24 OKTOBER 2022
LEADERSHIP: MOBILIZING PEOPLE
SUMMARY OF THE LECTURES
DECISION MAKING IN BUSINESS AND SOCIETY
Vrije Universiteit van Amsterdam
,Leadership: Mobilizing People
Lecture 1 05-09-2022
What is leadership?
Definition of leadership: there is plenty of definitions, choice/mess, there is no one
definition
“Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to
achieve a common goal.”
“Leadership involves influence. It is concerned with how the leader affects followers.
Influence is the sine qua non of leadership. Without influence, leadership does not
exist.”
“Leadership includes attention to common goals. Leaders direct their energies toward
individuals who are trying to achieve something together.”
“The ability of an individual to influence, motivate, and enable others to contribute
toward the effectiveness and success of the organizations of which they are
members.”
Leaders influence people, change their perceptions/thinking, try to motivate others
and change their behavior, provide them with the resources that enable them.
Leaders versus Managers: theoretically these terms are distinguished.
Manager = plan and budget, organize and staff, administrator, control and solve
problems, produce consistency and order
Leader = communicating visions, motivating, encouraging people, intangible aspect,
establish direction, align people, motivate and inspire, are concerned with productive
or adaptive change.
Framework for leadership research
Effective leaders in organizations motivate and enable others to achieve
organizationally relevant goals. Goals have a great variety. Leaders should be
concerned with a variety of goals.
Organizationally relevant goals are…
- Productive output of a unit meets the standards of quantity, quality, and
timeliness of its clients
- High levels of social integration within an unit
- High levels of continuous learning and well-being of unit members
- Goals and means to achieve goals are ethical
1
,Context (= leadership situation) influences individual characteristics, behaviours and
therefore the effectiveness.
The trait approach
Are leaders born or are leaders made? Is it all predetermined from birth, is it in the
genes?
What is a trait? A trait is a stable characteristic of a person. Consistency in behavior.
Can be psychological or physical.
Psychological traits that are important for leaders
Most important (common) traits for leaders – intelligence and personality
2
, Leadership emergence: the likelihood of a person becoming a leader.
Leadership effectiveness: How is a person doing in a leadership position.
Physical features and leadership
Height – On average leaders that emerge are taller.
Weight – the relationship between weight and salary depend on gender. The
relationship is positive for men but negative for women. The heavier a man gets, the
more he earns. The heavier a woman gets, the less she earns.
Facial asymmetry – research has shown that people with facial asymmetry have a
more transformational leadership style, these people are more caring, team
performance. Proposition that people born with asymmetries tend to develop greater
empathy, social intelligence, and motivational skills as a way of overcoming
unfavorable perceptions of others. People with facial asymmetry compensate these
traits.
Psychological features and leadership
“The aggregate of the global capacity to act purposefully, think rationally, and deal
effectively with the environment.”
“Ability to understand complex ideas, to adapt effectively to the environment, to learn
from experience, to engage in various forms of reasoning, to overcome obstacles by
taking thought.”
“Intellectual activity consists of grasping the essentials in a situation and responding
appropriately to them.”
There is still no universally accepted definition of intelligence.
Intelligence/IQ
Intelligence is viewed as a valuable trait for leaders. Because these people are quick
learners. Organizations test your intelligence related to the job you’re applying for.
The average IQ is 100 with a SD of 15.
Intelligence related to leader emergence: r = .25
Intelligence related to leader effectiveness: r.20
Observer-rated intelligence and leader emergence: r = .60
A person who convinces people that you are intelligent is someone who people
believe is a leader. Intelligence seems important, but less so than commonly
assumed (small to medium sized relations to effectiveness)
Apparent intelligence may be more important than actual intelligence.
3
LEADERSHIP: MOBILIZING PEOPLE
SUMMARY OF THE LECTURES
DECISION MAKING IN BUSINESS AND SOCIETY
Vrije Universiteit van Amsterdam
,Leadership: Mobilizing People
Lecture 1 05-09-2022
What is leadership?
Definition of leadership: there is plenty of definitions, choice/mess, there is no one
definition
“Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to
achieve a common goal.”
“Leadership involves influence. It is concerned with how the leader affects followers.
Influence is the sine qua non of leadership. Without influence, leadership does not
exist.”
“Leadership includes attention to common goals. Leaders direct their energies toward
individuals who are trying to achieve something together.”
“The ability of an individual to influence, motivate, and enable others to contribute
toward the effectiveness and success of the organizations of which they are
members.”
Leaders influence people, change their perceptions/thinking, try to motivate others
and change their behavior, provide them with the resources that enable them.
Leaders versus Managers: theoretically these terms are distinguished.
Manager = plan and budget, organize and staff, administrator, control and solve
problems, produce consistency and order
Leader = communicating visions, motivating, encouraging people, intangible aspect,
establish direction, align people, motivate and inspire, are concerned with productive
or adaptive change.
Framework for leadership research
Effective leaders in organizations motivate and enable others to achieve
organizationally relevant goals. Goals have a great variety. Leaders should be
concerned with a variety of goals.
Organizationally relevant goals are…
- Productive output of a unit meets the standards of quantity, quality, and
timeliness of its clients
- High levels of social integration within an unit
- High levels of continuous learning and well-being of unit members
- Goals and means to achieve goals are ethical
1
,Context (= leadership situation) influences individual characteristics, behaviours and
therefore the effectiveness.
The trait approach
Are leaders born or are leaders made? Is it all predetermined from birth, is it in the
genes?
What is a trait? A trait is a stable characteristic of a person. Consistency in behavior.
Can be psychological or physical.
Psychological traits that are important for leaders
Most important (common) traits for leaders – intelligence and personality
2
, Leadership emergence: the likelihood of a person becoming a leader.
Leadership effectiveness: How is a person doing in a leadership position.
Physical features and leadership
Height – On average leaders that emerge are taller.
Weight – the relationship between weight and salary depend on gender. The
relationship is positive for men but negative for women. The heavier a man gets, the
more he earns. The heavier a woman gets, the less she earns.
Facial asymmetry – research has shown that people with facial asymmetry have a
more transformational leadership style, these people are more caring, team
performance. Proposition that people born with asymmetries tend to develop greater
empathy, social intelligence, and motivational skills as a way of overcoming
unfavorable perceptions of others. People with facial asymmetry compensate these
traits.
Psychological features and leadership
“The aggregate of the global capacity to act purposefully, think rationally, and deal
effectively with the environment.”
“Ability to understand complex ideas, to adapt effectively to the environment, to learn
from experience, to engage in various forms of reasoning, to overcome obstacles by
taking thought.”
“Intellectual activity consists of grasping the essentials in a situation and responding
appropriately to them.”
There is still no universally accepted definition of intelligence.
Intelligence/IQ
Intelligence is viewed as a valuable trait for leaders. Because these people are quick
learners. Organizations test your intelligence related to the job you’re applying for.
The average IQ is 100 with a SD of 15.
Intelligence related to leader emergence: r = .25
Intelligence related to leader effectiveness: r.20
Observer-rated intelligence and leader emergence: r = .60
A person who convinces people that you are intelligent is someone who people
believe is a leader. Intelligence seems important, but less so than commonly
assumed (small to medium sized relations to effectiveness)
Apparent intelligence may be more important than actual intelligence.
3
