2. Introduction to Leadership Topic 1 - 1.2
Scope and Coverage
This lecture introduces the topic of leadership by
defining the subject and providing an overview of
the distinction between leadership and
management and explores its significance to 21st
Century organisations.
3. Introduction to Leadership Topic 1 - 1.3
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this topic students will be able to:
Define leadership
Critically review the differences between leadership
and management
Understand the significance of leadership to the
success of contemporary organizations
4. Introduction to Leadership Topic 1 - 1.4
Working on your own…
• Reflect for a few minutes and write your own
definition of leadership
Working together…
• Compare your definition with a
colleague/colleagues…
• What are the similarities and differences?
What is Leadership?
5. Introduction to Leadership Topic 1 - 1.5
‘Leadership is one of the most observed and least understood
phenomena on earth.’ (Burns, 1978)
‘Leadership is to produce
change, and set the
direction of the change.’
(Kotter, 1990)
‘Leadership inevitably
requires using power to
influence the thoughts
and actions of other
people.’ (Zaleznik, 1992)
‘Leadership is a process whereby
an individual influences a group
of individuals to achieve a
common goal’ (Northouse, 2018)
A social influence process of
persuasion; a leader exerts
influence in the organisational
context. (Yukl, 2010)
8. Introduction to Leadership Topic 1 - 1.8
Leadership as a Process
• A leader affects
(and is affected
by) followers and
the situation in
which he or she
operates
Bratton (2015)
9. Introduction to Leadership Topic 1 - 1.9
Leadership and Management
Managers are people who do things right and leaders are
people who do the right things.’ Bennis and Goldsmith (2010)
Management - status quo, consistency, order and efficiency,
Leadership - vision, strategy, communications and change.
(Bratton, 2015)
‘We manage things but we lead people’ (Adair, 2005)
‘...the manager administers, the leader innovates; the manager is a
copy, the leader is an original; the manager maintains, the leader
develops...’ (Bennis, 1989)
10. Introduction to Leadership Topic 1 - 1.10
Comparing Management and Leadership
Daft (2011)
Management Leadership
Direction Planning and budgeting
Keeping eye on bottom line
Creating vision and strategy
Keeping eye on horizon
Alignment Organizing and staffing
Directing and controlling
Creating boundaries
Creating shared culture and values
Helping others grow
Reducing boundaries
Relationships Focusing on objects – producing/selling
goods and services
Based on position power
Acting as boss
Focusing on people – inspiring and
motivating followers
Based on personal power
Acting as coach, facilitator, servant
Personal
Qualities
Emotional distance
Expert mind
Talking
Conformity
Insight into organization
Emotional connections (Heart)
Open mind (Mindfulness)
Listening (Communication)
Nonconformity (Courage)
Insight into self (Character)
Outcomes Maintains stability; creates culture of
efficiency
Creates change and a culture of integrity
11. Introduction to Leadership Topic 1 - 1.11
• Leadership and management cannot be
differentiated (a manager is by definition the same
as a leader).
• Leadership is a broader concept than management
(Hersey and Blanchard, 1988).
• Leadership is one of the many roles of a manager
(Mintzberg, 1980)
• Leadership and management can be sharply
differentiated to the extent of calling some people
leaders and some people managers (Kotter, 1990;
Zaleznik, 1977).
Distinguishing Leadership and
Management
12. Introduction to Leadership Topic 1 - 1.12
Managers
Unidirectional Authority
Leaders
Multidirectional Influence
• Are reactive
• Prefer to work with
people on problem
solving
• Low emotional
involvement
• Are emotionally active
& involved
• Shape ideas over
responding to them
• Act to expand
available options
• Change the way people
think about what is
possible
13. Introduction to Leadership Topic 1 - 1.13
‘Leadership is lauded as the contemporary, superior
successor to management. Management, with its
aura of failed expectations, is regarded as belonging
to a past century; leadership promises a bright new
tomorrow.’ (Ford et al., 2008: 3)
Management is not only leadership nor is leadership
only management; however, those appointed to a
position of responsibility need to appreciate what
leadership is expected of them. (Bass, 1985)
The Denigration of Management
14. Introduction to Leadership Topic 1 - 1.14
Management
Activities
Leadership
Activities
“Produces order
and consistency”
• Planning & Budgeting
• Organizing & Staffing
• Controlling & Problem Solving
“Produces change
and movement”
• Establishing direction
• Aligning people
• Motivating / Inspiring
Major activities of management & leadership
are played out differently; BUT, both are essential
for an organization to prosper.
Leadership Vs Management
Kotter (1990)
15. Introduction to Leadership Topic 1 - 1.15
Leadership, Management and Change
A traditional view:
• Management produces orderly results that keep things
working efficiently
• Leadership creates useful (culture) change
• Both are needed if organizations are to prosper (Kotter, 1990)
A critical perspective:
• Leadership is as much about the resistance to change as it
is about the creation of change
• Change as a problem-solving activity where management is
about coping with problems that reoccur and leadership
deals with new complex problems with no certain answers
and largely ambiguous in nature (Grint, 2005)
16. Introduction to Leadership Topic 1 - 1.16
• Difficult to show causal links between leadership and
performance
• Questionable the degree of influence exerted by ‘the leader’,
the organization’s circumstances, or effects of the ‘market’
• 44 % of the profitability of the organizations studied was
accounted for by changing the leader (Weiner and Mahoney, 1981)
• Toxic Leadership arises when leaders use their influence or
power for personal ends and leave followers worse off than
they found them (Northouse, 2018). Preconditions:
- destructive leader;
- susceptible followers;
- weak checks and balances.
Leadership and Organisational Success
17. Introduction to Leadership Topic 1 - 1.17
Summary
• There is no universally accepted definition of leadership but
a common thread emerges of a process of social influence
designed to achieve organizational goals and linked to notions
of power and change.
• The meaning of leadership is complex and includes many
dimensions. For some people, leadership is a trait or
an ability, for others it is a skill or a behaviour, and for still
others it is a relationship or a process. Each dimension
explains a facet of leadership.
• An approach common in the literature is to distinguish
leadership from another concept – that of management. In
reality, both are needed in balance.
18. Introduction to Leadership Topic 1 - 1.18
References
• Adair, J. (2005) How to Grow Leaders, London, Kogan Page
• Bennis, W. (1989) On Becoming a Leader, Philadelphia, PA: Perseus Books
• Bennis, W. and Goldsmith, J. (2010) Learning to Lead: A Workbook on
becoming a Leader, New York, Basic Books
• Bratton, J. (2015) Introduction to Work and Organizational Behaviour, 3rd
Edition, Palgrave
• Burns, J.M. (1978) Leadership, New York, Harper and Row
• Daft R. L. (2011) Leadership. 5th edn. London: South-western Cengage
Learning
• Grint, K. (2005) Problems, problems, problems: The social construction of
leadership. Human Relations, 58(11): 1467-1494.
• Hersey, P. and Blanchard, K.H. (1988) Management of Organisational
Behaviour, 5th edition. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
19. Introduction to Leadership Topic 1 - 1.19
References (cont.)
• Kotter, J. P. (1990) 'What leaders really do', Harvard Business Review, May-
June, pp. 103-111
• Mintzberg, H. (1980) The Nature of Managerial Work. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Prentice Hall. (Original work published in 1973.)
• Northouse, P.G. (2018) Introduction to Leadership, 4th ed. London: Sage.
• Yukl, G. (2010) Leading in Organizations, 7th Edition. Upper Saddle River,
NJ: Pearson.
• Zaleznik, A. (1977) Managers and leaders: Are they different? Harvard
Business Review, May/June: 13-2
• Zaleznik, A. (1992) 'Managers and Leaders: Are they different?', Harvard
Business Review, March-April, pp. 126-135.
• Zoller, H.M. and Fairhurst, G.T. (2007) Resistance leadership: the
overlooked potential in critical organization and leadership studies. Human
Relations, 60(9): 1331-1360.
20. Topic 1 – Introduction to Leadership
Any Questions?
