LDRS 500-Unit 1-LA 4
What distinguishes assigned leaders from emergent leaders?
Leadership, as a process, applies to individuals in both assigned roles and emergent roles. Northhouse (2018) explained the two common forms of leadership. “Assigned leadership is based on a formal title or position in an organization. Emergent leadership results from what one does and how one acquires support from followers” (p15).
Assigned leaders derive their authority from their formal positions, unlike assigned leader, when an employee begins taking on tasks voluntarily, helping others complete their tasks better and encouraging consensus among coworkers to leverage commitment to assigned group goals, this person according to Northhouse (2018) is an emergent leader. Emergent leaders garner leadership recognition through the enactment of behavior and characteristics over a period through communication and interaction. Kickul & Neuman (2000) implicit that, “extroversion, openness to experience and cognitive ability were predictive of emergent leadership behaviors. Conscientiousness and cognitive ability were associated with team performance” (p.27).
Some of the positive communication behaviors proposed by (Fisher, 1974) that account for emergent leader “being verbally involved, being informed, seeking others’ opinion, initiating new ideas, and being firm but not rigid” (as cited in Northhouse, 2018, p.8). Regarding communication and behaviors, certain personality traits examined in 160 participants, three features; Dominance, intelligence, and confidence were seen to shed light on emergent leaders’ perceptions (Smith and Foti 1998, as cited in Northhouse 2018, p.8). It appears that emergent leader fits the identity of the group in sharing and working towards a common goal.
In the notion of emergent leadership, I would like to share with you my story. Last year, during my shift, I received a phone call from a nurse asking about what to do with the glucometer – it’s not working. In the back of my mind, I had no idea of what to do. Then I responded back to her as to bring the glucometer for fixing as I would provide her with a spare one. That was the beginning of my interest to learn more about the glucometers.
My supervisor explained what I need to do in this situation. During that time, I thought what I could do to help. Then I started to read more about it. Few months after, she asked me to run comparison tests on one of the glucometers to validate the results. I was excited and felt that I was not ready. As she explained the steps, and I followed through, I provided her the results; then I was asked to do a test and have access to deal with these glucometers.
Since that day I finished a course in point f care testing, and I joined the point of care testing team. I started to feel more confident about what I am doing and why I am doing it, to take an extra role in my job, my motivation was to help and serve patient first.
Recently, I am involved in reviewing a new procedure, which I am going to use what I learned from quality management system course that I just finished. One of my colleagues mentioned to me that I am a good tech to look after these glucometers. I am looking forward to improving what I am doing.
I believe I was seen by my previous supervisor and recently my current team leader. I will continue to share my highs and lows, and I will continue to examine further to find what I can do better to improve. Leaders have a vision of a big picture, and a great leader strives to enable their followers to grow their Potential.
Are managers considered as a leader? Are they the two sides of a coin?
Management emerged in the early part of the 20th century. Management is about seeking orders and stability, whereas the leadership function is to produce change and movement. To understand the dynamics of the leader-manager relationship, Northhouse (2018) noted that, “Rosto (1991) contended
that leadership is a multidirectional influence relationship and management is a unidirectional authority relationship. Whereas leadership is concerned with the process of developing mutual purposes, management directed toward coordinating activities to get a job done” (as cited in Northhouse, 2018, p.13).
The functionality of management-leadership relationship resides where management planning and budgeting and Leaders establishing the direction; managers organizing and staffing where leaders are aligning people; managers controlling and problem-solving where leaders are motivating and inspiring (Northhouse, 2018).
In a recent study, Simonet and Tett (2012) explored how “leadership are distinguished by motivating intrinsically, creative thinking, strategic planning, tolerance of ambiguity, and being able to read people, and management was distinguished by rule orientation, short-term planning, motivating extrinsically, orderliness, safety concerns, and timeliness” (as cited in Northhouse, 2018, p.13). Change needs the direction and problem-solving needs emotions with considering the intrinsic and extrinsic factors for these activities to played out in balance; therefore, a manager-leader relationship is essential if an organization is to prosper.
The overlap between leadership and management centered on how both involve influencing a group of individuals in goal attainment (Northhouse, 2018, p.16). Managers- leaders relationship resonate in balance in an ideal way to run an organization.
How do you explain the relationship that occurs in the assigned- emergent leader relation? What is the dynamics that facilitate this relationship?
Reference
Kickul, J. & Neuman, G. (2000). Emergent Leadership Behaviors: The Function of Personality and Cognitive Ability in Determining Teamwork Performance and KSAs. Journal of Business and Psychology (15) 27. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007714801558
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice, Seventh Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. ISBN 971452203409