Chapter 9
This chapter discusses successful and unsuccessful leadership. The way organizations and groups evaluate the success of their leadership varies on different levels. Also there are many settings in which leadership can be examined. In the book it says that a successful leader is one who is assessed as effective in his or her role by subordinates. In addition, focusing on leadership roles played by managers equate successful leadership more so by high performance rating from subordinates. When thinking about management in an organization, a successful leader would be one that is willing to give increasingly broader leadership responsibility. What would be your definition of a successful leader? Describe a time when you have been a successful leader and what you based your success off of. Another approach that successful leadership is talked about refers to the leader’s ability to bring about change. When have you seen yourself as a leader who has brought about change? What was that change?
This chapter describes predictors of success that include: competencies, deficiencies, behaviors, styles, expertise, experiences, and maturity level. What predictor can you as a leader relate the most to and why? Another way to predict leadership success, includes contextual variables, which influence the degree to which particular individual difference variables are related to leadership success. Contextual variables include; the type of work engaged in, characteristics of followers, and resources available to the leader. The Path Goal Theory, which I’m sure you have all learned about shows the most common way contextual variables are used to predict leadership success. Do you agree with the Path Goal Theory? What type of leader behavior do you see yourself as having?
Another factor that contributes to leadership success is the setting. Successful leadership has been studied in many different settings. So leadership success has to be understood differently based on the settings. On page 209 the table illustrates examples of what each theme suggests one would see in a leader who was seen as successful or unsuccessful. Under the successful themes outline, what theme do you see at most important? Under the unsuccessful column, what theme do you see at the one that hurts the leader’s successfulness the most?
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I think that a successful leader is knowledgeable about their own leadership style, and knows how to use it as an advantage, and at the same time can be aware of those around them and know how to adjust. They need to be knowledgeable about what they are doing. A successful leader is able to build credibility, trust and faith from their followers. A successful leader is able to make change, and accomplish the goals they set out to do. However, I also believe that a successful leader must succeed in ethical and moral ways. I would say that I was a successful leader as the FYE coordinator this year because I accomplished the goals I had set. I wanted to build a cohesive team, and I ended up with a great group of mentors. I became aware of my strengths and weaknesses in leadership, and was able to adjust my style for different situations and people. I also started to pay a lot more attention to ethics, and lived by the rule that I wouldn’t ask any of my peers to do something I would not be willing to do myself. From the 360 evaluations we did in the LSE office I feel that I was also able to build credibility and trust, and I definitely created change in the FYE program.
ReplyDeleteI brought about change in the FYE program, changing the sessions, making it longer and trying out new training ideas. Although we decided to change the program back to 6 weeks, the initial change was essential to finding out what would and would not work. In this situation, the change was something that would bring about knowledge to help further improve the program.
The predictor that I can most relate to is expertise/knowledge because the other areas tend to fall into place when one knows what they are doing. I believe one can be a leader without expertise, but the more experience one has, the more likely they are to be a successful leader.
I do agree with the path goal theory, because it recognizes that in different situations, different leader behaviors lead to success. I think that I see myself having the participative behavior, because my go to choice for making decisions is to involve everyone who I am working with, and making sure I can try to take their comments and make things work for the majority.
I find that the develop intrapersonal and interpersonal competence theme is the most important because building that trust and respect is the first necessary thing to be successful. I don’t believe that you can be successful if you cannot be trusted. I think the one that would hurt the leader the most is under seek a wide variety of leadership experiences because if one does not learn from bad decisions, or chooses a narrow career path then they can never become a better leader. Also if they don’t feel comfortable in situations that involve untested skills, they can’t grow past what they currently are. Successful leaders need to be constantly learning and growing and be flexible so I think this would hinder a leader the most.
Personally, I think a successful leader is one that works as a team player instead of a dictator. A leader needs to be able to get things done in such a way that people are attempting to work together efficiently. I would consider myself a successful leader when I was associating (aka pledging) for Kappas in the fall of 2009. At points, specific members of our class did not necessarily get along, but we were able to stick out the whole process and work together so we could become official members of the sorority. Bringing about change can be a very difficult task for a leader. A specific time that I have brought about change is something I am currently doing. In the past, for the MS Benefit members of Kappas have gone to business to request donations for the silent auction. However, for next year we are going to mail out letters instead and make follow-up phone calls. This will save a great deal of time for the members and the correct person (manager/owner) can see the donation request before they have to make a decision.
ReplyDeleteI think experiences are the best predictor of leadership because if one has already been in the situation in the past, the leader will know the most efficient way to deal with the problem. I agree with the Path-Goal Theory because I strongly believe that context has a great deal to do with how one should act.
To me, a successful leader is someone who is respected by his subordinates, but also shares the same respect for the followers. I have had many successful leaders in my life. The most recent one would have to be in SGA. Zach is the president of the organization and I have never been a part of a student-lead organization that is so successful. I was hesitant to join because of so many bad experiences where it just felt like a complete waste of time. Nothing would get accomplished and it just felt like one person was doing all the work (if any at all). This year though, we are all working very well together to bring success to our campus while under the leadership of Zach. It’s a great situation and will be bummed when it’s all over.
ReplyDeleteI have been a Cub Scout troop leader for boys with special needs since August of 2010. I base my success off of whether or not families continue to show up from meeting to meeting. It is a fairly small group to begin with – so even when one family does not show up to the meeting – it is more recognized as a failure on my part (in my own mind). I only have one more meeting left with my troop and hearing that the families appreciated all I have done this year and will miss me when I leave – that brings about a good feeling for my leadership abilities.
Sticking with my Cub Scout troop – I have brought about change in the type of meetings I have with the groups. It used to be very structured where the leader would speak and the boys would listen. Since the boys cannot speak very clearly (if at all) … it wasn’t very effective. I now have the boys do arts and crafts and it gets them involved. There is no use to have the boys show up to the meeting and not do anything productive. It would be a waste of time.
The predictor of maturity level I can relate to the most. I have always struggled working with people who have a very low maturity level. I’m not saying that I am super mature and excruciatingly straight laced – because I definitely am not – but there is always a time for goofing off and getting work done. When we’re getting started, we can ease into the project and goof off every once in a while. That’s my style, easy-going but effective. But if someone does not shape up when it’s really crunch time – I get extremely flustered. Working with people of mutual maturity levels definitely helps me take on the role of leader.
I agree with the Path Goal Theory 100%. I think that a leader cannot be truly successful if he/she doesn’t have satisfaction, motivation, or good performance of his subordinates. They will be his base of the entire project.
The most important theme under successful themes is to develop intrapersonal and interpersonal competence. By gaining trust and respect from others – it makes things go much smoother and the leader can rely on others. Under the unsuccessful column, I think the theme of balancing concern for task efficiency, human relations, and adaptive change will hurt the leader’s successfulness the most. If people are hired who cannot work well with the group – it will hurt the cohesiveness. Not taking time to explain the rationale or listening to concerns will also be a big drawback for the leader.
My definition of a successful leader would be a person who knows how to combine their skills and the skills of others in order to achieve a common goal. They are able to perceive and adapt to situations in order to build confidence and trust from their followers. They follow through with their promises and are able to motivate others to do the same.
ReplyDeleteA time when I have exhibited successful leadership behavior was helping to plan and run a fundraising even for Alpha Xi Delta. My pledge class of four girls was in charge of selecting and running a successful fundraising event. We chose to do a scavenger hunt called the "AmaXing Race". I felt that I exhibited a leadership role by distributing tasks to different girls such as getting donations and getting campus involvement by contacting other groups on campus. I would base much of my success off of getting others excited and motivated to participate in the program. I also attribute much of the success of the program to being able to effectively work together. By mutually trusting each other we were able to assign certain responsibilities so it was a collaborative effort.
A time when I feel that I was a leader that brought about change would be when as editor of the yearbook I proposed to be able to get the whole yearbook to be in color. In order to do so we had to increase our fundraising efforts to make it affordable for our small student body. I had to engage others and help them see my vision in order to make it attainable. It took a lot of persuading and organizational skills in order to get others on board.
A predictor that I find important is trust and knowledge. I think that the two are connected because we often trust those who seem to have an expertise in what they are taking about. I think that it is difficult to gain the trust of your subordinates without having some knowledge. A leader does not need to be an expert, but it helps to have more experience and often adds to success.
I find the Path Goal Theory very accurate. The three components of satisfaction, motivation, and performance. I tend to try and delegate and match up tasks with the members of my group. I enjoy creating engagement with the entire group. I find that it takes an entire group to prove a person's success as a leader.
I think that one of the themes I identify with most is developing relationships with others. In order to be successful as a leader you need to have followers who trust and communicate with you. It helps to create cohesion and tone for the group. The more comfortable a group is in communication, the better they are able to discuss and dictate the work that needs to be accomplished.
I believe a successful leader is one who focuses on building personal relationships with subordinates, as well as external people, in order to move the group forward. Relationships create trust and a feeling of mutual goals, which can help the group be successful. A time when I was a successful leader was when I was working in an AVID tutoring group at Franklin middle school my sophomore year. I was the only returning tutor and was left to train the other tutors and step up as leader. I felt most successful after I established relationships with other tutors because there was a sense of mutual respect and they saw me as more than just a co-worker or group leader, but also as a friend. This, I believe, opened up communication more among group members. When it comes to change, I can think of another leadership position I had where I brought about change. I worked for the City of De Pere as a water aerobics instructor and created a lot of change in that program as a young teacher. I made several lesson plans and routines that were passed around to other teachers, and although I no longer teach for the City anymore, my lesson plans are still being used. I was given a lot of praise about my changes to the program.
ReplyDeleteI believe the most important is expertise because a group can adapt to the other predictors (style, etc.) but without a knowledgeable leader, the group may go nowhere, or go in the wrong direction. Having a leader that has experience or expertise in an area can be extremely beneficial because then the leader would be able to identify and fix any problems that may arise from the lack of expertise of the followers.
I agree with the path goal model because I agree that a leader's success is in part measured by the satisfaction, motivation, and performance of followers. If the group is not satisfied, motivated, or has performed badly, it definitely says something about the leadership of the group.
I think the most important under successful leadership is developing intrapersonal and interpersonal competence because that means that the leader has looked within her/himself and determined what kind of person or leader they are. They are also interested in developing relationships with other group members to create trust and respect. The theme that hurts the success of a group the most is the same theme if it is lacking. If a leader can't adapt to different kinds of people or has a hard time interacting with people, they will have a hard time being successful as a leader. For example, think of a boss or leader you have had who has not developed good relationships with employees or subordinates. Do you view that leader as successful? Probably not.
My definition of a successful leader is when the leader is able to share his vision to the followers and make them act in that way. It doesn't always mean that it is for the best of all individuals. For example, Hitler was a great leader but some think his ways to be unmoral. Point is that he was able to lead his followers the way he wanted them.
ReplyDeleteI saw myself as a leader in TKE when I was recruitment chair. I was able to get the group to attend recruitment events that I planned and we were able to recruit new members that way. It was a great way to get the whole group involved and go through the vision of the group, which was to grow in quality men.
I agree with the path goal theory because it is context based. By creating a path to the goal that you are striving for, it creates the atmosphere for a successful leader. It can easily be measure on whether the leader did the job correctly as well. It is a great way to measure all leaders on the same scale.
I believe a successful leader is, as the book says, assessed as effective in his or her role by subordinates. I believe this fits well, as it does not evaluate success in terms of reaching an idea or goal, but instead evaluates if they were effective in their role. Some leaders may be very effective, but may never have been completely successful in terms of attaining their goal. I believe I was a successful leader when I went with TRIPS to New Orleans, in efforts to in aid hurricane relief. I base my success off of how the group and I made a difference for a residential and nursing home. We helped them complete so much work in a week that would have otherwise taken months, and we gave them hope, as they told us, to believe that there are people out there who are willing to drop everything for a week to come help out strangers. Although we only aided a small portion of the population affect by the hurricane, we had still been effective and had an immense impact on some lives.
ReplyDeleteI see myself as a leader who has brought about change when reflecting on my involvement in H.O.S.T.S., or Helping One Student To Succeed. With this program, I tutored disadvantaged elementary school students to improve their reading and writing skills. The change that I made in the lives of some of those children was not only an improvement in their reading and writing abilities, but I also gave them someone to look forward to every day at a specific time and, hopefully, someone to look up to. From data collected, I know I made a difference in their lives in regarding to their abilities, but I hope I also made a difference in the ways mentioned above.
I think I can relate to the style predictor of success the most, as I decide which style of leadership to utilize, based on who I am working with, what we are doing, and how we attempt to do things. I am usually more task-oriented, so that is the bases for the way I go about leading, but I can tweak the style a bit to work with the group as I see fit.
I like the Path Goal Theory, as it seems to cover what I think are very important aspects to address when classifying a leader’s success. The leader behavior that I see myself having is participative. I like to hear from group members and be sure to get all the input I can from them, to make sure ideas are heard and that we get all the info we can before making a decision.
The most important theme, to me, is balancing concern for task efficiency, human relations, and adaptive change. The theme that I believe hurts success the most would be engaging in transformational and charismatic behaviors.
I agree that the success of a leader can in part be measured by how their subordinates feel about them. Even if they don't get along that well personally with them, they should still be able to recognize better results or feeling more directed in their own responsibilities. Additionally, the leaders should be able to inspire those around them and make them excited about the organization's mission.
ReplyDeleteChange is important but can also lead to disorganization. Sometimes leaders try to change too much, too quickly when they don't understand why things were the way they were in the first place. Change is necessary from progress, but to enforce change just to say things have been changed is not helpful.
Although all the described characteristics are important for all leaders, being competent is really where it all starts. If you can't get things done or don't have a sort of base level knowledge to build off of, you won't be a very successful leader.
The type of work your engaged in can change the level of devotion of a leader immediately. If a leader doesn't feel passionate about the cause they are working for, they will never commit 100% to the job. The characteristics of the followers are also important because they control how much support they offer the leader and their commitment level can change the effectiveness of an organization.
I think our definitions of “successful” in leadership evolve as our situations change, however in the particular example I am thinking of, successful leadership is meeting the needs of your followers to empower them to reach a desired ends. For four years, the SNC College Democrats have lacked vision, motivation, and an ability to retain membership from one election cycle to another. I have tried to be part of the group since freshman year but as the campus student organizer for the Feingold Senate Committee, I knew the group needed to pull together if we were going to have any sort of presence on campus. The core groups of members knew what they didn’t want to do, they just needed someone who could guide their ideas into action, coordinate meetings and events, and keep the group “moving forward” throughout the election cycle and beyond. I was able to be this coordinating/motivational factor the group needed to sustain its presence on campus. At last weeks meeting, the group set the agenda, the meeting times, future goals and events, and I barely had to say anything. They have taken on my skills and will be able to be successful in the future.
ReplyDeleteI would also consider this evolution an example of when I brought about change. The group needed a new vision, a new image, and a new means of organizing. I brought these aspects to the group and helped them to see how they could collectively share responsibilities to ensure future goals were met.
I can relate most to the experiences predictor. As I said above, I had been trying to be involved with the on campus group for four years, but It wasn’t until I had experience with outside advocacy organizations that I was able to help inspire the group to change, to take on new goals and support new ideas, and to adopt different norms of operation. I lead best when I have past references points that help to establish my confidence and credibility in the context of my leadership.
I think Path-Goal brings up a lot of important considerations. While the theory is not my favorite, I appreciate the acknowledgement the theory makes for the differences in leadership needs based on follower characteristics and context. I am not sure I can see myself as having one of these characteristics however. I think a truly effective leader needs to have all three characteristics. One needs to be able to adapt their style to contextual demands.
I think the most important theme under successful leadership is the “balance concern for task efficiency, human relations, and adaptive change.” I think this theme is important to the effective leadership of any organization, and takes the broadest approach to the definition of success. Regarding the unsuccessful column, I think the most threatening theme to leadership would be if a leader failed to engage in transformational and charismatic behaviors. For me, when a leader misunderstands the difference between transformational leadership and tyranny, organizations fail.
I define a successful leader as someone who has a positive impact on a follower(s) to the point where they see a change in terms of motivation and task comprehension. I believe a big part of leadership is empowerment. I see myself as a successful leader to a few of the student workers with Tech Support. They are able to come to me for assistance and I see them as the only few students who actually care about their job and strive to learn. Part of that comes with me being readily available and willing to help them. I can't think of any recent times when I've been a leader who has brought about change, rather, I noticed a lot of change when I was involved with the Boy Scouts. KIds then were younger and were looking up to people for guidance and I was able to step in and help.
ReplyDeleteI relate most to maturity level, especially having left school and returned. I realize I was very immature when I was in my first few years of college and now that I returned to SNC, I have been able to improve on my habits and acknowledge a new sense of confidence in myself.
I agree with the Path Goal theory because I see satisfaction, motivation, and performance as direct attributes associated to followers.
I also echo Nicole in saying that interpersonal competence is important because you need relationships and the ability to communicate with others in order to success in many things in life.
My idea of a successful leader is someone who has a vision and inspires his/her followers to help achieve that vision. A successful leader has to be charismatic, passionate, and a good communicator. They must inspire their followers and relate a positive working environment.
ReplyDeleteI see myself as a successful leader being a Student Ambassador for the Australian Embassy. I help promote studying abroad in Australia and inspire people to spread their wings and travel that far away. I feel like I have accomplished my goal when students come up and tell me that they choose to study abroad in Australia because of me.
I agree with the path goal theory. I think it helps set a clear vision of what tasks want to be accomplished and helps the leaders and the followers stay on track.
I think that interpersonal competence is important too because it is crucial to build relationships with followers in order to create trust. Once you create trust between a leader and a follower then usually they will work better to complete a common goal.