Leadership Skills: Discussion Questions PDF

Our Definition of Leadership “Leadership is the process of influencing others to understand and agree about what needs to be done and how to do it, and the process of facilitating individual and collective efforts to accomplish shared objectives.” Functions Performed by Managers All managers per...

Our Definition of Leadership “Leadership is the process of influencing others to understand and agree about what needs to be done and how to do it, and the process of facilitating individual and collective efforts to accomplish shared objectives.” Functions Performed by Managers All managers perform four major functions: Planning Organizing Leading Controlling Thus, leadership is a part of every manager’s job 3 Are All Leaders Managers? A Manager Has a formal title and designated authority A Leader Is a person (manager or nonmanager) with influence A Follower Is a person influenced by a leader 4 The Role of Influence Influence Is the process of a leader communicating ideas, gaining acceptance of them, and motivating followers to support and implement the ideas through change Is the essence of leadership How Do Managers and Leaders Use Influence Managers may influence through coercion Leaders influence by gaining followers’ commitment and enthusiasm 5 Characteristics of Effective Leaders Know when to lead and when to follow Influence followers to support organizational objectives and interests Provide direction Set challenging objectives and lead the charge to achieve them Influence change for continual improvement Enjoy working with people and helping them succeed 6 Leadership Skills: Discussion Question Are leaders born or are they made? Most researchers say the answer is both: Some are born with natural ability and develop it Some are developed through effort and hard work All people have potential leadership skills Organizations spend millions every year to develop leadership skills of their employees 7 Management versus Leadership Old-Style Managers: Were autocratic Made all decisions Maintained tight controls over employees New Leader-Managers: Are primarily participative Focus on leadership Share management functions with employees Have good relationships with followers Realize that people are the most important asset 8 Leaders versus Managers Successful leaders are also good managers Successful managers are also good leaders The leadership and management paradigms overlap 9 Formal and Informal Leadership Formal Leadership Formal leadership is where a person is officially designated as the leader of a group. Examples of this kind of leadership are CEO of a company, a teacher at a school, the captain of a sporting team and the head of a department. It's the formal leader’s job to organize the available resources, work out the logistics and motivate the members of the team to carry out their tasks to the best of their abilities. Formal leaders have authority and certain rights and privileges that informal leaders lack. The formal leader wields power over the © 2016 group Cengage and Learning. has All rights the reser ved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplic authority to 1–10