3.3 The Nature of Leadership
Learning Objectives
- What is the nature of leadership and the leadership process?
The Nature of Leadership
The many definitions of leadership each have a different emphasis. Some definitions consider leadership an act or behavior, such as initiating structure so group members know how to complete a task. Others consider a leader to be the center or nucleus of group activity, an instrument of goal achievement who has a certain personality, a form of persuasion and power, and the art of inducing compliance (Bass, 1990). Some look at leadership in terms of the management of group processes. In this view, a good leader develops a vision for the group, communicates that vision (Bennis, 1989; Bennis & Nanus, 1985), orchestrates the group’s energy and activity toward goal attainment, “[turns] a group of individuals into a team,” and “[transforms] good intentions into positive actions” (Pickens, 1992).
Leadership is frequently defined as a social (interpersonal) influence relationship between two or more persons who depend on each other to attain certain mutual goals in a group situation (Hollander & Julian, 1969) Effective leadership helps individuals and groups achieve their goals by focusing on the group’s maintenance needs (the need for individuals to fit and work together by having, for example, shared norms; relationships) and task needs (the need for the group to make progress toward attaining the goal that brought them together).
As an example, let’s take Joe Madden, manager of the Chicago Cubs baseball team, who is lauded for both his managerial and leadership skills. Maddon is a role model for managers competing in the business world. Managers can learn and profit from the Cubs skipper’s philosophy of instilling an upbeat attitude with the team, staying loose but staying productive, and avoiding being the center of attention.
Leader versus Manager
According to many, the dual concepts of leader and manager/leadership and management, are not interchangeable, nor are they redundant. This can be confusing, as generally, to be a good manager one needs to be an effective leader. Many CEOs have been hired in the hope that their leadership skills, their ability to formulate a vision, and get others to “buy into” that vision, will propel the organization forward. This is not always the case. Effective leadership necessitates the ability to manage—to set goals; plan, devise, and implement strategy; make decisions and solve problems; and organize and control. Effective leadership calls for the ability to manage, and effective management requires leadership.
“The Nature of Leadership” in Principles of Management by OpenStax is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
