Leading

• Leading is establishing direction and influencing

others to follow that direction.
• But this definition isn't as simple as it sounds
because leadership has many variations and
different areas of emphasis.
• Common to all definitions of leadership is the
notion that leaders are individuals who, by their
actions, facilitate the movement of a group of
people toward a common or shared goal.
• This definition implies that leadership is an
influence process.
• The distinction between leader and leadership
is important, but potentially confusing.
• The leader is an individual; leadership is the
function or activity this individual performs.
• The word leader is often used interchangeably
with the word manager to describe those
individuals in an organization who have
positions of formal authority, regardless of
how they actually act in those jobs.
• Leadership is an important part of
management, but only a part; management
also requires planning, organizing, leading,
and controlling.
• Leadership produces change.
• Both strong leadership and strong
management is necessary for optimal
organizational effectiveness.
Six core characteristics that the majority of effective leaders possess:
• Drive. Leaders are ambitious and take initiative.
• Motivation. Leaders want to lead and are willing to take charge.
• Honesty and integrity. Leaders are truthful and do what they say
they will do.
• Self-confidence. Leaders are decisive and enjoy taking risks. They
admit mistakes and foster trust and commitment to a vision.
• Cognitive ability. Leaders are intelligent, perceptive, and
conceptually skilled, but are not necessarily geniuses. They show
analytical ability, good judgment, and the capacity to think
strategically.
• Business knowledge. Leaders tend to have technical expertise in
their businesses.
Successful leaders/manager share the
following three abilities
• To define and establish a sense of mission. Good
leaders set goals, priorities, and standards, making sure
that these objectives not only are communicated but
maintained.
• To accept leadership as a responsibility rather than a
rank. Good leaders aren't afraid to surround
themselves with talented, capable people; they do not
blame others when things go wrong.
• To earn and keep the trust of others. Good leaders
have personal integrity and inspire trust among their
followers; their actions are consistent with what they
say.
 Leadership styles

• Some leaders are autocratic. Some are

participatory, and others are hands off.
• Autocratic.
• The manager makes all the decisions and dominates
team members.
• This approach generally results in passive resistance
from team members and requires continual pressure
and direction from the leader in order to get things
done.
• Generally, this approach is not a good way to get the
best performance from a team.
• However, this style may be appropriate when urgent
action is necessary or when subordinates actually
prefer this style.
• Participative.
• The manager involves the subordinates in decision making by
consulting team members (while still maintaining control), which
encourages employee ownership for the decisions.
• A good participative leader encourages participation and delegates
wisely.
• The leader values group discussions and input from team
members; he or she maximizes the members' strong points in order
to obtain the best performance from the entire team.
• The participative leader motivates team members by empowering
them to direct themselves;
• The downside, however, is that a participative leader may be seen
as unsure, and team members may feel that everything is a matter
for group discussion and decision.
• Hands-off : In this hands-off approach, the leader
encourages team members to function independently and
work out their problems by themselves, although he or she
is available for advice and assistance.
• The leader usually has little control over team members,
leaving them to sort out their roles and tackle their work
assignments without personally participating in these
processes.
• In general, this approach leaves the team floundering with
little direction or motivation.
• Hands-off is usually only appropriate when the team is
highly motivated and skilled, and has a history of producing
excellent work.
• Managers usually approach the following
three elements—
• motivation,
• decision making, and
• task orientation—affect their leadership
styles:
• Motivation. Leaders influence others to reach
goals through their approaches to motivation.
• They can use either positive or negative
motivation.
• A positive style uses praise, recognition, and
rewards, and increases employee security and
responsibility.
• A negative style uses punishment, penalties,
potential job loss, suspension, threats, and
reprimands.
• Decision making. The second element of a
manager's leadership style is the degree of
decision authority the manager grants
employees—ranging from no involvement to
group decision making.
• Task and employee orientation. The final element of
leadership style is the manager's perspective on the
most effective way to get the work done.
• Managers who favor task orientation emphasize
getting work done by using better methods or
equipment, controlling the work environment,
assigning and organizing work, and monitoring
performance.
• Managers who favor employee orientation emphasize
getting work done through meeting the human needs
of subordinates. Teamwork, positive relationships,
trust, and problem solving are the major focuses of the
employee-oriented manager.
 The managerial grid model
• The managerial grid model, shown in Figure ,
identifies five leadership styles with varying
concerns for people and production
The impoverished style, located at the lower left-hand corner of the grid, point (1, 1), is
characterized by low concern for both people and production; its primary objective is for
managers to stay out of trouble
• The country club style, located at the upper left-hand corner of the
grid, point (1, 9), is distinguished by high concern for people and a
low concern for production;
• its primary objective is to create a secure and comfortable
atmosphere where managers trust that subordinates will respond
positively.
• The authoritarian style, located at the lower right-hand corner of
the grid, point (9,1), is identified by high concern for production and
low concern for people;
• its primary objective is to achieve the organization's goals, and
employee needs are not relevant in this process.
• The middle-of-the-road style, located at the middle of the
grid, point (5, 5), maintains a balance between workers'
needs and the organization's productivity goals;
• its primary objective is to maintain employee morale at a
level sufficient to get the organization's work done.
• The team style, located at the upper right-hand of the grid,
point (9, 9), is characterized by high concern for people and
production;
• its primary objective is to establish strong feeling of
commitment among workers.
• The Managerial Grid model suggests that
competent leaders should use a style that
reflects the highest concern for both people
and production—
• point (9, 9), team-oriented style.