Shifting Perspectives for the Volatile Organization of the 21st Century

UNIT 6

LEADERSHIP

” The leaders who work most effectively never say “I”. And that’s not because they have trained themselves not to say “I”. They don’t think “I”. They think “we”, they think “team”. They understand their job to be to make the team function. They accept responsibility and don’t sidestep it, but “we” gets the credit… This is what creates trust, what enables you to get the task done.”

P. F. Drucker

Warming up

1. Comment on the quote above.

1. Which modern or historical leaders in different fields of life (politics, sport, business, the arts) do you most admire? Which do you admire least? Why?

3. Do you think leaders are born or made? Give your reasons.

4. What is the difference between a leader and a manager?

5.Are people who were leaders at school more likely to be leaders later in life?

6.In your view, what different qualities are needed to successfully lead

· a small team

· a large organization?

7. What are the key characteristics of an effective leader?

8. How do leaders affect corporate culture?

Text 1

Before reading think of the role of a leader in the past and at present. Has it changed somehow? What are the reasons for such changes? Explain the title of the text. Answer the questions below.

Shifting Perspectives for the Volatile Organization of the 21st Century

Working with other people to do more with less resources is the biggest challenge facing organizations of the twenty-first century. The idea of motivating good performance with job security may have helped the leaders of the industrial age, but it is not enough for the leaders of the emerging age of uncertainty.

As the business world continues to reinvest and restructure itself, one of the most significant changes is the demise of the professional manager. Since the onset of the industrial revolution, those at the top have depended on these “middle managers” to make sure that those at the bottom do what needs to be done. The wholesale elimination of layers of middle managers whose role was to orchestrate the activities of others means that everyone in an organization is now a potential manager. What these new managers-including everyone from the CEO to the lowest person in the shrunken hierarchy- need most is to learn how to lead.

Successful leaders of the twenty-first century will be those who give followers what they need, when they need it, in a form in which they can use it. The new leaders will be those who provide followers with what they need to perform to the best of their potential. This approach is a far cry from either the authoritarian or gentle helper approaches espoused in earlier leadership theories. It is an approach based on the belief that volatile organizations require adaptable leaders – people who understand the dynamics of life in the contemporary organization and who are experts at matching their leadership actions to employees’ performance needs.

Leadership is in the headlines every day. Leadership is what makes business news as well. Leadership is everywhere – not just at the top like the world leaders and business leaders above. Whether you are a CEO or a front-line supervisor, knowing how to lead people is the hardest part of the job. And the underlying questions behind every discussion about leadership are: How do you succeed and how do you avoid failure? How do you breed winners instead of losers? How do you build competitive spirit and avoid complacency? What do you say and do to deliver top-quality results and enhance your reputation as a leader?

Leadership is no picnic. If you are going to learn how to be a good leader, you are going to have to open your mind to new ideas without discarding all of your old ideas. Moving into the future does not mean letting go of everything you have done in the past. It means getting perpetually smarter about how you integrate the old and the new. It means taking what you know about the science of leadership and blending that with the finesse that comes from the art of leadership.

Learning to lead also means not getting caught up in the unrealistic search for quick-fix solutions to complex problems. Leadership is one very big challenge. If leadership were easy, a lot more people would be good at it.

Finally becoming a good leader also means taking a good hard look at yourself, because what you think you do may not be what you really do.

1. Why does the author call the emerging age the age of uncertainty?

2. What was the role of a leader in the past? Due to what did it change?

3. What kind of people will be successful leaders of the 21^st century?

4. Prove that “leadership is in the headlines every day and leadership is what makes business news”. Provide real-life examples.

5. What should you know and learn to become a leader?

6. Do you possess leadership qualities? Which ones?

Text 2

Before reading the text below try to guess what differences there might be between leadership styles in established economies like those in Western Europe, Japan, and America, and emerging economies in Asia. Explain your reasons. Compare your ideas after reading.

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