17/03/2015

Ways of Conceptualising
Leadership
Leadership and Professional Ethics
for Engineers

Power relationship between leaders and

followers
Leadership as a transformational process
Leadership from a skills perspective

Leadership is a process
Leadership involves influence
Leadership occurs in groups
Leadership involve common goals

Leaders and Followers

Leadership and Professional Ethics

for Engineers

Leadership Definition
Leadership is a process whereby an
individual influences a group of
individuals to achieve a common
goals

Leadership and Professional Ethics

for Engineers

Leadership Components

Leadership and Professional Ethics

for Engineers

Dr Syed Shatir A. Syed-Hassan

CEng MIChemE

Leadership as the group processes leader at

the center, driving change and activity of the
group
Leadership from a personality perspective (a
great men theory) leadership is a
combination of special traits or characteristics
that some individual possess.
Leadership as an act or behaviour the things
that leaders do to bring about change in a
group

Leaders need followers and followers

need leaders
The leader often:
Initiates the relationship
Creates the communication linkages
Carries the burden for maintaining the
relationship

Leadership and Professional Ethics

for Engineers

Overview of
Leadership Theory

Leadership and Professional Ethics

for Engineers

Ways of Conceptualising
Leadership

17/03/2015

The trait viewpoints suggest that the

leadership resides in selected people

Assigned Leadership: based on occupying a

position in organisation (e.g. Team Leaders,
Plant Managers, Department Heads, Directors
and CEO).
When others perceive an individual as the
most influential member of a group or an
organization, regardless of the individuals
title, the person is exhibiting Emergent
Leadership.

Assigned versus Emergent

Leadership
Leadership and Professional Ethics
for Engineers

Assigned versus Emergent

Leadership

Emergent Leadership is not assigned by

position but emerges over a period through
communication.
Some of the positive communication
behaviours: being verbally involved, being
informed, seeking others opinion, initiating
new ideas.
Personality also plays a role in leadership
emergence.

Leadership and Power

Leadership and Professional Ethics

for Engineers

Leadership and Power

Power is part of the influence process.
Power is the capacity or potential to
influence.
People have power when they have the
ability to affect others beliefs, attitudes
and courses of action.

Leadership and Professional Ethics

for Engineers

personality features (e.g. energetic,

charismatic)

Leadership and Professional Ethics

for Engineers

unique physical factors (e.g. height)

The process viewpoint suggests that

leadership is a phenomenon that reside in
the context of the interaction between
leaders and followers
Leadership can be observed in leader
behaviours, and can be learned.

French and Raven (1995) identified 5

common and important bases of power
Referent
Expert
Legitimate
Reward
Coercive

Leadership and Professional Ethics

for Engineers

Traits perspective certain individual

have special innate or inborn
characteristics/qualities

Trait versus Process

Leadership
Leadership and Professional Ethics
for Engineers

Trait versus Process

Leadership

17/03/2015

Leadership and Power

Position Power
Personal Power

Position power is derived from a rank in an

organization system.
Position power includes legitimate, reward
and coercive power.

Leadership and Professional Ethics

for Engineers

Two major types of power in organizations

Leadership and Power

Leadership and Management

Overlapping between leadership and
management:
Leadership and Professional Ethics
for Engineers

Personal power is the influence capacity a

leader derives from being seen by
followers as likeable and knowledgeable.
Personal power includes referent and
expert power.

Leadership and Professional Ethics

for Engineers

Leadership and Power

Leadership and Professional Ethics

for Engineers

Coercive Power: derived from having the

capacity to penalise or punish others. For
example: A coach who drops players from
his team due to a disciplinary problem.

Legitimate Power: associated with having

status or formal job authority. For example a
judge who administers sentences in the
courtroom exhibits legitimate power.
Reward Power: derived from having the
capacity to provide rewards to others. For
example: A supervisor who gives rewards to
employees who work hard is using reward
power.

Involves influence
Entails working with people
Concerned with effective goal
accomplishment

Leadership and Professional Ethics

for Engineers

Referent Power: based on the followers

identification and liking for the leader. For
example: A teacher who is adored by
students has referent power.
Expert Power: based on followers
perception of the leaders competence.
For example: A Professor who is
knowledgeable in specific scientific areas
has expert power.

Leadership and Power

Leadership and Professional Ethics

for Engineers

Leadership and Power

 Differences between leadership and

management:

John Kotter (1990): leadership and

management are two distinct yet
complimentary systems of action in
organization.
Leadership is about coping with change,
whilst management is about coping with
complexity.

Leadership and Management

The leadership process involves:

Management process involves:

Developing a vision for the organisation

Aligning people with that vision through
communication
Motivating people to action through
empowerment and through basic needs
fulfillment

Leadership and Professional Ethics

for Engineers

Leadership and Management

Leadership process creates uncertainty

and change in the organisation.

Planning and budgeting

Organising and staffing
Controlling and problem solving

The management process reduces

uncertainty and stabilises the
organisation.

Leadership and Professional Ethics

for Engineers

Leadership and Management

To be effective, organisations need to
nourish both competent management and
skilled leadership

Leadership and Professional Ethics

for Engineers

Leaders advocate change and new approaches,

managers advocate stability and status quo
Leaders are concerned with understanding
peoples beliefs and gaining their commitment
managers carry out responsibilities, exercise
authority and worry about how things get
accomplished

Leadership and Professional Ethics

for Engineers

Leadership and Management

Leadership and Professional Ethics

for Engineers

Leadership and Management

Leadership and Professional Ethics

for Engineers

17/03/2015