Summary
Leadership book (8th edition) summary
- Course
- Institution
- Book
In this document, I have summarised all chapters from the book "Leadership: theory & practice" (Northouse, 2019) that are required for the exam.
[Show more]
Connected book
Book Title:
Author(s):
- Edition:
- ISBN:
- Edition:
More summaries for
-
ATI Leadership NEW GENERATION Proctored Exam Latest Versions 2024 100% Verified Q & A, Download to Secure A+ GRADE
-
Latest Test Bank for Leadership: Theory and Practice ( 8th Edition ). by Peter G. Northouse
-
Samenvatting Leadership, ISBN: 9781544331942 Leadership (EBM072A05)
1 review
By: bindigreen • 1 year ago
Seller
Follow
matthijsfehrmann
Reviews received
Content preview
Leadership book summaryChapter 1: Introduction
LEADERSHIP DEFINED
In the past 60 years, as many as 65 different classification systems have been developed to define the
dimensions of leadership, emphasising the lack of a universal consensus on its definition.
- Focus of group processes: the leader is at the centre of group change and activity and
embodies the will of the group.
- Personality perspective: suggests leadership is a combination of special traits or
characteristics that some individuals possess.
These traits enable those individuals to induce others to accomplish tasks.
- Behavioural perspective: leadership is about the things leaders do to bring about change in a
group.
- Power relationships: leadership is defined according to the power relationship that exists
between leaders and followers
Leaders have power that they wield to effect change in others.
- Transformational process: leadership is a process that moves followers to accomplish more
than is usually expected from them.
- Skills perspective: stresses the capabilities (knowledge and skills) that make effective
leadership possible.
Between the many conceptualisations of leadership, the following components can be identified:
a) Leadership is a process
It is not a trait or characteristic that resides in the leader, but rather a transactional event
that occurs between the leader and the followers.
Leadership is not a linear, one-way event, but rather an interactive event.
Implies that leadership can become available to everyone.
b) Leadership involves influence
Concerned with how leaders affect followers and the communication that occurs
between leaders and followers. Without influence, leadership does not exist.
c) Leadership occurs in groups (context)
A group is required for leadership to occur. Teaching individuals how to lead themselves
is not considered a part of leadership.
d) Leadership involves common goals
Leaders direct their energies toward individuals trying to achieve something together.
Common means that leaders and followers have a mutual purpose.
Stressing mutuality lessens the possibility that leaders might act toward followers in
ways that are forced or unethical.
Leadership = a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a
common goal.
Leaders have an ethical responsibility to attend to the needs and concerns of followers. They are not
above or better than leaders.
LEADERSHIP DESCRIBED
,Trait versus process leadership
Trait perspective = certain individuals have special innate or inborn characteristics or qualities that
make them leaders.
- It is these qualities that differentiate them from non-leaders.
- “She is a natural leader”, “he is born a leader”.
- Physical factors (e.g., height), personality features (extraversion), other characteristics (e.g.,
intelligence or fluency).
Process perspective = leadership is a phenomenon that resides in the context of the interactions
between leaders and followers and makes leadership available to everyone.
- Leadership can be observed in leader behaviours and can be learned.
- Remember, this is how leadership is defined in the book (process).
Assigned versus emergent leadership
Assigned leadership = leadership that is based on occupying a formal position in an organisation.
- Examples: team leaders, plant managers, directors, department heads, etc.
Emergent leadership = When others perceive an individual as the most influential member of a
group or an organisation, regardless of the individual’s title.
- Individuals acquire emergent leadership through other people who support and accept that
individual’s behaviour.
- It emerges over a period through communication, rather than it being assigned by position.
Positive communication behaviours that account for successful leader emergence: Being
verbally involved, being informed, seeking others’ opinions, initiating new ideas.
- Personality also plays a role in leadership emergence.
Certain traits such as dominance, intelligence, and confidence are more likely to relate to
leadership identification by other members of the individual’s group.
- Gender-biased perceptions also affect leadership emergence.
Women are rated significantly lower on leadership compared to men in equal situations.
- Social identity theory: leadership emergence is the degree to which a person fits with the
identity of the group as a whole.
As groups develop over time, a group prototype also develops and individuals emerge as
leaders in the group when they become most like the group prototype.
Leadership and power
Power = the capacity or potential to influence.
- Therefore, it is related to leadership as it is part of the “influence” process.
- People have power when they have the ability to affect others’ beliefs, attitudes, and courses
of action (e.g., judges, doctors, coaches, teachers).
- People often view people in a leadership position as individuals that wield power over others
and therefore power used to be thought of as synonymous with leadership.
Although power used to be the domain of leaders, it is now shifting to followers.
- Followers demand more from leaders, and leaders have responded.
- Access to technology has empowered followers, giving them access to huge amounts of
information and making leaders more transparent.
- Therefore, power is no longer synonymous with leadership.
According to French and Raven (1959), there are 6 bases of power:
1. Referent power = based on followers’ identification and liking for the leader.
, E.g., a teacher who is adored by students.
2. Expert power = based on followers’ perceptions of the leader’s competence.
E.g., a tour guide who is knowledgeable about a foreign country.
3. Legitimate power = associated with having status or formal job authority.
E.g., a judge who administers sentences in the courtroom.
4. Reward power = derived from having the capacity to provide rewards to others.
E.g., a supervisor who compliments employees who work hard.
5. Coercive power = derived from having the capacity to penalise or punish others.
E.g., a coach who sits players on the bench for being late to practice.
6. Information power = derived from possessing knowledge that others want or need.
E.g., a boss who has information regarding new criteria to decide employee promotion
eligibility.
In organisations, there are two major kinds of power:
1. Position power = the power a person derives from a particular office or rank in a formal
organisational system
It is the influence capacity a leader derives from having higher status that the followers
have.
Legitimate, reward, coercive, and information power (#3 - #6)
2. Personal power = the influence capacity a leader derives from being seen by followers as
likable and knowledgeable.
Described to managers by others based on how they are seen in their relationships with
others.
Referent and expert power (#1 - #2)
This book treats power as a relational concern for both leaders and followers, emphasising that
power is not an entity that leaders use over others to achieve their own ends; rather, power occurs in
relationships.
Leadership and coercion (#5 by French and Raven)
Coercion involves the use of force to effect change.
- To coerce = to influence others to do something against their will and may include
manipulating penalties and rewards in their work environment.
- Often involves the use of threats, punishment, and negative reward schedules and is most
often seen as a characteristic of the dark side of leadership.
- Leaders who use coercion are interested in their own goals and seldom are interested in the
wants and needs of followers.
Coercion runs counter to working with followers to achieve a common goal (note,
leadership definition).
Leadership and management
Similarities: both involve influence; both entail working with people; both are concerned with
effective goal accomplishment.
Differences:
- Management its function is to provide order and consistency to organisations
Planning and budgeting, organising and staffing, controlling and problem solving.
- Leadership its primary function is to produce adaptive and constructive change and
movement.
Establishing direction, aligning people, motivating and inspiring.
- To manage = to accomplish activities and master routines, while to lead = to influence others
and create visions for change.
, Leadership is distinguished by motivating intrinsically, creative thinking, strategic planning, and being
able to read people.
- Management is distinguished by rule orientations, short-term planning, motivating
extrinsically, orderliness, safety concerns, and timeliness.
However, both are needed for an organisation to prosper
- E.g., if an organisation has strong management without leadership, the outcome can be
stifling and bureaucratic.
- E.g., if an organisation has strong leadership without management, the outcome can be
meaningless or misdirected.
Chapter 2: Trait Approach
Trait approach = people are born with certain characteristics and only the “great” people possess
certain traits that make them “natural leaders”.
- Criticism: an individual with leadership traits who was a leader in one situation might not be
a leader in another situation.
Personal factors related to leadership continued to be important, but researchers
contended that these factors were to be considered as relative to the requirements of
the situation (contextual importance).
Trait approach earned new interest through current emphasis on visionary and charismatic
leadership. Therefore, it has shifted back to reemphasise the critical role of traits in effective
leadership.
What has a century of research on the trait approach given us that is useful?
- An extended list of traits that individuals might hope to possess or wish to cultivate if they
want to be perceived as leaders.
- Some central traits include intelligence, self-confidence, determination, integrity, and
sociability.
Intelligence (intellectual ability) is positively related to leadership.
- Having strong verbal ability, perceptual ability, and reasoning appears to make one a better
leader.
- However, it is important that the IQ of the leader is not too different from that of the
followers.
Leaders with higher abilities may have difficulty communicating with followers because
their ideas may be too advanced for their followers to accept.
Curvilinear relationship between IQ and perceived leadership: it is good for leaders to be
intelligent, but it should not become too high.
Self-confidence = the ability to be certain about one’s competencies and skills.
- Self-confidence allows the leader to feel assured his/her attempt to influence others are
appropriate and right.
Determination = the desire to get the job done.
- Includes characteristics such as initiative, persistence, dominance, and drive.
- People with determination are willing to assert themselves, are proactive, and have the
capacity to preserve in the face of obstacles.
Integrity = adhering to a strong set of principles and taking responsibility for one’s own actions.
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller matthijsfehrmann. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $3.75. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
67474 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now