Motivation and Leadership

 

Contents

 

Developing Management Skills for Leadership

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Online Business School  for the delivery and management of your own existing or the customised versions of our programmes for in-class or global distance learning.

Teaching and Research Skills

 

Teaching Online

 

 

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Motivation Tool Chest

Rationale

Learning Outcomes

Teaching and Learning Resources

Related Programmes and Workshops

 

Case Studies

Learner Support

Recommended Texts

Resources

 

Assignments, Assessments

 

Learning Centres

 

Motivation and Leadership

 

Rationale

The word leadership can refer to:

  1. the process of leading.
  2. those entities that perform one or more acts of leading.
Leadership Model

 

Your knowledge of decision making, work attitudes, motivation, leadership, communication, and teamwork is going to be central to success in your career, whatever it may be.

This 10-week module develops perspectives and skills which enable effective working relationships in organizations.  Common workplace challenges are examined, such as:  communicating and effectively negotiating, making wise decisions, dealing courageously with conflict, nurturing cooperation within a pluralistic work team, navigating corporate power and politics, and leading.

Cross-cultural challenges are explored as well.

4 kinds of motivation

 

Learning Outcomes

In addition to your own personal learning objectives, the module offers these goals for you to: 
 

At the end of the course participants will have learned:

 

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Teaching and Learning Resources

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Learning Contents Tutorials and Lectures Assignments Recommended Texys Readings Learner Support Discussion Forums Workshops Web Cases Case Studies Resources Staff Development Subject Reviews

 

Defining the Areas of Study.  Learning. Who is a Leader?

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Readings

Thomas Jefferson Education, also known as "TJEd"[1] or "Leadership Education" is a philosophy and methodology of education which is popular among some alternative educators, including private schools, charter schools and homeschoolers. It is based on the Seven Keys of Great Teaching and the Phases of Learning. This educational paradigm was popularized through the writing and teaching of Oliver and Rachel DeMille, co-authors of the TJEd resource materials.

The Philosophy of Liberty

Leadership Traits and Ethics. Decision-making

Tutorials

Readings

Top 20 Leadership Traits

Business ethics (also known as Corporate ethics) is a form of applied ethics or professional ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that arise in a business environment. It applies to all aspects of business conduct and is relevant to the conduct of individuals and business organizations as a whole. Applied ethics is a field of ethics that deals with ethical questions in many fields such as medical, technical, legal and business ethics.

Business ethics can be both a normative and a descriptive discipline. As a corporate practice and a career specialization, the field is primarily normative. In academia descriptive approaches are also taken. The range and quantity of business ethical issues reflects the degree to which business is perceived to be at odds with non-economic social values. Historically, interest in business ethics accelerated dramatically during the 1980s and 1990s, both within major corporations and within academia. For example, today most major corporate websites lay emphasis on commitment to promoting non-economic social values under a variety of headings (e.g. ethics codes, social responsibility charters). In some cases, corporations have redefined their core values in the light of business ethical considerations (e.g. BP's "beyond petroleum" environmental tilt).

 

Leadership Behavior and Motivation. Understanding Motivation. Using Tools to Boost Motivation. Making Effective Decisions

Tutorials

Readings

The managerial grid model (1957) is a behavioral leadership model developed by Robert Blake and Jane Mouton. This model originally identified five different leadership styles based on the concern for people and the concern for production. The optimal leadership style in this model is based on Theory Y.

The grid theory has continued to evolve and develop. Robert Blake updated it with (?) in (?) (Daft, 2008). The theory was updated with two additional leadership styles and with a new element, resilience. In 1999, the grid managerial seminar began using a new text, The Power to Change.

A graphical representation of the Managerial Grid Magnify Clip

Blake and Mouton Leadership Grid

Motivation is the activation or energization of goal-orientated behavior. Motivation is said to be intrinsic or extrinsic. The term is generally used for humans but, theoretically, it can also be used to describe the causes for animal behavior as well. This article refers to human motivation. According to various theories, motivation may be rooted in the basic need to minimize physical pain and maximize pleasure, or it may include specific needs such as eating and resting, or a desired object, hobby, goal, state of being, ideal, or it may be attributed to less-apparent reasons such as altruism, selfishness, morality, or avoiding mortality. Conceptually, motivation should not be confused with either volition or optimism.[1] Motivation is related to, but distinct from, emotion.

3 Simple Tools to Boost Your Confidence

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Communication, Coaching, and Conflict Skills. Interpersonal Communications. Communicating Effectively. Managing Conflict

Tutorials

Readings

Coaching and mentoring

Coaching refers to the activity of a coach in developing the abilities of coachees or clients. Coaching tends to focus on the achievement by coachees of a goal or specific skill. Methodologies for coaching are positioned away from the directive or the facilitative, and rest on accompanying clients within a dialogue that will allow emerging patterns and solutions to surface. Coaching lies out of the scale between mentoring and training on one end, and psychotherapy and counseling at the other.

There are many applications of coaching ranging from sport, to business, to niches such as divorce or motivational speaking. Sessions may be one-on-one either or in a group setting, in-person or over the telephone, or by mail, or via IRC. It may include supervised practice such as in shadow coaching, and often in team or organizational coaching. Team coaching also applies to structured systems in organizations much like in sports.

Today, coaching is a recognized discipline used by many professionals engaged in human development focused on achieving results. However, as a distinct profession, it is relatively new (since 1990) and self-regulating (except for international professional associations).

No independent supervisory board evaluates most practicing coaches and most are privately owned businesses. Some associations accredit various coaching schools as well as individual coaches, except the IAC and ECI which only certify individuals. According to coach credentialing expert, Dr. Rey Carr, in North America the term accreditation only applies to organizations, and certification applies to individuals; whereas in European countries "accreditation" can mean either organizations or individuals.

Interpersonal communications is usually defined by communication scholars in numerous ways, usually describing participants who are dependent upon one another and have a shared history. Communication channels, the conceptualization of mediums that carry messages from sender to receiver, take two distinct forms: direct and indirect.

Direct channels are obvious and easily recognized by the receiver. Both verbal and non-verbal information is completely controlled by the sender. Verbal channels rely on words, as in written or spoken communication. Non-verbal channels encompass facial expressions, controlled body movements (police present hand gestures to control traffic), color (red signals 'stop', green signals 'go'), and sound (warning sirens).

Indirect channels are usually recognized subconsciously by the receiver, and are not always under direct control of the sender.

Body Language: Actions Do Speak Louder Than Words

Body language, comprising most of the indirect channel, may inadvertently reveal one's true emotions, and thereby either unintentionally taint or bolster the believability of any intended verbal message. Subconscious reception and interpretation of these signals is often described with arbitrary terms like gut-feeling, hunch, or premonition.

Context refers to the conditions that precede or surround the communication. It consists of present or past events from which the meaning of the message is derived, though it may also, in the case of written communications, depend upon the statements preceding and following the quotation in question. Immediate surroundings may also color the perceived meaning of words; normally safe discourse may easily become contextually ambiguous or offensive in a restroom or shower hall. These influences do not constitute the message by themselves, but rather these extraneous nuances subtly change the message's effective meaning. Ultimately, context includes the entire world, but usually refers to salient factors such as the following:

Physical milieu: the season or weather, current physical location and environment
Situational milieu: classroom, military conflict, supermarket checkout
Cultural and linguistic backgrounds
Developmental progress (maturity) or emotional state
Complementary or contrasting roles: boss and employee; teacher and student; parent, child, and spouse; friend or enemy; partner or competitor



Leadership Theories

Tutorials

Readings

Leadership is stated as the "process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task."[1] Definitions more inclusive of followers have also emerged. Alan Keith stated that, "Leadership is ultimately about creating a way for people to contribute to making something extraordinary happen."[2] Tom DeMarco says that leadership needs to be distinguished from posturing.[3]

The following sections discuss several important aspects of leadership including a description of what leadership is and a description of several popular theories and styles of leadership. This article also discusses topics such as the role of emotions and vision, as well as leadership effectiveness and performance, leadership in different contexts, how it may differ from related concepts (i.e., management), and some critiques of leadership as generally conceived.

X, Y Z Model of Leadership In the Box

Dyadic Relationships, Followership, Delegation

Tutorials

Readings:

Perspectives on Integrating Leadership and Followership

 

Leading Effective Teams. Understanding Group Behavior. Making Better Group Decisions. Managing Teams in Organizations. Pursuing High Individual and Team Performance.  Leading Self-Managing Teams

Tutorials

Readings

Groups decision making is a situation faced when people are brought together to solve problems in the anticipation that they are more effective than individuals under the idea of synergy. But groups cannot out do their best member who could do alone. This failure to achieve synergy led to the devotion of much effort, especially in the area of applied social sciences. There are several aspects of group cohesion which have negative effect on group decision making and hence on group effectiveness. [1].

Risky-shift phenomenon, group polarisation , group think are the negative aspects of group decision making. [2].

Groupthink is one of the most dangerous traps in our decision making. It's particularly because it taps into our deep social identification mechanisms - every one likes to feel part of a group - and our avoidance of social challenges.But consensus without conflict almost always means that other viewpoints are being ignored, and the consequences of groupthink can be disastrous. [3]

Issues facing any work group concerning decision making are: how should decisions be made?Consensus?Voting? One-person rule? Secret ballot? [4] Consideration of the various opinions of the different individuals and deciding what action a group should take might be of help.

 

Power, Politics, and Negotiation

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Readings

Organizational Structure of the Empire of the Holy Roman Empire

Organizational Structure Types and Design Strategy

Power and Empowerment: Summary of some concepts and approaches

Performance management includes activities to ensure that goals are consistently being met in an effective and efficient manner. Performance management can focus on the performance of an organization, a department, employee, or even the processes to build a product or service, as well as many other areas.

Performance Management as referenced on this page is a broad term. See Aubrey Daniels for a detailed explanation of the origin of the term Performance Management (PM) which was coined by Dr. Aubrey C. Daniels in the late 1970s to describe a technology (i.e., science imbedded in applications methods) for managing both behavior and results, the two critical elements of what is known as performance.

Performance framework

Charismatic, Transformational, Strategic Leadership and Change

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Readings

Strategic Leadership provides the vision and direction for the growth and success of an organization. To successfully deal with change, all executives need the skills and tools for both strategy formulation and implementation[1]. Managing change and ambiguity requires strategic leaders who not only provide a sense of direction, but who can also build ownership and alignment within their workgroups to implement change[2].

Starting a Strategic Leadership Initiative

Change management is a structured approach to transitioning individuals, teams, and organizations from a current state to a desired future state. In project management, change management refers to a project management process where changes to a project are formally introduced and approved.[1].

rivers ofOrganizational Change

The field of change management grew from the recognition that organizations are composed of people. And the behaviors of people make up the outputs of an organization.[2].

References

 

Understanding and Changing Organizational Culture. Leadership of Culture, Diversity and the Learning Organization

Tutorials

Readings

Organizational culture is an idea in the field of Organizational studies and management which describes the psychology, attitudes, experiences, beliefs and values (personal and cultural values) of an organization. It has been defined as "the specific collection of values and norms that are shared by people and groups in an organization and that control the way they interact with each other and with stakeholders outside the organization."[1]

What is organizational culture? I’ll know it when I see it!

This definition continues to explain organizational values, also known as "beliefs and ideas about what kinds of goals members of an organization should pursue and ideas about the appropriate kinds or standards of behavior organizational members should use to achieve these goals. From organizational values develop organizational norms, guidelines, or expectations that prescribe appropriate kinds of behavior by employees in particular situations and control the behavior of organizational members towards one another."[1]

Organizational culture is not the same as corporate culture. It is wider and deeper concepts, something that an organization 'is' rather than what it 'has'. Corporate culture is the total sum of the values, customs, traditions, and meanings that make a company unique. Corporate culture is often called "the character of an organization", since it embodies the vision of the company’s founders. The values of a corporate culture influence the ethical standards within a corporation, as well as managerial behavior.[2]

Senior management may try to determine a corporate culture. They may wish to impose corporate values and standards of behavior that specifically reflect the objectives of the organization. In addition, there will also be an extant internal culture within the workforce. Work-groups within the organization have their own behavioral quirks and interactions which, to an extent, affect the whole system. Roger Harrison's four-culture typology, and adapted by Charles Handy, suggests that unlike organizational culture, corporate culture can be 'imported'. For example, computer technicians will have expertise, language and behaviors gained independently of the organization, but their presence can influence the culture of the organization as a whole.

 

Recommended Texts

 

Principles of Organizational Behaviour

Principles of Organizational Behaviour
Fincham & Rhodes

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Leadership: Theory, Application, and Skill Development Leadership: Theory, Application, and Skill Development

Lussier, Robert N.
Springfield College
Achua, Christopher F.
University of Virginia at Wise

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Psychology: A ConnecText

Psychology: A ConnecText 
Fourth Edition 
by Terry F. Pettijohn 

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Resources

Ed Batista’s “Self-Coaching Guides: Communication, Leadership, Motivation”

 

 

Humanistic Approaches to Teaching