Category: Team Leadership

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Transformational Leadership and Principles of Ethical Leadership – Unit 7, Learning Activity 2

According to Wang, Oh, Courtright, & Colbert (2011), managerial implications of findings related to transformational leadership include the following:

  1. Transformational leadership is desirable at the managerial level and therefore emphasis should be placed on hiring, training and promoting candidates who “are more likely to become transformational leaders” (Wang et al., 2011, p. 253). 
  2. Transformational leaders are most successful and have the greatest organizational impact when they are working collaboratively as part of a larger team (Wang et al., 2011, p. 253).

These two implications mean that organizations need to pay attention to the people they are promoting into senior positions of leadership. As the influence of an employee grows through promotion, it becomes more important for this person to display characteristics and traits of someone who is likely to become a transformational leader.

At the same time, an employee who demonstrates clearly that they have the ability to be seen as a transformational leader should be placed in a role where they have the opportunity to influence those around them through this style of leadership. A transformational leader who is asked to do a role which doesn’t require collaboration and teamwork is a poor organizational leadership decision.

These two implications impact me in two specific ways. First, who are the leaders within our organization who are already demonstrating the traits of transformational leadership? These people should rise to the top of the list of candidates who should be considered for collaborative, team-based roles where their transformational leadership can flourish and bring greater influence across our organization.

Second, there are some roles within my department and our organization as a whole which are mostly administrative, can be done independently and by the nature of the role don’t require collaboration. These roles are not any less important for the success of the organization but I should be careful to not expect a leader who exhibits traits of transformational leadership as someone who would be excited about a role like this, even if it means a promotion and the appearance of greater organizational influence.

According to Northouse (2018), there are five principles of ethical leadership which are summarized as respect, service, justice, honesty, and community (Northouse, 2018, p. 346).

Respect
Ethical leadership requires a level of respect for not only the people around us but also for their decisions and values. The people are not a means to the end of accomplishing our own leadership results but the people are “ends in themselves” (Northouse, 2018, p. 346).

Respect shows itself not only in how a leader treats other people but also in how the ideas, input and decisions of those around the leader are taken into consideration. Leaders who don’t respect those around them and the value they bring to a team or organization will quickly find themselves with nobody to lead.

Service
While this will always be a struggle for leaders (particular those who are used to a transactional style of leadership) there is significant value in seeing my position as a leader as an opportunity to serve those around me. The well-being of followers becomes increasingly important for an ethical leader. The desire for followers to succeed just as the leader succeeds is a mark that this principle has taken root in the life of the leader.

Greenleaf (1970, as cited by Northouse, 2018, p. 348) develops this further as the concept of servant leadership. The role of the servant leader is to help develop and grow followers so that the organizational objectives can be achieved.

The increasing popularity of the greater good, even in the business world (Northouse, 2018, p. 348), means this notion of servant leadership is becoming more familiar. The expectation continues to grow that part of a leader’s focus is to serve the people they are leading.

Justice
The ethical leadership characteristic of justice speaks to the need for leaders to treat people equally and with fairness. Preferential treatment shouldn’t be given by the leader to followers based on relationship and benefit to the leader. In times when followers are given different treatment, this characteristic of justice means an ethical leader will know it is important to communicate why different treatment is being given while keeping an ethical mindset in the treatment of followers.

Justice is also seen when it comes to reward and punishment. The ethical leader has a responsibility to make sure that equal treatment is given to followers based on performance or value to the team. Reward and punishment should not be given based on the leader playing favourites or looking to make a larger statement to other followers.

Honesty
Ethical leaders are expected to always tell the truth. Every leader knows this is a challenge and comes with significant nuance. While it is not always possible for a leader to be fully truthful with every person in every situation, ethical leadership requires that leaders are never dishonest with followers.

Dishonesty is lying and creates distrust. The other principles of respect, service and justice all become casualties to the leader’s lack of honesty. Dishonesty is also a display of selfishness by the leader. An act which says that the reputation of the leader is more important than the consequence of telling the truth.

Experienced ethical leaders will learn to never lie while also knowing when they should not be fully truthful. Ethical leaders understand that everyone is entitled to the truth but the timing of when that information is delivered may change depending on seniority or other organizational factors.

Community
The principle of community speaks to the ability of an ethical leader to build a group of followers toward a common goal (Northouse, 2018, p. 351). Ethical leaders understand that followers have their own desires, motivations, and intentions and this principle of community shows itself as the followers rally together, led by this ethical leader, to accomplish this common goal.

The followers are valued as individuals and their interests matter to an ethical leader. As community is built together the followers become more committed to working together, following the leader and achieving the outcome ahead of them.

Rost (1991, as cited by Northouse, 2018, p. 352) suggests that community as a goal itself is not enough but that ethical leadership will influence followers to even greater significance through community impact, or “attention to a civic virtue” (Northouse, 2018, p. 352). Ethical leaders build community among followers so they are able to focus not only on the goal ahead of them but on the greater good they can bring to the community around them.

Of these five, I would say all five are critical but honesty and service would stand out to me as the two most important.

As I’ve already mentioned, when a leader lacks honesty they lose all credibility, their reputation is tarnished and mistrust is built among followers. The impact is the relationship between leader and follower is significantly damaged and the ceiling on relationships between followers themselves is also very low. The likelihood of any kind of common goal being achieved in this kind of environment is very slim.

The priority of service as a principle of ethical leadership is so important because in some ways it facilitates the other four principles to happen. If my focus is on serving those around me it is incumbent on me to respect them, to treat them justly, to be truthful with them and to build community among them. When followers see a heart in a leader to serve others, this becomes relational currency for the times when the leader makes mistakes. A leader who is focused on serving others will be given more grace by followers because it is understood that the desire was there to make a decision based on the good of the followers.

 

Reference
Northouse, P. G. (2018). Leadership: Theory and Practice, Eighth Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Wang, G., Oh, I. S., Courtright, S. H., & Colbert, A. E. (2011). Transformational leadership and performance across criteria and levels: A meta-analytic review of 25 years of research. Group & Organization Management, 36(2), 223-270. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1177/1059601111401017

 

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Servant Leadership Characteristics in Team Leadership – Unit 5, Learning Activity 2

Servant leaders who are given the responsibility to lead a team need to consider how to most effectively serve and lead when working together on projects in a group.

Spears’ ten characteristics (2010) can be seen as over-arching character descriptions of an effective servant leader and can also be taken as instructive directions and strategies for a particular situation. The habit of character, as described by Hillman (1996, as cited in Spears, 2010), points to these characteristics being both situational and longer term.

When it comes to a specific group project being led by a team leader in an organization, some of these characteristics can be used effectively to help the team succeed.

Listening
Leaders must be able to clearly identify the goals and results which are being requested in a project. The ability to ask questions, seek clarity and listen to the “said and unsaid” (Spears, 2010, p. 27) communication of what will make a project successful is key for the leader.

This equips the leader to then communicate clearly to those they are leading. In the same way that a leader must listen well to what is being asked of them, the leader must also listen well to what is being offered by the followers.

The specific talents, abilities, experience and resources which different members of the team are able to offer the leader need to be heard, recognized and encouraged for the group to be successful together.

Awareness
The power dynamic of a leadership position requires self-awareness so that a leader doesn’t obstruct or interfere in the work a team is doing together. Understanding how requests are heard by followers when asked by a leader, for example,  will impact how the leader makes the request.

Awareness also helps to facilitate leadership decisions from the Hill Model for Team Leadership, as explained by Northouse (2018). Whether a leader needs to monitor or take action, whether intervention is needed by task or relationship, and whether internal or external intervention is needed are all challenges which can be navigated by a leader with a high level of awareness.

Persuasion
By listening to followers on the team, the leader is then able to persuade the team as they work together to achieve the common goal. A servant leader is not in a position to simply do the will of the rest of the team but to serve each person on the team by helping them come to the most effective solution to the problem they are facing.

Persuasion can easily become dictatorial and driven by power so the leader needs to understand their role clearly and develop skills which allow them to be persuasive rather than manipulative. As Spears says, persuasion “offers one of the clearest distinctions between the traditional authoritarian model and that of servant leadership” (Spears, 2010, p. 28).

Question
Have you experienced being a follower on a team where a leader clearly struggled with one of the ten characteristics of servant leadership from Spears? How did that impact you and the team you were a part of?

Reference
Northouse, P. G. (2018). Leadership: Theory and Practice, Eighth Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Spears, Larry C. (2010) Character and Servant Leadership: Ten Characteristics of Effective, Caring Leaders. The Journal of Virtues & Leadership, Vol. 1 Iss. 1, 2010, 25-30. Retrieved from https://www.regent.edu/acad/global/publications/jvl/vol1_iss1/Spears_Final.pdf

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Critical Functions of Team Effectiveness – Unit 5, Learning Activity 1

Team leadership and the effectiveness of teams has been an area of focus for me since most of my leadership experience has been within the context of teams. Team leadership effectiveness can bring joy and pain to everyone involved!

According to Northouse (2018), the two critical functions of team effectiveness are performance and development. Nadler (1998, as cited in Northouse, 2018) expands on these two functions with performance referring to the quality of work produced by the team and development referring to the growth among and within the team itself.

Components of effective team leadership are found through answers to these six questions asked by Hackman (2012, as cited in Northouse, 2018, p. 375):

  1. It is a real team?
  2. Does it have a compelling purpose?
  3. Does it have the right people?
  4. Are the norms of conduct clear?
  5. Is there support from the organizational context?
  6. Is there team-focused coaching?

As these questions are answered, more questions answered affirmatively is an indicator of higher team leadership effectiveness.

Larson & LaFasto (1989, as cited in Northouse, 2018) identified eight characteristics “consistently associated with team excellence” (Northouse, 2018, p. 376). Team leadership at its most excellent is characterized by:

  1. Clear, elevating goal
  2. Results-Driven Structure
  3. Competent Team Members
  4. Unified Commitment
  5. Collaborative Climate
  6. Standards of Excellence
  7. External Support and Recognition
  8. Principled Leadership

I have the privilege of currently working as part of a team with a compelling purpose and clear, elevating goal of becoming a regional church of 10,000 meeting the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of people in Jesus’ name.

Competent team members, I’m very happy to say, surround me in the work I am currently doing. They help make our team better, they help me do better work and they help those we are leading.

I am also grateful to work in a team with a collaborative climate yet where there is also the desire for increased collaboration among our leadership team and across departments. As our organization grows this becomes more challenging but when it occurs the results are always better and the overall effectiveness of our team grows.

Principled leadership is the ability of the leader of a team to allow the team to work according to agreed upon principles, stepping in only when “one or more of the eight characteristics of team success are not being achieved” (Northouse, 2018, p. 379).

Zaccaro, Heinen, & Shuffler (2001, as cited in Northouse, 2018) identified four processes which influence team leadership. The cognitive process helps the team identify and understand problems. The motivational process helps the team achieve high performing goals. The affective process helps the team overcome obstacles and stressful situations. The process of coordination helps the team become more effective by matching skills to the correct roles and through change, adaptation and feedback as growth is experienced (Northouse, 2018).

When I joined the team in my current role the staff had just agreed to a five-year strategic plan. On its own, this plan was filled with objectives which were well beyond the reach, capability and skill set of the existing team of staff and volunteers.

Over the past five years, we have been led by a team leader who has encouraged, resourced, challenged and celebrated us as we’ve seen these seemingly out-of-reach goals come to reality. The collective work of our team became more and more encouraging as we saw some of these big, audacious goals come into focus and then to see them accomplished.

These accomplishments and successes then become fuel for the next challenge, the next big goal, the next dream which seems so far away. This motivational process becomes itself a way for the team to grow in ability and confidence as we work together and grow in effectiveness.

Reference
Northouse, P. G. (2018). Leadership: Theory and Practice, Eighth Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

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Response to daneen85: Unit 1, Activity 4: Management and Leadership

LDRS 500-Unit 1 Activity 4: Management and Leadership

Daneen, I’m impressed by your commitment to palliative care and helping others develop their skills in this area. Such a crucial role the play in helping families through difficult seasons of life.

As far as your question, I have always leaned towards the side of strong, charismatic leaders. One of my leadership convictions is that leaders should always be developing other leaders through apprenticeship and mentorship. A benefit of having one strong leader versus three average leaders would be the potential for the number of second-, third-, fourth-generation leaders who could be raised up.

Admittedly, I’m exposing my bias of what I believe the defintion of “strong leader” and “average leader” to be. These definitions may need some refining and I’d be open to critique on that.