Lean on Me – authentic leadership (By Tracie)

According to Northouse (2010), he suggests that Authentic Leadership is one of the newest areas of leadership.  It is based on an idea that the leadership is genuine and real.

According to Bill George – authentic leaders have five basic characteristics (cited in Northouse, 2010).  I have mapped these to the qualities demonstrated in this clip.

Understand their purpose – Morgan Freeman starts by reiterating the reason they are all there.  His role is to encourage and support the students to pass the exam.  He knows that the public has low expectations, however as their principal he is committed to them, and inspires and empowers them to do well.

Have strong values about the right thing to do – He shares the negative perceptions with them, which insights a strong response.  He then tells them that they are not losers, and motivates them to silence their critics by passing the exam.  He gives them some guidance and sought they buy-in.

They establish trusting relationships with others – He acknowledges the support he has received from others, and publicly thanks them for it, and acknowledges his failings in not recognising he needed support.

They demonstrate self-discipline and act on their values – Morgan Freeman does not blame the students personally for their failings, suggesting that their grades and the school have failed them.  He accepts responsibility.

They are passionate about their mission –From his speech MF demonstrates a stong faith  in their ability,  his commitment to the school, and a belief that they are all in it together.

Northouse, P.G. (2010). Leadership: Theory and Practice (5th edition). London: Sage Publications

Tony Soprano shows who’s the Boss (by Claire)

I have chosen to look at the leadership style of Tony Soprano, the character of the New Jersey Mafia Boss from the TV series, The Sopranos.

Tony is a versatile leader. He is driven by “family” values, and treats those who remain loyal to him, and the general work ethic of the crew, with respect, understanding, and sometimes even favouritism. He cares deeply about his closest friends, his family, and the “family” he associates with his work. He has a generous nature and ensures that all of those whom he cares deeply for will be “looked after” both financially and with regard to personal safety. However, in return for this, the expecation is one of complete loyalty and discretion where, in return for Tony’s guardianship and protection, no “favour” can be too big.

The clip shows Tony Soprano displaying his strength and power to the rest of the crew.

(WARNING: This clip contains scenes of violence).

With Alpha male-like qualities, this is Tony’s way of ensuring the crew know who is in charge. He instils fear into his followers to ensure they know their rank in the order of the group. This fear produces a falsified loyalty . The crew members stay loyal to Tony because they fear the consequences of being seen to be disloyal.

The key themes to Tony’s styles of leadership are fear, loyalty, trust, violence, security, protection, and power. There’s also elements of emotional and psychological manipulation surrounding his leadership style and the group dynamic. To some extent, the rest of the crew are emotionally and psychologically blackmailed into staying loyal to Tony as a Leader because the consequences of not doing this inevitably result in death, imprisonment, or a life-time in hiding.

The Status Quo of the Group depends wholly on every member being entirely committed to the values that underpin it. Everybody must fight for the same cause, regardless of whether their personal values may conflict with this. Regardless of what action is taken, no matter how bloody or violent, Tony’s judgment must never be doubted or questioned. A common theme for those who do doubt or question is one which results in pain or death.

However, although violence is an inherent part of the culture of the group and the background of it’s members, and Tony is the instigator of this, he is also seen to be generous, caring, diplomatic, understanding, and with the best interests of his followers always at heart.

In conclusion, Tony’s leadership style, although challenging in the way of ethics, human rights, and morality, conjures great productivity and loyalty from his crew…

Would you work well under this style of Leadership?

…Do you have any other choice?

Bad Leadership! Exit Interview with David Brent, The Office, by Dallas.

David Brent & The Exit Interview.This is a brilliant example of a terrible leader (albeit exagerated for comedy purposes), David Brent – the Manager conducts this exit interview with a member of staff who has worked for the organisation for 3 years, and DB thinks he has only been with them for 6 months. DB has no clue which department the member of staff even works in and when the staff member tries to explain that he is leaving because of the “way the place is run” as a direct result of DB’s management style, DB is oblivious to his own poor leadership and management, and tried to deflect the negativity onto higher management.

I have looked for theoretical examples of poor management – but I’m not sure that David Brent’s individual style can be defined! Total comedy value though and a great example of who not to work for! Some great clips on Youtube of numerous scenes from The Office, if you’re interested try the David Brent & Keith’s Appraisal, in which DB tries to draw out Keith’s personality in a one to one situation but ends up becoming frustrated and impatient.

Brittas does motivation by Keith Hakansson

In this clip  Mr Brittas is making a sincere effort to motivate his staff, the only problem is that he does the complete opposite. I would say the main problem  is that he has zero emotional intelligence, that is, he cannot detect upset in a person’s facial expression and thinks people are happy when in fact they are annoyed. He also  has no self awareness, e.g. his dictatorial style of leadership, that is, he doesn’t take any notice of anyone else’s opinion and cuts people off if they try to challenge his “wisdom” creates anxiety amongst his team. This anxiety leads to the team being ineffective because the individual members are worried about giving opinions for fear of reprisals, therefore their talent is untapped.  Another  failing of Mr Britta’s is that he does not seemed to have assigned his staff clear roles and wants to be in control of everything. For example, his deputy Laura, who is clearly a very capable person, repeatedly make suggestions to overcome problems but  rather than taking advantage of  her talents  he  ignores them rather than have his leadership challenged.

My conclusion is that this caricature of a manager  with poor leadership skills  can  teach  us  a lot about good leadership, that is,  for me  Brittas magnifies a failing that is common amongst management, i.e. in my experience lots of managers miss the point that leadership is to a large extend about co-ordination and identifying and making the best use of  the   skills sets that exist in the  team

Erin Brockovich – A Natural ‘Ethical Leader’

Erin Brockovich

Please watch this film clip to get an overview of what drove Erin Brockovich and what she set out to achieve, then please watch the 2^nd clip to see the ‘REAL’ Erin in action and her ability to lead. It takes a strong leader to take the hard route and stand behind what they believe to be right or wrong. The easy way can often seem more appealing though.

‘Leaders can choose the easy way out, or they can attempt to apply ethics to their decisions and actions. True leaders are principled individuals, who assume their positions because they have earned the respect and, in a certain sense, the allegiance of others’. (Ronald W. Roskens. ‘Ethical Leaders: The Wide and Easy Way’)

This type of leader, as demonstrated by Erin Brockovich, strives for excellence and a sense of what is best for an individual or community. She shows that good leadership includes the art of persuasion, the courage of conviction, and the determination to see things through even if sacrifices need to be made. Whilst full of self respect and a respect for others Erin is direct, confrontational, assertive yet obtains standing through her convictions. Proving that leaders can come from all backgrounds and experiences, Erin was a single mother with no formal education who, whilst considered unconventional in the corporate and legal world, managed to bring a powerful American company crashing down to the tune of £229million.

Here Erin Brockovich demonstrates her values and character as she relentlessly pursues ‘Shell Oil’ in this clip and works to guarantee the best, and in her opinion, the only solution for the community. She reminds us that ethics are not a matter of convenience but should shape who we are and how we behave.

Inspirational Leader in whom we can have hope! (by Lucy)

(N.B. If the above clip does not work please click here to view the clip on YouTube).

Prime Minister David (Hugh Grant) is an example of a leader who shows hope to his country by challenging a leader who he defines as a bully to provide for his own country without any consideration of the effects it has on others. David is honest and assertive in a humerous way, he is a likable character who people entrust their faith in as they feel encouraged and inspired by David.

The definition below from Hartley and Benington (2010) I think describes the type of leader David is:

Transformational Leadership is based on the leader inducing positive feelings in their followers which then motivate loyal and committed performance. The leader aims to engage followers in going beyond their self interest because the leader seeks to win their trust, admiration, and loyalty so that they are emotionally as well as rationally inclined to do more than they originally expected to do.” P87

Hartley, J and Benington J. (2010) Leadership for Healthcare, Bristol, The Policy Press

Jungian Personality Types

Hi everyone, here is some useful information on the Jungian Personality Types.

Belbins Team Roles

Hi everyone. Here is a link to Belbin’s Team Roles.

Which Role do you most relate to?

Autocratic Leadership, by Sarah

This shows a clip of David Horton who is Chair of the Parish Council in ‘the Vicar of Dibley’.

David Horton’s style of leadership is autocratic or authoritarian. He is very dictatorial which in some cases can work well in keeping meetings focused and on track. Group projects can sometimes benefit from this style of leadership as many groups fail because the members rely on each other to make decisions and therefore go round in circles. It is very rare for autocratic leaders to be popular.

famous autocratic leaders include:

Adolph Hitler

Joseph Stalin

Saddam Hussein

To summarise – autocratic leadership can be accepted when the need arises but a good leader respects the opinions and views of the group/his employees.

Dallas

Hi, I’m Dallas and my Simpsons personality type is Chief Wigam – an ESTJ, which indicates that I am enthusiastic, driven and committed to relationships. I consider myself to be very loyal and can be relied on in a tight spot or difficult/stressful situation.

In the past I may have been seen as controlling and needing to be in charge – and whilst I will say this is still true in my personal life, in my profesional life it is something that I am very aware of and as a result I do try and reign this in and give other people an opportunity to lead. I have found that this is something that I have been able to do with the benefit of reflection and maturity, nowadays I will tend to take time observe and assess a situation or group dynamic before I fully commit my persepctive and ideas.

In terms of my contribution to this task, I will go with the majority, providing I am happy with the direction.

As I am a late joiner, I am happy to tag on to the the existing ideas, and contribute with whatever is necessary. Thanks for reading…