Raising the Anchor on
LeaderShip Development.
As we look at the life
of Adolf Hitler, it is unbelievable how much one man can impact a generation. The power he gained, that so many people were
willing to follow him, gave him his place in history’s pages. In many of the same history books, we read
about Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and will one day read about Barack
Obama. The one thing each of these men has
in common is leadership. Leadership does not necessarily mean a position. There are many people that have held the
title of President or other important positions in history, but we only read
about a select few. Leadership is therefore distinct from
"supervision" or what might be termed "headship (Jago)." It
is through their leadership that they gained willing followers. Leadership is a real and
vastly consequential phenomenon, perhaps the single most important issue in
the human sciences. It
is one of the most important issues in applied psychology. Volumes appear
on the topic every year, and a recent review lists over 7,000 books, articles,
or presentations. Gaining a clearer understanding of leadership and its continuous
evolution will help us be more prepared to understand the successes and failings
in our society, most importantly, the necessity for leadership development. The
impact that an individual or organization can have on society, both negatively
and positively, can affect millions of people through their leadership however
refined it may be. Every person has an
influence, whether great or small. Parents
need to lead their children, a teacher needs to lead her classes, clergy need
to lead their congregation, and presidents need to lead their country. In further understanding influence through
leadership and its effects on society, we will see that leadership development is
important enough that we do not casually seek it out, but we must strive for
such development with a sense of urgency.
The primary focus in
leadership concerns how to get people to willingly follow a great strategy or
vision. Failure
to do so often results in teams losing, armies defeated, economies dwindling,
and nations failing. Although this post will not describe each leadership trait
in its full capacity, it is important to gain a better understanding of what leadership
behaviors consist of, what types of leaders there are, what qualities are
necessary for effective leadership, and the different approaches to
leadership. Broadly
speaking, the leaders in any complex modern social group, such as an army,
a church, or a large industrial organization, are of three types:
(i) The man who
maintains his authority mainly by virtue of the established social prestige
attached to his position;
(ii) The man who maintains his authority
mainly by virtue of his personal capacity to impress and dominate his followers;
and
(iii) The man who maintains his authority
mainly by Virtue of his personal capacity to express and persuade his
followers.
The first is the
institutional type, the second the dominant type, and the third the persuasive
type.
Social
psychologists assume that leaders are group members who: exert more
influence than others; tend to be seen as more trustworthy, prestigious,
valued, credible and fair; and who play the most important role in the group in
terms of directing it towards its goals, holding the group together socially
and emotionally, and inspiring and motivating members to work towards and live
up to a collective vision anchored in a common identity. The
key point, however, is that we seek to understand the causal processes
which produce great outcomes. It may or may not be the case, for example, that
a particular kind of leader or leadership style is more effective than another,
but irrespective of whether leaders are effective or not, why do group members
follow some people and not others? What are the processes which lead members to
find a person or authority persuasive, credible, legitimate, likely to prove
right, etc.?
Organizational success
depends in part on effective leadership. For more than four decades, studies in
diverse disciplines have established the significant influence that trust in
leaders has on the behavior of followers and on team performance (Gomibuchi). Trust,
although a vital key to effective leadership is not the only characteristic necessary
for effective leadership. Effective leaders engage in both professional
leadership behaviors (e.g. setting a mission, creating a process for achieving
goals, aligning processes and procedures) and personal leadership behaviors
(e.g. building trust, caring for people, acting morally) (Angelo). The main
purpose of leadership is to obtain willing cooperation. “Willing” is a key term
in this concept. Leadership is persuasion, not domination; persons who can
require others to do their bidding because of their power are not leaders.
Leadership only occurs when others willingly adopt, for a period of time, the
goals of a group as their own (Hogan). A key element in obtaining willing
cooperation is engaging members by creating a “benefit” for cooperation. Willing cooperation is a dependent measure
[for leadership] (Angelo). According to a study in The Leadership &
Organization Development Journal, personal leadership (i.e demonstrating
expertise, trust, caring, sharing and morals) and professional leadership (i.e.
providing direction, process, and coordination) will be positively related to
willing cooperation (Angelo). Willingly cooperating implies a conscious effort
on behalf of a person to follow a particular individual or organization. Leadership is expressed or displayed through
interaction between people and necessarily implies its complement,
"followership." For one to influence, another must permit himself to
be influenced (Jago).
Leadership is not only
some quality or characteristic that one possesses or is perceived to possess;
it can be something that one does. It therefore can describe an act as well as
a person. Leadership does not involve the use of force, coercion or domination
and is not necessarily implied by the use of such titles as manager,
supervisor, or superior (Jago). On the other hand, leadership can be used as an
institutional symbol like a priest is to a church. If this is the case, the
secret of his success depends mainly upon his doing nothing to disturb the
social sentiments that are attached to certain established institutions of his
group. Ultimately, this leader’s position is based on the coercion of the
supervisors above him/her. This
situation can be seen in large institutions such as the relationship between
priest and the church. The minute a
priest deviates from the teachings and the traditions of the church, he or she
may be removed from their office because they no longer serve as the symbol for
that institution. At an early age, I had an experience that taught me this
lesson clearly. As the class president, I voiced my opinion about the strong
resistance of the class I represented in the date and location of our
prom. It was going to be at a museum a
month and a half earlier from graduation and many approached me to vocalize
their opinions. Upon approaching our
advisors, I was quickly referred to the administration who cautioned me to “go with
it and support them.” Upon stating that
my job was to represent the class and not the administration, I was, in a very sneaky
way, quietly removed from office and replaced with someone who would do as they
said. It was clear that my position was contingent on those in power and my
alignment with authority, and my role was clearly as a symbol of the institution.
Alan Hooper, director
of the Centre for Leadership Studies at the University of Exeter, says: “If
someone wants to be a leader, you can develop it (Mark).” From the turn of the
century through the 1940's leadership research was dominated by attempts to
show that leaders possessed some intrinsic quality or characteristic that
differentiated them from followers. The search was directed toward identifying
that property possessed by the likes of Napoleon, Hitler, Abraham Lincoln,Martin Luther King, Jr., Gandhi, John F. Kennedy (and their lesser known counterparts in educational, military and
industrial settings) that would ultimately prove to be the essence of
successful and effective leadership. Research concentrated on the measurement
and quantification of leadership traits and the relationship between such
traits and criteria of leader effectiveness (Jago). There are 8 major
leadership theories: “Great Man” Theories, Trait Theories, Contingency
Theories, Situational Theories, Behavioral Theories, Participative Theories, Management Theories,
and Relationship Theories. We can elaborate on each of these; however we will
simply split them into two groups: Born Leader theories and developed leader
theories. The first two theories focus on the thought that great leaders are
born, not made. The following six theories focus on developmental theories that
are found on the premise that great leaders are made. It may seem tempting to
single out one perspective on leadership (or, more narrowly, one theory of
leadership within a given perspective) as having contributed the greatest
knowledge or as having the greatest practical utility. To make such a judgment,
however, would inappropriately undervalue the very real contributions made in
other approaches (Jago). There are characteristics that some are born with that
enable them to have a greater capacity to lead, however there are also great
leaders that are created. Even the leaders that are “born” need to continue to
develop their talents.
Sarasate, the greatest
Spanish violinist of the nineteenth century, was once called a genius by a
famous critic. In reply to this, Sarasate declared, “Genius! For thirty-seven
years I’ve practiced fourteen hours a day, and now they call me a genius.”
–John Maxwell
Leadership is an
evolving, dynamic process (Jago). As
early as 386 BC, Plato initiated one of the first leadership training
centers in the world, an institute he called the Academy. Now we have thousands
of leadership books, seminars, and gurus such as Anthony Robbins giving guidance
across the world. Leadership has changed
as cultures have evolved. The world is
becoming more complex, and it is more important than ever to develop leadership
capacity and to help leaders understand the profound societal and global
interconnects (Smith). There are fundamental characteristics to leadership,
some of which were described earlier; however as technology, culture, and
people change, leaders must gain a better understanding of the most effective
way to lead the particular generation or constituency they hope to receive
willing cooperation from. The world is more
interconnected now that the internet and social media, such as Facebook, give
many more people a platform to share their voice. These changes affect everyone.
Many parents whose responsibility to lead
their children who have access to technology and media they know nothing about,
have a difficult time adequately influencing their children. If one does not
understand this evolution of culture, then he or she will not be effective as a
leader. Valarie Joyce Smith, a professor of leadership at the Royal Roads
University in Canada, observed that [leaders] current understanding of
leadership is the best and therefore, the basis for the most effective way to
lead. In other words their current beliefs about leading others are held to be
the only truth about leadership. For example, an autocratic leader who uses power and control to get work
done and a human-centered leader who uses consensus to engage people in
work both believe their values and style
are the most effective and maybe the only way to lead. Then when conditions
change in their sphere and new leadership values emerges, the old values are
left behind or possibly integrated into a new understanding that becomes the
basis for the new most effective way to lead (Smith). As the famous poet Maya
Angelou says simply, “If they know better, than they can do better.” So in order to cultivate a society of better
leaders, one must understand the importance of leadership development. Some
leaders stay at the same understanding of leadership their entire careers and
others move through several leadership paradigms (Smith). The understanding of
the change that Facebook alone has created can give someone insight to the
important role of development in leadership.
Furthermore, this shows us that culture changes, and people who do not
continue in their development of leadership will find that they are merely
speaking or wasting their energies, not leading.
There is also a change
in who the people want to follow on a macro level. Historically we have had different structures
including kings and rulers, the church, and democracy. Over time, organizations
have evolved from those with an authoritarian style to ones with a more
comfortable work environment, and then to organizations where people are
empowered, encouraged, and supported in their personal and professional growth.
The
Industrial Revolution shifted America’s economy from an agriculture base to
an industrial one and, thereby, ushered in a change in how leaders would treat
their followers. The Industrial Revolution created a paradigm shift to a new
theory of leadership in which “common” people gained power by virtue of their
skills (Clawson, 1999). New technology, however, was accompanied and reinforced
by mechanization of human thought and action, thus creating hierarchical
bureaucracies (Morgan, 1997). In the
1980s a new view of leadership began to come to life, one still being
developed. The
central view is that leadership is a group process and depends on the
existence of a shared social identity between the leader and other group
members. This view offers an explanation of the underlying psychological
processes that make leadership possible. This type of connection is important in our
day as technology continues to influence the individual or organization trying
to lead. Times change and we now see
that common people now have a voice while some who used to dominate in power
have lost a lot of it. An individual or
small group of individuals could have a big positive or negative impact, such
as those who helped initiate the Occupy Wall Street
Protests or the Catholic church who does not have the power it once
had, as it used to institute its own laws, lands, and taxes. Each must
adapt and learn to develop itself to have willing cooperation from the people.
Interestingly,
“leadership development” often focuses on the professional side of leadership,
such as a focus on communication, time management, and performance management.
Research suggests that organizations would benefit from training and
development on the personal side of leadership (Angelo). If an individual or
organization seeks to implement leadership development, which is essential for
progressive success, there is no shortage of who is willing to offer that
training. If “leadership development
training” is typed into a search engine, hundreds of “developers” will offer
their services. Some begin with
self-assessments, culture and climate training, human behavior models, motivational
tips, among many. This is not a
discussion on how to develop leadership, but in understanding the importance of
development. Once it is clear that such is necessary, one can shop around for
the training.
Every worthwhile
accomplishment has a price tag attached to it. The question is always whether
you are willing to pay the price to attain it – in hard work, sacrifice,
patience, faith, and endurance. – John C. Maxwell
The effect that
leadership has on society is profound. There
were always “good” leaders and “bad leaders” as we can see from the hesitancy
set forth by Plato (1952) and other moral philosophers such as Aristotle
(1985), Aquinas (1963), Pascal (1990), Locke (1971). It takes leadership to be both a Somali
warlord who is trying to bring together a group of clansmen to control food supplies
and an inner-city Chicago minister who is trying to bring together a group of
parishioners to help the homeless (Hogan). At the historical level one might
reflect on the horrific consequences of the leadership of Adolph Hitler in
Germany from 1933 to 1945 and Joseph Stalin in Russia from 1927 to 1953.
Millions of people suffered and died as a consequence of the visions of these
two flawed geniuses, and the consequences of their rule persist even today (Hogan).
Also, the fact that Lincoln’s army was inert until Ulysses S. Grant assumed
command and that some coaches can move from team to team transforming losers
into winners is, for most people, evidence that leadership matters (Hogan).
There is no doubt that strong leaders make all the difference. The more clearly this is understood, the more
proactive an individual or organization will be in seeking leadership development.
Becoming a leader is
never defined by one single event or act. It is who we have become that can
make it seem that an individual moment defines our leadership (Timothy). Jokingly,
Eddie Cantor, a comedian stated a profound truth: “It takes twenty years to
make an overnight success.” Leadership development is a process and a journey,
but it is only a journey if we decide to take that path. Everyone from parents,
to teachers, to clergy, to world leaders need to develop good leadership. People and culture change through time and
this generation is a different generation to lead. It will take a different type of parenting,
teaching, ministering, and inspiring to reach this generation than it has
previously. Leadership is valuable
and necessary and leadership development is an undertaking of great
importance.
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