Lecture 2 Readings Flashcards
how do people find strength and safety?
in others
Desert Island thought experiment
given a group of strangers stranded on a desert island, someone will emerge as a leader
what is leadership about?
providing solutions to common problems or offering ideas about how to accomplish collective purposes, and mobilizing the energies of others to follow these courses of action
why do some members feel that they have the right to lead?
based on their age, gender, or experience, or because they think they would make better decisions than other people
what is the goal of leadership?
solving collective action problems
leaders
determine or clarify goals for a group of individuals and bring together the energies of members of that group to accomplish those goals
why is leadership necessary?
its goals are out of reach for individuals acting singly or randomly
how do collectives respond to leadership?
they act almost exclusively by accepting leadership
leadership in animals
- There is evidence of leadership in chimpanzees
- Other social animals like insects demonstrate primitive forms of leadership by determining the timing and direction of their movement (ex. Bees’ waggle dance)
can groups have more than one leader?
yes
requirement of a group
Groups must be bounded and recognizable as such
size & complexity of groups
Groups range in size and complexity
Tucker on leadership
to understand leadership, we should start with the question of what it is that leaders do, or try to do, in turn, capacities as leaders
leadership and decision-making
- Leaders make decisions
- Each new decision sets a precedent, which presents them with new decisions
how do leaders achieve their goals?
implementation strategies
examples of implementation strategies
thinking ahead, assessing what is likely to happen, and weighing the importance of multiple factors
Heresthetics
the strategy of decision
responsibilities of leaders
- Leaders have to compromise to achieve their goals
- Leaders set priorities among issues that confront the group
- Leaders also listen to proposals or petitions from others and adjudicate conflicts among subordinates
- Leaders assemble resources and deploy incentives
- They give voice to vision in articulating goals
- They seek counsel and issue statements about decisions they have made or problems they must confront
- Leaders take stands by staking out positions and advocating for them
- They attempt to persuade, require, or force others to follow a course of action they have determined is desirable
leaders and power
Leaders direct the activities of others which is a basic form of power
Max Weber’s distinction of power & leadership
divides power into macht & herrschaft
Macht (power)
the probability that one actor within a social relationship will be in a position to carry out their own will despite resistance
Herrschaft (authority or leadership)
the probability that a command given within a specific context will be obeyed by a given group of people
Janda on leadership
leadership can be distinguished from power when members of a group believe “that another group member may, with reference to their group activities, legitimately prescribe behaviour patterns for them to follow.”
do leaders enjoy the exercise of power?
- Power is often one of the appeals of leadership
- Many leaders with a range of backgrounds, experience, and temperament enjoy the exercise of power
limits of the scope of leaders’ power
- Their personal capacities
- The institutional context
- Inclinations and preferences of other actors
continuum of the methods of leadership
There is a continuum ranging from the coordination of an enthusiastic group of followers to an autocratic ruler
can leaders be successful if they use threats?
yes! coercion, threats, or sanctioning form part of the repertoire of some successful leaders
how are goals that have been collaboratively determined carried out?
through persuasive leadership
range of leadership methods
- Leadership methods range from active and visible to subtle
- In some circumstances, lowkey leadership can be more effective than aggressively visible leadership
what kinds of goals do leaders focus on?
collective goals that touch on the interests of their group
what is necessary for leadership to be effective?
some members must share the leader’s goals or at least be willing to support the leader in pursuing them
lieutenant-leader relationship
Leaders require lieutenants to help ensure that other members of the group follow the goal the leader has decided upon
lieutenants can act out of:
Principled commitment
Traditional loyalty
Fear of reprisal
Personal gain
do goals have to be intrinsically valued by followers?
no
can goals be pursued where individuals have no motivation to do with the ultimate goal?
yes, they might converge from different starting points in support of the collective action directed by the leader
do followers engage in group activity if they don’t agree on the collective goal?
yes, if they see their interests satisfied in goals set by a leader, they may willingly engage in group activity, even if the collective goal isn’t one they would have chosen
what is needed for leadership to occur?
a certain amount of voluntary submission
what is the most common motive for leaders?
Ambition
motives of leaders
Leaders have a complex cluster of motivations, some that have personal dimensions, and others that have collective dimensions
Ideal types (Weber)
leaders with a purely selfish or a purely common purpose
formality of effective leadership
Effective leadership varies in its formality
importance of context of leadership
Culture, geography, ethnicity, history, and the character of the goal pursued make a difference in what leadership is effective
does having a leadership position make you a leader?
not necessarily
three types of leadership (Plamenatz)
- management
- government
- leadership
management (Plamenatz)
- Direct the work of their subordinates
- Managers and managers belong to the same organization, work together, or are in fairly close touch
- Engaged in routine behaviour
- Have personality types marked by diligence, steadiness, and pragmatism
government (Plamenatz)
Consists of making rules and applying them to others
Leadership (Plamenatz)
- Has followers rather than subjects or subordinates
- Is the spokesperson for a group of people
- Inspires followers to pursue common goals
- Are adventurous and comfortable with chaos
Kehone on Plamenatz’s division of leadership
Plamenatz’s division is misleading because leaders are often involved in managing people and successful managers usually display some of the behaviours we identify with leadership
leaders and institutions
Most leaders work within formally organized groups
how can leaders be involved in institutions?
- Founding institutions
- Effectively working with institutions
- Using the traditions of institutions to accomplish goals
- Developing and sustaining institutions
- Dealing with failed institutions
founders
tend to be impatient with existing structures and insist on creating something new
fixers
may be uninterested in dealing with constraints and opportunities provided by institutions that are working well and are drawn to institutions that need remedies
sustainers
are motivated to work within healthy, historic institutions because they admire and are loyal to them
3 kinds of institution-leader relationships
- founders
- fixers
- sustainers
how do we evaluate the performance of private leaders?
how much profit they have generated
how do we evaluate the performance of public leaders?
they have no single bottom line, so assessment of their performance is less straightforward
what is valued in public leadership?
- being responsive to the community
- transparency about goals
collaboration of public leaders
A public leader is unlikely to succeed unless certain groups like senior faculty members or trustees are involved
MacGregor Burns’ account of leadership
- leadership is a prescriptive term with a moral dimension. Only those who dedicate themselves to the state are leaders, while other so-called leaders are power wielders
- good leadership is doing something good and bad leadership implies no leadership
Kellerman & Lipman-Blumen’s account of leadership
argues that leaders come in both good and bad flavours
Kellerman & Lipman-Blumen’s characteristics of bad leaders
- Incompetent
- Rigid
- Callous
- Intemperate
- Insular
- Evil
- Corrupt
Nye’s account of leadership
- there are two meanings of the term “good leader” and two meanings of the term “bad leader”
- Leaders can be good in the sense that they are effective or morally admirable
- Leaders can be bad in the sense that they are incompetent or evil
transformational leadership
leadership that changes a situation in a significant, positive, and identifiable way
what is always involved in transformational leadership?
values
transactional leadership
leadership that consists of routine activities of brokering interests
can leaders be both transformational and transactional?
yes, leaders can be both transformational and transactional at different points in their careers
event-making leadership
transformational leadership without the moral uplift
eventful leadership
leaders that shape the course of events, but their contributions could easily be replicated by others
3 ways of becoming a leader
- born to leadership
- achieving leadership
- having leadership thrust upon you
born to leadership
those who are so naturally gifted with characteristics often associated with leadership that their communities turn to them to take on such roles
achieving leadership
those who prepare themselves by training and experience to take up leadership roles
having leadership thrust upon you
hose who end up in a leadership position without wanting to
the trait theory of leadership
Many people assume that being born into leadership involves having distinctive personal characteristics that explain one’s success
what are the leadership traits according to the trait theory?
- Self-confidence
- Sociability
- Persistence
- Masculinity
- Articulate
the skill theory of leadership
Argues that leaders demonstrate particular skills such as problem-solving and social judgment
issues with the skill and trait theories
- Neither trait theory nor skill theory have much explanatory power
- They are based on overgeneralizations
- It is difficult to distinguish attributes important to successful leadership from other, random character traits
- Some characteristics we associate with leadership may be developed through leading
what factors are involved in the context of leadership?
- culture
- historical patterns
- the challenges a group faces
- salient features
leadership across conditions
- Leaders may flourish one day and flounder the next as conditions change
- Leaders who adapt their behaviour to the times prosper
luck and leadership
- Fortune also plays a role in leadership
- “Rules maintain themselves better if they owe little to luck.”
what is the most valuable attribute in a leader?
good judgment
judgment
a capacity for making sense of the things around us that is unaccountable in, and cannot be submitted to, the terms rationality
what is involved in making judgment
reasoning
intelligence vs. reasoning
Judgment has more to do with innate reactions than intellectual abilities
conveying judgments to others
Judgments can be explained and described for others, to convince them that the right decision was made
Aristotle on judgement
Aristotle gave significant attention to “phronesis”, which many readers have associated with judgment
characteristics of judgment
- prescriptive
- built on experience
- requires deliberation
Kahneman on judgement
calls intuition “System 1” and “System 2” rationality
judgment vs. outcomes
We shouldn’t equate good judgment with good outcomes
forming opinions on other’s judgement
- We form opinions, based on our observations, that some people have better judgment than others
- We assume individuals with better judgment will make better leaders and this is correct
what factors are involved in judgement?
- A capacious appreciation of the varied features of a situation
- Peripheral vision
- The ability to discern what is new about a given situation and adapt one’s response accordingly
- Foresight
- A good sense of timing
peripheral vision
the habit of looking around to gauge the tone of your environment and note where the next opportunity or threat is coming from
foresight
the ability to understand what is likely to follow from different policy options and recognize pitfalls in the paths ahead
when is judgment particularly important?
when choosing subordiantes
getting and using information in leadership
- Leaders must obtain a variety of data from trustworthy sources
- Leaders can ensure a more comprehensive view by frequently asking questions and listening to the views of their subordinates
- A leader needs to have some information unvarnished (that doesn’t go through multiple bureaucratic filtres)
- Leaders must use information strategically
what two goals do leaders need to attain a balance between?
- Having full information from people at all levels of an organization, thus making them aware that you respect them and want to include their input
- Giving due authority to senior lieutenants, respecting their prerogatives
what should leaders beware of?
flattery and excessive praise
rhetoric
the ability to move an audience to deep emotion and action
communicating ideas as a leader
- Articulating ideas and policies persuasively helps leaders convince people to see the world as they do
- A leader should be prepared to use various forms of communication to reach people of different backgrounds
symbolism
a form of rhetoric that is a highly effective form of communication
the “happy medium” of decision-making
Good decision-making involves a happy medium between rushing and taking forever to reach a conclusion
importance of delay in decision-making
Delay can be useful if crucial information is not yet available or circumstances appear to be evolving in a direction that will make a better decision possible before long
characteristics of good decision-makers
- improve their skills through practice
- don’t perpetually second-guess themselves
compromise in leadership
- Leaders frequently engage in compromise to achieve their goals
- The obvious and direct route is not always the most effective way to reach your goals
what personal characteristics are relevant to leadership?
- passion and proportion
- empathy and detachment
- courage and moderation
- vision
passion
having larger goals in mind and serving a cause in which you have faith
proportion
achieving the right balance between disparate qualities (ex. Patience and swiftness)
empathy
caring about the people one is trying to mobilize, direct, and serve
detachment
the ability to make choices with negative consequences for some of their followers
courage
the ability to make tough and unpopular decisions, stand up for the principles they believe in, and face the loneliness that sometimes comes with holding power
moderation
patience, humility and a lowkey approach to problem-solving in the face of pressure to do something drastic and decisive
vision
a clear idea of what one wants to do personally and professionally and the strength to persist in the face of setbacks
leadership and personality
Leaders have complex personalities and they bring their strengths and weaknesses to their jobs
