LEADERSHIP

Leadership



Leadership

Introduction

Managers usually have goals a nd objectives to achieve. And to do this, they would normally be required to utilise, appropriately, the resources available to them. People constitute a very important part of such resources that are available to the manager. According to Drucker (1968), a manager is someone who works with, and through people towards the achievement of set objectives. This implies that to achieve objectives and be a successful manager would entail the exercise of influence over the actions of the people the manager works with.

One of the ways that a manager could influence the actions of the people he works with is by simply wielding formal, delegated authority through power that is conferred from above. However, because the authority exists, it does not necessarily mean that group members will be willing to agree to its use. Although they might comply with instructions, that alone will not be sufficient to carry them along for the successful achievement of goals. The manager would require more than the wielding of such formal authority to be a successful manager. He will, in addition, have to possess and demonstrate leadership qualities. In other words, he will have to be, not just a manager, but also a leader.

What is a leader?

A leader is someone who exercises influence over other people towards the achievement of certain aims and objectives. Rollinson et al defines it as "a role conferred on a person by followers. This involves conforming to a set of behavioural norms and expectations emanating from followers, in return for which they confer on the leader a degree of power that (within prescribed limits) allows the leader to influence their actions" (Rollinson et al 1998, p.336).

The above definitions imply that wherever groups or teams exist, they tend to have leaders, and therefore the function of 'leadership' of some sort becomes inevitable. A second implication is that a leader occupies a role which involves a two-way process. Here, one party (the role senders) communicates its expectations of the role to the other party (the role occupant) who accepts the need to meet the expectations.

There are various types of leader, and they all have practical difficulties arising from them. According to Cole (1983), the most important types are:

a)the Charismatic leader: The influence of a charismatic leader derives mainly from personality. Examples of this type of leader would be Churchill, Hitler, Billy Graham. The problem with charismatic leadership is that very few people possess the exceptional qualities required to transform all the people around them into willing followers.

b)the Traditional leader: The position of this type of leader derives from birth. It includes kings, queens and tribal chiefs, and only very few people can aspire to it. Other than in small family businesses, the opportunities for traditional leadership at work are almost non-existent.

c)the Situational leader: This would be someone who is capable of assuming a leadership role in a variety of situations over a period of time. The influence of this type of leader is usually only ...