Chapter 19: Leadership

I. The leadership structure is a consistent component of any group.

II. A leader supplies vision, generates support for the task, and inspires a belief in
others that they will take the group where they want to go. A leader works for the
group, rather than the group works for the leader.
III. Leader selection process: there are three common ways leaders come about within
groups of people.
A. Elected leader: When the leader is chosen by members of the group. The
democratic method is common for selecting leaders in large groups.
i. Since members of the group voted, it is likely the elected leader will do
their best not to let the people down; additionally, since the leadership
position is likely for a fixed term, if the leader does not do a good job,
there is a fixed end date.
ii. The election model can create factions among groups when there is a
split in votes; furthermore, the best candidates for the position do not
always run so sometimes people are voting between two less than ideal
candidates.
B. Appointed leader: When the leader is chosen by someone.
i. Appointed leaders usually already have the expertise needed to get the
job done along with other positive qualities.
ii. The group may not respect appointed leaders as much since they did not
partake in the selection and therefore the leader must spend time
building trust among the group’s members before any tasks can be
complete.
C. Emergent leader: When someone is identified by the group as being the leader,
unofficially. They demonstrate qualities that are seen by group members as
needed and positive.
i. Emergent leaders do not focus on positional benefits and do not seek to
dominate control of the group.
ii. Emergent leaders are well accepted since they were already part of the
group.
IV. Leadership and power: leaders often gain their position based on power they hold or
are given. A leader’s power can come from a variety of places.
A. Reward power: the ability to provide the good or remove the bad from someone
for doing a task.
B. Referent: power by charisma; can be seen when people follow someone they
like, admire, or look up to.
i. Works best when coupled with another power source.
C. Coercive: power to introduce bad; take away good from group members.
i. Often perceived as the strongest type of power.
D. Legitimate: power that emanates from a position.
 i. Often spelled out in a document that delineates exactly what authorities
are associated with the position.
E. Expert: power gained by specific knowledge of a topic area.
i. Experts do not always make good leaders.
V. Leadership styles and responsibilities
A. Leadership styles
i. Coercive: Top down approach to decision making; leader focused;
neglects motivating the group; “do what I say.”
ii. Authoritative: comes from a place of confidence and empathy, not
control and enforcement; participation of others is valued, group
understands/agrees with mission.
iii. Affiliative: flexible and encouraging; allows group members to take risks;
this type of leader is a people person.
iv. Democratic: leader focuses on group consensus and collaboration; equal
share in decisions.
v. Pacesetting: focused on setting high expectations and then modeling
those expectations for the group. This is a productive leadership style
when members of the group are already highly motivated.
vi. Coaching: focused on helping group members improve; constant
feedback and a lot of training.
B. Leadership responsibilities: Each of these leadership responsibilities serve to
illustrate the communication skills necessary for good leadership.
i. Remain well-informed: leaders know more than the group; when leaders
do not know something, they research it and find out.
ii. Provide direction and structure: leaders establish the work structure for
their group and assign different members certain responsibilities.
iii. Are flexible to the demands of the situation: leaders are always prepared
to shift focus and communicate a new approach when the original
approach changes.
iv. Can manage complex situations: leaders need to keep track of what is
expected and what has been accomplished.
v. See strengths/weaknesses of group members: leaders see the skills and
abilities of their group members which allows for them to put their group
in the most successful position possible.
1. It is possible that this can cause tension within the group if
members do not agree with their leader’s assessment.
vi. Promote group cohesiveness: this relates to maintaining a positive
communication climate and keeping relationships strong between group
members.
1. Leaders need to stay attuned to the atmosphere and either
promote activities that reduce stress or reengage the team with
their mission and identity.
 vii. Manage conflict amongst group members: group members look to
leaders to be fair, impartial, and responsible for handling disputes in a
way that all parties continue to feel comfortable working with each other.
viii. Consider multiple perspectives: Leaders need to take all of the group
members’ statements and consider them before attempting to make a
decision or weighing in with the group.
C. Leadership in dialogue
i. Openly talk through group processes: it is important to talk openly about
and communicate how decisions will be made in the group and how
meetings will be managed, for example.
ii. Encourage alternatives, suggestions and questions: encourage
participation and disagreement; this will promote critical analysis which
will help the group reach the best decision.
iii. Divide the task into manageable units: a leader needs to make clear for
the members what simpler steps are being taken to reach the larger goal.
iv. Continually communicate with the group: Give opportunities for
feedback, share developments that may affect the group, and give status
updates about any subgroups to each member. In doing these things,
good leaders must also be accessible themselves, as well as responsive.
v. Don’t let emotions get the better of you: leaders cannot let emotional
reactions govern their decisions. Group leaders need to be stable and
consistent.
vi. Provide an agenda before meetings: Agendas promote good dialogue
because everyone in the group is aware of what will be discussed;
prevents hijacking conversation and maximizes time spent together.
vii. Take minutes at every meeting: Minutes allow for an accurate record of
who attended meetings, what was covered, how topics were discussed,
what decisions were made, and who is responsible for doing what.