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MODULE V
LEADERSHIP
Leadership is the ability to lead or guide people towards the accomplishment of a common
goal. Leadership involves the following.
Vision
Ability to convince others
Ability to inspire others
Providing knowledge and strategy
Coordinating and guiding
Balancing the interests of everyone
Being resilient at times of crises
According to John C. Maxwell, a leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows
the way. Leaders lead people by their influence and charisma rather than authority.
FRAMEWORK TO ANALYSE LEADERSHIP
The leadership framework consists of three elements – leader, follower and the situation.
1. The Leader
The traits of the leader, his expertise and his societal/ organisational positions are
the key factors.
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2. Followers
The shared values, norms and extent of bonding between the followers influence
how they perform as a group and how they respond to their leader
3. Situation
Nature of the goal to be attained, the level of stress, the stakes and the general
environment make each situation unique. The interaction between leader and
followers depend largely on the situation.
PEOPLE DEVELOPMENT
In the development stage, leaders try their best to develop new leaders to maintain the
momentum of good performance of the organisation. The leaders inspire the members to rise
up to their maximum potential by influencing their lives. The overall effectiveness of the
organisation gets increased if the new leaders are emerged. This is about identifying the
leadership material and finding out the strengths and weaknesses.
CULTURAL DIMENSIONS OF LEADERSHIP
Leadership in organizations is dictated and determined according to a variety of reasons and
factors including personality, cultural, country and regional aspects. Among the various factors,
the cultural dimension of leadership is often not highlighted. However, with globalization and
the advent of tighter integration and interconnectedness, there is a need to study how
leadership is determined by cultural factors and cultural exchanges between the West and the
East play out when determining how leaders behave.
With globalization, leaders and managers in the East have learnt to adopt a more democratic
style of leadership as opposed to the authoritarian leadership that was hitherto practiced.
Further, leaders in the West have begun to understand that the way things are done in the East
is radically different from the way they are done in the East and hence they need to be
cognizant of these differing approaches to management.
The cultural dimensions of leadership can be based on the following.
Leadership in the East and the West
The pioneering work of the Dutch psychologist, Geert Hofstede is often cited and
quoted to emphasize the differences in leadership between the west and the east that
are determined by cultural reasons. For instance, culture plays a very important role in
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determining the leaders’ actions especially where the decision-making, attitudes
towards diversity and treatment of people down the hierarchies are concerned. It is the
case that leaders in the East tend to be authoritarian in their decision making styles as
opposed to democratic and consensual in the West.
Further, leaders in the East tend to view diversity by masculine behavior. In contrast,
diversity is practiced actively in the West and the leaders in many Western companies
often do more than what is required by the law in these cases.
Next, the attitude towards those lower down in the hierarchy in the West is more
accommodative and conciliatory whereas in the East, leaders at the top tend to view
their subordinates according to strict classifications of seniority conditioned by
cultural factors. These are some of the differences in leadership between the East and
the West as presented by Hofstede in his work.
In short, leaders in the East and those in the West are different in their cultures in
three aspects namely,
1. Decision making styles
2. Diversity
3. Attitude towards subordinates
GROWING AS A LEADER
Corporations, governments, universities and global development organizations alike have a
shortage of quality leaders. However, more than ever before, the need for globally minded
leaders is at an all time high. While leadership is not something that is developed overnight, it is
a skill that can be developed. The following tips are proven to help you grow as a globally
minded leader.
1. Write down Your Goals
Research has found that if you write down your goals, even if you never look at them
again, you have a much higher likelihood of achieving them. You have to document your
dream position, the skills you want to develop, and even the things you want to do from
a personal standpoint.
2. Develop Your Grit
More than any other skill, Grit is the best predictor of success. By becoming aware of
your “grittiness”, and learning how to strengthen it, you will be more likely to succeed in
all walks of life.
Downloaded from Ktunotes.in
MODULE V
LEADERSHIP
Leadership is the ability to lead or guide people towards the accomplishment of a common
goal. Leadership involves the following.
Vision
Ability to convince others
Ability to inspire others
Providing knowledge and strategy
Coordinating and guiding
Balancing the interests of everyone
Being resilient at times of crises
According to John C. Maxwell, a leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows
the way. Leaders lead people by their influence and charisma rather than authority.
FRAMEWORK TO ANALYSE LEADERSHIP
The leadership framework consists of three elements – leader, follower and the situation.
1. The Leader
The traits of the leader, his expertise and his societal/ organisational positions are
the key factors.
Downloaded from Ktunotes.in
, 2
2. Followers
The shared values, norms and extent of bonding between the followers influence
how they perform as a group and how they respond to their leader
3. Situation
Nature of the goal to be attained, the level of stress, the stakes and the general
environment make each situation unique. The interaction between leader and
followers depend largely on the situation.
PEOPLE DEVELOPMENT
In the development stage, leaders try their best to develop new leaders to maintain the
momentum of good performance of the organisation. The leaders inspire the members to rise
up to their maximum potential by influencing their lives. The overall effectiveness of the
organisation gets increased if the new leaders are emerged. This is about identifying the
leadership material and finding out the strengths and weaknesses.
CULTURAL DIMENSIONS OF LEADERSHIP
Leadership in organizations is dictated and determined according to a variety of reasons and
factors including personality, cultural, country and regional aspects. Among the various factors,
the cultural dimension of leadership is often not highlighted. However, with globalization and
the advent of tighter integration and interconnectedness, there is a need to study how
leadership is determined by cultural factors and cultural exchanges between the West and the
East play out when determining how leaders behave.
With globalization, leaders and managers in the East have learnt to adopt a more democratic
style of leadership as opposed to the authoritarian leadership that was hitherto practiced.
Further, leaders in the West have begun to understand that the way things are done in the East
is radically different from the way they are done in the East and hence they need to be
cognizant of these differing approaches to management.
The cultural dimensions of leadership can be based on the following.
Leadership in the East and the West
The pioneering work of the Dutch psychologist, Geert Hofstede is often cited and
quoted to emphasize the differences in leadership between the west and the east that
are determined by cultural reasons. For instance, culture plays a very important role in
Downloaded from Ktunotes.in
, 3
determining the leaders’ actions especially where the decision-making, attitudes
towards diversity and treatment of people down the hierarchies are concerned. It is the
case that leaders in the East tend to be authoritarian in their decision making styles as
opposed to democratic and consensual in the West.
Further, leaders in the East tend to view diversity by masculine behavior. In contrast,
diversity is practiced actively in the West and the leaders in many Western companies
often do more than what is required by the law in these cases.
Next, the attitude towards those lower down in the hierarchy in the West is more
accommodative and conciliatory whereas in the East, leaders at the top tend to view
their subordinates according to strict classifications of seniority conditioned by
cultural factors. These are some of the differences in leadership between the East and
the West as presented by Hofstede in his work.
In short, leaders in the East and those in the West are different in their cultures in
three aspects namely,
1. Decision making styles
2. Diversity
3. Attitude towards subordinates
GROWING AS A LEADER
Corporations, governments, universities and global development organizations alike have a
shortage of quality leaders. However, more than ever before, the need for globally minded
leaders is at an all time high. While leadership is not something that is developed overnight, it is
a skill that can be developed. The following tips are proven to help you grow as a globally
minded leader.
1. Write down Your Goals
Research has found that if you write down your goals, even if you never look at them
again, you have a much higher likelihood of achieving them. You have to document your
dream position, the skills you want to develop, and even the things you want to do from
a personal standpoint.
2. Develop Your Grit
More than any other skill, Grit is the best predictor of success. By becoming aware of
your “grittiness”, and learning how to strengthen it, you will be more likely to succeed in
all walks of life.
Downloaded from Ktunotes.in
