Topic 1 – Introduction & leadership theories (weeks 1-4) Week 1 (2/03) – Introduction
Course information
Take notes on the lecture exercises – they are assessable
Guest lecturers – also assessable
Do readings before tutorials
Leadership – a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal
Key aspects of the definition o A process
o Involves influence o Occurs in groups
o Includes attention to common goals
What about self-leadership?
What about leadership as followership?
Defining leadership has a long history
In Western culture, leadership has its origins in Ancient Greece with Plato and Aristotle –the concept of the ‘good life’ and virtuous living
In the East, Confucian and Taoist philosophers placed great emphasis on moral duty, responsibility and ethics
In modern times, concepts of leadership have evolved considerably:
o 1900-1929: Leadership as authority and control
o 1930s: Emphasis on leadership traits, influence rather than domination o 1940s-50s: More focus of leadership in groups and the relational quality of
leadership, as well as goal-focus
o 1960s: Focus on leadership as a behaviour that influences people towards goals o 1970s: Leadership as a process of influencing groups to achieve goals
o 1980s: Control, influence, traits, transformational leadership (Burns, 1978) o 21st Century: Authentic, servant, spiritual, and adaptive leadership, followership Leadership described
Trait vs. process leadership
Assigned vs. emergent leadership
Leadership and power/influence
Leadership vs. management
Management produces order and consistency Leadership produces change and movement Planning and budgeting Establishing direction
Organising and staffing Aligning people
Controlling and problem solving Motivating and inspiring
Video: The crucial skills for tomorrow’s leaders (Harvard)
Empathy, interested in relationships with others, trust followers
Teachers, understand that they don’t know everything, curiosity, mindfulness proactive
Need to know their purpose in leadership and share that purpose/values with followers, clarity of purpose
Always explain why you’re doing something or why you’ve asked a follower to do something as this creates purpose and accountability
Reading: Textbook chapter 1 – Introduction
Leadership is a process – it is a transactional event that occurs between leaders and followers, it isn’t a trait/characteristic that resides in the leader
o It is interactive not linear
o It is available to anyone in a group
Influence – how leader affects followers, communication between leaders and followers
Trait vs. process leadership
o Trait – leadership is a property possessed in varying degrees by different people o Process – leadership resides in the context of the interactions between leaders and
followers this textbook
Assigned vs. emergent leadership both are covered in textbook o Assigned – leader because of formal position in organisation
o Emergent – leader because of way other group members respond to them, emerges through communication e.g. being verbally involved, being informed, seeking others’
opinions, initiating new ideas, being firm but not rigid
Power – related to leadership because it is part of influence process o Personal
Referent – based on followers’ identification/liking for the leader
Expert – based on followers’ perceptions of leader’s competence o Position
Legitimate – associated with having statis or formal job authority
Reward – derived from having the capacity to provide rewards to others
Coercive – derived from having the capacity to penalise/punish others
Information – derived from possessing knowledge that others want/need
Primary function of management is to give order and consistency to organisations, about seeking order and stability vs. primary function of leadership is to produce
change/movement, seeking adaptive and constructive change
Management and leadership are both needed for organisations to be successful – bureaucratic without leadership, meaningless/misdirected change without management
Management vs. leadership Management produces order and
consistency Leadership produces change and movement Planning and budgeting – establishing
agendas, set timetables, allocate resources Establishing direction – create a vision, clarify big picture, set strategies Organising and staffing – provide structure,
make job placements, establish rules and procedures
Aligning people – communicate goals, seek commitment, build teams and coalitions Controlling and problem solving – develop Motivating and inspiring – inspire and
Reading: Concepts of leadership – The beginnings (Bass, 1990)
Myths and legends about great leaders were important in the development of civilised societies
The greater the socio-economic injustice in the society, the more distorted the realities of leadership in mythology – powers, morality, effectiveness
Reading: How princes should keep faith (Machiavelli)
There are 2 ways of acting
o In accordance with laws, men o By force, beasts
The second way is often used as the first can be ineffectual
Since not all people are good you don’t need to be good to them
A Prince doesn’t need to have good qualities – but it needs to seem like they have them e.g.
need to seem merciful, faithful, humane, religious, upright Reading: The republic (Plato)
How a protector changes into a tyrant
o Making promises in private, liberating debtors, wanting to be kind and good to everyone
o Creating conflicts so that people require a leader
o Destroying people that desire freedom and resist their authority o Leader becomes unpopular
Reading: Tao Te Ching (Lao-Tzu)
Wise leaders keep their egocentricity in check, which makes them more effective
Enlightened leadership is service not selfishness
The leader grows more and lasts longer by placing the well-being of all above the well-being of themselves
Paradox – by being selfless, the leader enhances self
A wise leader is like water o Cleanses and refreshes
o Freely goes beneath the surface o Fluid and responsive
o Follows the laws freely
Leadership is about facilitating someone else’s process – it is not your process, do not intrude or control, don’t force your own needs and insights into the foreground
Week 2 (9/03) – Classical approaches to leadership I
Historical and philosophical foundations of leadership thought
Socrates (470-399 BC) – leadership as ‘virtue’
o The idea of “the good”, defined excellence and good in terms of virtues o Four virtues: wisdom, justice, temperance (even-mindedness) and courage o Challenging people’s assumptions about what makes a good leader and how the
state should be run
o Challenging the status quo
Plato (427-348 BC) – leadership as ‘virtue’
o Socrates’ student
o The idea of the “philosopher king”
o Overcoming tyranny (dictators, followers have no voice)
o Qualities of the philosopher-leader: “noble, gracious, a friend of truth, justice, courage, temperance”
o Context of leadership is different (e.g. slavery) but ideas are still relevant
Aristotle (384-322 BC) – the ‘good life’
o Also a student of Socrates
o The concept of “eudaemonia” (virtue, contribution rather than just experiencing things, meaning and purpose) and “hedonia” (happiness, satisfaction, enjoyment) o The cultivation of virtue and “the good life”
o A scientific study of the truth, rather than a metaphysical one – experimenting with different ideas
Lao Tzu (6th-4th C BC) – leadership as ‘harmony’
o He is the reputed author of the Tao Te Ching, the founder of philosophical Taoism o His teachings emphasise leaders living in harmony: with oneself, one’s associates
and with nature
o Relates to contemporary followership research
Chanakya (4th C BC) – leadership as strategy and virtue
o One of the masterminds behind the Indian Mauryan Empire’s defeat of Alexander the Great
o One of the greatest influences on Indian statecraft, and his writings emphasise the necessary attributes of a leader, what is the role of a statesman?
o Link between philosophy and political leadership
Marcus Aurelius (121-180 AD) – the philosopher emperor
o He is seen as the last emperor of the Pax Romana, an age of relative peace and stability for the Roman Empire
o Marcus' personal philosophical writings are called “Meditations”: emphasises the importance of service and duty in government
o Provides personal insights on living a life of moderation, service and contribution.
Marsilo Ficino (15th C)
o Member of the church, doctor and philosopher
o Major influence on Medici family (wealthy family) – their thinking, ethics, leadership o Was influences by ancient Athenian philosophers e.g. Socrates
o Interested in selflessness, self-transcendence
o E.g. modern leaders that reflect this view of leadership – Martin Luther King, Jacinda
A moral element to purpose
o Discussions of purpose in business leadership often stems from issues of ethics and morality (often following corporate scandals)
o Distinction between “internal goods” and “external goods”
External goods e.g. personal status, wealth or power
Internal goods e.g. contributing to the good of the community
o Within leadership, purpose can be seen as an “internal good”, associated with well- being and central to a good human life
Aristotle emphasised telos, or contributing to the good of human kind, and scholars have identified this as a critical foundation of “purpose”
The benefits of having a clear purpose
o Studies have demonstrated that people with purpose
Make better progress toward their goals (e.g., Sheldon & Elliot, 1999)
Show greater psychological health (e.g., Kasser & Ryan, 1993)
Display more cognitive flexibility and depth of processing experiences (e.g.
Grolnick & Ryan, 1987)
Display greater resiliency to obstacles (Koestner, Lekes, Powers, & Chicoine, 2002)
o Conversely, people without a purpose that integrates and organises their goals display lower levels of health and well-being (Donahue, Robins, Roberts, & John, 1993; R. A. Emmons, 1991)
o A functional genomic perspective on human wellbeing (Fredrickson et al., 2013)
Hedonic vs. eudaimonic wellbeing
Immune cells in individuals with high levels of hedonic wellbeing were characterised by
An increased expression of genes involved in inflammation (implicated in diseases such as arthritis and heart disease)
Decreased expression of genes involved in antiviral responses
This immune response (known as CTRA) is also associated with chronic stress and uncertainty
The opposite effect was found for eudaimonic wellbeing
Both forms of wellbeing were associated with similar self-reported affect Discovering our gifts
Why discover our gifts?
o Life flows more easily – less struggles o Greater contentment and fulfilment o Feel expanded, open and full of energy o More unity and happiness
o A greater sense of meaning and purpose, of making a contribution
Discovering your gifts
o Premise 1 – each of us possesses a unique set of gifts or talents that we can put to use for the happiness of ourselves and the benefit of others
o Premise 2 – our gifts may not be as obvious to us as they are to others o Premise 3 – to choose and use our gifts we may need to step over limitations o Premise 4 – it is in using our gifts that we will bring happiness to ourselves and
others
Where can we find our gifts?
o “The element is the point at which natural talent meets personal passion. When people arrive at the element, they feel most themselves and most inspired and achieve at their highest levels” (Robinson, 2009)
Reflection exercise
o What do I love to do?
What do I have the most fun doing or gives me joy?
What am I doing when I lose all sense of time?
What makes me feel fulfilled?
What makes my heart sing?
What do I like to make or create in my spare time?
o What am I good at?
What comes easily to me?
What ability have I been blessed with?
What do people compliment me on?
For what do others look to me?
What am I grateful for?
o Where is the overlap between what I love and what I am good at?
o Which activities or areas of contribution would I want to do more of?
o How can I bring more of this into my life? What are my options? What concrete actions can I take?
Leadership Insights Interview #4: Sam Fowler, Macquarie Bank
Senior Manager and Organisational Psychologist in Leadership, Talent & Culture
Thinks about how to leverage the science of psychology to improve effectiveness of leaders at Macquarie
Thinking about purpose at Macquarie started in March 2020 (not just what we do, also why we do it and why we exist) – coincidently with COVID
Purpose project – to try and identify purpose of Macquarie
Previously about making money and being profitable
What would the world lose it we ceased to exist?
New purpose – now have a clearer idea about why Macquarie exists
Encouraging leaders to think about organisation’s purpose and their personal purpose
It is challenging to link organisational and personal purpose
o But not as challenging as he thought – people know why they like working in their organisation
o When people talk about why they like their job they are reflecting on the match between the organisational and personal purpose – organisational fit
Useful time in your career to start to think about purpose o What excites you, your strengths/passions
o Should shape the career decisions you make
o Consideration of purpose can be an anchor that can help decision making
For his work with senior leaders – they are some of the most successful/intelligent people and they struggle with identifying their purpose
o You may not be able to identify your purpose But at least try and reflect on it
Video: Your life story (George)
Your life story gets to the essence of who you are as a leader
His message is to live your life story and be proud of it
Build on your strengths to become a great leader
Examine your life story to find what really matters Reading: From purpose to impact (Craig & Snook)
Executive’s most important role is to be a steward of the organisation’s purpose
Purpose is a key to exceptional performance
Purpose is your brand, what you’re driven to achieve, its not what you do, its how you do your job and why
If you want to become an exceptional leader, you have to know your leadership purpose
Mine your life story for common threads and major themes identify your core, lifelong strengths, values and passions
o Do this with a small group of peers because it’s almost impossible for people to identify their leadership purpose alone
Creating a purpose-to-impact plan
1. Create a concise and declarative purpose statement e.g. my leadership purpose is … 2. Explanation of why that is your purpose
3. 3-5 year goals using the language of your purpose statement 4. 2 year goals
5. 1 year goals
6. Critical next steps e.g. some tasks may become less urgent 7. Examine key relationships
Reading: Leadership as purpose – Exploring the role of purpose in leadership practice (Kempster et al.)
We need to focus more on purpose in the literature if we want it to be evident in corporate and societal orientations of leaders in organisations
There are implications to only focusing on corporate purpose and not societal purpose
Leadership is a process of sensemaking leadership provides an opportunity for societal purpose to balance with corporate purposes
Purpose – an aim or objective which guides action to achieve a goal
Purpose is central to good life and happiness comes from working towards a purpose – the absence of purpose leads to unhappiness within an individual
A person will only feel fulfilled and gain a sense of well-being and purposefulness if they move towards their telos (contributing to the good of humankind
Internal vs. external goods
o External goods – possessed by people, extrinsic assets, e.g. winning status, obtaining money, gaining power
o Internal goods – good for the whole community, e.g. development of vocational skills, promoting health, preventing accidents, saving lives
Valued by society seen as being purposeful
Corporate organisations tend to focus on the production and dominance of external goods
The challenge for a leader is to manage meaning in a way that individuals orient themselves to the achievement of desirable ends
