CHAPTER 8 - HBO

• Leadership - process of guiding and directing the behavior of people in the organization in order to achieve certain objectives.
• Leading is one of the functions of management.
• leadership spells the difference between success and failure
• leadership is the element that convinces members of an organization to behave in such a manner that will facilitate the accomplishment of the goals of the organization.
• managers are rational problem solvers, while leaders are intuitive, more visionary
• leaders are primarily concerned with results; managers are concerned with the efficiency of results
• leaders obtain power from below; managers obtain theirs above
• two kinds of leadership are: formal and informal
• formal leadership refers to the process of influencing others to pursue official objectives
• formal leaders are vested with formal authority and they generally have a measure of legitimate power
• Formal leaders rely on expedient combination of reward, coercive, referent, and expert power
• informal leadership refers to the process of influencing others to pursue unofficial objectives
• informal leaders lack formal authority
• informal leaders who are not satisfied with their jobs become liabilities
• main concern of a leader is to influence people to behave as he wants them to
• bases of power that the leader may use to convince subordinates may be classified as either: position power or personal power
• position power is that power derived as a consequence of the leader's position
• position power consists of three types: 1. legitimate power 2. reward power 3. coercive power
• legitimate power is also referred to as authority
• legitimate power emanates from a person's position in the organization
• legitimate power is accepted by subordinates
• authority is used vertically. the flow of authority is from the top level down to the lower levels
• reward power emanates from one's ability to grant rewards to those who comply with a command or request
• coercive power arises from the expectation of subordinates that they will be punished if they do not conform to the wishes of the leader
• the punishment can take the from of dismissal, suspension, and transfer to a less desirable task, etc.
• coercive power uses fear as a motivator
• coercive power is reduced by the presence of unions and organizational policies on employee treatment
• the leader's personal power results from his personal characterisitcs
• there are two types of personal power: expert power and referent power
• expert power. an expert possess and can dispense valued information generally exercise expert power over those in need of such information
• examples of expert power are doctors, lawyers, computer specialist
• the expert power of the leader depends on his education, training, and experience
• referent power refers to the ability of leaders to develop followers from the strength of their own personalities
• referent power. leaders who possess this power have a personal magnetism, an air of confidence, and a passionate belief in objectives that attract and hold followers.
• Nelson Mandela of Africa, the late Mother Teresa, and the late Michael Jackson are examples of those who have or had referent power.
• three theories about leadership: trait theories, behavioral theories, contingency theories
• trait theories consider leaders to possess common traits
• extraversion- individuals who like being around people and are able to assert themselves
• conscientiousness- individuals who are disciplined and keep commitments that they make
• openness- individuals who are creative and flexible