CHAPTER 1- INTRODUCTION

Introduction to Leadership

For centuries, management scholars have studied and conducted research to find out what makes a good leader. Leadership had become an issue in Greece. Socrates’ pupil, a philosopher by the name of Pluto, stimulated the subject of the ideal leader in an ideal city as a dominant issue (Shriberg et al, 1997, p. 41). Most of the definitions on leadership are focused on inspiring, motivating, and influencing people. For instance, Geneen (as cited in Krass, 1998) defines leadership as the ability to inspire other people to work together as a team to achieve a common goal. Gibson (1988) and Koontz and Weihrich (1990) characterize leadership as the ability to influence and to motivate individuals to accomplish common goals and objectives. These definitions speak on two specific variables: task and people (Blake & Mouton, 1969).

The success on leadership often depends on the ability of the leaders to delegate a certain task to their subordinates, and mobilize them towards the direction set by the management. Leaders, as Cronin states, “are people who perceive what is needed and what is right, and know how to mobilize people and resources to accomplish mutual goals” (as cited in Shriberg et al, 1997. p. 4). Lynch (1993) believes that “successful leadership makes things happen” (p. 9). Researchers never stop looking for the meaning of leadership. Instead, they continue to shape their understanding and develop theories that relate leadership to other variables.

In January 1964, Robert Blake and Jane Mouton published a classical book entitled, The Managerial Grid. The book offers not only a model, which sought to explain human behavior, but also a powerful tool to improve human effectiveness and develop sound leadership. Sound leadership produces organizational success, while poor leadership generates constant failure. For more than 30 years, millions of people have been using this Grid framework to achieve “optimum organizational and personal productivity” (Newborough, 1999, p. 13).

Nevertheless, many researchers still study and try to encompass the leadership styles of the different kind and perhaps multinational managers in different settings.  Researchers often try to explore leadership of managers and leaders that have longer tenure so that they have enough feel in the workplace and consequently could have developed a style fitted in such environment. Moreover, some researchers try to look at the cross-cultural leadership traits.

This book will look at the leadership theories and inherent personal leader characteristics/traits that will only consider need for achievement/drive, need for power, ethics, cognitive ability, interpersonal skills and self-confidence. Hence the global mindsets are to be seen through their strategy/structure, corporate culture, and people.

Leadership and Management

There are many researchers and authors that look at leadership and management differently. Thus, they try to defined and depict each in their own way.

Hess and Siciliano (1996) defined management as the “coordination of human, material, technological and financial resources needed for the organization to reach its goals” (p. 7). Drucker (as cited in Schriberg et al, 1997) argues that management is “a multipurpose organ that manages a business and manages managers and manages workers and work” (p. 92). It is commonly agreed that five functions make up a manager’s job: planning, controlling, organizing, staffing and leading.

Leadership and management share some characteristics, but each is also separate and distinct. Zaleznik (as cited in Harvard Business Review, 2002) suggests that “manager’s goals arise out of necessities rather than desires; they excel at defusing conflicts between individuals that on organization’s day-to-day business gets done” (p. 76). Leaders, on the other hand, “look for the opportunities and rewards that lie around the corner, inspiring subordinates and firing up the creative process with their own energy” (Zaleznik, as cited in Harvard Business Review, 1998, p. 61). Kotter (as cited in Harvard Business Review, 1998) argues that “leadership complements management; it doesn’t replace it” (p. 39). Both leadership and management have its own function and characteristic activities, and are necessary for success in an increasingly complex and volatile business environment. The challenge is to combine strong leadership and strong management, and use each to balance the other.

Researchers have tried to depict leaders and their roles in the organization in many terms. Stoner (1982) sees that “leaders play a critical role in helping groups, organizations in societies achieve their goal” (p. 482). In World War II, England might have lost the war had Neville Chamberlain remained as Prime Minister and Winston Churchill had not been so determined to save England and the rest of the world.

Some researchers seem to say that leadership is crucial in our daily lives and should not be ignored (Himsel, 2004; Lupdag, 1984). Davis and Newstrom (1989) stated, “Leader is an important part of management” (p. 204). They are important because in management, the managers are not only required to plan and organize but they are expected to influence others to seek defined objectives enthusiastically. People look to the head of their department and to the top of the organization for direction, and set the goals. By being responsive to employees’ needs, a leader will set the employees to be responsible for getting the job done.

Leadership is seen by Robbins (2005) as coping with challenge and change. Leaders may look as weak managers if their poor planning causes their group to move in wrong directions, and how much more when a leader is depicted as not responsive to what his subordinates need. Though they can get their group going, they just cannot get in directions that best serve organizational objectives. Other combinations also are possible. A person can be a weak leader and still be a relatively effective manager; especially, if one happens to be managing people who clearly understand their job and have strong drives to work. This set of circumstances is less likely, and therefore we expect an excellent manager to have reasonably high leadership ability. This seems to support the literal meaning of leadership (Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 1989).

The key in the success or failure of an organization is the leader itself (Halan, 2005). Examples of people who have produced huge results and can be considered successful leaders in their organizations are Bill Gates, the person who builds cyber kingdom, Allen Greenspan, the person who spearheads and stewards the nervous economy in the United States, and Narayana Murti, an Indian who owns a successful software industry in India. Stoner (1982) defines managerial leadership as “the process of directing and influencing the task-oriented activities of group members, which implies that it involves other people, unequal distribution of power among leaders and group members, and influence on subordinates” (p. 468).

Grint (2000) suggests that leadership should be considered as an art rather than as a science. It concerns coordinating and establishing relationship between four elements of the who, the what, the how and the why that mirror four central features of leadership: the development of identity, the formulation of a strategic vision, a construction of organizational tactics, and the deployment of persuasive mechanism to ensure followers actually follow (p. 27).

Chapman and O’Neil (2000) support the ideas of leadership as an art that involves the creative nature of leaders to assemble skilled people with relevant resources, to achieve organization goals. These people are of the view that organized efforts go hand in hand in a system of cooperation. Heller (1999) sees that “the aim of leadership is to help others to achieve their personal best” (p. 6). Halan (2005) argues, “A successful leader must have full control to all the members of his teams and the situations he has to handle” (p.18). In order to lead the team to success, the team must accept his command to work under his directions, since leader effectiveness is measured by the acknowledgment of people around them (Harvard Business Essentials, 2004, p. 200).

Kouzes and Posner (2002) argue that leadership is both a challenge and a process. They consider present leadership as equally important as the future leadership. Leaders should continuously work on their leadership behavior. Kouzes and Posner say that “today’s organization leaders must be skilled in meeting the need of their employees” (as cited in Shriberg et al, 1997, p. 29). According to Harvard Business Essentials (2004) today’s leadership face challenges on how to get people moving and maintain positive energy despite tensions, risk, ambiguity and changes (p. 191). Leaders should not cease in their efforts to maintain good leadership and influence among their members.

As Hofstede (1984) stated, leader’s behavior often originates from the “collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one category of people from another” (p. 21). On the other hand, Uris (1971) focuses on judging one’s leadership and concisely says that “democratic leadership is the best” (p. 17).

Charismatic leaders are seen by Conger (1989) as people who can stick into the minds of people, and direct their thinking into doing what the leader wishes or instructs them to do. On the other hand, Maxwell (1999) suggests that leaders should openly reveal the good in people to win their favor. He sees charisma as the leaders’ “ability to draw people to [themselves] . . . and adds that charisma is a behavior which can be developed just like other character traits” (p. 10).

Blake and Mouton (1985) suggests that “the character of leadership is a significant factor in organization success or failure and a strong and effective leadership creates high involvement and shared commitment that stimulates people to overcome obstacles to achieving maximum results” (p. 1). The team members’ active participation is possible when they have a clear sense of purpose that will help them support one another, which is a characteristic of outstanding teamwork. As team members gain experience, they qualify themselves for promotion and advancement. The results are that the organizational need for results is satisfied, personal benefits from involvement from commitment are gained, and opportunities for advancement are increased.

Drucker (1967) argues that it is the executive or manager’s job to be effective (p. 166). Guest et al (1986) suggest that the key point of managers’ or leaders’ effectiveness is “able to diagnose their environment and determine the unique of their situation” (p. 4). Schein (1970) feels that a “successful manager must be a good diagnostician and must value a spirit of inquiry” (p. 70). In addition, Guest et al (1986) suggest that “managers interested in change must be able to identify clues in their environment that suggests appropriate strategies to use in that situation” (p. 5).

The need to have effective leaders also have affected the banking area. Bank of America for instance is the largest consumer bank in the United States, with almost 33 million customers, representing one of every three households.

Impressum

Verlag: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 31.07.2014
ISBN: 978-3-7368-2887-2

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