Strategy Formulation (by whom)
Leadership & Followership
A Structure to Explain Leadership
• Leadership is a Trait.
• Leadership is an Ability.
• Leadership is a Skill.
• Leadership is a Behaviour.
• Leadership is situation-dependent.
• Leadership is a Relationship (with followers).
• Leadership is an Influence Process.
(Source: Peter G. Northouse ‘Leadership: Theory and Practice’)
Leadership in the Strategic Context
Main Responsibilities:
• Monitoring the external environment to identify threats and opportunities.
• Formulating strategy for the future survival and prosperity of the organisation.
• Influence organisational performance (e.g. decisions about competitive strategy, HR,
management programmes, systems, organisational structure and culture)
How Leaders Influence Organisational Performance
Focus of these notes:
Theories of Leadership
Trait Theories
Leaders have particular traits or characteristics that distinguish them from non-leaders and
contribute to success.
(Source: Richard L. Daft ‘The Leadership Experience’)
,Universally Desirable and Undesirable Leadership Attributes
One of the most interesting outcomes of the GLOBE project was the identification of a list of
leadership attributes that were universally endorsed by 17,000 people in 62 countries as positive
aspects of effective leadership.
Respondents in the GLOBE studies identified 22 valued leadership attributes. These attributes were
universally endorsed as characteristics that facilitate outstanding leadership.
The GLOBE project also identified a list of leadership attributes that were universally viewed as
obstacles to effective leadership.
(Source: Peter G. Northouse ‘Leadership: Theory and Practice’ – older version pdf online)
Note: the GLOBE Project (Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness Project) is a
study of cross-cultural leadership that spans over 60 countries and cultures. The Project was
founded in 1993 by Robert J House to analyse the organizational norms, values, and beliefs of
leaders in different societies.
Big Five Model of Personality
There are many personality classification methods. However, the Big Five Model of Personality
(Goldberg, 1990) traits is the most widely accepted way to clarify personalities because of its strong
research support and its reliability across age, sex, race, and language groups.
The purpose of the Big Five Model of Personality is to reliably categorize, into one of five dimensions
(i.e. elements / components), most if not all of the traits you would use to describe someone. Thus,
each dimension includes multiple traits. The Big Five Model of Personality categorizes traits into the
dimensions of surgency, agreeableness, adjustment, conscientiousness, and openness to
experiences.
Note: some researchers have slightly different names for the five dimensions, and not all will agree
under which dimension each leadership trait should be classified; there is some overlap.
Surgency
The surgency personality dimension includes dominance, extraversion, and high energy with
determination:
, • Dominance: successful leaders’ asset themselves and want to be managers and take charge.
If you do not want to be a leader, chances are you will not be an effective manager. Thus,
the dominance trait affects all the other traits related to effective leaders.
• Extraversion: it is on a continuum (i.e. range) between extravert and introvert. Extraverts are
outgoing, like to meet new people, and are assertive (i.e. having or showing a confident and
forceful personality) and willing to confront others, whereas introverts are shy and reserved
/ withdrawn.
• High energy with determination: leaders tend to have high energy with a positive drive to
work hard to achieve goals, and they create energy for others. Their positive attitude and
optimism influence their high tolerance for frustration as they strive to overcome obstacles
through being persistent; they don’t give up easily.
Agreeableness
The agreeableness personality dimension includes traits of sociability and emotional intelligence:
• Sociability / sensitivity: sociable people have an inclination (i.e. tendency / propensity) to
seek out enjoyable social relationships. Strong sociability personality types are friendly,
courteous (i.e. polite), easy to get along with, and diplomatic. Sensitivity is part of being
sociable. It refers to understanding group members as individuals. If you are concerned only
about yourself and don’t understand others, you probably will not be very successful.
• Emotional intelligence: emotional intelligence is the ability to work well with people. There
are four components of emotional quotient:
o Self-awareness: relates to being conscious of your emotions and how they affect your
personal and professional life.
o Social awareness: relates to the ability to understand others. Empathy is an ability to put
yourself in other people’s situations, sense their emotions, and understand things from
their perspective.
o Self-management: relates to the ability to control disruptive emotions, our own and
others. Successful leaders are self-motivated and don’t let negative emotions (worry,
anxiety, fear, anger etc.) interfere with getting things done.
o Relationship management: relates to the ability to work well with others. This is
dependant on the other three components.
Note: emotional quotient (EQ) is how one measures emotional intelligence.
Adjustment
The adjustment personality dimension includes traits of emotional stability and self-confidence:
• Emotional stability / self-control and narcissism: adjustment is on a continuum (i.e. range)
between being emotionally stable and unstable. Stable refers to self-control, being calm -
good under pressure, relaxed, secure, and positive - praising others. Unstable is out of
control – poor under pressure, nervous, insecure, negative, and hostile – criticizing others
without helping them improve. Narcissism is related to being unstable. Narcissists are pre-
occupied with themselves, ignoring the needs of others, have an exaggerated sense of their
own self-importance, and tend to make bad decisions.
• Self-confidence: it is on a continuum (i.e. range) from strong to weak, indicating whether we
are self-assured in our judgements, decision making, ideas, and capabilities. How can we
succeed at anything if we don’t believe we can? Effective self-confidence is based on an
accurate awareness of our strengths and weaknesses, with an orientation (i.e. focus /
emphasis) on self-improvement.