Lesson 1: Leadership Styles
Learning Objectives
- To identify and critical reflect on leadership theories/styles and their origins.
- To understand when and how various leadership styles are applied.
Overview
The focus of this module is to introduce you to leadership theories and styles. There is a module video and summary, definitions of leadership theories and associated readings and questions to help in your reflection and understanding of the content. As part of this course I have included what I see as interesting and informative TED Talks or videos about different leadership styles or change concepts. I hope that these videos will help get you thinking about the topics you will read about it in the academic papers.
Theories of Leadership
Leadership has been a long standing topic of interest in organizational research. How do leaders bring out the best in their employees to achieve required performance? What are the characteristics of successful leaders? Do all leaders have the same skills, experiences and traits? These are all important questions that have helped to drive this area of inquiry. he study of leadership goes back to the mid 1800s with original theories focused on the “The Great Man Theory” which emphasized the idea that leaders had exceptional characteristics that others did not. Research evolved through trait based theories to a focus on various styles that are seen to be more effective in specific situations.
The following readings provide you with some interesting readings on leadership styles. The first on by Wang highlights many styles briefly to allow you to see the breath of the theories that exist. This is followed by a reading on servant leadership and one from Goleman on leaderships styles. The articles are posted and then followed by questions to help guide your thinking about these articles as you read through them. These will be important readings to come back to when thinking about your assignment at the end of the month when you compare and contrast the leaders. The last reading provides you with a perspective on leadership principles as it relates to the public health setting.
Also – make sure to check back at the end of the week to hear from a leader in public health.
Video
“Awestruck: Surprising facts about why we fall for charismatic leaders”, by Jochen Menges – Leadership Researcher and Chairman of Leadership at Otto Besiheim School of Management in Germany.
Summary
Jochen Menges describes his story as a researcher of leadership who dedicates his time to explore the Charismatic approach. He describes this type of leadership through two aspects. The first involving the characteristics in leaders who focus on instilling positivity, warmth, compassion and affection towards its team members. Jochen then explains the second aspect of Charismatic Leadership which he terms as the “awestruck-effect”. He highlights one of his research stories when attending a Barack Obama speech, a leader who he identifies as fulfill