if there were ways to identify leaders. Trait theories examined whether any traits were
universal among leaders. While there are some common traits, leaders are more dif-
ferent than the same in terms of traits. Emotional intelligence is one of the few
traits that has been found to be extremely important for leadership success. Other
research has tried to discover whether some behaviours create better leaders than
others. The findings were mixed, suggesting that leaders need to be both task ori-
ented and people oriented. The mixed findings led researchers to contingency the-
ories that consider the effect of the situations in which leadership is applied. This
research tells us that leaders need to adjust their behaviours, depending on the
situation and the needs of employees. Contingency theories were an important
contribution to the study of leadership.3 How does a leader lead with vision? The more recent approaches to leader-
ship move away from the supervisory tasks of leaders and focus on vision-setting
activities. These theories try to explain how certain leaders can achieve extraordi-
nary performance levels from their followers, and they stress symbolic and emo-
tionally appealing leadership behaviours. These leaders, known as charismaticor
transformational leaders,inspire followers to go beyond their own self-interests for
the good of the organization.
4 Can a person be an informal leader? There are several approaches to being a
leader even if one does not hold a formal position of leadership. Mentoring is
one way to be an informal leader. Mentors sponsor and support less-experienced
employees, coaching and counselling them about their jobs. A person can also act
as an informal leader on a team.
5 What is self-leadership? With self-leadership, individuals and teams set goals,
plan and implement tasks, evaluate performance, solve their own problems, and
motivate themselves. The supervisor plays a much-reduced role. Self-leadership
can also include leadership at the grassroots level in an organization, where one does
not have actual authority. Leading without authority simply means exhibiting lead-
ership behaviour even though you do not have a formal position or title that might
encourage others “to obey.”
6 What are some of the contemporary issues in leadership? One of the major
issues in leadership today is whether there is a moral dimension to leadership.
Moral leadership comes from within the individual, and, in general, means treat-
ing people well and with respect. Another hot issue in leadership is the question of
whether men and women use different leadership styles, and, if that is the case,
whether one style is inherently superior to the other. The literature suggests two con-
clusions. First, the similarities between men and women tend to outweigh the dif-
ferences. Second, what differences there are seem to relate to women’s falling back
on a more democratic leadership style and men’s feeling more comfortable with a
directive style. Yet another interesting issue in leadership is providing leadership
online. Leadership demands are different when one does not have the opportunity
for face-to-face interaction. For an increasing number of leaders, good interper-
sonal skills may include the ability to communicate support and leadership through
written words on a computer screen and to read emotions in others’ messages.
Chapter 8Leadership 2832 Leadership as
Supervision
Trait Theory: Are Leaders
Different from Others?
Behavioural Theories: Do
Leaders Behave in Particular
Ways?
Contingency Theories: Does
the Situation Matter?
Can You Be a Better
Follower?
3 Inspirational Leadership
From Transactional to
Transformational Leadership
4 Dispersed Leadership:
Spreading Leadership
Throughout the
Organization
Mentoring
Providing Team Leadership
5 Leading One’s Self
Self-Leadership (or Self-
Management)
Leading Without Authority
6 Contemporary Issues in
Leadership
Is There a Moral Dimension
to Leadership?
Gender: Do Men and
Women Lead Differently?
What Are the Challenges of
Online Leadership?