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Leadership

By Norashidah Md Din

Leadership Definition 1
The Collins English Dictionary. ( 1998 HarperCollins Publishers ) leadership (n) 1. The position or function of a leader. 2. the period during which a person occupies the position of leader: during her leadership very little was achieved. 3. a. the ability to lead. b. (as modifier): leadership qualities. 4. the leaders as a group of a party, union, etc.: the union leadership is now very reactionary. This dictionary definition of leadership focuses on the position (singular or collective), tenure and ability of leaders.

Peter Drucker : The forward to the Drucker Foundation's "The Leader of the Future" sums up leadership : "The only definition of a leader is someone who has followers." To gain followers requires influence but doesn't exclude the lack of integrity in achieving this. Indeed, it can be argued that several of the world's greatest leaders have lacked integrity and have adopted values that would not be shared by many people today.

Definition 2

Definition 3
John C Maxwell : In the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, John Maxwell sums up his definition of leadership as "leadership is influence - nothing more, nothing less." This moves beyond the position defining the leader, to looking at the ability of the leader to influence others - both those who would consider themselves followers, and those outside that circle. Indirectly, it also builds in leadership character, since without maintaining integrity and trustworthiness, the capability to influence will disappear.

Definition 4
Warren Bennis: Warren Bennis' definition of leadership is focused much more on the individual capability of the leader : "Leadership is a function of knowing yourself, having a vision that is well communicated, building trust among colleagues, and taking effective action to realize your own leadership potential."

Summary from Definition


Leadership
position -> election or appointment Influence -> those who can influence others is exerting leadership knowing yourself and exerting influence with integrity and trustworthiness in tact!

LEADERSHIP STYLE
AUTOCRATIC

DEMOCRATIC

LAISSEZ-FAIRE
( pronounce as leh-say fair)

Autocratic
The leader's word is "law." The typical autocratic leader does not involve others in the decision making process. And this type of leader might resort to force, manipulation or even threats to accomplish their goals. Style is popular with today's CEO's

Example of Autocratic
Martha Stewart: built her empire with personal attention to each and every detail. She was meticulous and demanding. She was also very successful in her endeavours and in using her autocratic management style.

Upside of Autocratic
In the workplace, some conditions may simply call for urgent action, and in these cases an autocratic style of leadership may be best style to adopt. Surprisingly, most workers have already worked for an autocratic leader and therefore have little trouble adapting to that style.

Downside of Autocratic
The down side is that some studies suggest that organizations with lots of autocratic leaders have higher turnover and absenteeism than other organizations. With today's emphasis on joint decision making and empowerment, employees just entering the workforce will be highly resistant to this management style.

Democratic
The primary behaviour of these leaders was to forge consensus through collaboration. And key to this style is communication - seeking the opinions of others and letting your opinion be known. Workers feel that their opinion counts and because of that feeling they are more committed to achieving the goals and objectives of the group. The style produces a work environment that employees can feel good about.

Example of Democratic Leadership


Democratic governments like Malaysia ????

Upside of Democratic Leadership


Since employees have an equal say in the decision-making process, they are more committed to the desired outcome. The collaborative environment created by this style often results in more thorough solutions to problems. This creates an ideal environment for collaborative problem solving in addition to decision making.

Downside of Democratic Leadership


depends on the knowledge of his followers
or employees. If the workforce is inexperienced, this style is not very effective.

takes time to get to a decision. If the business need is urgent, the democratic leader needs to switch styles.

LAISSEZ-FAIRE
The laissez faire style is sometimes described as a "hands off" leadership style because the leader provides little or no direction to the followers. Allows followers to have complete freedom to make decisions concerning the completion of their work or ask questions of the leader The leader provides the followers with the materials they need to accomplish their goals and answers questions to the follower's questions

Example of LAISSEZ-FAIRE
US President Ronald Reagan demonstrated a more hands-off leadership style. His administration was characterized by reduced federal regulations of business and industry and a return of power to the states.

Upside of LAISSEZ-FAIRE
This kind of style is positive only in the case when the employees are very responsible and in case of creative jobs where a person is guided by his own aspirations. In these cases, less direction is required so this style can be good.

Downside of LAISSEZ-FAIRE
This style has more disadvantages because usually it is the result of the lack of interest of the leader that leads to his adopting this style. It proves poor management and makes the employees lose their sense of direction and focus. The disinterest of the management and leadership causes the employees to become less interested in their work and their dissatisfaction increases.

Which style to use or is better?


An effective leader should be able to use all three depending on situation and circumstances in order to get the job done.

Leadership check.
When your boss puts you in charge of organizing the company annual dinner, what do you do first? Do you develop a time line and start assigning tasks or do you think about who would prefer to do what and try to schedule around their needs? When the planning starts to fall behind schedule, what is your first reaction? Do you chase everyone to get back on track, or do you ease off a bit recognizing that everyone is busy just doing his/her job, let alone the extra tasks you've assigned? Your answers to these types of questions can reveal a great deal about your personal leadership style.

LEADERSHIP is
the ability to get a person to do what you want him to do, when you want it done, in the way you want it done, because he wants to do it.

Some leaders are very task-oriented; they simply want to get things done. Others are very people-oriented; they want people to be happy. And others are a combination of the two. If you prefer to lead by setting and enforcing tight schedules, you tend to be more production-oriented (or task-oriented). If you make people your priority and try to accommodate employee needs, then you're more people-oriented. Neither preference is right or wrong, just as no one type of leadership style is best for all situations. However, it's useful to understand what your natural leadership tendencies are, so that you can then working on developing skills that you may be missing.

A Leadership Framework
A popular framework for thinking about a leader's 'task versus person' orientation was developed by Robert Blake and Jane Mouton in the early 1960s. Called the Managerial Grid, or Leadership Grid, it plots the degree of taskcenteredness versus person-centeredness and identifies five combinations as distinct leadership styles.

Understanding the Model The Managerial Grid is based on two behavioral dimensions: Concern for People - This is the degree to which a leader considers the needs of team members, their interests, and areas of personal development when deciding how best to accomplish a task Concern for Production - This is the degree to which a leader emphasizes concrete objectives, organizational efficiency and high productivity when deciding how best to accomplish a task. Using the axis to plot leadership 'concerns for production' versus 'concerns for people', Blake and Mouton defined the following five leadership styles

Country Club Leadership - High People/Low Production This style of leader is most concerned about the needs and feelings of members of his/her team. These people operate under the assumption that as long as team members are happy and secure then they will work hard. What tends to result is a work environment that is very relaxed and fun but where production suffers due to lack of direction and control. Produce or Perish Leadership - High Production/Low People Also known as Authoritarian or Compliance Leaders, people in this category believe that employees are simply a means to an end. Employee needs are always secondary to the need for efficient and productive workplaces. This type of leader is very autocratic, has strict work rules, policies, and procedures, and views punishment as the most effective means to motivate employees.

Impoverished Leadership - Low Production/ Low People This leader is mostly ineffective. He/she has neither a high regard for creating systems for getting the job done, nor for creating a work environment that is satisfying and motivating. The result is a place of disorganization, dissatisfaction and disharmony. Middle-of-the-Road Leadership - Medium Production/Medium People This style seems to be a balance of the two competing concerns. It may at first appear to be an ideal compromise. Therein lies the problem, though: When you compromise, you necessarily give away a bit of each concern so that neither production nor people needs are fully met. Leaders who use this style settle for average performance and often believe that this is the most anyone can expect.

Team Leadership - High Production/High People According to the Blake Mouton model, this is the pinnacle of managerial style. These leaders stress production needs and the needs of the people equally highly. The premise here is that employees are involved in understanding organizational purpose and determining production needs. When employees are committed to, and have a stake in the organization's success, their needs and production needs coincide. This creates a team environment based on trust and respect, which leads to high satisfaction and motivation and, as a result, high production.

Theories of leadership have moved on a certain amount since the Blake Mouton Grid was originally proposed. And in many situations, the "Team Leader" as an ideal has moved to the ideal of the "Transformational Leader"

The "Transformational Leader -> Someone who, according to leadership researcher Bernard Bass: Is a model of integrity and fairness; Sets clear goals; Has high expectations; Encourages; Provides support and recognition; Stirs people's emotions; Gets people to look beyond their self-interest; and Inspires people to reach for the improbable.

(from Everyday Greatness -Readers Digest)


1. The Choice to Act
Will we act upon life or will we merely be acted upon?

Three Everyday Choices

2. The Choice of Purpose


To what ends, or purposes, will our daily choices lead?

3. The Choice for Principles


Will we live our lives in accordance to proven principles, or will we suffer the consequences of not doing so?

(that you cannot go against)

Power of principles

One foggy night at the sea the captain of a ship saw what looked like the lights of another ship heading toward him. He had his signalman contact the other ship by light. The message was: Change your course ten degrees to the south. The reply came back: Change your course ten degrees to the north.

Then the captain answered: I am captain, so you change your course ten degrees to the south. Reply: I am seaman first class change your course ten degrees to the north. This last exchange really infuriated the captain, so he signaled back: I am a battleship change your course ten degrees to the south.

Reply: And I am a lighthouse. Change your course ten degrees to the north!
(Story by Dan Bell in RD)

What principles to rely on?


Do some soul searching on the meaning of life read as much as you can What proven principles already there? Truth seeking attitude, which is the lighthouse that you cannot go against? Example for Muslims, as laid down in Quran and showed in Hadith (Narration of how the Prophet pbuh embraces life as practical example).

Example: Principles from Islam


Khalifah fil ard upon creation everyone agreed to become leader/vicegerent in the world (Al-Baqarah:30) The Creator created mankind in the best of mould as a leader and he is also given will and discretion. If he uses them wrongly, he can become lower than the lowest form ( a beast). Otherwise, he would be rewarded unfailingly. (At-Tin: 4-5)

More Examples
Youre the best of people, enjoying what is right and forbidding what is wrong (Al-Imran:110) Other basic principles (not exhaustive): Responsibility, Courage, Perseverance, Discipline, Trustworthiness, Sincerity, Honesty, Integrity, Humility, Gratitude, Respect, Empathy, Relationship with parents, relations, neigbours, society, country, love, value of life

And let the soul searching begins ;) if not already!

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