LEADERSHIP
Total Executive understand the difference between Leadership and Management
A definition of Leadership is provided by Wikipedia below.
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Leadership is defined by Wikipedia as:
Leadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task”.[1] Definitions more inclusive of followers have also emerged. Alan Keith of Genentech states that, "Leadership is ultimately about creating a way for people to contribute to making something extraordinary happen."[2] According to Ken "SKC" Ogbonnia [3], "effective leadership is the ability to successfully integrate and maximize available resources within the internal and external environment for the attainment of organizational or societal goals."
Leadership remains one of the most relevant aspects of the organisational context. However, defining leadership has been challenging and definitions can vary depending on the situation. According to Ann Marie E. McSwain, Assistant Professor at Lincoln University, “leadership is about capacity: the capacity of leaders to listen and observe, to use their expertise as a starting point to encourage dialogue between all levels of decision-making, to establish processes and transparency in decision-making, to articulate their own values and visions clearly but not impose them. Leadership is about setting and not just reacting to agendas, identifying problems, and initiating change that makes for substantial improvement rather than managing change.”
Ethical OR Responsible Leadership
Ethical leadership is leadership that is involved in leading in a manner that respects the rights and dignity of others7. “As leaders are by nature in a position of social power, ethical leadership focuses on how leaders use their social power in the decisions they make, actions they engage in and ways they influence others”7. Leaders who are ethical demonstrate a level of integrity that is important for stimulating a sense of leader trustworthiness5, which is important for followers to accept the vision of the leader7. These are critical and direct components to leading ethically4. The character and integrity of the leader provide the basis for personal characteristics that direct a leader’s ethical beliefs, values, and decisions7. Individual values and beliefs impact the ethical decisions of leaders9.
Leaders who are ethical are people-oriented7, and also aware of how their decisions impact others8, and use their social power to serve the greater good instead of self-serving interests7. In ethical leadership it is important for the leader to consider how his or her decisions impact others7. Motivating followers to put the needs or interests of the group ahead of their own is another quality of ethical leaders3. Motivating involves engaging others in an intellectual and emotional commitment between leaders and followers that makes both parties equally responsible in the pursuit of a common goal4. These characteristics of ethical leaders are similar to inspirational motivation, which is a style component of transformational leadership2. Inspirational motivation “involves inspiring others to work towards the leader’s vision for the group and to be committed to the group”7. Similarly, ethical leadership “falls within the nexus of inspiring, stimulating, and visionary leader behaviors that make up transformational and charismatic leadership”4. Ethical leaders assist followers in gaining a sense of personal competence that allows them to be self-sufficient by encouraging and empowering them7.