Exam 1: Written Portion
Michael Amory
Professor Heckman
Question 1
Leadership by definition is essentially the act creating a vision and strategy while focusing
on followers emotions. A Manager by definition is a person strictly focused on the
mathematical aspect of a business. A manager is a person who is focused on increasing the
bottom line through increased productivity, usually by being more concerned about
productivity than the followers themselves. The text further discuses Autocratic vs.
Democratic leaders, Structured oriented vs. Consideration oriented leads, Task vs.
Relationship oriented leaders, leaders who motivate using fear vs. love and Leaders who
give directive coaching vs. leaders who give supportive coaching. Untimely it seems that
these leadership “perspectives” are synonymous with one another. Modern day theories of
leadership create a spectrum where on one side we become a text book manager, rule
autocratically, are tasked focused, coach defectively and motivate our followers with fear,
that we will become the most successful leader in the short term but that eventually this
leadership style will backfire. Oppositely it tells us that if we are a textbook “leader”, rule
democratically, are considerate of are followers, create strong personal relationships with
them, offer supportive coaching and motivate in a loving, laissez faire way, that we will be
the best leader in the long run even know we may not be as profitable. In addition all of
these leadership theories explain how a leader uses his or her power, for either good or
bad.
Not all of these leadership theories follow the idea of this good vs. bad spectrum where
you must choose between being loved or hated. One theory explains the difference
between the old and new paradigms of leadership. The old paradigm of leadership was that
managers should produce stability through total control of follower’s everyday activities.
Micromanagement seems to be a perfect example of the old Paradigm of leadership. Today
the new reality for leadership, called the “new paradigm”, says that leaders must not be
heroic figures who have all the answer but should become humble leaders who don’t sulk
in their success. New Paradigm leaders empower employees and create a diverse
workplace. This leads to followers having a higher ethical purpose, working hard for
themselves rather than for their boss. This leadership theory explains how a leader should
distribute his or her power rather than how a leader decides to use their power. This theory
instead explains that in order to be a good leader one must actually offer some of that
