Text b the leadership challenge

Traditional management teaching would have us believe that the ideal organization is orderly and stable. Yet, when successful leaders talk about their personal best achievements, they talk about challenging the process, about changing things, about shaking up the organization. The leadership challenge is about how leaders get extraordinary things done in organizations. It is about the practices leaders use to turn challenging opportunities into remarkable successes.

The effective leaders do not focus their attention on the short term, the quarterly statements, and the annual report, they have a long-term orientation. They look beyond the horizon of the present. Transactional leaders guide followers in the direction of established goals by clarifying role and task requirements. However, transformational leaders, who are charismatic and visionary, can inspire followers to transcend their own self-interest for the good of the organization. Transformational leaders appeal to followers' ideals and moral values and inspire them to think about problems in new or different ways.

Leaders must have a vision (see “Texts for Supplementary Reading”, Operating Guidelines), a sense of direction, but the vision can spring from original thinking or represent the inspiration of something else. In fact, leaders attract followers not because of their willful defiance but because of their deep respect for the aspirations of others.

Some people think that leaders ought to be cool, aloof and analytical – separating emotion from work Actually, when leaders discuss the things they are proud of in their own careers, they describe feelings of inspiration, passion, elation, intensity, challenge, caring, kindness.

To be sure, leaders must be energetic and enthusiastic. But a leader’s dynamism does not come from special powers. It comes from a strong belief in a purpose and willingness to express that conviction.The most effective leaders are involved and in touch with those they lead. They care deeply about others, and they often refer to those with whom they work as family.

Tradition suggests that leaders direct and control others by giving orders and by issuing policies and procedures. But leaders know that the more they control others, the less likely it is that people will excel. Leaders do not control, they enable others to act. Leaders’ deeds are far more important than their words. Credibility of action is the single most significant determinant of whether a leader will be followed over time.

Leadership is not associated with superior position and when you are on top you are not automatically a leader, because leadership is not a place, it is a process. It involves skills and abilities that are useful whether one is in the executive suite or on the front line. In accordance with leaders’ authority we can classify leadership styles.

The three main types of leaders based on how they use their authority are described as autocratic, democratic and free-rein leader.

The autocratic leader is defined as one who commands and expects compliance, who is dogmatic and positive, and who leads by the ability to withhold or give rewards and punishment.

The democratic, or participative, leader consults with subordinates on proposed actions and decisions and encourages participation from them. This type of leader is seen in ranging from the person who does not take action without subordinates’ concurrence to the one who makes decisions but consults with subordinates before doing so.

The third type of a leader uses his or her power very little, if at all, giving subordinates a high degree of independence, or free-rein, in their operations. Such leaders depend largely on subordinates to set their own goals and the means of achieving them, and they see their role as one of aiding the operations of followers by giving them the necessary information and acting primarily as a contact with the group’s external environment.

Leaders do exhibit certain distinct practices when they are doing their best. And this behavior varies little from industry to industry, profession to profession. Good leadership is not only an understandable but also a universal process. It is a process ordinary managers use when they are bringing forth the best from themselves and others.

The domain of leaders is the future. The most significant contribution leaders make is not to today’s bottom-line but to the long-term development of people and institutions who prosper and grow. But more than that, leadership is important not only in your dealings with others but the equality in your own career. It is the leader who reaches the summit in any field.

Because leadership development is ultimately self-development, the leadership challenge is, in the end, a personal challenge.

Exercise 13. Comprehension. Say if the statements are true or false. Correct the false variant.

1. The effective leaders do focus their attention on the short term, the quarterly statements, and the annual report.

2. Transformational leaders appeal to followers' ideals and moral values.

3. Leaders ought to be cool, aloof and analytical – separating emotion from work.

4. A leader’s energy and enthusiasm arise from special powers.

5. Leadership comes from the position power and authority.

6. The most effective leaders care deeply about their followers.

7. Leaders direct and control others by giving orders and by issuing policies and procedures.

8. The free-rein leader keeps a tight rein on his employees.

9. Good leadership is a process ordinary managers use when they are bringing forth the best from themselves and others.

Exercise 14. Comprehension. Answer the questions.

1. How are leadership styles classified?

2. What kind of a leader is the autocratic leader? How does he or she use the position power and authority?

3. Why is the democratic leader also called participative?

4. How is the free-rein leader described?

5. What does he expect his subordinates to do? What do his followers expect from him?

6. What do you think of each leadership style?

7. Which leadership style do you use most often?

8. What are the strengths and weaknesses of that style in your specific situation?

9. Do you agree that an individual can learn to be a leader?

10. What is your viewpoint on the ability to lead?

11. Do you have any experience in this subject?

12. Do you agree that it is a fascinating subject? Why (not)?

Exercise 15. Find in the text similar meanings.

can be defined; major styles; independent; to give orders; obedience; established in his beliefs; to keep back; to impose penalty; to ask for advice or opinion; to inspire; without smb’s agreement; to create an atmosphere for independent activities; to rely on smb. to a great extent; to set individual objectives; the ways to accomplish goals; to help employees in their work; to share information; in the first place; outside world.

Exercise 16. Say what you’ve learned from the text about

a) the leadership challenge; b) three main types of leaders;

c) the roles of the leaders in each leadership style.

Exercise17. Crossword puzzle. All the terms are taken from texts A and B.

ACROSS

1. Someone good in conduct or character.

5. Someone given formal authority to achieve goals.

9. Charismatic and visionary leader.

10. Qualities that have intrinsic worth and will not be compromised.

					1						2		3
			4
		5
		6														8
								7
		9
	10

DOWN

1. Setting and achieving organizational goals.

2. Leader who shares authority.

3. Leader who clarifies roles and tasks.

4. A distinguishing characteristic.

6. Leader who does not share authority.

7. The desire that moves an employee to achieve goals.

8. Interpersonal influence to achieve goals.

Exercise18. Supplementary reading for further discussion.

The leader causes the creation of the lifestyle of the organization. This can happen through direct positive action or indirect negative action. Doing nothing also creates a lifestyle.

In establishing the lifestyles that produce a successful operation, things have to be arranged, established, exampled, handled and done. These are basic actions that have to be taken in order to make any management job successful.

The common entity in all operations, successful or not, is the leader.

Someone has to run everything, and that someone has the most influence over whether an effort will be successful. This is not an attempt to provide a system of leadership that always succeeds. Could such a process ever exist? If it did, all the fun would go out of the subject*!

The title and visible signs that go along with power do not produce power all by themselves*. The way the leader uses them to cause action determines their worth.

Getting people to cooperate enthusiastically – that is what leadership is all about!

Notes

*If it did, all the fun would go out of the subject. *…do not produce power all by themselves

Если бы было так, то пропал бы весь интерес к этой проблеме. …сами по себе не являются источником власти

Exercise19. Find in the text similar meaning.

to develop the climate of the organization

to influence directly

the key components of effective management

the common feature

to manage everything

an effort

to be successful

obvious things that go together

to stimulate performance

to decide on the degrees of value

to make people work willingly

to mean

Exercise20. Think and answer.

• What do you think of the statement that “doing nothing also creates a lifestyle”?

• What can you say about the lifestyle in your organization?

• What are the basic actions to be taken to make a management job successful?

• Is your leader working hard in establishing an effective environment? Does he succeed in doing so? Why (not)?

• Do you agree that everything depends on the leader in making group efforts successful? If not, what do you think about it?

• Why do you think it’s so important to get people to cooperate enthusiastically? Is it an easy task?

• Do you see the ways to stimulate your colleagues for better performance? What are they?

• What do you think is the most important thing in leadership?