Types of Destructive Leaders

Because of the profound ways in which leadership affects us all, it would be nice if the people in positions of authority were actually good at it. But research shows that most people are woefully inadequate when it comes to influencing an organized group toward accomplishing its goals. (p. 638)

The authors describe the most common reasons why people fail in leadership positions—bad leadership, managerial incompetence, and managerial derailment—and the steps leaders can take to improve their odds of success.

Image source: Nonprofitrisk.org

Upon successful completion of this assignment, you will be able to:

• Create an ethical strategy and standard for communication during change.

 

Resources

• Textbook: Leadership: Enhancing the Lessons of Experience

Background Information

In The Leadership Challenge, authors Kouzes and Posner (2007) report on their considerable surveys and research on the subject of leadership. They identify four characteristics most selected in their surveys of admired leadership: honest, forward-looking, inspiring, and competent.

• Honest: “It’s clear that if people anywhere are to willingly follow someone—whether it’s into battle or into the boardroom, the front office or the front lines—they first want to assure themselves that the person is worthy of their trust” (p.  32).
• Forward-Looking: “People expect leaders to have a sense of direction and a concern for the future of the organization” (p. 33).
• Inspiring: “It’s not enough for a leader to have a dream. A leader must be able to communicate the vision in ways that encourage people to sign on for the duration and excite them about the cause” (p. 34).
• Competent: “To enlist in a common cause, people must believe that the leader is competent to guide them where they’re headed. They must see the leader as having relevant experience and sound judgment” (p. 35).

These characteristics supplement the reading from Chapter 16 of Leadership: Enhancing the Lessons of Experience, reinforcing the contention that effective leaders must be careful to safeguard the positive attributes of leadership and guard against the ominous dark side of leadership.

Reference

Kouzes, J., & Posner, B. (2007). The leadership challenge (4th ed.). Jossey-Bass.

Instructions

1. Review the rubric to make sure you understand the criteria for earning your grade.
2. Read Chapter 16 of our textbook, including all Profiles and Highlights for an additional perspective.
3. Read the minicase, “You Can’t Make Stuff Like This Up,” at the end of Chapter 16.
4. Write a paper incorporating information from the textbook. Respond to the following questions related to the minicase.
   1. How does Jim’s behavior depict the dark side of leadership described in Chapter 16 as it relates to “bad leadership, managerial incompetence, and managerial derailment”?
   2. How would a leader exhibiting the four characteristics of admired leadership noted above by Kouzes and Posner respond in this case study, in contrast to Jim’s behavior?
5. Your paper should be 400–500 words in length and should include at least two citations from the text applying the text concepts to the leadership challenge. Use proper spelling, grammar, and APA style in your paper and for any sources cited. For questions on APA style, go to OCLS APA Writing Styles Guides.
6. When you have completed your assignment, save a copy for yourself and submit a copy to your instructor by the end of the workshop.

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6.3 Assignment: Leadership as Situations Change

 

Getting Started

In this assignment, you will apply the theory and principles learned in Chapters 15 and 17 in our textbook on the subject of leading successfully in an environment of change.

This course is titled, “Leadership and Organizational Change,” so these two chapters, in particular, are strategic learning experiences as you conclude the course with this workshop. The authors note that the information in the latter chapters of the text is summative in nature and content, building upon the leadership theory and practice provided in earlier chapters.

Upon successful completion of this assignment, you will be able to:

• Describe a major change initiative that you have either experienced personally or of which you are familiar with.
• Illustrate how that change initiative depicted aspects of the rational approach to organizational change and charismatic and transformational leadership.

Resources

• Textbook: Leadership: Enhancing the Lessons of Experience

Background Information

In Chapter 15 of Leadership: Enhancing the Lessons of Experience, Hughes, Ginnett, and Curphy (2019) describe a “rational approach” to organizational change, including a diagnostic framework for understanding why many change efforts fail.

The authors also provide an intriguing assessment of the charismatic and transformational leadership model and how these types of leaders can have a dramatic influence on change: “The personal magnetism, heroic qualities, and spellbinding powers of these leaders can have unusually strong effects on followers, which often lead to dramatic organizational, political, or societal change” (Hughes, Ginnett, & Curphy, 2019, p. 583).

CHARISMATIC Vs. TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADER

CHARISMATIC LEADERSHIP

TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP

Leader influences the followers with the dint of his or her personality and charm.

Leader inspires change through his or her vision and passion to get things done.

Leader is the “head of the show.”

Leader is open to followers’ input and participation.

Vision fulfillment by stimulating followers to leader’s vision.

Vision fulfillment inclusive of follower and leader vision.

Charismatic leaders are most likely to emerge in crisis situations.

Transformational leaders can emerge at different levels of the organization.

Behavior aimed at leader-driven goals and promote feelings of obedience and dependency in followers.

Behavior aimed at encouraging teamwork and commitment to shared goals.

*Table adapted from www.techofunc.com ©Chartered Techofunctional Institute

In Chapter 17 of the text, the authors describe the skills necessary for optimizing leadership as situations change:

• Creating a compelling vision
• Managing conflict
• Negotiation
• Diagnosing performance problems in individuals, groups, and organizations
• Team building at the top
• Punishment (p. 694)

In this assignment, you will apply the leadership theory provided in Chapters 15 and 17 to a real-world change initiative based upon your personal experience or a situation with which you are familiar.

Instructions

1. Review the rubric to make sure you understand the criteria for earning your grade.
2. Read Chapters 15 and 17 of our textbook, including all Profiles and Highlights for added perspective on the chapter’s content.
3. Write an analysis paper in response to the following:
   1. Describe a major change initiative that you have either experienced personally or of which you are familiar.
   2. Using the information in Chapter 15, illustrate how that change initiative depicted aspects of the rational approach to organizational change and characteristics of charismatic and transformational leadership. Provide a detailed explanation for your evaluation that demonstrates clear, insightful critical thinking.
   3. Using the information in Chapter 17, illustrate how that change initiative utilized one or several of the leadership skills listed in the chapter (i.e., creating a compelling vision, managing conflict, etc.). Provide a detailed explanation for your evaluation that demonstrates clear, insightful critical thinking.
4. Your analysis should be 600 to 800 words in length. Use proper spelling, grammar, and APA style in your analysis and any sources cited. For question on APA style, go to OCLS APA Writing Styles Guides.
5. When you have completed your assignment, save a copy for yourself and submit a copy to your instructor by the end of the workshop.

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