1、領導者的定義及其特點
First let’s define what a leader is. A leader is getting things accomplished by acting through others or getting people to perform to their maximum potential.
Now let’s identify some common traits of a leader. Leaders are people who set the example and have the courage to take the initiative to dominate the situation. They are decisive, bold, tactful, and communicate very well. They maintain enthusiasm, commitment, devotion and are knowledgeable of their duties. Effective leadership is the process of motivating others to meet specific objectives.
2、三大領導者類型
Three types of leaders exist, each with very different psychological profiles. One group is characterized as imaginative, inspiring, visionary, entrepreneurial, intuitive, daring, and emotional, and they are called “artists”. In a second grouping, there are “craftsmen” who are well-balanced, steady, reasonable, sensible, predictable, and trustworthy. Finally “technocrats” is defined as cerebral, detail-oriented, fastidious, uncompromising, and hard-headed. No one profile offers a preferred leadership style. If we want to build, we should find an “artist leader”; if we want to solidify our position, we should find a “craftsman leader”; and if we have an ugly job that needs to get done （like downsizing）, we should find a “technocratic leader”. A balanced leader exhibiting all three sets of traits occurs extremely rarely.
3、三大類領導行為
Leadership behaviors can be divided roughly into three types which meet needs in areas of task, team and individuals:
1.Substantive, or behaviors directly relevant to performing the group’s task, such as proposing possible solutions or providing important information;
2.Procedural, or behaviors that help direct the group’s discussion, such as developing group procedure or testing the degree of agreement among members; and
3.Maintenance, or behaviors that improve the relationships among the members, such as encouraging silent members or facilitating open discussion.
Any member can perform these behaviors, and so any member can participate in leadership. It was once thought that members always specialized in one type or another, but while that can happen it is not necessarily the case.
The functional leadership model places more emphasis on how an organization is being led rather than who has been formally assigned a leadership role. This allows the analysis to spend less time looking at the person who has formally assigned authority and instead focus on how the leadership function is actually taking place.
4、亞裏士多德觀點：領導美德
Aristotle would answer that virtuous leaders have responsibilities to both their owners and their workers. If there’s a conflict between the two, it is the leaders’ duty to create conditions in which those interests can be made the same. He would remind us that while most potential leaders measure themselves solely in terms of their effectiveness in obtaining and maintaining power, virtuous ones also measure themselves by ethical standards of justice. He was talking about political leaders but, by extension, in the modern business context, it is appropriate that executives are evaluated not only in terms of their effectiveness in generating wealth for shareholders but also by the opportunity they provide for their followers to find meaning and opportunity for development in their workplaces.
5、功能型領導模型
In the functional leadership model, one conceives of leadership not as a person but rather as a set of behaviors that help a group perform their task or reach their goal. The model says that the leadership function meets needs in areas:
1.Task
2.Team
3.Individuals
6、領導才能在社會變化中的作用
Change can be looked upon by some people as influential and beneficial. These people are classified as bridges. A bridge is an individual who links two or more cliques in a system from his or her position as a member of one of the cliques. Bridges play a vital part in incorporating change within an organization because of their communication connections and influence within their primary circle. This is an individual who should be sought out to assist with introducing a change or diffusion of an innovation. If a bridge can be influenced to accept a change, then he or she might persuade the primary group and possibly influence other groups in a positive manner about change. When there is a need for effective change, concurrently, there is a need for effective leadership. As stated in Take It From the Top, never is leadership more sought after than in times of change and uncertainty. Effective change leadership is the key to shifting people’s perceptions from seeing change as a threat to seeing it is an exciting challenge.
7、領導力成功提高的三大因素
The success of leadership development efforts has been linked to three variables:
1.Individual learner characteristics
2.The quality and nature of the leadership development program
3.Genuine supports for behavioral change from the leader’s supervisor
Officer training academies such as the US Military Academy at West Point, who have an incredibly impressive, go to great lengths and to only accept candidates who show the highest potential to lead well. Personal characteristics that associated with successful leadership development include leader motivation to learn, a high achievement drive and personality traits such as openness to experience, an internal locus of control, self-monitoring.
8、領導力提高
Leadership is a product of the psychology of self as it interacts with the psychology of group, and, Leadership development must involve a clear understanding of the dynamics of action and reaction between the two. Leadership development can build on the development of individuals （including followers） to become leaders. In addition, it also needs to focus on the interpersonal linkages between the individuals in the team. In the belief that the most important resource that an organization possesses is the people that comprise the organization, some organizations address the development of these resources （even including the leadership）.
9、領導力提高項目的兩大成功因素
Development is also more likely to occur when the design of the development program:
1.Integrates a range of developmental experiences over a set period of time （e.g. 6-12months）. These experiences may include 360degree feedback, experiential classroom style programs, business school style coursework, executive coaching, reflective journaling, mentoring and more.
2.Involves goal setting, following an assessment of key developmental needs, and then evaluates the achievement of goals after a given time period.
10、領導者個人能力提高
Traditionally, leadership development has focused on developing the leadership abilities and attitudes of individuals. The research shows that leadership can be developed but not easily.
People are not all born with the same potential to lead well any more than people do not all have the same ability to play soccer like David Beckman or sing like Luciana Pavarotti. Different personal characteristics can help or hinder a person’s leadership effectiveness. Yet, everyone can develop their leadership effectiveness. Achieving such development takes focus, practice and persistence more akin to learning a musical instrument than reading a book.
Classroom style training and associated reading are effective in helping leaders to know more about what is involved in leading well. Yet knowing what to do and doing what you know are two very different outcomes. It is estimated that as little 15%of learning from traditional classroom style training results in sustained behavioral change within the workplace.
11、領導力作為整體提高
More recently organizations have come to understand that leadership can also be developed by strengthening the connection between and alignment of the efforts of individual leaders and the systems through which they influence organizational operations. This has led to a differentiation between leader development and leadership development. Leader development focuses on the development of the leader, such as the personal attributes desired in a leader, desired ways of behaving, ways of thinking or feeling. In contrast, leadership development focuses on the development of leadership as a process. This will include the interpersonal relationships, social influence process, and the team dynamics between the leader and his/her team at the dyad level, the contextual factors surrounding the team such as the perception of the organizational climate and the social network linkages between the team and other groups in the organization. Both forms of development may mutually influence each other.
12、團體的領導力
In contrast to individual leadership, some organizations have adopted group leadership. In this situation, more than one person provides direction to the group as a whole. Some organizations have taken this approach in hopes of increasing creativity, reducing costs, or downsizing. Others may see the traditional leadership of a boss as costing too much in team performance. In some situations, the maintenance of the boss becomes too expensive—either by draining the resources of the group as a whole, or by impeding the creativity within the team, even unintentionally.
A common example of group leadership involves cross-functional teams. A team of people with diverse skills and from all parts of an organization assembles to lead a project. A team structure can involve sharing power equally on all issues, but more commonly uses rotating leadership. The team member（s） best able to handle any given phase of the project become（s） the temporary leader（s）.