Contemporary issues in

leadership
S. Robbins
 Leader as a communicator
The framing
• Framing is a way of communicating to
shape meaning.
• It’s a way for leaders to influence how
others see and understand events.
• Selecting and highlighting one or more
events while excluding others.
• It is the ability of the leader to influence
others to act beyond their self interests.
Two contemporary theories of
leadership with a common
theme.

1.Charismatic leadership
2.Transformational leadership.
 Charismatic leadership
• Charismatic leaders
John F Cannady
Martin luther King
Jr., Ronald Reagan
Bill clinton
Steve Jobs (Apple computers)
Mary K Ash (Mary Kay Cosmetics)
What is charismatic leadership?
• Proposed by Max Weber. A socialogist.
• Charisma is a quality of an individual
personality, by virtue of which he or she is
set -apart from ordinary people and
-treated as supernatural, superhuman
-or at least
specifically exceptional powers or qualities.
- Sometimes considered as devine origin or
exemplary.
 Charismatic leadership contd.,
• Robert House is the 1st person to
considered charismatic leadership in terms
of OB.
• According to him charismatic leadership
can be defined as
the followers make attributions of
extraordinary leadership abilities when
they observe certain behaviors.
 Key characteristics of charismatic
leadership
• 1. Vision and articulation
• 2. Personal risk
• 3. Sensitivity to followers needs
• 4.Unconventional behavior
 Vision and articulations
• Has a vision
• Expressed as an idealized goal
• The goal proposes a future better than the
status quo
• Is able to clarify the importance of the
vision in terms that are understandable to
others.
 Personal risk
• Willing to take on high personal risk
• Incur high costs
• Engage in self sacrifice to achieve the vision
Sensitivity to follower’s needs
• Perspective of other’s abilities
• Responsive to other’s needs and feelings.
Unconventional behavior
• Engages in behaviors in behaviors that are novel
and counter to norms.
 Charismatic leaders are born
with their qualities and also
people can actually learn to be
charismatic leaders
 Personality of charismatic leaders
• Extraverted
• Self confident
• Achievement oriented
• Articulate an over arching goal
• Communicate high performance expectations
• Empathize the needs of their followers
• Project a powerful confident and dynamic
presence
• Captivating and engaging voice tone
 Charismatic leadership contd.,
• It is true that individuals are born with traits
that make them charismatic.
• Individuals also can be trained to exhibit
charismatic behavior.
 3 step process of becoming a
charismatic leader
• 1. An individual needs to develop an aura of
charisma by maintaining an optimistic view,
using passion as a catalyst for generating
enthusiasm and communicating with the whole
body,not just with words.
• 2.An individual draws others in by creating a
bond that inspires others to follows.
• 3. An individual brings out the potential in
followers by tapping into their emotions.
How Charismatic Leaders Influence
Followers
• A four-step process:
1. Leader articulates an attractive vision
• Vision Statement:
A formal, long-term strategy to attain goals
• Links past, present, and future

2. Leader communicates high performance expectations

and confidence in follower ability
3. Leader conveys a new set of values by setting an
example for the followers to imitate.
4. Leader engages in emotion-inducing and often
unconventional behavior to demonstrate convictions
about the vision

© 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved. 13-14

 Charismatic Leadership Issues
• People following these leaders will be exerting
extra effort, express greater satisfaction.
• Charismatic effectiveness and situation
– Charisma works best when:
• The follower’s task has an ideological component
• There is a lot of stress and uncertainty in the environment
• The leader is at the upper level of the organization
• Followers have low self-esteem and self-worth
• Dark Side of Charisma
– Ego-driven charismatics allow their self-interest and
personal goals to override the organization’s goals

© 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved. 13-15

 Beyond Charisma: Level-5
Leaders
• Very effective leaders who possess the four typical
leadership traits:
– Individual competency
– Team skills
– Managerial competence
– Ability to stimulate others to high performance
• Plus one critical new trait…
– A blend of personal humility and professional will
– Personal ego-needs are focused toward building a great company
– Take responsibility for failures and give credit to others for
successes
– Prided themselves on developing strong leaders inside the firm
who could direct the company to greater heights after they were
gone.

© 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved. 13-16

 Level 5 leaders
• Ex: Orin smith at starbucks
• Kristine Mc Davit of Petagonia
• John Whitehead of Goldman sachs
• Jack Brennen of vanguard

Confirms that leaders don’t necessarily need to be

charismatic to be effective.
 Organizations with a charismatic
leadership at the helm is more
likely to be successful.
Success depends on to some
extent on the situation and the
organizations vision
Ex: Hitler is too successful at
convincing their followers to pursue
a vision that can be disastrous.
Transactional and Transformational
Leadership
• Transactional Leaders
– Leaders who guide or motivate their followers in the
direction of established goals by clarifying role and
task requirements
• Transformational Leaders
– Inspire followers to transcend their own self-interests
for the good of the organization; they can have a
profound and extraordinary effect on followers
• Not opposing, but complementary, approaches to
leadership
– Great transformational leaders must also be
transactional; only one type is not enough for success

© 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved. 13-19

 Characteristics of the Two Types of
Leaders
Transactional
• Contingent Reward:
– Contracts exchange of
rewards for effort, promises
rewards for good
performance, recognizes
accomplishments
• Management by Exception:
– Active: Watches and
searches for deviations from
rules and standards, takes
corrective action
– Passive: Intervenes only if
standards are not met
• Laissez-Faire:
– Abdicates responsibilities,
avoids making decisions
© 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.
Transformational
• Idealized Influence:
– Provides vision and sense of
mission, instills pride, gains
respect and trust
• Inspiration:
– Communicates high
expectations, uses symbols to
focus efforts, expresses
important issues simply
• Intellectual Stimulation:
– Promotes intelligence,
rationality, and problem
solving
• Individualized Consideration:
– Gives personal attention,
coaches, advises
Exhibit 13-2
13-20
 Full range of leadership model
• Idealized influence
• Inspirational motivation
• Intellectual stimulation
• Individualized consideration
• Contingent reward
• Management by exception
• Laissez-Faire
 Transformational leadership
• Encourage their followers to be more
innovative and creative.
• These leaders are more effective because
they are more creative and encourage
their followers to be more creative.
• Goals- Followers pursue ambitious goals,
familiar with and agree upon the strategic
goals of the organization and believe that
the goals are personally important.
 Transformational leadership
• Lower turn over rates
• High productivity
• Lower employee stress and burn out
• Higher employee satisfaction.
 Trans Vs Charismatic
• Trans broader than charismatic
• Followers can question trans leaders
• Ch itself is not sufficient for tr process
• Leaders who score high on tr also score
high on ch.
 Authentic Leadership: Ethics and
Trust
• Authentic Leaders:
– Ethical people who know who they are, know
what they believe in and value, and act on those
values and beliefs openly and candidly
– Primary quality is trust
• Build trust by:
– Sharing information
– Encouraging open communication
– Sticking to their ideals
• Still a new topic; needs more research
© 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved. 13-25
 Ethics, Trust, and Leadership
• Ethics touch on many leadership styles
– As the moral leaders of organizations, CEOs must
demonstrate high ethical standards
– Socialized charismatic leadership: leaders who model
ethical behaviors
• Trust:
– The positive expectation that another person will not
act opportunistically
– Composed of a blend of familiarity and willingness to
take a risk
– Five key dimensions: integrity, competence,
consistency, loyalty, and openness
Exhibit 13-4

© 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved. 13-26

 Five Key Dimensions of Trust
• Integrity
– Honesty and truthfulness
• Competence
– An individual’s technical and interpersonal knowledge and
skills
• Consistency
– An individual’s reliability, predictability, and good judgment
in handling situations
• Loyalty
– The willingness to protect and save face for another
person
• Openness
– Reliance on the person to give you the full truth

© 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved. 13-27

 Contemporary Leadership Roles:
Mentoring
• Mentor:
– A senior employee who sponsors and supports a less-
experienced employee (a protégé)
– Good teachers present ideas clearly, listen, and
empathize
– Two functions:
• Career
– Coaching, assisting, sponsoring
• Psychosocial
– Counseling, sharing, acting as a role model
– Can be formal or informal
– Mentors tend to select protégés who are similar to them
in background: may restrict minorities and women

© 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved. 13-28

 Contemporary Leadership Roles:
Self-Leadership
• Self-Leadership
– A set of processes through which individuals
control their own behavior
– Effective leaders “superleaders” help followers to
lead themselves
– Important in self-managed teams
• To engage in self-leadership:
1.Make a mental chart of your peers and colleagues
2.Focus on influence and not on control
3.Create opportunities; do not wait for them

© 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved. 13-29