To have Real Power or to Know Power is Real

     Power is a word with a strong meaning, the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as possession of control, authority, influence over others. The Oxford dictionary defines it as the ability or capability to do something or act in a particular way, the capability or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others. The Cambridge dictionary says someone or something, such as an organization or country, that has control over others, often because of authority, importance, or wealth. No matter where you try to define Power we will understand that it is what is needed to become history or to change history. Throughout time, we have seen the need for power in humanity. What motivates this need for power? It might start with a good reason, a moral principle, the need to influence others to do something or to change something, there’s the need to stand up, the need to fight against, the need to be better, the need to help, the need to give, the need to supply, the need to unite, the need to revolt, the list goes on and on. “Need for power is the motivation to influence or control others” (McClelland & Burnham, 2008). These needs mentioned usually appear after leaderships motivated by Personalized Power “it is what an individual with a high need for personalized power uses for his own needs and to express own selfishness, impulsiveness and the lack of self-control” (PSYCH 485, Lesson 7, Power and Influence, Leader Motives, 2018).

     Many look at the Roman Empire as an example of real power, let’s analyze it. First legitimate Emperor was Augustus adopted son of Julius Caesar which was assassinated. Augustus too after ruling for four decades was or is believed to have been assassinated by poisoning. His successor Tiberius Also adopted as son and heir was assassinated by Caligula the next Emperor. Caligula also was assassinated, this time by the Praetorian Guard which proclaimed Claudius, uncle of Caligula the new Emperor, which in his case is believed was poisoned by his own wife in favor of her son Nero which became the next Emperor and then, later committed suicide (Wasson, D. L. 2018). This list just goes on and on and is a perfect example of a personalized power motivation, the selfishness, impulsiveness and lack of self-control is very clear.

     This leadership is  what influenced the attitudes , the values, beliefs and behaviors of the Roman Empire. Why the Romans were so ruthless, brutal and unforgiving? An Empire forged by blood and betrayal? Coercive Power, which is “the ability to control others through the fear of punishment” (PSYCH 485, Lesson 7, Power and Influence, Taxonomy of Social Power, 2018). The people were overcome by the fear of such punishments like being crucified or spending a lifetime serving at a Galley, a oar-driven warship powered by human strength, rapes were also very common to males or females.

     The people feared this relentless army filled with experience in battle. Most Emperors were Great Generals with an influential Expert Power, “an expert in a particular area can influence other people” (PSYCH 485, Lesson 7, Power and Influence, Taxonomy of Social Power, 2018). These Generals were battle heros, with decades of strategic battle experience, great victories and tales of horrors to tell. Gaining influential political advantage to own ambitions to achieve real power.

     This type of personalized power motivated others to follow a Socialized Power, where individuals “in service of higher goals to others or organizations self-sacrifice towards those ends. It often involves empowering, rather than an autocratic style of leadership” (PSYCH 485, Lesson 7, Power and Influence, Leader Motives, 2018).

     Jesus the carpenter from Galilee (Mark,6:2-3, Bible) is an example that power is real, he changed the world as we knew it and even time as we know it. To his followers he had Legitimate Power, which “means that the leader has authority because of the role he or she has has been assigned in the organization“ (PSYCH 485, Lesson 7, Power and Influence, Taxonomy of Social Power, 2018). All the miracles and prodigious situations, prophetic fulfillment, knowledge and wisdom that a mere carpenter could have never been able to accomplish, he did.

     He also showed Reward Power, which “involves the potential to influence others due to one’s control over desired resources” (PSYCH 485, Lesson 7, Power and Influence, Taxonomy of Social Power, 2018), Jesus promised freedom over Roman oppression and eternal life which was misunderstood by many that thought he, called the Messiah would be a General that would  overthrow the Romans dictatorship and avenge his people. Jesus was talking of a spiritual freedom, one in which the Romans could never touch or hurt them anymore.

     Jesus was and is seen as a role model, called a Referent Power, “the potential influence one had due to the strength of the relationship between leader and followers” (PSYCH 485, Lesson 7, Power and Influence, Taxonomy of Social Power, 2018). Through his teachings of love and compassion, his way of introducing the Father God, not as an autocratic God of war as he was known by the people but as a God that wanted a personal relationship with his followers just as Jesus did. So personal that he said it was necessary for him to die at the Romans hands, crucified to spill his blood for everyone’s sake (Luke 23:33, Isaiah 53:3-5, 1 Peter 3:18, Bible). Jesus leadership and influence impacted thousands during his lifetime, millions after his death and resurrection until today. What to say about the Roman Empire? Eventually ended as all other Empires in history. Good always wins over evil even if it doesn’t happen in our lifespan, it will happen. It is prophesied.

     In conclusion whatever the reason, authority, importance or wealth, power is a reality and a need of the people, it can be a positive or a negative need that can motivate leaders to influence followers on a social or personal path. Regardless the path that is taken, it has the power to write or rewrite history, it’s up to us as the people to learn with the examples put down in history of great leaders like Jesus, the Christ or the Roman Emperors and choose a path to follow. Do you want real power? Or know that Power is real? Choose wisely, it is a life or death situation.

References:

 

Wasson, D. L. (2018, November 16). Roman Emperor. Retrieved from https://www.ancient.eu/Roman_Emperor/

Pennsylvania State University. (2018). Lesson 7: Power and Influence. Psych 485.

Bible

To Serve or not to Serve? That is the Question.
Servant Leadership

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It’s imaginable that everyone of us at some point in life has experienced being under someone who demands, orders, someone who is just a boss. However, some point in life, we should also be able to experience being under a leader, someone who not just demands, but also leads the way. A picture can speak more than many words and just by looking at the picture above we can already see the different characteristics between a Boss and a Servant Leader. It is clear that the Servant Leader can wear his follower’s shoes, he can see, feel and hear his followers needs, he uses compassion and empathy to show his concern. The Servant Leader can do this and still not lose foresight, he points to the goal of the business’s objective. How? By example, by showing the way, communicating, training and by sharing credit saying “we did it” or “lets do it”. This type of leadership does not blame for failures but takes full responsibility, knows that the wellbeing of his own followers is of utmost importance for business’s success. The Servant Leader helps his followers through failures by becoming one with them, and as one with them, he also learns from it. Do you want a better motivator than that? This awareness is a vital quality for this type of leadership, because by seeking the best for the followers the leader becomes better. (Northouse, 2016, Spears, 2002, p.227-229).

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On the other hand, the boss does the opposite. A boss demands because he has the authority to do it, he depends on this authority to reiterate who the boss is. Therefore, without the authority, alone he cannot do anything, he needs someone to blame for his failures and nonetheless uses fear as a weapon of manipulation and takes all credit for success. The bottom line is that he wants the spotlight, he is the company. Therefore he does not care about his followers feelings or needs, because they are payed assets and as so, are substitutable.
However, we can not say that all Bosses are like this. Ultimately, we have to know how to differentiate between bosses, leaders and servant leaders. It’s not safe to assume that just because someone is a boss, they are also a Leader and further down if they are a leader, it’s not safe to assume that they are servants. The question is, what are servant leaders? Below we can find a few examples of people who have been servant leaders to further understand the concept of servant leadership.

1- Dalai Lama

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Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of the Tibetans. Dalai Lama escaped his homeland after a violent conflict with China in 1959 and sought exile in India where he started the Central Tibetan Administration. He is an example of a compassionate servant leader with his message of peace to the world. He made his life goal to create an independent Tibetan Democratic Government without violence so that his people would not suffer any more. Inspiring many to follow his steps, ideals of peace and compassion towards others.

2-Nelson Mandela

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Nelson Mandela, was the former President of South Africa. On his way to Presidency he suffered racism, violence and ethnocentric hate and inspired many with his foresight for a better future to his country. Due to all the hardships he faced, he ended up spending 27 years of his life behind bars. Even through all these hardships, after his release in 1990, Mandela was the face for peace and reconciliation with those that committed acts of racism and hate against him and his people. He was able to end a cycle of violence with a peaceful resolution and assuring the economic and social development of the country for the near future.

3-Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

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Dr. King, an activist and a Baptist Minister from Atlanta, GA had dreams that inspired and changed a whole nation. He led the fight for civil rights and racial equality movements from 1954 to 1968 when he was assassinated. He had a clear vision, sound reasoning, cared much for needs and wellbeing of his people, he fought peacefully for healing and to build a community with equal rights.

In the servant leadership model, we understand that there are certain conditions that are antecedents to servant leaders behaviors. These conditions are formed by, Context and Culture, Leader Attributes and Follower Receptivity. As we can see from the 3 examples above, these Servant leaders fall into these 3 conditions mentioned. As for the Context and Culture Condition they faced situations such as war, ethnocentric or racial cultural context. In regards to the leadership attributes and Follower Receptivity, they had very low or nonexistent moral and emotional awareness towards the people, which then caused followers to be receptive to these emerging leaders.(Northouse, 2016, Linden, Waine, Zhao, Henderson, 2008, Liden, Panaccio, Hu, Meuser, 2014).

Finally, these Servant leaders showed behaviors that ignited a change in people’s hearts, they were able to put followers life’s before their own, they looked to empower, heal the people by understanding their needs and giving value back to the communities. They were able to accomplish this with strong ethical behaviors, no violence and high moral standards. After the antecedent conditions which caused the behaviors, the outcome speaks for themselves. Outcomes such as the positive impact on society, the growth on self-actualization for all people and the influence that these leaders, today, continue to produce everywhere their names are spoken. (Northouse, 2016, Linden, Waine, Zhao, Henderson, 2008, Liden, Panaccio, Hu, Meuser, 2014).

“It is not enough to say we must not wage war. It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it” Dr Martin Luther King Jr.

“Courageous people do not fear forgiving, for the sake of peace.” Nelson Mandela

“We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.” Dalai Lama

 

References:

Northouse, P.G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Seventh Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. Chapter 10, Servant Leadership, Ten Characteristics of a Servant Leader, p.227-229

https://content.wisestep.com/difference-boss-leader/

https://www.business2community.com/leadership/leadership-difference-boss-leader-01651799

https://leaderonomics.com/leadership/lead-like-famous-servant-leaders 

https://wikispaces.psu.edu/display/P5PFLC/SERVANT+Theory+Page

Northouse, P.G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Seventh Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. Chapter 10, Servant Leadership, Model of Servant Leadership, p.231-238

What led to Leicester City FC’s Premier League 2016 success? Was it the coach? The star players? The investment made on the team? The owners’ foresight to greatness? In soccer, every year teams go through either an adjourning process or a reforming process, it all depends on the success rate, the age of players or finances, ultimately retirement, buying or selling players and change of coach/manager. According to Tuckman’s Model “Fight Right” (1965,1977), this process happens after the forming, storming, norming and performing stages, in other words, the season’s goals, roles and norms are already defined. Leicester City FC was promoted (2014) to the Premier League two years before the monumental achievement in 2016. The recently promoted team achieved the safety objective (goal) of maintenance in the highest UK soccer division the following year (2015). For the 2016 season, the goal defined was again, the maintenance in the league. Their goal was simple, to not be demoted to the Championship (second UK division). Roles were defined, all staff, players, captains, starters and benched players. Norms were applied trough training sessions. It was clear, they knew what they had to do to perform with success and reach their maintenance goal in the division. What changed? The goal was clear, players coach and staff understood it. This team had no star players, the whole team was worth 32 million, which in this era one player is sold for three times that amount, yes, one player. Nothing special about this team until the season started, the goal quickly elevated, early in the season the safety of maintenance in the league was achieved and they were in first place.

What happened? Sometimes in history, a group of individuals becomes a real team. Claudio Ranieri, the coach had found the formula to success, the results were amazing as they were driven by a solid structure that was able to solve problems as injuries happened by emphasizing trust to the bench players that had to step up to the game. I cannot take the credit from the coach, he was able to take the best from his players through motivations such as pizza for a clean sheet (not allowing any goal) in the games throughout the season and other psychological factors at an individual and a team level. He was able to take advantage and use every single player’s ability resulting in the unification of a group of individuals and making them a dream team.

Competent team players arouse and become team leaders in all sectors of the field, stars were born in the midst of the collaborative climate due to the mutual help amongst players in the field and the dynamic communication between players and fans. Standards of excellence in performance were higher as the opponents’ qualities were stronger. External support and recognition increased, fans were filling up stadiums and believed more and more in the title that was nothing but a dream, a mirage, a thought in the subconscious mind at the beginning of the season. Money started flowing, players contracts, bonuses, individuals and team achievements increased as well as the interest from shark clubs. Big clubs were now scouting these newly found stars, the team leaders that modeled this work ethic and support throughout the season (Hackman, 2012, Larson & LaFasto, 1989).

Leicester City FC won the 2016 Premier League title, against all odds and bet, against the financial power of bigger clubs and against all belief, they won. AMAZING!!! Resulting in team value and popularity blowing out the roof, players were sold, new signings were made to the club and great motivation and expectation for next season. Team reforming process started again. Goals are higher now because they are the standing champions, but they did not win the following year and the coach was fired. What a huge upset, totally unexpected, team and leadership efficiency was almost perfect. Did Ranieri lose the formula for success? Was the few players that were sold the true leaders and motivators of this team? Greatness was born, or not? What led to the Leicester City FC Premier League 2016 success? Tell me. I still can’t figure it out.

References:

Northouse, P.G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Seventh Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. Chapter 14, Team Leadership, p.363-396.

Pennsylvania State University. (2018). Lesson 9: Team Leadership, Psych 485.

https://believeperform.com/news/the-success-of-leicester-city-fc/

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-36028733

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/may/03/leicester-city-title-inside-story-premier-league-champions-claudio-ranieri

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&ved=0ahUKEwjY-J_OhZjeAhURn-AKHVzJDW4QMwiLASg-MD4&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.marca.com%2Fen%2Ffootball%2Finternational-football%2F2016%2F04%2F04%2F5702a9b5e2704efb6d8b4625.html&psig=AOvVaw2dL0ayEWgYnTMyRvTnQDiX&ust=1540228819322930&ictx=3&uact=3

 

To Lead, To Follow, Relate or Get Out

Does Leadership need relationships to be effective? Can Leaders motivate effectively their followers to achieve their goals without committing to Leader-Follower relationship?

How a Leader motivates effectively is contingent on knowing followers needs, skills and experiences to accomplish a task. By creating a relationship with the subordinates the leader gets all the information necessary to give the emotional support that is needed for his leadership style to be effective in reaching the goal. The Path-Goal Theory is all about how leaders motivate followers to accomplish their goals (Northouse, 2016).

A leader’s title, rank or authority to administer reward and punishment can really take a toll on anyone’s personality. Since I am a child I’ve listened to the elderly say: do you want to see how someone really is? Give him power!

Fiedler (1967), in his Contingency Model, says that Situational favorability is the amount of control a Leader has over the followers. This can be good because more control means a more favorable situation, but it can be devastating too.

In a Directive and achievement-oriented style of Leadership is the leader that gives followers directives, expectations, timeline, schedules and rules about the tasks, challenging subordinates to perform at the highest level possible with high standards of excellence, continuously asking for more from their followers and wanting them to assume more responsibility. In other words, the Leader has all the power. If not careful the leader can be seen as a dictator or a control freak because of his command and control style of leadership. But if the leader knows his subordinates he will do all that according to the knowledge he has to motivate them to the directive, which will be favorable to the leader. Also will create goal seeking satisfaction and followers perception to their own abilities in relation to the task.

Followers have feelings, life goals, dreams, strengths and weaknesses, skills and inexperience and above all a life of their own. How important is for a subordinate to know that he is important to the organization, that his leader cares about his needs and his role in the team. Everyone can do something, the leader just has to find out what is that something.

If the use of the Directive style of leadership is approached adequately, subordinates motivation will rise as well as their skill, giving the leader a natural autonomy. The group atmosphere, degree of confidence and loyalty towards the leader will reach harmony level. Motivation will be less needed and subordinates will have gained a greater sense of pride in their work.

Supportive and Participative style of Leadership understand the value of a Leader-Follower relationship to be effective because these leaders are friendly, approachable, they involve their subordinates in decision making and ask for their opinion demonstrating respect and care for needs and well being creating a pleasant work environment.

With great knowledge comes greater responsibility. Leaders know their tasks, they know what needs to be done to achieve their goal, now joining that knowledge with the relationship knowledge should make it more efficient to the leaders to remove any obstacles and attend to the subordinates needs. This knowledge will also impact greatly on how to motivate followers, design, develop and organize the task.

This reminds me of the Situational Theory that states that different situations may call for a different leadership behavior, plus to be effective a person has to adapt to the demands of the different situations (Northouse,2016).

“Management is doing things right, Leadership is doing the right thing.”

Peter Drucker

“Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them.”

John C. Maxwell

“When the best leader’s work is done the people say: we did it ourselves.”

Lao Tzu

“Leaders must encourage their organizations to dance to forms of music yet to be heard.”

Warren Bennis

References:

Northouse, P.G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Seventh Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. Chapter 6, Path-Goal Theory, p.115-136.
Chapter 5, Situational Approach, p.93.

Pennsylvania State University. (2018). Lesson 6: Contingency and Path Theories, Psych 485.

    Leaders always get the central attention, they always get the spotlight. There’s a reason for this to happen, a goal was achieved, something amazing happened. During the process of Leadership, an individual was capable to influence a group of people, a number of individuals with different personalities and different perspectives of going on in life to reach a common goal, and sometimes, to do the unimaginable. Situations create interaction between a Leader and his Followers. How can there be Leaders without Followers? Or Followers without Leaders? This interaction provoked by a Situation, sometimes makes a Leader became the Follower and a Follower became a Leader. Even if it is for a moment, but a real Leader cannot do everything by himself. This requires humility, wisdom and a strong sense of adaptation. Situations brings out the Leader in a Follower.

     I want to bring light to this three foundations of Leadership: Leader, Follower and  the Situation (PSYCH 485. Online course lessons). The three are very important to Leadership, there are different Situations that require a different experience of Leadership, with that said, a different Leader. And where a Leader finds that different experience? Among his Followers. Everyone has been following a different path in life with different outcomes, emotions and reasoning, until a Situation brought a specific group of individuals together. What is experience? If not a resolution of lots of Situations all together in a great pot ready to be used when needed.

     Everyone knows the Big Five Personality Factors in Leadership: Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness (Northouse, 2016). These model the characteristics of a great Leader or more so, the surgency, the intellect and the dependability of a Leader. Without taking credit of any Leader’s intelligence and determination, or doubting his integrity and self-confidence, and even his social skills, no Leader knows it all or can do it all. A good Leader needs to be humble, to be open to criticism, seek help, know when is time to follow and step down, so he can be the Leader he is meant to be. This step down does not mean give up the Leadership position, it only means that the Leader is leading. Pride will not make us reach a goal. Disgrace follows pride, but with humility comes wisdom; for the lack of advice a nation falls, but victory is won through many advisers (Bible, Proverbs 11).

    It is true that many Followers cannot be Leaders. This is because many people are not open to criticism, cannot handle emotions well or are just not teachable. Followers are a very important part to the process of Leadership (Northouse, 2016). Followers need to be motivated, complemented for their performance and abilities, feel rewarded for their drive to achieve the common goal. But among the Followers there are those that have that same adaptability that a Leader needs to have, that can lead when needs to lead and follow when needs to follow. And this without usurping the Leader’s position, with respect and always knowing his place. We call them Emerging Leaders (Northouse, 2016), and someone in a Leadership position has to keep an open eye to these Followers because they are the motivational tools to overcome certain Situations and they will be the future of that Leadership.

    So the next time you think about this subject, remember people who are open to criticism , are not afraid to ask for help, open to learn new things and share experiences are more likely to achieve their goals. A Leader needs the Follower as much as the Follower needs the Leader, keep your eyes open.  A Situation brings out the Leader in a Follower.

    I leave you with this interesting research from PsychTests, written by Kate Adams at Harvard Business Review site.

https://hbr.org/2015/03/why-leaders-are-easier-to-coach-than-followers

 

References:

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice (7th ed.). Chapter 2. Trait Approach. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

Pennsylvania State University. (2018). Lesson 1. Introduction to Leadership.  The Leader, The Follower, And The Situation — PSYCH 485. Online course lesson, Penn State World Campus. Retrieved September 8, 2018 from

        https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1942231/modules/items/25010740

Bible. Holy Spirit. Proverbs 11

        https://www.bibliaonline.com.br/niv/pv/11