HPL Presentation

Prepared by
Trupti Bane----03
Sujata Bhat----04
Umakant Bhise----05
Sumeet Bhutada----06
Dipti Dalvi----

Bhanva Madam
IMCOST(Thane)

September 2009
 Leadership &Trait Theory
A simple definition of leadership is that leadership is the art of motivating a
group of people to act towards achieving a common goal.

The leader is the inspiration and director of the action. He or she is the person
in the group that possesses the combination of personality and skills that makes
others want to follow his or her direction.

The Collins English Dictionary: This dictionary definition of leadership

focuses on the position (singular or collective), tenure and ability of leaders. As such,
it misses key points about the purpose and hallmarks of effective leadership.

Warren Bennis : Warren Bennis' definition of leadership is focused much more on

the individual capability of the leader : "Leadership is a function of knowing
yourself, having a vision that is well communicated, building trust among colleagues,
and taking effective action to realize your own leadership potential."

Theories that consider personal qualities & characteristics that differentiate leaders
from non-leaders are:
1. Ambition & energy
2. The desire to lead
3. Honesty & Integrity
4. Self confidence
5. Intelligence
6. Job relevant knowledge

Four Framework Approach

In the Four Framework Approach, Bolman and Deal (1991) suggest that leaders
display leadership behaviors in one of four types of frameworks: Structural, Human
Resource, Political, or Symbolic. The style can either be effective or ineffective,
depending upon the chosen behavior in certain situations.

Structural Framework
In an effective leadership situation, the leader is a social architect whose leadership
style is analysis and design. While in an ineffective leadership situation, the leader is
a petty tyrant whose leadership style is details. Structural Leaders focus on structure,
strategy, environment, implementation, experimentation, and adaptation.

Human Resource Framework

In an effective leadership situation, the leader is a catalyst and servant whose
leadership style is support, advocation, and empowerment. while in an ineffective
leadership situation, the leader is a pushover, whose leadership style is abdication and
fraud. Human Resource Leaders believe in people and communicate that belief; they
are visible and accessible; they empower, increase participation, support, share
information, and move decision making down into the organization.
Political Framework
In an effective leadership situation, the leader is an advocate, whose leadership style
is coalition and building. While in an ineffective leadership situation, the leader is a
hustler, whose leadership style is manipulation? Political leaders clarify what they
want and what they can get; they assess the distribution of power and interests; they
build linkages to other stakeholders, use persuasion first, and then use negotiation
and coercion only if necessary.

Symbolic Framework
In an effective leadership situation, the leader is a prophet, whose leadership style is
inspiration. While in an ineffective leadership situation, the leader is a fanatic or fool,
whose leadership style is smoke and mirrors. Symbolic leaders view organizations as
a stage or theater to play certain roles and give impressions; these leaders use
symbols to capture attention; they try to frame experience by providing plausible
interpretations of experiences; they discover and communicate a vision.
This model suggests that leaders can be put into one of these four categories and
there are times when one approach is appropriate and times when it would not be.
Any one of these approaches alone would be inadequate, thus we should strive to be
conscious of all four approaches, and not just rely on one or two. For example, during
a major organization change, a structural leadership style may be more effective than
a visionary leadership style; while during a period when strong growth is needed, the
visionary approach may be better. We also need to understand ourselves as each of us
tends to have a preferred approach. We need to be conscious of this at all times and
be aware of the limitations of our favoring just one approach.

Five leadership traits

1) Honest
2) Forward-Looking
3) Competent
4) Inspiring
5) Intelligent

These five characteristics come from Kouzes and Posner’s research into
leadership that was done for the book The Leadership Challenge.
Your skill at exhibiting these five traits is strongly correlated with people’s desire to
follow your lead. Exhibiting these traits will inspire confidence in your leadership.
Not exhibiting these traits or exhibiting the opposite of these traits will decrease your
leadership influence with those around you.
It is important to exhibit these traits. Simply possessing each trait is not enough; you
have to display it in a way that people notice. People want to see you demonstrating
these traits–not just assuming that you have them. It isn’t enough to just be neutral.
For example, just because you are not dishonest will not cause people to recognize
that you are honest. Just avoiding displays of incompetence won’t inspire the same
confidence as truly displaying competence.
The focus of each of these five traits needs to be on what people see you do–not just
the things they don’t see you do. Being honest isn’t a matter of not lying–it is taking
the extra effort to display honesty.
Honesty as a Leadership Trait

People want to follow an honest leader. Years ago, many employees started
out by assuming that their leadership was honest simply because the authority of their
position. With modern scandals, this is no longer true.
When you start a leadership position, you need to assume that people will think you
are a little dishonest. In order to be seen as an honest individual, you will have to go
out of your way to display honesty. People will not assume you are honest simply
because you have never been caught lying.
One of the most frequent places where leaders miss an opportunity to display honesty
is in handling mistakes. Much of a leader’s job is to try new things and refine the
ideas that don’t work. However, many leaders want to avoid failure to the extent that
they don’t admit when something did not work.
There was a medium size organization that was attempting to move to a less
centralized structure. Instead of one location serving an entire city, they wanted to put
smaller offices throughout the entire metro area. At the same time, they were
planning an expansion for headquarters to accommodate more customers at the main
site. The smaller remote offices was heralded as a way to reach more customers at a
lower cost and cover more demographic areas.
After spending a considerable amount of money on a satellite location, it
became clear that the cost structure would not support a separate smaller office. As
the construction completed on the expanded headquarters building, the smaller office
was closed. This was good decision making. The smaller offices seemed like a good
idea, but when the advantages didn’t materialize (due to poor management or
incorrect assumptions) it made sense to abandon the model. This was a chance for the
leadership to display honesty with the employees, be candid about why things didn’t
work out as expected, learn from the mistakes an move on.
Unfortunately in this situation the leadership told employees that they had
planned on closing the satellite location all along and it was just a temporary measure
until construction was completed on the larger headquarters building. While this
wasn’t necessarily true, it didn’t quite cross over into the area of lying. Within a few
months the situation was mostly forgotten and everyone moved on. Few of the
employees felt that leadership was being dishonest. However, they had passed up a
marvelous opportunity to display the trait of honesty in admitting a mistake.
Opportunities to display honesty on a large scale may not happen every day. As a
leader, showing people that you are honest even when it means admitting to a
mistake, displays a key trait that people are looking for in their leaders. By
demonstrating honesty with yourself, with your organization and with outside
organizations, you will increase your leadership influence. People will trust someone
who actively displays honesty–not just as an honest individual, but as someone who
is worth following.

Forward-Looking as a Leadership Trait

The whole point of leadership is figuring out where to go from where you are
now. While you may know where you want to go, people won’t see that unless you
actively communicate it with them. Remember, these traits aren’t just things you
need to have, they are things you need to actively display to those around you.
When people do not consider their leader forward-looking, that leader is usually
suffering from one of two possible problems:

1) The leader doesn’t have a forward-looking vision.

2) The leader is unwilling or scared to share the vision with others.

When a leader doesn’t have a vision for the future, it usually because they are
spending so much time on today, that they haven’t really thought about tomorrow.
On a very simplistic level this can be solved simply by setting aside some time for
planning, strategizing and thinking about the future.
Many times when a leader has no time to think and plan for the future, it is
because they are doing a poor job of leading in the present. They have created an
organization and systems that rely too much on the leader for input at every stage.
Some leaders have a clear vision, but don’t wish to share it with others. Most of the
time they are concerned that they will lose credibility if they share a vision of the
future that doesn’t come about. This is a legitimate concern. However, people need to
know that a leader has a strong vision for the future and a strong plan for going
forward. Leaders run into trouble sharing their vision of the future when they start
making promises to individuals. This goes back to the trait of honesty. If a leader tells
someone that “next year I’m going to make you manager of your own division”, that
may be a promise they can’t keep. The leader is probably basing this promotion on
the organization meeting financial goals, but the individual will only hear the
personal promise.
An organization I was working with was floundering. It seemed like everyone
had a different idea about what they were trying to achieve. Each department head
was headed in a different direction and there was very little synergy as small
fiefdoms and internal politics took their toll.
Eventually a consulting firm was called in to help fix the problem. They
analyzed the situation, talked to customers, talked to employees and set up a meeting
with the CEO. They were going to ask him about his vision for the future. The
employees were excited that finally there would be a report stating the direction for
the organization.
After the meeting, the consultants came out shaking their heads. The
employees asked how the important question had gone to which the consultants
replied, “we asked him, but you aren’t going to like the answer”. The CEO had told
the consultant that, while he had a vision and plan for the future, he wasn’t going to
share it with anyone because he didn’t want there to be any disappointment if the
goals were not reached.
Leaders can communicate their goals and vision for the future without making
promises that they may not be able to keep. If a leader needs to make a promise to an
individual, it should be tied to certain measurable objectives being met. The CEO in
the example didn’t realize how much damage he was doing by not demonstrating the
trait of being forward-looking by communicating his vision with the organization.
The CEO was forward-looking. He had a plan and a vision and he spent a lot of time
thinking about where the organization was headed. However, his fear of
communicating these things to the rest of the organization hampered his leadership
potential.
Competency as a Leadership Trait

People want to follow someone who is competent. This doesn’t mean a leader
needs to be the foremost expert on every area of the entire organization, but they
need to be able to demonstrate competency.
For a leader to demonstrate that they are competent, it isn’t enough to just
avoid displaying incompetency. Some people will assume you are competent because
of your leadership position, but most will have to see demonstrations before deciding
that you are competent.
When people under your leadership look at some action you have taken and
think, “that just goes to show why he is the one in charge”, you are demonstrating
competency. If these moments are infrequent, it is likely that some demonstrations of
competency will help boost your leadership influence.
Like the other traits, it isn’t enough for a leader to be competent. They must
demonstrate competency in a way that people notice. This can be a delicate balance.
There is a danger of drawing too much attention to yourself in a way that makes the
leader seem arrogant. Another potential danger is that of minimizing others
contributions and appearing to take credit for the work of others.
As a leader, one of the safest ways to “toot you own horn without blowing it”,
is to celebrate and bring attention to team achievements. In this way you indirectly
point out your competency as a leader. For example: “Last year I set a goal of
reaching $12 million in sales and, thanks to everyone’s hard word, as of today, we
have reached $13.5 million.”

Inspiration as a Leadership Trait

People want to be inspired. In fact, there is a whole class of people who will
follow an inspiring leader–even when the leader has no other qualities. If you have
developed the other traits in this article, being inspiring is usually just a matter of
communicating clearly and with passion. Being inspiring means telling people how
your organization is going to change the world.
A great example of inspiration is when Steve Jobs stole the CEO from Pepsi
by asking him, “Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life, or do you
want to change the world?” Being inspiring means showing people the big picture
and helping them see beyond a narrow focus and understand how their part fits into
the big picture.
One technique to develop your ability to inspire is telling stories. Stories can
be examples from your customers, fictitious examples from your customers, or even
historical fables and myths. Stories can help you vividly illustrate what you are trying
to communicate. Stories that communicate on an emotional level help communicate
deeper than words and leave an imprint much stronger than anything you can achieve
through a simple stating of the facts.
Learning to be inspiring is not easy–particularly for individuals lacking in
charisma. It can be learned. Take note of people who inspire you and analyze the way
they communicate. Look for ways to passionately express your vision. While there
will always be room for improvement, a small investment in effort and awareness
will give you a significant improvement in this leadership trait.
Intelligence as a Leadership Trait

Intelligence is something that can be difficult to develop. The road toward

becoming more intelligent is difficult, long and can’t be completed without investing
considerable time. Developing intelligence is a lifestyle choice. Your college
graduation was the beginning of your education, not the end. In fact, much of what is
taught in college functions merely as a foundational language for lifelong educational
experiences.
To develop intelligence you need to commit to continual learning–both
formally and informally. With modern advances in distance, education it is easy to
take a class or two each year from well respected professors in the evening at your
computer.
Informally, you can develop a great deal of intelligence in any field simply by
investing a reasonable amount of time to reading on a daily basis. The fact is that
most people won’t make a regular investment in their education. Spending 30
minutes of focused reading every day will give you 182 hours of study time each
year.
For the most part, people will notice if you are intelligent by observing your
behavior and attitude. Trying to display your intelligence is likely to be
counterproductive. One of the greatest signs of someone who is truly intelligent is
humility. The greater your education, the greater your understanding of how little we
really understand.
You can demonstrate your intelligence by gently leading people toward
understanding–even when you know the answer. Your focus needs to be on helping
others learn–not demonstrating how smart you are. Arrogance will put you in a
position where people are secretly hopeful that you’ll make a mistake and appear
foolish.
As unintuitive as it may seem, one of the best ways to exhibit intelligence is
by asking questions. Learning from the people you lead by asking intelligent
thoughtful questions will do more to enhance your intelligence credibility than just
about anything. Of course this means you need to be capable of asking intelligent
questions.
Everyone considers themselves intelligent. If you ask them to explain parts of
their area of expertise and spend the time to really understand (as demonstrated by
asking questions), their opinion of your intelligence will go up. After all, you now
know more about what makes them so intelligent, so you must be smart as well. Your
ability to demonstrate respect for the intellect of others will probably do more to
influence the perception of your intellect than your actual intelligence.

The Big Five factors and their constituent traits can be summarized
as follows:

1) Openness - appreciation for art, emotion, adventure, unusual ideas,

curiosity, and variety of experience.
2) Conscientiousness - a tendency to show self-discipline, act dutifully, and
aim for achievement; planned rather than spontaneous behavior.
3) Extraversion - energy, positive emotions, urgency, and the tendency to
seek stimulation in the company of others.
 4) Agreeableness - a tendency to be compassionate and cooperative rather
than suspicious and antagonistic towards others.
5) Neuroticism - a tendency to experience unpleasant emotions easily, such as
anger, anxiety, depression, or vulnerability; sometimes called emotional
instability.

Openness is a general appreciation for art, emotion, adventure, unusual ideas,

imagination, curiosity, and variety of experience. The trait distinguishes imaginative
people from down-to-earth, conventional people. People who are open to experience
are intellectually curious, appreciative of art, and sensitive to beauty. They tend to be,
compared to closed people, more creative and more aware of their feelings. They are
more likely to hold unconventional beliefs.
People with low scores on openness tend to have more conventional,
traditional interests. They prefer the plain, straightforward, and obvious over the
complex, ambiguous, and subtle. They may regard the arts and sciences with
suspicion, regarding these endeavors as abstruse or of no practical use. Closed people
prefer familiarity over novelty. They are conservative and resistant to change.

Conscientiousness is a tendency to show self-discipline, act dutifully, and aim for

achievement. The trait shows a preference for planned rather than spontaneous
behavior. It influences the way in which we control, regulate, and direct our
impulses. Conscientiousness includes the factor known as Need for Achievement
(NAch).
The benefits of high conscientiousness are obvious. Conscientious individuals
avoid trouble and achieve high levels of success through purposeful planning and
persistence. They are also positively regarded by others as intelligent and reliable. On
the negative side, they can be compulsive perfectionists and workaholics.

Extraversion is characterized by positive emotions, surgency, and the tendency to

seek out stimulation and the company of others. The trait is marked by pronounced
engagement with the external world. Extraverts enjoy being with people, and are
often perceived as full of energy. They tend to be enthusiastic, action-oriented
individuals who are likely to say "Yes!" or "Let's go!" to opportunities for
excitement. In groups they like to talk, assert themselves, and draw attention to
themselves.
Introverts lack the exuberance, energy, and activity levels of extraverts. They
tend to be quiet, low-key, deliberate, and less involved in the social world. Their lack
of social involvement should not be interpreted as shyness or depression. Introverts
simply need less stimulation than extraverts and more time alone.

Agreeableness is a tendency to be compassionate and cooperative rather than

suspicious and antagonistic towards others. The trait reflects individual differences in
general concern for social harmony. Agreeable individuals value getting along with
others. They are generally considerate, friendly, generous, helpful, and willing to
compromise their interests with others. Agreeable people also have an optimistic
view of human nature. They believe people are basically honest, decent, and
trustworthy.
Disagreeable individuals place self-interest above getting along with others.
They are generally unconcerned with others’ well-being, and are less likely to extend
themselves for other people. Sometimes their skepticism about others’ motives
causes them to be suspicious, unfriendly, and uncooperative.
Neuroticism is the tendency to experience negative emotions, such as anger,
anxiety, or depression. It is sometimes called emotional instability. Those who score
high in neuroticism are emotionally reactive and vulnerable to stress. They are more
likely to interpret ordinary situations as threatening, and minor frustrations as
hopelessly difficult. Their negative emotional reactions tend to persist for unusually
long periods of time, which means they are often in a bad mood. These problems in
emotional regulation can diminish a neurotic's ability to think clearly, make
decisions, and cope effectively with stress.
At the other end of the scale, individuals who score low in neuroticism are
less easily upset and are less emotionally reactive. They tend to be calm, emotionally
stable, and free from persistent negative feelings. Freedom from negative feelings
does not mean that low scorers experience a lot of positive feelings. Frequency of
positive emotions is a component of the Extraversion domain.

The interpersonal behavioral trait of an entrepreneur

The managerial functions among others, comprises of directing and leading of

people. It is that portion of the management process that involves personal
relationships, even though one would recognize that all aspect of managing must be
designed to make it possible for people to cooperate effectively. The handling of
people is central to guiding, overseeing and leading. The study of interpersonal
behavioural trait of an entrepreneur has been of major interest to management,
particularly since the famous HAWTHORNE experiments of decades ago.
The widespread interest in the study of interpersonal relationship of an
entrepreneur has resulted illuminating research on the one hand many excessive
claims on the other. The interpersonal behavioural trait of an entrepreneur has to do
with his relationship in terms of utilizing the factors of production, directing his
employees in a bid to achieve his optimum motives which is to create a good market.
The interpersonal approach conceives people as the central feature of an
organizational life. The pattern of industrial organizations before the advent of
interpersonal approach has been one in which the relationships among work, the
place of work or work place, the people who do the work have been established
without reference to personality and other anthropological considerations. This
approach stresses about industrial humanism. The recognition that the works are
human beings and that they need to be motivated with personal needs. It emphasizes
the psychological function of organization and conceives of the main task of
management as harmonizing the goals.
The exponent of this approach are of the notion that because an entrepreneur
must work with and through people to get results, the principles that people act and
react as they do should be understood and applied ( MORGAN 1973: 91). It is
believed that concentration on such areas as the personality of the individual, the
dynamics of individual behaviour, individual needs and motivation patterns as
well as socio-psychological relationship including all groups interactions will evoke
adequate theories and principles necessary to stimulate the employees of the
entrepreneurs, predict behaviour within different settings and to provide guidance on
how best to achieve the organizational arrangement that enhance cooperation.
For ease of Analysis, the interpersonal approach could be sub-divided into four areas
of concentration and they are

1) The psychological approach

2) Human relation approach
3) Co-operative social system approach
4) Sociological approach

BEHAVIORAL TRAITS

Task-Related Personality Traits of Leaders

These trait consist of Passion, Courage, Internal locus of control, flexibility
and adaptability and emotional intelligence which comprises of self awareness, self
management social awareness and relationship management.

Energy Level
Energy Level demonstrates a tendency toward restlessness, activity and drive. This
scale more than other similar traits, is influenced by utilizing traditional methods to
accomplish goals, while confronting issues like efficiency and time utilization.
The potential for risk-taking, restlessness and seeking excitement and challenge can
be found in an individual with a high Energy Level.
At the low end, an individual provides the patience and calmness fundamental to
particular kinds of work.

Assertiveness
Assertiveness is identifiable as a measure of generalized self-acceptance and
confidence. Assertiveness is often associated with expressed influence.
High assertiveness is often associated with a focus on achievement and seeking
leadership and control of situations.
Lower scores suggest a low need to control the actions of others and such an
individual may provide co-workers with an example of a compliant follower.

Sociability
Sociability is a strong measure of social presence and self-confidence. It directly
relates to self-control and flexibility. This trait can be seen as more reliant upon
interpersonal contacts than other confidence-based traits.
High Sociability signifies a desire to work closely with others and accomplish goals
in a group setting.
A low scorer tends to focus on achieving goals through individual efforts and can
work over longer periods without considerable interpersonal contact. This individual
tends to "stick to business" and usually will not demonstrate a need to collaborate on
projects or socialize.

Manageability
Manageability suggests a strong relationship to social responsibility and stability. It is
a measure of how one reacts to the limits placed by authority.
High Manageability is often associated with being comfortable with authority and
rules, taking duties seriously, conformity, and taking pride in being self-disciplined.
Lower scores reflect a working style that emphasizes individualized thinking and a
willingness to question inefficient practices. This kind of person is not usually willing
to do the accepted thing blindly.

Attitude
Attitude is related to stability and poise. This can create an image of social
confidence, with a measure of restraint and social ease.
A positive and accepting outlook regarding people is common among those with high
Attitude scores.
Lower scorers may be good at expressing dissatisfaction with situations that do not
appear acceptable to them.

Objective Judgment
Objective Judgment is associated with a sense of rational competence and objectivity.
This emphasizes the utilization of sound and reliable thinking.
High scores describe an individual who will use observable facts in his or her
thinking process.
Low Objective Judgment describes a person who is willing to follow a hunch or
listen to his or her intuition before acting.