Chapter 9

Leadership, Culture &

Teamwork

Introduction
The concept of leadership in a strategy setting
Different levels at which leadership can function.
The concept of culture, & culture strategy
The culture process is also discussed by
explaining each of the phases of this process.
Successful teams & explanation of the general
principles of building effective teams.
Model for building effective teams.

What is Leadership?
Leadership - process by which a person
influences others to accomplish an objective
& directs the org in a way that makes it
more cohesive & coherent
It is a process whereby an individual
influences a group of individuals to achieve
a common goal (Northouse, 2007).

What is Leadership?
The achievement of strategic alignment
requires that leaders influence people
in such a way that their efforts
contribute to the achievement of their
role objectives, the objectives of their
business units/departments &
ultimately, the objectives of the org as
a whole.

Components of Leadership

Personal
Interpersonal
Managerial
Organizational

Personal Level
At a personal level, leadership
is determined by an individuals
trustworthiness. This is
dependent on:
Leadership character
Leadership competence

Interpersonal Level
Leadership at this level is determined
by an individuals ability to:
Build mutual trust & cooperation
Interpret the meaning of events
Obtain necessary resources & support

Managerial Level
At managerial level, there are a number
of determinants of effective leadership.
These determinants entail the ability to:
Develop & empower people
Build task commitment & optimism
Organize & coordinate activities

Organizational Level

Effective leadership is most widely

illustrated at an organizational level, where
the individual has to portray the ability to:
Create alignment of objectives & strategies
Strengthen collective identity
Encourage & facilitate collective learning
Promote social justice &morality

Situational Leadership Model

Hersey & Blanchard developed a
Situational Leadership Model that is based
on interplay between:
The amount of socio-emotional support
(relationship behaviour) a leader provides
The amount of guidance & direction (task
behaviour) a leader gives
The readiness (maturity) level that
followers exhibit in performing a specific
task, function or objective

Four Leadership Styles

1. Telling is associated with low maturity
& involves the provision of clear, specific
direction & supervision
2. Selling is associated with low to
moderate maturity & involves the
provision of direction
3. Participating is associated with
moderate to high maturity
4. Delegating is associated with high
maturity

Effective Leadership

Task-oriented
Relation-oriented
Change-oriented

Specific Task-Oriented
Behaviours

Plan work activities

Clarify roles & objectives
Monitor operations

Leadership & Management

The key function of a leader is to establish
the basic vision of the org.
The leader specifies the end-result, as well
as the overarching strategy for reaching it
The key function of a manager is to
implement the vision.
The manager & staff members act in ways
that constitute the means to achieving the
stated end

Contrast Between Management

& Leadership
The manager administers; the leader
innovates.
The manager is a copy; the leader is an
original.
- The manager maintains; the leader develops.
The manager focuses on systems &
structure; the leader focuses on people

Contrast Between Management

& Leadership
The manager imitates; the leader originates.
The manager accepts the status quo; the
leader challenges it.
The manager is the classic good soldier; the
leader is his or her own person.
The manager does things right; the leader
does the right thing

Contrast Between Management

& Leadership
The manager relies on control; the leader
inspires trust.
The manager has a short-range view; the
leader has a long-range perspective.
The manager asks how & when; the leader
asks what & why.
The manager has his or her eye always on
the bottom line; the leaders eye is on the
horizon.

Change Leadership
Effective leadership is required to revitalize an org
& facilitate adaptation to a changing environment.
Some people see change as a threat & associate
change with negative experiences. The leader is
responsible for the ff:
Recognize the different attitudes & expectations of
individuals
Help individuals understand the purpose & need
for changes that are introduced in the workplace

Change Leadership

The typical processes & phases which leaders

need to facilitate when implementing a strategy
could be summarized as follows:
Phase 1: Denial & Disbelief
Phase 2: Fear & Anxiety
Phase 3: Adjustment & Reluctant Acceptance
Phase 4: Commitment & Integration

Change Leadership
As a leader, therefore, it is essential to communicate the ff
to ensure that the understanding of why the change due to
the new strategy is necessary:
The revised vision & strategy is for the survival of the org
& continued delivery of services to customers in the
environment of increased competition
Strategy is a continuous process of renewal
The changes could have an impact on role descriptions &
specifications, personal relationships with colleagues, &
communication with management

Leadership & Trust

Earning trust is a function of leaderfollower
relationships. Several authors define the
importance of trust as follows:
Predictable leaders actions & behaviours build
trust, and consistent and persistent open
communication is essential in the trustdevelopment process
Cooperation is another key to developing trust, &
a gentle manner is important & congruent actions,
in which word & deed convey the same message
are essential

Leadership & Trust

The implication would be that to build trust
between a leader & their followers the following
are important:
Trust is the foundation for human relationships
within orgs
Trust can be build or destroyed by the actions of
both leaders & followers
It takes faith, hope & connectedness to want to
follow leaders which would imply an element of
risk for both parties

Culture
The culture that exists within an org cannot be
separated from the behaviour & styles of the
leaders in the organization.
The manner in which leaders lead will directly
impact on the orgs culture & teamwork.
People relate to & imitate the behaviour they
observe in leaders, which makes the influence of
leadership on culture all the more important.

What is Organizational Culture?

Culture serves the vision & strategy of the org
Culture serves the means through which to attain
strategic objectives
Culture serves an individuals role orientation
Culture serves quality assurance
Culture serves corrective actions/ interventions
Culture serves common language & conceptual
categories
Culture serves power & status

The Culture Strategy

To determine the orgs culture strategy, the
ff need to be established:
What type of culture is conducive to
bottom-line performance results?
What are the type of values that drive
employee satisfaction?
The customer retention & financial growth
for the org

The Culture Strategy

A culture strategy offers the following benefits for
the org:
Managers give priority attention to what is
stressed in the culture strategy & this, in turn,
supports the generation of prioritizing results
All employees generally make better decisions,
because they are guided by their perception of the
shared values
Employees are more likely to recognize that they
are an important part of the org

Why Should Organizational

Culture be Measured?

Culture measurement allows the organization to

predict the impact of increased employeesatisfaction on bottom-line results & links
employee-satisfaction to tangible bottom-line
results through performance measures such as:
Profitability
Quality
Motivation
Market share
Sales growth

The Culture Process

The culture process allows the org to create
conditions that are likely to foster a change in
employees beliefs and create ideal values.
The orgs culture should support the overarching
strategy, as well as the leaders, the structure &
systems of the org.
The culture process entails a four-phased approach
in which a culture framework is designed,
assessed, reviewed & refined.

Phase 1: Design (PLAN)

The design phase provides clarity on what the

purpose of the assessment will be & what the
different applications of the questionnaire are. For
example, aspects that can be measured include:
Overall satisfaction of employees
Improvement of team performance
Leadership effectiveness (LEI)
The extent to which resources are focused on most
critical areas & topics

Phase 2: Assessment (DO)

During the second phase of the culture process,
the questionnaire that was developed in the design
phase is distributed to employees in order to
survey the perceptions & beliefs of employees
about the values of the business relating to clients,
services, products & business processes.
During this phase, employees will be required to
complete these questionnaires honestly & provide
any additional comments on the values assessed.

Phase 3: Review (CHECK)

Leadership interventions
Team interventions
Inter-group interventions
Organization-wide
interventions

Phase 4: Refine (ACT)

After the results of the survey have been
communicated & interventions have been
implemented to achieve culture change, the org
should re-evaluate its present position regarding
culture.
The orgs strategy may have changed/refined &
this may lead to change/refinement in the culture
strategy, the survey instrument, and/or assessment
protocol.

Effective Teamwork & Qualities

of Teams
Good teams are effective in a number of
ways:
They carry out their tasks competently &
efficiently
Their members work agreeably together &
enjoy a positive atmosphere
They provide a satisfying & rewarding
experience for their individual members

Stages of Team Development

Team performance depends on both
individual learning & on the extent to which
members learn to work with one another.
A new team may have been formed, with
the interest of the company at heart, but this
team could very well be ineffective if its
members are more concerned about their
individual goals than those of the team.

1. Forming
Typical features of a group during the forming stage:
General feeling of insecurity
Reluctance to participate
True feelings are hidden
Attempts are made to conceal personal shortcomings
Members make subjective evaluations of each other

The role of the team leader during the forming stage:

Spelling out expectations
Providing sufficient structure
Assuring group members that participation is appreciated
Rewarding good contributions
Clearly defining the process that should be followed

2. Storming

Typical features of a group during the storming stage are:

Alliance, group formation & polarization
Sharp fluctuations in relationships
Respect for certain members, but bitterness towards others
An awareness of ones own shortcomings, but a focus on symptoms rather
than the real problem
Ulterior motives
The role of the team leader during the storming stage is to:
Be discreet when compiling subgroups in order to prevent alliances, the
forming of cliques & polarization
Focus on differences, but prevent arguments
Create opportunities for groups to compete as a group in order to promote
teambuilding

3. Norming

Typical features of a group during the norming stage are:

Establishment of values and norms
Openness within the group
Group cohesion
Willingness to experiment
Sensitivity to the opinions & feelings of others
Emphasis on individual rather than group performance

The role of the team leader during the norming stage is to:
Provide a common vision
Use group inputs to determine what should be done to become more effective
Determine what can be done to support other groups in the org
Be sensitive to individuals needs

Performing

Typical features of a group during the performing stage are:

The group has a clear vision
Decisions are of a high standard
A high degree of synergy is attained
The best methods, procedures & techniques are used
Outside help is appreciated
Action is taken to integrate the teams work with that of other groups

The role of the team leader during the performing stage includes:
Guiding the group to redefine its vision at a higher level
Focusing on proactive action
Allowing unstructured discussions
Creating challenging opportunities
Assigning specific group members to facilitate aspects of work sessions