Michigan State University Extension
Boardsmanship - 12230001
06/05/00
Leaders Have Several Options
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Studies in Group Leadership - Mirror on Me, the Leader
Extension Bulletin E-1223 February 1988
(Fil. 8) Text in PDF Version
Prepared by Maxine Ferris, Specialist in Staff Development
and Training
The word "leader" has many definitions, and the books on
leadership would fill a bookshelf and more. Yet groups
continue to wrestle with the question as they seek to
manage their affairs in the best possible manner.
What Do Leaders Do?
The chores of group leadership are varied. Some require
planning and coordinating; others go on during the course
of the meeting; others are follow-up activities or are
related to cooperation between groups.
It is foolhardy to believe-or expect-that a single
individual, no matter how capable or dedicated, can fulfill
ALL of the leadership responsibilities of a group. Yet the
"tired leader syndrome" in those who try is not an uncommon
phenomenon.
Continuing groups do, over time, develop some norms or
leadership patterns. The president or chairperson, by job
description or tradition, is expected to assume a certain
role and take on certain tasks: make the physical
arrangements for the meeting, preside at the meeting,
represent the group on community or regional councils,
propose constitutional changes, "crack the whip," be the
group's chief public relations voice. Groups may also
expect their president to know the most about all topics
discussed, be an expert in managing both conflicts and
discussion, "hand-hold" and counsel members. It is no
wonder the leader's roles are many: executive, planner,
policy maker, expert, controller of internal relationships,
rewarder and punisher, example, parent image, scapegoat.
Persons who ascend to the "top spot" also have notions
about what a leader is and does. This concept of leadership
is usually a composite of the individual's experiences as a
leader and group member and consists of some specific
feelings about what a good leader does and does not do.
Exposure or lack of exposure to leadership training may
also contribute to the picture of "the leader I want to
be." The individual's self-concept, rapport with and
confidence in the group, and overall view of life and
people are factors, also.
It once was true that group leaders, those chosen for
positions of responsibility in groups, best exemplified the
norms and goals of the group. This no longer seems to be so
true. When being the club president was the end sought by
many of the group, leaders could reasonably be expected to
identify strongly with the group's goals and modes of
operating-be the group's most "typical" or "best" members.
But now that there are few waiting lines of understudies
eager for the challenge and responsibility of leading
groups, there may be less likelihood of those wishing to
emulate the leader.
What Maker Leaders "Tick"?
The chairperson or president these days may be the person
who sought the opportunity to lead and was eager for it.
But the president may also be the one who is most available
has the time/willingness to take on the assignment, or the
person most bent on bringing about change.
Thus, today's club leader may have minimally developed
leadership skills or few of the personality traits usually
looked for in a leader; and he or she may have few strong
views about leadership. Such persons are not likely to make
major changes in the group's leadership pattern; rather,
they will seek to maintain the status quo and follow past
custom.
On the other hand, if the leader wants to "change the
world," he/she may cast past leadership patterns of the
organization to the winds and institute innovation and
change. In this case, sweeping changes are likely.
If the previous leader was authoritative and domineering,
the new leader may bend over backwards to share leadership
and operate democratically. The reverse could also be true.
Most of us tend to think of a single leader, someone who
holds a position of authority in a group. Our image is thus
of a person who has been elected or appointed, and when we
speak of good or poor leadership, the names and
personalities of great presidents or tyrants usually come
to mind.
As many as 79 traits have been identified that correlate
positively with leadership expertise. Among the most
frequently listed characteristics are empathy (ability to
identify with and respond to the needs of members), ability
to give instructions or explain, talkativeness,
cheerfulness, enthusiasm, alertness and originality.
Research studies conclude that the average leader exceeds
the average member of his/her group in sociability,
initiative, persistence, knowledge of how to get things
done, self-confidence, cooperativeness, popularity, adapt-
ability and verbal facility. And it is generally agreed
that, other things being equal, the individual who is above
average in height and attractive in appearance has a better
chance of being elected to positions of leadership in face-
to-face situations than does the short, unattractive
individual.
Most who subscribe to the last point of view hold that
those who are leaders in one situation are also leaders in
others.
Critics of this approach call attention to the following
inadequacies:
1. Most lists give little suggestion of which traits are
most important and which are least important-in other
words, few lists order or rank traits.
2. Sometimes traits mentioned in a list are not mutually
exclusive-for instance, both tact and judgment are
ordinarily included in common sense.
3.Trait studies don't discriminate between the traits
needed to gain leadership and those needed by an
established leader to conduct the group's day-to-day
affairs.
4. Exponents of this approach list or describe the traits
but offer little help to persons seeking to develop them.
5. In life, leadership appears to be situational-the skills
or attitudes needed differ from group to group.
Research suggests that productive individuals in groups,
whether elected leaders or not, do possess certain skills
to a higher degree than nonproductive group members. Many
of these skills can be learned. Productive individuals seem
to possess knowledge of group processes, knowledge of the
problem under consideration, the ability to think quickly,
language and speech skills, the ability to listen, the
ability to be impartial, social sensitivity and respect for
others.
Where Does The New Leader Begin?
One of the first tasks of a newly elected leader is the
development of his or her leadership style. Several hours
of self-analysis and introspection at the start of a term
of office will pay rich dividends later. Management by
objective applies to group leaders as well as to business
executives. Leaders need to set personal goals, both in
terms of what should happen and how it should happen.
What kinds of questions should a leader ask of him/herself?
What kind of profile should be developed? How does one
conduct self analysis and introspection?
Where Do You Stand?
Uninterrupted time is a "must" if introspection is to be
meaningful. One cannot spell out the exact set of questions
that a leader should ask him/herself; personal
modifications must be made. But the following suggest some
areas that leaders need to explore in periods of
reflection.
1. In the main, do I want much or little control over the
group? Does the group require much or little control?
2. To what extent do I want to delegate responsibility,
authority? Do I know HOW to do this? Who can assume
responsibilities? What can they do to help me?
3. What are my leadership strengths? Weaknesses?
4. What resources-human and otherwise are open to me for
improving my leadership skills? Materials? Training
opportunities?
5. What functions of leadership do I most enjoy? Want to
keep for myself?
6. What functions of leadership do I least enjoy? Want to
delegate?
7. What are the leadership demands of this group?
Substantive, procedural, interactional? How do I rank these
in importance? In my degree of expertise?
8. How do my views of leadership in this group differ from
views of others in the group?
9. What seemed to be the leadership strengths/weaknesses of
the previous leaders?
10. What do I really think about leaders and leadership?
Other Officers
Once a leader feels more or less sure of his or her
leadership style, it is useful to interact with other
officers and explore their feelings about leadership and
how it can best work for the group. It may be useful for
the new officers to sit down and talk things over with
those who have held the offices previously.
Obvious advantages accrue from having old and new officers
arrive at a consensus on the best leadership practices.
Having past officers involved in the decision-making
process should generate their endorsement and active
support for any changes to be made. In this way, the
residual power that they hold can be used for the new
officers and their procedures rather than turned against
them.
If, however, the new regime has difficulty working with the
old or represents a radical change in thinking, new
officers should solicit the views of the retiring leaders
as resource persons, consider these recommendations, and
then make their own determination about future leadership
practices. In a dialogue with previous officers, the new
should be active listeners rather than critics or
evaluators.
Leadership Style
If we think of a group's having a single leader, we are apt
to label his or her behavior as "authoritarian" or
"democratic." Often we think in terms of extreme positions
rather than the range that is represented by these
descriptive. The implication often is that the so-called
authoritarian leader is the "bad" leader. Not necessarily-
some circumstances require a firm hand. The wise presider
recognizes such a need and performs accordingly.
Authoritarian characteristics are easy to identify. The
authoritarian leader plans, directs and informs. He/she
decides on the group's goals and motivates the group to
accept and use his/her suggestions, requests or demands.
He/she assumes control and generally believes his/her
decisions are superior to those of the group.
It's Efficient, But...
In most instances, this leadership style is of questionable
value because it gives the membership little opportunity to
grow and develop. It remains dependent and achieves little
improvement in decision making, planning and organizing.
However, authoritarian leadership is efficient, does get
things done quickly and may be necessary if extreme con-
flict exists.
A Morale Builder
Group-centered or democratic leadership is the other side
of the coin. It is group centered: the leader is secure,
fair, egalitarian. Group-centered leadership encourages
participation, provides a training ground for leadership
development and encourages free communication. It draws
upon the total leadership potential of the group and
encourages the presentation of many ideas to choose from.
Group morale tends to be high, and self-discipline
frequently emerges. In such situations, there is usually
strong support for decisions reached and great commitment
to action projects-after all, "WE made the decision!"
Though "democratic" has many positive connotations, there
are negative spinoffs. Since it is nonthreatening, it may
encourage little structure and lead to unproductive use of
time. Some call it inefficient.
Though it is easy to think of polar opposites on a
leadership continuum, few leaders are really totally
authoritarian or 100 percent democratic in their approach.
And since there are a number of dimensions to leadership,
it is the rare individual who exhibits the same degree of
control over all aspects of leadership.
Substantive vs. Procedural
Groups need leadership in both substantive matters-what is
being discussed-and in procedural matters-how the
discussion is managed. A leader who is very involved sub-
stantively may be very uninvolved procedurally, or vice
versa. For clarity, let's use "involved" and "uninvolved"
to describe substantive leadership, and "tight" and "loose"
to describe procedural leadership.
A leader may want to be an active discussant, feeling that
he/she has the best information on the subject and is the
group's "best thinker." In this case, no one is in doubt
about what the leader thinks or where he/she stands-he/she
is substantively "involved."
Other presiders feel that they must maintain an unbiased
posture and not contribute to the substantive discussions
of the group; such leaders play a moderator role and are
substantively "uninvolved."
No doubt the ideal lies somewhere between these two
positions. No group should be deprived of any expertise
that is present, nor should one person, by virtue of power
as leader, dominate the deliberations.
The wise leader seeks to pull information from other
sources, perhaps "plants" it with other members, if
necessary, and personally comes up with "the answers" only
as a last resort. Or if these options do not make sense,
he/she steps down from the presider's role and allows
someone else to wear the leader's hat for the duration of
that meeting.
Substantive domination is easy because of the leader's
power position, and use of power in this way can lead to
pseudo discussion and decreasing morale. "If you know, why
should we bother to discuss?"
Procedural Control
Leaders also vary in procedural involvement or
noninvolvement. Some believe that tight procedural control
is necessary to expedite business and handle it fairly.
This may be true in large groups-those in which there is
much disagreement, those that are highly ritualistic, or
those that make extensive use of parliamentary procedure.
In such cases, contributions are channeled through the
chairperson, who frequently calls upon participants,
restates what they have said, and assumes all
responsibility for clarifying, summarizing, etc. Such
practice may be highly repetitious and cause a meeting to
drag on. At the other end of the continuum are presiders
who give little procedural help to the group in obtaining
participation, guiding the discussion, clarifying,
summarizing, etc. Thus the descriptive "tight" and "loose"
are appropriate for describing this dimension of
leadership.
What happens if a leader is both substantively involved and
procedurally tight? Or what happens if he/she is uninvolved
in substantive matters and loose on procedural matters?
Obviously, both are deplorable situations. Less difficult
problems are caused by either of the polar crosses-
involved/loose and uninvolved/tight.
The productive leader tightens or loosens control as needed
and recognizes when either is demanded. Many persons in
most groups can give substantive and procedural leadership.
Knowing your members and being able to call upon them to
give leadership of a particular type is one way the leader
can spare his or her personal load. Persons who would never
dream of being "the leader" can give valuable assistance as
summarizers, clarifiers or information evaluators. Why not
give them the opportunity?
Conflict Management
Closely related to substantive and procedural leadership is
leadership in interpersonal relations and conflict
management. This type of leadership is related to climate
making, regulating participation, instigating group self -
analysis. It is also involved in coping with conflicts in
content, procedure, and/or interpersonal relations.
To view leadership as the influential behavior of all
members of a group, rather than the authoritative position
of one, is to see leadership as a more complex and subtle
phenomenon than it is often taken to be. Leadership demands
within a group-even within the same meeting-may be quite
fluid. A group that utilizes the broad range of leadership
skills within its membership is a mature, viable
organization.
Open Communication
When a group has a board or committee of officers, it is
important that the president's intentions are known and
understood by all. An atmosphere of doubt or suspicion can
undermine the cohesiveness of the leadership group. Open
communication within the board is a "must," and channels
for feedback are vital. Clear communication about
leadership responsibilities and the delegation of them at
the start of a year can save much time and preserve
relationships later on when the going gets rough.
Periodic evaluation sessions can help the leader pinpoint
trouble spots and serve as a safety valve for hurt
feelings.
As has been said repeatedly, "The art of being a leader is
the art of developing people. At its highest peak,
leadership consists of getting people to work for you when
they are under no obligation to do so." It is helping
people do more than they ever dreamed they could do.
A successful leader approaches the job in the spirit of a
coach. He or she will kindle interest, teach, aid, correct
and inspire; seek every worker's special talent; suppress
his/her ego and encourage the progress of those whom he/she
leads; create in the group a sense of mutual effort,
directed toward a specific goal. The leader will truly
lead.
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