Chapter 3 The Manager as Leader

Chapter 3: The Manager as Leader Lesson 3.1 The Importance of Leadership Leadership in Business - One of the important qualities for a manager at any level is effective leadership - Managers need to be leaders of their employees as well as managers of the business - - Employees respond favorably to this A leader earns the cooperation and respect of employees to effectively accomplish the work of the organization. - Leadership - the ability to influence individuals and groups to cooperatively achieve common goals. - Leaders have excellent human relations skills - Human relations - how well people get along with each other when working together - A manager can contribute to effective or ineffective human relations - Not every manager is currently an effective leader, but leadership skills can be developed - A leader demonstrates effective human relations skills and also helps others to develop these skills Leadership Characteristics - Managers should recognize and help to meet important needs of each employee while also accomplishing the goals of the business. - Success in this task requires leadership - Because leadership is directly related to the success of an organization, it is important that managers develop leadership characteristics. - Researchers have studied leaders in order to identify the characteristics that make them successful. - Having these characteristics, though, does not ensure that a person will be a good manager. - Leadership characteristics are personal qualities rather than specific ways that managers behave - Leadership characteristics prepare managers to be responsible yet flexible and able to adjust to changes. - Common Leadership Traits include: - Judgement - Intelligence - Objectivity - Initiative - Dependability - Cooperation Influencing people - There are both positive and negative ways to influence others - Just because managers can get others to do what they want does not mean that the managers are effective leaders - Managers can influence employees because of their power Management Power - Power - the ability to control behavior - Four types of power for managers. - Position power comes from the position the manager holds in an organization - Reward power is based on the ability to control rewards and punishments - Expert power is given to people because of their superior knowledge about work - Identity power is power given to people because others identify with and want to be accepted by them - People other than managers can have power in an organization Lesson 3.2 Developing Leadership Skills Leadership in Business - People are not born leaders. People develop their leadership qualities through experience, training, and personal development. - Becoming an effective leader requires commitment, preparation, and practice. - Managers need to be leaders. However they are not the only people in an organization who need leadership skills. - Many businesses are using employee teams to plan work and make decisions - These teams may include a manager, although all will not - If the team is well organized, the leaders often have expert and identity power that helps individual projects completed - Companies frequently evaluate applicants’ leadership abilities before hiring them - Prefer to hire employees who have already developed leadership characteristics and have leadership experience Human Relations - Managers are continually interacting with employees, other managers, customers, and other who have an interest in the work of the business - - Because of this contact, managers need human relations skills Important human relations skills needed by managers include: - Self-understanding - an awareness of your attitudes and opinions, your leadership style, your decision-making style, and your relationships with other people - Understanding others - Each person in the company is different and the manager cannot treat everyone in the same way - They must know the best way to work with each employ in order to satisfy their needs and accomplish the company goals - Communication - Managers must understand what information needs to be communicated and what methods to use - They must also listen to employee concerns so they can identify problems, determine needs, and respond to them effectively - Team building - Getting people to support the same goals and work well together to accomplish them - Take responsibility for work and pride in the results reduce the amount of time managers must spend monitoring the team’s work - Developing job satisfaction - Can be satisfied by personal characteristics of employees and managers, individual needs, the people with whom employees work, and the actual work itself - Managers must be aware of the differences among employees to help them maintain a high level of job satisfaction Lesson 3.3 Leadership Styles Management Views of Employees - Good managers are able to adjust their management style to the characteristics of the people they supervise and to the situation. - Management styles include: - Close Management - When managers believe that employees will not perform their work properly unless they are closely managed - This results in less motivation from employees because they do not feel trusted - Spend much of their time in close supervision of employees rather other management responsibilities - Limited Management - When managers believe that employees are interested in their work because the job meets many of their personal needs. - Often ask people for their input on how to perform the work - Spend less on employee supervision and more time on other management activities - Flexible Management - When managers adjust their approach as circumstances change - most effective - Employees tend to favor managers who are flexible enough to increase or decrease the amount of supervision as needed - Managers can work with employees to determine the reasons of their feelings and find out what they like and dislike about the type of work - Can develop ways to involve employees, encourage and respect their ideas, and offer opportunities to do more of what they enjoy Leadership Qualities Examples - Encourages employee participation and suggestions - Keeps employees informed and shares employee ideas with upper management - Communicates effectively with employees - Considers the ideas and feelings of others - Works to build and maintain morale Leadership Styles - Leadership Style - The general way a manager treats and supervises employees - - The way a manager gives directions, handles problems, and makes decisions 4 Leadership Styles - Autocratic Leadership - Gives direct, clear and precise orders with detailed instructions as to what, when, and how work is to be done - - Advantages - Good for efficiency - Expectations are usually clear Disadvantages - Employees usually do not get much of a say - Discourages employees from thinking of new and better ways to complete their work - - Frequent employee dissatisfaction - Decline in employee work performance - Does not prepare employees for leadership positions Democratic Leadership - One who encourages workers to share and make decisions about work and work related problems - Advantages - Managers communicate openly with employees - Workers are motivated - Employees don't need to be as closely supervised - Everyone gets to participate - Employees are more likely to carry out plans because they developed them - - Disadvantages - Not every employee enjoys participating - Time-consuming - Usually only works with experienced and well-trained workers Open leadership - Give little to no direction to employees - Advantages - - Employees become more independent - Good to use when employees work in multiple locations - Quicker reaction time to problems - More creativity and specialization - Managers can focus on management functions Disadvantages - Works best with experienced workers - Can lead to confusion and lack of direction - Only works if employees are confident in their own abilities and trust their manager - - Employees may not work as a team - Employees might take advantage Situational Leadership - Understands employee and job requirements and matches actions and decisions to the circumstances - - Advantages - They use human relations skills - It is flexible. - Used by effective managers Disadvantages - Managers always have to adapt - Employees might be dissatisfied with inconsistent say in decisionmaking 3.4 Employee Issues and Work Rules - Managing Personal Issues - Employees have lives with responsibilities beyond work. - Young people: Work, education, starting a family - Families with children: Two careers, school/activity schedules for the kids, normal daily activities (meals, errands, appointments) - Balancing Work and Personal Life - Personal and family issues are important to employees. These issues cannot be ignored when the employee comes to work. - While most people are able to balance their work and personal life, some may find it hard to cope with some circumstances and may need additional help. - Handling Difficult Personal Problems - Managers are increasingly confronted with some personal problems of employees that are more serious. - Problems such as drug or alcohol abuse, conflicts in personal relationships, or serious financial difficulties may result in employees being unable to perform their jobs well. - Managers need to be aware of employees who are having difficulty on the job and try to determine the reasons for it. - The managers need to work with the employee to get the necessary help to resolve the problem even if it is a personal issue. - Employee assistance programs (EAP) provide confidential individual assistance including counseling and support services for employees experiencing serious personal or family issues. - Managers need to make employees aware of those services and the importance of solving personal problems before they affect job performance. - The Need for Work Rules - Rules are prescribed guidelines for actions and conduct - The rules of a business are known as work rules. - Work rules are regulations created to maintain an effective working environment in a business. - Employees must meet certain expectations if a business is to operate effectively. - Those expectations might deal with hours of work, care of equipment, worker safety, relationships among employees, etc. - Developing Work Rules - Companies develop work rules to identify expected behaviors. - The employees in some businesses are represented by labor unions. - Labor Union - an organization of workers formed to represent their common interest in improving wages, benefits, and working conditions. - The contract between management and the union identifying rights and responsibilities of the business and its employees is a labor agreement. - Labor Agreement - often specifies important work rules and the procedures to be followed if there are violations of the rules. - Managers must also clearly communicate to all employees what is expected of them and how the managers will resolve problems Responding to Rules - - Companies must have procedures for responding to violations of those rules - Should be clear and specific - Communicated to all employees - Enforced fairly and equitably Hot Stove Principle - Reacting immediately, objectively, and firmly to rules violations