23 Leadership- Conceptual Framework
Dr. Rajinder Kaur
1. Learning objectives
Basic objectives of this module are:
- To develop conceptual understanding of Leadership
- To understand the nature, importance and types of Leadership
Introduction
Human beings inherently have great potentials. But to achieve desired results, their potential needs to be channelized in right way. Here the role of a leader becomes very important. A leader is any body who leads and directs his followers. In this process, the leader aspires to influence the behavior of others in a desired direction. Thus, leadership is the process of influencing the behavior of others with the motive of achievement of some desired results. Now a days, leadership is not confined only to politics, but it has grown in its importance in corporate world too. It has found a central place in the field of management. Managers are now supposed to have qualities of a good leader too because of growing complexities of business. Resources are always limited and they have to be uilised optimally. Human resources are probably the most difficult one to be managed effectively, because, it requires the managers to understand the human nature, needs and interests of the individuals following him, and the compatibility of individual and the common interests. Every human is different, thus, leaders can not generalise any specific style of leadership for all and in every situation. Before designing a mechanism of leadership, the leader has to analyse the needs of the individuals, organisation and the situation too.
Source: (http://thenews-chronicle.com/tag/leadership/)
Concept
Generally, leadership is defined as a process of influencing the behaviour of others for the accomplishment of certain goals in a given situation. According to Theo Haimann, leadership is “the process by which an executive imaginatively directs, guides and influences the work of others in choosing and attaining specified goals by mediating between the individuals and the organization in such a manner that both will obtain maximum satisfaction.” Koontz and O’Donnel defined leadership as “the ability of a manager to induce subordinates to work with confidence and zeal”. Thus, leadership is very important as far as achievement of goals of the organization is concerned. It is helpful in ensuring coordination in the efforts of the employees and channelizing their efforts in right direction. It is necessary for the organization, so that the workforce is engaged and committed towards the accomplishment of given tasks enthusiastically and willingly. Leadership qualities of the managers are very much required in the process of creating willingness and enthusiasm. Robert Tannenbaum defined leadership as “the interpersonal influence exercised in a situation and directed through communication process towards the attainment of specific goals.”
Nature of leadership
Leader-followers relationship: Leadership is not possible without followers. A leader must have followers to be a leader. Followers forms a group whose efforts are to be directed by the leader in a positive manner. Leader may adopt various styles of leadership depending on the size, nature, quality and other traits of the group of followers.
Leadership is purposeful: Leadership aims at achieving some definite goals. Aimless leadership can’t achieve anything. Moreover, goals to be achieved are common to the whole group. A good leader will be able to mould the behavior of followers in such a way that they start willingly making efforts for achieving definite common goals.
Leadership is situational: There is not any specific style of leadership which is effective in all situations, at any time and for all types of followers. It depends on the circumstances. Requirements of the situation have a great bearing on the methods adopted by the leader. When the situation demands quick decision making, adoption of democratic leadership won’t be much fruitful.
Followers should accept the leader: It is required that the followers are satisfied with the leadership qualities of the leader. The leader has to be constantly accepted by the followers. This is not possible only with the formal authority or the power which the leader may have as a result of organizational structure, but with the deeds of the leader. Followers constantly appraise their leader and if dissatisfied, the leader ceased to be the leader, even if he remains the boss.
Leadership is dynamic: leadership doesn’t have any specific process. It is psychological, multidimensional, and complex phenomenon. A leader is constantly engaged in assessment of the situation, progress, anticipation, and expectations etc. It is a never ending process.
5. Role and importance of leadership
Directed efforts: Efforts and capabilities of a large number of a people can be directed towards a meaningful goal through leadership. A leader leads the group to ensure coordination of efforts. Without a good leader the efforts may be misdirected and energy and resources may be wasted.
Motivation: One of the important objectives of leadership is to motivate the followers towards achievement of common goals. Good leadership is one which converts the capabilities of the group into a creative, organized, coordinated and willing effort, which is possible through proper motivation. Providing motivation is integral part of the sound leadership. If a leader can not motivate the followers, he cannot lead them.
Building morale and confidence: Morale is a mental state which determines the level of enthusiasm and commitment of employees in the organization. Employees with lower morale won’t participate whole heartedly in the efforts towards achievement of goals which may result into lower efficiency, lower productivity, absenteeism, and labour turnover. Thus, it is very important to keep the morale of employees very high. This is possible with the help of a good quality of leadership. If a leader is able to lead by setting examples, and is able to win the confidence of the followers, the morale of employees will be high.
Ensuring coordination and teamwork: Good leadership ensures proper coordination in the efforts of the group of the followers. A leader will ensure reconciliation among the personal and common goals. Coordination can ensure this synchronization which is important for the fruitfulness of the efforts of the group. A coordinated group works as a team, in which each and every member’s efforts are directed towards a common goal. It ensures unity among the members and loyalty towards the group’s objectives.
Reduces resistance: Resistance to change can be reduced by leadership. A good leader may prove to be a change agent. He can ensure the support of the followers towards the change by convincing them about the benefits of it. A planned change cannot be introduced by force but through counseling. Leadership is a mechanism where the behavior can be altered from negative to positive by using good leadership skills.
Discipline: Leadership is also necessary to ensure discipline in the followers’ group. Discipline may be defined as the compliance with the explicit and implicit rules and regulations of the organization. Undisciplined activities of any of the member of the group or organization may derail the well directed efforts from the right path. A leader ensures self discipline and voluntary compliance rather than forced discipline. Positive motivation techniques are used by a good leader for this purpose
6. Leadership vs. Management
Management is quite different from leadership. Management is always formal and managers are to be appointed but leadership may be informal too. A group of friends may have one in the group who always takes a dominant position in their decisions and plans. Others accept him as their leader not because of any formal arrangement, but informally because of his qualities. A leader remains leader as far as he gets the acceptance of his followers as a leader but a manager remains a manager till his appointment as a manager. Leaders are not always appointed but they become leader by virtue of some of their qualities. It is true that a manager having qualities of leadership will be more effective in performing his duties and responsibilities as a manager. A manager has to perform functions like planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling. These functions require a manager to be a good leader too. Specially while directing, a manager has to work as a leader and motivator. His staff will be more willingly following his decisions and directions if he is able to convince them that all his actions are towards the achievement of organizational goals and they do not have any clash with their individual goals. If he is not a good leader he may not be a good manager. Thus, all managers should have qualities of a leader, but leaders need not to be managers.
| Basis | Management | Leadership |
| Source |
Position makes a person manager. He is to be appointed as a manager. There is a formal relation between the manager and the subordinates. |
Qualities make a person leader. He need not be formally appointed as a Leader. Personal traits and expertise over the job may also make a person leader. |
| Followers |
The subordinates are the followers because manager gets the right to lead |
Followers willingly follow because they accept him as their leader. They keep following till he gets their Acceptance. Followers need not be subordinates |
| Objectives |
A manager has to performs all five functions of management. |
Leader has the responsibility of influencing the behavior towards accomplishment of common goals. |
| Expectations |
Maximum utilization of resources is expected by the use of techniques of management. |
A leader is expected to create a sense |
| Mutual Relationship
|
All managers are leaders. | All managers are leaders. |
| Accountability and concern
|
Responsibility is definite. Manager is |
Leaders have no clear cut and defined accountability. A leader is more concerned with followers’ satisfaction while achieving goals. |
| Sanctions |
Manager has command over allocation |
Manager has command over allocation |
7. Qualities of a leader
Clear vision: Clarity of objectives is most important. If goals are definite, means will also be well defined. Paths are chosen by keeping in mind the destination. A leader should be able to see the destination clearly and keep it all the time in front of him, as well as of followers.
Focus: A leader should be able to focus on the objectives. It is to be ensured that each and every effort of the leader and followers is aimed at the target. Any deviation from the rout will question the leadership and may affect acceptance from the followers.
Communication: A leader should be able to communicate his vision and plans clearly to the follower. Mode of communication is to be chosen carefully. It is not the question of what language you select, but how well you make sure that your ideas reach to the followers.
Empathy: It is very important to understand others perception. A good leader can put his feet in others’ shoes. To think from the others’ point of view is an essential quality of a leader. It creates an understanding between the leader and the followers.
Commonsense and intelligence: Commonsense is a basic quality that ensures logical thinking. An intelligent leader is able to understand and analyse the situation and find the solutions to any problem.
Decision making: Leadership is all about taking decision on behalf of the group and convincing the followers about the rightness of the decision. Decision making involves collecting information, comparing various alternatives and choosing the best one. Decision making ability of a person makes him a good leader.
Free from biasness: A leader must not be biased. There must be objectivity in his deeds and decisions. Subjectivity and biasness reduces the confidence of followers in their leader. Leader’s thinking and judgments should be based on facts and not influenced by others’ opinions.
Self confidence: Self confidence is a major quality of a leader. A leader must have belief in himself. This self confidence and determination must be visible in his actions so that the morale of the followers remains high.
Social skills: A leader must be socially accepted. He should be open to a reasonable level with the followers so that they don’t hesitate to share their own views, opinions, problems and feeling. He should be easily approachable and quite democratic in nature.
Honesty: A leader represents his group. He should be of good moral character. His own nature and character bound to have a bearing on the working of the group of followers. Thus, for long term success of his leadership, honesty is an essential requirement.
8. Requirements of effective leadership
Participation: Participation of followers in decision making makes the leadership effective. If the followers get importance and recognition, they become more committed towards the goals of the group. But the extent of participation should be of reasonable level, because it may lead to delay in decision making.
Cooperation: Efforts should be made to develop a voluntary cooperation among the members of the group. If the leader is not able to do it, his other leadership qualities will be less effective. Members should work as a team to achieve the common objectives.
Motivation: Leader should keep motivating his followers. Leadership is impossible if the leader is not able to motivate the followers towards achievement of the common goals. Various styles of leadership consider different types of motivational measures, but it is desirable to adopt positive measures rather than negative ones for effective leadership.
Authority and power: Authority over the group gives leader a better environment for the implementation of his plans. Whenever required, the leader should use his authority to give clear instruction to the followers. This authority may be explicit as a result of his position of the organization or may be implicitly given by the followers. There are different sources of power and authority. Some leaders have charismatic personality which influences the followers and they assume the leader’s authority over the group. Another source is the position of leader in the organisation’s hierarchy. It creates formal leader-follower behaviour. Expertise of some leaders in their job also binds the follower to follow the directions and commands of the leader. Apart from this, another is political power which a leader gains from the followers itself. More the number of followers, more powerful is the leader.
9. Formal and Informal Leadership
Formal leaders are appointed in the organization to hold a certain position and they get some definite power and authority by virtue of this position. This power and authority is essential for the fulfillment of the responsibilities they assume by holding that position. Formal leaders have accountability to the appointing authority. A plant head in a company is a formal leader because he has to lead a team of engineers, technicians, supervisors and workers for the achievement of definite targets related to the production. Positional powers and authorities can be exercised over his subordinates, but these powers only cannot make one an effective leader. To be accepted as a true leader one must possess many of the qualities which are expected by the followers in a true leader. We have already discussed these powers in previous section. On the other hand, an informal leader needs not to be appointed or hold any specific position. One gets the status of a leader just by virtue of the one’s qualities. Many a times, informal leaders prove to be more effective than formally appointed leaders. A supervisor may be more effective than the plant head in influencing the behavior of the staff. It all depends on the perception and acceptance of the followers. They accept that person as their leader who can be more effective and helpful in satisfaction of their needs. Formal leader is appointed by the organization and it is natural for him to be more inclined towards the organizational goals. In the process of achieving these organisational goals he may ignore the individual interests of the members. But, it is not the case of informal leadership. Informally, people accept only that person as their leader who they think will take care of their interests too. When there is a conflict of interests between organisation and the employees, there may be a confrontation between formal and informal leadership.
10. Transactional and Transformational Leadership 10.1 Transactional Leadership
Transactional leader acts only as a guide to the followers. The leader analyses the organizational goals, determines the needs of the subordinates and guides and motivates them to achieve these goals. The motive of the leader is to achieve the targets by making the subordinates confident that they are able to achieve them. Transactional leadership involves exchange relationship between the leader and the followers. Transactional leadership works in a structured environment. Transactional leader enjoys a formal position of authority and tries to maintain the performance in a structured and formal environment. Transactional leadership emphasises more on achieving short term tasks in the preset and structured environment. Transactional leadership is of great importance in organizations like military where a great deal of discipline is required and it is very important to obey the predetermined rules and regulations.
10.2 Transformational Leadership
Transformational leadership emphasises more on influencing rather than directing. It is desirable in a working environment which is not so structured and requires creativity. The leader creates a sense of belief in the followers and finds new and innovative ways of achieving the objectives. Transformational leader exercises a major impact and influence on the followers through personal inspiration. Such leaders have a broader vision about the organization’s future and inspire and motivate the followers towards its achievement. They also manage and facilitate the required change while keeping in mind the needs and interests of the followers. Transformational leaders don’t follow the existing path, rather they innovate and create new ways and also transform the followers by creating a sense of duty, responsibility, innovation, and creativity amongst them. Transformational leadership emphasizes on achieving long term goals with active and dynamic leadership. Transformational leadership is desirable in small and new organizations which want to grow big. They need transformational leaders who can visulise the future and bring in the required changes.
11. Summary
Leadership is the process of influencing the behavior of others with the motive of achievement of some desired results. It is necessary for the organization, so that the workforce is engaged and committed towards the accomplishment of given tasks enthusiastically and willingly. It is a purposeful leader follower relationship. It is desired for directed efforts, motivation, ensuring coordination, and discipline. It is different from management. Management is always formal and managers are to be appointed but leadership may be informal too. participation, cooperation, motivation and authority are some of the prerequisites of effective leadership. Leadership may be Formal or Informal and Transactional or Transformational leadership Formal leaders are appointed in the organization to hold a certain position and they get some definite power and authority by virtue of this position. On the other hand, an informal leader gets the status of a leader just by virtue of the one’s qualities. Transactional leader acts only as a guide to the followers who analyses the organizational goals, determines the needs of the subordinates and guides and motivates them to achieve these goals, whereas, Transformational leadership emphasises more on influencing rather than directing. Transformational leader exercises a major impact and influence on the followers through personal inspiration.
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