CHAPTER 1
The Nature and Importance of Leadership
The introductory chapter has several important purposes. Readers are given a detailed description of the
meaning of leadership. Although most readers have studied something about leadership, most can benefit
from a refresher and an update. Another important purpose of the chapter is to explain the various
CHAPTER OUTLINE AND LECTURE NOTES
I. THE MEANING OF LEADERSHIP
To be a leader, one has to make a difference and facilitate positive changes. Leaders inspire and
stimulate others to achieve worthwhile goals. A useful definition of leadership is the ability to
inspire confidence and support among the people who are needed to achieve organizational goals.
Leadership is needed at all levels in the organization.
A. Leadership as Shared Responsibility and Collaboration
The leadership role within a team is seldom the responsibility of one person. Rather, several
B. Leadership as a Relationship
Leadership is a relationship between the leader and the people being lead. According to one
theoretical analysis, leadership is not a trait or behavior of an individual, but a phenomenon
generated in the interactions among people in a given setting. The given setting refers to the
C. Leadership Versus Management
Leadership is but one of the four major functions of management (planning, organizing,
controlling, and leading). Leadership deals with change, inspiration, motivation, and influence.
In contrast, management deals more with maintaining equilibrium and the status quo. An
interview-based study found that leaders and managers have a different focus on the same set
Chapter1: The Nature and Importance of Leadership
II. THE IMPACT OF LEADERSHIP ON ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE
An important justification for studying leadership is that leaders affect organizational performance.
Many faltering business firms bring in a new top leader to spearhead a turnaround.
A. Research and Opinion: Leadership Does Make a Difference
Anecdotal evidence about the importance of leadership exists. Substantial evidence supports
the contention that leadership affects organizational performance. A study at the Center on
Leadership & Ethics at Duke University concluded that executive leadership actions can affect
performance, but only if the leader is perceived to be responsible and inspirational. Such
behaviors included engaging employees in the company’s vision, and inspiring employees to
B. Research and Opinion: Formal Leadership Does Not Make a Difference
According to the anti-leadership argument, leadership has a smaller impact on organizational
outcomes than do situational forces.
One viewpoint is that many organizations contain substitutes for leadership, factors in the
work environment that provide guidance and incentives to perform, making the leader’s role
almost superfluous. These substitutes for the leader and the leadership function include closely
III. LEADERSHIP ROLES
Understanding leadership roles helps explain leadership. A role is an expected set of activities or
behaviors stemming from the job. The nine leadership roles covered here are:
1. Figurehead (ceremonial activities).
2. Spokesperson (keeping key groups informed about the activities of the organization or
organizational unit).
Chapter 1: The Nature and Importance of Leadership
5. Team builder (building an effective team).
6. Team player (being a good team member oneself).
A common thread in the leadership roles of a manager is that the managerial leader in some
ways inspires or influences others. One analysis concluded that the most basic role for
IV. THE SATISFACTIONS AND FRUSTRATIONS OF BEING A LEADER
Being a leader offers many joys but also some frustrations. Because most readers of this book aspire
toward leadership positions or currently occupy such a position, this information allows for
meaningful class discussion.
A. Satisfactions of Leaders
The specific satisfactions of leaders are somewhat a function of the leadership position.
Nevertheless, here is a list of satisfactions that may be present in varying degrees in many
leadership situations:
1. A feeling of power and prestige.
2. A chance to help others grow and develop.
B. Dissatisfactions and Frustrations of Leaders
Despite the glory of being a leader, occupying a leadership or management role has many
built-in potential frustrations:
1. Too much uncompensated overtime.
2. Too many “headaches.”
Chapter1: The Nature and Importance of Leadership
V. A FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING LEADERSHIP
The framework presented here focuses on the major sets of variables that can influence leadership
effectiveness. It indicates that the leadership process is a function of the leader, the group members,
and other situational variables. The model presented in Figure 1–2 extends the situational
perspective. The model states that leadership effectiveness can best be understood by examining its
key variables: leader characteristics and traits, leader behavior and style, group member
VI. SKILL DEVELOPMENT IN LEADERSHIP
Leadership skills are in high demand, including in the screening of job candidates. Developing
leadership skills is more complex than developing a structured skill, yet these skills can be
developed by following a general learning model:
1. Conceptual knowledge and behavioral guidelines.
2. Conceptual information demonstrated by examples and brief descriptions of leaders in
action.
VII. FOLLOWERSHIP: BEING AN EFFECTIVE GROUP MEMBERS
To be an effective leader, one needs good followers (or group members). Leaders are also followers
and followers also exhibit leadership.
A. Types of Followers
Followers differ substantially in talent and motivation.
1. Isolates are completely detached, and support the status quo.
Chapter 1: The Nature and Importance of Leadership
B. Essential Qualities of Effective Followers
Certain effective group member characteristics facilitate followership: (1) self-management or
thinking for oneself, and working well without close supervision; (2) commitment to something
C. Collaboration between Leaders and Followers
A key role for followers is to collaborate with leaders in achieving organization goals. Bennis
VIII. GUIDELINES FOR ACTION AND SKILL DEVELOPMENT
Although the thousands of leadership studies published often conflict, the discipline of leadership
offers much useful information. The approach recommended here for applying leadership
COMMENTS ON EXPERIENTIAL EXERCISES
LEADERSHIP SELF–ASSESSMENT QUIZ 1–1: READINESS FOR THE
LEADERSHIP ROLE
The first self-examination exercise in the text has considerable face validity. The student reflects on a
series of attitudes and behaviors that are part of the leadership role. As will most of the questionnaires
in this text, the specific statements and questions are helpful in understanding what leaders do.
Chapter1: The Nature and Importance of Leadership
LEADERSHIP SKILL–BUILDING EXERCISE 1–1: MY LEADERSHIP
ROLE ANALYSIS
This exercise relates closely to Self-Assessment Quiz 1-1. Although the present exercise might be
LEADERSHIP SKILL-BUILDING EXERCISE 1-2: APPRECIATING THE
SATISFACTIONS OF BEING A LEADER
Given that most people taking a course in leadership are or aspire to be leaders, it will most
LEADERSHIP SKILL–BUILDING EXERCISE 1–3: MY LEADERSHIP
PORTFOLIO
Here and in each chapter the student is asked to make a journal entry of a leadership experience that
relates to a major theme of the chapter. We suspect that students who take a course in leadership with the
LEADERSHIP SELF–ASSESSMENT QUIZ 1–2: THE LEADERSHIP
EXPERIENCE AUDIT
The audit of leadership experiences is designed to help students realize that they most likely already have
some leadership experience tucked under their belt. A subtle feature of the audit is that it might sensitize
students to look for opportunities to exert leadership.
COMMENTS ON DISCUSSION QUESTIONS AND ACTIVITIES
1. Why bother studying leadership when fields such as petroleum engineering and physician
assistant pay such high starting salaries?
One reason for studying leadership is that it is a supplement to the high-paying fields just
listed: every field has leaders. Another reason for studying leadership is that in the long run,
2. Give an example of how you have exerted leadership on or off the job in a situation in which you
did not have a formal leadership position. Explain why you describe your activity as leadership.
Relevant examples here center on taking the initiative to accomplish something important, and
involving others in the activity. Examples include starting an employee network group, a recycling
3. What would a boss of yours have to do to demonstrate that he or she is an effective leader and an
effective manager?
Chapter 1: The Nature and Importance of Leadership
4. Identify a business or sports leader who you think is highly effective.
Leaders are usually classified as effective on the basis of the results they achieve. Students will
5. Many people who were voted “the most likely to succeed” in their high school yearbooks became
leaders later on in their career. How can you explain this finding?
6. Why might experience in managing entry-level workers, such as in a fast-food restaurant, be
valuable leadership experience?
Most fast-food restaurants are staffed primarily by entry-level workers, and managing these people
provides valuable leadership experience. Quite often the manager has to inspire and persuade these
workers to devote their best efforts to the job even though the job is not directly related to their
7. If so much useful information is available about leadership, why do we still find so many
managers who cannot gain the respect of their subordinates?
One reason why many managers do not get the respect of subordinates despite the abundance of
information about leadership is those managers do not study the information and apply it to
8. Considering that so many people of all ages do much of their communicating with text messages,
what would be wrong with leaders communicating with group members mostly through texting?
Texting may be acceptable for many communication episodes between leaders and subordinates, but
true organizational leadership requires some face-to-face interaction. People are much more likely to
Chapter1: The Nature and Importance of Leadership
9. Which one or two of the ten leadership roles described in this chapter do you think requires the
highest level of skill?
10. In what way might being an effective follower help prepare a person for becoming an effective
leader?
Having the qualities of an effective follower help a person become a competent, contributing
PLAUSIBLE RESPONSES TO CASE QUESTIONS
LEADERSHIP CASE PROBLEM A: HAILEY WANTS TO MAKE A
DIFFERENCE
This case is chosen for Chapter 1 because it illustrates the reality of the type of leadership
challenges a middle manager might face. (Yet we recognize that some students will complain
that the case is “hum–drum.”)
1. Advise Haily on where she should get started in making a difference as a leader in the drum
manufacturing department.
There is some evidence from the comments of the staff members that the department could use a
2. To what extent do you think it is advisable for Hailey to interview workers in the
deparment to get some input as to what she should do as a leader?
Asking “What should I do as your leader?” might project a weak image of Hailey. Yet,
Associated Role Play
Here is an opportunity for students to engage in a realistic leadership challenge. The answer to case
question 1 should provide some ideas for the script of what Hailey will say to the group. Based on some
Chapter 1: The Nature and Importance of Leadership
LEADERSHIP CASE PROBLEM A: ELON MUSK, BUSINESS LEADER
AND SERIAL ENTREPRENEUR
This case was purposely chosen for Chapter 1because it illustrates how far reaching a leader can be in his
or her influence, and how big an impact a business leader can have on the lives of so many people.
1. Which roles does Musk appear to occupy as a leader of his companies?
Musk clearly occupies the enntrepreneur and technical problem-solver roles because he
was instrumental in founding his several businesses and is involed involved in the technical
2. What would you perceive to be a key advantage, and a key disadvantage of reporting directly to
Musk?
A major advantage of reporting directly to Musk is that the person would have the opportunity to
work directly for one of the most innovative leaders in business history. As a result, the direct
3. What is your overall evaluation of Elon Musk as both a business leader and a leader in society?
Many students will have high regard for Musk because of the impact he has on society now, and an
4. What factors might Musk have, similar to the late Steve Jobs, going for him as a leader that people
will put up with his blunt approach to people?
Musk offers followers, as well as other work associates, the opportunity to work with a creative
5. Incidentally, do you think that Musk’s reliance on problem-solving ability as a criterion for hiring
would be helpful, or harmful, to new graduates?
An emphasis on problem-solving ability as a criterion in choosing job candidates would be an asset
Associated Role Play
An important purpose of this role play is that it illustrates how even a well-respected leader will have