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Leadership in Organizations

December 7th, 2007

These are notes of subjects covered in a class of Organizational Behavior at UCF, Fall 2007, with Professor Piccolo

Leadership Theories:

1. Traits - what traits to leaders possess
2. Behaviors - what do leaders do
3. Processes - how do leaders get things done
4. Follower - how does style reflect needs of followers

Traits Approach:
- All great leaders possess outstanding qualities
- Some people are born with leadership traits
- Leaders are born, not made
- “Right people”, “right stuff”

   Great Traits:
   1. Drive
   2. Motivation
   3. Integrity
   4. Confidence
   5. Inteligence
   6. Task Knowledge
   
Pros and Cons of Trait Approach
Pros:
> Backed up by a century of research
Cons:
> Doesn’t take Followers or Situation into regard

            Leader

Follower            Situation

Processes Approach:
- Relationship between leaders and followers
- Question to ask: how do leaders get things done?

1. Transactional Leadership
    -reward followers upon completion of goals
    LEADER:
    (short term, monitoring, controlling, )
    1. contigent reward – rewarding upon completion of goal
    2. management by exception-active – correcting employee where necessary
    3. management by exception-passive – only intervening when problem is serious

2. Transformational Leadership  
    -motivate followers to go the extra mile
   
    Transformational LEADER:
    (long term, trusting, empowering, charismatic… provides intellectual stimulation, motivation and consideration)
    1. Idealized Influence
    2. Inspirational Motivation
    3. Intellectual Stimulation
    4. Individualized Consideration
  

Power

  • Potential of an individual (or group) to influence another individual/group behaviors, attitudes, beliefs.
  • Positional Power
    > Formal Authority (police)
    > Relevance (programmer, IT person)
    > Autonomy (person who works remotely)
    > Visibility
    > Centrality (Integration department)
  • Personal Power

        > Expertise
        > Track Record
        > Attractiveness

Charisma

  • Magnetic charm or appeal
  • Leadership quality that captures the popular imagination
  • Person with divinely gift, grace or talent

Types of Authority

  • Traditional (mother and father)
  • Legal/Rational (Doctors, police)
  • Charismatic

> Charisma Communication Style

  • People learn to be charismatic (posture, shake hands, eye contact, facial expressions, hand gestures while speaking)

> Measuring Charisma in Leader: MLQ

  • Talks about his beliefs/values
  • Instills faith, respect and trust
  • Emphasizes strong sense of purpose
  • Goes beyond self-interest in benefit of group
  • Considers moral/ethical consequences of decisions

How does Charisma work

VIEW I

  • Communicating a vision
    > arouses followers needs and values
    > challenges followers
    > directs attention toward desired outcomes
  • Implementing a vision
    > Leader must serve as role model
  • Demonstrating a charismatic communication style

        > Leaders speak with captivating tone, eye contact (see charismatic communication style above)

VIEW II (Example: Jim Jones mass suicide in Guyana)
    Phase I: Identification

  • Charismatic leader recognizes need for radical change
  • Leader ascent to leadership due to distressed situation
  • Leader articulates vision of change tied to values and promises of better future

    Phase II: Activity Arousal

  • Leader expresses confidence in followers to achieve vision

    Phase III: Commitment

  • Leader makes public demonstrations of their dedication to the cause

More on Communicating with Charisma

  • Frame your mission and draw upon values/beliefs in doing so
  • Frame mission based on significance and why it has arisen in first place
  • Use metaphors, analogies, stories
  • Allow emotions to surface

Leadership and Persuasion

  • Storytelling (Robert McKee)
  • Framing
  • Persuasive Communication Patterns

Prospect Theory

  • People are more likely to gamble with loss than with gain
  • Our preferences/choices are shapped by the manner the situation is introduced

Power: Exercising Influence:

  • Empower those on who you are dependent
  • Cultivate Networks
  • Utilize influential communication patters

Power: Framing

  • Use frames to invoke particular image/idea: “We have an interesting challenge ahead of us”
  • Political framing: “tax relief”
  • The one who brings pain is bad. The one who brings “relief” is a hero.

Persuasive Language: Anchoring

  • Anchoring is when someone relies too heavily on a set piece of info when making a decision
  • Example: Some people rely only on the odometer when buying a car

Persuasive Language: Priming and Non-conscious Response

  • Example: expose students to several senior traits (florida, forgetfulness) made students walk out of class more slowly

Management

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