The Concise Leadership Textbook: Essential Knowledge and Skills for Developing Yourself as a Leader

INTRODUCTION

Are you looking for a short, clear and actionable, yet research-based, approach to the topic of leadership as a student? Are you interested in developing leadership competences and skills in your professional role or for your future career? Are you willing to learn about the implications of leadership in your everyday life and in the face of an increasingly complex world?

Then The Concise Leadership Textbook is the right book for you!

Leadership is a vast and multifaceted topic, supported by an enormous amount of scientific studies and theories, with equally huge practical implications. So it is easy to feel overwhelmed as you try to learn more about it. You may also be confused about which paths to follow to grow as a leader. You may even think that leadership is for someone else, but not for me.

This book will help you overcome these concerns.

The Concise Leadership Textbook offers a compact yet comprehensive overview of the foundational knowledge about leadership. It also provides you with guidelines for applying that knowledge in the development of leadership competences including the most important aspects of leadership in relation to contemporary challenges.

This is supported by an approach that combines solid research-based knowledge, practical applications and tested methods to transform that knowledge into effective leadership action, and best-practice insights from successful leadership cases.

Throughout the book, you will also find exercises and ‘Build your leadership skills’ boxes that you can use to develop and strengthen your own leadership skillset.

Here is a short overview of what you will learn in the five chapters of this book:

In Chapter 1 (What is leadership?), you will explore what leadership is all about; compare different perspectives on the study of leadership; understand the connection between leadership and the ability to solve ‘wicked’ problems; and distinguish between management and leadership.

In Chapter 2 (Know yourself: Leadership traits, skills, and behaviors), you will learn about the importance of self-awareness as a basic leadership skill; explore the link between different personality traits and effective leadership; reflect on which problem-solving, human, and technical skills you need to develop to perform well in a leadership role; and assess the impact of different leadership styles and behaviors on your effectiveness as a leader.

In Chapter 3 (How to lead (with) others), you will learn about leadership as problem solving with other people (your followers); recognize the link between your followers’ characteristics and different types of leadership behavior and leadership results; explore how you can help your team members develop, learn, and grow with a transformational leadership approach; identify the key aspects that determine your team performance; and assess the benefits and risks of a shared leadership approach.

In Chapter 4 (Contemporary leadership challenges), you will learn about leadership in a global context and reflect on the specific requirements of leading virtual teams; recognize the importance of ethics in your leadership attitude and actions; identify the main leadership competences for more sustainable and inclusive organizations and society; and learn how to lead change processes in both relatively stable and highly dynamic environments.

In Chapter 5 (Leadership tools and techniques), you will familiarize yourself with some useful techniques that support your development as a leader. Specifically, you will learn about effective leadership communication; get insights on how to prepare and deliver an engaging leadership speech; discover which decision-making style is the best fit in specific situations; analyze and choose different approaches to managing and resolving conflicts; learn coaching techniques to help followers develop themselves; and create your own leadership development plan.

You can see the chapters of this book as a map for your personal journey into leadership development. Let this map guide you to find your own path to becoming an effective leader.

Always keep in mind, however, that leadership is about making progress together with other people. The ultimate measure of a good leader is not only achieving set goals, but also gaining recognition and appreciation from your followers.

As a team, we would like to thank you for being so supportive and engaging during this project. Thank you for being the best team leader!

It’s great to be recognized for my hard work and dedication. Your thoughtfulness and generosity empower me and encourage me to do my best!

Thank you for your vision and your leadership guiding us at all times. We really appreciate your efforts!

With the help of this textbook, I truly hope that you will go on to receive rewarding feedback like that reflected in the quotes above.

Welcome to the exciting journey of growing as a leader, and welcome to The Concise Leadership Textbook!

Access free bonus learning materials

Learn smarter with our free additional learning resources that accompany The Concise Leadership Textbook!

Both learners and lecturers can access the following additional learning materials in the ‘Smart Learning’ section on the book’s companion website at www.econcise.com/ConciseLeadershipTextbook:

Mind maps that provide a succinct, visual ‘big picture’ overview of the key concepts in each chapter.

Links to videosand additional resources related to selected topics in the book.

Interactive flashcards for a quick revision of the key concepts in each chapter.

If you are a lecturer, send us an email to [email protected]. We can then provide you with editable PowerPoint slides for each chapter of this book and a set of multiple-choice questions for your exams.

If you want to stay informed about current developments in the field and get more information about new books for smart learners, you are also welcome to visit www.econcise.com/newsletter and subscribe to our newsletter!

1

WHAT IS LEADERSHIP?

This chapter will enable you to:

Describe what leadership is all about.

Compare different perspectives on the study of leadership.

Recognize the link between leadership and the ability to solve ‘wicked’ problems.

Distinguish between management and leadership.

The topic of leadership has fascinated humanity across the centuries. Great leaders have been admired and celebrated for making the fortunes of nations, as well as for promoting the progress of social, religious, and economic organizations. Throughout history, however, some leaders have also been responsible for dramatic failures and disastrous consequences.

Given its great potential, both as a positive and negative force, leadership is of utmost importance at every level of society. Good, positive leadership is needed to solve the increasingly complex problems that emerge at the global scale, as well as in everyday life and work, within companies, communities, teams, associations, or in any other form of human collaboration.

But what do we mean when we talk about leadership?

Defining leadership

Over the last hundred years, during which leadership has become a consolidated subject of study by scientists in various fields, many definitions have been proposed for the concept of ‘leadership.’ ¹ These definitions are often very different, reflecting diverse analytical but also cultural and ethical viewpoints. It is therefore difficult to develop a conclusive description of the concept of leadership.

For the purposes of this book, we will adopt a definition that relies on common aspects shared by most of the previous characterizations of leadership. We’ll define leadership as:

A process of social influence aimed at reaching a common goal within a group or an organization.

This definition highlights some key aspects: ²

Leadership is a process, meaning that it is not simply a ‘static’ and formal attribute of a person, but a series of actions and interactions that are oriented toward achieving certain results.

Leadership occurs through social influence, meaning that it involves a relationship between leaders and followers. Followers are influenced by the leader, but they can also influence the leader. The ability to influence others is usually associated with having some form of power.

Leadership is a deliberate, voluntary process which aims to reach a goal based on a shared purpose among the members of a group or an organization.

The presence of a common goal stresses the fact that leadership needs followership; leaders need followers and work with them to achieve the common purpose.

Based on the points above, we can identify the leader as the person guiding the process of social influence toward the common goal.

It is important to note that the leader can be a single individual in charge of every stage of the process, but there could also be multiple leaders for different phases of the process or for different problems that need to be solved together. Shared (or joint) leadership within the group is therefore possible too (we will further explain this aspect later in this book).

Having a formal position of power in a business or an organization (e.g. in the role of a CEO, president, director, or manager) is only one—and not necessarily the most important—aspect of leadership. This is because the social influence that occurs in the leadership process can come from various sources. These ‘sources of power’ can be classified into: ³

Referent power:based on viewing the leader as a reference point and as a person with whom followers can identify.

Expert power:based on the leader’s competence and/or expertise in specific fields.

Legitimate power:associated with holding a position that entails formal job authority.

Reward power:comes from the capacity to provide rewards to followers.

Coercive power:derives from the capacity to penalize or punish followers.

Information power:derives from having exclusive access to information or knowledge that is important for others.

The influence exerted by a leader on others—the effect that a leader has on their opinions, beliefs, and/or behaviors—is usually a combination of several of these sources of power.

Exercise: Exploring the behavior of effective and ineffective leaders

Think about a situation where you have been a follower of an effective leader (e.g. at work, during your studies, in a sports team, or in any other situation in which you were part of a group that wanted to achieve something together). List three features that you appreciated in this leader or leadership situation.

Now think about a situation where you have been a follower of an ineffective leader. List three features that you did not appreciate in this leader or leadership situation.

Differing perspectives on leadership

The key features of leadership summarized in our definition above have been studied through various lenses or perspectives (see Figure 1.1 for an overview). Let us take a closer look at each of these perspectives, since each of them has important implications for leadership education, practice, and development.

Figure 1.1 Different perspectives on studying leadership

The leader’s traits

The study of leadership based on individual traits focuses on the attributes of leaders such as personality, skills and abilities, motivation, or values.

Historically, this approach has its origins in the 1930s and assumes that leaders possess distinctive characteristics which are not present in ‘ordinary’ people. These characteristics have been identified, for example, in above-average intelligence, extraordinary energy, intuition, self-confidence, physical appearance, or specific values and beliefs. ⁴

The assumption underlying this view of leadership is that some people are born with certain attributes that make them ‘natural leaders’—great and charismatic individuals who are capable of achieving successful outcomes—and that these attributes are absent or less pronounced in ‘non-leaders.’

The ‘trait’ approach has progressively been abandoned, mainly because: ⁵

it has failed to identify a ‘one best way,’ a