Lesson 1: Leadership Styles
Learning Objectives
- To identify and critical reflect on leadership theories/styles and their origins.
- To understand when and how various leadership styles are applied.
Overview
The focus of this module is to introduce you to leadership theories and styles. There is a module video and summary, definitions of leadership theories and associated readings and questions to help in your reflection and understanding of the content. As part of this course I have included what I see as interesting and informative TED Talks or videos about different leadership styles or change concepts. I hope that these videos will help get you thinking about the topics you will read about it in the academic papers.
Theories of Leadership
Leadership has been a long standing topic of interest in organizational research. How do leaders bring out the best in their employees to achieve required performance? What are the characteristics of successful leaders? Do all leaders have the same skills, experiences and traits? These are all important questions that have helped to drive this area of inquiry. he study of leadership goes back to the mid 1800s with original theories focused on the “The Great Man Theory” which emphasized the idea that leaders had exceptional characteristics that others did not. Research evolved through trait based theories to a focus on various styles that are seen to be more effective in specific situations.
The following readings provide you with some interesting readings on leadership styles. The first on by Wang highlights many styles briefly to allow you to see the breath of the theories that exist. This is followed by a reading on servant leadership and one from Goleman on leaderships styles. The articles are posted and then followed by questions to help guide your thinking about these articles as you read through them. These will be important readings to come back to when thinking about your assignment at the end of the month when you compare and contrast the leaders. The last reading provides you with a perspective on leadership principles as it relates to the public health setting.
Also – make sure to check back at the end of the week to hear from a leader in public health.
Video
“Awestruck: Surprising facts about why we fall for charismatic leaders”, by Jochen Menges – Leadership Researcher and Chairman of Leadership at Otto Besiheim School of Management in Germany.
Summary
Jochen Menges describes his story as a researcher of leadership who dedicates his time to explore the Charismatic approach. He describes this type of leadership through two aspects. The first involving the characteristics in leaders who focus on instilling positivity, warmth, compassion and affection towards its team members. Jochen then explains the second aspect of Charismatic Leadership which he terms as the “awestruck-effect”. He highlights one of his research stories when attending a Barack Obama speech, a leader who he identifies as fulfilling a Charismatic approach. Jochen describes that the entire crowd following the Obama speech was left awestruck; Obama’s charm and positivity made everyone feel such an intense sense of passion, people seemed to be supressing their emotions and were simply mesmerized by his presence. Jochen observed that people after the speech were inclined to follow Obama, however most did not actually process the accurate details of his message and strategies. Jochen coins this observation of a Charismatic Leader’s ability to amaze us and create an admiration that inclines us to follow blindly to their superiority.
Charismatic Leadership is an approach that creates power through convincing others to understand a bold vision and take team members along on a journey. Charismatic Leaders allows a team to forget differences and focus on the goal being proclaimed. With this notion, it important a Charismatic Leader is able to lead a team with strong plans and strategies accompanied by their charming ability to win over a crowd. Charismatic Leadership can be an approach that is extremely effective if a leader is aware that attracting people to follow your guide is half the battle; one must complement a captivating personality with grounded responsibilities to truly lead a team to beneficial accomplishments. An effective Charismatic Leader is therefore one who is able to convey their true self with charm and remain constant throughout the entire journey, not just at the start to attract people’s attention. Also that we are aware of the awestruck effect. Be sure to check their values and messages to ensure that it aligns with your goals. If you like the message then given in to the awestruck effect.
Readings
Leadership Styles and Organizational Effectiveness – Wang 2019
This book chapter provides you with a high level overview of the various leadership styles that are often referred to and discussed in the literature and popular culture books. This chapter also identifies how leadership has been approached in research from four perspectives. I have included this reading as it allows you to get a quick overview of many (14!) different leaderships styles which demonstrates the breath of ways in which leadership is understood. Interestingly, having so many different styles makes the field somewhat confusing but essentially the differences stem from the preferences and research methodology that are used to understand these styles. In this chapter, Tang (2019) outlines that “A leadership style is a leader’s style of providing direction, implementing plans, and motivating subordinates.” There is one “right” answer in relation to the choice of leadership style. This just highlights the differences and the potential impact on organizational effectiveness.
Questions to consider:
- How are these styles similar and different?
- And what appear to be some of the key factors associated with organizational effectiveness?
- Which style is the most interesting to you at this time?
- Which style do you think you have demonstrated in your past experiences?
The Functions of a Servant Leader – Coetzer et al 2017
Servant Leadership: This leadership theory is not exactly new but has been receiving more attention in the literature in relation to definitions, dimensions and subsequent development of frameworks and measurement tools to further understand this theory in practice. Coetzer et al., 2017 highlight a number of key characteristics of servant leadership which is defined as having the desire to serve others, focus on developing others and placing a high value on the benefit of individuals, organizations and society as a whole (Coetzer et al., 2017). Servant Leadership incorporates a number of characteristics from other theories but has a more specific focus on serving others, philanthropic focus and the goals and intent of benefiting others.
Questions to consider:
- How is servant leadership similar and different from other theories?
- What are the eight key characteristics of servant leadership? And how are they understood/defined?
- How are the three key outcomes (individual, team, organizational) defined/understood within this leadership style?
- What is the difference between Strategic and Operational Servant Leadership?
Leadership That Gets Results – Goleman 2000
Six Leadership Styles: Goleman 2000 provides an article that highlights six leadership styles – Coercive, Authoritative, Affliliative, Democratic, Pacesetting and Coaching. The focus of this paper is to highlight the differences between these styles, how one must be flexible and understand when to implement a specific style depending on the context. I have included this article because, to be honest, I think that it resonates the most with me and my style! It is an easy and interesting read with good examples to highlight the various styles.
Questions to consider:
- How are each of these styles defined?
- When are each of these styles useful/necessary?
The Functions of a Servant Leader – Rowitz 2014
This book chapter provides with you with some focused ideas on public health leadership principles and the differences between practitioners, managers and leaders. I believe the principles provide you with a nice link of leadership styles and ideas as they relate to the public health setting. Please review these and reflect on these principles as they related to the leadership styles you have learned about in the other readings. These principles may come in handy when thinking through the analysis of your leaders in the leadership assignment.
