Effective Group Leadership

Effective Group Leadership
Dennis Schroader
MGMT 415
Theresa Thurman
September 22, 2008

Group leadership is a complex field of study with hundreds of studies and thousands of books, papers and websites dedicated to the subject. For the purpose of this paper, this writer has chosen to limit the discussion to material written for the text book used in this class and that written by Dale Carnegie; arguably the most famous proponent of public relations skills in history.

In order to be an effective leader of any group, one must understand the nature of leadership itself, decision making in a group setting, and team building and development. Underlying all of these topics is the necessity for interpersonal relationship skills. Someone in a position of authority within an organization can understand all the theories and strategies as laid out by the countless “gurus” peddling leadership courses, seminars and coaching, but if that person does not understand the fundamentals of how to deal with people, the theory is useless.

This paper will discuss the basics of leadership theory, group decision making and team building and development. This writer will discuss the learning included in the text by Johnson and Johnson (2009) followed by personal analysis of each of the aforementioned categories. This paper will conclude with learning drawn from Dale Carnegie’s famous “How to Win Friends and Influence People” (1936).

Johnson and Johnson (2009) discuss leadership at length, thoroughly describing the five major theories of effective leadership: genetic trait, styles of leadership, ability to influence others, occupying a position of authority and ability to provide situational leadership (p 169).

Genetic trait theory suggests that effective leaders are born with a natural ability to lead or are granted leadership by virtue of birthright, which is further broken down into the major categories of charismatic leaders and Machiavellian leaders (pp 177-182). Charismatic leaders are able to gain the support of their followers based more upon the power of their personality than the merits of their ideas. A good example of a charismatic leader is United States Senator and Presidential candidate Barak Obama, who is a fantastic orator but who has an extremely limited amount of experience when compared with historical Presidential candidates. Machiavellian leaders rise to power through duplicity and manipulation. They view and use others as objects that either help or hinder their own progress, not as people.

Leadership style theory suggests that a leader’s effectiveness is determined by which style they implement: Autocratic, Democratic, Laissez-Faire (pp 183-184). Autocratic leaders are dictators exercising complete control over their subordinates and processes. Josef Stalin is a prime example of an autocratic leader.  Laissez-Faire leaders are exactly opposite in that they take an extreme hands-off approach to leadership. Roman Emperor Nero, who is said to have played music while Rome burned, could be described as having a laissez-faire approach to leadership. Democratic leaders involve their subordinates in decision making, build consensus, and foster teamwork and cooperation. President Ronald Reagan is an example of a democratic leader due to his ability to effectively communicate his ideas and agenda for the country and build a strong national consensus (he won a forty-nine state landslide victory in his 1984 re-election bid).

Influential leadership theory suggests that a reciprocal role relationship exists between leaders and followers in which an exchange, or transaction, takes place. Without followers there can be no leader, and without a leader there can be no followers (p 185). In this theory, leadership is defined as the ability to influence others. This ability is not affected by the success or failure of the group as a whole. The leader’s ability to motivate, manipulate, or otherwise persuade the group to work together in support of the leader’s agenda. Adolf Hitler was an influential leader due to the fierce loyalty of his followers, some of whom have nearly deified him since his death.

Role Position theory suggests that leadership within groups begins with the formal role structure that defines the group’s hierarchy of authority (p 186). A leader has the authority – the legitimate power – to make decisions based upon his or her job title. The mere virtue of their position within the leadership structure of the organization is the bases for that authority. Role Position theory applies particularly well to the military and corporate America.

Situational leadership theory suggests that leadership is provided by group members varying their behavior to provide the actions a group needs at that specific time (p 191). Situational leaders arise in response to what is going on around them. Most such leaders, but for the specific situation, would probably not have otherwise gained notoriety. As the text notes, Harriet Tubman, an escaped slave who led others to freedom, is an example of a situational leader.

Organizational leadership is all about changing business as usual, or as Johnson and Johnson put it, ”challenging the status quo” (p 215). In addition, organizational leaders must inspire a mutual vision empower individuals through teams, lead by example, and keep up morale. Donald Trump is a notable example of an organizational leader. This is differentiated from management, which is defined as maintaining the status quo.

Organizational leadership, by my own analysis, needs to incorporate some aspects of all of the leadership theories to be effective. In order to shake up the status quo, a leader must have some measure of charisma to inspire his followers to get behind his ideas. A leader must also implement a democratic style to give his followers a sense of ownership in the mission at hand. A leader must also recognize the influential relationship between himself and his subordinates. An organizational leader must be in an appropriate role with the required authority to implement his vision and requires the right person to be in the right role at the right time. Finally, an effective organizational leader must implement good decision making practices.

Few, if any, decisions are made in a vacuum. A leader must rely on his or her advisors. This group can be called a board of directors, a committee, or even an ad hoc advisory group, but whatever the name, the group must consist of people competent in the right arenas to form solid opinions and judgments to pass on to the boss. According to the text, effective group decisions must meet the following five criteria:

1.    The resources of the group members are fully utilized.
2.    Time is well used.
3.    The decision is correct or of high quality.
4.    The decision is implemented fully by all the required group members.
5.    The problem-solving ability of the group is improved, or at least not lessened (pp 266-167).

Group decisions are often superior to individual decisions due to “process gain: the interaction among group members results in ideas, insights, and strategies that no one member previously had thought of on his or her own” (p 269). The danger of group decision making lies in the phenomenon known as “social impairment” (p 171). When the task at hand is difficult or unfamiliar, the presence of others hinders individual performance. Furthermore, group polarization, “the tendency for groups to make decisions that are more extreme than the initial inclination of its members” (p 272) can cause further ill effects on the group decision.

For these reasons, a good organizational leaders needs to exercise sound judgment both in selecting the members of his or her group and in evaluating the group’s recommendations. The leader needs to ensure that the group members are not only competent, but also non-homogenous. A diverse team of people who complement each other’s knowledge, skills and characteristics is more productive and will frequently find more novel, innovative solutions to the situation at hand (p 278).

In some cases group decisions are not better than individual decisions. Sometimes the group does not have or effectively share accurate or relevant information or it may process the information in a biased manner (p 279). That is why it is important for the leader of the organization to weigh the conclusions and recommendations of the group and make his or her decision from there. Our text refers to this as “Method 4: Decision by Authority after Group Discussion” (p 286). Due to the potential for mistakes among group decisions, the leader must also work diligently on team development and training to ensure he or she has the best, most effective group possible.

Team building is all about improving the team’s performance and the manner by which the members interact with one another. The most important parts of achieving that goal are establishing positive interdependence and individual and team accountability. The former is necessary for the latter. Once both are achieved, team commitment follows.

According to Johnson and Johnson:

“The team is presented with a compelling mission that can be achieved if and only if all members work together effectively. [sic] Members sink or swim together. The members jointly redefine the mission into specific team goals and then translate the goals into measurable tasks they need to complete. Through this process members become committed to the team and accept ownership of its goals” (2009, p 538).

This is an expansion of the definition of positive interdependence from page 93. Johnson and Johnson further assert:

“The team must be accountable for achieving its goals, and each team member must be accountable for contributing his or her share of the work. The team must succeed, and all team members must contribute in concrete ways to the team’s success and do equivalent amounts of real work” (p 538).

While this establishes what team and individual accountability are, further exploration of these concepts is needed to realize their importance to team development.

Individual accountability is fairly easy to define, measure, and enforce. Each team member knows their role, responsibilities and expectations. Fulfilling these is the purpose of their job. Achieving and/or exceeding their mission gains rewards such as raises, bonuses and promotions. Failure results in counseling and possible demotion or termination. Care should be taken, however, to emphasize the positive consequences of success rather than the negatives of failure.

A good organizational leader needs to hold his or her team members accountable in such a way that individuals experience a personal sense of responsibility to the team and the mission. This is done through positive affirmation rather than criticism and ridicule. Dale Carnegie, world famous author of “How to Win Friends and Influence People” (1936), wrote:

“If you and I want to stir up a resentment tomorrow that may rankle across the decades and endure until death, just let us indulge in a little stinging criticism – no matter how certain we are that it is justified” (p 14).

In discussing the folly of criticism, he continues:

“Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain – and fools often do. But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving” (p 14).

Instead of criticism, a good leader should discover the causes of poor performance or objectionable behavior and address those. Carnegie writes, “That’s a lot more profitable and intriguing than criticism; and it breeds sympathy, tolerance and kindness” (p 17).

Once an individual has accepted personal ownership of the mission and made his or her own commitment to the team, the goal of team accountability has been achieved. When each individual is accountable to themselves and each other, the team is bolstered. When a real sense of team accountability is realized, the individual members work more effectively together and the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts (Johnson & Johnson, p 539).

In practical application, this means that an effective leader must get to know his or her people. A leader should discover what matters to them, why they chose the jobs they have, and where they want to be in the future. Once the leader knows these facts, he or she can work to link their subordinates’ individual motivations to the organization’s goals.

In conclusion, a leader must possess in some degree the traits of all of the leadership theories described by Johnson and Johnson (2009). These include charisma, a democratic (or quasi-democratic) leadership style, ability to positively influence others, occupation of an authority role, and an ability to adapt and provide leadership appropriate to the situation. The effective group leader must also know how to make good decisions including utilizing his or her people to assist in that process. Finally, a leader within any organization needs to know how to build and develop effective teams.


References
Carnegie, D. (1981). How to Win Friends & Influence People, Revised Edition. New York: Pocket Books

Johnson, D., & Johnson, F. (2009). Joining Together: Group Theory and Group Skills. Columbus: Pearson.

Leadership (2008). Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved on September 14, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leadership