There are many definitions of leadership, and these definitions may change over time and between cultures. Some of the following quotes reflect these changes, or the need for change (for example, Johnson & Johnson’s use of "him" is not something which is particularly comfortable for me in this context.).

"Leadership is a process of legitimate influence rather than a quality of a person." (Grimes 1978)

"Leadership involves motivating group members to expend more energy in attaining the goals of the group." (Katz & Kahn 1978)

"Leadership is a reciprocal relationship involving the leader - who directs, guides and facilitates the group’s behaviour - and followers - who accept the suggestions of the leader." (Hollander 1978)

"…leadership is a reciprocal process in which an individual is permitted to influence and motivate others to facilitate the attainment of mutually satisfying group and individual goals." (Forsyth 1983)

"A leader may be defined as a group member who exerts more influence on other members that they exert on him (sic)." (Johnson & Johnson 1987)

"… the process of influencing human behaviours in the interest of achieving particular goals …" (Lewis, Lewis & Souflee 1991)

These definitions indicate that leadership is a process in which leaders motivate group members to behave in a desired way.

Are Leaders Born or Made?

We used to think that good leaders possessed some defining quality which automatically made them leadership material. Indeed, that is the very basis of a feudal class system, where the male offspring of the community leader (king or lord of the manor) would automatically assume leadership when his father died. It was just considered right and proper that this man would be a good leader - it was in the blood!

Gender was an important element, as it was considered that leaders were ‘great men’, and the only role for women was to be supportive to facilitate the greatness. Hence the saying "Behind every great man there is a woman".

In contrast, modern leadership theory contends that leadership ability is acquired through practice. As Cribbens (1972:14) noted:

"Leadership is an achievement, not a birthright or happy accident of heredity."

We now understand a great deal more about power and motivation and how we can use different techniques and skills to enable group members to achieve common aims. Organisational and group theory can help us to predict what might happen if we act in certain ways, to aid this process of achievement.

Types of Leaders

There are many leadership types which have been identified, some of which are outlined below. You will probably be able to recognise characteristics of the various types of leaders amongst people you know (and hopefully yourself). It is important to understand that the variety in behaviour between different types of leaders is positive as it allows for different reactions and solutions for different situations.

• Autocratic leadership. This leadership style is very dictatorial. The autocratic leader will make all key decisions, and not encourage group members to contribute ideas. This person may be very good in emergency situations and can give and receive orders very well, but the group members will not learn new skills or develop creative and flexible approaches to problems because they will always have to rely on and obey the leader.

• Democratic leadership This leadership style encourages participation from group members. A democratic leader will listen to other people and encourage them to make their own decisions. Delegation, trust and shared decision-making are all important features of this leadership style. The effect on the group is very positive in that it is able to get on with achieving its goals without the need for constant attention by the leader, and hence able to achieve more.

• Laissez-faire leadership This is a type of ‘Claytons’ leadership where the leader has very little impact upon the group and exhibits only marginally different behaviour from the other group members. Such leaders may be leaders only in name. The group can go along quite nicely for a while, until difficult decisions need to be made, or complex tasks need to be completed. At this point the group may tend to act more like a group of individuals and thus not achieve group goals.

• Task leadership This leader is concerned with achieving tasks at all costs. The style tends to favour more autocratic behaviours as the important outcome is the achievement of task, rather than relationships between group members. One of the problems with a heavy emphasis on task leadership is that once the task is completed, the group will often be effectively leaderless and is more prone to disintegrate. Task-oriented leaders often need a series of little task-crises to hit the group to keep going.

• Maintenance leadership This style of leadership concentrates on maintaining good relationships between group members. The leader is concerned with how the group members are feeling about the process, and less concerned with task completion. Obviously, the result of leadership which is too maintenance oriented is that you may get a lot of people who feel good, but the job won’t get done.

The Best Style of Leadership?

Obviously there is no one best style of leadership. Certain leadership styles or combinations of styles will suit different situations. We shall examine some of these situations and issues in later chapters in this manual.

The most recent and well-regarded leadership theories indicate that the most appropriate leadership style is that which fits the situation, including the characteristics of group members.

Therefore, if you have a group of well-functioning people who have good task skills, and are capable of getting the job done, the leader’s role is to maintain group relationships and the environment to enable this to happen. If, on the other hand, you need to teach people new skills and meet tight timelines, the leader may have to be more controlling.

The right leadership style also depends upon the power bases of the leader, and the particular motivations of group members.

Leadership and Power

Leaders have power in situations. This does not necessarily mean that leaders should or do have power over people. Power is simply the right to provide leadership. As leadership involves influence over other people, power is usually given by the group to the leader. So too can the group take the power away if they are not satisfied with the leader.

This concept of power is very important for women who are leaders. Sometimes our society provides masculine images of power which can make women feel excluded from, or uncomfortable with the concept. Somehow, it is not considered right for women to be seen as powerful. We can see negative images of power being controlling or used in a way which takes away people’s rights. This negative concept of power is only one type, and we need to be aware that there are all sorts of ways in which we can express and respond to power.

We have listed below different types of power, or reasons why people give leaders the right to lead. Different people will respond to different types of power. Therefore, as a leader, it is important to develop different parts of your power base so that you can respond to as many people within your group as possible.

French and Raven (1959) identified the following types of power:

• Coercive power. This is power which is based upon the leader’s right to punish group members (teachers awarding low grades, or bosses sacking employees)

• Legitimate power. This is power which is given to someone by virtue of their appointment to a certain position (the boss, the chairperson, the queen, etc are referred to by certain titles which highlight their positional or legitimate power).

• Expert power. When someone knows more than we do (or at least we think they do anyway), we are more likely to do as they say, or let their opinions influence us (e.g. doctor’s orders).

• Reward power. This is power which is based upon the leader’s right to reward group members. Praise, money, increased prestige are all different types of rewards which we may get from our leader.

• Referent power. This is often called charismatic power. Remember Bob Hawke? Which other Australian leader could have such a well-publicised stormy private life and still be elected Prime Minister? People just liked him, and wanted to be like him. This is referent power. We are much more likely to want to be around and do things for people who we like.

Hersey & Blanchard (1982) added to this list with the following two powers:

• Connection power. This is the power which people gain through their connections with other powerful people. There is a certain amount of reflected glory here. We shall talk more about this in our section on networking.

• Information power. This is power which is gained by the individual’s access to valuable information. If you have information which I need, I am much more likely to conform to your expectations to get a slice of it.

As a leader it is important to understand what power you have in any given situation, and which of these powers are important to other group members. As we will see in the next chapter, what motivates you is not necessarily that which will motivate other people, so we need to take care not to make assumptions about how our behaviour is interpreted by others.

Women and Leadership

Leaders, then, are women like us who influence the behaviour of other people with whom we interact. This could be in a family, community group or workplace. Leadership requires that those being led give the power to lead to the leader. The leader will then be a prime motivating force within the group which will enable it to achieve its goals.

Throughout time, women have influenced behaviour and used power to create positive conditions. We can be both task and maintenance focussed to help the group form the relationships as well as complete the tasks which are necessary to get the job done.

By understanding sources of power and types of leadership behaviour we are on our way to becoming skilful leaders.

References and Further Reading:

Cribbin, J.J. (1972) Effective Managerial Leadership, American Management Association, New York.

French, J., & Raven, B. (1959) "The Basis Of Social Power" In Carwright, D (Ed) Studies In Social Power, University Of Michigan Press.

Grimes, A..J. (1978) "Authority , Power, Influence And Social Control: A Theoretical Synthesis" Academy Of Management Review, Vol 3, Pp724-737.

Hersey, P. & Blanchard, K.H. (1982) Management Of Organisational Behaviour: Utilising Human Resources. Prentice-Hall, New Jersey.

Hollander, E.P. (1978) Leadership Dynamics: A Practical Guide To Successful Relationships. Free Press, New York.

Johnson, D.W. & Johnson, F.P. (1987) Joining Together, Group Theory And Group Skills. Prentice Hall, New Jersey.

Katz, D & Kahn, R.L. (!978) The Social Psychology Of Organisations Wiley, New York.

Lewis, J.A., Lewis, M.D., And Souflee, F. (1991) Management Of Human Service Programs, Brooks/Cole, California.