Northouse (2016) defines leadership as “‘a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal” (p. 6). In Chris’ post he asks the question, “Although this definition is focused on a group context, what is the role of self-leadership within Northouse’s definition?”

Manz (1983; 1986; 1992) defined self-leadership as “the process of influencing oneself to establish the self-direction and self-motivation needed to perform” (as cited in Godwin, Neck & Houghton, 1999, p. 154).  Based on this definition, self-leadership is essential to performance. Northouse’s definition of leadership involves working towards a common goal, therefore, I would argue that followers practicing self leadership is instrumental in achieving the common goal of the group. In this way, self leadership plays an essential role in Northouse’s definition of leadership. Without self-leadership followers will be much harder to motivate to perform. Self-motivated followers have the potential to be more easily influenced towards the common goal of the group, making the leader much more effective.

The challenge of self-leadership in achieving a common goal is if the self-direction of followers is not aligned with the direction of the larger group. If a follower is self-directed but not working towards the common goal the leader will either have to influence them to align themselves with the group, change the common goal, or find a more creative solution to get the follower to pursue the common goal.

As a follow up question, if self-leadership does play an essential role in a group context, how should the leader take this into account when working to influence followers towards a common goal?

References:

Manz, C.C. (1983), The Art of Self-leadership: Strategies for Personal Effectiveness in Your Life and Work, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.

Manz, C.C. (1986), “Self-leadership: toward an expanded theory of self-influence processes in organizations”, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 11, pp. 585-600.

Manz, C.C. (1992), Mastering Self-leadership: Empowering Yourself for Personal Excellence, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.

Godwin, J. L., Neck, C. P., & Houghton, J. D. (1999). The impact of though self-leadership on individual goal performance. The Journal of Management Development, 18. Retrieved from http://www.academia.edu/15681827/The_impact_of_thought_self-leadership_on_individual_goal_performance_A_cognitive_perspective.