Real Communication An Introduction

274

After you have finished

reading this chapter,

you will be able to

Describe the types of

power that effective

leaders employ

Describe how leadership

styles should be adapted

to the group situation

Identify the qualities that

make leaders effective at

enacting change

Identify how culture

affects appropriate

leadership behavior

List the forces that shape

a group’s decisions

Explain the six-step

group decision process

List behaviors to improve

effective leadership in

meetings

Demonstrate aspects

of assessing group

performance

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chapter

outcomes

hat makes a leader? Power? Experience? Decisiveness? In this chapter,

we continue our discussion of group communication by examining two

additional processes that often emerge in groups: leadership and decision mak-

ing. These two processes are tightly interrelated: a group’s leader affects how the

group makes decisions, and the decisions a group makes affect how the leader

operates. When leadership and decision making work together in a constructive

way, a group stands the best possible chance of achieving its goals. To understand

how these processes influence a group’s effectiveness, let’s begin by taking a closer

look at group leadership.

Understanding Group Leadership

It’s a word that’s constantly tossed about in political campaigns, highlighted on

résumés, and used in book titles and biographies. But just what is leadership?

Scholars have grappled with the task of defining leadership for many years.

Two key terms that show up in many definitions over the years have been

direction and influence. That’s because in its most essential form, leadership is the

ability to direct or influence others’ behaviors and thoughts toward a productive

end (Nierenberg, 2009). This capacity for influence may stem from a person’s

power or simply from group members’ admiration or respect for the individual.

Because influence involves power over others, let’s take a look at power—what it

is and where it comes from.

Five Sources of Power

If you’ve ever seen the classic Steven Spielberg film Jaws, you know that it is,

on the surface, the tale of a small coastal town being terrorized by a nasty, man-

eating shark. But at the heart of the tale is the interaction among a group of men,

each of whom bears or takes some responsibility for ridding the waters of the

treacherous animal. First, there’s the town’s mayor, whose main priority is pro-

tecting the local economy. Second, there’s the town’s new chief of police, who’s

thrust into the story when the first body washes ashore. Also playing a role are

Matt Hooper, a young marine biologist who studies sharks, and Quint, the war-

scarred local shark hunter. Over the course of the film, each man demonstrates

leadership that is firmly rooted in the nature of the power he possesses.

Researchers have identified five types of power—legitimate, coercive, reward,

expert, and referent (French & Raven, 1959).

c Legitimate power comes from an individual’s role or title. The president,

the supervisor at work, and the coach of a team all possess legitimate power

as elected or appointed leaders. In Jaws, the elected mayor of Amity Island,

Larry Vaughn, has some degree of legitimate power, as does Martin Brody,

the chief of police, though his power is subordinate to the mayor’s authority.

c Coercive power stems from a person’s ability to threaten or harm others. A

harsh dictator who keeps his people under threat of violence or economic

hardship holds such power, but so does a boss who threatens to dock or

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