University of Guyana MNG 2101 Business Leadership Student Notes PDF

University of Guyana: MNG 2101: Business Leadership 2024/2025 SCHOOL OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP & BUSINESS INNOVATION UNIVERSITY OF GUYANA TURKEYEN CAMPUS MNG 2101: BUSINESS LEADERSHIP Lecturer: Mr. Bruce Lovell Semester...

University of Guyana: MNG 2101: Business Leadership 2024/2025 SCHOOL OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP & BUSINESS INNOVATION UNIVERSITY OF GUYANA TURKEYEN CAMPUS MNG 2101: BUSINESS LEADERSHIP Lecturer: Mr. Bruce Lovell Semester 1 email: [email protected] STUDENT NOTES – 7 LEADERSHIP POWER AND INFLUENCE Lecture Outline Lecture Objectives Four kinds of influential leaders. On completion of this lecture, you should be able to: Types of power and influencing tactics. Describe the four major styles of influential leadership. Increasing power through political Discuss similarities and differences among activity. the seven types of power and the use of influencing tactics. Abuse of leadership power. Describe the four leader frames of reference and political tactics for asserting The dark side of leadership. leader influence. Understand how leaders use power and Spiritual values and leadership. politics ethically and responsibly. Describe some common reasons why people fail in leadership positions. Describe the principles of spiritual leadership and workplace spirituality. FOUR KINDS OF INFUENTIAL LEADERSHIP 1. When thinking about the concept of leadership two terms immediately come to mind – power and influence. This is because a leader’s power allows them to exercise influence. In the workplace, leadership power is granted by an organisation through the leader’s position. But, leaders also have power that doesn’t depend on their job position, and can influence people based on the leader’s personal style and relationships. This is done through four types of influential leadership: transformational, charismatic, coalitional, and Machiavellian-style leadership. TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP 2. Transformational leadership is characterized by the ability to bring about significant change in both followers and the organisation. Transformational leaders have the ability to lead changes in an organisation’s vision, strategy, and culture as well as promote innovation in products and technologies. 1  University of Guyana: MNG 2101: Business Leadership 2024/2025 3. One way to understand transformational leadership is to compare it to transactional leadership. Transactional Leadership It is a transaction or exchange process between leaders and followers. The leader recognizes followers’ needs, clarifies how to meet those needs in exchange for followers meeting objectives or preforming duties; followers receive rewards for job performance and leaders benefit from completion of tasks. Leaders focus on the present and excel at keeping the organisation running smoothly and efficiently. Leaders are good at traditional management functions like planning and budgeting. Leaders maintain stability rather than promote change because they follow the rules. Transformational Leadership Leaders focus on intangible qualities like vision, shared values, and ideas to inspire people to participate in the change process. Transformational leadership is based on the personal values, beliefs, and qualities of the leader rather than on an exchange process between leaders and followers. Leaders paint a vision of the desired future and communicate to influence followers the pain of change is worth the effort. They inspire followers to go beyond their own self-interest for the good of the group. They elevate the concerns of followers from lower-level physical needs such as safety and security to higher-level psychological needs like self-esteem and self-actualisation. They develop followers into leaders. 4. Transactional skills are important for all leaders, but in a world where success often demands continuous change, organisations need transformational leadership. Transformational leadership skills can be learned because they are not ingrained personality characteristics. Effective leaders exhibit both transactional and transformational leadership styles. CHARISMATIC LEADERSHIP 5. Charismatic leaders have an emotional impact on people and inspire them to do more than they would normally do, despite obstacles and personal sacrifice. Their passion for a mission inspires people to follow them and motivates people to rise above their own interests for the sake of achieving the goal. Whereas transformational leadership seeks to increase follower engagement and empowerment, charismatic leadership typically instills both awe and submission in followers. Charisma can be used for good or bad; when used wisely and ethically it can lift the entire organisation’s level of energy and performance. Charisma can come from pursuing activities for which you have a true passion for as this makes one energetic, enthusiastic, and attractive to others. E.g. Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group that has over 400 companies in various industries, never gets involved in a new business unless it’s something he has fun doing. His enthusiasm rubs off on everyone around him. 2  University of Guyana: MNG 2101: Business Leadership 2024/2025 6. Some characteristics of charismatic leaders that have helped them achieve unique results are: They articulate an idealized vision of a better future that inspires people and promotes a sense of connection among followers. They set high expectations and fire up people’s confidence that the vision can be achieved. They communicate complex ideas in clear and compelling ways for people to understand and identify with the message. They convey moral convictions and shared sentiments to demonstrate alignment of goals and expectations with the needs of followers. They effectively use nonverbal communication (body gestures, facial expressions, an animated voice) to demonstrate passion, touch emotions, and gain support. Their source of influence comes from personal characteristics rather than formal position of authority. Distinguishing Characteristics of Charismatic and Non-charismatic Leaders Non-charismatic Leaders Charismatic Leaders Likability Shared perspective makes Shared perspective and leader likeable. idealized vision make leader likeable and worthy of identification and imitation. Relation to status quo Try to maintain status quo. Create atmosphere for change. Future goals Limited goals agree with Idealised vision that status quo. disagrees with the status quo. Articulation Weak articulation of goals Strong and inspirational and motivation to lead. articulation of vision and motivation to lead. Behaviour Use available means to Use unconventional means achieve goals within to transcend the existing framework of the existing order. order. Influence Primarily through the Transcend position; personal authority of position and power based on expertise, rewards. respect, and admiration for the leader. COALITIONAL LEADERSHIP 7. Transformational and charismatic leadership focus on the individual leader who acts as a catalyst to bring about change in achieving a vision or goal. However, successful change also comes from the efforts of a coalition of people rather than a single leader. Coalitional leadership involves building a coalition of people who support the leader’s goals and can help influence others to implement the leader’s decisions and achieve the goals. 3  University of Guyana: MNG 2101: Business Leadership 2024/2025 8. Coalition leaders observe and understand patterns of interaction and influence in the organisation. They are skilled at developing connections with a broad network of people and can adapt their behaviour and approach to diverse people and situations. Coalitional leaders develop positive relationships both within and outside the organisation, and they spend their time learning others’ views and building mutually beneficial alliances. Coalition building seems to be especially important in the political arena. 9. Failing to build a coalition can allow conflicts and disagreements to derail a leader’s decisions, particularly if the opposition builds a powerful coalition of its own. Leaders always have to anticipate resistance, talk with people all across the organisation, and make sure their decisions will benefit the organisation. 10. Leaders can be more successful if they follow four steps for effective coalitional leadership: a. Coalitional leaders talk to lots of people. Leaders have conversations with people throughout the organisation to get information and a clear sense of the challenges and opportunities. b. Coalitional leaders visit customers and other stakeholders. This is to solicit the views and input of customers and influential stakeholders such as board members, government agencies and such like. c. Coalitional leaders develop a map of stakeholder buy-in. In mapping the level of buy-in for any significant change, leaders will encounter four types of people: (1) Advocates. These are persons inside and outside the organisation who are strong supporters and will help lead the change effort. (2) Partners. They support and encourage the change but will not actively lead it. (3) Resisters. These oppose the change and can even disrupt or sabotage the change efforts. (4) Observers. These have a neutral attitude toward the change initiatives. d. Coalitional leaders break down barriers and promote cross-silo cooperation. This is the final critical step in coalitional leadership and it seeks to continually break down barriers and promote cooperation and collaboration across all departments. E.g. At Tesla, Elon Musk sent an email cautioning that department managers “should work hard to ensure that they are not creating silos within the company that create an us vs. them mentality or impede communication in any way…Always view yourself as working for the good of the company and never your department.” 4  University of Guyana: MNG 2101: Business Leadership 2024/2025 MACHIAVELLIAN-STYLE LEADERSHIP 11. Niccolo Machiavelli was an Italian philosopher, historian and political strategist who wrote The Prince in 1513 as a guide to political leaders of how to acquire and use power. He argued, in essence, that the ends justify the means used to achieve one’s objectives. In other words, power is a tool to be used for securing the safety and stability of the organisation. 12. However, the term Machiavellian is now often associated with unscrupulous and diabolical behaviour aimed at increasing one’s power and personal gain. Many leaders, scholars, and politicians agree with Machiavelli that it isn’t possible in an imperfect world to lead with perfectly clean hands. They argue that leaders sometimes need to use bare-knuckle strategies to attain the power they need to get things done. 13. Machiavellian-style leaders are willing to use any means necessary to preserve and protect the wellbeing of an organisation. Some of the Machiavellian-style characteristics are: a. They are always on guard for risks and threats to their power. The leader is always alert to shifting loyalties among followers and will use manipulation or putting people against each other to retain or acquire more power to achieve goals. b. They don’t mind being feared. Machiavelli warned that trying to be well liked can backfire when difficult times call for tough actions. By being too merciful and generous, leaders can ultimately allow disorder to destroy the organisation. c. They will use deception if necessary. The leader has no problem maintaining or using power by deceptive means to ensure the safety of the organisation. d. They use rewards and punishments to shape behaviour. They don’t mind exploiting the fears and desires of people to get them to follow the rules and do what’s necessary for the overall good. 14. Coalitional leaders are highly political and focus on reaching out and working with others. Machiavellian-style leaders are also highly political, but they typically focus on gaining and using individual power. They strive to get control over information and resources so that people have to depend on them, which increases their power. 15. The foregoing four types of influential leadership rely strongly on a leader’s personal characteristics and relationships; each type relies on different assumptions and behaviours. Ultimately, all leaders rely on the use of power to influence others to get things done. TYPES OF POWER AND INFLUENCING TACTICS 16. Power is often defined as the potential ability of one person to influence others to carry out orders or do something they otherwise would nor have done. Organizationally, it is the potential ability of one person to influence followers to bring about desired outcomes. 17. Because power is the potential to influence, you do not have to actually use power to influence others. Often it is the perception of power, rather than the actual use of power, that influences others. There are two different sources of power, often categorized as position power or hard power and personal power or soft power. 5  University of Guyana: MNG 2101: Business Leadership 2024/2025 a. Position power (Hard power). This is derived from top management and it is delegated down the chain of command through hierarchical structures. Therefore, a person in a management position has more potential power to influence than an employee who is not a manager. Within an organisation, power could be viewed in a positive sense. Without power, managers could not achieve organizational objectives, so leadership and power go hand in hand. Managers rely on power to get the job done. b. Personal Power (Soft power). This is derived from the followers based on the leader’s behaviour. Even though some might feel powerless, everyone has the power to influence bosses and coworkers. One doesn’t have to be a manager to have power. Some informal leaders have more power to influence others than formal leaders. You can acquire power without taking it away from others. Generally, power is given to those who step up to lead and get results. A manager can have only position power or both position and personal power, but a nonmanager can only have personal power. 18. Power is commonly used to get what you want and achieve organizational objectives; you gain power by using influencing tactics in your behaviours. There are two sources of power, seven types of power, and nine influencing tactics. The table below shows the sources and types of power along with the appropriate influencing tactic to use. Sources and Types of Power with Influencing Tactics Sources of Position Power/Hard Power Personal Power/Soft Power Power Types of Legitimate Reward Coercive Connection Information Expert Referent Power Influencing Legitimisation Exchange Pressure Coalitions Rational Rational Personal Tactics Persuasion Persuasion Appeal Consultation Inspirational Inspirational Rational Appeal Persuasion Ingratiation LEGITIMATE POWER AND INFLUENCING TACTICS 19. Legitimate power is the authority a leader has been granted by an organisation. The use of legitimate power is appropriate when asking people to do something within the scope of their job. Most day to day manager-employee interactions are based on legitimate power; without legitimate power managers would find it difficult to influence followers. 20. Influencing Tactics. The behaviours used to exercise legitimate power are: a. Legitimisation tactics. This occurs when a leader makes requests based on their position or authority - managers assign work and employees have an obligation to do what the manager says within the scope of the job. b. Consultation tactics. This occurs when leaders seek the input of others to achieve a task; also known as participative management. 6  University of Guyana: MNG 2101: Business Leadership 2024/2025 c. Rational persuasion tactics. This occurs when leaders use logical arguments or factual evidence to influence others. When you use rational persuasion, do the following: (1) Explain the reason why the objective needs to be met. (2) Explain how the person will benefit by meeting the objective. Try to think of the other party’s often un-asked question: what’s in it for me? (3) Provide evidence the objective can be met. (4) Explain how potential problems and concerns will be handled. Know the potential problems and concerns and deal with them in the rational persuasion. To increase legitimate power, you must first have the authority over others, and you must exercise it regularly by following up whenever you give out tasks. REWARD POWER AND INFLUENCING TACTIC 21. Reward power is the authority a leader has to bestow rewards on others with something of value to them. A manager’s power can be strong or weak based on his ability to reward or punish. 22. Influencing Tactic. The behaviour used to exercise reward power is the exchange tactic. The exchange tactic occurs when a leader exchanges favours. Rewards provide an exchange relationship – you do this for the organisation, and the firm will do this for you in return. To increase reward power, you need to: (1) Gain and maintain control over evaluating the employee’s performance and determining their raises, promotions, and other rewards; (2) Let people know you control rewards, and clearly state your criteria for giving rewards. COERCIVE POWER AND INFLUENCING TACTIC 23. Coercive power is the authority a leader has to punish and withhold rewards to influence compliance. Leaders can use mechanisms such as fear of reprimand, probation, suspension, or dismissals if employees fail to comply. Other examples of coercive power are verbal abuse, humiliation, and ostracism. 24. Influencing Tactic. The behaviour used to exercise coercive power is the pressure tactic. This occurs when a leader uses threats or persistent reminders. When employees are unwilling to do as requested they may have to be pressured so as to maintain discipline and enforce the rules. Employees tend to resent managers’ use of coercive power, so it should be used judiciously. To increase coercive power, you need to: (1) Gain authority to use punishment and withhold rewards. 7  University of Guyana: MNG 2101: Business Leadership 2024/2025 (2) Don’t make rash threats; don’t use coercion to manipulate others or to gain personal benefits. (3) Be persistent. If you request followers do something, you need to follow up to ensure it’s done. EXPERT POWER AND INFLUENCING TACTIC 25. Expert power is the authority a leader has based on his skill and knowledge. Being an expert makes other people depend on you; people respect an expert. The more people come to you for advice, the greater your expert power. 26. Influencing Tactic. The behaviour used to exercise expert power is the rational persuasion influencing tactic. This is because people believe the experts know what they are saying and that it is correct. To increase expert power, you need to: (1) Absorb all training and educational opportunities the organisation offers. (2) Attend meetings of your trade or profession, read relevant publications, write articles for publication, keep up with the latest technology. (3) Project a positive self-concept; let people know of your expertise by proving you are an expert. REFERENT POWER AND INFLUENCING TACTICS 27. Referent power is the authority a leader has based on his personal relationships with others. It is getting others to do what we want to based on loyalty and friendship. Charismatic leaders tend to have referent power. 28. Influencing Tactics. The behaviours used to exercise referent power are: a. Personal appeal tactic. This occurs when a leader asks another to do a favour out of friendship or by appealing to followers’ values and ideals. b. Inspirational appeal tactic. This occurs when a leader makes a request or proposal designed to arouse enthusiasm or emotions of his followers. People are not always rational and sometimes discard facts, so inspirational appeals work well with people whose behaviour is more influenced by emotions than logical thinking. c. Ingratiation tactic. This occurs when a leader attempts to get followers in a good mood before making a request. It is the giving of praise and complimenting others before you ask them for what you want. Care has to be taken not to overdo lest people feel you are only complimenting them to get what you want. To increase referent power, you need to develop your skills, as well as develop and maintain good relationships with managers and peers. 8  University of Guyana: MNG 2101: Business Leadership 2024/2025 INFORMATION POWER AND INFLUENCING TACTICS 29. Information power is the authority a leader has based on data he possesses that is desired by others. It involves access to vital information and knowledge, as well as control over its distribution to others. 30. Influencing tactics. The behaviours used to exercise information power are rational persuasion and inspirational appeals. To increase information power, you need to have information flow through you, and know what’s going on in the organisation. CONNECTION POWER AND INFLUENCING TACTIC 31. Connection power is the authority a leader has because of his relationships with influential people. The right connections can give power, or at least the perception of power. 32. Influencing tactic. The behaviour used to exercise connection power is coalition tactic. The coalition tactic occurs when a leader seeks the aid or support of people to influence others. To expand your connection power, you should: a. Expand your network of contacts with important managers who have power. b. Join the “in-crowd” and the “right” associations and clubs. c. Identify the people who can help you attain it by making coalitions. d. Get people to know you. FOLLOWER RESPONSES TO THE USE OF POWER 33. Leaders use the various types of power to influence others to do what is necessary to accomplish organizational goals. There are three distinct outcomes that can result from the use of power, and these are: compliance, resistance, and commitment. a. Compliance. Compliance means that people follow the directions of the person in power, whether or not they agree with the directions. When leaders successfully use position power, or hard power, (legitimate, reward, coercive) the response will be compliance. b. Resistance. Resistance means that employees will deliberately try to avoid carrying out instructions or will try to disobey orders. If the use of hard power, especially coercion, exceeds a level people consider legitimate, some will resist the attempt to influence. c. Commitment. Commitment means that followers adopt the leader’s viewpoint and enthusiastically carry out instructions. When leaders successfully use personal power, or soft power, (expert, referent, information, connection) the response is likely to be commitment. While compliance is good, commitment is very important when the leader is promoting change. 9  University of Guyana: MNG 2101: Business Leadership 2024/2025 Successful leaders exercise both position and personal power to influence others. INCREASING POWER THROUGH POLITICAL ACTIVITY 34. In the workplace, a leader must have power to be able to accomplish what he wants. Acquiring and using power is largely a political process; in other words, politics is the process of gaining and using power in organisations. Politics involves activities to acquire, develop, and use power and other resources to attain desired future outcomes when there is uncertainty or disagreement about choices. 35. Leaders need to be politically skillful. The term politics can have negative connotations; but, having political skills is not about taking advantage of others or backstabbing to get along. Political skill in an organisation is about building relationships to help a leader meet his objectives. Just as how in the economy money is the medium of exchange, in an organisation politics is the medium of exchange; it’s the way work gets done. We should see politics as the rules of the game. A major way to learn to play it is to observe others to find out how things get done. 36. Politically skillful leaders strive to understand the viewpoints, needs, desires, and goals of others so as to be able to influence them to act in ways that help the leader accomplish their goals for the team or organisation. E.g. Leaders at most organisations engage in some level of political activity to influence government policies and decisions that would be beneficial to them. Think Exxon engaging in political activity in Guyana. 37. Leaders not only engage in political activity outside the organisation, but also inside the organisation. Political behaviour can be either a positive or negative force, and because uncertainty and conflict are natural in organisations, politics is a mechanism for achieving things that can’t be handled through formal policies or position power. 10  University of Guyana: MNG 2101: Business Leadership 2024/2025 LEADER FRAMES OF REFERENCE. 38. A leader’s worldview will influence how he deals with issues. What is his frame(s) of reference? A frame of reference is a perspective from which a leader views the world; it influences how the leader interacts with followers, makes decisions, and exercises power. According to research, there are four leader frames of reference: structural, human resource, political, and symbolic. Leaders often begin with a limited structural perspective and develop other frames of reference as they mature and climb higher in their leadership development and get a more balanced mindset and approach. 39. The Structural Frame. This leader frame of reference places emphasis on planning, setting goals, and clarifying expectations as a way to provide order, efficiency, and stability. The organisation is viewed as a machine and the leader strives for machine-like efficiency and values hard data and analysis for decision making. Leaders rely heavily on position power to influence others; they emphasise clear job descriptions, rules and procedures, and administrative systems. This frame views the organisation as a rational system and strives for clarity of direction and control of results. 40. The Human Resource Frame. This leader frame of reference defines problems and issues in interpersonal terms and looks for ways to adjust the organisation to meet human needs. Leaders do not rely solely on their position power to exert influence, but they focus on relationships and often lead through empowerment and engagement. Leaders use the human resource perspective to involve followers and give them opportunities for personal and professional development. The images of this view are a sense of family, belonging, and the organisation as a clan. 41. The Political Frame. This leader frame of reference views the organisation as an arena of conflict or tension over the allocation of scarce resources. Leaders spend time networking and building coalitions to influence decisions and actions. Leaders strive to build a power base and they use both position and personal power to achieve desired results. The mindset in the political frame is to be aware of the organisation as a jungle. Power and politics are considered a natural and healthy part of organisational life. 42. The Symbolic Frame. This leader frame of reference perceives the organisation as a system of shared meaning and focuses on shared vision, culture, and values to influence others. The mindset is to see the organisation as a theatre. Leaders are concerned with spirit and meaning, and they focus on harnessing followers’ dreams and emotions for the benefit of the organisation and all of its people. Charismatic leaders, for example, often are engaged in this frame. 43. The four frames of reference provide significant possibilities for enhancing a leader’s effectiveness, but each is incomplete. Many new leaders may start with a structural frame of reference and take time to develop the other frames. Leaders need to first understand their own natural frame, recognise its limitations, and learn to integrate multiple frames to achieve their full leadership potential. 11  University of Guyana: MNG 2101: Business Leadership 2024/2025 POLITICAL TACTICS FOR ASSERTING LEADER INFLUENCE 44. A leader’s power is useless unless it’s applied to influence others to implement decisions, facilitate change, and accomplish goals. Leaders have to determine the best approach for using their power to influence others. They have to consider the individuals, groups, and situations involved, as well as the basic principles that can cause people to change their behaviours or attitudes. 45. The many successful influence tactics used by leaders fall into some broad categories based on general principles for asserting influence. There are six principles for asserting leader influence: appeal to higher vision, rational persuasion, liking and friendliness, reciprocity, developing allies, and direct appeal. Most of them rely on the use of personal or soft power rather than on position or hard power. a. Appeal to a Vision or Higher Purpose. One effective way to attract people to new behaviours or to make significant changes is to frame the request in a way that emphasizes the vision or higher purpose of the change. Providing people with meaning can help them to see that the effort is worthwhile. E.g. To influence 10,000 overworked and stressed out health care workers to provide exceptional patient services, a president of a health care facility would bring in former patients to talk about their experiences and how the actions of individual workers affected their health and well-being. b. Use Rational Persuasion. This is one of the most frequently used influence tactics as it uses facts, data, and logical arguments to persuade others that a proposed idea or request is the best way to complete a task or accomplish a desired goal. It can be effective whether it is directed upward to superiors, downward to subordinate, or horizontally to peers. This is most effective when the leader has expert power; referent power can play a role when the leader has credibility. c. Help People to Like You. Followers like leaders who listen, show concern for what others want and need, find common ground, demonstrate respect, and treat people fairly. Most people will like a leader who makes them feel good about themselves. 12  University of Guyana: MNG 2101: Business Leadership 2024/2025 When followers like a leader, it’s more likely they will provide help and support by doing what the leader asks. d. Rely on the Rule of Reciprocity. A primary way to turn power into influence is to share what you have, whether it’s time, resources, services, or emotional support. Most people feel a sense of obligation to give something back in return for favours others do for them. The rule of reciprocity means that leaders who do favours for others can expect others to do favours for them in return. e. Develop Allies. Leaders need to develop a network of allies who can help them accomplish their goals. Leaders can influence others by taking the time to talk with followers and other leaders outside of formal meetings to understand their needs, concerns, and viewpoints. Leaders also need to actively build bridges and win over opponents. Some leaders expand their networks through the hiring, transfer, and promotion process, by placing persons in key positions who are sympathetic to the leader’s goals and objectives. f. Ask for What You Want. Be clear about what you want and openly ask for it. Leaders must be willing to sometimes argue forcefully to persuade others to their point of view. If leaders are unwilling to ask or persuade, they will seldom get the results they want. Political activity is effective only when the leader’s vision, goals, and desired changes are made explicit so the organisation can respond. 46. Leaders can use an understanding of these tactics to influence and get things done. When leaders ignore political tactics, they may find themselves failing without understanding why. Even when a leader has a great deal of power, political tactics are more effective than force for turning power into influence. ABUSE OF LEADERSHIP POWER “He who has great power should use it lightly.” Seneca, Roman Philosopher 47. Former US President Harry Truman once said leadership is the ability to get people to do what they don’t want to do and like it. Leadership is an opportunity to use power and influence to accomplish important organizational goals; however, power can also be abused. People and organisations get hurt when leaders fall into the temptation to use power for their own benefit rather than for the good of the whole. 48. A leader’s approach to the use of power can either be personalized or socialized. The table below shows the differences between the two approaches to the use of leadership. 13  University of Guyana: MNG 2101: Business Leadership 2024/2025 Personalised Leadership Socialised Leadership Power is exercised for the need of the Power is exercised in the service of higher individual. goals to benefit others and the organisation. Based on caring about self. Based on valuing others. Selfish, impulsive, lack self-control. Self-sacrifice, empowering style, supportive. 49. Leaders should always take care to use their power in a responsible manner. Some criteria to guide leaders in deciding whether an intended action is a responsible use of leadership power or unethical are: a. Is the action motivated by self-interest or is it consistent with the organisation’s goals? b. Does the action respect the rights of individuals or groups affected by it? c. Does the action meet the standards of fairness? d. Would the leader want others to behave in the same way? Having an honest response to these questions can serve to guide the leader on whether an intended act is a responsible and ethical use of power. Guidelines for the Responsible Use of Power THE DARK SIDE OF LEADERSHIP 50. The importance of leadership cannot be doubted. Leadership determines whether countries are democracies or dictatorships, at war or at peace, whether businesses are good investments or kleptocracies, whether teams win or lose, whether healthcare and education reforms fail or succeed, whether city councils keep the city clean or not. Leadership plays a pervasive part in our lives. 14  University of Guyana: MNG 2101: Business Leadership 2024/2025 51. Research has shown though that most people are woefully inadequate at leading and influencing an organized group to accomplish goals because of bad leadership. Three issues associated with bad leadership or the dark side of leadership are destructive leadership, managerial incompetence, and managerial derailment. a. Destructive Leadership. Destructive leaders are those who are effective at engaging followers, building teams, and getting results. However, those results are morally or ethically reprehensible or undermine organizational success. Destructive leadership happens in every setting - government or political leadership (Hitler, Stalin, Saddam Hussein), military (My Lai massacre, Rwanda, Bosnia), business and financial setting (Enron, Lehman), religious leadership (Jim Jones). Destructive leadership also happens at a variety of levels in organisations – first-line supervisors, mid-level managers, or executives can disagree with company policies and strategies and influence followers to engage in action not beneficial to the company. b. Managerial Incompetence. Incompetent management is associated with individuals who cannot engage followers, build teams or get results through others. Research show that most people in management positions are perceived as incompetent. An easy way to determine the level of incompetence of people in authority is to use the Dr. Gordy test. Ask yourself how many of your past bosses would you willingly work for again. The irony is that even though managerial incompetence can be found in many organisations, business still make money, the military can still wage wars and win, children continue to get educated. This is because organisations may not need every person in authority to be a competent manager. The key is to have a higher percentage of competent managers than competitors in pivotal leadership roles. Research has shown that organisations with higher percentages of competent managers in critical positions are more successful than those with fewer competent managers who are not well placed. c. Managerial Derailment. This is closely associated with managerial incompetence. There are some common reasons why people fail in leading others, including unpreparedness for promotion, inability to build teams, inability to achieve business objectives, inability to get along with others, or inability to adapt to new situations. There are also situational and follower factors that contribute to leadership derailment and these include a lack of organizational fit, limited situational and self- awareness, a shortage of intelligence and relevant expertise, poor followership, dark- side personality traits, problems with leadership motivation, and common misunderstandings about leadership. The figure below highlights these: 15  University of Guyana: MNG 2101: Business Leadership 2024/2025 Why Leaders Fail SPIRITUAL VALUES AND LEADERSHIP “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when a wicked man rules, the people groan.” Proverbs 29:2 52. Some leaders incorporate values that may be considered spiritual into their workplace practices and policies, and it has been found that those who do, in addition to the traditional mental and behavioural aspects of leadership, tend to be successful leaders. 53. Spiritual leadership is the display of values, attitudes, and behaviours that intrinsically motivate oneself and others to satisfy fundamental needs for spiritual well- being through calling and membership. Spiritual leadership behaviours help employees have a sense of calling that provides deeper life meaning through work. It also provides a sense of membership through a work community where people feel understood and appreciated. Ultimately, the outcome for the organisation is improved commitment and productivity. 54. Spiritual leadership addresses followers’ higher order needs for membership and self- actualization. This is intrinsic motivation because the work provides interest and enjoyment for its own sake. Intrinsic motivation provides for better learning, higher performance, and enhanced well-being. 55. Spiritual leadership is exercised by: a. First, leaders creating a vision through which followers experience a sense of calling that gives meaning to their work. The vision would have broad appeal, reflect high ideals, and establish a standard of excellence. 16  University of Guyana: MNG 2101: Business Leadership 2024/2025 b. Second, leaders establishing a corporate culture based on altruistic love (forgiveness, genuine caring, compassion, kindness, honesty, patience, courage), which enables people to experience a sense of membership and feel understood. One executive said: “You’re at work 8-10 hours a day. Work is where people are at and where they need to be cared for.” c. Leaders engaging in hope and faith to help the organisation achieve its desired outcomes. Faith is demonstrated through action; this means not only believing in the ability to excel but striving for excellence to achieve a personal best with a clear expectation of victory through effort. 56. A leader exercising spiritual leadership will create an environment where there is workplace spirituality. Workplace spirituality is a way of believing, behaving, and relating in the workplace to an ultimate value or purpose, that is a higher power. Leaders who build spirituality into the culture seek to connect to employees’ minds, spirits, and their physical labour to help them be part of a community and find purpose and meaning in their work. Values and practices seen as spiritual ideals include integrity, humility, respect, appreciation for the contributions of others, fair treatment, and personal reflection. Workplace spirituality helps people to combine their spiritual values and their work life. 57. Workplace spirituality provides people with better mental and physical health, an enhanced sense of self-worth, and greater personal growth. For the organisation, this manifests itself in increased productivity, a greater sense of employee loyalty and commitment, and reduced absenteeism and worker turnover. 58. Spiritual leadership and workplace spirituality can decrease or eliminate negative emotions and conflicts in the workplace and provide a stronger foundation for personal well- being. There are four main types of destructive emotions to guard against: a. Fear, including anxiety and worry. b. Anger, including hostility, resentment, and jealousy. c. Sense of failure, including discouragement and depressed mood. d. Pride, including prejudice, selfishness, and conceit. These destructive emotions typically arise from fear of losing something important or not getting something, one desires. 59. Spiritual leadership will always foster a workplace climate to engage people in work that provides both service and meaning, and create a positive impact on employees and the community. END 17