weLEAD Online Magazine
leadingtoday.org
Copyright
2004 ã weLEAD, Inc.
Leadership: Why is it Necessary?
– Part 1
By Cicily Goreham
In the new age of
technology and auto-answer phone systems, it is much more difficult to
communicate with others. As a society,
we have become more familiar with communication through typing and Instant
Messaging shorthand and are challenged with maintaining face-to-face
communication skills. Therefore, it is
important, more than ever, that positive, effective leadership is demonstrated
and practiced in the workplace. In order
for people to become more successful with interpersonal communication, it is
necessary for them to learn how to be effective leaders. In this article, I will attempt to convey the
importance leadership has upon management, including mentoring, training,
mutual respect, and how archetypes can be used to predetermine leadership
styles.
First,
leadership must be defined. Dessler (2004) defined leadership as “one person
influencing another to willingly work toward a predetermined objective” (p.
503). Dessler continued to identify leadership as the
third basic function of the management process, stating it was used as an
“umbrella term to cover all or most of the behavioral things managers do, like
motivation, communication, groups, conflict, and change” (p. 255).
Coulter (2002)
defined strategic leadership as “an individual’s ability to anticipate,
envision, maintain flexibility, think strategically, and work with others in
the organization to initiate changes that will create a viable and valuable
future for the organization” (p. 20).
Weiss (2003) indicated that the top leaders’ “values model behaviors for
others in the organization” (p. 327).
Montesino (2003) reiterated
the definition of leadership by Greenberg and Baron (1997) as “the process
whereby one individual influences other group members toward the attainment of
defined group or organizational goals” and that “followership is seen as the
reciprocal of leadership” (n.p.). Therefore, leadership encompasses, or has the
potential to encompass, every transaction, negotiation, navigation, and is
somewhat of the essence of an organization.
Weiss
(2003) stated that “effective and ethical leaders develop a collaborative
approach to setting direction, leading top-level teams, and building
relationships with strategic alliance partners and customers” (p. 119).
“I tend to invite folks who other employees are drawn towards.
They represent a type of "heliotropic
leadership" in the rugged jungle of business life. They radiate a
natural luminescence that coworkers gravitate towards and are nurtured
by. With these folks around, corporate toxicity is keep
to a minimum and a form of workplace photosynthesis takes place” (n.p.).
PewPartnership (2002) states “leadership is one of the
indisputable ingredients of successful communities, large and small” (n.p.). Bisoux (2002) reiterates Posner in stating, “you can’t be an effective manager these days without being
an effective leader. There’s too much
complexity, too much turbulence to simply ‘manage’” (p. 31).
The necessity of
leadership in the workplace is to create an environment that is positive for
fostering relationships and conducive to effective production. Without effective leadership, the process
would falter and the organization would suffer loss, either monetary,
personnel, or production.
Continuing with the
idea that effective leaders build relationships with customers and coworkers,
it is imperative that they possess certain traits that accompany leadership
success. Traits are defined by Dessler (2004) as “the unchanging characteristics of a
person that predisposes someone in a particular way” (p. 256).
According to Shapiro (1999), the most
important skill for network marketing success is listening. He states “no
matter how successful you become, or how high you rise in your organization,
you must build your business one person at a time. To do that, you must make a personal
connection with people, a connection so powerful that it overcomes their
natural resistance to change, to try something new, to
leave their comfort zone. And the
strongest link in the chain that connects people is the skill of listening”
(pp. 2-3).
Listening is a
fundamental trait for leaders to possess.
In order to begin to build a stable interpersonal relationship, the
leader and the subordinate must be able to listen to one another. They must feel that their opinions are heard
and considered. If that does not happen,
the relationship will most likely falter.
As Shapiro (1999) stated, “Simply put, the most successful and
influential people in all walks of life tend to be the best listeners” (p. 3).
Robbins
(2003) identified six traits in which leaders tend to differ from nonleaders. These
traits include ambition and energy, the desire to lead, honesty and integrity,
self-confidence, intelligence, and job-relevant knowledge (p. 315). Ambition
and energy personify the leader’s drive to get the job done, the willingness to
set an example and maintain high standards for themselves. Leaders must possess a desire, or yearning,
to lead others. If a person does not
wish to lead others, the lack of enthusiasm will emanate to his, or her, followers and the task to be accomplished will be
jeopardized. In order for a leader to
build the necessary relationships, he, or she, must be trustworthy. The people they are building a rapport with
must believe they are dealing with an honest person with integrity. If this trust cannot be established, there is
only an illusion of a relationship and no real leadership role can be
established. A leader must be confident
in himself, or herself, before others can have a level
of confidence in him. Intelligence is an
important factor in any relationship.
Furthermore, a leader must have knowledge of the organizational goals
and products. A prospective leader will
lose followers if he displays ongoing ignorance about the task at hand.
To
embellish upon Robbin’s leadership traits, Dessler (2004) identified the Big 5 Traits, which he deemed
as the foundations to personality. In
order for a person to be a true, effective leader, he should have some level of
extraversion, emotional stability, agreeableness, conscientiousness and must be
open to experiences (p. 257).
Some leaders happen
to be managers. Whetton
& Cameron (2002) suggested:
“In order to be an
effective manager…individuals must be competent in (1) clan skills, (2)
adhocracy skills, (3) market skills, and (4) hierarchy skills.
Clan skills include
those required to build effective interpersonal relationships and develop
others. Adhocracy skills include those
required to manage the future, innovate, and promote change. Market skills include those required to
compete effectively and manage external relationships. Hierarchy skills include those required to
maintain control and stability” (p. 15).
The United States
Small Business Administration (n.d.) identifies
Raymond Cattell as a pioneer in the field of
personality assessment and lists his Leadership Potential equation. Cattell’s Leadership Potential equation is used to
determine the traits that characterize an effective leader. Cattell’s Potential
equation includes emotional stability, they must by psychologically mature and
be capable of dealing with a plethora of situations; dominance, they must be
competitive and assertive when dealing with others; enthusiasm, they must be
active, expressive, and energetic, optimistic and open to change;
conscientiousness, they must possess a sense of duty; social boldness, they are
usually spontaneous risk-takers and tough-skinned; tough-mindedness, they tend
to be practical, logical and to-the-point and are comfortable with criticism;
self-assurance, possessing self-confidence and resiliency; and compulsiveness,
typically, they are controlled and precise in their social interactions (n.p.).
Clark
(2997) identifies the U.S. Army’s 23 Traits of Character as bearing,
confidence, courage, integrity, decisiveness, justice, endurance, tact,
initiative, coolness, maturity, improvement, will, assertiveness, candor, sense
of humor, competence, commitment, creativity, self-discipline, humility,
flexibility, empathy, and compassion (n.p.).
The
same ideals for leadership surface, time after time. The necessity for good leadership is that the
leader be respectful, organized, passionate about the tasks at hand, and that
they are dedicated to motivating others.
Now
that basics of leadership have been identified, the aspects of leadership
pertaining to mentorship can be discussed.
Whetton & Cameron (2002) state that
studies have shown that career success, work
satisfaction, and resiliency to stress are enhanced by a mentoring
relationship. Furthermore, they describe
a mentoring relationship as one in which “individuals need someone else in the
organization that can provide a role model, from whom they can learn, and from
whom they can receive attention and reinforcement of self-worth, especially under
certain, crucial, and stressful situations” (p. 135). Therefore, a mentor is more than an
on-the-job trainer.
Another job of a
mentor is listening. Shapiro (1999)
states “we must temporarily suspend our judgments, and allow ourselves to be
fully present for the other person” (p. 11). Shapiro (1999) continues with
“Listening is the key that opens the door to human motivation” (p. 12), hence,
a mentor is a motivator. Furthermore, PewPartnership (2002) states “leaders must inspire
commitment and action by catalyzing, convening, energizing, and facilitating
others to create visions and solve problems” (n.p.). In the overall application of a mentor, he,
or she, can be viewed as an all-encompassing friend.
While
I was active duty, the Air Force introduced me to a mentoring system. I was assigned a sponsor whose role it was to
ensure that I was prepared for my first station assignment after tech
school. His job was to ensure that I was
transported from the airport to the base and that my arrangements for housing
were already made. He also familiarized
me with the base, surrounding area, and unwritten rules and courtesies observed
at Offutt AFB. He was also a peer of
mine and helped me get up to speed with the system we maintained. He explained the purpose of the Military Air
Space Management System (MASMS) and how we supported the national defense
efforts of the
Whereas
a mentor has no specific focus within the relationship, a trainer’s primary
focus is the teacher/student relationship.
A trainer typically focuses on the product, process, and procedures
defined within the scope of the organization.
A trainer should also possess knowledge above and beyond the level of
knowledge of the pupils. In this
respect, the trainer is viewed as a leader, or a teacher. Think of a third grade teacher. She, or he, must be able to motivate the
students in her, or his, class; convey the appropriate information to educate
them with history, the basics of mathematics, English, and science. In order for a teacher to captivate the
audience of nine year olds, she, or he, must be able to exude an atmosphere of
excitement and enthusiasm. The children
respond better with praises of their accomplishments and redirections and
corrections of their shortcomings. If
the teacher is not a leader, the children would be less likely to learn and the
relationship would not be as fruitful.
Another
purpose of training is to advance within the organization and/or to another
organization assuming a higher role than the current one held. In order to receive this training, it is
necessary for others with more experience, more familiarization, or more
interaction with the products to share their knowledge with the less familiar
coworkers. The organization may also
provide the means for the employees to attend formal classes through
vendors. This situation is one of much
controversy and discussion in many workplaces.
Many people feel
that if they share their knowledge, they will not retain their power as a
superior, their status as a lead engineer, or their title as the residing
expert on a certain subject. These types
of people do not consider the possibilities that they may be replaced at one
point or another. They do not consider
that their lack of information sharing is ultimately detrimental to the
accomplishment of the long term organizational goals. The oxymoron with this situation is that true
leaders share their knowledge and experiences because they possess the true
traits of a leader and they want to help others succeed, as well as trying to
help the organization succeed in its visions and goals for future endeavors.
References:
Bisoux,
T. (2002, September/October). The mind of a leader.
BizEd. Retrieved
Clark, D. (1997). Leadership-character
and traits. Retrieved
http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leadchr.html.
Dessler, G. (2004).
Management:
principles and practices for tomorrow’s leaders (3rd
ed.).
Montesino, M. (2003, Summer). Leadership/followership similarities between people
in a
developed and a developing
country: The case of Dominicans in NYC and Dominicans on the island. Journal
of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 10. Retrieved
Moore, K. (2003, December). Changing corporate culture—one person at a time. Online
Newsletter. Retrieved
Northrop Grumman
Corporation. (2003). Vision values behaviors.
Brochure distributed
to employees.
PewPartnership. (2002).
Collaborative leadership.
Retrieved
http://www.pew-partnership.org/collableadership/collableadership.html.
Robbins, S.P. (2003). Organizational behavior (10th ed.).
Hall.
Shapiro, S. (1999). Listening for
success.
Tallman, B. (2003, Fall).
The organization leader as king, warrior, magician and lover:
How Jungian
archetypes affect the way men lead organizations. Organizational
Development Journal, 21. Retrieved
13, 2004 from http://www.sba.gov/managing/leadership/traits.html.
Vandekerckhove, W. & Commers, M.S.R. (2003, June). Downward workplace mobbing:
A sign of the
times? Journal of Business Ethics. Retrieved
Weiss, J.W. (2003). Business ethics (3rd ed.).
Weymes, E. (2003, May).
Relationships not leadership sustain successful organizations.
Journal of Change Management, 3. Retrieved
Whetton,
D.A. & Cameron, K.S. (2002). Developing management skills (5th ed.). Upper
Comments
to: editor@leadingtoday.org
BACK TO weLEAD HOME PAGE
About
the author:
Cicily Goreham was a member of the
Untied States Air Force until 2000. Since them she has worked for