leadership and change Flashcards
what is leadership?
“a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal.” (Northouse, 2013)
- process
- influence
- occurs in groups
- common goals
what are the traits of leaders?
- intelligence
- self-confidence
- determination
- integrity
- socialability
(Judge et al., 2004)
what are skills of leaders?
- problem-solving skills
- knowledge
- social judgement skills
what is the style/behaviour of leaders?
- task focused (initiating structure)
relationship (consideration)
what is situational about leaders?
“leaders match their style to the competence and commitment of subordinates” (Hersey & Blanchard)
what is transactional leadership?
contingent reward: the leader provides rewards if, and only if, subordinates perform adequately and/or try hard enough. (some people now see this as part of transformational leadership)
management by exception: the leader does not seek to change things as long as performance goals are met. He or she intervenes only if something is about to go wrong (active) or has already gone wrong (passive)
what is transformational leadership defined as?
“Transformational leadership is the process whereby an individual engages with others and creates a connection that raises the level of motivation and morality in both the leader and the follower. This type of leader is attentive to the needs and motives of followers and tries to help followers reach their fullest potential”.
(Northouse, 2010, p. 172)
what are the 4 tenants of transformational leadership?
inspirational motivation
idealised influence
individualised consideration
intellectual stimulation
what is idealised influence
- acting as strong role models
- high standards of moral and ethical conduct
- making others want to follow the leader’s vision
- followers want to emulate them
- followers put a high level of trust in them
what is inspirational motivation
communicating high expectations
inspiring followers to commitment and engagement in shared vision
using symbols & emotional appeals to focus group members to achieve more than self-interest
what is intellectual stimulation
stimulating followers to be creative and innovative
supporting followers to try new approaches or develop innovative ways of dealing with organisation issues
what is individualised consideration
listening carefully to the needs of followers
acting as coaches to assist followers in becoming fully actualised
helping followers grow through personal challenges
what is charisma?
A special personality characteristic that gives a person superhuman or exceptional powers and is reserved for a few, is of divine origin, and results in the person being treated as a leader (Weber, 1947)
what is charismatic leadership?
it’s about persuasion
Framing – defining the ‘vision’ for the organisation in a way which produces excitement
Rhetorical crafting – using metaphors, rhythmic devices, emotions
what is the dark side of charismatic leaders?
- Can be seen as manipulative
- Who decides if the ‘cause’ is good and if the end justifies the means
- Pseudotransformational - transforming but in a negative way. Self-consumed, exploitive, power-oriented, with warped moral values
what are characteristics of leadership vs management?
leadership
Sets direction, develops vision and strategies to achieve the vision
Aligns people, communicates vision and strategy to all those involved
Motivates and inspires people to overcome major barriers to achieving the vision
Produces change – sometimes dramatic – creates disorder
management
Plans. Budgets, establishes detailed steps and timetables to achieve results, allocates resources
Organises, staffs, sets up structures, delegates, implements, develops policies and procedures
Controls, solves problems, creates monitoring systems, measures results against plans
Delivers key results expected by stakeholders, creates predictability and order
what are types of change? (Senior and Swailes, 2010)
- planned
- emergent
- evolutionary
- revolutionary
- developmental
- transitional
- transformational
what are the perspectives of change?
developmental change - improvement of existing situation
transitional change - implementation of a known new state; management of the interim transition state over a controlled period of time
transformational change
- emergence of a new state, unknown until it takes shape, out of the remains of the chaotic death of the old state; time period not easily controlled
what are planned and emergent change?
planned change;
- unfreeze-change-refreeze (Lewin, 1958)
- diagnose, action, evaluate
- collaborative learning/participative approaches
emergent change
- on-going adaptations and alternations (Weick, 2000)
- pragmatic ‘trial and error’ connected with contexts
- everyday managerial challenges and decisions:contingency approach (skill and knowledge)
what is involved in Kurt Lewin’s model of change
unfreeze - ensures that employees are ready for change
change - execute the intended change
refreeze - ensures that the changes becomes permanent
why transformation efforts fail?
people are irrational - the inconvenient truth about change management: why it isn’t working and what to do about it (Keller and Aiken)
Kotter (1995)
1. not establishing a great enough sense of urgency
2. not creating a powerful enough coalition
3. lacking a vision
4. under communicating by a factor of ten
5. not removing obstacles
6. not systematically planning for and creating short term wins
7. declaring victory too soon
8. not anchoring changes in the corporation’s culture
how we improve the change process
lewin’s stages
unfreeze, move, refreeze
Kotter’s stages
unfreeze;
1. establish a sense of urgency - it is important that everyone realises that change needs to happen
2. create a guiding coalition - gather a group to lead the change who will work well together and have to power to see it through
3. develop a change vision - create a vision to guide the change and strategies to implement it
4. communicate the vision for buy-in - get as many people on board as possible
move;
5. empower a broad-based action - get as many people involved in the change as possible by removing barriers to change and encouraging new ideas
6. generate short-term wins - plan for visible achievements and reward those involved
7. never let up - consolidate improvements and make continual readjustments to keep change on track
refreeze
8. incorporate change into the culture - make it clear how the changes have increased organisational success
what are the emotions associated with change and what are the associated feelings/behaviours
fear;
- anxiety
- worry
- helplessness
- dread
- uneasiness
anger;
- short-tempered
- frustrated
- restless
- irritable
sadness
- vulnerable
- fearful
- lost
- desolate
- sensitive
- isolated
joy
- happy
- elated
- excited
- energetic
- content
what is the difference between change and transition
“change is external, transition is internal” (Bridges, 1991)
change is situational: the new site, new structure, new team, new role, new procedure
transition is the psychological process people go through to come to terms with the new situation
