You will read the text about the importance of leadership and different leading styles

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 354.

Reading

Discuss the following questions.

Starting up

Unit 8 Leadership and international business styles

Words to remember:

aspiration (ambition) – стремление, устремление

conviction – убеждённость

empathy – отзывчивость, сочувствие

determination – решимость, решительность

persistence – упорство, настойчивость, настоятельность

crucial – решающий, ответственный, переломный

to excel – превосходить, опережать

to facilitate – способствовать

to reinforce – усиливать, укреплять, подкреплять

foresight – предусмотрительность

to engage in – заниматься, участвовать

Work in groups. Each member of the group should choose a famous leader, either living or dead. Say briefly:

- what the leader achieved

- what qualities and abilities the leader has or had

- whether group members think the person they choose was an effective leader

1. Do the leaders you have described have any common characteristics, e.g. similar qualities, abilities, skills etc ?

2.Are leaders born or made?

Leadership is needed in all levels of organization. It is likely, however, that the leadership qualities required by a supervisor or manager are not the same as those required by the chief executive of a company. It is, therefore, difficult to define leadership satisfactorily.

A typical definition is that the leader “provides direction and influences others to achieve common goals”. This is true in the case of supervisors and managers, but is it a good definition of the leader of an organization? A chief executive must indeed give “direction” but he must do much more than that. He has to create “a sense of excitement” in the organization, and convince staff that he knows where the business is going. In addition he must be a focus for their aspirations. As Peter Drucker says, “Leadership is the lifting of a man's vision to higher sights, the raising of a man's performance to a higher standard, the building of a man's personality beyond its normal limitations”

When psychologists and other researchers first studied leadership, they tried to find out if leaders have special personal qualities or skills. They asked the question: Were there specific traits which made leaders different from other people? The following personal qualities used to be considered important for success as a leader: aspiration, adaptability, common sense, enthusiasm, diplomacy, empathy, knowledge, emotional balance, control, originality, creativity, self-confidence, foresight, risk-taking ability, integrity, determination, achievement drive, desire to excel, drive for responsibility, task orientation (interest in work), sociability, flexibility, team-building ability.

However, as early as the 1950s, the ‘trait' approach to leadership had become discredited. It is generally agreed now that you cannot say a person is a leader because he/she possesses a special combination of traits. All you can say is that some qualities, like above-mentioned intelligence and decisiveness, are often associated with leaders.

Leadership style can be considered as the way we come across to others when we attempt to influence. A practical way to describe leadership styles is the extent to which directive and supportive behaviors are used.

Directive behavior is the degree to which the leader explains, in specific term, what to do, when and where to do it, how to do it (with as much detail as needed), and who is responsible. In directive behavior communication is primarily one-way and focuses on the other's duties and responsibilities.

Supportive behavior is the extent to which the leader sets positive expectations, encourages, listens to, praises and helps facilitate the thinking of others. In supportive behavior the flow of communication is primarily two-way. Combining varying degrees of directive and supportive behavior produces four distinct leadership styles.