Leadership Styles & Theories



Leadership Styles & TheoriesAnnotated BibliographyAnjaih Clemons10/1/2011 BIBLIOGRAPHY \l 1033 Avolio, B. J., & Bass, B. M. (1998). You Can Drag a Horse to Water but You Can't Make it Drink Unless It Is Thirsty. The Journal of Leadership Studies , 393-399.Bass and Avolio are the leading authors and theorists behind Transformational and Transactional Leadership styles. In this extensive article, they discuss the impact of leadership development through a preliminary field study. Within this field study, emphasis in the training program was placed on developing transformational leadership. Bass and Avolio realized that the effect of training programs for participants evaporates once they are back on the job. And in order for this to change, a participant must be ready and willing and able to change in the aspects of attitude and behavior. Bass and Avolio’s leadership framework included a broader range of leadership styles and behaviors that could be developed in training that would help improve some but not all components of leadership. Within the training that Bass and Avolio measured, the purpose was to enhance the use of leadership styles, while displaying increase in transformational leadership (motivation of others to do more than intended and more than possible) and decrease in laissez-faire leadership ( lack of delegation and empowerment of processes when implemented). After follow-up procedures had taken place, Bass and Avolio concluded that most participants showed some improvement in certain areas of behaviors, but may have felt constrained from doing so by their organizational culture, supervisor, and or tasks (p. 398). Even though this was preliminary evidence, it suggested that training in leadership style continuum is possible. *Evidence based research indeed is a good way to provide or suggest leadership style effectiveness. It also helps with the development of plans, opportunities and relationships within an organization. I find it helpful when studies are examined to show the context of leaders and followers within an organization. BIBLIOGRAPHY \l 1033 Bennis, W. G. & Thomas, R. J. (2002). Crucibles of Leadership. Harvard Business Review at Large , 39-45.Bennis and Thomas discuss the nature behind “crucibles of leadership” and how some people are born leaders versus those who struggle or stumble upon leadership mostly through adversity and challenging experiences. Through “crucibles” (a transformative experience through which an individual comes to a new or altered sense of identity. (p.40)) one will emerge in finding themselves and becoming a true leader. The authors defined these experiences as “crucibles of leadership” or transformative experiences through which an individual comes to a new sense of identity. The authors summarize and reflect on how leaders should learn from differences, prevail over darkness and meet great expectations.The authors made it known through research of a few distinguished leaders, that most leaders if not all are led to be great leaders through adversity. Most leaders emerge from challenging situations, find different approaches, and recognize the benefits and become stronger leaders and individuals.*This article was very insightful and knowledge based. True development of an extraordinary leader is not always the case of how great a person may be or if they were rightfully chosen by God (Divine Right Theory), but it may very well be the fact that leader emergence comes from challenging experiences that makes one examine their values, question their assumptions and hone their judgment; in return will show growth in individuality and leadership. BIBLIOGRAPHY \l 1033 Bromley, H. R., & Kirschner-Bromley, V. A. (2007, November/December). Are you a Transformational Leader? ThePhysiciansExecutive , pp. 54-57.Authors Howard and Victoria Bromley confer the concept of transformational leadership. Transformational leadership, originally developed by James MacGregor Burns, is a leader who inspires others to perform for the good of an organization. The authors discuss different leadership styles theories that are applicable today, but places emphasis on the understanding of transformational leadership and six competencies that are necessary to lead and organizations transformation. *In order for someone to be a transformational leader, they must realize that vision and communication are important components of an effective leader. Not only are these aspects important, but one must be able to cultivate followers ethically and manage the organization well while heeding and learning new responsibilities. BIBLIOGRAPHY \l 1033 Burns, J. M. (1978). Leadership. New York: Harper & Row.A distinguished political scientist, Burns created a masterpiece surrounding the complexity of Leadership through political, social and psychological dimensions. Burns stays within the boundaries or research and theory, making a distinction between transactional and transformational leadership by identifying leadership styles in cross cultures: Asian, European, African and American politics. Burns elaborates on the concept of transformational leadership and how they, “shape, alter and elevate the motives and values and goals of followers through vital teaching role of leadership (p. 425) Taken from the psychological works of Freud, the charismatic styles of Hitler, the embodiment of Gandhi and Lenin, Burns generalizes leadership is collective; stating that there is a symbolic relationship between leader and followers and the needs and wants of both. Burns provided that leadership is not necessarily confined to the political realm but can include anyone from well known leaders to people in your community as well as your very own home. *I discovered that [through this book] leadership is merely a discovery of your purpose and values and not necessarily on power and politics, but on building relationships and the elevation of needs and wants between leaders and followers. BIBLIOGRAPHY \l 1033 Conger, J. (1999). Charisma and How to Grow It. Management Today , 78.Jay Conger expressed one of the most common leader traits; charisma. For the first time, Conger studied this particular quality in depth in order to communicate the how this trait can be learned and how to grow it. Conger goes on to give five detailed examples of the features that charismatic leaders and managers possess. He states that “charismatic managers/leaders are masters of motivation and superb communicators. They seem to be the ones who are always on the lookout for opportunities…once charismatic leaders see opportunity; they are very skillful in crafting a compelling business proposition or strategic vision around it.” Conger also explained how leaders communicate their goals and tells what’s wrong with the present and how the future vision is attainable despite obstacles. Charismatic leaders are drawn to staging events that send a clear message about their company. Lastly, Conger believed leaders pay a great deal of attention to motivating their troops. He ends this piece by emphasizing that charisma can be developed and in order to become in a charismatic leader you must fall in love with what you do and search for opportunities. *Charisma is inevitably a trait that most great leader’s posses and have somewhere along the lines have developed. Charismatic leaders must possess certain qualities in order to attract followers, qualities that are more than just a smile and an attractive face, but ones that trust can be established and goals can be accomplished when passion is involved. BIBLIOGRAPHY \l 1033 Gardner, J. W. (1969). A Failure of Leadership: A Time to Act. Vital Speeches of the Day , 217-219.Gardner unveiled a political debatable speech in late 1969 that entailed the historical problems that America faced as well as globally. With threats of nuclear warfare, pollution, poverty, oppression, racial tension, and other planetary disasters, Gardner made it known that we are immobilized and it all begins with the failures of our leaders (Congress and Executive Branch).Gardner elaborated on congress has failed on different aspect such as consumerism, labor unions, health professions, and discrimination. Within the article, Gardner pointed out that as a whole, we are not and should not become blind followers of leaders, and that these concerns should be that of the President and Congress, our head leaders. Gardner is quite forthcoming about his research and perspective on the global economic status simply because he believed that the nation could recover with money, guts and leadership.*When you are in leadership, a big responsibility greatly awaits ahead of you. However, you have to be willing to step up to the plate, recognize the vision and gain the trust of your followers and know that it’s going to take vigorous leadership capabilities in order for change to happen. BIBLIOGRAPHY \l 1033 Greenleaf, R. (1995). Reflections from Experience. In L. Spears, Reflections on Leadership (pp. 22-37). Canada: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.In this reflection article, Greenleaf recalled his years working in the corporate world as one of their best employees. He labeled himself the student of the organization because he found it to be better to learn from others versus reading or formal studying. Greenleaf’s overall perspective in this chapter is as a lifelong student of organization (his title in the corporate world); he used his experiences to theme Servant Leadership, a way to stimulate thought and action into building a better and caring society. Greenleaf specifically touches on power and examples of powerful leaders in history to show that long last leaders will recognize the power of purpose is stronger than power of position. For the sake of stabilization and use of power, the power of influence and persuasion are the better tactics. *Power is more than just hierarchical and positional. Some leaders can get far with this type of leadership trait, however they will not succeed. A great leader can possess power but they must know how to use it in forms that will influence and persuade followers to trust them that goals will be reached and visions will be shared and carried out. BIBLIOGRAPHY \l 1033 Heifetz, R. A., & Laurie, D. L. (2001). The Work of Leadership. Harvard Business Review , 131-141.For this particular article, Heifetz and Laurie introduce the concept of adaptive change- a change that occurs when people and organizations are forced to adjust to a radically altered environment (p.131). In most organizations the expectation lies on the executives when challenges arise. However, both authors argue that solutions should be left to executives but made employees on all levels. They emphasized the toughest task for a leader is mobilizing people throughout the organization to do adaptive work (p.132). The authors offered six elaborate principles for leading adaptive work: get on the balcony, identifying the challenge, regulating distress, maintaining disciplined attention, giving the work back to the people, and protecting voices of leadership from below. Heifetz and Laurie conclude by saying the adaptive demands require a leader who takes responsibility without waiting for request…or can leader with no more than a question at hand. *Leadership is all about a learning strategy. It all starts with a vision, but the strategy comes into action when a leader, whether or not they have power, can engage people in the challenges ahead and learning new habits and values. BIBLIOGRAPHY \l 1033 Hunter, S. T., Tate, B. W., Dzieweczynski, J. L., & Bedell-Avers, K. E. (2011, April). Leaders make mistakes: A multilevel consideration of why. The Leadership Quarterly , pp. 239-258.The authors entered into the world of leaders as they researched the errors that are made by leaders and how they occur. Insisting that errors have always been a part of the elements of leadership, the authors offer a theoretical framework for understanding the cause of errors within leadership by discussing leaders, groups and level influences within an organization. What they found as a result was a negative impact of timeframe, complex of expertise and problem solving; all conclusions leading to future research.*The thought of leadership errors should bring about questions that will ensure theoretical research is implemented. Most do not know or understand the reasons behind leadership errors, but this will ensure quality answers to find substantial results. BIBLIOGRAPHY \l 1033 Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (1992). Ethical Leaders: An Essay about Being in Love. Journal of Business Ethics , 479-484.“Leadership is more than an affair of the head, but fundamentally also one of the heart.” (p. 479). These were the words of Kouzes and Posner as they compare the ethics of leadership to being in love. They continue to take ethical leadership to another dimension by encountering people’s personal best leadership experiences offering that love constitutes the soul of ethical leadership. Comparing leaders to love, the authors expressed that if love is the power behind individual health, then leaders should and must be in love in order to care about the health of an organization. Kouzes and Posner implied lessons on leading with love by placing emphasis on leaders getting to know their followers, having passion and inspiration as well as serve and support. *I can honestly agree with their concept. True leaders must learn to be in love with leading. It begins with passion and drive. Once these have been established within the heart, a leader must be willing to model a compassionate role for its followers and willingly serve and support. BIBLIOGRAPHY \l 1033 Offermann, L. R. (2004). When Followers Become Toxic. Inside the Mind of the Leader , 55-60.Offermann enters us into the world of followers and how they can firsthand demise a leader. She discusses how in some aspects leaders can end up making poor decisions because followers are so persuasive about a course of action. At the end of the day, leaders have to rely on their about people. Offermann elaborated by creating six ways to counter wayward influences; keep vision and values front and center, make sure people disagree, cultivate truth tellers, do as you would have done to you, honor you intuition, and delegate don’t desert. *It is quite easy to be susceptible to followers and their ways to derail your position. It’s ok to have strong followers, for they may be you leaders one day, but setting strong values and evaluating responses of other followers and being watchful are the main keys to prevent them from being led astray. BIBLIOGRAPHY \l 1033 Offerman, L. R., Hanges, P. J., & Day, D. V. (2001). Leaders, Followers and values: progress and prospects for theory and research. The Leadership Quarterly , 129-131.The authors of this article discuss the complex issues of ethics and values between leaders and followers. From this issue developed a response to better understand leaders, followers and the role of values in leader-follower relationships. In this article, the authors discuss the process of individual level examination of follower traits and personality effects on desired leadership behavior versus group level to the micro-level impact of societal culture on leadership expectations. From this, the study of the values that may affect the process of leadership and followership may begin to surface and take place.*It’s very important to examine and express the importance of a leader-follower relationship and the values that determine that relationship. This will assist with the effectiveness and influences of potential roles that values play within the outcome of the relationships. BIBLIOGRAPHY \l 1033 Oliver, P. H., Gottfried, A. W., Guerin, D. W., Gottfried, A. E., Reichard, R. J., & Riggio, R. E. (2011, June). Adolescent family environmental antecedents to transformational leadership potential: A longitudinal mediational analysis. The Leadership Quarterly , pp. 535-544.The authors of this article presented a long term longitudinal study to explore the developmental roots of the relation between aspects of adolescents’ family context representing an intellectually stimulating environment and qualities of transformational leadership in everyday leaders in early adulthood (p. 535). From this study, they wanted to determine whether a positive functioning family and transformational leadership were mediated through adolescent. The authors uncovered the results that showed a significant relationship between the variables tested.*Interesting study and remarkable results. When studying the developmental roots of two variables as such, the expectancy of the context would be a relation between family and transformational leadership. This would basically show a positive factor promoting development in children that stimulating environments are being promoted. BIBLIOGRAPHY \l 1033 BIBLIOGRAPHY \l 1033 Rost, J. C. (1995). Leadership: A Discussion About Ethics. Business Ethics Quarterly , 129-141.In this article, Joseph Rost opens up with a broad issue within the study of Leadership: ethics. He begins by listing three problems that occur that makes the discussion of ethics in leadership an unmanageable one. He discusses the aspects of the industrial paradigm of ethics (18th century philosophy) and how it is irrelevant to how leaders and collaborators (followers) deal with ethics within the 21st century. He then introduces a postindustrial paradigm of ethics that is developed to help leaders and collaborators to make ethical choices and solutions in the future.*Within this extensive concept, it is concluded that ethics is an important aspect when it comes to leadership. In order to be true leader and an effective collaborator, you must understand the significance of ethics and how to intend real change. BIBLIOGRAPHY \l 1033 Wheatley, M. (2008). An Era of Powerful Possibility. The NonProfit Quarterly , 44-46.Wheatley breaks in the world of nonprofit organization and the complexity of the cores issues that are faced within nonprofit organizations. She discusses how fear and distrust have taken over the funders of organizations (nonprofits) that true collaboration cannot exist in order to create the change that is needed. The misidentification of failure as flawed leadership rather than flawed thinking. Wheatley encourages the support of leader emergence due to communities losing sight of one another and the potential that lies inside. She emphasizes the development of trust and respect for one another in order to collaborate and provide solutions that work. But in order to do so, policies and fragmentation must be broken in order to grow. *Leaders and their followers must be willing to step up and reach out to the fearful in order to true change to take place. Otherwise, who’s going to be brave enough if no one steps up to break the chains of pre-existing situations that’s preventing relationship building amongst a community? ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download