Leadership in organisations:
Introduction: traditional models for leadership
Geen verplichte colleges, geen opnames.
Examinations:
- Online, open book. 80% of the final grade. 20% goes to the team assigment.
- Assignment: small study, present it.
What is leadership?:
- Inspiring
- Communicate
- transparency
- etc
Leadership in academic research:
- Bennis (1959): Probably more has been written and less known about leadership
than about any other topic in behavioral sciences.
- Burns (1978): Leadership is one of the most observed and least understood
phenomena on earth.
- Yukl (1989/2010): The field of leadership is presently in a stage of confusion. Most
widely known theories are beset of conceptual weakness and lack of strong empirical
support. Hence, more empirical research is needed.
- Alvesson & Sveningsson (2003): We need to think about the possibility of the non-
existence of leadership as a distinct phenomenon with great relevance for
understanding organizations and relations in workplaces.
-
Definition:
Stogdill: Leadership may be considered as the process (or act) of influencing the activities of
an organized group in its efforts towards goal setting and goal achievement
Yet, Yukl (2010): Leadership is the process of influencing others to understand and agree
about what needs to be done and how to do it, and the process of facilitating individual and
collective efforts to accomplish shared objectives. Leadership is important for the
effectiveness of organizations.
Often, before, about a boss (usually a man, allegedly) and his followers…
,But, in the years more focus is put on a shared and more group effort, including many
different factors, and not the effort of only 1 leader!
Trait approach:
Theories that consider personality, social, physical, or intellectual traits to differentiate
leaders from non-leaders.
Leadership Traits:
- Extraversion
- self-confidence
- Energy level
- internal locus of control
- Born with certain attributes to leas, not made: natural propensity
- “correct’ traits, which are stable
- The personal is more important than the kind of organisation
- Mental image of a particular person
- Personality will predict ability to take up such a role
- But which traits!?
Criticism
- What about circumstance and situation as a factor?
- It is asituational: In one situation one can be a (good) leader, in the other not!
- Depends a lot on the organisational as well as national culture! Examples of this? (so
traits often viewed as male)
- ‘Disabling’ traits for leadership: emotional instability, defensiveness, lack of integrity,
too little interpersonal skills, merely technical skills
- Question: which leader/manager did you not like (in your own experience), and why,
because of which ‘traits’?
Behavioral (style) approach
- Leaders can be made: Ability to resolve org. challenge deploying set of skills.
showing behaviors, act according set of competences.
- You can be coached, roles can be taken. You can learn to become a leader.
- Technical, human and conceptual skills (see Roe, page 44 in 2017 edition); various
levels
- Interpersonal, information processing and decision making role: example of the
entrepreneur or negotiator (Roe, page 46)
Theories that consider leadership behavior to differentiate leaders from non-leaders.
,Grid
, Management behavior according 2 variables (concern for production and concern for
people)
What would work in Japan? and what would work more in the UK? and why?
Focus on the task as well.
Criticism on this approach:
- Life experiences and environmental constraints not taken enough into account
- How to develop these behaviours well in an organisation: not practical
- Largely descriptive and less prescriptie (to use?)
- Behaviors and skills required in 1 situations amy vary from other situations
- Not clear how an improvement in skill will lead to corresponding improvement in
performance!
- According to Mumford et all (2000), much has to do witch context and particularly
motivation:
1. The willingness of the leader to tackle difficult, challenging organizational
problems.
2. Willing to exercise influence.
3. Should be motivated to demonstrate social commitment.
Introduction: traditional models for leadership
Geen verplichte colleges, geen opnames.
Examinations:
- Online, open book. 80% of the final grade. 20% goes to the team assigment.
- Assignment: small study, present it.
What is leadership?:
- Inspiring
- Communicate
- transparency
- etc
Leadership in academic research:
- Bennis (1959): Probably more has been written and less known about leadership
than about any other topic in behavioral sciences.
- Burns (1978): Leadership is one of the most observed and least understood
phenomena on earth.
- Yukl (1989/2010): The field of leadership is presently in a stage of confusion. Most
widely known theories are beset of conceptual weakness and lack of strong empirical
support. Hence, more empirical research is needed.
- Alvesson & Sveningsson (2003): We need to think about the possibility of the non-
existence of leadership as a distinct phenomenon with great relevance for
understanding organizations and relations in workplaces.
-
Definition:
Stogdill: Leadership may be considered as the process (or act) of influencing the activities of
an organized group in its efforts towards goal setting and goal achievement
Yet, Yukl (2010): Leadership is the process of influencing others to understand and agree
about what needs to be done and how to do it, and the process of facilitating individual and
collective efforts to accomplish shared objectives. Leadership is important for the
effectiveness of organizations.
Often, before, about a boss (usually a man, allegedly) and his followers…
,But, in the years more focus is put on a shared and more group effort, including many
different factors, and not the effort of only 1 leader!
Trait approach:
Theories that consider personality, social, physical, or intellectual traits to differentiate
leaders from non-leaders.
Leadership Traits:
- Extraversion
- self-confidence
- Energy level
- internal locus of control
- Born with certain attributes to leas, not made: natural propensity
- “correct’ traits, which are stable
- The personal is more important than the kind of organisation
- Mental image of a particular person
- Personality will predict ability to take up such a role
- But which traits!?
Criticism
- What about circumstance and situation as a factor?
- It is asituational: In one situation one can be a (good) leader, in the other not!
- Depends a lot on the organisational as well as national culture! Examples of this? (so
traits often viewed as male)
- ‘Disabling’ traits for leadership: emotional instability, defensiveness, lack of integrity,
too little interpersonal skills, merely technical skills
- Question: which leader/manager did you not like (in your own experience), and why,
because of which ‘traits’?
Behavioral (style) approach
- Leaders can be made: Ability to resolve org. challenge deploying set of skills.
showing behaviors, act according set of competences.
- You can be coached, roles can be taken. You can learn to become a leader.
- Technical, human and conceptual skills (see Roe, page 44 in 2017 edition); various
levels
- Interpersonal, information processing and decision making role: example of the
entrepreneur or negotiator (Roe, page 46)
Theories that consider leadership behavior to differentiate leaders from non-leaders.
,Grid
, Management behavior according 2 variables (concern for production and concern for
people)
What would work in Japan? and what would work more in the UK? and why?
Focus on the task as well.
Criticism on this approach:
- Life experiences and environmental constraints not taken enough into account
- How to develop these behaviours well in an organisation: not practical
- Largely descriptive and less prescriptie (to use?)
- Behaviors and skills required in 1 situations amy vary from other situations
- Not clear how an improvement in skill will lead to corresponding improvement in
performance!
- According to Mumford et all (2000), much has to do witch context and particularly
motivation:
1. The willingness of the leader to tackle difficult, challenging organizational
problems.
2. Willing to exercise influence.
3. Should be motivated to demonstrate social commitment.
