THEORY OFLEADERSHIPAs imagined by Rory Slatko

Rory Slatko

WHO THE IS THIS GUY?

Studying PoliSciJunior in SPAProud Delawarean

Is mythology the story of heroes……or of leaders?

…and what is history but the study of leaders?

JOURNEYOur framework for thinking about leadership

Word Association

Which one is a maluma, and which one is a takete?

“all seagulls look as though their name were Emma.”

Who is a leader to you?

Why?

“…we know all too much about our leaders, but far too little about leadership.”But how much do we really know about our leaders?

As it turns out, we don’t naturally know a whole lot.

ILT aka Implicit

Theories

Sensitivity

Dedication

Tyranny

Charisma

Attractiveness

Masculinity

Intelligence

Strength

How do you think about leadership?

“LEAD”“LEADER”“LEADERSHIP”Etymological Plot Twist A lot of words that mean “to guide, to cause to go with one, etc…”

Are we able to define leadership?

What does it mean to have a theory?

A set of assumptions from which we derive hypotheses that explain the relationship among two or more concepts.TH

EORY

?

“The only definition of a LEADER is someone who has followers.” - Peter Drucker

“LEADERSHIP is the capacity to translate vision into reality.” - Warren Bennis

“As we look ahead into the next century, LEADERS will be those who empower others.” - Bill Gates

“LEADERSHIP is influence – nothing more, nothing less.” - John Maxwell

Sh*t people say about leadership

THEORYThe evolution of thinking about leadership

LAO-TZUTao Te Ching“Enlightened leadership is service, not

selflishness. The leader grows more and lasts longer by placing the well-being of all

above the well-being of self alone.”

600 BC

PLATOThe Republic“Until philosophers are kings, or the kings

and princes of this world have the spirit and power of philosophy…cities will never

have rest from their evils.”

380 BC

ARISTOTLEPolitics“But since…kings have no marked

superiority over their subjects…it is obviously necessary on many grounds that all the citizens alike should take their turn

of governing and being governed.”

350 BC

MACHIAVELLIThe Prince“He must therefore keep his mind ready to

shift as the winds and tides of Fortune turn, and…he ought not to quit good

courses if he can help it, but should know how to follow evil courses if he must.”

1532

CARLYLEThe Hero As King“We come now to the last form of

Heroism; that which we call Kingship. The commander over Men…may be reckoned

the most important of Great Men.”

Mid-1800s

DU BOISThe Talented Tenth

“This is the history of human progress; and the two historic mistakes…were the thinking

first that no more could ever rise save the few already risen; or second, that it would better the unrisen to pull the risen down.”

1903

1910-WWII

• Individuals who became leaders were different from followers

• Identification of unique characteristics• Stogdill’s meta-analysis in 1948

dismantled the theory

TRAITS

WWII-1960s

• Lewin et. al. - Autocratic, Democratic, and Laissez-Faire• Later research was less internal and even more basic -

Consideration and Initiation of Structure• Still searching for the “Best” style• McGregory – Theory X and Y; X assumes people are lazy,

uncooperative• Hersey & Blanchard – Situational Leadership, i.e.

matching leadership style and maturity of the follower

BEHAVIOR

1960s-Now

• Fiedler – LPC (Least Preferred Coworker); task and relationship motivated

• More Fiedler: Integration w/ circumstances; leader-member relations, task structure, position power

• Leadership training provides situational control

CONTINGENCY

1960s-Now

• Vroom and Yetton – Normative Decision Theory; autocratic, democratic, group decision-making

• Bass – directive, negotiative, consultative, participative, and delegative; not independent of one another, consistent over time

• House – Path-Goal Theory; subordinate motivation• Griffin – needs, attitudes, and expectations of

followers

CONTINGENCY

1960s-Now

• Follower-centric / relational• Hollander – Leader Legitimation;

idiosyncrasy credit• Graen – Vertical Dyad Linkage model;

unique exchange w/ each subordinate now LMX Theory

TRANSACTIONAL

1960s-Now

• Interpersonal judgments – Tendency to develop causal explanations

• Fundamental attribution error• Green and Mitchell – Leader attribution for

severe outcomes• Calder – ILT distortion• Ayman and Chemers – Benevolent Paternalism

as a combined style

COGNITIVE

1960s-Now

• Berry argues that American psychology is “culture bound” and “culture blind.”

• Generalizability of Euro-American theories• Culture vs. Organizational Forces• Neghandi – Organizational forces are more important• Hofstede – Power distance, Tolerance for uncertainty,

individualism, Masculinity determine organizational structures that will develop

• Aymer and Chemers are back – May yield inaccuracies

CROSS-CULTURAL

1960s-Now

• Transformational Leadership – James MacGregor Burns

• Relational Model of Leadership – Komives, Lucas, & McMahon

• Servant Leadership Theory – Robert Greenleaf• Social Change Model of Leadership

ADDITIONAL

• Focus on goals vs. interpersonal functions• Directive vs. Participative• Degree of control afforded by the

environment• Weakness in leaders and followers as

people• Individual + Group + Organization + Society

COMMONALITIES

CONTEXTS

J. Thomas Wren and Marc J. Swatez

HistoricalContemporaryImmediate

MY JOURNEYHow I came to know what I did not know

As good a starting place as any

Ok. We can only look at that for so long.

“You’ve picked a lonely path.”

“Slow down there, Slatko.”

MY THEORYDistilling my experiences of the world

Leadership is the application of soft power to

influence individuals and groups towards

the achievement of a goal.

Leadership takes place at multiple

levels at any given time,

where-in one situation may

require multiple styles of

leadership.

Leadership is a self-referential

learning process, and happens as much within the self as between

people.

“Know thyself” is merely a pre-requisite to “re-create yourself.”

Leadership and followership are not only related, but one in the same.

“Leadership is the application of soft power to influence individuals and groups towards the achievement of a goal.”

Epistemologically, the leader is the student and the source of knowledge is the followers.

What are you an expert in?

Leadership is a striving for expertise.

“Management is about coping with complexity. Leadership, by contrast, is about coping with change.”

THERE ARE NO GREAT MEN -

THERE ARE ONLY GREAT STUDENTS.