Leadership Trait Questionnaire: Discipline-Specific Skills.
Prior to beginning work on this discussion forum, read Chapter 2 in the course textbook, Leadership: Theory and Practice. In the textbook, you will find the Leadership Trait Questionnaire located at the end of Chapter 2.
Rate yourself on the Leadership Trait Questionnaire in the course textbook. What do you perceive as your greatest strength? Give an example of how your behavior in one situation illustrated this strength. What do you perceive as your greatest weakness? Give an example of how your behavior in one situation illustrated this weakness.
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Main Book/Text:
Northouse, P. G. (2018). Leadership theory and practice (8th ed.). SAGE.
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Required Resources
Text
Northouse, P. G. (2018). Leadership theory and practice (8th ed.). SAGE.
• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: Trait Approach
• Chapter 3: Skill Approach
• The full-text version of this ebook is available through the Constellation database. This book is a comprehensive text about leadership theory and practices. Chapters 1, 2, and 3 will provide information about leadership approaches, and will assist you in your Truths About Leadership discussion forum and Leadership Trait Questionnaire Discipline-Specific Skills discussion forum this week. The chapters also provide source material for the case study you will choose to evaluate in your Case Study 1 assignment this week.
Article
Adams, S. (2012, October 4). 10 tough truths about leadership (Links to an external site.). Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2012/10/04/10-tough-truths-about-leadership/
• This article provides several steps for selling value instead of commodities and why value-based marketing concept is used by successful firms in 21st century. The article will enhance your understanding of the Value-Added Video Case discussion forum for this week.
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Recommended Resources
Articles
Browning, B. W. (2007). Leadership in desperate times: An analysis of endurance: Shackleton’s incredible voyage through the lens of leadership theory. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 9(2), 183-193. https://doi.org/10.1177/1523422306298858
• The full-text version of this article is available through the SAGE Journals Online database in the Ashford University Library. This article analyzes a famous case of leadership in a perilous situation using leadership theory. It provides insights about leadership that may assist you in your Truths About Leadership discussion forum this week, as well as your Case Study 1 assignment this week.
Wickham, K. R., & Walther, J. B. (2007). Perceived behaviors of emergent and assigned leaders in virtual groups. International Journal of E-Collaboration, 3(1), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.4018/jec.2007010101
• The full-text version of this article is available through the ProQuest Central database in the Ashford University Library. This article discusses the difference between leaders in virtual teams who are assigned to be leaders, versus those that emerge as leaders. The distinctions discussed may be helpful in your Truths About Leadership discussion forum this week, as well as your Case Study 1 assignment this week.
Text
Northouse, P. G. (2018). Leadership theory and practice (8th ed.). SAGE.
• The full-text version of this ebook is available through the Constellation database.
Articles
Adams, S. (2012, October 4). 10 tough truths about leadership (Links to an external site.). Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2012/10/04/10-tough-truths-about-leadership/
Appelbaum, S. H., Audet, L., & Miller, J. C. (2003). Gender and leadership? Leadership and gender? A journey through the landscape of theories. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 24(1/2), 43–51. https://doi.org/10.1108/01437730310457320
Downey, L. A., Papageorgiou, V., & Stough, C. (2006). Examining the relationship between leadership, emotional intelligence and intuition in senior female managers. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 27(4), 250–264. https://doi.org/10.1108/01437730610666019
Jogulu, U. D., & Wood, G. J. (2006). The role of leadership theory in raising the profile of women in management. Equal Opportunities International, 25(4), 236–250. https://doi.org/10.1108/02610150610706230
Weyer, B. (2007). Twenty years later: Explaining the persistence of the glass ceiling for women leaders. Women in Management Review, 22(6), 482–496. https://doi.org/10.1108/09649420710778718
Week 1 Lecture
Welcome to Strategies in Organizational Leadership. Throughout this class we will be looking at the topic of Strategies in Organizational Leadership. Why do you think leadership is so important? Is leadership the heart of each company? Do you have to be in a leadership role to be a leader?
Chapter 1
Let’s start by looking at the introduction of the text book and review some of the highlights. One of the first things that stands out is the comment that “leadership is a highly sought-after and highly valued commodity” (Northouse, 2018, p. 1). Why do you think that is? Why would leadership be so sought after versus management? The next highlight to me was the definition of leadership. There are hundreds of different definitions of what makes a leader and what makes a manager. According to Northouse, “leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individual to achieve a common goal” (p. 5). One definition that stands out is as follows: A leader is someone that people follow because they want to. A manager is someone people follow because they have to. So in comparison to what Northouse described, it really is not that much of a difference. A leader is more than just having people follow them. A true leader goes far beyond that, which is what we will cover throughout this class.
On page ten in our text book, please take a look at the Five Bases of Power; Table 1.1 This is a great tool in identifying different types of power, which will be beneficial to understand.
Chapter 2
Chapter 2 focuses on the topic of trait approach. In the first paragraph of this chapter, the author identifies some great qualities and characteristics of leaders of the past. These included Gandhi, President Lincoln, Joan of Arc, etc. Think back to the past 10 to 25 years; who are the leaders that come to your mind that illustrate true leadership characteristics? Some examples might be; Martin Luther King, President John F. Kennedy, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates. For those of you that are sports fans, can you think of coaches that were true leaders? How about Herb Brooks in hockey, or Paul “Bear” Bryant in football; how about David Beckham in soccer? A leader can be present just about anywhere and in any type of environment. They are not only for business or politics. They are everywhere.
An interesting element that was brought up in Chapter 2 was the major leadership traits that most leaders have. These include:
• Intelligence
• Self Confidence
• Determination
• Integrity
• Sociability
Take a minute and think about someone you know that you look up to as a leader. Do they have some or all of these traits listed above? Now look at yourself and think about these traits. Do you have some or all of these traits?
Another important element that was brought up in Chapter 2 is Emotional Intelligence. According to Northouse “emotional intelligence can be defined as the ability to perceive and express emotions, to use emotions to facilitate thinking, to understand and reason with emotions, and to effectively manage emotions within oneself and in relationships with others” (2018, p. 27-28).
Below are a few links to articles on Emotional Intelligence that you might enjoy.
Emotional Intelligence Developing Strong “People Skills” (Links to an external site.)
Critical Thinking and Emotional Intelligence by Linda Elder (Links to an external site.)
Can Emotional Intelligence be Taught? (Links to an external site.)
Chapter 3
The third chapter this week focused on skills approach. As stated in our text; “the skills approach takes a leader centered perspective on leadership” (Northouse, 2018, p. 43). There are three skill approaches that are illustrated in this chapter: Technical, Human and Conceptual. It is encouraged that you all review Figure 3.1 on page 45 that does a nice job of illustrating how each skill is necessary at the various levels.
Forbes School of Business Faculty
References:
Emotional intelligence: Developing strong “people skills” (Links to an external site.) (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newCDV_59.htm
Elder, L. (1996). Critical thinking and emotional intelligence (Links to an external site.). Inquiry: Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines, 16(2). Retrieved from http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/cognition-and-affect-critical-thinking-and-emotional-intelligence/485
Kahn, J. (2013, September 11). Can emotional intelligence be taught? (Links to an external site.) The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/15/magazine/can-emotional-intelligence-be-taught.html?_r=0
Northouse, P. G. (2018). Leadership theory and practice (8th ed.). SAGE.
Great Man Theory, Trait Theory, & Skills Approach on Leadership
What is my definition of leadership? What is my leadership approach? What kind of a leader do I want to be? Those are just some of the questions we may want to ponder upon ourselves as we start this class on leadership strategies.
For week one, we will examine leadership from the perspectives of the trait theory and the skills approach. As we go through the assigned readings, I am looking forward to hearing what you learned, your insights, and leadership experiences in your responses to the discussion forums/assignments.
Definition of Leadership
The view on leadership has undergone a series of changes throughout the decades and has become an elusive concept to define. This topic has been viewed in so many ways from different perspectives and because leadership is a human thing, it is complicated. A multitude of theoretical models, books, and research studies have been done on leadership, but we still have yet to unlock the complete understanding of this ambiguous subject. To create a common vocabulary with the class, we will define leadership simply as the ability to inspire followers to the attainment of a specific goal or to the accomplishment of a certain purpose.
Theories on leadership have evolved through the passage of time; James Schiro (1999) shares an interesting account of the transformation of the study towards understanding successful leadership. He mentioned that in the past, studies have focused on the leader’s personality traits, then on the leader’s behavior, eventually shifting focus to link leadership approach to the situation, and towards the transformational view on leadership. An essential part of advancing our understanding of leadership is to look back and examine the different theories on leadership, weighing each of their merits, weaknesses, and relevance. The rapid changes in our environment demand a leadership style that can thrive in such a chaotic condition. Apparently, the evolution of the theories on leadership is dictated by the necessity to remain relevant even in the midst of all this volatility and environmental changes.
The Great Man Theory
During the mid-1900s, the theory on leadership focused on the qualities of the leader, popularly known as the great man theory. The Great Man theory holds on to the theory that a leader is a great man. Leaders have qualities different from the followers; people naturally follow the individuals that possess such qualities. This theory promotes the idea that leaders are born and not made thus supporting the nature perspective in the emergence of leaders. With the rise of behavioral sciences, the great man theory has fallen out of favor. The focus shifted from studying the trait of the leaders towards studying the behavioral, situational, and developmental aspects of the leader instead.
The Great Man theory is still relevant in the present environment as an avenue for understanding leadership; the following argument from Cawthon (1996) supports such claim: First, to suggest that leaders do not enter the world with an extraordinary endowment is to imply that people enter the world with equal abilities and talents. Second, an individual that does not possess certain pursuable qualities will not be successful to lead. Leaders need to have the right stuff, which is not equally present in all people. Third, research in life science provides increasing evidence that biological and psychological forces ingrained in the evolutionary legacy can be determinants of an individual’s capability to lead. Lastly, the leader seeks to transform the organization, which will require leadership traits such as being magnetic, charming, and visionary. As additional consideration to the arguments presented, the proponents of the Great Man theory also believed that situational forces influence the ultimate effectiveness of the leader.
The Trait Theory
The great man theory paved the way for the formation of the trait theory on leadership. The trait theory attempted to extract general leadership traits that when adopted will enhance the individual’s leadership capability and performance (Seters & Field, 1990). However, with the emergence of interest in behavioral science, the trait theory on leadership was criticized by experts as being unscientific, over-simplistic, and inadequate to explain a complex concept such as leadership. This eventually diminished the value of trait considerations into mere explanatory variables being added into later theories on leadership. Interestingly, still a few traits such as intelligence, dominance, and self-confidence have consistently been found by research studies to be related to leadership (House & Batez, 1979). The era of the trait theory on leadership with its focus on the qualities of leaders as influencing the person’s ability to lead paved the way to the formation of the power relations period. During the power relations period, the effectiveness of leaders was explained in terms of the source and the amount of power that a leader has (Seters & Field, 1990). Eventually, this period evolved by shifting from the one-way top-down power influence on followers towards viewing leadership as comprising of the two-way relationship between individuals.
Steve Jobs, founder of Apple was recognized for his outstanding contribution to transforming the American business. Steve definitely exhibited outstanding qualities that made him an exemplary leader in the digital business industry. He started the personal computing industry, created new markets through innovative products such as the iPhone and the iPad, and was an Icon of entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley. Steve Jobs has been described as a born salesman, out of the box thinker, a magician, a perfectionist, and a visionary (Lashinsky, 2009). Clearly, Steve demonstrates the traits of intelligence, dominance, and self-confidence that research studies assert as being linked to leadership.
The Skills Approach
The skills approach is another theory on leadership focusing on the skills or competency as determinants to a leader’s performance. Still a leader-centered approach in understanding leadership, however, this theory supports the nurture perspective on leadership in that leaders are made by learning skills linked to leadership. The traits theory and the skills approach tend to have some level of overlap, particularly as some skills are dependent on certain qualities, forming trait-like skills. Attempts were made by researchers to determine the cluster of skills that contribute to the outstanding performance of leaders, in general, those skills can be broadly categorized as hard skills (such as problem solving and technical skills) and soft skills (such as social skills). Based on research results with 200 global companies, Goleman (2004) asserts that hard skills are entry-level requirements for executives, but social skills in terms of emotional intelligence are what makes a great leader. This is justified given that leadership is all about accomplishing the goal through other people, which is basically social skills at work.
Learning Leadership
As we embark on this wonderful journey of learning leadership strategies, let us be reminded that the learning of leadership goes beyond examining the theories. Leadership cannot be learned just by attending classes, but rather through online learning from the environment and through feeling, expressive and reflexive learning (Vaill, 1996). Leadership can be fully learned through immersion into the system of the environment and getting connected through our expressions, reflections, and feelings. The best leaders are those who continually learn and study to become better leaders.
References
Cawthon, D. (1996). Leadership: The Great Man Theory Revisited
[Electronic version]. Business Horizons. Retrieved from EBSCOhost library database.
Goleman, D. (2004). What makes a leader?. Harvard Business Review,
82(1), 82-91.
House, R., & Baetz, M. (1979). Leadership: Some empirical
generalizations and new research directions. Research in
Organizational Behavior, 1, 341-424.
Lashinsky, A. (2009). The decade of Steve: How Apple’s imperious,
brilliant CEO transformed American business. Fortune, 160 (10), 93-
100.
Schiro, J. (1999). Leadership: past present, and future. Futurics,
23(3&4), 67-73.
Seters, D., & Field, R. (1990). The evolution of leadership theory. Journal
of Organizational Change Management, 3 (3), 29-45.
Vaill, P. (1996). Learning as a way of being. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
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