to learn from everyday opportunities and experiences, and thus to be able to continuously self-develop. The second is the training that occurs to develop this capability, usually problem-solving activities linked to reflection and feedback sessions. These activities can include role play, simulations, structured activities, sensitivity training and outdoor adventure training.An important aspect of experiential learning is the methods used to help leaders learn from their experiences. One of the best-known of these methods was developed by David Kolb,13 who described experiential learning as a process that transforms experience into knowledge. Understanding the process that individuals follow to develop their principles and values from their experience is essential for gaining insight into how people are likely to behave in new situations.14 Kolb proposed that people follow a four-stage cycle, namely:Concrete experience: this first stage involves the leader having an experience. Concrete experience has two elements, namely the objective description of the facts as they happened, and the subjective description of the feelings, thoughts and perceptions the individual had in the moment of having the experience.Reflective observation: during this stage the leader reviews or reflects on his/her experience, to consider what meanings/significance the experience may have. It requires the individual leader to explore different perspectives on his/her experience.Abstract conceptualisation: the third stage refers to the conclusions drawn by the leader and what s/he learnt from the experience. Abstract conceptualisation requires the individual to theorise about the experience, either drawing on existing theories or creating his/her own hypothesis. Active experimentation: this refers to the planning or execution of what the leader has learned. It asks the question ‘so what?’. How will the leader change, in the future, to try out a new method in light of what s/he learnt from this experience?ReflectionThe ability to reflect has been identified as one of the main processes in using experiential learning successfully.15 In Learning Unit 8 we saw that a key element of authentic leadership was the ability to develop a suitable level of self-awareness. The process of reflecting on leadership experiences, values and beliefs is critical in developing high levels of self-awareness. Reflection in the context of leadership development is defined as serious thought or consideration. By giving serious thought to an experience, a leader can examine the event and decide what meaning is to be gained from the experience. The process of reflection enables leaders to surface what may be a hidden understanding or belief about reality. Once this has been done, the leader can decide what has been learned from this process.Summary of leader/leadership development tools and techniquesEVALUATION OF LEADERSHIP PERFORMANCEIn any organisation it is crucial to evaluate the success and effectiveness of leaders on a continuous basis. Why is it crucial? For the following reasons: Organisations depend on their leaders to influence and direct the behaviour of subordinates, so that organisational goals are anisational leaders are entrusted with an organisation’s most valuable resource, namely its human resources. Leaders are expected to create an enabling environment for workers so that organisational objectives and individual objectives can be attained. Organisational leaders play a significant role in ensuring the sustainability of organisations over the long term. Leaders also play a role in ensuring that products and/or services are offered, jobs are created, contributions are made to the community and society at large, and a profit is realised that meets the expectations of the owners of the organisation.Effective leadership is crucial for building and maintaining good relationships with all the organisation’s stakeholders.Skilled human resources are very scarce and leaders play a major role in attracting, selecting, placing, remunerating, retaining, training and developing those individualsTo evaluate the effectiveness of a leader, organisations can follow a four-step approach as indicatedFormulate leadership performance standards and measuresThe first step in evaluating the effectiveness of a leader is to formulate leadership performance standards. First, a performance standard indicates what exactly is expected of a leader. Second, it gives an indication of how well the leader needs to perform. A leadership performance standard can therefore be defined as a management-approved expression of the performance requirements that must be met, to be appraised at a particular level of performance. For each critical element an appropriate standard needs to be formulated and included in the leader’s performance plan. Performance standards should be objective, measureable, specific, realistic, congruent, recorded and acceptable. Leaders’ performance standards should be written in specific measures that will be used to appraise performance. To develop specific measures, general measures should first be drafted to appraise leadership performance. The following four general measures can be used for this purpose:Quality: as a general measure, quality addresses how well the work of the leader is performed and/or how accurate or effective the final product is. Quality refers to accuracy, appearance, usefulness or effectiveness. Quantity: quantity addresses how much work is produced. A quantity measure can be expressed as an error rate, such as the number or percentage of errors allowable per unit of work, or as a general result to be achieved. Timeliness: this measure addresses how quickly, when or by what date the work is produced. The most common error made in setting timeliness standards is to allow no margin for error. As with other standards, timeliness standards should be set realistically in view of the other performance requirements and needs of the organisation.Cost effectiveness: this measures aspects such as reducing costs, increasing profits, reducing the time it takes to perform certain tasks and activities, and so on. For each of the above general measures, specific measures of leadership performance should be developed. In Table 10.2, each of the four general measures is listed, with an indication of the specific measures of leadership performance.General measuresof leadershipperformanceSpecific measures of leadership performanceQualityLeads with a conscience and places integrity, ethics and trust above all elseProvides an appropriate amount of structure, direction and feedback to ensure a high level of group/team performance Defines, delegates and directs the work of followers in a flexible mannerRecognises that proper delegation, communication, and the setting of priorities and goals help group and teammembers feel empowered and self-motivatedStructures projects and assignments with clear goals and measureable outcomes so that group and team members can creatively individualise solutionsEmpowers groups and teams to embrace change opportunitiesInspires group and team members to take ownershipof their own performance improvement and career developmentFinds creative ways of working towards group consensus Creates internal competition by forming groups andteams tasked with identifying viable solutions to ongoingquality challengesValues the individual differences of group and team membersAdheres consistently to safety standards, and all company policies and protocolsSupports the organisation’s strategic plan and ensuresthat business practices are consistent with its missionSets a high standard for integrity and respect and isconsistently viewed as an objective and fair leaderEngenders trust by communicating openly with others,shares feedback in a constructive fashion, and addresses problematic situations head-on in a spirit of positive confrontationServes as a model of cooperation, sharing and goodwillAssumes good intentions and practises selfless leadershipSets others up for success and inspires them to reach their personal best and stand out among their peersStrives to provide a healthy work-life balance andmaintain perspective in the light of a constantly changing environment with constantly changing prioritiesCreates a common mindset of learning, growing and acquiring new skillsQuantitySets realistic work demands and fairly distributes assignments amongst group and team membersPlans, prioritises and executes the tasks of the group orteam in the light of budget guidelines and constraintsEnsures that group or team members work their plan and plan their work consistently on a day-in, day-out basisFocuses on specific and measurable outcomesSets incremental milestone targets, and celebratesvictories and successes along the way Engages groups and teams in setting specific, measurable goals as well as concrete outcomesIs highly self-aware and holds others accountable for their own perception managementRegularly celebrates successes and learns from mistakes, while making it safe for others to take risks and volunteer innovative recommendationsFocuses on aligning group and team members bysetting a common vision and measuring progress toward particular goalsUses training opportunities to develop creative people,innovative groups and teams, and profitable revenuestreams Strives to provide open-book leadership so that teammembers understand the financial and operationaldrivers of organisational successTimelinessPlans, prioritises and executes the tasks of the group orteam in the light of time frames, guidelines and constraintsCost effectivenessCollects best practice ideas from team members in terms of getting work done more effectively and efficiently Creates an environment in which team members can find new ways of performing tasks to embrace technology and be more cost-effectiveMeasure leadership performanceThis step involves collecting information and reporting on the actual performance of the leader. The information collected should be reliable and should compare meaningfully with the performance agreement (and the general and specific measures of performance included in the performance agreement). Observations and actual measurements of Performance should occur at strategic points and according to the desired outcomes of the leader. This step may also require the identification of certain key milestones as interim measures of success, since many of the outcomes expected of organisational leaders take a long-term view. These milestones should be achieved on time and within the required performance parametersEvaluate leadership performanceThis involves a comparison between the actual performance and the set performance standard (as described in the leader’s performance agreement). The leader’s actual performance may be above or below or identical to the performance standards and measurements. If actual performance is above the performance standard, it may mean that the performance standard was too low and should be higher in future. Or, it mayindicate excellent performance by the leader in terms of quantity, quality, timeliness and cost-effectiveness measures. If actual performance is below the performance standard, the question is how much deviation from the desired outcome should be allowed before remedial action is taken.Take corrective actionIn instances where the leader’s actual performance exceeds the set performance standard, the leader needs to be recognised for exceptional performance and rewarded accordingly. In cases where leadership performance is lower than the set performance standards and measures, remedial action is necessary. Leadership training and development might be worthwhile. This step is aimed at achieving or improving the overall performance of the leader. ................
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