Introduction to the Concept of Leadership1

Elisabeth Unger
y
Anselmo Chávez Argüellesanselmo_chavez@prodigy.net.mx
Nov-2003
Administrators are people who do things well,
while leaders are people who do the right things.
(Managers are people who do things right, while leaders are people who do the right things.)
--Warren Bennis, "On Becoming a Leader"--

Introduction
Good leaders are made, not born. If you have the desire and the willpower, you can.
becoming an effective leader. Good leaders are developed through a continuous process.
self-study, education, training, and experience.

In order for a leader to inspire their people to reach higher levels of teamwork, there are several
qualities of a user that must be polished, several things you must know and several actions you must take
to do. These do not fall from the sky, but can be acquired through continuous work and study.
The best leaders never stop working and studying on how to improve their skills.

Leadership is a complex process through which one person influences others.

to achieve a mission, a task or an objective, and directs an organization down a path that it
It makes it have greater cohesion and be more consistent. A person carries out this process.
putting into practice their leadership attributes (beliefs, values, ethics, character, knowledge and
skills). Even though the position of project manager, supervisor, etc., gives one the
authority to achieve certain goals and carry out certain tasks within the organization, this
Power does not make us leaders. It simply makes us 'the boss.' Leadership makes us
People want to achieve high goals and objectives, while bosses give orders to complete tasks.
and achieve goals.

Bass's leadership theory (1) states that there are basically three paths to explain
how people become leaders:

• Some personal qualities naturally lead people to assume leadership roles.

This is the theory of charisma.
• A crisis or significant event causes a person to extraordinarily obtain the
qualities of a leader. This is the theory of great events.

1Based on the notes of Donald Clark (2000) that appear in his "Big Dog's Leadership Page"
http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leadcon.html
Project Management Introduction to the Concept of Leadership

• People can choose to become leaders, they can learn to be leaders, to

develop leadership skills. This is the theory of transformation to leadership, which
constitutes the most accepted theory today, and is the premise on which this is based.
article.

When a person is in the process of deciding whether to respect you as a leader, they are not
thinking about our personal attributes or gifts. Rather, it is observing who one is in
reality, and use this information to know whether one is a trustworthy and honorable leader, or just
a person who serves themselves and abuses their authority to look good and promote themselves.
Leaders like this are not very effective because their employees only obey them, they do not follow them.
leaders can succeed in many areas because they present a good image before the
direction, at the expense of its people.

The basis for good leadership is an honorable and honest character in service of the
organization. In the eyes of employees, the leadership one projects includes everything that
one does, and it affects the goals of the organization and the common good. A leader
respectable projects clearly what it is (beliefs and character), what it knows (tasks, work,
human nature), and what it does (implements, motivates, and directs). Being, knowing, and doing are three
areas to work on to become a leader.

What motivates us to follow a leader? People like to be guided by someone they trust.
we feel respect and that it has a clear sense of direction. Ethics is fundamental for earning
this respect. The sense of direction is achieved by conveying a strong vision of the future.

The two keys of leadership

In a study by 'Hay', more than 75 key components for satisfaction were examined.
employee. The result showed that:

• Faith and trust in the leadership of management were the only indicators that were greater.
security predicted employee satisfaction within an organization.
• Effective communication in three critical areas was key to earning the trust and confidence of
the organization:
Help employees understand the company's global business strategy.
2. Helping employees understand how they contribute to achieving the objectives of
key business of the company.
3. Share information with employees regarding how it is achieving the
company, in general, its strategic business objectives, and how it is functioning, in
specifically, the department of these employees themselves.

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In conclusion, one must essentially be trustworthy and able to communicate a vision of where to.
The organization works. Trust in the organization and effective communication create a
healthy work environment.

The principles of leadership

Help to work in the areas of knowing and doing, (2) is obtained by following the eleven.
principles of leadership:

• Knowing oneself and seeking self-improvement. To know oneself, one has to

discover and understand your attributes to be, know, and do. Seeking to improve oneself means
to continuously strengthen their attributes. This is achieved by reading, studying, taking
classes, etc.
• Be technically efficient. As a leader, one must know their job and be familiar with it.
very solidly with the work of its employees.
• Seek responsibilities and take responsibility for one's own actions. One must
to seek ways to guide the organization towards new goals. And if it goes wrong, what will happen is
sooner or later, one should not blame others. It is necessary to analyze the situation, take the
corrective action, and face the next challenge.
• Make healthy decisions, and in a timely manner. Use good tools for problem-solving.
problems, decision making and planning.
• Be the example. Be a good model for the employees. They should not just listen.
what one expects them to do, but they must also see it.
• To know your people and look out for their well-being. It is necessary to understand human nature and the
importance of sincerely caring for employees.
• Keep people informed. One must learn how to communicate with people, with
the superiors and with other key people within the organization.
• Develop a sense of responsibility in people. Develop good values in
It will help them perform their professional responsibilities better.
• Ensure that tasks are understood, supervised, and completed. Communication
it is the key to this responsibility.
• Train people as a team. Even though many 'leaders' call it their
organization, department, section, etc., a team, these are really not teams... nothing
they are a group of people who do their job.
• Make full use of the organization's powers. The development of a spirit of
team, allows for full use of the organization's, department's powers,
section, etc.

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Human Relationships

The six most important words: 'Yes, I admit it, I made a mistake.'
The five most important words: "Well, you did a good job."
The four most important words: 'What is your opinion?'
The three most important words: 'Could you please?'
The two most important words: 'I thank you.'
The most important word: 'Us'.
The least important word: "I".

Four major factors of leadership

The four major factors of leadership are:

• The Follower - Different people need different styles of leadership. For example, a
A newly hired employee needs more supervision than an experienced employee. A person
with a not very positive attitude needs another attention than one with a high degree of
motivation. One must know their people! The fundamental point to start is to have
a good understanding of human nature: needs, emotions, and motivation. There is
to know the attributes of being, to know and to do the subordinates.

• The Leader - One must have an honest understanding of who one is, what one is.
knows, and what one can do. Furthermore, it is important to be clear about what followers are,
not the leader, who determine if a leader is successful. If a follower has no faith or confidence
in its leader, it will not be inspired. To be successful, one must convince the followers, not
neither oneself nor one's superiors, that one deserves to be followed.

• Communication - One becomes a leader through a two-way communication (inform and

receiving information). A large part of the information is non-verbal. That is to say, if one practices
With the example, people are informed that they will not be required to do a job that one does not
I would like to do. What and how to communicate, or help to build the relationship between one and the
employees or negatively affects them.

• The Situation - Every situation is different. What one does in a leadership situation,
It won't always work in another. You have to evaluate the situation to decide the best.
course of action and the style of leadership needed for each situation. For example, it can
to have to confront an employee because of their behavior
suitable, but if the confrontation happens too late, or too early,
too strong or too soft, the results cease to be effective.

Various forces affect these factors. Examples of forces are the leader's relationship with their
superiors, the skills of their people, the informal leaders within the organization, and the way
how the company is organized.

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Attributes
If you are a leader in whom you can trust, the people around you will learn to
respect it. To be a good leader, there are things one has to be, know, and do. This is
explain within the framework of leadership:

• Be a professional. Examples: Be loyal to the organization, provide your services without any.
self-interest, take personal responsibility.
• To be a professional with good habits and values. Examples: Honesty, competence,
sincerity, commitment, integrity, encouragement, rectitude, imagination.
• KNOW the four factors of leadership - follower, leader, communication, and situation.
• KNOWING oneself. Examples: strengths and weaknesses of character, what one knows and
his skills.
• KNOWING human nature. Examples: Human needs and emotions, and how
people react to stress.
• KNOW your work. Examples: being diligent and having the ability to train others in
his tasks.
• KNOW the organization of the company. Examples: where to ask for help, the climate and the
organizational culture, who the unofficial leaders are.
• DAR direction. Examples: set goals, solve problems, make decisions, plan.
• IMPLEMENT. Examples: communicate, coordinate, supervise, evaluate.
• MOTIVATE. Examples: develop morals and spirit in the organization, train, advise.
to advise.

Environment
Each organization has a particular work environment that conditions it to a degree
consider the way their leaders respond to problems and opportunities. It is the result
from the heritage of their leaders in the past and those of the present. Leaders exert influence over
the work environment through three types of actions:

• The goals and quality standards they establish.

• The values that they establish for the organization.
• The business concepts and personnel profiles they establish.

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Successful organizations have good leaders who set high standards and goals throughout.
a range of key points, such as strategies, market leadership, plans,
presentations, productivity, quality and reliability.

The values reflect the organization's concern for its employees, customers,
investors, vendors, and the adjoining community. These values define the way in which we
they will carry the businesses, and what type of businesses the organization will be dedicated to.

Concepts are established that define what products or services the organization will offer, and
the methods and procedures for conducting business.

These three together: goals, values, and concepts, form the 'personality' of the
organization, that is, how the organization is viewed from the outside as well as from within.
This personality defines the roles, relationships, rewards, and rites in the organization.

The roles –or the part each person plays– are the positions defined by a number of
expectations about behavior within a certain job. Each role has a number
of explicit and implicit tasks and responsibilities. Roles have a strong effect on the
behavior, because money is paid to perform a role, along with this role goes the
prestige, there is a sense of fulfillment or challenge, etc.

Relationships are determined by the tasks of a role. There are some tasks that are executed by
a single person, but most are carried out in relation to others. The tasks determine with
who, how many times and for what purpose the one with the role will have to interact. Also,
the more interaction there is, the stronger the relationship that is built; and this, in turn, leads to
a more frequent interaction. In human behavior, it is difficult to feel esteem for
someone with whom there is no contact, and one tends to choose those one values. The people
tends to do those things that provide them with a reward, and friendship, for example, is a
powerful award. Many tasks and behaviors associated with a role stem from these.
relationships. This means that it is expected, of whoever currently assumes the role, to perform
new tasks and outline new behaviors, since in the past it has developed a
strong relationship with this person, or with their predecessor.

There are two distinct forces that dictate how to act in an organization: culture and climate.

Each organization has its own culture. It is made up of a combination of influences.

of the founders, of past leadership, of current leadership, of crises, events, history and
of the size of the company, and these components result in rites. That is to say, routines, rituals, and "the
the way things are done." These rites impact individual behavior in
as for being in a good position, and they guide the appropriate behavior for each
circumstance.

The climate is the feeling of the organization, the individual and shared perceptions and attitudes.
of the members of the organization. While culture is the deeply ingrained nature
rooted in the organization, which is a result of systems, laws, traditions, and customs
formal and informal maintained for a long time, the weather is a short-term phenomenon
deadline, created by the current leadership. The climate is what the members think of the

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organization of 'what is the feeling of the organization'. This individual perception about 'the
The "feeling of the organization" comes from what people think about the activities that occur in the
organization. These activities influence both individual motivation and satisfaction as well
in the team. Such activities include the following:

• How well does the leader clarify the priorities and goals of the work team?
organization, and what is expected of its members?
• What does the recognition, rewards, and punishments system in the organization consist of?
• How competent are leaders?
• How free are leaders to make decisions?
• What happens if I make a mistake?

The climate of the organization is directly related to the style of leadership and management.
of the leader, based on the values, attributes, skills, and actions, as well as the priorities of
leader. So, the ethical climate is "the feeling of the organization" about the activities it has
ethical content, or those aspects of the work environment that shape behavior
Ethical. The ethical climate is the feeling about whether things are done right; or the feeling about whether the
members of the organization behave the way they should behave. The
the leader's behavior is the most important factor that impacts the climate.

In summary, culture is a long-term and complex phenomenon. The culture of a

organization is the shared expectations and self-image of the organization. The values
mature ones that form the "tradition", or "the way things are done in the
organization.” In each organization, things are done in a different way. The vision
collective and the common folklore that define the institution are a reflection of culture. Leaders
individuals cannot easily create or change culture, because culture is part of the
organization. Culture influences the characteristics of the climate due to the effect it has on the
actions and the thinking process of the leader. However, everything that is done as a leader will
to have an effect on the organization's climate.

Leadership models
Leadership models help us understand what drives leaders to act in the
way of acting in certain situations. The ideal is not to stick with a certain type of
behavior discussed in the model, but to understand that each situation requires a
approach or different behavior. Two models will be discussed, the Four Frames model,
and the Administrator Diagram.

In the model of The Four Frames, Bolman and Deal propose that leaders show
leadership behaviors in one of four types of frameworks: Structural, Resources
Humans, Political, or Symbolic. The leadership style may or may not be effective, depending
of the behavior chosen in certain situations.

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• The structural framework – In an effective leadership situation, the leader is an architect.

social, whose leadership style is analysis and design. In a leadership situation not
effective, the leader is a tyrant whose leadership style is detail-oriented. Structural leaders are
they focus on structure, strategy, environment, implementation, experimentation and
adaptation.
• The framework of human resources - In an effective leadership situation, the leader is a
catalyst and facilitator, whose leadership style is supportive, interventionist, and capable. In a
ineffective leadership situation, the leader is someone who delegates the work to others, and whose
leadership style is abdication and fraud.
• The political framework - In an effective leadership situation, the leader is a lawyer whose
leadership style is coalition and building. In an ineffective situation of
leadership, the leader is an active person, whose leadership consists of manipulation. The
political leaders clarify what they want and what they can achieve; they evaluate the
distribution of power and interests; they create links with other promoters; they use first the
persuasion, then negotiation, and coercion only when necessary.
• The symbolic framework - In an effective leadership situation, the leader is a prophet, whose
leadership style is inspiration. In an ineffective leadership situation, the leader is a
fanatic or crazy, whose leadership style is just 'smoke and mirrors'. Symbolic leaders
come to the organization like a forum or a theater to play certain roles and impress
to the people; these leaders use symbols to attract attention; they try to replace
experience giving plausible interpretations of experiences; they discover and communicate
a vision.

This model proposes that leaders can be placed into one of these four categories, and that
There are times when a model is suitable, and other times when it should not be applied.
this model. Simply applying only one of these models would not be appropriate. One must be
aware of the four models, and not just relying on one. For example, in a change
greater than the organization, structural leadership may be more effective than a style of
visionary leadership; while in a period when strong growth is needed,
visionary style can be better. It is also important to take into account that each person has their
preference for a certain model. One must always be mindful of this and keep in mind the
limitations of the chosen model.

The management diagram uses two axes. 'Concern for people' is the axis.
Vertical, y "The concern for the task" is the horizontal axis. Both have a scale from 1 to 9.
The mention that only two dimensions can describe a behavior of the
administrator, has the appeal of simplicity. These two dimensions can be drawn
like a chart or diagram, as shown below.

Most people will be in the middle of the two axes. However, going to the
extremes, that means people who score at the last point of the scale, we will find
four types of leaders: Authoritarian (9 in task, 1 in people), Team leader (9 in task, 9 in
people), Country club (1 in task, 9 in people), and Impoverished (1 in task, 1 in people).

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High 9
R. 8
7
H 6
U 5
M 4
A 3
N 2
A 1
S
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Under High
TASK

Diagram of management

The authoritarian leader - high in task, low in human relationship - 9.1: People who receive this
The rating is very task-oriented and very tough on its workers (autocratic).
little or no opportunity for cooperation and collaboration. People who are highly oriented towards
their tasks have the following characteristics: they are very focused on meeting deadlines; they expect
of people who do what they are told, without questions or debates; if something goes wrong, they tend to
to focus on who to blame, and not on concentrating on what is wrong, and how
avoid it; they are intolerant towards what they see as divergence (it can be exactly
the creativity of someone), which makes it difficult for their subordinates to contribute or develop
something.

The team leader – high in task, high in human relations – 9,9: This type of leader is a leader
give positive examples. He tries to create a team environment where everyone
members can reach their maximum potential, not only as members of the team but
also as individuals. He encourages the team to achieve their goals as effectively as possible, and,
at the same time, works tirelessly to strengthen the ties between the different members of the
team. These leaders form and guide the most productive teams.

The leader 'Country Club' - low in task, high in human relations - 1.9: This leader
predominantly uses the power of rewards to maintain discipline and to encourage
to the team to achieve its goals. On the contrary, it is unable to employ more punitive powers,
coercive and legitimate.

The impoverished leader – low in task, low in human relationships – 1.1: This person uses a
management style of 'delegate and disappear'. Since it is not committed to fulfilling
with the task and maintaining it, this person usually allows the team to do

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whatever they want, and prefers to distance themselves from team processes, allowing the team to suffer a
series of power struggles.

The most desirable place for a leader would be a 9 in task and 9 in human relations, it would be the Leader.
of the Team. However, the other three should not be completely erased. Certain situations
they can require one of the three to be used at certain times. For example, playing as the Leader
Impoverished, it allows the team to gain self-confidence. Being an Authoritarian Leader.
help instill a sense of discipline in an unmotivated worker. Analyzing the situation
carefully, just as the forces that affect it, it is known at which points on the axis one must be
to achieve the desired result.

The process of great leadership

The path to great leadership (5), common among successful leaders, is:

• Challenge the process - First, find a process that one believes needs greater improvement.
• Inspire a shared vision – Then, share the vision in words that can be
understood by the followers.
• Make it possible for others to act - Give them the tools and methods to solve the
problem.
• Level the path – If the process becomes tougher, it's time to get to work. A boss
a leader shows by example that this is possible
to do.
• Encourage the heart - Share the glory with its followers, keep the sorrows for
one.

References
1. Bass, Bernard (1989), Stogdill's Handbook of Leadership: A Survey of Theory and Research
New York: Free Press.
Bass, Bernard (1990), From Transactional to Transformational Leadership: Learning to Share
the Vision, Organizational Dynamics, Winter.
2. U.S. Army Handbook (1973). Military Leadership.
3. Bolman, Lee and T. Deal (1991). Reframing Organizations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
The Managerial Grid III: The Key to Leadership
Excellence. Houston: Gulf Publishing Co.
The Leadership Challenge
Bass.

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