Leadership today

Springer Texts in Business and Economics

Joan Marques

Satinder Dhiman Editors

Practices for Personal

and Professional Performance

Leadership

Today

Springer Texts in Business and Economics

More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/10099

Joan Marques • Satinder Dhiman

Editors

Leadership Today

Practices for Personal

and Professional Performance

Editors

Joan Marques

School of Business

Woodbury University

Burbank , CA , USA

Satinder Dhiman

School of Business

Woodbury University

Burbank , CA , USA

ISSN 2192-4333 ISSN 2192-4341 (electronic)

Springer Texts in Business and Economics

ISBN 978-3-319-31034-3 ISBN 978-3-319-31036-7 (eBook)

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-31036-7

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016944797

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2017

This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of

the material is concerned, specifi cally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation,

broadcasting, reproduction on microfi lms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information

storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology

now known or hereafter developed.

The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication

does not imply, even in the absence of a specifi c statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant

protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.

The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book

are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the

editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors

or omissions that may have been made.

Printed on acid-free paper

This Springer imprint is published by Springer Nature

The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG Switzerland

v

Contents

Part I Soft Skills

1 Leadership and Purpose ......................................................................... 7

Joan Marques

2 Leadership and Trust ............................................................................. 21

Michelle C. Bligh

3 Leadership and Moral Behavior ............................................................ 43

Timothy Ewest

4 Leadership and Values ............................................................................ 59

Richard Barrett

5 Leadership and Vision ............................................................................ 75

Isaac Wanasika and Keiko Krahnke

6 Leadership and Authenticity:

The case of Buurtzorg Nederland .......................................................... 89

Puneet Kumar Bindlish and Sharda Nandram

7 Leadership and Emotional Intelligence ................................................ 111

Svetlana S. Holt and Adam Wood

8 Leadership and Spirituality ................................................................... 139

Satinder Dhiman

9 Leadership and Sustainability ............................................................... 161

Satinder Dhiman

10 Leadership and Mindfulness .................................................................. 179

Joan Marques

11 Leadership and Empathy ....................................................................... 197

Eleni Tzouramani

12 Leadership and Motivation .................................................................... 217

Christian Stamov Roßnagel

vi

13 Leadership and Communication ........................................................... 229

Silvia Biraghi , Rossella Chiara Gambetti , and Stephen Quigley

14 Leadership and Dependability ............................................................... 249

Frederick Evers and Iris Berdrow

15 Leadership and Creativity ...................................................................... 263

W. R. (Bill) Klemm

16 Leadership and Initiative ....................................................................... 279

Maria Humphries and Sheeba Asirvatham

17 Leadership and Self-Confidence ............................................................ 297

Ruth H. Axelrod

18 Leadership and Resilience ...................................................................... 315

Frederick S. Southwick , Brenda L. Martini, Dennis S. Charney ,

and Steven M. Southwick

19 Leadership and Perseverance ................................................................ 335

Kimberly K. Merriman

Part II Hard Skills

20 Leadership and Ambition....................................................................... 353

Joan Marques

21 Leadership and Global Understanding ................................................. 371

Bettina Gehrke and Marie-Thérèse Claes

22 Leadership and Information Technology .............................................. 387

K. Sankaran and Moshin Ahmed

23 Leadership and Planning ....................................................................... 401

Joseph C. Santora and Gil Bozer

Index ................................................................................................................. 415

Contents

Part I

Soft Skills

2

The story that today’s workforce is looking for different skills and qualities in its

leaders has become abundantly clear in the past decade, not only through a major

shift in corporate leadership, but also through shifts in leadership qualities being

taught in business schools and topics that leadership scholars focus on these days.

According to Daniel Goleman, soft skills are inner- and interhuman skills such as

self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills.

In 2009, three scholars i

conducted a multi-method study with surveys and inter￾views, in which 11 major European multinational corporations participated. This

study underlined the impression that workforce members are really looking for soft

skills in their leaders today. The survey part of the study yielded the following com￾piled list of desired leaders’ qualities: “(1) Acting with integrity. (2) Caring for

people. (3) Demonstrating ethical behavior. (4) Communicating with others. (5)

Taking a long-term perspective. (6) Being open-minded. (7) Managing responsibly

outside the organization.” (p. 11). The interview part of the above-mentioned study

yielded fi ve refl exive abilities desired for leaders: “(1) systemic thinking; (2)

embracing diversity and managing risk; (3) balancing global and local perspectives;

(4) meaningful dialogue and developing a new language; and (5) emotional aware￾ness” (p. 15).

The time when leaders had to be charismatic, swaying, convincing, diehard, con￾niving, and only bottom-line focused lies behind us, and that is a good thing, because

leaders who focused only on glamourous performance and profi t brought sheer

damage to their companies, nurtured unhealthy relationships within their work￾places, and harmed the reputation of business in general in the past decades.

It needs to be underscored, however, that till today, there are many organizations

with leaders that have been exposed to obsolete theories and behavioral models, and

refuse to change. Unfortunately, many management educators are co-responsible

for this ongoing problem. There are also ample reasons why the shift to a more

creative approach in leadership gets stagnated. Some examples: (a) established

structures in major corporations; (b) reluctance from current managers to sacrifi ce

power and prestige; (c) fear that the new system will ultimately fail; (d) lack of trust

in the qualities and motivations of employees; and (e) ignorance, caused by lack of

awareness about the need for transformation.

Proudly focusing on soft skills in the fi rst part of this book, we present the fol￾lowing perspectives in the upcoming soft skill-based chapters:

1.1 Leadership and Purpose

There is no leadership without a sense of purpose. Whether a self-leader or a leader

of self and others, the practitioner needs to have a sense of purpose in order to take

on a leadership role that will enable actions.

Part I Soft Skills

3

1.2 Leadership and Trust

Trust will be presented as a critical skill in establishing and maintaining strong rela￾tionships with internal and external stakeholders. The chapter will emphasize the

dire consequences of a lack of trust, and the effects this has on all parties involved.

1.3 Leadership and Moral Behavior

A brief overview of the most common moral theories will be captured in this chap￾ter, with inclusion of their strengths and weaknesses. The most important take- away,

however, will be a quick moral test, which can be applied in all challenging

circumstances.

1.4 Leadership and Values

Discussing the need to evaluate one’s values, in order to safeguard them, and ensure

that they are not merely adopted mindlessly, but are truly in line with one’s real

beliefs. This chapter will also discuss the difference in values among cultures and

the need to understand and work with these differences.

1.5 Leadership and Vision

Explains the importance of keeping an eye on the future and provides some impor￾tant tools regarding the nourishment of a visionary approach. Encourages the reader

to make conscious choices in surrounding himself or herself with individuals who

can contribute to renewed visions on a regular basis.

1.6 Leadership and Authenticity

Underscores the importance of being honest and truthful to the self and others.

Explains the complexity and unfulfi lling nature of merely saying what one thinks

others want to hear, and thereby becoming entangled in political webs and loss of

values.

1.7 Leadership and Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence will be defi ned in light of one’s ability to monitor one’s own

and other people’s emotions. The various models of EQ will be reviewed, and some

practical guidelines will be provided in processing emotional information and using

it to navigate the social environment.

Part I Soft Skills

4

1.8 Leadership and Spirituality

This chapter underscores the importance of spirituality in the workplace and its role

in leading organizations. It focuses specifi cally on contributing to readers’ aware￾ness about the vital difference between religion and spirituality. The chapter builds

on the premise that fundamental problems facing our organizations and the society

today can only be solved at the level of human spirit. The chapter further postulates

that the real spirituality is not indifference to the world but love and compassion

born out of identifying oneself with all beings.

1.9 Leadership and Sustainability

This chapter explores the inherent interconnectedness of sustainability and spiritual￾ity, and the role of leadership in honoring and maintaining this interconnectedness. It

postulates that unless people’s moral and spiritual qualities are nurtured and devel￾oped, the best of sustainability efforts will not work. The chapter contends that true

ecological sustainability, in contrast to the cosmetic variety we see around us, depends

upon our deeper understanding of fundamental spiritual values such as interconnect￾edness and oneness, nonviolence and compassion, contribution and selfl ess service.

1.10 Leadership and Mindfulness

This chapter will underscore the tendency of many people to regress in a “sleepwalk￾ing” mode, in which they mindlessly make decisions and go through motions, without

considering long-term consequences, or even whether these decisions are in line with

their values. Mindfulness will be approached from a Buddhist foundation, yet pre￾sented with careful consideration of a broad audience. Hence, the presented approach

will adhere more to a psychological stance than a philosophical or religious one.

1.11 Leadership and Empathy

Empathy is one of the critical leadership qualities that is hard to digest, especially

in business and science-based circles. Many people consider empathy the gateway

to weakness and being taken advantage of. This chapter will discuss empathy as a

major strength rather than a weakness.

1.12 Leadership and Motivation

This chapter will explain the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation

and provide examples of each. From a leadership stance, the importance of capital￾izing on intrinsic motivators will be accentuated, while extrinsic motivators will

also be reviewed as important foundational factors.

Part I Soft Skills

5

1.13 Leadership and Communication

Communication is a well-understood phenomenon, yet, it is very often one of the

major factors in leadership going awry. This chapter will underscore the importance

of communication from a leadership perspective, discuss factors such as noise, for￾mal and informal communication, and the overall need to understand various com￾munication modes in diverse environments.

1.14 Leadership and Dependability

Dependability is not merely expressed in meeting major deadlines, but may be even

more obvious in a leader’s promptness. This chapter will review the various layers

of ensuring reliable performance, bringing this factor in connection with trust,

mindfulness, and motivation.

1.15 Leadership and Creativity

Creativity is an often underestimated aspect of leadership, yet, it could be consid￾ered the foundational skill in design thinking and critical problem solving. Creative

thinking is a highly appreciated quality in business performance, but also in other

settings. While education systems often curtail creativity, this mindset can be reac￾tivated. Some activities and examples will be provided.

1.16 Leadership and Initiative

This aspect has a lot to do with courage. Leaders, whether formal or informal, are

expected to lead the way. In order to do so, initiative has to be undertaken, so that

challenges can be eliminated or converted to opportunities. Initiative is an immedi￾ate consequence of vision and problem solving and needs to be implemented in such

a way that others are involved, thus encouraged to develop and share their valuable

insights as well.

1.17 Leadership and Self-Confidence

Self-confi dence is a skill that needs continuous rebuilding. While some individuals

may have a more stable or higher degree of self-confi dence, there are others who

need to work on their self-perception and their inner-drive. It is essential to nurture

one’s self-confi dence, as it positively infl uences one’s psychological health, sense

of mattering, body image, and physical health.

Part I Soft Skills

6

1.18 Leadership and Resilience

The art of bouncing back when things have not gone as expected is essential in

leadership. Leaders therefore have to increase their internal locus of control, so that

they take ownership of the windfalls and the setbacks with a sense of determination

to keep trying. This chapter will discuss the quality of taking responsibility, growing

a solid backbone.

1.19 Leadership and Perseverance

This chapter ties into the previous, as it elaborates on the quality of endurance, in

order to succeed. Some well-known and lesser known examples will be provided of

people who became remarkable persons in history, thanks to their perseverance.

Some well-known examples are Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Alva Edison, but

several others will be included as well.

The authors of these chapters hope that, by presenting a multitude of viewpoints,

examples, cases, and questions about the chapter topics, current and future leaders

will get inspired to further polish these qualities and start applying them more

enthusiastically toward others in formal as well as informal leadership approaches.

1.20 Note

i. Hind, P., Wilson, A., & Lenssen, G. (2009), “Developing Leaders for Sustainable

Business”, Corporate Governance, Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 7–20.

Part I Soft Skills

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2017 7

J. Marques, S. Dhiman (eds.), Leadership Today, Springer Texts

in Business and Economics, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-31036-7_1

J. Marques (*)

Woodbury University , 7500 N. Glenoaks Blvd , Burbank , CA 91504 , USA

e-mail: [email protected]

1 Leadership and Purpose

Joan Marques

Abstract

Leadership starts with leading oneself before leading others. Purpose is a

foundational aspect thereby. This chapter defi nes a perspective on leadership that

may not be the most common one, but is highly identifi able for people of any age

group and in any stage of life. It discusses fi ve interrelated qualities in fi nding

our purpose: (1) awareness, which enhances the quality of decisions we make;

(2) respect, which is an outfl ow of awareness and ensures proper treatment of

others; (3) morality, which enables us to consider and deal with the consequences

of our decisions; (4) vision, which guides our path and attracts others to it; and

(5) understanding, which can help us adjust our direction if we fi nd it to become

unfulfi lling. Cases are presented for each quality, discussing global and business

leaders such as Muhammad Yunus; Princess Diana; Ray Anderson, CEO of

Interface; Sir Richard Branson; and Nelson Mandela. The chapter ends with a

brief narrative on fi nding our purpose, inviting the reader to engage in self￾refl ective questions, responding to them, and defi ning his or her own life’s

purpose.

Introduction

Purposeless living is an aimless drift with no satisfactory landing over time.

Purposeless leading is injustice to self and others: a downright crime.

8

Purpose is not the most common term that comes to mind when we think and talk

about leadership. Strategy , action, profi ts, stakeholders, shareholders, production,

resources, supply, or expansion: these are the more common words that are being

brought in connection with leading, but purpose is just as underlying a term as its

meaning is. Purpose is a major concept: it has many layers of meaning to it. When

thinking about purpose in leadership, we can, of course, think in numerous direc￾tions, such as the purpose of one particular action toward a person or a group of

people or the purpose of developing a new product line and, possibly, the purpose of

integrating or diversifying the organization’s activities or of changing its structure

from product line based to departmental or market based. However, each of the

above-listed purposes is related to actions: they are mostly strategic in nature and

are consequences of situations that have arisen.

This chapter does not discuss those types of purposes, even though we readily

admit that they are crucial for any leadership performance. However, the intention

is to dive deeper and look at the very core of leading as a purposeful pursuit.

Leadership: Setting the Stage

Leadership is one of the most explored topics in scholarly circles, probably because it

is so near and dear to our self-image: most people, especially those with ambitions to

progress in life, see themselves as a leader. Not only has the list of leadership theories

signifi cantly grown in the past decades, but the perspective on leadership itself varies

broadly as well. Some authors choose to perceive it as a complex process with multi￾ple dimensions, predominantly focused on infl uencing others (Northouse, 2015 ). The

three elements that are traditionally considered to determine a leadership situation are

the leader, the followers, and the situation. A standard observation in leadership books

and articles has been that leadership is a process, which involves infl uence , occurs in

groups, and comprises common goals (Northouse, 2015 ). This notion makes perfect

sense, as long as leadership is considered within a professional setting, where a leader

formulates and instills guidelines and guidance to a group of followers in order to

attain predefi ned goals (Mastrangelo, Eddy, & Lorenzet, 2004 ).

One critical component missing from the explanations above is the fact that lead￾ership does not start in a formal organizational setting. Before leadership can expand

into a process of infl uencing others toward common goals, it has to fi rst and fore￾most emerge and mature internally (Marques, 2014 ). The famous management

theorist Peter Drucker was also a major proponent of this perspective of leadership

as a personal relationship. Drucker frequently emphasized that we should ensure

and solidify our personal relationship as chief executive offi cer of ourselves. He

affi rmed that we should regularly strengthen our inner-connection so that we

remained in touch with our sense of purpose, which would then be instrumental in

fi nding our place in society, the choices we would make, the way we would learn,

our approach to others, the values we held, the way we would contribute, as well as

keep us aware of our strengths and weaknesses (Drucker, 2005 ). Self-leadership is

J. Marques