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In his book “An Integrative Theory of Leadership,” author Martin Chemers defines leadership as “…a process of social influence in which one person is able to enlist the aid and support of other in the accomplishment of a common task” (Chemers, 1997: 1). The most powerful term in the previous statement is “influence.” Influence is a leader’s most powerful ally, and most potent adversary, as it is the foundation of a leader’s effectiveness. There are other highly beneficial aspects to a leader's success, such as charisma, honesty, competency, caring, trustworthiness, etc., but they are not paramount to success. A leader is nothing if he or she is unable to influence his or her constituents, but, provided he or she has the ability to influence the constituents to work towards the “common task,” the other attributes commonly accepted as being crucial to effective leadership become secondary. If one considers what attributes a first-time leader possesses regarding qualities associated with effective leadership, it becomes readily apparent that the “new guy” often has very few. Despite this common conception, a leader that cannot influence his or her constituents, regardless of which attributes he or she possesses, is a lame duck. However, if “effective leadership” requires all of these attributes, the “effective leader” would very quickly die out. There will always be the “lucky few” who always seem to possess these skill right from the starting gates, but for the majority of up – and – coming leaders, these attributes come only with experience. According to Chemers, there are three fundamental requirements a person must meet in order to become anything that resembles an effective leader, which make up his integrative model. “Effective leadership is thought to encompass three major functions; image management, which refers to a leader’s ability to project an image that is consistent with the observers’ expectations; relationship development, which reflects the leader’s success in creation and sustaining motivated and competent followers; and resource utilization, which alludes to the leader’s capability for deploying the assets of self and others to mission accomplishment” (1997: 27). A cornerstone of Chemers’ definition of what makes an effective leader is what he calls image management. Image management “…refers to a leaders ability to project an image that is consistent with observers’ expectations” (1997: 27). A leader cannot become effective if he or she does not meet the expectations of observers, or portray an image of trustworthiness and competence. Chemers cites the studies of Kouzes & Posner, who did extensive research into what aspects and characteristics followers look for in what they consider effective leaders. The main findings of the survey posed by Kouzes and Posner show that subordinates most desire a leader who is honest and competent above all else. Characteristics are not the only aspect required to be a successful, effective leader, however. “Leaders are able to project a compelling image when their actions match commonly held templates of how effective leaders should appear” (1997: 27). Chemers is referring to both image and behavior in the previous statement. According to Chemers, appearance is a vital aspect of being an effective leader. Physical appearance plays a very large role in how people see another in this day and age, so it is important to dress and act appropriately for the occasion. “When image management is particularly successful, the leader may be described as charismatic. Inferences of competence and trustworthiness are taken to an extraordinary level” (1997: 154) Another aspect Chemers cites as being a necessary achievement along the road to becoming an effective leader is relationship development. It is utterly vital that a leader possesses the ability to establish and uphold a sense of motivation, as well as draw and embrace competent followers. Another aspect of relationship development is that it is impossible to effectively lead anyone to do anything if you are unaware of who they are, where they are coming from, what they are capable of, and what their limitations are, in no particular order. “[Effective leaders] are able to build meaningful relationships when their behaviors match followers’ needs and expectations” (1997: 27). Chemers defines relationship development as being categorized into three main styles; coaching and guidance, attribution and judgment, and transactional exchange. First, coaching and guidance are a leader’s means to get followers off and running in the right direction. The title is self-explanatory in and of itself: first, you coach the followers as to how to best achieve the common goal, and, if for whatever reason they stray from that path, guidance then becomes necessary to get them to refocus on the common goal. “One of a leader’s most important responsibilities is the development and direction of subordinates’ goal-oriented capabilities and activities” (1997: 155). Secondly, attribution and judgment are the tools used by a leader to determine when and if a follower is worthy of a task that inherently carries with it more responsibility. Therefore, it is a leader’s responsibility to identify the time when an employee reaches a point when it is necessary to increase their responsibility and input in the decision making process in order to maintain an high level of motivation. The final aspect of Chemers’ categorizations is transactional exchange. Despite whether the leader knows or cares, his or her demeanor has a drastic effect on the workplace. Therefore, it is based on this that the leader plays a huge role in determining what kind of atmosphere the workplace maintains. This is where the leader derives some of his or her authority, as transactional exchange is what determines how the subordinates see their leader. The third and final function is resource utilization. As the name implies, resource utilization simply refers to the leader’s capability to effectively organize and make use of the qualities of self and others in attempting to achieve the common goal. “Leaders must mobilize and deploy the collective resources of self and team to the organizational mission by matching operational strategy to the characteristics of the environment” (1997: 173). Following the trend of the previous functions, Chemers covers what he refers to as leader – subordinate transactions, or “… reciprocal exchanges in which leaders and followers create a transaction that allows for mutual satisfaction of goals and needs” (1997:61). These transactions truly lay out how their followers judge a leader, and how the leader looks at the followers, as well. Chemers put it simply when he stated “…leadership influence rests ultimately on the follower’s perceptions of the legitimacy of authority” (1997: 77). Leadership depends on both internal and external factors equally, as an effective leader must possess the ability to take into account all variables from all sources, and mold their form of leadership to best fit the given situation. Leadership is not “one size fits all,” so it is impossible to make a blanket statement regarding whether internal or external factors play a more significant role than the other. “The primary function that an organization must achieve is the regularization of activities to provide a stable base for productive operation. The organization must maintain an internal integrity that allows it to respond to routine events in reliable and predictable ways” (1997: 2). Organizations need to develop standard operating procedures, but have to remain flexible enough to allow rapid change in response to a changing market. Chemers refers to what he calls the “critical process of leadership,” which, for lack of a better phrase, is an itinerary of how one plans to lead. The first step in the process is defining what is required to become an effective leader. A self-assessment, of sorts, will allow the new leaders insight as to what attributes they already possess, which ones they will need to attain and or refine, and how to go about achieving this first step in the most effective, efficient manner possible. The next phase of the process is combining all of the aspects in such a way that realization of a common goal is accomplished. “People who are perceived as successful and effective leaders usually have an inspiring goal or an inspiring way of describing the goal; they are trustworthy, honest, and fair; and they are confident optimistic, and energetic. This is contemporary America’s view of the ideal leader” (1997: 18). He states that to be effective, any leader must convey an aura of credibility and competence. Successful attainment of this is very difficult when you have no reputation to fall back on, so relying on precedence set by leaders that are seen as having been superior leaders is the most effective way of becoming a quality leader. Chemers shows a connection with prior leaders through Bennis and Nanus, two researchers who came up with four strategies of effective leaders. The first strategy is a compelling vision, to which Bennis and Nanus state “Effective leaders must have a clear picture of what they are trying to accomplish (1997: 18). Secondly, the leaders must be able to communicate this vision with their constituents and colleagues. The leader must then show to the constituents that he or she is worthy of their trust by showing an unwavering commitment to the vision, and somehow prove to the constituents that he or she will be around for “the long haul.” Finally, a leader must display by their confidence in themselves and their abilities a sense of optimism and assertiveness that realization of the goal is possible. “Successful and effective leaders are able to make the fullest use of their personal resources of intelligence, energy and commitment because they are confident about their capabilities and optimistic about the eventual success of their efforts” (1997: 18) As a situational leader, I feel that the absolute worst way to lead is to micro-manage. In this day and age, people are becoming more and more “business wise,” and therefore, do not need to be watched over every second of every day. The majority of people in the work force today are also able to come to a command decision and work around an obstacle without the intervention of their leader, so my policy would be simple. As a leader, I would let all of the workers know what the goal was, and give them a reasonable amount of time to achieve said goal. However, I would leave the process of achieving the goal entirely up to the employees. Not only would that give the subordinates more ownership in what they were doing, but it would also free my time to allow for more long term planning. In class, one of the main aspects of the course was the Five Beliefs model. At the beginning of the course, I had no idea what this was, what it meant to have one, or how it related to leadership. However, now that I have come to understand what the model is, it has allowed me to gain a new perspective on my form of leadership. As I mentioned before, I am a situational leader. I function best in response to a certain situation. I have always liked looking at the whole situation and then coming to a command decision rather than basing my decision on a few small aspects of the situation. Therefore, situational leadership constitutes the foundation of my Five Beliefs Model. The second part is my belief that people are the most valuable resource to the organization, so I feel that it is paramount that you treat your subordinates as human beings that you respect and are honored to have working under you, rather than as cogs in a machine. Therefore, resource utilization is a cornerstone of a successful business. Chrysler had a huge amount of talent in its workforce, but it was going bankrupt until a Lee Iacocca came along and told them exactly what needed to happen in order to remain in business. The employees listened to him as he was one of the first CEO’s in a long line of CEO’s that actually let them know where the company was at, and what action needed to be implemented to remedy the situation. He proposed a very controversial solution in a pay cut across the board for all workers to alleviate the pressure caused by the financial vise the company was in. Then, he demonstrated his commitment, confidence that the goal of financial security would be successful, and that he was in it for the long haul by working for a dollar for the first year. This leads me to my third belief, Image Management. The main reason for image management is developing an image that people are will to put faith in, and follow, so I would always dress appropriately and strive to maintain a lifestyle conducive attaining and retaining the respect of my employees, and display an aura of trustworthiness and competence. For example, former President Jimmy Carter made a huge mistake by carrying his own luggage into the White House, despite a bellboy’s offer to take care of it for him. While his reasoning was understandable, this spoke bounds about his understanding, or lack thereof, of the importance of image management. Happy workers are productive workers, so relationship development is very important. According to the Bible, you should treat others as you would have them treat you, and I agree with this completely. As a leader, I would want to be certain that I was doing everything in my power to keep the workers motivated and happy, as they would be the first to pull through in time of need. Therefore, I would care for the people that I was leading. I have always been a people person, and would much rather help someone than scorn them, so it would be my goal to maintain an “open door” policy whenever possible, and listen to what the employees would have to say. The fifth and final part of my Five Beliefs Model is Competence. I have been in enough jobs to realize that there is little worse than working under someone who knows less than yourself about the particular job, so unless I felt completely comfortable with what I was leading the people at, I would be careful how deep I got into it. I have always been one to accept and appreciate constructive advice. This goes along with resource utilization, as few people know how best to do something than those who do it on a day-to-day basis, but it still relates to competence. People will always look up to someone when there is mutual respect, and I feel that every hard working employee, no matter what their position is, deserves respect. In conclusion, leadership is what you make it. The key to being a successful leader isn’t how well educated you are, or how much money you have, or the people you know, but how you make decisions based on the situation at hand, and whether those decisions meet the expectations of the observers, as they are the ones who ultimately decide whether you are an effective leader or not. Bibliography: Bibliography · Chemers, M. M. 1997. An Integrative Theory of Leadership. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. · World Wide Web: http://www.aom.pace.edu/amr/style.htm Word Count: 2552
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