LEADERSHIP IN ORGANIZATIONS

"Leadership is a combination of strategy and character. If you must be without one, be

without the strategy."- Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf

"As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others."
- Bill Gates

"Leadership is influence - nothing more, nothing less."

- John Maxwell, 1998

Most people equate leadership with a specific position or job title. But you need more than a title on
the door to have followers. True leadership is the ability to influence people to achieve a better
result for an organization or group. The most effective leaders have a strong sense of self; they
understand the qualities that make other people want to follow them, and they know how to adjust
those qualities when circumstances require them to do so.

Leadership vs management

When comparing leadership with management, it is essential to understand that they are not
mutually exclusive. Both leadership and management involve influence, working with people,
concern about effective goal accomplishment, and other shared characteristics, etc. Additionally ,
“leadership cannot replace management,” but rather is something that is to be practiced “in addition
to management”

Warren Bennis (1925 –2014- an American scholar, organizational consultant and author), In his
book On Becoming a Leader listed the following differences between leadership and management;

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1. The manager administers; the leader innovates.
2. The manager is a copy; the leader is an original.
3. The manager maintains; the leader develops.
4. The manager focuses on systems and structure; the leader focuses on people.
5. The manager relies on control; the leader inspires trust.
6. The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective.
7. The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why.
8. The manager has his or her eye always on the bottom line; the leader’s eye is on the
horizon.

9. The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it.
10. The manager does things right; the leader does the right thing.
11. The manager creates boundaries; the leader reduces them
12. The manager’s relationship with people is based on position power; the
leader’s relationship and influence is based on personal power [relationships]
13. The manager acts as a boss; the leader acts as a coach, facilitator, and servant

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 LEADERSHIP THEORIES
While many different leadership theories have emerged, most can be classified as one of six major
types:

1. "Great Man" Theories

Have you ever heard someone described as "born to lead?" According to this point of view, great
leaders are simply born with the necessary internal characteristics such as charisma, confidence,
intelligence, and social skills that make them natural-born leaders.

Great man theories assume that the capacity for leadership is inherent – that great leaders are born,
not made. These theories often portray great leaders as heroic, mythic and destined to rise to
leadership when needed. The term "Great Man" was used because, at the time, leadership was
thought of primarily as a male quality, especially in terms of military leadership. Such theories
suggest that people cannot really learn how to become strong leaders. It's either something you are
born with or born without. It is very much a nature as opposed to nurture approach to explaining
leadership.

2. Behavioral Theories

Behavioral theories of leadership are based upon the belief that great leaders are made, not born.
Consider it the flip-side of the Great Man theories. Rooted in behaviorism, this leadership theory
focuses on the actions of leaders, not on mental qualities or internal states. According to this theory,
people can learn to become leaders through teaching and observation.

3. Situational Theories

Situational theories propose that leaders choose the best course of action based upon situational
variables. Different styles of leadership may be more appropriate for certain types of decision-
making. For example, in a situation where the leader is the most knowledgeable and experienced
member of a group, an autocratic style might be most appropriate. In other instances where group
members are skilled experts, a democratic style would be more effective.

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 4. Participative Theories

Participative leadership theories suggest that the ideal leadership style is one that takes the input of
others into account. These leaders encourage participation and contributions from group members
and help group members feel more relevant and committed to the decision-making process. In
participative theories, however, the leader retains the right to allow the input of others.

5. Transactional theories

Transactional theories focus on the role of supervision in an organization. These theories base
leadership on a system of rewards and punishments. Managerial theories are often used in business;
when employees are successful, they are rewarded; when they fail, they are reprimanded or
punished. Commonly used by managers in organizations.

6. Transformational theories

Transformational leadership is a relatively new approach to leadership that focuses on how leaders can create
valuable and positive change in their followers . The leader works with his team to identify needed change,
creating a vision to guide the change through inspiration, and executing the change in tandem with committed
members . Such leaders are visionary, inspiring, daring, risk-takers, and thoughtful thinkers. Transformational leaders
are needed in organizations in order to create a positive change and help the organization achieve its vision

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LEADERSHIP STYLES
There is never a one-size-fits-all leadership style for every business – all companies operate
differently and certain traits will be more successful in some environments than others.
However, having a thorough understanding of various leadership styles enables senior executives
to not only adopt the correct characteristics for themselves, but also choose better managers
throughout the organization.

1. Servant leadership
While servant leadership is a timeless concept, the phrase “servant leadership” was coined by
Robert K. Greenleaf in The Servant as Leader, an essay that he first published in 1970. In that
essay, Greenleaf said:
“The servant-leader is servant firs. It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve,
first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from
one who is leader first.
A servant-leader focuses primarily on the growth and well-being of people and the communities
to which they belong.

2. Autocratic leadership
A more extreme version of transactional leadership, autocratic leaders have significant control
over staff and rarely considers workers suggestions or share power.
“Ruling with an iron fist is rarely appreciated by staff, which can lead to high turnover and
absenteeism.”
There can also be a lack of creativity due to strategic direction coming from a single individual.
This leadership style is best suited to environments where jobs are fairly routine or require
limited skills. It is also common in military organizations.

3. Laissez-faire leadership
Laissez-faire leadership is the direct opposite of autocratic leadership. Laissez-faire literally
means “let them do” in French. This is typically translated to “let it be”.
Laissez-faire leadership, also known as delegative leadership, is a type of leadership style in
which leaders are hands-off and allow group members to make the decisions. Researchers have
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found that this is generally the leadership style that leads to the lowest productivity among group
members.
This can only be effective in creative jobs or workplaces where employees are very experienced
and knowledgeable. However, it is important that leaders monitor performance and effectively
communicate expectations to prevent work standards dropping.

4. Democratic leadership
Also known as participative leadership, this style – as the name suggests – means leaders often
ask for input from team members before making a final decision.
“Workers usually report higher levels of job satisfaction in these environments and the company
can benefit from better creativity.”
On the downside, the democratic process is normally slower and may not function well in
workplaces where quick decision-making is crucial.

5. Transactional leadership
Transactional leadership, also known as managerial leadership, is a leadership style where the
executive relies on rewards and punishments to achieve optimal job performance from his or her
subordinates.
It is considered transactional because leaders offer an exchange; they reward good performances,
while punishing bad practice.
While this can be an effective way of completing short-term tasks, employees are unlikely to
reach their full creative potential in such conditions.

6. Charismatic leadership
Charismatic leadership is basically the method of encouraging particular behaviors in others by
way of eloquent communication, persuasion and force of personality. The Charismatic Leader
gathers followers through his or her personality and charm, rather than any form of external
power or authority.
Charismatic leaders are often identified in times of crisis and exhibit exceptional devotion to and
expertise in their fields. They are often people with a clear vision in business or politics and the
ability to engage with a large audience.

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 7. Transformational leadership
Transformational leadership is defined as a leadership approach that causes change in individuals
and social systems. Transformational leadership is a theory of leadership where a leader works
with teams to identify needed change, creating a vision to guide the change through inspiration,
and executing the change together with the committed followers.
In its ideal form, it creates valuable and positive change in the followers with the end goal of
developing followers into leaders.

8. Situational leadership
Situational leadership is a leadership style that has been developed and studied by Kenneth
Blanchard and Paul Hersey.
Situational leadership is flexible. It adapts to the existing work environment and the needs of the
organization. Situational leadership is not based on a specific skill of the leader; instead, he or
she modifies the style of management to suit the requirements of the organization/environment.
For example, situational leaders may adopt a democratic leadership style when discussing
commercial direction with senior executives, but switch to a bureaucratic strategy when relaying
new factory protocols to workers.

POWER
Max Weber defines power as the probability that one actor within a social relationship will be in a
position to carry out his own will despite resistance. Power can also be seen as the ability to
influence other people’s behaviour.
Being a leader is more than managing employees and tasks. Leadership is a skill. The use of power is
one of many tools at a leader’s disposal. Power in itself is neither good nor bad as it is the user that
determines if power is used to serve or to undermine a company’s goals.

Distinction between Power and Authority

1. Power is the ability to influence someone else while Authority is a legitimate right to influence
others

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2. Authority is legitimate while power may not be legitimate in all cases e.g. threatening or bullying
others
3. Power is more effective when it’s backed by authority i.e. power combined with authority is more
effective.

Types of Power
John French and Bertram Raven published a book known as “The bases of social power” which
includes six distinct types of power.

1. Coercive Power

Coercive Power is often the least effective but most employed (and abused) type of power in the
corporate world. Coercive Power is forcing someone to do something against their will or setting up
“consequences” to employee actions. Coercive leaders rely on threats, bullying, and “or-else”
language to “motivate” those that are beneath them. This type of behavior often leads to fear,
dissatisfaction, and resentment.

2. Reward Power

Reward Power is another widely used method in business today. The results of Reward power are
mixed and it is therefore the second weakest form of power. Reward Power is the concept of do this
and get that. Or if you do this, you will receive something in return. Reward Power is useful as long
as the reward is perceived as having value but if over-used the effect may be weakened. In many
cases, the employees begin to experience frustration when the reward does not grow larger. Other
times, the reward can be taken for granted by the employees.

3. Legitimate Power
Legitimate Power is in all organizations. Legitimate Power is the power of position or role. This is
the typical “command and control” structure that is employed by the Military world. Legitimate
Power acts as a formalized way of ensuring that there is someone to make a decision (good or bad)

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and that someone is responsible. Legitimate power is granted by the organization and when a person
is sacked or retires, this type of power does not move with them.

4. Referent Power

Referent Power is the power and ability for an individual to attract others and gain their respect and
admiration to extent that they wish to be like that leader and want to be associated with him or her.
Referent power mainly comes from leading by example.
Referent power is based upon a leader modeling his behavior to demonstrate appropriate conduct to
his or her followers. Employees will observe a manager's behavior and act as they believe their
managers would act in the same situation. In other words, you refer to what you believe the manager
would do and do the same.

5. Informational Power
Informational Power is the power of having information that another does not have. This could be
insider information, knowledge of an opponent’s strategy or other useful information needed by
others in order to reach an important goal. The holder of the information is seen to possess
information power and will influence the behavior of those who may need the crucial information.

6. Expert Power

Closely related to Informational Power, Expert Power is when an individual possesses in-depth
information, knowledge, or expertise in the area of specialization. This type of power is often the
most effective type of power. This can be an engineer, Doctor, lawyer, pilot, accountant, lecturer, or
other highly skilled and highly trained employee. Because the person has this high level of expertise,
they can easily take instructions or guidance from the power holder.

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Role of Leadership in an organization

1. Inspiration and Motivation: As a leader, you must get others to do the work necessary for
operating your business. You have to drop the idea of doing everything yourself and motivate
others to complete tasks and reach objectives.

2. Setting an Example: You don’t always have a podium and a microphone to speak as a
leader. Sometimes you set an example through your hard work, dedication and optimism.
When employees see you meeting with professionals, heading meetings, making certain
invoices are paid, following through on objectives, effectively prioritizing and demonstrating
unwavering reliability, they know you are an example to live up to.

3. Communicating Vision: Your vision organizes all of your employees’ efforts. You must let
your workforce know what you want to achieve in the long term, and you must explain how
their daily activities relate to that long-term vision. Don’t leave the direction of your company
up to employees, because they look to you for that direction.

4. Seeking Solutions: No matter how strong your vision and how clear your priorities, you
will encounter unexpected problems. You must convey the conviction that every problem has a
solution. Either solve the problems or delegate problem-solving to responsible individuals or
solve as a group if the situation allows.

5. Decision-maker. You want others to engage and offer their feedback. However, as a leader,
you will need to be decisive and make the hard choices. You can’t be afraid to make a
decision, even when you are working with less-than-perfect information or you must make one
that will be unpopular.

6. Team player/team building. You can’t always take the lead. You need to be a teammate,
too, and that means understanding when to step out of your leadership role and let others take
the lead.

7. Change management. With strategy and vision comes the ever-present need for change.
As a leader, you must guide and champion the changes that you envision and the ones that

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have been entrusted to you from up the ladder.

8. Coach. As a leader you have a responsibility and need to develop others to succeed in their
roles and prepare for future roles.

9. Strategy. This role isn’t just for the highest-level leaders in an organization. All leaders
must think strategically, keep the big picture in mind, and plot what directions and approaches
the team should use to reach the desired results.

10. Facilitator. You need to make things easier for others. While we might think of this most
often in a meeting or group situation, there are many times when you will serve as facilitator to
help processes flow well and boost productivity.

ACTIVITY

DISCUSS HOW A MANAGER CAN EXERCISE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF POWER.

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