Chapter 10
The need here is to understand and be aware of what leadership is, how it impacts on managerial professional performance, and the part of management that is about ‘leadership’. Leadership is additional to management and a part of professional managerial expertise in that:
- managers need to be accountable for their actions as well as responsible
- staff look to managers to give direction, confidence and assurance – ‘leadership’
- the need for leadership is critical to the future effectiveness of organisation practice and performance
It follows from this that leadership must be a combination of organisational situational and managerial knowledge; together with the ability to motivate and inspire, to address problems and crises and to take effective decisions at all levels and according to the needs of the situation or issue being faced.There are leadership traits, styles, qualities and characteristics which have to be recognized and learned. Some of this comes more easily to some people than others; however it is essential to understand that there is no such thing as a born leader – all of this can be (and must be) taught and learned.
- Additional Readings
- Case Studies and Examples
- Discussion Questions
- Web links
Additional readings
You should read extensively around the subject of leadership. Especially, you need to make sure that you read the biographies or autobiographies of leaders, for example:
- R Branson (2007) Losing My Virginity – Virgin Publishing
- A Morita (1999) Made in Japan – The Sony Story HarperCollins
Reading anything and everything in this genre will give insights; and so do always consider anything that reflects your tastes and interests. Most industrial and commercial sectors have their own iconic figures, and so do (if this is where your interests lie) look at for example:
- D Bannatyne (2007) Anyone Can Do It – Pan
- L Lourenco (2007) Jose Mourinho – Made in Portugal - HarperCollins
- B Wyman (2002) A Stone Alone – HarperCollins
There are also excellent works by many others. In particular you are recommended to become familiar with the works of Jonathan (Jo) Owen, the founder of TeachFirst and a major authority on leadership and management in action. See for example:
- J Owen (2011) Hard Edged Management – Pearson
Whatever you choose, you are looking for insights into how they pursue their goals and aspirations, what has made them successful, how they learn from their successes and failures, how they approach other people, and how they identify and overcome the obstacles in their pathways.
Discussion questions
To what extent are the words ‘leadership’ and ‘management’ interchangeable? In terms of organisation effectiveness, which is more valuable: leadership or management?
How do you establish the presence of leadership traits and potential in people that you want to appoint to key positions?
How important are ‘credibility’ and ‘confidence’ (both self-confidence and also the confidence of others) in those in leadership and key positions? How do you establish credibility and build confidence?
Web links to other examples, materials and sources
You need to be familiar with the main regulatory drives that influence business and managerial behaviour and the ways in which companies and organisations are supposed to conduct their business. The most high profile regulatory approach is the US Sarbanes-Oxley Act 2002, which was brought in to try and ensure that companies worked to a universal set of standards in the wake of the collapse of Enron. The link is:
You should also be familiar with the links to the regulatory and statutory bodies with which you have dealings as the result of involvement in particular industries, sectors and locations.
You should also be familiar with universal statutory bodies:
