Why Leadership Matters
Playing the trump card: Why we select overconfident leaders and why it matters , this article finds that within the context of the 2016 US Primaries, voters were swayed by candidates’ confidence, regardless of candidate competence. giving rise to behavioral signals – strong opinions, defined ideas, a calm and relaxed bearing, and a general demeanor of self-assurance – that others read as competence and leadership potential . Overconfidence has some of these same signals. (Ronay,2019) Northouse talks about this very issue in the introduction to his book. Leadership is a highly sought after position and we either get to choose our leaders or as in the case of a job they are often chosen for us. Assigned or emergent are two terms that we are learning in the beginning of this book.(Northouse, 2016) I think it is important to understand what qualities makes a person a good or a great leader. We have just begun to learn about these factors in this class and it is very complicated and unique to each person. Leadership is a factor in not just a single person but it looked at throughout the world. Northouse has described it as a very complicated phenomenon. (Northouse,2016) This concept has been studied by many people and it is important in small groups of people as well as very large groups of people. Northouse has taught us that leadership is hard to define and that it has changed in definition through different times just within this country. Why is it important to have a leader that fits the ideals of the organization and how does it effect the followers? You have to look at the function that management posses in an organization and if they are consistent with the goals of that organization. This includes many duties and functions with in an organization such as allocating of resources, providing structure, establish rules and procedures, developing incentives, creating solutions and also to take corrective action. (Northouse,2016) Northouse also goes on to say that the vision of the company or organization , and the strategies they use to communicate goals, and inspire and empower followers as well as the leaders is also very important to the success of an organization.(Northouse,2016) We have learned that intelligence, self-confidence, determination, integrity, and sociability are some leadership traits that are very sought out in being a positive leader. I think often times we don’t understand how these traits will affect a leader and the role it plays among the followers. I think that it is very interesting to examine how these affect an organization , we have talked about our different experiences with leadership and how they affected us personally. it is interesting to me that in the last 25 years a list that is called Five-Factor Personality Model of Leadership has been constructed and looked at with great distinction in regards to what makes a good leader. I can only imagine what the refined list will look like as time passes on and will Overconfidence replace Extraversion? Northouse also has a Leadership Trait Questionnaire that I find very interesting, I wonder after looking at it, if it is a personality quiz or if it would become a personal popularity quiz, by that I mean if you like the person that you are looking at or of you have a prior notion about that person and your own personality and preconceived notions will be a factor in the results of the questionnaire.
Resources:
Northouse, P. G. (2015). Leadership: theory and practice. Seventh edition. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Ronay, R., Oostrom, J. K., Lehmann-Willenbrock, N., Mayoral, S., & Rusch, H. (2019). Playing the trump card: Why we select overconfident leaders and why it matters. The Leadership Quarterly, doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/10.1016/j.leaqua.2019.101316
mjd6034 says
I think things that can affect whether or not a person can be considered a good leader or not can ride on factors such as the company he works for and the followers he has. Yes, the leader can have a positive or negative effect on the situation as well, but it can be affected in the opposite way as well. The part where you mentioned how leaders aren’t made, but some are more driven to step forward in situations that make sense and that could have to do with things like their personality or the situation and I think it keeps them separated. As you stated we have only just begun getting into the topics for semester and I think we will continue to learn all about the aspects of leadership.
ane5140 says
Interestingly, your post made me immediately think that people are either born a leader or not. Individuals can practice and develop leadership traits; however, many leaders often naturally stand out when a opportunity presents itself. Research from Stogdill represents that “traits and the situational factors were determinants of leadership” (Northouse, 2016, p.21). This shows that leaders have to have certain traits based on the situation in order to have effective leadership. I also thought about leaders who demonstrated certain traits, then suddenly stop demonstrating those traits and start demonstrating the dark side of personality traits. These leaders often show traits such as, “argumentative, interpersonal insensitivity, narcissism, fear of failure, perfectionism, impulsivity” (PSU WC, 2016, L2 P.5). The downside to the dark side personality traits, is they are often unknown or unrealized until a person has been in a leadership role for a while. These traits are usually not detected on any interviews and tests used for assessing leadership. (PSU WC, 2016, L2, P.5)
These thoughts came full circle as you brought up the terms assigned leaders and emergent leaders. I have to agree that it is important to understand the difference between the two terms. When leadership is discussed I often find that people know who leaders are based on their titles which refers to assigned leaders. The difference is when a group of people are tasked with something who are all of the same level and one person takes the leadership role on and the followers support this individual, this is emergent leaders (Northouse, 2016, p.16). These two terms are important in leadership because they help break down the “born to lead” mentally that is around the word leadership. While I do believe certain people have natural leadership tendencies, based on personal experiences, I do believe that if they not given a situation to demonstrate their leadership qualities these individuals could go unnoticed as leaders. This is why it is important for organizations to establish what kind of leadership they want from both managers and employees. Once an organization has standard on leadership it provides different opportunities for it’s employees to demonstrate leadership traits.
References:
Northouse, P.G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. 7th Edition. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.
Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2016). PSYCH 485 Lesson 2: Trait Approach: The Dark Side of Personality. Retrieved on January 23, 2020 from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2040131/modules/items/28001669