EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP

Effective Leadership

Effective Leadership

Chapter 1: Introduction

When you think of leadership, the ideas of power, authority, and influence may come to mind. You may think of the actions of effective leaders in accomplishing important goals. You may think of actual people who have been recognized for their leadership capabilities. Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th president of the United States, defined leadership as “the ability to decide what is to be done, and then to get others to want to do it.” Leadership can be defined as the ability of an individual to influence the thoughts, attitudes, and behavior of others. It is the process by which others are motivated to contribute to the success of the groups of which they are members. Leaders set a direction for their followers and help them to focus their energies on achieving their goals.

Theorists have developed many different theories about leadership, and although none of the theories completely explains everything about leadership, each has received some scientific support. Some of the theories are based on the idea that there are “born leaders” with particular traits that contribute to their ability to lead. Other theories suggest that leadership consists of specific skills and behaviors. Some theories take a contingency approach that suggests that a leader's effectiveness depends on the situation requiring leadership. Still other theories examine the relationship between the leader and his or her followers as the key to understanding leadership. In this chapter, we examine these various theories and describe the process of leadership development.

Problem Statement

Leadership is any process of leaders influencing followers. A leader, sometimes likened to a magnet, is one to whom others look for guidance. Influence is the ability or capacity to get another person to do or believe X rather than Y. One vital source of influence is formal authority to command, held for example by business executives. An individual not possessing any formal authority may acquire moral influence equivalent to informal authority through persuasion, example, or ideas. Varying sources and means of influence, together with the morality of ends and means of influence, are key dimensions of leadership. Where control of important resources overlaps with formal or informal authority, it is an aspect of leadership.

Objectives

To analyse the effectiveness of leadership in an organisation.

To assess the behaviours of effective leadership in a team.

To determine how effective leaders differ in behaviour from ineffective leaders.

Definition

Leadership is a process whereby an individual, or clique, is able to influence others to internalize a collective vision and mobilize them toward attaining that vision. Effective leadership transforms people's goals and ambitions, even their identities, and replaces self-oriented behavior with group-oriented behavior. The exercise of power over people to force them, through rewards and punishments, to comply with commands and bend to one's will is not leadership.

Chapter 2: Literature Review

The Prescriptive Theory of Leadership

Prescriptive theory emphasizes good leadership as a calculated process of leaders honorably influencing followers to achieve group welfare gains. Leadership in democratic societies should be “servant leadership,” defined as service on behalf of ...