Question 1: What are the main implications for managers in the article? How can you use this information to become a better leader?
I think there are four main implications for managerial strategies which can be pulled out of the article. First, the company should provide training to managers and help them acquire or enhance the transformational leadership. Hypotheses 1, 2, 3, 4 supported by the results imply that transformational leadership greatly contributes to superior performance at all levels (Wang, Oh, Courtright, & Colbert, 2011). Moreover, Barling, Weber, and Kelloway (1996) have examined that transformational leadership can be gained through training and practice. Second, for an individual who wants to be picked up as the manager, he/she should possess the traits of transformational leader in advance such as “being dominant and self-confident, having a strong desire to influence others, and having a strong sense of one’s own moral values” (Northouse, 2016, p. 164). Sequentially, he/she could select or nurture the next potential manager who is “more likely to become a transformational leader”(Wang, Oh, Courtright, & Colbert, 2011, p. 253). Third, the managers could increase the chances of engaging team-work in tasks to gain higher performance. The results tested in the article show that “the overall relationship of transformational leadership with organizational-level performance was somewhat smaller than for team-level performance but greater than for individual-level performance” (Wang, Oh, Courtright, & Colbert, 2011, p. 246). In sum, the transformational leadership will work the best within teams. Fourth, it is crucial for managers to exert transactional leadership when necessary to maximize the performance. The contingent reward, one of the typical transactional leadership behaviours, is examined to be particularly useful in increasing individual-level task performance (Wang, Oh, Courtright, & Colbert, 2011). Although the transformational leadership is superior in other aspects such as enhancing individual-level contextual performance and team performance (Wang, Oh, Courtright, & Colbert, 2011), the manager can demonstrate a multi-leadership style rather than sticking to only one type of leadership. Incorporating different types of leadership and balancing the factors of the leadership in the managerial actions are the best choice for the manager.
Question 2: Define and describe the principles of ethical leadership.
(1) Respects others
Respect others means “Treat others the way in which you like to be treated” (BuildingCapacity, 2013). It also means that the leader “listen closely to followers, is empathic, and is tolerant of opposing points of view” (Northouse, 2016, p. 342). In sum, “respect includes giving credence to others’ ideas and confirming them as human beings” (p. 342).
(2) Serves others
A leader who puts the followers’ needs and concerns foremost demonstrates the principle of serving others (Northouse, 2016). Also, this principle is “an example of altruism” (Northouse, 2016, p. 342).
(3) Shows justice
Being fair means the leader chooses to treat the followers equally (Northouse, 2016). This principle needs the leaders to “place issues of fairness at the center of their decision making”(Northouse, 2016, p. 344).
(4) Manifests honesty
Dalla Costa (1998) states that the honest principle means “do not promise what you can’t deliver, do not misrepresent, do not hide behind spin-doctored evasions, do not suppress obligations, do not evade accountability, do not accept that the ‘survival of the fittest’ pressures of business release any of us from the responsibility to respect another’s dignity and humanity” (p. 164).
(5) Builds community
The ethical leader intrinsically feels he/she should seek the common goal which presents the good of everyone (Northouse, 2016). Consequently, the community will be built based on all the members moving towards the mutual goal.
Question 3: Which 2 do you think are the most important? Why?
Serving others and showing honesty are the most important principles from my perspective. The reason for choosing them is that they are both hard to achieve for the leader. The aforementioned altruism, another illustration of serving, requires the leader to promote the interests of others regardless of his/her own preference (Northouse, 2016). Also, altruism is addressed in many types of leadership such as authentic leadership, transformational leadership, and especially servant leadership. I believe that these types of leadership value the role of serving not only because it is unique but also it can contribute to long-term benefit including the welfare of the people, the flourish of the company, and the harmony of the community (Northouse, 2016). Comparing with serving others, being honest is relatively easy to achieve. While the critical part of being honest is to what extent should a leader share candidly with the followers (Northouse, 2016). Apparently, lying to the others most of the time will make the individual undependable and unreliable, and the consequences of this behaviour could be destructive and irreparable. On the contrary, always being honest and open is unwise because “telling the complete truth can be destructive or counterproductive” (p. 346). In order to motivate the followers in the best way and to gain the better performance effectively, the leader should face the challenge of striking the balance “between being open and candid while monitoring what is appropriate to disclose in a particular situation” (p. 346). I think the words of Dalla Costa (1998) mentioned above can serve as the standard of being honest or not for a leader. However, the leader should decide or develop his/her own standard of honesty considering different situations or issues. This could be a critical task for the leader. But once the leader has figured it out and exerted this principle perfectly, he/she can genuinely achieve the reciprocal relationship with the followers and the long-term effect will be positive.
My questions: If you are the leader who chose to disclose some information in the particular situation, how would you deal with the dissatisfied emotion of the followers when they discover the truth? How would you rebuild the trusty relationship with them?
References
Barling, J., Weber, T., & Kelloway, E. K. (1996). Effects of transformational leadership training on attitudinal and financial outcomes: A field experiment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 81, 827-832.
BuildingCapacity. (2013, March 29). What is Ethical Leadership? [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ks2QGoIq5nA
Dalla Costa, J. (1998). The ethical imperative: Why moral leadership is good business. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice. 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.
https://create.twu.ca/ldrs500/unit-7-2/unit-7-learning-activities/