LEADERSHIP AND GOVERNANCE

LEADERSHIP AND GOVERNANCE

Leadership and governance entails the basic ideas and debates concerning the nature of leadership in each sector (public or private); how institutions and processes of management and governance in each sector shape the development of the leaders therein to suit the particular role that they take up.

1. SERVANT LEADERSHIP

In my quest to define who a servant leader is, I find my answer in Robert K. Greenleaf book called The Servant as Leader, an essay that he first published in 1970. He enunciates that, servant leadership begins with the natural desire to serve then the conscious choice brings one to lead. The ideal servant leader has inherent leadership skills as well as developed ones.

Among the developed leadership skills are, having a calling, listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, growth and building community. (Spears, 2010)

Qualities of a servant leader:

Calling, when a person has a natural calling to serve, he/she will instinctively sacrifice self-interests for the sake of others. That kind of person has a desire to make a difference for other people and will pursue opportunities to impact other people’s lives.

Listening, People are of the understanding that servant leaders will hear their ideas that will be valued. Thus, it is important for a servant leader to have good listening skills to accommodate the various ideas that they will hear.

Empathy, This trait comes naturally for servant leaders, it is important for them to understand and empathize with others’ circumstances.

Stewardship, Servant leadership involves forging other people to become leaders in future.

Growth, Servant leaders have a commitment that ensures that other people also grow in their respective fields.

Building community, A servant leader believes that it takes the whole community in sync to make a significant impact, as such they involve everyone instilling hem with a sense of community geared towards attaining a particular goal.

There are other significant characteristics of a servant leader such as; healing, this characteristic enables those who have experienced a traumatizing situation to easily approach them for help. Awareness, servant leaders must be aware of what is revolving around them. Persuasion, servant leaders convince others to do things rather than formal authority. Conceptualization, servant leaders nurture the ability to dream big and avoid being bogged down by day to day operations. A servant leader also ought to have foresight; this is the uncanny ability to foresee future events.  Application

Servant leadership is about inventing the right environment in an organization to get the best out of people. It involves the unleashing of the true potential of employees, which is especially needed at the middle-management level of organizations. Present-day highly competitive global marketplace requires leaders to realign their organizational structures, systems, and management styles in order to empower their employees to survive and thrive in their changing organizations. (Greenleaf,  1977)

To truly be considered a leader one must do much more than simply find another person willing to follow. Most individuals in a role of authority manage rather than lead. They act in the role of dictator, or if their followers are lucky their manager functions in a transactional role exchanging desired performance for salary, benefits, or perhaps promotion. The true leader moves beyond the transactional aspects at the root of business, to a level where they actively seek to better the organization, the employees, and by doing so themselves. Leaders such as these transform teams, companies, and people in a positive manner via a focus on their followers.

In the corporate world there are a number of companies that have adopted the servant leadership model. Among those is TD Industries, whose founder Jack Lowe Sr. came upon the book “The Servant as A Leader” and began to distribute the copies to his employees. It is important to note that as a result the company has been consistently ranked in the top ten of Fortune magazine’s 100 best companies to work for in America. (http://www.tdindustries.com/about/servant-leadership)

2. LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

Leadership; this entails inspiring guiding and leading people that are joined for a common course.

Management; is defined as a group that runs the organization. The jobs of management include, planning, organizing, staffing, leading or directing, and controlling an organization.

The work of managers, to be learnt needs hands on experience. There exist two main tasks in organization these tasks are: operating; which includes simple things such as typing a letter, teaching students etc. Managing, this is the process of getting done by and through others.

Fayol’s principles on management.

Early theorists like Henri Fayol (1841-1925), at this time managers began to get the tools they needed to lead and manage more effectively. Fayol, and others like him, are responsible for building the foundations of modern management theory. (Drucker, 2007)

Division of work- this promotes efficiency and also reduces the amount of work per person.

Authority and responsibility- the right and power to give orders is balanced by the responsibility for performing necessary functions.

Discipline- it is in terms of obedience, application, energy and respect for authority.

Unity of command- workers ought to receive orders from one manager.  

Unity of direction- a common objective must be set that makes the entire organization move towards it.

Subordination of individual interest to general interest- the interests of one person are never to override the interests of the entire organization.

Remuneration of personnel- many variables should be considered in establishing a worker’s pay.  I.e. The cost of living.

Centralization- there should be a central point in the organization which exercises overall directional control of all the parts. 

Scalar chain- Managers in hierarchies are part of a chain like authority scale. Each manager, from the first line supervisor to the president, possess certain amounts of authority. The President possesses the most authority; the first line supervisor the least. Lower level managers should always keep upper level managers informed of their work activities. The existence of a scalar chain and adherence to it are necessary if the organization is to be successful.

Order- For the sake of efficiency and coordination, all materials and people related to a specific kind of work should be treated as equally as possible.      

Equity- All employees should be treated as equally as possible.  

Stability or tenure of personnel - efficiency will be promoted by a stable work force. 

Initiative - to ensure success, plans should be well formulated before they are executed 

Esprit de corps- Management should encourage harmony and general good feelings among employees.

Difference between management and leadership

Leadership and management at often times go hand in hand, though it should be noted that they are not the same at all. According to Warren Bennis and Bert Nanus (1985), Management is about the control process, which ensures that lapses in performance are spotted and corrected through feedback.  Managerial processes therefore must be as close as possible to fail-safe and risk-free. The leadership contribution is to motivate, inspire and energize people by satisfying basic human needs for achievement, a sense of belonging, recognition, self-esteem, control over one’s own life and an ability to live up to one’s ideals. In his 1989 book “On Becoming a Leader,” Warren Bennis composed a list of the differences:

– The manager administers; the leader innovates.

– The manager is a copy; the leader is an original.

– The manager maintains; the leader develops.

– The manager focuses on systems and structure; the leader focuses on people.

– The manager relies on control; the leader inspires trust.

– The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective.

– The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why.

– The manager has his or her eye always on the bottom line; the leader’s eye is on the horizon.

– The manager imitates; the leader originates.

– The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it.

– The manager is the classic good soldier; the leader is his or her own person.

– The manager does things right; the leader does the right thing.

Application

A successful business owner needs to be both a strong leader and manager to get their team on board to follow them towards their vision of success. Leadership is about getting people to understand and believe in your vision and to work with you to achieve your goals while managing is more about administering and making sure the day-to-day things are happening as they should.

In order for you to engage your staff in providing the best service to your guests, clients or partners, you must enroll them in your vision and align their perceptions and behaviors. You need to get them excited about where you are taking them while making sure they know what’s in it for them. With smaller organizations, the challenge lies in making sure you are both leading your team as well as managing your day to day operation. Those who are able to do both will create a competitive advantage.

To achieve the level of innovation required for competitive advantage today, we need to achieve a better balance of power throughout organizations. Employees need to be more fully engaged in making strategic decisions, and in planning and organizing more of their own work. To break the stranglehold of the “organization-as-person metaphor,” employees need to share in strategic thinking. Such ownership is the only way to achieve deep engagement. As a result, managers need to do less telling and, as facilitators, do more asking, as in “What do you think?” There is a trend to view leadership in facilitative terms, but this is really leadership usurping management’s territory. Drawing solutions out of employees is a management technique, not a demonstration of leadership.

Keep in mind how Martin Luther King, Jr. showed leadership. He didn’t facilitate a meeting of stakeholders. He spoke over their heads directly to the general public. He challenged the status quo and called for change. He influenced people to change, without having or exercising the authority to decide anything for them.

Competitive advantage depends on ridding ourselves of industrial age notions of leadership and management. All employees can share in management and show leadership, but only in post-industrial organizations.

3. THE THEORETICAL BASIS

In leadership there are three theories that have tried to it; these are as follows:

Personality trait theory 

The traits approach gives rise to questions: whether leaders are born or made; and whether leadership is an art or science. However, these are not mutually exclusive alternatives. Leadership may be something of an art; it still requires the application of special skills and techniques. Even if there are certain inborn qualities that make one a good leader, these natural talents need encouragement and development. A person is not born with self-confidence. Self-confidence is developed, honesty and integrity are a matter of personal choice, motivation to lead comes from within the individual, and the knowledge of business can be acquired. While cognitive ability has its origin partly in genes, it still needs to be developed. None of these ingredients are acquired overnight. (Zaccaro & Klimoski, (2001).

Behavioral Theories (Style Theories)

As the early researchers ran out of steam in their search for traits, they turned to what leaders did how they behaved (especially towards followers). They moved from leaders to leadership and this became the dominant way of approaching leadership within organizations in the 1950s and early 1960s. Different patterns of behavior were grouped together and labeled as styles. This became a very popular activity within management training – perhaps the best known being Blake and Mouton’s Managerial Grid (1964; 1978). Various schemes appeared, designed to diagnose and develop people’s style of working. Despite different names, the basic ideas were very similar. The four main styles that appear are:

• Concern for task. Here leaders emphasize the achievement of concrete objectives. They look for high levels of productivity, and ways to organize people and activities in order to meet those objectives.
• Concern for people. In this style, leaders look upon their followers as people  their needs, interests, problems, development and so on. They are not simply units of production or means to an end.
• Directive leadership. This style is characterized by leaders taking decisions for others and expecting followers or subordinates to follow instructions.
• Participative leadership. Here leaders try to share decision-making with others.(Wright, 1996)

Situational Leadership; a Contingency Approach

Situational leadership is a theory of leadership that is part of a group of theories known as contingency theories of leadership. Generally speaking, contingency theories of leadership hold that a leader's effectiveness is related to the leader's traits or behaviors in relation to differing situational factors. According to situational leadership theory, a leader's effectiveness is contingent on his ability to modify his management behavior to the level of his subordinates' maturity or sophistication. The style a leader uses under situational leadership is based upon combining levels of directive behavior and supportive behavior. You can think of directive behavior as an order and supportive behavior as providing support or guidance. (Hersey and Blanchard, 1969).

Application

Leadership models, as emphasized strongly already, are far more like 'toolkits' and processes than leadership philosophies or leadership styles.

Leadership models enable to varying degrees leadership to be understood, taught, applied and adapted. This is possible because they allow for different types of followers, situations and leaders. They are by nature flexible and adaptable. They contain correlations and scales, continuums and keys, and also enable, again to varying degrees, some sort of measurement and benchmarking of standards and ranges.

Philosophies very effectively convey a sense of connection and relationship between leadership and the world outside the group or organization being led. Models don't do this very well because they tend to focus on the leader and the group, or at widest, the organizational situation.

The point should be noted also at the vast variation of types of models. There really is something for everyone, and the thought of a leader being armed with all the models, and able to bring different methods into play very selectively and appropriately certainly conjures the image of a very potent leader indeed. That is provided the leader has taken due note and learning from relevant leadership philosophies and leadership styles.

Each leader has to find his own style according to his own personality and the kind of company he/she is working for. That is why it is impossible to judge one theory as the best and ultimate one. But each company has to find the best suiting leadership or management style for itself and if necessary adapt to a changing situation. The important part about being a leader or a manager is not to stick to one of the styles, but find your own style and lead as best as you can.

In the United States, the government invests heavily in the training of the military personnel on leadership. For example, in the navy they rely so much on leadership decisions made from the admiral to the seaman, thus their heavy investment on leadership skills. (Phillips, 2007)

Subordinates must be given authority and responsibility early in their careers, so as to equip them in making future decisions. The above mentioned leadership theories are some of the taught lessons geared towards molding an effective leader. A naval vessel is a complex microcosm that utilizes a variety of leadership methods to complete tasks. The theories discussed here were only some of the leadership applications available to leaders on board a naval vessel. As the military continues to invest in the leadership development of employees and as leaders seek to improve the moral, welfare and productivity of those they lead, a clear understanding of leadership theory and practical application is necessary.

4. LEADERSHIP IN THE VOLUNTARY SECTOR.

Employee volunteerism is at the pinnacle of every successful company. More companies are recognizing the value that providing service opportunities to employees brings to the company, the employees themselves and, of course the communities across the globe.

An effective leader is often times the one who nurtures other people to be leaders themselves. He /she provide a stepping stone and tutelage to the willing learner. Under employee volunteerism are programs that help the community in general, they are employee-driven, and bring added value to the business.

Therefore the question now is what makes an effective employee volunteer program;

1. Plan, for effective articulation of every project it must be properly planned and in line with the employee plus the business goals.
2. Measurement, this involves looking at how the plan has been executed and whether it has realized its goals.
3. Design, the effective models of employee voluntary programs incorporate, the leveraging of employee skills and corporate assets, thus aligning with the core competencies and enhancing corporate operations.
4.  Leadership, it is obvious that for effective employee voluntary programs there must be support from the leadership of the company.
5. Partnerships, getting equal minded people on board who are geared towards a common purpose makes an effective employee voluntary program.
6. Employee engagement, employees must be engaged at all levels in creating a successful employee voluntary program.
7. Success and growth, just like a family setup success must be celebrated by all who cultivated into it.

The role of corporate social responsibility especially employee volunteering will continue to remain critical for businesses to achieve success and a competitive advantage.

Application

There are ample quantitative and qualitative studies that show that being a good corporate citizen can also be good for a company’s bottom line. Research shows that there is a direct correlation between active community outreach programs and increased revenues and customer loyalty for businesses that engage in helping their communities. In this context, many businesses have developed extensive strategic philanthropy initiatives to insure that their giving aligns with their missions and core values.

Employee-sponsored volunteer programs are a highly visible way for businesses to show their commitment to their communities. In return, these businesses benefit from positive perceptions in the community. Communities gain from the involvement of employee volunteers in a variety of ways, including: enriched community life; community organizations with more human resources and a wider variety of skills delivering enhanced health, education, and social services; citizens with access to more and augmented programs and services; new partners for government in service provision; and enhanced historical, artistic and cultural richness for citizens to enjoy. Unlike financial donations and in-kind support, EVPs allow companies to foster a more personal link to the community by sharing its human resources with organizations in need. As the economy slows and nonprofit organizations struggle to provide services on smaller budgets, volunteers become even more vital to the health of our nation’s communities. In return for this help, companies benefit with more productive and satisfied employees, a better bottom line and an improved standing in the community.

Healthier and more active communities attract new businesses and new employees. They cost less to operate and thereby contribute to economic as well as social development. Vigorous communities create an environment that is clearly more conducive to business growth and bottom line success. Enriched communities also benefit those who live in them, so employees who get involved in their own communities directly and indirectly reap the rewards of their own efforts for themselves and their families (Graff, 2004)

“It helps our reputation... We are seen as a better company if we give back to the community . . . It’s a big reason why we do it . . . We want people to say I want to work for Ford . . . [Through volunteering] you also have a better handle on what your customers are like . . . Spending more time away from your regular day-to-day stuff also gives you a chance to connect with customers.” A Ford Employee Commenting on Ford’s Employee Volunteer Program (Pancer et al., 2002).

5. THE PRACTICE OF LEADERSHIP

What is a leadership style? This is a leader’s style of leading, leading that involves giving direction, implementing plans and motivating people. People are different hence each person ascribes to a particular leadership style. As seen by the employees, it includes the total pattern of explicit and implicit actions performed by their leader (Newstrom, Davis, 1993).

The first major study of leadership styles was performed in 1939 by Kurt Lewin who led a group of researchers to identify different styles of leadership (Lewin, Lippit, White, 1939). This early study has remained quite influential. The leadership styles set up are; (U.S. Army, 1973):

Coercive

The coercive leader demands immediate compliance. If this style were summed up in one phrase, it would be "Do what I tell you." The coercive style is most effective in times of crisis, such as in a company turnaround or a takeover attempt, or during an actual emergency like a tornado or a fire. This style can also help control a problem teammate when everything else has failed. However, it should be avoided in almost every other case because it can alienate people and stifle flexibility and inventiveness.

Authoritative

The authoritative leader mobilizes the team toward a common vision and focuses on end goals, leaving the means up to each individual. If this style were summed up in one phrase, it would be "Come with me." The authoritative style works best when the team needs a new vision because circumstances have changed, or when explicit guidance is not required. Authoritative leaders inspire an entrepreneurial spirit and vibrant enthusiasm for the mission. It is not the best fit when the leader is working with a team of experts who know more than him or her. (Helge, 2010)

Democratic

The democratic leader builds consensus through participation. If this style were summed up in one phrase, it would be "What do you think?" The democratic style is most effective when the leader needs the team to buy into or have ownership of a decision, plan, or goal, or if he or she is uncertain and needs fresh ideas from qualified teammates. It is not the best choice in an emergency situation, when time is of the essence for another reason or when teammates are not informed enough to offer sufficient guidance to the leader. (Woods, 2010).

Affiliative

The affiliative leader works to create emotional bonds that bring a feeling of bonding and belonging to the organization. If this style were summed up in one phrase, it would be "People come first." The affiliative style works best in times of stress, when teammates need to heal from a trauma, or when the team needs to rebuild trust. This style should not be used exclusively, because a sole reliance on praise and nurturing can foster mediocre performance and a lack of direction.

The coaching style

The coaching leader develops people for the future. If this style were summed up in one phrase, it would be "Try this." The coaching style works best when the leader wants to help teammates build lasting personal strengths that make them more successful overall. It is least effective when teammates are defiant and unwilling to change or learn, or if the leader lacks proficiency.

Application

It is important to note that no one management style is effective all of the time. Managers male/female need to be perceptive enough to know what is needed and when. There may be a time when an authoritative approach is needed, followed by a more affiliative approach and then a visionary approach when the next project is looming just around the corner. In my experience, the least effective managers are those who aren’t engaged (or who genuinely have no clue what’s going on), so they lack insight into the resource that is needed at the moment and become part of the problem rather than the origin of the solution. In the process, they lose respect of their staff and become “the boss” rather than “the leader.”

The most important thing you do is lead your people. Every productive activity on your daily agenda is leadership, regardless of what you call it. The most valuable commodity of any great organization is the quality of good people. They deserve the most inspired caring leadership you can provide. Leaders seize the opportunity and use it properly to attain excellence. A critical factor in the exercise of leadership is the adaptability of the person in charge. Whenever any of the variables change, the necessarily "right" style must change. The style that worked yesterday may not work tomorrow--but the leader will adapt. It takes time for a new leader to identify the "right" style of leadership. The leader may then have established a pattern of behavior that will stick with him or her for the rest of their lives. Another component of good leadership is caring. Good leaders care about and take of their people. Quality of leadership must be assessed by looking at where the irritants lie. Cooperative groups generally come from good environment. A good senior leader can do things to overcome poor leadership below them. The converse is not true. Even the most inspired junior leaders cannot compensate for the "wrong" style imposed upon them and their team from above. Way to look at leadership is to consider how it is used.

An example of a leader using the leadership styles is R. K. Krishna Kumar, the CEO of India Hotels, is a man of crisis. His peers describe him as a strong, focused and articulate professional and also one who knows how "to disagree agreeably" and he believes in fostering team spirit and building commitment through leadership by example. His vision for the Taj group is for it to be "a select chain, with global presence.

6. THE GOVERNANCE PARADIGM IN ACTION TO BRING ABOUT POLICY CHANGE

Governance can simply be defined as the establishment of policies, and continuous monitoring of their proper implementation, by the members of the governing body of an organization. It includes the mechanisms required to balance the powers of the members (with the associated accountability), and their primary duty of enhancing the prosperity and viability of the organization. (Committee of Experts on Public Administration, Definition of basic concepts and terminologies in governance and public administration (E/C.16/2006/4) (New York, 2006)

Specific reference is made to democratic governance as “a process of creating and sustaining an environment for inclusive and responsive political processes and settlements.” The institutional and human capacities for governance determine the way in which the effectiveness of public policies and strategies is attained, especially in service delivery.

What does it mean to promote good governance for human development? Much discussion about the definition of good governance has centered on what makes institutions and rules more effective and efficient, in order to achieve equity, transparency, participation, responsiveness, accountability, and the rule of law. These aspects are crucial for human development and the eradication of poverty since ineffective institutions usually result in the greatest harm to those who are poor and vulnerable. Without reference to a universal standard for governance, the notion of what is good is thus defined by the desired outcome, which varies from one situation to another.

Good governance is an indeterminate term used in international development literature to describe how public institutions conduct public affairs and manage public resources. Governance is "the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented (or not implemented)". The term governance can apply to corporate, international, national, local governance or to the interactions between other sectors of society. (Heritier, 2012)

The concept of "good governance" often emerges as a model to compare ineffective economies or political bodies with viable economies and political bodies. The concept centers on the responsibility of governments and governing bodies to meet the needs of the masses as opposed to select groups in society. Because countries often described as "most successful" are Western liberal democratic states, concentrated in Europe and the Americas, good governance standards often measure other state institutions against these states. Aid organizations and the authorities of developed countries often will focus the meaning of "good governance" to a set of requirements that conform to the organization's agenda, making "good governance" imply many different things in many different contexts. (Sam, 2000)

Application

Almost all major development institutions today say that promoting good governance is an important part of their agendas. Despite this consensus, 'good governance' is an extremely elusive objective: it means different things to different organizations and to different actors within these organizations.

Better governance helps lower poverty and improves living standards. Research evidence points to a very high development dividend from good governance. There are multiple mechanisms through which capable public sector institutions, as well as an independent judiciary, property rights protection, civil liberties and press freedoms, and effective regulatory and anticorruption institutions result in sustained, long-run development and poverty reduction.

The 2012 African Governance Outlook, a flagship publication of the African Development Bank, notes (p.7):

There is now a general consensus on the role that good governance plays in achieving equitable and sustainable development in Africa. Empirical evidence confirms that good governance is critical for sustainable economic growth as measured by high per capita income. Countries with better governance profiles tend to attract higher levels of foreign direct investment and faster economic growth rates than others. Empirical evidence also confirms the causal linkage between good governance and the decline in absolute poverty levels, infant mortality, literacy rates, gender equality, access to clean water and other Millennium Development Goals. These broad empirical findings confirm the casual wisdom that good governance does play an important role in achieving positive development outcomes.

This seems to reflect the views of influential sections of the donor community. The donor community, especially the World Bank and some member governments, has been telling Africans to ensure ‘good governance’ since the 1980s. The agenda of good governance refers, broadly speaking, to institutional arrangements that have supposedly proven their worth in OECD countries.

7. PUBLIC SECTOR / PUBLIC LEADERSHIP

Leadership development is an important priority that attracts substantial investment from, organizations that view it as vital to their progress. It is important for the private and public sectors to benchmark themselves by looking at the value and role of senior leadership development (SLD).

Several critical issues are found by a research by Cranfield’s ‘General Management Development Group’, that the real value of leadership is often misunderstood by the sebior managers of a company. The thinking of development professionals is sometimes at odds with line management.

However there were also differences in approach and priority. For example;

The public sector wishes to maintain the SLD in favorable business circumstances. In unfavorable times this mode is usually included in the cost cutting list. Unlike the private sector, in the public sector the managers were willing to take up a variety of approaches according to the different development aims being sought. In the private sector focus was majored on individual leadership activity in difficult business circumstances. The private sector was also ready to learn from the experience external from them.

In sum this differences and similarities elucidate that there is need for more discriminating approaches to SLD. Thus the different organizations need different SLD strategies, methodologies and processes of evaluation.

Basically what this entails is the development of leaders for the current and future generations. This should not be avoided as it takes good and effective leaders to steer organizations into success. Therefore underpinning this idea will be counterproductive in the long run to the companies or organizations that assume this. (Benjamin, 1999)

Application

Top companies centralize their management of talent. Top talent is owned by corporate not by a function, business or geography the term is “corporate property.” This simple logic makes a huge difference in the variety of experiences leaders have in top companies because businesses, geographies and functions can’t deprive their best talent from moving across boundaries in order to optimize that organization. If you want to develop leaders, you need to involve leaders. Former P&G CEO and now Chairman A.G. Lafley conducts his own senior leadership development program. Lafley invites each participant to the program personally. Members of P&G senior executive team teach, coach and mentor these leaders every month. In addition, these same senior executives sponsor the recruiting efforts at targeted universities. Top companies for leaders live by the precept of finding and hiring top talent vs. fixing and developing mediocre talent. If you hire great people, you are a lot more likely to find some great leaders. Once you’ve got the right talent in the door, you need robust performance management with lots of feedback. Finally, you need to expose these people to a variety of development experiences that build knowledge, perspective and skills. Top companies are never laissez faire about leadership development they see the infusion and growth of talent as crucial to strategic success and they are unrelenting in their approach to building talent. Their leadership development is centralized and intentional about developing a series of experiences that build good functional leaders and general managers. Leadership capability increases as HR systems such as performance management, compensation and job assignments are linked across organization boundaries, and are intentional about building the right kind of leaders. Most companies are primarily focused on building individual leaders through assessment of individual leader competencies and training and development to improve those competencies. Top companies for leaders also build robust leadership capability that supports a culture of integration and opportunity to develop from within. Top companies develop leaders who have the desired competencies to deliver on their strategy and the competencies to ensure customer delight.

8. NEW GOVERNANCE AND LEADERSHIP: STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP.

The new proposition on leadership is that the new crop of leaders that will emerge will be concerned on their impacts to their own lives, the quality of their work and the quality of the society that they live in. thus they will be characterized by their proficiency to inspire others to look at the same direction together. Thus, they will look at their personal development, their organizational life development and their public life development.

On personal development of leaders; Personal development is a lifelong process. It’s a way for people to assess their skills and qualities, consider their aims in life and set goals in order to realize and maximize their potential. Personal development is something we do off the clock and in our spare time in order to “get ahead” in the “real world.” In understanding one’s potential for leadership, there must first be a statement of values or philosophy of leadership. This learner begins with a strong foundation of theories and concepts of leadership, then supports that through assessments, experiences, and feedback from those around him. Ultimately, the challenge that always remains is the application and implementation of leadership within organizations. To maintain the highest standards of leadership and to be the leader that others want to follow, there must always be an open door for open communication and feedback. (Bass, 1985)

On their organizational life development, strategic planning, an umbrella term used to include and summarize such activities as planning, performance measurement, program budgeting, and the like, has proven to be very useful but limited. It is a technical fix that gets at only part of the question of organizational effectiveness and only deals with some of the dilemmas organizations face. The efforts of public administrators to control organizational endeavors are essential, necessary, and aligned with current best practices. But the control mechanisms ultimately prove to be only part of the puzzle. In the face of such realities, the notion of strategic thinking emerges to fill the gaps and overcome the limitations that experience with strategic planning has proven to exhibit. Thus, this is important for leaders to develop their organizational skills. (Abramson, 1996)

On public life development, when we understand the linkages involving our lives, our work places and the global community we come to a conclusion that we need to develop certain standards to aid us in our development. This in turn helps us to socially be responsible to the consequences of our actions.

Application

Few things are more important to human activity than leadership. Effective leadership helps our nation through times of peril. It makes a business organization successful. It enables a not-for-profit organization to fulfill its mission. The effective leadership of parents enables children to grow strong and healthy and become productive adults. The absence of leadership is equally dramatic in its effects. Without leadership, organizations move too slowly, stagnate, and lose their way. Much of the literature about organizations stresses decision-making and implies that if decision-making is timely, complete, and correct, then things will go well. Yet a decision by itself changes nothing. After a decision is made, an organization faces the problem of implementation how to get things done in a timely and effective way.

Problems of implementation are really issues about how leaders influence behavior, change the course of events, and overcome resistance. Leadership is crucial in implementing decisions successfully. Each of us recognizes the importance of leadership when we vote for our political leaders. We realize that it matters who is in office, so we participate in a contest, an election, to choose the best candidate.

Investors recognize the importance of business leadership when they say that a good leader can make a success of a weak business plan, but that a poor leader can ruin even the best plan.

 If a company is truly striving to be successful in all aspects, it should have a leader who would lead and guide employees in a correct manner, which would in turn lead to its overall productivity. There is a popular saying that some are born leaders, however, many people contradict this belief, as effective leaders can also be developed. A leader is primarily looked up to, when his subordinates perform in a way the company wants them to. If the leader himself is not good, the performance of people working under him also won't be as expected.

9. CHARISMATIC AND TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP.

Leadership research over the past twenty years has contrasted transformational with transactional leadership (Bass, 1990; Burns, 1978). Inherent in most researchers' articulation of transformational leadership is the concept of charisma. Many researchers have begun to treat and study both transformational and charismatic leadership as one in the same, assuming that if transformational leadership exists, so does charisma (Bass, 1985; Shamir, 1991).

This presents a problem when considering the characteristics of each construct. A critical assessment of both constructs reveals two quite different, perhaps incompatible constructs, necessitating that clear distinctions be maintained. According to most transformational theorists, charisma is believed to be the fundamental factor in the transformational process (Avolio, Waldman, & Einstein, 1988; Bass, 1985; Bass, 1990; Deluga, 1988; Howell & Avolio, 1993; Seltzer & Bass, 1990; Yammarino & Bass, 1990). Charisma is described as the leader's ability to generate great symbolic power with which to identify followers’ and develop strong emotional attachments (Bass, 1985). Charisma is often defined with respect to how followers perceive and act towards the leader (Bass, 1985). While the potential influence ofa charismatic leader is well documented, there is clearly a difference between getting followers to pursue organizational goals (as transformational leaders do) (Bass, 1985) and gaming compliance from followers because of personal emulation or symbolic power (as charismatic leaders do) (Conger & Kanungo, 1987).

Considering the social aspects and manifestations of charisma, as it relates to leadership (Weber, 1947), and the personal identification that charismatic leaders rely on to gain compliance, it is suggested that the motivational influence of inspiration will be sufficient along with individual consideration and intellectual stimulation to account for transformation in followers and organizations. Recognizing that inspirational motivation, individual consideration, and intellectual stimulation are three essential attributes for being a transformational leader will enable leaders to excite followers to: pursue organizational goals, recognize the importance of their contribution towards the organization's goal attainment, and encourage followers to creatively solve problems as they arise (Trice & Beyer, 1993). By separating the constructs, scholars can advocate transformational leadership as a robust and exhilarating leadership style to motivate followers to pursue organizational goals.

Application

Charismatic leaders are likely to have a strong need for power, high self-confidence, and a strong conviction in their own beliefs and ideals. Here explains how a charismatic leader’s behaviors influence the attitudes and behavior of followers: 1) articulating an appealing vision, 2)using strong, expressive forms of communication when articulating the vision, 3) taking personal risks and making self-sacrifices to attain the vision, 4) communicating high expectations, 5) expressing optimism and confidence in followers, 6) modeling behaviors consistent with the vision, 7) managing follower impressions of the leader, 8) building identification with group or organization, and 9) empowering followers.

 Charismatic leaders use language that includes symbols, slogans, imagery, and metaphors that are relevant to the experience and values of followers. Also, expression of strong positive emotions such as enthusiasm and optimism about a new initiative, project, or strategy is another way of influencing followers’ motivation.

The Charismatic Leader and the Transformational Leader can have many similarities, in that the Transformational Leader may well be charismatic. Their main difference is in their basic focus. Whereas the Transformational Leader has a basic focus of transforming the organization and, quite possibly, their followers, the Charismatic Leader may not want to change anything.

Despite their charm and apparent concern, the Charismatic Leader may well be somewhat more concerned with themselves than anyone else. A typical experience with them is that whilst you are talking with them, it is like being bathed in a warm and pleasant glow, in which they are very convincing. Yet afterwards, ask the sunbeam of their attention is moved elsewhere, you may begin to question what they said (or even whether they said anything of significance at all).

The values of the Charismatic Leader are highly significant. If they are well-intentioned towards others, they can elevate and transform an entire company. If they are selfish and Machiavellian, they can create cults and effectively rape the minds (and potentially the bodies) of the followers.

Their self-belief is so high, they can easily believe that they are infallible, and hence lead their followers into an abyss, even when they have received adequate warning from others. The self-belief can also lead them into psychotic narcissism, where their self-absorption or need for admiration and worship can lead to their followers questioning their leadership.

They may also be intolerant of challengers and their irreplaceability (intentional or otherwise) can mean that there are no successors when they leave.

PART TWO

AN INTERVIEW ON LEADERSHIP MANAGEMENT; INTERVIEWEE GINA DIN

A brief introduction as to who Gina Din is.

Her full name is Gina Din-Kariuki, she is the Executive Chair of Gina Din Group. Worked for Barclays Bank for 14 years then started her own company, which has won numerous awards at public relations society galas. She was voted among 100 Most Influential Africans by New African Magazine in 2013. She has handled some big accounts like Safaricom, Kenya Airways, KCB and Kenya Red Cross, among others. Gina Din-Kariuki founded what was then Gina Din Corporate Communications in October 1997, and in so doing blazed a trail in the  Public Relations (P.R.) industry which many have since attempted to follow. Gina plays an active philanthropic role, serving in various capacities including Kenya Red Cross Goodwill Ambassador and Board Member of the National Children's Council. Gina's role as Chair of Gina Din allows her to focus upon her high-level strategic consulting role.

Interview on leadership management

I will go directly to the interview contents itself. This interview simply is a bout leadership management from a leader who has successfully cut a niche for herself in a largely patriarchal Kenyan society. In this interview I asked questions regarding the various topics on leadership management that we have covered in the classroom.

On servant leadership

Question: Are you a servant leader?

Yes, I am a servant leader as because I can identify myself with the definition given by Robert K. Greenleaf that:

“The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first; perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions…The leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types. Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature.”

“The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served. The best test, and difficult to administer, is: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived?”

On leadership and management

Question: How would you differentiate between leadership and management?

The main difference between leaders and managers is that leaders have people follow them while managers have people who work for them.

A successful business owner needs to be both a strong leader and manager to get their team on board to follow them towards their vision of success. Leadership is about getting people to understand and believe in your vision and to work with you to achieve your goals while managing is more about administering and making sure the day-to-day things are happening as they should.

I believe that in order for you to engage your staff in providing the best service to your guests, clients or partners, you must enroll them in your vision and align their perceptions and behaviors. You need to get them excited about where you are taking them while making sure they know what’s in it for them. With smaller organizations, the challenge lies in making sure you are both leading your team as well as managing your day to day operation. Those who are able to do both, will create a competitive advantage.

On the theories of leadership and management

Question: How viable are the various leadership theories?

There really is something for everyone, and the thought of a leader being armed with all the models, and able to bring different methods into play very selectively and appropriately certainly conjures the image of a very potent leader indeed. That is provided the leader has taken due note and learning from relevant leadership philosophies and leadership styles.

Each leader has to find his own style according to his own personality and the kind of company he/she is working for. That is why it is impossible to judge one theory as the best and ultimate one. But each company has to find the best suiting leadership or management style for itself and if necessary adapt to a changing situation. The important part about being a leader or a manager is not to stick to one of the styles, but find your own style and lead as best as you can.

On leadership in the voluntary sector

Question: Do you encourage (Employee Voluntary Programs) EVP’s?

Every company has the power to leverage their employees’ time and talents to successfully strengthen communities and impact social issues facing all of us. An effective volunteer program can transform the way customers, partners, investors and employees think about your company. Therefore, my answer is yes I do support EVP’s.

Unlike financial donations and in-kind support, EVPs allow companies to foster a more personal link to the community by sharing its human resources with organizations in need. As the economy slows and nonprofit organizations struggle to provide services on smaller budgets, volunteers become even more vital to the health of our nation’s communities. In return for this help, companies benefit with more productive and satisfied employees, a better bottom line and an improved standing in the community.

They cost less to operate and thereby contribute to economic as well as social development. Vigorous communities create an environment that is clearly more conducive to business growth and bottom line success. Enriched communities also benefit those who live in them, so employees who get involved in their own communities directly and indirectly reap the rewards of their own efforts for themselves and their families (Graff, 2004)

On the various leadership styles

Question: Which leadership style do you subscribe to?

Vroom et al. (Vroom, 2000) developed an actionable decision making tool for leaders that is fairly well supported in the research literature. The tool helps leaders determine what type of participation they should seek in their decision by answering simple questions that move through a decision tree. Therefore, I find that he emphasized very much on my view. My view is that one doesn’t need to adopt one and ignore the others. Rather, the best leaders move among these styles, using the one that meets the needs of the moment. Think of them all as part of your management repertoire. Therefore when the situation arises one should know which leadership style to use.

On the governance paradigm

Question: What do you think of the Kenyan Governance system?

I will base my answer on the concepts of democracy and the rule of law, including with rights-based claims to equality before the law, judicial independence, participation in the conduct of public affairs, electoral integrity, political plurality, freedom of expression and media independence. These claims include demands for gender equality and the inclusion of youth and marginalized groups. Integral to effective implementation is an informed and empowered citizenry engaged in transparent and accountable governance processes. Free and pluralistic media are considered essential to such ends as is the right to freely access information held by public bodies. All these things must be upheld in the governance of our beloved country so as to foster peace and development. (UNESCO General Conference Resolution 55 adopted at its 33rd session)

On strategic leadership

Question: What has helped you to become a successful strategic leader?

My personal life itself has molded me into whom I am today, especially the experiences that I have had. I find that today I am emotionally intelligent which especially, is fundamental quality in the P.R industry.  Emotional intelligence is an ability to understand and capitalize on one’s own emotions and the emotions or feelings of those around them (Abraham, 1999). It is an ability to use knowledge of emotions to solve problems within organizations. Research has shown a connection between the application of emotional intelligence to improved organizational performance and productivity (Goleman, 2004). Some of the key elements of emotional intelligence address a leader’s ability to exhibit self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and to manage social skills.

On charismatic and transformational leadership

Question: what is your take on charismatic and transformational leadership?

The transformational leader creates enthusiasm and revitalizes organizations. This enthusiasm is generated in several ways. First, transformational leaders use what's called idealized influence to demonstrate to followers that the leader can walk the walk and talk the talk. Essentially, the transformational leader serves as a role model to followers by living by the same principles that he or she expects of their followers. The transformational leader would never expect followers to do something that he or she would not do themselves. (Avolio & Waldman, 1988)

Second, the transformational leader is also a charismatic leader, who has the ability to arouse a sense of excitement, motivation and assurance in followers. Keep in mind while transformational leaders are charismatic, they are not as narcissistic as pure charismatic leaders can be.

Third, transformational leaders show a genuine concern for the needs and feelings of their followers through something called individualized consideration. Examples of individualized consideration include things like mentoring employees one-on-one, delegating difficult tasks to deserving people and maintaining a high level of communication with followers. Each follower is treated as an individual. The transformational leader spends time recognizing the differences in followers. (Avolio & Waldman, 1988)

Fourth, the transformational leader is intellectually stimulating by encouraging creativity and innovation when formulating potential solutions to organizational problems. By allowing the followers to participate in this unrestricted fashion, the transformational leader is able to stir the imagination of followers in a way that promotes the prompt identification of problems and high-quality solutions that are implemented with the full commitment of followers. Given that much of the transformational leader's time is spent trying to convince followers to transcend their personal interests for the sake of the larger organization, idealized influence, charisma, individualized consideration and intellectual stimulation are essential. (Avolio & Waldman, 1988)

REFERENCES

Abraham, R. (1999). Emotional Intelligence in Organizations: A Conceptualization. Genetic, Social & General Psychology Monographs, 125(2).

Abramson, M. A. 1996. “In search of the new leadership”. Government Executive.

Agere, Sam (2000). Promoting good governance. Commonwealth Secretariat.

Avolio, B.J., & Howell, J.M. (1992). The impact of leadership behavior and leader-follower personality match on satisfaction and unit performance. In K. Clark, M.B. Clark, and D.P. Campbell (Eds.).

Avolio, B.J., & Waldman, D.A.. & Einstein, W.O. (1988). Transformational leadership in a management game simulation: Impacting the bottom line. Group & Orgcinizational Studies, 13, 59-80.

Bass, B.M. (1990). Bass and Stogdili s handbook of leadership. New York: Free Press.

Blake, R. R. and Mouton, J. S. (1964) The Managerial Grid, Houston TX.: Gulf.

Blake, R. R. and Mouton, J. S. (1978) The New Managerial Grid, Houston TX.: Gulf.

Conger, J.A., & Kanungo, R.N. (1987). Toward a behavioral theory of charismatic leadership in organizational settings. Academy of Management Review, 12, 637-647.

Conger, J. A., & Benjamin, B. (1999). Building leaders: How successful companies develop the next generation. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

Drucker, P. (2007). Management Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers.

Goleman, D. (2004). What Makes a Leader? Harvard Business Review, 82(1).

Graff, Linda (2004), Making a Business Case for Employer-Supported Volunteerism, Ottawa:

Volunteer Canada

Greenleaf, R. K. (1977/2002). Servant-leadership: A journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press

Heritier, P. & Silvestri P. (Eds.), Good government, Governance, Human complexity. Luigi Einaudi's legacy and contemporary societies, Leo Olschki, Firenze, 2012

Hersey, P. and Blanchard, K. H. (1969). Management of Organizational Behavior – Utilizing Human Resources. New Jersey/Prentice Hall. Hersey, P. and Blanchard, K. H. (1969). Life cycle theory of leadership. Training and Development Journal, 23 (5), 26–34.)

Impact of leadership (pp.225-235). Greensboro, NC: Center for Creative Leadership.

Larry C. Spears Character and Servant Leadership: Ten Characteristics of Effective, Caring Leaders The Journal of Virtues & Leadership, Vol. 1 Iss. 1, 2010, 25-30. School of Global Leadership & Entrepreneurship, Regent University

Lewin, K., Lippit, R., White, R.K. (1939). Patterns of aggressive behavior in experimentally created social climates. Journal of Social Psychology, 10, 271-301.

Newstrom, J.W., Davis, K. (1993). Organizational Behavior: Human Behavior at Work. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Pancer, S.M., Baetz, M.C. and Rog, E.J. (2002), Developing an Effective Corporate Volunteer Program: Lessons from the Ford Motor Company of Canada, Canadian Centre for Philanthropy, Toronto

Phillips, A. (2007, March 15). SECNAV Says safety is critically important. Navy News Stand, 1.

Salin D, Helge H "Organizational Causes of Workplace Bullying" in Bullying and Harassment in the Workplace: Developments in Theory, Research, and Practice (2010)

U.S. Army. (1983). Military Leadership. Field Manual 22-100. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

Vroom, V. H. (2000). Leadership and the decision making process. Organizational Dynamics, 68, 82–94

Woods, A.P. (2010). "Democratic leadership: drawing distinctions with distributed leadership". International Journal of Leadership in Education 7

Yammarino, F.J., & Bass, B.M. (1990). Transformational leadership and multiple levels of analysis. Human Relations. 43. 975-995.

Zaccaro, S. J., & Klimoski, R. J. (Eds.). (2001). The nature of organizational leadership.San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/governance.html#ixzz3hMZ80kzr