Mar 6, 2016 - get the best result out of his/her team, so business goals are met. 2) To identify ... therefore constituting a concrete significance of the study around the theme of ...... http://quintessentialldr.wordpress.com/?s=The+Mysteries+of+ ...
Exploring new ways of looking at Leadership A Dissertation on the Fundamental Leadership Qualifications in the Workplace
MBA Dissertation By: João Miguel Oliveira Cotrim Student Number: 1091527355745 Course: Master of Business Administration March 2016
Word Count: 14563
Declaration of Originality of Work
In presenting this dissertation for assessment, I declare that it is a final copy including any last revisions. I also declare that it is entirely the result of my own work other than where sources are explicitly acknowledged and referenced within the body of the text. This dissertation has not been previously submitted for any degree at this or any other institution. Name: João Miguel Oliveira Cotrim Date: 6 March 2016
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“Leadership is an individual capability. It is about what you do, how you think, and who you are. The acquisition of these skills may be partly dispositional, but much comes through learning and experience. From this perspective, improvements in leadership development could be well served by better understanding what aspects of “doing” leaders struggle with and why. Understanding the early “doing” challenges will likely produce significant insight into the other aspects of leadership as well”. Benjamin and O’Reilly (2011: 453) 3
Table of Contents Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................... 5 Abstract ......................................................................................................................... 6 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 7 Research question, aim & objectives......................................................................................... 7 Justification ............................................................................................................................... 7 Outline methodology ................................................................................................................. 8 Outline of the rest of the dissertation ........................................................................................ 8 Summary .................................................................................................................................... 8
Literature Review ........................................................................................................ 9 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 9 Discussion ................................................................................................................................. 9 Goleman Literature Reviews ............................................................................................... 11 Emotional Intelligence Theory related literature .......................................................................... 11 Six Styles of Leadership Theory related literature ........................................................................ 13
Quintessential Leadership Theory ...................................................................................... 14 Model of Team Development Theory .................................................................................. 15 Self-Monitoring Theory ....................................................................................................... 16 Final considerations – Interpreting the analysis of the literature review ........................... 18 Summary.............................................................................................................................. 20
Methodology ............................................................................................................... 21 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 21 What is Research? ............................................................................................................... 21 What is business and management research? ..................................................................... 22 Research Philosophy ............................................................................................................... 23 Defining Science ................................................................................................................. 23 Defining Philosophy of Science .......................................................................................... 23 Identifying the methods and approaches to conduct a research project ............................. 23 The research philosophy behind the present research study .............................................. 24 Research Strategy .................................................................................................................... 24 Research Design ...................................................................................................................... 25 Research Administration ..................................................................................................... 25 Research Ethics ....................................................................................................................... 29 Summary .................................................................................................................................. 29
Findings....................................................................................................................... 30 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 30 Numbers, statistics and discussion .......................................................................................... 30 Summary .................................................................................................................................. 34
Analysis & Conclusions ............................................................................................. 35 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 35 Critique of adopted approach ................................................................................................. 35 Analysis ................................................................................................................................... 36 Overall Conclusions ................................................................................................................ 38 Limitations of the Study ........................................................................................................... 38 Opportunities for further research .......................................................................................... 39 Reflection ................................................................................................................................. 39
References & Bibliography ....................................................................................... 41 Appendices .................................................................................................................. 45
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Acknowledgements This section is dedicated to those who gave their contribution for the creation of this dissertation. To all of them, I express here my sincere acknowledgements. On a personal level, I would like to dedicate this piece of work to my parents and, particularly, to two special friends – Teresa Diniz and Ana Paula Candeloro – for always believing me and being present all the way through this project. On a much professional, academic level, I would firstly like to thank Prof. Steve Page for the way he oriented my work. The main traces of his orientation were the utility of his recommendations and the cordiality with which he always communicated with me. I am grateful for both, as well as, for the freedom of action he granted me, which came to be decisive for this piece of work to contribute for my personal development. Secondly, I leave here a word of acknowledgement to Robert Kennedy College’s professors – particularly to Prof. Dennis Crossen and Prof. Francois Therin – for the way they conducted the MBA and have transmitted me the interest for the themes of Applied Leadership and Strategic Management. I also express a great appreciation to all course classmates that accompanied me along this adventure. Finally, I also thank all Robert Kennedy College’s Student Care staff for their kindness, efforts, professionalism and availability in trying to provide the best aid and support to all students that were part of this MBA course. To them, my many thanks.
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Abstract Leadership is an enthralling theme to investigators and professionals from all sectors of activity. It was considered a key topic in labour relations (Razi et al, 2012), as it was understood that the applied style of leadership might trigger labour conflicts. In addition, many underlying aspects of the subject matter have generated fierce debate such as the personal and/or professional incompatibilities between the leader and his/her followers, the co-existence of formal and informal leaderships, not to mention the integration of the different styles of leadership across the organizational structure of an organization. There are several contributions and theories on the subject from many investigators, authors and professionals each representing a particular view on how leadership should be perceived. Many views coincide with each other, while others look at the topic from different angles and suggest alternatives ways of conceiving leadership. Considering today’s propensity for the evolution of the views on leadership and, thus, the adoption of alternative ways of acting and relating to the environment around us (Crossen, 2012), the aim of this dissertation is to explore new ways of looking at leadership and, in doing that, answer the question what key elements and factors do influence the quality (and effectiveness) of leading a team? The methodology chosen was a combination of methods – “desk research” and “primary research”. In a first instance, the research approach was deductive, as it involved searching and seeing what others have said about the subject (thus, starting from a general point of view) and, progressively, moving into the more specifics. In this process, two main trends of thinking were identified: one that traditionally perceives leadership as depending on the personal and innate characteristics of the individual (Fachada, 1998; Parreira, 2000), and a second one that conceives leadership as largely depending on the social learning from the individual – also known as the process of leadership approach (Parreira, 2000). In a second instance, primary research was used to collect information from a previously designated sample (from Wipro BPO enterprise) to confirm whether (i) leaders in the real world had the key attributes spotted by the desk research and (ii), more decisive, applied the 5 main theories that fall in the process of leadership approach: Emotional Intelligence (Goleman, 2000), Six Styles of Leadership (Goleman, 2000), Quintessential Leadership (Doyle, 2006), Model of Team Development (Tuckman, 1965) and SelfMonitoring (Lennox & Wolfe, 1984). Findings show that the central factor playing a decisive role in the quality and effectiveness of leading a team is Emotional Intelligence (EI). Further, a leader will not be able to improve, develop and potentiate his/her (i) EI, (ii) options of Leadership Styles, (iii) Quintessential and (iv) Team Development attributes, if he/she does not use another key element – the SelfMonitoring tool. This decoding resulted in the proposal of an alternative model of leadership. The implications of the conducted research for practice is that any leader (or any person aspiring to become one) who is trying to improve, develop and potentiate his/her leadership condition must vigilantly work on some key important factors, which are closely co-related and interdependent.
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Introduction Leadership is a subject that has caught the attention of academics and managers of all types of organizations in search not only of an ideal model of leadership but also of the perfect leader (Parreira, 2000; Avolio, 2010; Day et al., 2014). In 2000 Parreira questioned the pre-conceived view that leadership is an innate ability of an individual and that it basically depends on the social learning as opposed to personal characteristics. In 2010 Avolio also advocated the idea that leadership is a process that demands learning and development once the individual is willing to embrace change. In 2012 Crossen defended the concept that leadership depends on the circumstances of the social environment as organizations are constantly evolving, which means that it is adaptable, and leadership is intrinsically related to the scenario in which the organization is immersed. This research focuses in the study of the leadership from the perspective of some of the several theories that were designed to define a leader, as identified above, but also aims to discuss important approaches defended by academics (Tuckman, 1965; Lennox & Wolfe, 1984; Goleman, 2000; and Doyle, 2006) that are understood as tools utilized to establish new types of leadership in the work environment.
Research question, aim & objectives The research question is: What key elements and factors do influence the quality (and effectiveness) of leading a team? Considering today’s tendency for the evolution of the views on leadership and, thus, the adoption of alternative ways of acting and relating to the environment around us (Crossen, 2012), the ultimate aim of this dissertation is to explore new ways of looking at leadership. Consequently, the objectives of the dissertation are: 1) To identify the key leadership attributes that any leader should have in order to get the best result out of his/her team, so business goals are met. 2) To identify the appropriate model of leadership that better defends the effectiveness of leading an Accounts Payable (AP) team.
Justification The relevance of this study lays on the fact that it tried to interpret several theories and offer a comprehensive understanding of the subject from different perspectives offering a new way of comprehending leadership through the combination of the key elements of each theory that, from the perspective of the researcher, could influence and quality and effectiveness of leading a team. This research aims to open up new horizons in the interpretation of the leadership concepts. The researcher intends to identify and draw an alternative model of leadership which, as the study will demonstrate, is expected to have a valid applicability in a working environment therefore constituting a concrete significance of the study around the theme of leadership.
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Outline methodology The strategy applied to this dissertation was to converge three main sources of evidence (methods of gathering data): 1 – Documents and Archival Records (Literature and other documentary sources); 2 – Surveys; and 3 – Observations (direct and participant – from the author himself). This strategy was chosen based on Yin’s (2009) three principles – (i) the use multiple sources of evidence (commonly named as triangulation of evidence); (ii) the creation of a case study database; and (iii) the maintenance of a chain of evidence. Bearing in mind the differences between deductive and inductive content analysis approaches (Borner et al., 2012), this dissertation used a numerical research approach having a deductive method of reasoning; in other words, a top-down approach – working from the more general to the more specific. First a literature review was conducted to identify what authors have said about the topic. In a second instance, the “primary research” involved the collection of data through a questionnaire survey aimed at 34 respondents (all employees of Wipro BPO). Further, two main types of data analysis were used for the purposes of this research: (i) Content Analysis – analysis of data collected from literature; and (ii) Narrative Analysis – analysis of data collected from the survey in order to understand how the respondents perceived the key elements that influence the quality and effectiveness of leadership. (Mishler, cited in Robert & Shenhav, 2014). Finally, it was employed Miles and Huberman’s (1994) Components of Data Analysis interactive model – a procedure of data analysis that enables the researcher to progressively filter, phase out and lessen irrelevant information from the data collected in a systematic way thus helping to select, focus, reduce, extract and organise the huge amount of qualitative data he/she obtains.
Outline of the rest of the dissertation The author’s first focus (the beacon of the second chapter) was to assemble and present a key set of Literature Reviews on the topic of leadership and, upon that, present an analysis, interpretation and explanation on why the exposed theories come to be so important for the purposes of this dissertation. The third chapter comprises and explains the reasons for the choice of the selected Research Methodology. The fourth chapter presents the Findings of the conducted research. Finally, the fifth chapter presents (i) an Analysis, interpretation of the findings and (ii) the Conclusions on the conducted research.
Summary This chapter expounded (1) an introduction – background to the research from both a practical and theoretical perspective; (2) the research question, aim & objectives; (3) a justification – explaining the significance of the research; (4) an outline of the methodology; and (5) an outline of the rest of the dissertation.
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Literature Review Introduction Bearing in mind that the primary goal is to explore new ways of perceiving leadership, this chapter firstly starts by addressing what is meant by leadership and upon that describes the author’s direct observation on how leadership is applied at Wipro BPO. Further, two main trends of thinking regarding leadership are discussed: 1 – leadership depends on the personal and innate characteristics of the individual; and 2 – leadership depends on the social learning from the individual (called the process of leadership approach). Considering that the first has limitations, the second shows particular advantages in boosting and developing leadership valences in individuals. Thus, for the purposes of this dissertation, this chapter identifies the leadership theories that correspond to the process of leadership trend of thinking. The discussion on that will allow to infer what are the key leadership attributes that any leader (and particularly at Wipro BPO) should have in order to get the best out of his/her team in order to meet business goals.
Discussion As a way of opening the discussion around new ways of looking and perceiving leadership, it is vital to analyse what academics have studied about it in order to: (a) identify the key leadership attributes that any leader should have in order to get the best out of his/her team in order to meet business goals; (b) identify what model (s) of leadership (if any) may be perceived as better defending the effectiveness of leading a team; and (c) validate the importance of two elements – Emotional Intelligence and Self-Monitoring. Many theories, discussions and contributions on the topic of Leadership may be found from several authors and thinkers, such as Max Weber’s, James MacGregor Burn’s and Bernard Bass’s models of Transactional and Transformational Leaders (Boje, 2010); Bennis & Nanus’ theory of Transformational Leaders (Boje, 2010); Schein’s theory of Culture Change as Transformation (Boje, 2010); Robert Goffee and Gareth Jones’ contribution (Goffee & Jones, 2000); Eve Mitleton-Kelly’s contribution (Mitleton-Kelly, 2006); Mark Maletz and Nitin Nohria’s contribution (Maletz & Nohria, 2001); Peter Drucker’s contribution (Drucker, 1999); and Jim Collins’ contribution (Collins, 2001). There are numerous definitions of what a leader is and therefore it is difficult to establish a single set of characteristics that may very well define leadership. In Bass’s account (1990, cited in Rego, 1998), there are as many definitions for leadership as people trying to define it. The key accounts that may be seen as most valuable for the present analysis and which may also be seen as applicable to how Wipro BPO – the company chosen as an example for this dissertation – is ran and how leadership is applied. Leadership, then, may be seen as the capability of promoting a coordinated action, aiming to achieve organizational objectives (Gomes et al., 2000). It is a phenomenon of interpersonal influence applied in a particular situation through the process of human communication, aiming the communication of particular objectives (Fachada, 1998) and a process of influence and performance of a given function from a group oriented for the consecution of results accepted by the members of the group. To lead is to pilot a team, a group, a union of people, predict, decide, organize (Parreira, 2000).
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Regarding the case of Wipro BPO, the team at AP department is well led by all its leaders – being the Senior Assistant, the Team Leader and the Manager. The goals are always achieved on a constant basis since the firm applies a coordinated communication with the team (through cyclical meetings) with the objective of influencing its members to achieve the organizational objectives as well as to assure that each member understands what is expected from him/her. The characteristics and attributes of leadership described above are present in all leaders and the objectives are not jeopardized. As a first approach, characteristics and attributes that define leadership may be found in all leaders at Wipro BPO’s AP department. However, it will be discussed in chapter Analysis & Conclusions if such characteristics are exclusively innate and personal ones, being solely “natural” attributes. It is interesting to mention that academics such as Fachada (1998) and Parreira (2000) support the theory that innate characteristics and individual qualities as physical strength, amiability and intelligence are determinant of the leadership style. After the field research conducted at Wipro BPO the author was not able to clearly identity innate personality traces, based on the theories advocated by Fachada (1998) and Parreira (2000), that could lead to the understanding that the individuals appointed to leadership functions within the company were actually leaders. The lack of the pre-established innate characteristics as defined by Fachada (1998) and Parreira (2000) in individuals occupying leadership positions is also explained by Parreira (2000) when he argues that first it is very difficult to find all leadership qualities in one single individual and second that also non-leaders may present traces originally attributed to leaders. Parreira was able to deconstruct his own theory and this explains the outcome obtained after the field research at Wipro. The proven limitations of Parreira’s Trace Theory triggered a redefinition of the Theory of Leadership making it obvious that traces of personality or innate characteristics may not be enough to differentiate a leader from a non-leader. The leadership structure is much more complicated to be construed upon those preconceived conditions. Therefore the academic studies evolved to give rise to the focus on the process of leadership as opposed to the sole analysis of the individual. The so-called process of leadership approach, also defended by Parreira (2000), consists of understanding leadership as a skill that may be acquired after training, adaptation and effort. The ongoing process of becoming a leader involves fine tuning qualities and in a certain way polishing characteristics in a clear and professional effort to become what is expected from a leader. The referred leaders at Wipro BPO, however, and despite not having the so-called innate characteristics to be ready to lead a team, were (and are) given the possibility to take a leading place and, by virtue of a constant process of leadership, were (and are) able to undertake their role and, even more, improve their abilities through time. In applying a continuous process of leadership rather than hiring presumed innate potential leaders, Wipro BPO showed that it was highly influenced by the theories presented over the last paragraphs. Having all this in mind, and for the purposes of this dissertation, it becomes necessary to identify what leadership theories correspond to this trend of thinking in order to understand how leadership may actually be trained and acquired. Based on research, there were identified 5 particular theories that have pertinent links to the process of leadership approach: Emotional Intelligence (Goleman, 2000); The Six Styles of Leadership (Goleman, 2000); Team Development Model (Tuckman, 1965); The Quintessential Leadership (Doyle, 2006); The SelfMonitoring (Lennox & Wolfe, 1984). These theories are important because they may be used in correlation and interdependency. More concretely, and as will be demonstrated throughout the following sub-sections, if one leader does not train, 10
acquire and master the element of Emotional Intelligence (Goleman, 2000), it becomes very hard to also train, acquire and master other key important elements/factors of leadership, which are reflected on the other 4 theories. This dissertation will demonstrate how evident it is the co-relation and interdependency between the referred 5 theories. The first set of literature review to be analysed – Goleman theories – follows on the next pages. Goleman Literature Reviews Goleman (2000), followed by other authors such as Glover (2010) and Candy (2010), was instrumental in the development of an ideal model of leadership based on the following premises: 1 – Emotional Intelligence (EI), which is understood as the ability to effectively manage ourselves and our relationships through a set of competencies1 comprising self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and social skill; 2 – The Six Leadership Styles (SLS), which is understood as the 6 different styles; i.e., coercive, authoritative, affiliative, democratic, pacesetting and coaching, that may be imprinted by a leader depending on the situation, the team and the subject under discussion2. Having in mind these two key aspects of Goleman’s theory, it may also be identified three other articles/authors, which may be seen as complementing even more the two referred key traits (EI and SLS) of the author’s theory. While the first two relate to the EI theory, the third one relates to the SLS theory. The explanation of these follows below. Emotional Intelligence Theory related literature The first contribution is the article named “Emotional Intelligence Theory – Is it Valid and Where Does it Fit?” written by Suzanne Glover, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Effective-Positive-Thinking.com, in which a summary of Goleman’s theory on EI may be found. Glover (2010) defied Goleman (2000) by questioning his concept of emotional intelligence since her understanding is that the scope is much broader to encompass not only the ability to manage ourselves but the ability to assess and control your social environments and relationships. EI becomes just another way of looking at how well developed you are as a person. Further, she suggests that EI should be defined as including four areas (similarly to Goleman’s theory): 1 – SelfAwareness; 2 – Self-Management; 3 – Social-Awareness; 4 – RelationshipManagement (equivalent to Social Skill in Goleman’s theory). Glover (2010) understands self-awareness as an improvement of the emotional intelligence, integrating thoughts and feelings in the process of becoming aware of emotions. This is called whole brain functioning, according to Glover (2010), since during this process new neural pathways between two parts of the brain are built: the rational part of the brain is connected with the emotional part of the brain in an effort to create the self-awareness. Once this exercise is conducted several times the individual’s skills are increased to a higher level because new neural pathways were created in the brain. With respect to the second component – self-management –, it refers to improving one’s ability to get a handle on his/her emotions. As such, this ability turns out to be a decisive good one, as it offers the person the ability to stay cool well enough during a crisis to find out his/her way out of it. By finding ways to first identify your emotions (self-awareness) and then take charge of them (self1
To see in more detail each of the capabilities and their corresponding traits, please consult Table 1 in Appendix A. 2 To see in more detail the main traits of each style (their origin, when they work best, and their impact on an organization’s climate and thus its performance), please consult Table 2 in Appendix B.
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management), the emotional intelligence theory offers some guideposts to enhance the ability to interpret and respond to the outside world. Social-awareness, on the other hand, is vital to improve awareness of the whole context of life regarding which an individual is immersed (Glover, 2010). Qualities such as empathy, organizational awareness and service orientation will be highly impacted with the continuous improvement of social awareness. Relationship-management (Goleman’s Social Skill), as defined by Glover (2010), is the ability to offer an enlightment over individual’s own reactions and reactions of those around the individual. The second pertinent contribution is the one presented on an article named Emotional Intelligence Theory: Highlighting and Developing Leadership Skills written by Lee Candy, the CEO of Educational Business Articles. Candy’s account (2010) is that Leadership is Emotional, and thus Emotional Intelligence theory and Leadership go hand in hand. Further, EI is the ability to monitor one’s own and other’s emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use the information to guide one’s thinking and actions (Salovey & Mayer 1990, cited in Candy, 2010). It’s a way of recognizing, understanding, choosing how we think, feel, act and it shapes our interactions with others and our understanding of ourselves. Research (Freedman cited in Candy, 2010) suggests it is responsible for as much as 80% of the success in our lives. Candy (2010) understands a leader as someone who has a calm assuring demeanour and is in always in control, demonstrating to be a compassionate leader, making well-judged decisions. Therefore, according to Candy (2010), all such attributes are comprised in the high levels of EI. A leader is someone who is controlling his/her own emotions as well as those of the team to perform excelling results. Thus, one must give recognition to both Emotional Intelligence theory and Leadership, as they have a deep embedded relationship that should not be underestimated or overlooked. Bearing this in mind, Candy (2010) suggests some actions that may be helpful in the process of improving EI capabilities: (a) Write a daily journal – journals are considered to be able to improve self-awareness since the individual expresses his/her thoughts and feelings, makes connections with different parts of the brain in the effort to understand emotions and behaviours, both his/her and of a group. A simple reflection on the daily routine and habits enhance self-awareness; (b) Nourish calmness in oneself – any individual needs to slow down especially when demanding situations trigger strong emotions; (c) Understand one’s own values – it is important to understand the individual’s own values that may lead to ambitious plans in life; (d) Be accountable for one’s own actions – bearing in mind a clear notion of actions and decisions under the individual’s responsibility makes him/her accountable for his/her own life, regardless of a good or bad decision being taken; (e) Re-examine why one is a leader – when times get tough, it is fairly easy to forget what you really love about your career. That’s why one must take some time to remember why he/she wanted that particular job and what his/her long-term vision is; (f) Focus on one’s goals – one should write down the reasons why he/she absolutely wants to achieve the pre-defined goals. And why this? Because, when times get tough, these reasons will give you the necessary motivation; (g) Turn negative situations into positive ones – identify room for improvement when dealing with sensitive situations and be able to extract positive outcomes from a negative environment; and (h) Learn how to praise others – as a leader, it is vital to inspire loyalty simply by praising the team when the situation so encourages. Learning how to effectively praise others is a fine art, but well worth the effort.
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Having presented, analysed and emphasized the key traits of Goleman’s EI theory and some of the related articles/authors, it may be construed that the direct and most obvious benefit for a leader to build EI valences is for him/her to have a wider and much complete view of the situation in hands and, therefore, having a better notion of what the best decision to make could be. Valences as self-awareness, selfmanagement, self-motivation, social awareness and relationship management may suffer a great and dramatic boost in case a leader seeks to improve his/her EI attributes. Six Styles of Leadership Theory related literature The third article that relate to Goleman’s theory and, in particular, to the SLS theory, is the one named Leadership Styles (Catapult Leadership, 2010). This article summarizes the main traits3 of each of the leadership styles of Goleman’s theory and that is why it became relevant: it suggests what any person aiming to be a leader should look for. This contribution frames leadership styles into four main categories as described in figure 1 below: Figure 1 – The four categories of a Leader
(Catapult Leadership, 2010)
Each of the categories described in figure 1 is a demonstration of a leadership style. There is no right or wrong style. They are all good provided that properly adapted to the individual characteristics not only of the leader himself/herself but also of the group being lead. It is all a matter of awareness of the environment, the situation, the group, the tendencies, the weaknesses, the fragilities and the strengths involved. The leader has to be flexible and adaptable and develop as many skills as necessary to lead a certain group, which may be different from those he/she would potentially need to develop in the future should the group or the problem change. It is all volatile and interchangeable, which means that a leader to perform effectively his/her style must be always understanding and capable of playing a different role. This is what ultimately will make him/her a good leader and not only a good manager.
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These referred traits may also be seen on Table 2 in Appendix B.
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Quintessential Leadership Theory The real and pertinent counters of an effective leadership may also be analysed through the eyes of the Quintessential Leadership Theory, adopted by several academics and which plays a fundamental part in this matter. The quintessential leader (Ross, 2011) is determined by his/her soft skills. It is not enough to be called or be labelled a leader. Leaders are always managers, but managers are not always leaders. In fact, most people who have the title of Manager of today are not leaders and have no idea of how to be one. This is because promotion to management positions has been the traditional way of recognizing an individual’s competency in his/her field or rewarding an employee for achieving expected results. Most employees promoted to management positions eventually fail, because they don’t understand nor do they have the soft skills (interpersonal, especially) of leadership needed to succeed. A team that does not buy into to a “manager” will ensure that he/she is kicked to the curb sooner rather than later. The usual complaint heard is about a lack of people/interpersonal/relationship skills. Leaders (Ross, 2011) have the gift of knowing how to properly manage several dimensions of life, such as time, money, resources – and provide their teams with the parameters, tools, and opportunities required to successfully perform their activities, so that they manage themselves in a way that positively contributes to the continued success of the unit. Quintessential leaders go a step further. Not only are they successful managers and skilled guides within their direct areas of responsibility, but also they are in tune with the larger organizational vision and work successfully with other business units to ensure that vision is attained. How do you recognize a quintessential leader and how do you become one? Ross (2011) suggests that a quintessential leader is an individual conscientious of him/herself and always willing to do something dramatically different from the status quo, thinking beyond traditional boundaries. It’s not enough to say you are a leader. It’s necessary that everything you do must confirm that you are. Doyle’s (2006) approach on the Quintessential Leader goes beyond and suggests that every leader (or anyone aspiring to become one) should objectively answer eight fundamental orienting questions. When answered and acted upon, these can make the candidate an exceptional leader. Regarding the first question – Do you have a mission, vision and values statement? –, it is key to have a clear notion of what the mission, vision and values of any given project are. All members of the team should be aware of them, otherwise, the members of the team will not be able to apply the respective concepts in their daily routines. It is the leader's responsibility to translate the mission /vision for the team. And, in case the organization has not yet developed one it should designed by the leader through group work. The great advantage of having a clear mission and vision (Doyle, 2006) is that it helps a team articulate who they are, what they do, and why they are doing it. Moving to the second question – Do you have a short, mid, and long-term strategy? (In other words, what is the plan? What is the view? What are the objectives, strategies, and tactics for the team?) –, it is generally recognized with business environment that short term is six months, mid-term is 18 months and long term is 24 months. The author’s view is that when a leader exercises long-term thinking, it enables him/her to make better decisions with the long-term view. The job of a true leader is to point the team to the future, and such goal cannot be achieved without a clear view of the future perspectives. In the author’s account, the higher you go in an organization, the more the focus on time changes. Front line workers are thinking about today and this week. Supervisors are thinking about and planning for this month. Managers are thinking about and planning for the next two quarters, or maybe the year. Vice Presidents are thinking about the next few years, 14
and the CEO should be spending a good deal of time thinking about the next five years. Discussing the third question – Do you hire people smarter than you? –, we live in the age of specialization, thus, potential candidates being interviewed are experts in finance, or marketing, or sales. The best leaders (Doyle, 2006) are generalists and can see the big picture. They hire specialists. Leaders should try to find someone who is smarter than them in their area of expertise. Further, you want the best and the smartest you can find, because they get results. Therefore, when leader’s teams get results, the leader wins as well as the team. In answering a fourth question – Do you communicate well with the team? –, the problem is not that leaders are not communicating but rather that they are not communicating effectively. Sending an email, for example, does not mean that you communicated. It rather means that you simply sent an email. Thus, every leader should be doing the following: a) having regular and consistent staff meetings; b) meeting one on one with each team member consistently; and c) using communication methods (email, phone, memo, voice mail, etc.) that work best for the specific situation, not just using one because it is their favourite. Most leaders are too busy to communicate effectively, and then blame the team when something goes wrong. With respect to the fifth question – Have you created a motivational environment? – it is up to the leader to create a motivational environment by (i) having a positive and optimist attitude him/her self that he/she expects from his/her followers (employees replicate the behaviours of their leaders), (ii) treating people like valued members of a great team, (iii) making sure the physical environment of the space is acceptable and (iv) hiring people who represent the way he/she want the culture to be and fire people who are nefarious, difficult and uncooperative. The sixth question – Do you reward for exceptional performance? – emphasizes the fact that a leader must resist to any tendency to treat everyone the same. If a leader does not reward for exceptional performance, then those exceptional performers will leave. Human Resources policy has to be the same in order not to be seen as discriminatory. Further, incentives and reward for extraordinary performance should be implemented and when exceptional performance happens, it should be recognized and rewarded. The seventh question – Do you hold people accountable? –, on the other hand, enhances the fact that, as a leader, holding people accountable will make him/her popular with the achievers and very unpopular with the underachievers. In one sentence: leadership is not about popularity, but rather respect. Last but not least, the final question – Are you committed to employee development? – must also be at the core of anyone aspiring to be a leader. Doyle’s argument is that every employee on every team deserves to have a discussion with their leader about their career goals. Every leader should then work with that team member to help create an Individual Development Plan at least once a year, and then follow up regularly to help them get there. Team members feel respected and appreciated because the leader spent time talking about their future. Model of Team Development Theory The third category of literature that must be stressed is the one related to the theory of Team-Building Model. This model of team development was developed in 1965 by an American psychologist – Bruce Tuckman – through the publication of an article called Developmental sequence in small groups published in Psychological Bulletin. Tuckman’s model, then, traced the evolution of a team through four main stages (Tuckman, 1965): 1 – Forming; 2 – Storming; 3 – Norming; 4 – Performing. On the following page follows Table 1 with a summary of the main characteristics of each of stages. 15
Table 1 - Bruce Tuckman’s Model of Team Development
Bruce Tuckman’s Model of Team Development Stage
Characteristics
Team leader role
Forming
Team meets (formation); begins collective work
Outlines mission; looks for agreement on team roles, rules, guidelines for decision-making
Storming
Norming
Performing
Team deals with confusion and conflict over goals, decisionmaking, roles and control Team accepts goals, roles, rules; works positively Team focuses on achieving goals; personal growth for team members; conflict handled positively
Facilitates discussion; ensures common understanding of agreements Encourages norming process; supports and coaches; celebrates success Encourages high performance; facilitates communication; celebrates success
(University of Wales, 2016)
Self-Monitoring Theory The last category of literature to be put forward for the purposes of this dissertation is the one related to the Self-Monitoring theory. Its key message is that the evaluation and assessment of the main traits of personality and leadership attributes of any leader (or any aspiring one) may be obtained through the use of a particular tool named Selfmonitoring. And the ability to self-monitor may indeed have a significant effect on people’s relationships and professional prospects. The concept of self-monitoring is based on a 13-question-instrument developed by psychologists Richard Lennox and Raymond Wolfe. The theory presumes consistent patterns of individual differences in the extent to which people regulate their selfpresentation by tailoring their actions in accordance with immediate situational cues (Lennox & Wolfe, 1984). Upon answering a 13-yes or no question questionnaire, the individual will have a concrete picture of his/her real key 13 attributes as a leader, as well as, a clear mapping of the attributes that may need improvement. If one does not despise and, indeed, pays a close attention to these 13 questions proposed by Lennox and Wolfe, one will naturally understand their key significance and consequent validation. The first 7 questions in the instrument refer to one’s ability to modify selfpresentation, while the remaining 6 questions in the instrument refer to one's sensitivity to express behaviours of others. The description of these follows below in figures 2 and 3 respectively.
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Figure 2 – Lennox and Wolfe’s 7 questions on one’s ability to modify selfpresentation
Figure 3 – Lennox and Wolfe’s 6 questions on one's sensitivity to express behaviours of others
The Self-Monitoring theory must be a must for any potential leader (but not limited to a leader, or potential leader – it should be perceived as being an inspiring tool for virtually anyone) to assess his/her critical valences and essential interpersonal skills. 17
Final considerations – Interpreting the analysis of the literature review Upon the study, analysis and subsequent presentation of the selected literature review, and bearing in mind the research question, aim and objectives of this dissertation, the outcome is the design of the key qualifications and attributes (and model of leadership) that a leader should pursue and apply along the execution of his/her leadership role. There are points of intersection in the 5 theories of the literature review with respect to attributes necessary for the achievement of success. Moreover, the 5 theories also converge in the process of leadership approach with respect to the key leadership attributes described by each of them, as follows: A) Any given leader should Figure 4 – Intersection of the 5 theories have high levels of EI. He/she must work on his/her EI attributes. In case he/she lacks SelfAwareness, SelfManagement, Social Awareness or Social Skill, it is consensual and perfectly understandable that he/she should also try to improve such valences. B) Depending on the circumstances, any given leader should be ready to apply a different style of leadership. He/she should not master just one or two styles, for example. He/she should be able to understand what leadership style – being Coercive, Authoritative, Affiliative, Democratic, Pacesetting or Coaching – each situation calls for. And that capacity may also be trained, acquired and, again to a certain extent, mastered. C) Being a leader intrinsically means that he/she manages a team. Thus, it becomes important to find ways to make his/her team cohesive and focused on their tasks, so goals are met. Tuckman’s contribution is most valuable in this respect, as the suggested 4 stages of team development – Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing – constitute a valuable tool at the hands of the leader. The capacity to apply and manage each of the stages may also be trained, acquired, and consequently, mastered. D) The 8 fundamental attributes described by the Quintessential Leadership theory show in a very concrete way how any given leader should assess him/her-self as a leader. Bearing in mind those guiding lines, he/she can work, train, acquire and master the aspects that still need improvement. E) Similarly to the Quintessential Leadership theory, the Self-Monitoring tool may provide any given leader with a concrete picture of his/her main traces as an effective leader which, in turn, can also be trained, acquired and, ultimately, mastered. The essential literature review about the fundamental pillars of being a leader helps create what may be called a mastering model for any middle manager. The schematization of how the 5 theories (or elements) are interrelated and interdependent 18
between each other will follow under the section Proposed Leadership Model. For the time being, however, what must be emphasized in interpreting the presented literature reviews is that all five theories and, specially, the key and central element, which is EI, must be mastered for a middle manager to successfully manage his/her team (at Wipro BPO, the AP Manager would lead a team of about 30 people). A very sharp notion of his/her key EI valences will allow him/her to “sense other people’s emotions, understand their perspective, and take an active interest in their concerns”, acquire “the ability to read and understand emotions as well as recognize their impact on work performance, relationships, and the like” and, as a consequence, gain control over his/her abilities of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship management (also known as social skill) – as described on table 1 on Appendix A. Besides being a facilitator instrument to manage the other four elements, EI becomes determinant in choosing the style of leadership he/she must apply depending on the situation he/she is encountered with. EI attributes have an essential role in the process of leadership, being through the “propensity to bolster the abilities of others through feedback and guidance” (in other words, a social skill of developing others), being through encouraging “norming process, supporting and coaching” and consequently through “celebrating success” (as described on Table 1 – page 16); They must therefore be constantly refined, specially, with heterogeneous members – (being through Forming, Storming, Norming or Performing). Moreover, a leader must possess another important leadership skill: the EI of developing others, in other words, “bolster the abilities of others through feedback and guidance otherwise he/she will be directly affecting the motivation (in a negative way) of his/her team members. If he/she doesn’t have the capability of spotting, understanding and potentiate all the fundamental qualifications described by The 8 Quintessential Questions for Leaders theory, and for example, the qualifications explained on question 8 (Are you committed to employee development? – page 15) through his/her EI, then there will be a substantial prejudice and it will not be possible to master the quintessential key attributes. The Six Styles of Leadership, Tuckman’s Model of Team Development, Quintessential Leadership and EI, which is at the core of the first three, will be worked and improved by the leader through the important 5th element called Self-monitoring. By answering the 13-question instrument/tool, the leader will monitor his/her key attributes and valences, master his/her EI and, consequently, will provoke a direct and positive effect on the other elements. One may now understand the pertinence and most valuable inputs of all the 5 theories in question, as well as, their clear interdependency. But, one may certainly pose another logical question now: what is their real value in the real world? May one, actually, draw a unique model of leadership that may assemble all the key characteristics described in each of the theories? And, more specifically, may one clearly see any of these theories being applied in the organization chosen as an example for this dissertation – Wipro BPO? More crucially, is there the use of the theories and respective key features in a unique and interdependent style as explained on the previous paragraphs? To help answer these questions, it becomes fundamental to try and test the use of the theories in Wipro BPO’s AP working environment. This will follow under the chapter Analysis and Conclusions. But, before that, one needs to clarify some important premises about research methods, which will lead to the explanation on the research methodology chosen for the conduction of the study presented in this dissertation. This follows in the next chapter.
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Summary This chapter expounded (1) an introduction – summarizing its objective; and (2) a discussion around two trends of thinking: a) leadership as depending on the personal and innate characteristics of the individual and b) leadership as depending on the social learning from the individual (also known as the process of leadership). In doing that, there were identified specific leadership theories that match the latter one. The debate on this enabled the deduction on the fundamental leadership attributes that a leader (and, concretely, at Wipro BPO) should have in order to get the best out of his/her team, so the business goals are met.
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Methodology Introduction “Facts do not simply lie around waiting to be picked up. Facts must be carved out of the continuous web of on-going reality, must be observed within a specified frame of reference, must be measured with precision, must be observed where they can be related to other relevant facts. All of this involves methods.” (Rose & Peterson, 1965: 11) Having in mind the above quote from Rose and Peterson, this chapter encompasses a deep discussion around research methodology and elaborates on some key notions and premises that are judged to be elementary for the understanding of the overall methodology chosen for the conduction of the present research study. What is Research? The job of the author of this research study started by preliminarily understanding what is the nature of research, what does research imply and what are the basic assumptions that he must acquire in order for his study to be designated a true research project. The following paragraphs represent then an attempt to present the main key ideas surrounding the definition of research and more specifically research within a business and management Masters study. As in Saunders’ et al. (2009) words, “when listening to the radio, watching the television or reading a daily newspaper it is difficult to avoid the term ‘research’. The results of ‘research’ are all around us”. Their argument is that the term is widely used by all us without the precision that the word demands. Further, and as Walliman (cited in Saunders et al., 2009) argues, “many of these everyday uses of the term ‘research’ are not research in the true meaning of the word”. In his view, the term is used wrongly in the following mostly common ways: Just collecting facts or information with no clear purpose; Reassembling and reordering facts or information without interpretation; As a term to get your product or idea noticed and respected. Meditating about the above three situations, it may immediately be deduced that research directly implies the collection of data in a systematic way, interpretation of that same data and a clear purpose in finding things out. Thus, one can therefore draw a clear definition on what is research: it’s “something that people undertake in order to find out things in a systematic way, thereby increasing their knowledge” (Saunders et al., 2009). And there are two elements that are crucial in such definition: ‘systematic way’ and ‘to find out things’. The first element, and as Ghauri and Gronhaug (2005) explains, “suggests that research is based on logical relationships and not just beliefs”, which implicates that the researcher will need to “explain the methods used to collect the data”, must “argue why the results obtained are meaningful”, and finally “will explain any limitations that are associated with them”. On the other hand, the second element “suggests there are a multiplicity of possible purposes for your research. These may include describing, explaining, understanding, criticising and analysing. However, it also suggests that you have a clear purpose or set of ‘things’ that you want to find out, such as the answer to a question or number of questions” (Ghauri & Gronhaug, 2005). 21
What is business and management research? Now, having presented the true nature of research and its direct implications, how may it be defined when it comes to discussing it within the realm of business and management field? Is the definition the same as described in the previous section? Or does it have any deviations? For the purposes of this dissertation and without theorising too much about all possible dimensions associated with business and management research – the aim of the section is not to present an exhaustive study on the topic –, below follow what the author judges to be the main set of ideas around research when associated to business and management. According to Easterby-Smith et al. (2008), there are four things that when combined make business and management a distinctive focus for research: The way in which managers (and researchers) draw on knowledge developed by other disciplines; The fact that managers tend to be powerful and busy people. Therefore, they are unlikely to allow research access unless they can see personal or commercial advantages; The fact that managers are educated. Many now have undergraduate and postgraduate degrees and, as such, tend often to be as well educated as those conducting research about them; The requirement for the research to have some practical consequence. This means it either needs to contain the potential for taking some form of action or needs to take account of the practical consequences of the findings. Complementary, and as in Tranfield’s and Starkey’s (1998) account, business and management research has (or should have) a fundamental feature: its transdisciplinary nature. Further, another feature that may be emphasized in regards to business and management research is the fact that it “should be able to develop ideas and to relate them to practice” (Saunders et al., 2009). Thus, business and management research needs to engage with both the world of theory and the world of practice. Taking into consideration all these dimensions associated to both the nature of research itself and the nature of research confined to the field of business and management, it became clearer to the author of this research study that he needed to pay a careful attention to the entire research process so his work could scientifically be assessed, approved and validated as being solid, trustworthy, reliable, relevant to the science and ethically compliant. Having presented some key aspects associated to what research is (and specially business and management research), below follows a description of the research process related to the present research study, namely, the Research Philosophy, Research Strategy, Research Design, Research Administration and Research Ethics bonded with it.
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Research Philosophy – Burrell and Morgan (1988) argue that whether theorists are aware of it or not, their theories are founded upon a philosophy of science and a theory of society – Defining Science In order to understand and identify the philosophy of science behind the present research study, one firstly needs to try and define what philosophy of science is. And to understand what it is, it becomes key to firstly comprehend what science itself is. As Okasha (2002) well affirms, it certainly is a reasonable and consensual answer is one perceives science as an attempt to understand, explain, and predict the world we live in. However, if one goes deeper, it may be identified some other fundamental features: (i) Sciences do employ distinctive methods of inquiry that are not found in non-scientific disciplines. An obvious example is the use of experiments (Okasha, 2002); and (ii) Science is the construction of theories (Okasha, 2002). Defining Philosophy of Science Taking the two above premises (science implies both the use of experiments and construction of theories), it becomes philosophical acceptable that one may also question the experiments and theories used by researchers, in the sense of understanding what led a researcher to choose the methods he/she used. In other words, what were the criteria he/she used to choose the methods he/she selected? What is behind his/her research approach? These are the types of interrogations that lead one to elaborate on what is denominated as being the philosophy of science behind a researcher’s choices. In other words, as Okasha (2002) argues, “the principal task of philosophy of science is to analyse the methods of enquiry used in a science” and understand the reasoning behind the selection of a given method (or methods). Further, “part of the job of philosophy of science is to question assumptions that scientists take for granted” (Okasha, 2002). That is the same to say that “philosophy of science can be viewed as a way of describing how research is conducted, and a way of deciding how it should be carried out (Blakstad, 2008). Following the same reasoning, and as in Karl Popper’s (cited in Okasha, 2002) account, “the fundamental feature of a scientific theory is that it should be falsifiable”. And by falsifiable it’s meant that a theory isn’t false, but rather it may be false. Meaning? As Okasha (2002) well explains, a falsifiable theory is one that “makes some definite predictions that are capable of being tested against experience” and “if these predictions turn out to be wrong, then the theory has been falsified or disproved”. In other words, a researcher/theorist must be open to the possibility that his/her theory may be false. The author of this research study became conscious then about the falsifiable dimension associated with any possible outcome that his research would produce. Identifying the methods and approaches to conduct a research project In order for the author of this research study to opt for the best methods to be used for the purposes of the research, he firstly needed to comprehensively know what were the types of methods and approaches he, as a researcher, should use. There are two main categories of methods (Gay & Airasian, 2003), each of them unfolding into other subcategories: quantitative method and qualitative method. Below follows figure 5 illustrating all possible ramifications of each of the categories: 23
Figure 5 – The Interactive Research Tree: summarising approaches
(Gay & Airasian, 2003)
The research philosophy behind the present research study Having all these in mind, what is then the philosophy of science (research philosophy) behind the present research? What methods did the author use and why? What were the most appropriate options the author judged to be the best for conducting the research? Taking into consideration the status of the problem, aims and objectives, and research question associated with the research, the author came to conclude that the best approach to conduct the research was the following: Complementarily to a “desk research” – which consisted in making use of a literature review of what others have said about the topic of Leadership and synthesizing their ideas –, there was a “primary research” that involved the collection of data through questionnaire surveys (numerical research approach) aimed at knowing the views of Mid-Managers, Team Leaders and Senior Assistants at the AP department of Wipro BPO. This method of primary research needed to be re-defined and adapted as the research unfolded. The analysis of the findings of both the research and the theories used along the study would lead to arrive to a succession of appropriate conclusions. Research Strategy The research strategy was to follow Yin’s (2009) three principles: (i) Use Multiple Sources of Evidence – commonly named as triangulation of evidence; (ii) Create a Case Study Database; and (iii) Maintain a Chain of Evidence. From these three orienting principles, the author oriented him-self knowing how important it was to triangulate data from multiple sources. In the case of this dissertation project, the strategy was to converge four main sources of evidence (methods of gathering data): (a) Surveys (numerical approach); (b) Observations (direct and participant); (c) Documents; and (d) Archival records. 24
And why the author wanted to make use of the above methods of gathering data? As in Yin’s (2009) account, using triangulation allows the researcher to develop converging lines of inquiry, makes it possible to address a broader array of issues, but mainly, obtain findings/conclusions that are likely to be more convincing and accurate. Further, researches that have used multiple sources often are considered to have a higher overall quality. And that’s something the author did not won’t to miss, for sure. Research Design As argued by Ghauri and Gronhaug (2005) and Smith and Dainty (1991), formulating and clarifying the research topic is the starting point of a research project. This stage is the first step to start clearing up the other following phases in the research process. Meaning? As Saunders et al. (2009) stress, it will only then be possible for the researcher to start designing the research, “choose the most appropriate research strategy and data collection and analysis techniques”. The formulating and clarifying process is a crucial milestone as “without spending time on this stage you are far less likely to achieve a successful project (Raimond, 1993). In the initial stages of the formulating and clarifying process the researcher will be generating and refining research ideas and he/she will need to refine the idea (s) into one that is feasible. Once he/she has done this, he/she will need to turn the idea into aims and objectives and research questions (Saunders et al., 2009). Having this in mind, how were the research approach designed (including the subsequent questionnaire survey) and the research administrated for the purposes of the present research study? The explanation follows on the next section. Research Administration A key aspect in any research relates to what kind of approach the researcher in question used for his/her investigation. Meaning? Well, as explained by Ghauri and Gronhaug (2002:13), “a researcher observes and faithfully records what is seen without any prejudice. Some of these statements of observation are established as true and serve as the basis for theories and laws. There are two ways of establishing what is true or false and to draw conclusions: induction and deduction. Induction is based on empirical evidence, while deduction is based on logic”. Moreover, “through induction we draw general conclusions from our empirical observations. This process goes from assumption to conclusions”. By deduction, on the other hand, “we mean that we draw conclusions through logical reasoning. In this case, it need not be true in reality, but it is logical” (Ghauri & Gronhaug, 2002:13-14). And further, while induction “is the process of observing facts to generate a theory and is perhaps the first step in scientific methods. (…) Deduction involves gathering of facts to confirm or disprove hypothesized relationships among variables that have been deduced from propositions” (Ghauri & Gronhaug, 2002:14-15). So, reminding the research question of this dissertation – What key elements and factors do influence the quality (and effectiveness) of leading a team? –, the author came to conclude that the best approach in designing the present research was, firstly, to search and see what others have said about the topic in question – leadership – (thus, starting from a general point of view) and, progressively, move into the more specifics. In other words, the inherent research approach was a deductive one. Starting from what others have said about the topic, one came to deductively elaborate on a pertinent hypothesis (or particular way of looking at leadership – embodied by the process of leadership trend of thinking and, more specifically, by the 25
so-mentioned co-relation and interdependency of 5 particular theories). The following step was then to try and observe (test through the gathering of facts) if whether or not that hypothesis made sense (it required some confirmation). And to do that, one needed to try and apply in some way the premises suggested by the hypothesis in question. This is where the second part of the method used – primary research – came into play. The all idea of the primary research would be to try and collect information (a sample) through a questionnaire survey on whether leaders in the real world had the key leadership attributes spotted by the desk research and, even more concretely, applied all the 5 theories in an interdependent style as demonstrated by the analysis on the literature review. The targeted leaders would be then Mid-Managers, Team Leaders and Senior Assistants (they all manage people and, thus, each one of them is a leader in one way or another) at the AP department of Wipro BPO. And why this company and department? Well, simply because the author was an employee in that company and department. There was a privileged inside access – authorization given by Wipro BPO – to try and obtain a sample for the objectives of the research (obviously, one must understand and alert that the research conducted in this dissertation has its own limitations, but this will follow later under the Analysis & Conclusion chapter). In order to find out what key elements and factors do influence the quality (and effectiveness) of leading a team and if whether or not the mentioned 5 theories were applied at Wipro BPO’s AP working environment, and most importantly, whether the leaders in question – Manager, Team Leader and Senior Assistant – filled in all the key attributes described along the Literature Review chapter, the next logical step was to try and make a research in an empirical way. How? Well, it became evident that one should use a questionnaire, where both leaders and followers (named assistants) would be asked to assess a set of aspects linked with each of the mentioned 5 theories. The central objective would be to ask the respondents the following: The assistants would be asked to make a contrast between the key features described by 3 theories – Emotional Intelligence Theory, Six Styles of Leadership Theory and Team Development Theory – and their leaders. It wouldn’t make sense to ask them in regards to the Quintessential Theory nor the Self-Monitoring Theory, as these are aimed to leaders only. The leaders would be asked to assess themselves against the key features described by all 5 theories – Emotional Intelligence Theory, Six Styles of Leadership Theory, Team Development Theory, Quintessential Theory and the Self-Monitoring Theory. In other words, the conducted research would help find out the following: If whether or not the leaders in question applied Tuckman’s Team Development Model. If the leaders in question used and were able to positively answer the 8 questions questionnaire proposed by the Quintessential Leadership theory. How the leaders in question self-assessed themselves against the 13 questions questionnaire proposed by the Self-Monitoring theory. What styles of leadership does each of leaders in question have. What is the level of EI of each of the leaders in question. 26
The results would provide a sample and clearer picture on the main traces of leadership of each of the leaders, so one would deduce and conclude if whether or not the leaders in question had all the fundamental characteristics and attributes described by the 5 theories. In other words, the outcome would help one map what are the current leadership attributes of each of the leaders in question, so one would be able to identify if, whether or not, there were attributes, characteristics, elements (as described by each of the theories) that are still absent, and thus, need improvement. The outcome of that analysis would then tell one if whether or not the use in a holistic and interdependent way of the five theories were reflected at the AP department of Wipro BPO. And that, in turn, would help deduce if it would make sense to suggest the use and application of a model of leadership that would comprise a set of interdependent tools (in other words, all 5 theories at once) to help potentiate the leadership attributes of the leaders in question. Having all these premises in mind, a questionnaire survey (based on a numerical, quantitative statistical approach) was then conducted aiming both current and former employees at Wipro BPO’s AP Department. In regards to the sample size, there were 34 respondents in total, from which, 28 are current Assistants and 6 are/were Leaders (4 current and 2 former leaders). The leaders in question are: 1 current Manager, 1 former Manager, 1 current Team Leader, 1 former Team Leader and 2 current Senior Assistants. All of them have (had) a group of people to manage (obviously, the level of leadership responsibility of each of them differs depending on the hierarchy of leadership each of them has. But, at the end of the day, all of them had the responsibility to manage people). The survey was then divided into two main questionnaires4 (both with a closed answer of yes or no). One aimed at the Assistants and a second one at the Leaders themselves. Each of the questionnaires had a set of different sub-questionnaires. Each sub-questionnaire refers to a different theory. The Assistants questionnaire include 3 sub-questionnaires, where the questions to be answered were related to 3 different theories – Emotional Intelligence Theory, Six Styles of Leadership Theory and Team Development Theory. The respondents were asked to assess each of the leaders in question in terms of the attributes described by each of the theories. On the other hand, the Leaders questionnaire included 5 subquestionnaires, where the questions to be answered were related to 5 different theories – Emotional Intelligence Theory, Six Styles of Leadership Theory, Team Development Theory, Quintessential Theory and the Self-Monitoring Theory. The respondents were asked to assess themselves in terms of the attributes described by each of the theories. Type of data analysis used There were two main types of data analysis that best fitted the purposes of the research: Content Analysis Reminding that, as explained before, the nature of this research study has a deductive methodological approach involved with it, the author therefore intended to analyse the content of the collected data. Meaning? Well, as the deductive top-down rational explains, data treatment is guided by knowledge we have a priori, according to an existing framework. In other words, as there already is much literature on Leadership,
4
Please see the templates and subsequent final results of each of the questionnaire surveys in Appendices C and D.
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the author had firstly to analyse the data that present literature presents about that field of study. Narrative Analysis As Mishler (cited in Robert & Shenhav, 2014) explains, narrative analysis allows the “examining of the ways in which we story the world” and, thus, “contributes to understanding how we create meaning”. And this was one of the aims of this research study: hear from the Mid-Managers, Team Leaders and Senior Assistants at the AP department of Wipro BPO themselves their own story of the world so one could identify if, whether or not, there were attributes, characteristics, elements (again, as described by each of the theories) that were still absent, and thus, needed improvement. The analysis of this would then allow the author to gain a perception about what key elements and factors (either through their presence or absence) do influence the quality (and effectiveness) of leading a team at Wipro’s AP department. Finally, regarding the data treatment, it was employed Miles and Huberman’s (1994) Components of Data Analysis interactive model, which is a procedure of data analysis that allows the researcher to progressively filter, discard and reduce irrelevant information from the data collected in a systematic way and, thus, helping to select, focus, simplify, abstract and organise the mass qualitative data he/she obtains. Below, follows figure 6 exemplifying the three concurrent flows of activity occurred along the all process. Figure 6 – The three concurrent flows of activity along the process of data reduction
(Miles & Huberman, 1994)
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Research Ethics There are fundamental ethical implications of this piece of research, which the author strictly tried to follow along the all process of the investigation. The author had the moral responsibility (Ross & Harris, 1994) to explain and find answers to his questions honestly and accurately. Further than that, he had to point out the strengths of his methods and models but also had to inform the reader about the weaknesses and reliability of his results5. Knowing that readers and users of research reports are often less analytical and believe in what a researcher says, they might not understand underlying uncertainties and complexities. Thus, the reader should be informed that the methods and models used might be correct but less reliable and that the results or conclusions might be misleading. Also, if not properly clarified, the author’s results and reports might be misunderstood in a way that creates more problems than solutions to existing problems. The author of this research study (Ghauri & Gronhaug, 2002) had to be ethically correct in reporting his results and also methods, techniques and instruments used, so that the readers could make a judgement about the reliability of the findings6. Summary This chapter expounded (1) an introduction – presentation of some key aspects associated to what research is (and specially business and management research); (2) a description of the (i) Research Philosophy, (ii) Research Strategy, (iii) Research Design, (iv) Research Administration and (v) Research Ethics associated to the present research study.
5
As one will may read later on, it was included a section under the name “Limitations to the study”, where one may find the weaknesses of the research conducted for this dissertation. 6 In this respect, all the reports, results, methods, techniques and instruments used for the purposes of this dissertation were presented in a very clear and understandable fashion.
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Findings Introduction Bearing in mind the research question – what key elements and factors do influence the quality (and effectiveness) of leading a team? – and the complementary objectives of the dissertation – (i) identify the key leadership attributes that any leader should have in order to get the best result out of his/her team, so business goals are met; and (ii) identify the appropriate model of leadership that better defends the effectiveness of leading an Accounts Payable (AP) team, the method used (a questionnaire survey) to collect data on that show interesting results. This chapter exposes a thorough presentation and discussion on the findings obtained. Numbers, statistics and discussion A) Assistants Questionnaire The findings and subsequent discussion for the Assistants Questionnaire follow below under figures 7, 8 and 9. Figure 7 – Findings of how do the Assistants assess the level of Emotional Intelligence of the leaders
Discussion of the results: the main traces of Emotional Intelligence present in the leaders are self-awareness and self-management. Overall, the leaders lack of on social-awareness and social-skill. Thus, these two still need improvement.
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Figure 8 – Findings of how do the Assistants assess the leaders in terms of the Six Styles of Leadership
Discussion of the results: the main styles used by the leaders are coercive, affiliative and coaching. The remaining ones – authoritative, democratic and pacesetting are least present. Thus, one would suggest that the leaders in question might need to train and acquire those styles, so they may be able to manage each situation and circumstance accordingly. Figure 9 – Findings of how do the Assistants assess the leaders as having already applied the Team Development Model
Discussion of the results: the majority of the respondents answered that their leaders did not apply the 4 stages in question. Thus, there is space for improvement. The leaders need to use and apply the Team Development Model more often.
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B) Leaders Questionnaire The findings and subsequent interpretation for the Leaders Questionnaire follow below under figures 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14. Figure 10 – Findings of how do the leaders assess their level of Emotional Intelligence
Discussion of the results: overall, the leaders see themselves as having all 4 EI attributes described by Goleman. Nevertheless, there are two particular attributes – social-awareness and social skill – that still need more improvement, as not all leaders responded that they recognized in themselves such attributes. Figure 11 – Findings of how do the leaders assess their leadership style in terms of being coercive, authoritative, affiliative, democratic and coaching
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Discussion of the results: the style that is common to all leaders is Pacesetting, while the remaining ones – coercive, authoritative, affiliative, democratic and coaching – are not grasped by all of them. One would suggest, then, that it would be for the benefit of the leaders in questions to try and also train, acquire and master the styles they reckon they least grasp. Again: so they may be able to manage each situation and circumstance accordingly. Figure 12 – Findings of how do the leaders assess themselves in relation to each of the 8 questions described by the Quintessential Leadership theory
Discussion of the results: as an overall look, one may clearly say that all leaders see themselves as being quintessential leaders. Nonetheless, there are 4 particular quintessential questions – numbers 3, 4, 7 and 87 – that not all of them responded positively. Thus, some of the leaders still need to work, train, acquire and try to master the particular attribute described by each of those 4 questions. Figure 13 – Findings of how do the leaders assess themselves as having already used and applied the 4 stages – forming, storming, norming and performing – described by the Team Development Model
7
Please see these in Appendix D, under Questionnaire C.
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Discussion of the results: only 1 out of the 6 enquired leaders (16,67%) affirms that he/she didn’t used and applied the described 4 stages. The remaining 5 all answered positively. This means that, despite the large majority of the enquired leaders having confirmed that they had used the team development model, there still is one of them that affirms not having used the model. So, again, there is also here some space for improvement for one of the leaders. Figure 14 – Findings of how do the leaders assess themselves in relation to each of the 13 questions described by the Self-Monitoring theory
Discussion of the results: Overall, all leaders show that they meet the requirements described by each of the 13 questions. But, again, there are certain questions that not all leaders answered as it would ideally be expected. There are aspects and attributes that some leaders still need some improvement and training. Summary This chapter expounded (1) an introduction – recalling the research question and objectives of the research to be answered by the method used (a questionnaire survey) and announcing the presentation and discussion on the findings obtained; and (2) the numbers, statistics and discussion of the findings.
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Analysis & Conclusions Introduction The approach chosen to conduct the present research – (i) a “desk research”, which consisted in making use of a literature review of what others have said about the topic of Leadership and synthesizing their ideas; and (ii) a “primary research” that involved the collection of data through questionnaire surveys (numerical research approach) aimed at knowing the views of Mid-Managers, Team Leaders and Senior Assistants at the AP department of Wipro BPO – lead to arrive to a succession of appropriate conclusions. Thus, this chapter exposes, in a first instance, a critique of the adopted approach, in a second instance, an analysis of the findings, in a third instance, the overall conclusions that can be drawn, in a fourth instance, the limitations of the conducted study, in a fifth instance, the opportunities for further research in the field, and in a sixth instance, a final reflection of the implications of the research for practice as well as, at a much personal level, the author’s learning and development whilst undertaking the present research. Critique of adopted approach The approach adopted for the purposes of this study may be criticised in regards to two main aspects: Regarding the conducted approach to the theme of Leadership, one may certainly critically point out that the so emphasized theories and models described in this study are not the only valuable and valid ones within the sphere of the discussion of leadership. And, as underlined at the beginning of the dissertation, the selected theories, views and approaches to leadership surely aren’t the only ones on the map. However, one needs to stress that that wasn’t the aim of the study. Rather, as clearly stated before, the aim was to explore new ways of looking at leadership. The intent was not to discredit, negate and refute other views. Rather, the clear intention was to give emphasis to a particular trend of thinking – the process of leadership approach. Regarding the primary research methodology chosen for the purposes of the study, it may also be stressed some gaps. They are: The nature of the primary research method used – a quantitative questionnaire survey – may have its own limitations. In the sense that there certainly were other options to choose: alternatively conducting either a qualitative research, either a combination of quantitative and qualitative. That may had resulted in much “qualitative” and comprehensive findings. Sure. But, it was chosen solely a quantitative approach as a way of trying to quantify the number of respondents (leaders) that filled in all the key leadership attributes so-emphasized along this study, as well as, how many leaders used and applied the so-stressed 5 theories in an interdependent style. The findings on that would one lead to conclude if whether or not there was an absence of leaders who followed the premises so-argued along the desk research of this study to be essential for a leader to have. And, in case there was, one would then confirm that there are leaders in the real world that still don’t have the key leadership attributes, nor do they apply the 5 theories in an interdependent style as argued along the desk research stage.
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Another critic one may certainly make is that the population sample is too small (involving 34 respondents) and it targeted just one company/entity. One may argue that it represents a very insignificant sample, pattern. This critic may indeed be acceptable. In this respect, it must be mentioned that there was the possibility of extending the research to two extra companies – the Finance department of Siemens Portugal and the Customer Service unit department of Fujitsu in Portugal –, again thanks to two privileged inside contacts with those populations. But, following a pre-evaluation of both the size and structure of the teams in question, the author came to conclude that there wasn’t a real value in incorporating the possible findings of that research with the results of Wipro BPO case study. The representative samples of both cases would have been far too small: a total population of just 6 respondents (1 General Manager with a team of 5 subordinates) in one case, and a total population of just 11 respondents (1 Team Leader with a team of 10 subordinates) in another case. Nevertheless, the sample obtained at Wipro BPO still is a valid representative one. One may not refute that it still may represent a pattern of behaviour and trend of traces of leadership in a given working environment. Analysis From a generic overall assessment, Wipro BPO’ leaders are applying the 5 theories, but certain gaps are identified in the course of the research. Despite the fact that the 5 theories are being applied, the research shows lack of interdependency amongst them, which leads to the conclusion that appropriate training is vital to offer those leaders the skills necessary to perform their leadership tasks at the most of their capacity. This is the process of leadership approach, as discussed earlier. Moreover, bearing in mind the interdependency of the 5 theories (as demonstrated in the Literature Review chapter), it is evident from the results of the questionnaire surveys that the AP department at Wipro BPO would benefit a lot from the application of a leadership model comprising all the key valences and attributes described in the 5 theories as Wipro BPO’s leaders need to improve specific attributes and valences that are interconnected with each other. From a EI perspective, for example, the findings of the questionnaires show that there is lack of social-awareness and social skill which means that the absence of a clear notion of “sensing other people’s emotions, understanding their perspective, and taking an active interest in their concerns”8 leads to lack of definition as far as the style of leadership is concerned. In other words, applying any particular style of leading requires a very sharp notion (self-notion) of the leader’s own EI attributes. If the leader does not demonstrate the skill “to bolster the abilities of others through feedback and guidance” (in other words, a social skill of developing others), he/she will not be in a position to “encourage norming process, supporting and coaching” (as described in Table 1 – page 16). If one follows this reasoning, then one naturally concludes that in order for a leader (and, more specifically, a Wipro BPO’s AP leader) to try and improve a particular valence (or attribute, if you wish), it becomes evident that he/she firstly must try and work on other aspects of being a leader. That is the same to say that the ability to master one valence depends on the mastering of another valence. 8
Please see Table 1 in Appendix A.
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Taking into consideration the arguments presented in the Literature Review chapter and the findings of the research, there seems to exist a peculiar link among all 5 theories described in this dissertation. Such liaison leads the author to conclude that it may be drawn a unique model of leadership that encompasses the elements of the 5 theories. The evidence shows that it makes sense to draw and apply such model within a working environment (in case of Wipro BPO, at the AP department), so it may better support the development of all the key leadership attributes identified and described along this dissertation. Such model may be denominated as the Mastering of 5 Key Elements and is represented in figure 15 below. Figure 15 – The Mastering of 5 key elements
The proposed Mastering of Five Key Elements perceives a leader as being an individual that should simultaneously master (i) the EI attributes, (ii) the six leadership styles (as each given situation requires the application of a different style), (iii) the key qualifications of a quintessential leader (particularly, being able to positively meet the requirements of each of the 8 essential questions previously described), (iv) the team work development proposed by Tuckman (being through the stages of forming, storming, norming or performing), and (v) the element of selfmonitoring (in the sense that he/she should frequently use it)9. The concrete benefit of implementing the proposed model is the interdependency among all 5 elements, which may result in boosting the leadership capabilities of a leader since all valences will be trained (considering that the ability to master one valence depends on the mastering of others). In other words, taking once again the example of Goleman’s social skill vs. Tuckman’s norming stage, if a given leader 9
A thorough explanation on how (and why) all these 5 elements are interrelated and interdependent between each other may be read under the previously presented section Final considerations – Interpreting the analysis of the literature review.
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needs to “encourage norming process, supporting and coaching”, he/she will need to improve his/her social skill for developing others. Overall Conclusions The aim of this dissertation was to explore new ways of looking at leadership. In searching for an answer to the question What key elements and factors do influence the quality (and effectiveness) of leading a team?, the objectives were to (i) identify the key leadership attributes that any leader should have in order to get the best result out of his/her team, so business goals are met and (ii) identify the appropriate model of leadership that better defends the effectiveness of leading an Accounts Payable (AP) team (at Wipro BPO). The elaboration of the Mastering of Five Key Elements Model meets the objective of identifying the appropriate model of leadership that better defends the effectiveness of leading an Accounts Payable (AP) team (at Wipro BPO). Further, there were identified the key leadership attributes that any leader should have in order to get the best result out of his/her team, so business goals are met: the element of EI must be at core of any attempt of any leader to effectively manage his/her leadership. Without a sharp EI, all other aspects of being a leader may, indeed, be in jeopardise. The outcome of the research also shows that there are some key important aspects of being a leader that are closely co-related and interdependent, which do influence the quality and effectiveness of leading a team: if one wants to master any of the attributes and valences described in the Quintessential Leadership theory, Goleman’s theories and Tuckman’s theory, then, the EI element is a keystone. Complementarily, a leader won’t be able to improve, develop and potentiate his/her EI, options of Leadership Styles, Quintessential and Team Development attributes, if he/she does not use another key element – the self-monitoring tool. A leader needs to constantly assess and measure (put to the test) his/her leadership capabilities, attributes. And the self-monitoring tool will help/support him/her in doing that. Limitations of the Study As already discussed under the section Critique of adopted approach, there are some limitations involved with the conducted study: The presented study does not represent a broad, deep and much comprehensive study on leadership. The so emphasized theories and models described along this study are not the solely valuable and valid ones within the leadership field of study. Having used the questionnaire survey may have its own limitations. The author could have used other alternatives: either a qualitative research, either a combination of quantitative and qualitative, which may have resulted in much “qualitative” and comprehensive findings. Population sample is too small (involving just 34 respondents) and it involved just one organization/entity.
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Opportunities for further research Further research is needed in regards to test the results of this study with other different populations and organization types. No doubt that each company and working environment is a separate case and has its own rules, leader profiles, used models of leadership and particularities. Thus, a recommendation for further research would be to obtain a much larger sample in order to be able to cross over information and compare the findings of each of the populations. The result of that would be much richer. It would potentiate even more the validity of the model of leadership proposed in this dissertation. Additional research should be conducted using the collection of complementary information in a qualitative way through qualitative interviews, where the respondents would individually be asked to assess the quality of their leaders and how these could improve their leadership attributes and valences. The findings of this could then be crossed over with the findings of the quantitative questionnaires, so one would come up with a deduction and conclusion based on a much broader range of data and information. Reflection Implications for practice The first thing worth saying is that this research study has its own validity, in the sense that it is a study that is honest and true to its intent, its context, and its reporting. All of the research strategies used – writing, observation, questionnaire surveys (numerical approach), documenting and analysing – were ways to ensure that validity (MacLean & Mohr, 1999). Second, this research study was ethically correct in reporting its results and also methods, techniques and instruments used, so that the readers may make a judgement about the reliability of the findings. In regards to the findings of this research study, what they imply for real practice is that any leader (or anyone aspiring to become one) should be aware that there are key important aspects of being a leader that are closely co-related and interdependent, which do influence the quality and effectiveness of leading a team: if he/she wants to master any of the attributes and valences described in the Quintessential Leadership theory, Goleman’s theories and Tuckman’s theory, then, the EI element is a keystone. Adding to that, a leader (again: or anyone aspiring to become one) won’t be able to improve, develop and potentiate his/her EI, options of Leadership Styles, Quintessential and Team Development attributes, if he/she does not use another key element – the self-monitoring tool. He/she needs to constantly assess and measure his/her leadership capabilities, attributes. And, to do that, the self-monitoring tool will serve that need. The application of the alternative model – Mastering of Five Key Elements – resulted from this research study may result in boosting the leadership capabilities of a leader. In the extent that if a leader wants to try and improve a particular valence, attribute, he/she firstly must try and work on other aspects of being a leader. The ability to master one valence depends on the mastering of another valence. As an example, if a given leader needs to “encourage norming process, supporting and coaching” (Tuckman’s norming stage), he/she will then have at his/her hands a fundamental tool to achieve that: use (or improve, in case there is a lack of it) his/her social skill for developing others (Goleman’s social skill). 39
Personal reflection As a researcher, the undertaking of this research study had direct implications in the author’s learning and development. Both the grasping Literature Review and the findings of the on-field collection of data had the effect of unveiling concepts, notions, theories and facts that were vey new to him. The author came not only to understand key important theories and accounts on the theme of leadership, but, most significantly, to find an answer to the research question he defied himself to search for. The research cleared up the key elements and factors that do influence the quality and effectiveness of leading a team and it brought to light (i) the key leadership attributes that any leader should have in order to get the best result out of his/her team, so business goals are met and (ii) an appropriate model of leadership that may be seen as better defending the effectiveness of leading an Accounts Payable (AP) team (at Wipro BPO). However, if the author knew what he knows today, he would have conducted the research in a different way. He would have chosen an approach that would have brought stronger academic, scientific basement. Despite the pertinence of the theories and accounts grasped along the study, the author acknowledges now that the Literature Review Chapter lacks on further literature about leadership that is relevant to the science. This lacuna may lead the reader to question the consistency and validity of the conducted research. Also, as outcropped in the opportunities for further research section, and in regards to the method used to collect data, the strategy could had been another: make use of different populations and organization types and not seat on a single organization (Wipro BPO) and sample (with such a small size). Thus, what the author learnt is that obtaining a much larger sample from different organizations would allow him to cross over information and compare the findings of each of the populations. This would have enriched the findings and enhance the validity of the proposed model of leadership. The experience acquired with the conduction of this research made the author realize that there still is a long way for him to solidify his condition as a researcher. There still are many aspects and competences that need to be polished. The lacunas and gaps present in this research study make the author apprehend that conducting a research has particular nuances and stages that have strict milestones to be followed. He will take the experience gained with this research study as being part of a learning curve in understanding and gaining mastery of what it takes to make a solid, trustworthy and relevance to the science research.
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Appendices Appendix A Table 1 Self-Awareness Emotional selfawareness: The ability to read and understand your emotions as well as recognize their impact on work performance, relationships, and the like. Accurate selfassessment: A realistic evaluation of your strengths and limitations. Self-confidence: A strong and positive sense of self-worth.
Self-Management
Social Awareness
Social Skill
Empathy: Self-control: The ability to keep disruptive emotions and impulses under control.
Trustworthiness: A consistent display of honesty and integrity.
Conscientiousness: The ability to manage yourself and your responsibilities.
Skill at sensing other Visionary leadership: people's emotions, understanding their The ability to take charge and perspective, and taking an inspire with a compelling vision. active interest in their concerns. Organizational awareness: The ability to read the currents of organizational life, build decision networks, and navigate politics. Service orientation: The ability to recognize and meet customer's needs.
Influence: The ability to wield a range of persuasive tactics.
Developing others: The propensity to bolster the abilities of others through feedback and guidance.
Adaptability: Skill at adjusting to changing situations and overcoming obstacles.
Communication: Skill at listening and at sending clear, convincing, and well-tuned messages.
Achievement orientation: The drive to meet an internal standard of excellence.
Change catalyst: Proficiency in initiating new ideas and leading people in a new direction.
Initiative: A readiness to seize opportunities.
Conflict management: The ability to de-escalate disagreements and orchestrate resolutions. Building bonds: Proficiency at cultivating and maintaining a web of relationships. Teamwork and collaboration: Competence at promoting cooperation and building teams.
(Source: Leadership That Gets Results, found at: GOLEMAN, D.: 2000. Leadership That Gets Results. Harvard Business Review).
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Appendix B Table 2 Coercive The leader's modus operandi
Demands immediate compliance
Authoritative
Affiliative Creates Mobilizes harmony and people toward a builds vision emotional bonds
The style in a "Do what I tell "Come with phrase you." me." Underlying emotional intelligence competencies
Drive to achieve, initiative, selfcontrol
When the style works best
In a crisis, to kick start a turnaround, or with problem employees
Overall impact on climate
Negative
"People come first."
Democratic
Pacesetting
Coaching
Forges consensus through participation
Sets high standards for performance
Develops people for the future
"What do you think?"
"Do as I do, now."
"Try this."
Developing Collaboration, Conscientiousness, others, team leadership, drive to achieve, empathy, communication initiative selfawareness To help an When changes To heal rifts in a To build buy-in To get quick employee require a new team or to or consensus, or results from a improve vision, or when motivate people to get input highly motivated performance a clear direction during stressful from valuable and competent or develop is needed circumstances employees team long-term strengths Empathy, Self-confidence, building empathy, relationships, change catalyst communication
Most strongly positive
Positive
Positive
Negative
Positive
(Source: Leadership That Gets Results, found at: GOLEMAN, D.: 2000. Leadership That Gets Results. Harvard Business Review).
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Appendix C
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Appendix D
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