Deck 11: Leadership in Organizational Settings

Question 1

Identify eight personal attributes associated with effective leaders and describe authentic leadership.

Answer 1

Many researchers and scholars have tried to define as to what are the attributes that define and make a leader. After much study the following have been identified. They are:
1) Personality : Effective leaders have a high degree of consciousness and high levels of extraversion. They are outgoing, sociable, dependable, assertive, careful and self-disciplined.
2) Self-concept : Effective leaders have a lot of self-belief and self- confidence and in their own abilities to achieve the goals that thy set.
3) Drive : The inner motivation to move towards their goals is an essential attribute for effective leaders.
4) Integrity : Effective leaders are of a stern moral fiber and demonstrate a great degree of truthfulness and match their words with their deeds.
5) Business knowledge : This is essential for an effective leader to win the confidence of his followers. It is his superior knowledge of the business and the business processes which will lead his followers to have the confidence in believing in and executing his directions
6) Practical and cognitive intelligence : Effective leaders are able to process the knowledge they acquire during the business processes in a quicker and more definitive manner. They are also able to solve real-world problems in a very easy manner by adapting and selecting appropriate tools and environments.
7) Leadership motivation : The effective leader would be one who does not believe in personalized power but always practice socialized power.
8) Emotional intelligence : Good and effective leaders are those who can easily handle their own emotions and those of others, whatever be the situation.
These are the personal attributes perspectives of leadership.
There is always the problem as to how does anyone know which leader has authentic leadership. Some of the ways this can be determined are:
1) The leader does engage in self-reflection.
2) The leader is always seeking genuine feedback from trusted sources.
3) He has a distinctive style.
4) Always applies his core values to his or her decisions.
5) Maintains a very positive attitude and keeps in sync with his or her life story.
These are the ways that authentic leadership can be determined.

Question 2

Discuss cultural and gender similarities and differences in leadership.

Answer 2

Cultural values also influence the leader's personal values, which in turn influence his or her leadership practices. Women generally do not differ from men in the degree of supportive or directive leadership. However, female leaders more often adopt a participative style. Research also suggests that people evaluate female leaders on the basis of gender stereotypes, which may result in higher or lower ratings.

Question 3

Define leadership and shared leadership.

Answer 3

Leadership is defined as the ability to influence, motivate, and enable others to contribute toward the effectiveness and success of the organizations of which they are members. Leaders use influence to motivate followers and arrange the work environment so that they do the job more effectively. Shared leadership views leadership as a role rather than a formal position, so employees through- out the organization act informally as leaders as the occasion arises. These situations include serving as champions for specific ideas or changes as well as filling leadership roles where it is needed.

Question 4

Describe the four elements of transformational leadership and distinguish this theory from transactional and charismatic leadership.

Question 5

Compare managerial leadership with transformational leadership and describe the features of task-oriented, people-oriented, and servant leadership.

Question 6

Discuss the key elements of path-goal theory, Fiedler's contingency model, and leadership substitutes.

Question 7

Describe the two components of the implicit leadership perspective.