Over the past few weeks, I have learned some valuable information about leadership skills. The most exciting part of this journey has been learning the different ways in which leaders are made. According to Northouse (2021), theories about leadership have shifted from the idea that leaders are born to the concept of how leadership develops. I am particularly interested in developing leadership within a group or team. A team has been described as an interdependent group working towards a common goal (Homan et al., 2020). Teams possess varying characteristics as they can be diverse in that they may meet face to face or virtual (Northouse, 2021). Thus, one can accurately state that leadership can be a shareable role where the leader is willing to share leadership responsibility amongst their group members (PSU, WC, 2022, L9, pg 8). I will describe my experience at a non-governmental organization that employed a leadership style unlike any other I had encountered.

Shared leadership became a reality for me when I volunteered at a non-governmental organization essentially concerned with providing computers to needy children in South America. The organization was structured in a way I had never encountered before. I had been previously used to organizations with a hierarchical setup, where the Managing Director was primarily responsible for directing the business and offering strategy. In essence, leadership would usually rest with him. In the NGO, the structure was different as a Board governed the organization. Such a structure is consistent with the theory of shared leadership, where the leadership responsibilities are shared amongst members (Wang et al., 2017). The Board consisted of 7 members who were well versed in different areas, indicated by the fact that some came from a finance background, human resource, technology, socio-political, and a community representative.

I was surprised to learn that the organization did not have a specific person designated as the chairperson. According to Northouse (2021), for shared leadership to be effective, there should be a structure supporting lateral decision-making rather than the traditional set up. This organization did just that, with the issues handled through what they referred to as the coordinator. The coordinator was chosen based on their knowledge of the matter at hand so for instance, when faced with a problem requiring financial acumen, the board member would serve as the coordinator. Such an arrangement is essential to shared leadership, where the team members are expected to step forward when necessary to lead the group and to have the ability to step back when a fellow team member is better placed to offer their wisdom (Northouse, 2021, p 534). The Board, once it had unanimously selected the coordinator for a major issue, would allow the coordinator to decide then whether they would like to be involved in a hands-on manner or monitor the team, which is an essential part of the theory of shared leadership (Northouse, 2021, p 541).

As I learned more about the team leadership theory, I retrospectively understood how the arrangement enabled the organization to succeed. According to Northouse (2021), team effectiveness is measurable by the ability of the team to accomplish a task and maintain such tasks. A primary job that came to the attention of the Board during my time there was a shipping crisis that made it impossible for us to supply computers to Ecuador in time for the launch of a computer lab at the particular school we had engaged. Despite being from a  human resource background, the team member who was known for possessing excellent negotiating skills was able to engage the stakeholders with the view of postponing the launch to ensure that all preparations were properly in place. Negotiating skills are vital within team leadership, as a leader is expected to be able to source information and contacts from different areas to ensure the team performs at its optimum level (PSU, WC, 2022, L9, pg 5). The human resource-focused board member was able to contact shippers and the school’s management to resolve the crisis.

The management of the crisis reflected the Team Effectiveness Leadership Model that Ginnett developed to enable teams to perform (PSU, WC, 2022, L9, pg 6). As earlier stated, the board members considered the input of every member when faced with a crisis, ensuring that a coordinator had the right capabilities to guide the team through the issue. The process is an integral part of the team leadership theory since members must clearly understand what the leader wishes to do (PSU, WC, 2022, L9, pg 6). The rules within the organization made it mandatory for the coordinator to delineate their points clearly before any course of action and to take into consideration the critical inputs of the team. Output is also a vital part of Ginnett’s models, where the leader is encouraged to consider output prior to action (PSU, WC, 2022, L9, pg 6). The output of any decision was extensively discussed amongst team members before any implementation.

In conclusion, I witnessed the impact of shared leadership first-hand at the non-governmental organization I worked. The benefits were clear. The team had a clear vision on what to do and the leadership can be described as collaborative. Members were also able to identify crises whenever they arose quickly, and the role of the coordinator enabled problems to be solved promptly. Leadership within the group was empowering, since each member felt as if they were responsible for the decisions of the organization. The flexible structure made it easy for members to utilize their key competencies, such as networking and financial acumen. One negative I noted was the over-reliance on a member who possessed multiple skills. However, the member was gracious enough to allow others to take charge of the decision making.

Homan, A. C., Gündemir, S., Buengeler, C., & Van Kleef, G. A. (2020). Leading diversity: Towards a theory of functional leadership in diverse teams. Journal of Applied Psychology, 105(10), 1101-1128. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000482

Northouse, P. G. (2021). Leadership: Theory and practice (9th ed.). SAGE.

Wang, L., Jiang, W., Liu, Z., & Ma, X. (2017). Shared leadership and team effectiveness: The examination of LMX differentiation and servant leadership on the emergence and consequences of shared leadership. Human Performance, 30(4), 155-168. https://doi.org/10.1080/08959285.2017.1345909

Wu, Q., & Cormican, K. (2021). Shared leadership and team effectiveness: An investigation of whether and when in engineering design teams. Frontiers in Psychology, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.569198

We see leadership in a variety of settings at work, at home, even amongst family. As the oldest of many cousins, I am usually the person to go to when someone needs a babysitter. Leadership was pushed on me from quite an early age. Anytime the adults wanted a date night, dinner plans, or even vacation it was my duty as the oldest to take care of the children. Since I was not an adult or adult figure toward my cousins and brother, I created projects or activities for them to complete and adapted influential tactics and social influence to maintain power.

When I first began my babysitting journey it was a struggle to get any of the kids (around 3-6 years old) to pay attention, much less do what I asked of them. I began by using reciprocity, one of Cialdini’s 6 principles of social influence. Reciprocity involves influencing others by giving them something (PSU WC, 2016, L. 7). This typically involved putting a cartoon on the TV, in order to influence them to stop running around the house. As I got older, and my cousins got older (around 7-10 years old) I noticed we all moved into, liking, another of Cialdini’s 6 principles shown. Liking is characterized as people listening to who they like (PSU WC, 2016, L. 7). My cousins seemed interested in all the things I was doing and were no longer easily distracted by the TV. Suddenly they wanted advice on how to do their nails, hair, lipstick, etc. Fast forward another few years, I was beginning to drive and got a job. Suddenly I gained the social influence known as authority from Cialdini’s 6 principles. Authority occurs when someone is in charge (PSU WC, 2016, L. 7). I was considered an adult amongst my cousins. I handled issues as an adult did not simply call my parents when something went wrong.

Throughout the process of my babysitting journey, I used a variety of influential techniques. In the beginning I closely relied on pressure tactics. Pressure tactics typically involve threats (PSU WC, 2016, L. 7). Since I had no true authority I relied on statements like “if you do not listen, I’m calling mom.” Eventually, I used the exchange tactic to control the children. The exchange tactic involves a variety of favors to influence others (PSU WC, 2016, L. 7). One example, I remember using with my little brother was “if you do the dishes, you can stay up an extra hour.” As everyone got older and questions such as, “but why” were limited I began using rational persuasion. Rational persuasion influences others by using logical arguments to control others (PSU WC, 2016, L. 7). Sometimes my cousins would want to go shopping while I was babysitting. One way I would use logical arguments is by explaining that I only have a learners permit and can’t drive without an adult in the car.

Sometimes I would offer activities for the kids to complete. I used the method of participative leadership to accomplish this. Participative leadership occurs when a leader allows followers to be involved in decisions (Northouse, 2021, p.140). I found when I allowed them to choose an activity, they showed a lot more enthusiasm and positivity. When I dictated tasks and activities there was always a fight for control. If the activity was not dangerous, I was fine with giving them some control. One example I remember was when I had a group of kids and the girls wanted to play with barbies and the boys wanted to play a game called Jenga. I was fine with both groups participating in there activities with minimal direction from me.

In conclusion, the journey of learning different leadership tactics through babysitting was a fun and exciting adventure. As I grew, I gained a new sense of power that came with adulthood, I was no longer looked at as a child. When I did not have the power to control others, I used many influential tactics. Of the influential techniques I used pressure tactics, exchange, and rational persuasion. Of Cialdini’s 6 principles of social influence I used reciprocity, liking, and authority. Lastly, I found participative leadership to be the most useful in this situation.

References:

• Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2016). PSYCH 281 Lesson 7: Power and Influence. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2181168/modules
• Northouse, P. G. (2021). Leadership: Theory and Practice(9th Edition). SAGE Publications, Inc. (US). https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9781071834473

Based on the lessons, movie reviews, and personal curiosity, I have pondered the question, why do destructive leaders stay in power? Destructive leaders are those who play harmful roles by partaking in self-promotion, taking credit for others’ work, bullying, and aggressive and manipulative behaviors (Northouse, P. G. (2021) page 369).  Hindsight is 20/20, so looking back, leaders such as Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Jim Jones, and many others are blatantly unethical in their leadership practices. But how did they get in power and how did they remain for as long as they did? Some of these answers can be found when looking at morality as a component of leadership, transformational leadership, followership, and the power and influence leaders can possess.

There are debates on how leadership is a process of two different functions: a neutral one and a moral one. Leadership as a neutral process focuses on the fact that leadership can be used for good or bad outcomes whereas leadership as a moral process emphasizes that leadership influences others for a common good (Northouse, P. G. (2021) pages 14-15). Initially, based on those two descriptions it is easy to go straight towards the neutral process, because some of these behaviors are clearly immoral or unethical. However, it is important to note that the term “common good” is subject to individual interpretation. For example, as horrible as it is, Hitler was said to have believed that he was making the world a better place (Weikart, R. (2009)). From that perspective, it identifies that there is a moral component to leadership. Thus, perhaps it can be implied that leaders act on their own moral compass, and there is a sort of twisted moral component. However, other leaders may be aware that their behavior and leadership is unethical, and still proceed. Both are different processes, but could initially discuss their rationale as to how or why they lead regardless of whether it is a societal standard of ethical behavior. 

There are some key factors in transformational leadership that destructive leaders can use. One is charisma and the behaviors seen in charismatic leaders are that they set strong role models, they demonstrate competence, articulate goals, communicate high expectations, exude confidence and capability, and arouse motives  (Northouse, P. G. (2021) page 189).  I am sure we have all seen leaders rally large crowds through excitable behaviors, engaging dialogue, and extraordinary goals. These people demonstrate great amounts of charisma. These leaders often have an influence that is idealized and idolized by many, they create a link between a follower’s identity to an identity of the collective goal they are trying to achieve (PSU WC, 2022, L. 10 p.6). Moreover, there are many other characteristics that transformational leaders have. Transformational leaders have a vision, rhetorical skills, image and trust building, and personalized leadership. An example of this could be seen in Elizabeth Holmes’ business practices in Theranos. I watched a documentary on her company for the first movie analysis and she was very charismatic. For she demonstrated competence in the business and biomedical industry and used that to articulate goals for an industry disrupting technology, rapid blood testing. This was said to revolutionize the industry and she motivated her followers to be part of the change and innovation process which strengthened their alignment with her goals (Gibney, A (2019)).  

There are also situational characteristics of transformational leadership, these are usually times of crisis and civil unrest and when the tasks being done require a lot of reliance on others (PSU WC, 2022, L. 10 p.6). These can be seen when we reflect, again on Hitler’s rise to power. Based on the historical contexts, Germany was in a state of unrest. They were still struggling with recovering from World War 1 and were in a financial crisis. So, when a charismatic individual promised a solution as well as a scapegoat, many people turned to him. This could be due to a sense of hopelessness or a desire to get out of their current situations. Additionally, when there is an activity that requires a lot of interdependence, like the ideas of communism under Joseph Stalin, turning to a lead collectively, is very appealing for some. 

Additionally, there are also follower characteristics. Those are an identification with the leader and vision, heightened emotional levels, willing subordination to the leader, and feelings of empowerment (PSU WC, 2022, L. 10 p.6). These can be seen in many cases of destructive leaders. For example, in the documentary I watched for the movie review, it showed footage of the Jim Jones’ followers in Jonestown, which was the Peoples Temple. The followers had shown identification with the leader through their alignment with his vision of a peaceful, communal, and charitable society. A lot of them were passionate followers who had come from highly emotional backgrounds and sought refuge in Jonestown. Jim Jones had also encouraged and empowered them to achieve the goals and peaceful vision. Because of these factors, they were highly motivated and willingly submissive to Jones (Film Afrika Worldwide; Cineflix Productions. (2007)). Unfortunately, these followers, went all the way to their grave as some voluntarily committed suicide and others were forced to end their lives by drinking poisoned Kool-aid. 

Followership also plays a role in why destructive leaders rise through the ranks rather quickly. Followership is the process where an individual accepts or is willing to be influenced by another (Northouse, P. G. (2021) page 353). Destructive leaders can develop strong followerships through their charisma and impressionable vision, but they can align with certain types of followers that help boost their own prowess. Based on the Kellermen follower typology, there is a spectrum of levels of engagement. There are isolates who are detached and do not care for their leaders, bystanders who do not participate, participants who support or go against a given leader, there are activists who stand by their own beliefs but actively participate in the supporting or going against the leader’s practices, and diehards who are heavily committed and invested into supporting or opposing the leader (Northouse, P. G. (2021) pages 360-361). Destructive leaders who first come into power can develop a large following from supportive diehards and activists and those who are indifferent, the isolates and the bystanders, often inadvertently support them too. For, by doing nothing, they do not stop the destructive behaviors from occurring and the leaders may feel encouraged by that. An example of this could be seen as the large group of people who did nothing when Hitler came into power, though some disagreed with his message, beliefs, and goals, they did not do anything to stop it which indirectly contributed to the deaths of many. 

Finally, destructive leaders utilize power to influence others. Many destructive leaders are motivated by the need for personal power, which is the use of power for personal needs or desires (PSU WC, 2022, L. 7 p.5). This motive drives them to increase their control and influence on others, so they use different types of power to do so.  Based on the trends of historically destructive leaders, many use referent power, which is the power of likability at first, and coercive power, which essentially utilizes punishments to stay in power  (PSU WC, 2022, L. 7 p.4). For example, Joseph Stalin was liked early on by his fellow Bolshevics in part because of his brutally successful operations, but also because he was a more common person rather than an intellectual like Lenin that his peers and underlings could relate to.  Later, he ruled those same people with an iron fist to keep them in line (DailyHistory. (2021, February)).

Many people look at examples of destructive leaders from history and find it hard to believe that they were able to get that large of a following. Many also question  how many people were willing to support such a negative leader that created horrible outcomes for lots of people. However, when looking at the different theories, it can be seen that during times of unrest or when leaders have very appealing initial visions, or both, it can be so easy to fall for the rhetoric that promises much for a large portion of a population. Thus, we should not judge those who fall for such societally damaging leaders, because we might be the next ones who believe in an alluring goal or strongly identify with a cause that seems promising at first. 

 

References

DailyHistory. (2021, February). How Joseph Stalin became the leader of the Soviet Union. How Joseph Stalin became the leader of the Soviet Union – DailyHistory.org. Retrieved June 15, 2022, from https://dailyhistory.org/How_Joseph_Stalin_became_the_leader_of_the_Soviet_Union 

Film Afrika Worldwide; Cineflix Productions. (2007). Jonestown: Paradise Lost . USA. 

Gibney, A (2019). The Inventor: Out For Blood in Silicon Valley. Retrieved May 29, 2022

Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2022). PSYCH 485 Retrieved from 

https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2181168/modules/items/35188530 

Northouse, P. G. (2021). Leadership: Theory & Practice (9 ed.). Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications, Inc.

Weikart, R. (2009). Hitler’s ethic. California State University Stanislaus. Retrieved June 15, 2022, from https://www.csustan.edu/history/hitlers-ethic

Many people use the terms “group-work” and “teamwork” interchangeable, and in some instances they can be. However, there are times when you can be part of a group but not be part of a team. How is this you may ask, what makes a team different from a group? In lesson nine there was an example with Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan that really put the differences if the two in perspective. The difference is CODEPENDENCY! Tiger Woods’ success of a championship does not depend on the other people that are in the group. Due to the fact that Tiger Woods’ success does not depend on the other people around him, it makes him part of a group. Michael Jordan’s success has to come to him in a different way. He is a part of a team which makes him codependent on his teammates. For Michael Jordan to reach his goal of winning a championship he has to work with his teammates, and not alone. This makes his success dependent on others which makes Michael Jordan part of a team. While they both had dreams and aspirations of winning championships, Michael Jordan was unable to attain his goal alone without his team, and Tiger Woods did not have to be dependent on his group. (PSU WC, 2022, L. 9 p.2). 

In our own everyday life, we are in teams with the other people around us to help us achieve our goals. This can happen inside and outside of the classroom or our workplaces. For myself as well as everyone else on this class we are working in teams to achieve the goal of writing a movie review paper that gets the letter grade of an A. In many workplaces, people are asked to work in teams or are just put in teams to get a job done in a timely manner. For my current job it is especially important that my coworkers and I work as a team, we all have group roles (PSU WC, 2022, L. 9 p.3). During the summer months many dogs check in to my workplace and in one wing there can be as many as thirty to forty dogs. No one person alone could provide proper care for that many dogs. In order for each dog to get proper care we divide the dogs among two to three workers. This way we can work as a team to provide exceptional can for our furry friends.  

On a broader scale we as a society work as a team. While everyone does have different views and opinions, overall, we work together for the common good of ourselves. An obvious way we work together would be during elections. While views do differ, we all have the common goal of trying to pick someone we believe that will help everyone for the common good. Other ways teams happen in society would be our public-school districts. In order for kids to get a proper education everyone pays school taxes. Most people do believe that kids should get an education since it is valued as important. People who live in the school district enable this to happen as a team. Teams go beyond our everyday lives and can affect others without our knowledge.  

It is not hard to look around and see how the world works with teams, from your own life to things that are happening around you. Everyone wants tasks to run smoothly no matter how big or small that task may be. The world is a better place when we work together in a team and can support one another.  

Many people are now retiring from the trades. The trades are made up of mostly the baby boomer generation, so now they are at the age of retiring. Due to many of them retiring, it is important to pass on the skills to the younger generation that are coming into the trades. In order to pass on these skills, there are two main key parts, followership and the leader’s behaviors. 

To start, followership is important to the learning of the trades. The followers need to be reciprocating to the teaching methods of the elder tradesmen. As stated in lecture followership is how followers influence leader attitudes, behaviors, and outcomes” (PSU WC, 2022, L. 2 p.2). In the trades everyone learns differently, and the best style of teaching varies from each intern. The way an inter learns the trade effects how the current trade tech chooses to teach. The followers attuite towards learning also affects the leader which in this case is the seasoned tech. Many of these older generation techs have certain ways that they stick to and do not want to deviate from, which can be hard for new techs coming in because in their schooling they may have learned different techniques. While many older tech do not want to accept the new ways in the ever-changing trade world, it is still important that the intern respects the ways taught by the seasoned tech. While a lot of incoming techs think they know it all in the trade world there is still a lot to learned from their elder techs and their actions in followership effects how the older techs leach and lead them.  

While followership is important on how the information is received, the leader’s behavior also affects the communication and reciprocation of the information from leader to follower. There are four different types of leader behavior, directive leadership, supportive leadership, participative leadership, and achievement-oriented leadership (PSU WC, 2022, L. 6 p.12). These are four different leadership styles that approach followers in separate ways. When teaching, it is important to have different methods to approach and handle the situation. Everyone learns in a different way so to be an effective leader a person has to be able to guide them in a way that they understand. A person can use multiple of the methods listed above, there is no one right way. Leader behavior is an important part of teaching in the trades field.  

While the baby boomer generation is retiring it is important to pass on the knowledge and skills to the new generation of tradesmen. To pass the knowledge on it is important that the leader’s behavior and the followship mesh together and match up. When these two aspects of leadership are achieved in an effective way, the knowledge from one generation to the next can be passed on.  

References

 

Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2022). PSYCH 485 Lesson 6: Contingency & Path-Goal Theories Retrieved from

https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2181168/modules/items/35188530

Northouse, P. G. (2021). Leadership: Theory & Practice (9 ed.). Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications, Inc.