Business Commons^™

Leaders Can Learn To Change; Some Do: A Qualitative Study, George K. Kriflik, R. Jones

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

The behaviour of organisational subordinates is significantly affected by the attitudes and actions of their supervisor. By changing themselves, leaders can therefore have a crucial impact not only on the behaviour of their subordinates but also on the extent to which those subordinates perceive that they are achieving their organisational potential. This paper presents a conceptual model of the process through which organisational leaders can attempt to change themselves with the objective of changing the behaviour of their subordinates. Using a grounded methodology, data has been collected and analysed from a large Australian public sector bureaucracy by means of participant …

The Future Of Leadership Development: The Importance Of Identity, Multi-Level Approaches, Self-Leadership, Physical Fitness, Shared Leadership, Networking, Creativity, Emotions, Spirituality And On-Boarding Processes, Craig L. Pearce

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

Leadership and, consequently, leadership development have taken on far greater import in recent times. As organizations have steadily progressed into the knowledge economy we can no longer rely on simple notions of top–down, command-and-control leadership, based on the idea that workers are merely interchangeable drones. Accordingly, in this special issue you will find seven articles that provide a glimpse over the horizon, so to speak, of leadership development: Together the authors provide a rich research roadmap and a practical set of options for leadership development professionals regarding the next important steps for leadership development, which will carry us well into …

Toolkit For Managing Virtual Teams, Grace Mccarthy

Sydney Business School - Papers

Leaders in multi-national organisations have to work with team members in many different locations, with few if any face to face meetings. This poses problems for leaders used to working face to face. This article briefly reviews the literature, finding some consensus that leadership is significant in managing virtual teams but that the practices adopted by leaders need to be adapted, that trust is one of the key predictors of success, and that technology and training also help improve performance of virtual teams.

Timeless Values In Turbulent Times (Bentonville, Ar), C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

Delivered at Wal-Mart headquarters in Bentonville, AR, this speech focuses on the importance of cultivating values and developing character in corporate institutions. Pollard pays special attention to the role of leaders in the formation of businesses as moral communities.

Leadership Through Storytelling, Clive Muir

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Journey Of Life, C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

Speaking at Emmaus College's (Dubuque, IA) 2007 convocation, Pollard urges the students to understand their vocation -- whatever it may be -- as a way of actualizing their commitment to Christ in everyday life.

So You Want To Be A Leaders In Higher Education? Developing Leadership As Women (Professional Development Workshop), Susan R. Madsen

Susan R. Madsen

This insightful and innovative PDW will 1) describe some of the results of a qualitative research study on the leadership development of ten women university presidents, and 2) provide participants with an opportunity to engage in self-analysis and personal reflection. "Leadership" will be broadly framed as leading from a formal position (e.g., president, VP, dean, associate dean, department chair, or committee chair) as well as influencing without an official title or formal authority; therefore, conference attendees interested in influencing change at any level in higher education would benefit.

The Role Of Leadership In Emergent, Self-Organization, Donde Ashmos Plowman, Stephanie Solansky, Tammy E. Beck, Lakami Baker, Mukta Kulkarni, Deandra Villarreal Travis

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

As complex systems, organizations exist far from equilibrium where the ongoing interaction of system components leads to emergent and self-organizing behavior. What, then, is the role of leadership in systems where change often emerges in unexpected ways? In this paper, we build on the work of Marion and Uhl-Bien who suggest that in complex systems leaders enable rather than control the future. While traditional views of leadership focus on the leader’s responsibility for determining and directing the future through heavy reliance on control mechanisms, we offer empirical support for a different view of leadership based on a complexity perspective of …

An Empirical Investigation Of The Antecedents, Behaviors, And Outcomes Of Bad Leadership, Anthony Erickson, James Shaw, Zha Agabe

James B Shaw

This exploratory study identifies actions and behaviours which subordinates attribute to ‘bad leadership’ and explores the implications these factors have for organizations. Data was obtained through a web-based survey that generated 335 respondents who completed at least some of the questions. Results identified the prevalence of bad leaders; behaviours causing a leader to be perceived as bad; the impact of bad leaders on the employee and organisation; whether these bad leaders had always been bad; and what happened to the bad leader. An interesting discovery was that the majority of bad leaders were either promoted or rewarded by the organization.

Celebrating Paradoxes In Christian Leadership, Michael E. Cafferky

Faculty Works

Studying organizations as dynamic, open systems has captured the interest of organizational scholars for several decades. Along with other influences this has led to pr9gressively more sophisticated understanding of how leaders and followers interact and how their organizations interact with the external environment. In turn, as our understanding has improved, scholarly awareness of the complexity of leadership has increased. One might argue that this awareness correspondingly has produced a better understanding of the many tensions that derive from dilemmas and paradoxes that leaders face in their work.

How Can Anyone Lead Others Until They Are Ready To Lead Themselves?, Peter A. Maresco

WCBT Faculty Publications

A personal narrative is presented which explores the author's experience on the quality of personal leadership.

What Leaders Can Learn From Athletics: Inconsistencies Between Leadership In Sports And Leadership In Corporations, Peter A. Maresco

WCBT Faculty Publications

The article discusses how the individual performance affect the performance of the rest of the members of the team. The author cites from the perspective of a baseball player or any other team sport where the actions of one affect the actions of the other members. Each player is familiar with the rules, knows exactly what to do when it come to playing their position, and each person on the team is fully aware of the impact their performance will have on the other members of the team. Therefore, business leaders should hire individuals who are already familiar with their …

Leading With Timeless Values In Turbulent Times (East Lansing, Mi), C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

Speaking at the 2007 Michigan Prayer Breakfast, Pollard argues that leadership requires certain moral and spiritual assets in order to be truly successful.

Leadership Models, Shawn Powell Joseph

Shawn Powell Joseph

Leadership refers to ones ability to effectively influence subordinates to achieve a chief end. The endeavor of this paper is to discuss the empirical foundation, methodologies and thought sequences that define specific models and how leaders use the key model components to achieve desired outcomes. This paper will demonstrate the existence of a continuum in leadership research, models and thought. Though seemingly dissimilar on the surface, each of the leadership models and theories presented in this paper share the objective of endeavoring to isolate the exact set of factors, that when combined will, rendered the highest quality leader.

Deconstruction Of Leadership Assumptions- A Personal Perspective, Grace S. Thomson

Dr. Grace S. Thomson

No abstract provided.

Critical Thinking: Applications To Leadership And Scholarship, Grace S. Thomson

Dr. Grace S. Thomson

No abstract provided.

Who Shall Lead? An Integrative Personality Approach To The Study Of The Antecedents Of Status In Informal Social Organizations, Peter D. Harms, Brent W. Roberts, Dustin Wood

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

The effects of personality traits, motives, and leadership identity claims on the attainment of status in informal, social organizations were assessed in several organizations using multiple indices of status. The power motive Hope for Power was predictive of holding executive offices. Extraversion and Conscientiousness predicted peer-ratings of social influence. Extraversion, Emotional Stability, and Dominance were related to subjective beliefs of personal power and influence. Seeing oneself as a leader mediated the effects of personality traits and motives on subjective sense of power and attaining social influence, but not achieving formal office. Together, these findings offer an integrated look at the …

Leading With Timeless Values In Turbulent Times (Belfast), C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

In this address at the Lord Mayor's Breakfast in Belfast, Pollard considers how leaders require certain moral and spiritual assets in order to be truly successful.

Lessons In Leadership: Robert Oppenheimer And The Los Alamos Laboratory, Richard C. Ringer

Organization Management Journal

The leadership of Robert Oppenheimer, Director of the Los Alamos Laboratory during WWII, serves as a vivid lesson in leadership. The recollections of those who worked with Oppenheimer at Los Alamos clearly attribute much of the success of the laboratory to Oppenheimer’s leadership. Of specific interest are: Oppenheimer's efforts in recruiting, his ability to create a sense of meaning and purpose at the laboratory, his technical competence, and his ability to generate commitment and involvement among members of the laboratory.

Lessons In Leadership: Robert Oppenheimer And The Los Alamos Laboratory, Richard C. Ringer

Organization Management Journal

The leadership of Robert Oppenheimer, Director of the Los Alamos Laboratory during WWII, serves as a vivid lesson in leadership. The recollections of those who worked with Oppenheimer at Los Alamos clearly attribute much of the success of the laboratory to Oppenheimer’s leadership. Of specific interest are: Oppenheimer's efforts in recruiting, his ability to create a sense of meaning and purpose at the laboratory, his technical competence, and his ability to generate commitment and involvement among members of the laboratory.

A Review Of Transformational Leadership Models And Its Linkage To The Scholarship/Practice/Leadership Model, Grace S. Thomson

Dr. Grace S. Thomson

The success of organizations is the result of a combination of factors: financial, material and technological resources, logistics, and human capital.

These factors are put together to achieve the desired goals consistent with the corporate mission. In this context, firms are in constant seeking of the best individuals who will lead and carry out this journey to success. These individuals are expected to have special characteristics that ensure that their actions will turn out into positive results for the organization. These extraordinary individuals are the leaders.

This document will present a discussion of four leadership theories, their similarities and differences …

Analysis Of Leadership Theories, Bill Miles

Bill Miles

Leadership theories have evolved in the last century to the point where they begin to be the basis for models that accurately describe the activities of leaders with good correlation to their success in some situations (Antonakis and House, 2002; Yukl, 2006). From the early trait theories to the modern theories of transformational leadership, each attempts to describe the behavior of successful leaders. The four theories that will be discusses in this paper are the leader-member exchange theory (LMX), path-goal theory, transactional-transformational theory, and the full-range leadership theory (FRLT).

Complexity Leadership Theory: Shifting Leadership From The Industrial Age To The Knowledge Era, Mary Uhl-Bien, Russ Marion, Bill Mckelvey

Leadership Institute: Faculty Publications

Leadership models of the last century have been products of top-down, bureaucratic paradigms. These models are eminently effective for an economy premised on physical production but are not well-suited for a more knowledge-oriented economy. Complexity science suggests a different paradigm for leadership—one that frames leadership as a complex interactive dynamic from which adaptive outcomes (e.g., learning, innovation, and adaptability) emerge. This article draws from complexity science to develop an overarching framework for the study of Complexity Leadership Theory, a leadership paradigm that focuses on enabling the learning, creative, and adaptive capacity of complex adaptive systems (CAS) within a context of …

Leadership And Recruitment: What Leaders Can Learn From Coach Robert Montgomery Knight, Peter A. Maresco

WCBT Faculty Publications

The article discusses the leadership style of coach Robert Knight that can be adapted by business leaders in recruiting and managing their employees. Background information about Knight is presented. It is said that Knight believes that coaching is motivation and leadership and understanding human nature. According to the author, Knight is concerned with creating an environment where helping co-workers work to their fullest is the norm. Some additional insights into the leadership philosophy of Knight are presented.

A Comparative Assessment Of The Knowledge Management Leadership Approaches Within The Department Of Defense, Tommy V.S. Marshall Ii

Theses and Dissertations

Knowledge has superseded traditional corporate assets and has become the strategic resource for competitive advantage. To reap the benefits of knowledge, organizations must harvest and leverage the collective knowledge of the entire workforce. This is achieved through effective knowledge management. KM involves processes to create, to store, and transfer knowledge to accomplish business objectives and to achieve a competitive advantage. The Department of Defense has also recognized the importance of KM and has since mandated the acquiring, refining, and sharing of knowledge. The Departments of the Army, Air Force, and Navy have each undertaken individual KM efforts. This research, guided …

A Qualitative Study Of Selected Quality Knowledge And Practices In Guangdong Province, China, Tyler R. Thomas

Theses and Dissertations

The manufacturing industry has become very competitive in today's global market environment. Many US companies are faced with the choice of keeping their manufacturing domestic or looking to low cost off-shore countries to take advantage of the labor costs differences. To gain an understanding of the state of manufacturing in China, a major focus in the manufacturing world today, this thesis was undertaken. This thesis presents the findings of research conducted in Guangdong Province, China in June - July, 2005. This research addressed customer focus, leadership and general manufacturing and quality knowledge and practices of small, medium and large sized …

The Effects Of Career Broadening On Leadership Development, S. David Walker

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this research was to improve the Air Force’s knowledge of the effects of career broadening jobs on the leadership development of its officer corps. Specifically, the study sought to find significant relationships between incidents of career broadening in the officers’ background and their odds of being selected for promotion and in-residence professional military education (PME). Selection under these two areas is considered recognition of an officer’s ability to handle more responsibility and greater leadership challenges. Therefore, they are logical assessments of an officer’s leadership development. Duty histories of officers who met the Major, Lieutenant Colonel, and Colonel …

Developing Leadership During Adolescence: The Experiences Of University Presidents, Susan R. Madsen

Susan R. Madsen

The adolescent years are an incredibly important developmental time for all individuals. It is a vital time for young women to develop confidence and self-esteem, learn new skills and competencies, discover strengths and weaknesses, and increase their understanding of self and environment. Since leadership is also a network of relationships , experience and opportunity in building healthy relationships with a host of different people and organizations is critical during these years. Adolescence is a dynamic time full of positive and negative experiences, challenges, and opportunities that all seem to impact people in some way for the rest of their lives …

Leading With Timeless Values In Turbulent Times (Toronto), C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

In this speech, Pollard asks whether institutions such as Worldvision can uphold "timeless values" in a pluralistic society. He goes on to contend that they can if only managers see themselves as being moral as well as corporate leaders.

Leadership In Turbulent Times (Indianapolis), C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

Whereas many Christians consider business a "necessary evil," in this address at the Christian Bookseller's Association Advance 2007 meeting (Indianapolis, IN) Pollard argues that profit can be virtuous, especially if corporate managers set the tone by considering themselves the servants of those they lead.