CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Leadership definition

By the way what do you understand by the term leadership? Do you have any idea about
leadership and followership? Are leaders made or born? How does leadership differ from
management? Some people say that it is difficult to define leadership, but we know it when we
see it. Others argue that leadership can only be defined as someone who has followers. Leaders
are not people in specific positions. Rather, leaders are defined by the people they serve.
Leadership can be defined in different ways according to different writers. Some are:
 Leadership is the process of influencing others toward the achievement of organizational
objectives. This definition recognizes that leadership is typically an ongoing activity, is oriented
toward having an impact on the behaviors of others, and is ultimately focused on realizing the
specific aims of the organization.
 Leadership is the art of influencing people so that they will strive willingly and enthusiastically
toward the achievement of organizational or group goals.
 Leadership is the ability to secure desirable actions from a group of followers voluntarily without
the use of coercion or force.
 Leadership is a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and
directs the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent. We can also
define leadership in organizations as the process of guiding and directing the behavior of
people in the work environment. Leadership can be formal or informal.
Formal leadership occurs when an organization officially bestows upon a leader the power
and authority to guide and direct others in the organization.
Informal leadership occurs in an organization unofficially accord a person the power and
influence to guide and direct their behavior. Leadership is among the most researched topics
in organizational behavior and one of the least understood social processes in organizations.
 Followership in organizations is the process of being guided and directed by a leader in the
work environment. Leaders and followers are companions in the processes of leadership.

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 Although your position as a manager, supervisor, lead, etc. gives you the authority to accomplish
certain tasks and objectives in the organization, this power does not make you a leader...it simply
makes you the boss. Leadership differs in that it makes the followers want to achieve high goals,
rather than simply bossing people around.
As we can see from the above definitions, leadership has three ingredients: leader, led (follower) and goal
(situation) – organizational Environment.
 Leader: - the one with the ability to understand others’ motivation and to inspire them with the
ability to create a climate for motivation.
 Follower (led) - the individuals being led or influenced
 Environment- the working environment in which the leader interacts with the followers.
While almost everyone seems to agree that leadership involves an influence process, differences ten
to center around whether leadership must be no coercive( as opposed to using authority, rewards, and
punishments to exert influence over followers) and whether it is distinct from management.

1.2 Leadership and Management

Management is a broad subject that encompasses activities such as planning, organizing, staffing, directing,
and controlling. Leadership, on the other hand, focuses almost exclusively on the ‘people’ aspects of getting
a job done-inspiring, motivating, directing, and gaining commitment to organizational activities and
goals. Leadership accompanies and complements the management functions. In short, management
influences brain, while leadership encourages the heart and the spirit.

Leaderships and management are two distinct yet complementary system of action in organization.
Especially effective leaders produce useful, change in organizations and that good management control
complexity in organization and its environment.

The management process involves (1) planning and budgeting (2) organizing and staffing, (3) controlling
and problem solving. The management process reduces uncertainty and stabilizes an organization.

In contrast, the leadership process involves (1) setting a direction for organization, (2) aligning people with
that direction through communication, and (3) motivating people to action partly though empowerment and
partly though basic need gratification. The leadership process creates uncertainty and change in organization.

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1.2.1 Distinctions between Leaders and Managers
The followings are some of the difference between leaders and managers:
 Managers have subordinates
By definition, managers have subordinates - unless their title is honorary and given as a mark
of seniority, in which case the title is a misnomer and their power over others is other than
formal authority.
 Authoritarian, transactional style
Managers have a position of authority vested in them by the company, and their subordinates
work for them and largely do as they are told. Management style is transactional, in that the
manager tells the subordinate what to do, and the subordinate does this, because they have been
promised a reward (at minimum their salary) for doing so.
 Work focus
Managers are paid to get things done (they are subordinates too), often within tight constraints
of time and money. They, thus naturally pass on this work focus to their subordinates.
 Seek comfort
An interesting research finding about managers is that they tend to come from stable home
backgrounds and led relatively normal and comfortable lives. This leads them to be relatively
risk-averse and they will seek to avoid conflict where possible. In terms of people, they
generally like to run a 'happy ship'.
 Leaders have followers
Leaders do not have subordinates - at least not when they are leading. Many organizational
leaders do have subordinates, but only because they are also managers. But when they want to
lead, they have to give up formal authoritarian control, because to lead is to have followers,
and following is always a voluntary activity.
 Charismatic, transformational style
Telling people what to do does not inspire them to follow you. You have to appeal to them,
showing how following them will lead to their hearts' desire. They must want to follow you
enough to stop what they are doing and perhaps walk into danger and situations that they
would not normally consider risking.

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Leaders with a stronger charisma find it easier to attract people to their cause. As a part of their
persuasion, they typically promise transformational benefits, such that their followers will not
just receive extrinsic rewards but will somehow become better people.
 People focus
Although many leaders have a charismatic style to some extent, this does not require a loud
personality. They are always good with people, and a quiet style that give credit to others (and
takes blame on themselves) are very effective at creating the loyalty that great leaders
engender.
Although leaders are good with people, this does not mean they are friendly with them. In
order to keep the charisma of leadership, they often retain a degree of separation and
unfriendliness. This does not mean that leaders do not pay attention to tasks - in fact they are
often very achievement-focused. What they do realize, however, is the importance of enthusing
others to work towards their vision.
 Seek risk
In the same study that showed managers as risk-averse, leaders appeared as risk-seeking,
although they are not blind risk seekers. When pursuing their vision, they consider it natural to
encounter problems and hurdles that must be overcome along the way. They are thus
comfortable with risk and will see routes that others avoid as potential opportunities for
advantage and will happily break rules in order to get things done.

In general, both leaders and mangers are fundamentally different types of personalities. Both
make a valuable contribution to an organization, and each one’s contribution is different.
Whereas leaders agitate for change and new approaches, managers advocate stability and status
quo.

Table 1.1 summarizes the above (and more) and gives a sense of the differences between being
a leader and being a manager. This is, of course, an illustrative characterization, and there is a
whole spectrum between either ends of these scales along which each role can range. And
many people lead and manage at the same time, and so may display a combination of
behaviors.

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Table 1.1 Summary of the differences between a leader and a manager

Subject Leader Manager

Essence Change Stability

Focus Leading people Managing work

Have Followers Subordinates

Horizon Long-term Short-term

Seeks Vision Objectives

Approach Sets direction Plans detail

Decision Facilitates Makes

Power Personal charisma Formal authority

Appeal to Heart Head

Energy Passion Control

Dynamic Proactive Reactive

Persuasion Sell Tell

Style Transformational Transactional

Exchange Excitement for work Money for work

Likes Striving Action

Wants Achievement Results

Risk Takes Minimizes

Rules Breaks Makes

Conflict Uses Avoids

Direction New roads Existing roads

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Truth Seeks Establishes

Concern What is right Being right

Credit Gives Takes

Blames
Blame Takes

1.3 What makes effective leader

In attempting to understand leadership, scholars understandably have spent much of their
energy studying successful and unsuccessful leaders in government, business, athletics, and
the military. However, leadership depends on several factors, including the situation and
the followers, not just the leaders’ qualities or characteristics. Leadership is more than just
the kind of person the leader is or the things the leader does. Leadership is the process of
influencing others toward the achievement of group goals; it is not just a person or a
position.

If we use only leaders as the lens for understanding leadership, then we get a very limited
view of the leadership process. We can expand our view of the leadership process by
adding two other complementary lenses: the followers and the situation. However, using
only the followers or the situation as a lens also would give us an equally limited view of
the leadership process. In other words, the clearest picture of the leadership process occurs
only when we use all three lenses to understand it.

1.3.1 Interactional Framework for Analyzing Leadership effectiveness

Fred Fiedler was the first researcher who formally recognized the importance of the leader,
follower, and situation in the leadership process. He used these three components to
develop his contingency model of leadership, a theory of leadership that will be discussed
in detail in chapter two. In line with this theory, leadership is a function of three elements-
the leader, the followers, and the situation (See figure 1.1)

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 Leader:
Personality,
Position,
Expertise, Etc
.
Followers:
Values, norms,
Cohesiveness,
Etc

Situation: Task, stress,

Environment, Etc

Figure 1.1: An interactional framework for analyzing leadership

[Link] The Leader

This element primarily examines what the leader brings as an individual to the leadership
equation. This can include unique personal history, interests, character traits, and
motivation. Leaders are not all alike, but they do tend to share many common
characteristics. Leaders differ from their followers; effective leaders differ from ineffective
leaders, on various personality traits, cognitive abilities, skills, and values. Another way
personality can affect leadership is through temperament, by which we mean whether the
leader is generally calm or is instead prone to emotional outbursts. Leaders who have calm
dispositions and do not attack or belittle others for bringing bad news are more likely to get
complete and timely information from subordinates than are bosses who have explosive
tempers and a reputation of killing the messenger.

[Link] The followers

Followers are critical part of the leadership equation, but their role has not always been
appreciated. For example, one can look at history and be struck by the contributions of
extraordinary individual leaders.

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Does the relative inattention to their followers mean the latter made no contributions
themselves to the leadership process? Relatively little attention have been paid by scholars
to the roles followers play in the leadership process. However, we know that the followers’
expectations, personality traits, maturity levels, levels of competence, and motivation affect
the leadership process too.

The nature of followers’ motivation to do their work is also important. Workers who share
a leader’s goals and values, and who feel intrinsically rewarded for performing a job well,
might be more likely to work extra hours on a time-critical project than those whose
motivation is solely monetary.

Even the number of followers reporting to a leader cans have significant implications. For
example, a store manager having three clerks working for him can spend more time with
each of them ( or on other things) than can a manager responsible for eight clerks and a
separate delivery service ; chairing a task force with five members is a different leadership
activity than chairing a taskforce with eighteen members. Still other relevant variables
include followers’ trust in the leader and their confidence (or not) that he or she is
interested in their well-being.

Thus, to an ever increasing degree, leadership must be understood in terms so leaders

variables and followers variables, as well as the interactions among them. But, even that is
not enough. In addition to understanding the leaders and the followers, we must also
understand the particular situations in which leaders and followers find themselves.

The concept of different styles of leadership is reasonably familiar, but the idea of different
styles of followership is relatively new. The very word followers has a negative
connotation to many, evoking ideas of people who behave like a sheep and need to be told
what to do. Robert Kelly (1992), however, believes that followers, rather than representing
the antithesis of leadership, are best viewed as collaborators with leaders in the work of
organizations.

Kelly believes that different types of followers can be described in terms of two broad
dimensions.

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One of them ranges from independent, critical thinking at one end to dependent, uncritical
thinking on the other end. According to Kelly, the best followers think for themselves and
offer constructive advice or even creative solutions.

The worst followers need to be told what to do. Kelly’s other dimension ranges from
whether people are active followers or passive followers in the extent to which they are
engaged in work. According to Kelly, the best followers are self-starters who take initiative
for themselves, whereas the worst followers are passive, make even dodge responsibility,
and need constant supervision.

Types of followers
Contemporary work environments are ones in which followers recognize their interdependence
with leaders and learn to challenge them while at the same time respecting the leaders’ authority.
Effective followers are active, responsible, and autonomous in their behavior and critical in their
thinking without being insubordinate or disrespectful. Effective followers and four other types of
followers are identified based on two dimensions: (1) active versus passive and (2) independent,
critical thinking. These are discussed below and shown in Figure.
1. Alienated follower: These are ones who think independently and critically, yet are very
passive in their behavior. As a result, they become psychologically and emotionally distance
from leaders. Alienated followers are potentially disruptive and a threat of the health of the
organization.
2. Sheep are followers: Sheep are followers who do not think independently and are passive in
their behavior. They simply do as they are told by others. In essence, they are salves to the
system.
3. Yes people: Yes people are followers who also do not think independently or critically, yet
they are very active in their behavior. They uncritically reinforce the thinking and ideas of
their leaders with enthusiasm, never questioning or challenging the wisdom of the leaders’
ideas and proposals. Yes people are the most dangerous to a leader because they are the most
likely to give a false positive reaction and give no warning of potential pitfalls.

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4. Survivors: Survivors are followers who are the list disruptive and the lowest –risk followers
in an organization. They perpetually sample the wind, and their motto is “ Better safe than
sorry”
5. Effective followers: Effective followers are the most valuable to leader and an organization
because of their active contributions. Effective followers share four essential qualities. First,
they practice self-management and self- responsibility. A leader can delegate to an effective
follower without an anxiety about the outcome. Second, they are committed to both the
organization and a purpose, principle, or a person outside themselves. Effective followers are
no self-centered or self-aggrandizing. There is a risk, however, when the follower is
committed to a purpose or principle at odds with the organization. Third, effective followers
invest in their own competence and professionalism and focus their energy for maximum
impact. Effective followers look for challenges and ways in to add to their talents or abilities.
Fourth, they are courageous, honest, and credible. Effective followers might be thought of
self leaders who do not require close supervision. The notion of self-leadership or super-
leadership blurs the distinction between leaders and followers. There is a complementary
concept of caring leadership. Caring leadership focus attention on the followers,
demonstrating concern for their development and well-being. Caring leadership is follower-
centered, not self-centered. The caring leader is able to develop dynamic followers.

Five Types of Followers

Independent, critical thinking

Alienated Effective
followers followers

Survivors
Passive Active

Yes
Sheep people

dependent, uncritical thinking

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 [Link] The Situation
The situation is the third central critical part of the leadership equation. Even if we knew,
all we could know about a given leaders and a given set of followers, leadership makes
sense only in the context of how the leader and followers interact in a given situation.

The situation may be the most ambiguous aspect of the leadership framework since it can
refer to anything from the specific task a group is engaged in all the way to broad
situational contexts.

Determinants of Leadership Effectiveness

1.4 Importance of Leadership

Leaders set a direction for the rest of us; they help us see what lies ahead; they help us visualize
what we might achieve; they encourage us and inspire us. Without leadership a group of human
beings quickly degenerates into argument and conflict, because we see things in different ways
and lean toward different solutions. Leadership helps to point us in the same direction and
harness our efforts jointly. Leadership is the ability to get other people to do something
significant that they might not otherwise do. It’s energizing people toward a goal.

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In this line of argument, leadership is an important function of management which helps to
maximize efficiency and to achieve organizational goals. The following points justify the
importance of leadership in a concern.


Initiates action- Leader is a person who starts the work by communicating the policies and

plans to the subordinates from where the work actually starts.

Motivation- A leader proves to be playing an incentive role in the concern’s working. He
motivates the employees with economic and non-economic rewards and thereby gets the

work from the subordinates.

Providing guidance- A leader has to not only supervise but also play a guiding role for the
subordinates. Guidance here means instructing the subordinates the way they have to

perform their work effectively and efficiently.

Creating confidence- Confidence is an important factor which can be achieved through
expressing the work efforts to the subordinates, explaining them clearly their role and giving
them guidelines to achieve the goals effectively. It is also important to hear the employees

with regards to their complaints and problems.

Building morale- Morale denotes willing co-operation of the employees towards their work
and getting them into confidence and winning their trust. A leader can be a morale booster
by achieving full co-operation so that they perform with best of their abilities as they work to

achieve goals.

Builds work environment- Management is getting things done from people. An efficient
work environment helps in sound and stable growth. Therefore, human relations should be
kept into mind by a leader. He should have personal contacts with employees and should

listen to their problems and solve them. He should treat employees on humanitarian terms.

Co-ordination- Co-ordination can be achieved through reconciling personal interests with
organizational goals. This synchronization can be achieved through proper and effective co-

ordination which should be primary motive of a leader.

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