Leadership, Influence, and Communication

in Business

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

McGraw-Hill/IrwinIntroduction to Business

Chapter Six

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Chapter 6 Leadership, Influence, and Communication

in Business

1. Appreciate a manager’s ability to effectively lead, influence, and persuade other people influences a company’s efficiency, effectiveness, and profitability.

2. Identify the five sources of a leader’s power and understand how leadership involves the effective use of power to influence people.

3. Differentiate between four main approaches to leadership and recognize that effective leadership involves matching a leadership approach to the characteristics of the employees and the work situation.

4. Identify five characteristics of effective leaders.5. Understand the role communication plays in influencing

others in a business organization and describe a model of persuasive communication.

6. Define organizational politics and understand how political tactics are used to influence and persuade others.

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Chapter 6 Leadership, Influence, and Communication

in Business

Leadership• Managers are responsible to the stakeholders

• To effectively and efficiently use the resources of land, labor and capital

• To plan, organize, lead and control the organization to the accomplishment of it mission

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Chapter 6 Leadership, Influence, and Communication

in Business

Leadership and Power

• Leadership is • using one’s personality, beliefs, social skills,

knowledge and power

• to influence other’s thoughts, feelings, and behavior

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Chapter 6 Leadership, Influence, and Communication

in Business

Leadership and Power

• Power is • the ability to make others do something they

would not otherwise have done

• the abiiity to influence and control the way others act

• Evaluate leadership style and relate to types of power. What is the relationship?

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Chapter 6 Leadership, Influence, and Communication

in Business

Sources of Power• Legitimate – legal authority or rights

• Reward – recognize performance

• Referent – personal status or achievements

• Expert – expertise or skill

• Coercive – sanction or punish

• Inherent in these five functions of power is an incentive system

• An effective / charismatic leader usually possesses more than one type

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Chapter 6 Leadership, Influence, and Communication

in Business

Leaders Influence Attitudes and Behaviors• Effective leadership results when

• managers use their power in ways

• that promote work behaviors and attitudes

• that lead to higher employee performance

• Four important work behaviors • Level of job effort - quality, quantity, reliability of work

performance

• Attendance – reliability and promptness

• Being proactive and cooperative leading to productivity

• Commitment to continue with the company

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Chapter 6 Leadership, Influence, and Communication

in Business

Leadership and Power• The critical ingredient is the correct use of the

different sources of power

• Evaluate illustration of leadership theory and relate to the types of power

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Chapter 6 Leadership, Influence, and Communication

in Business

Leadership Theory• Four possible approaches or styles of leadership

• The contingency theory of leadership

• Effective leaders adopt leadership style

• That suits the employee characteristics and

• The workplace setting

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Chapter 6 Leadership, Influence, and Communication

in Business

Leadership Styles• Approaches to leadership include

• Directive

• Supportive

• Participative

• Achievement-oriented

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Chapter 6 Leadership, Influence, and Communication

in Business

Leadership Theory• Two determining parts of this theory

• The employee characteristics

• The workplace settings

• Determine which leadership approach is appropriate

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Chapter 6 Leadership, Influence, and Communication

in Business

Leadership Theory• Employee characteristics include:

• skill level

• achievement need

• locus of control

• nature of tasks/job

• group cohesiveness

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Chapter 6 Leadership, Influence, and Communication

in Business

Five characteristics of effective leaders 1) intuition, intelligence, and cognitive ability

2) energy, drive, and need for achievement

3) good ethics and moral integrity

4) emotional intelligence and empathy

5) self-confidence and internal locus of control

• The more that managers possess these characteristics the more likely they are to function effectively as leaders

• Evaluate Four Traits of Effective Leaders and relate to types of power and influence

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Chapter 6 Leadership, Influence, and Communication

in Business

Influence• A leader’s goal

• To influence and persuade employees

• To develop work attitudes and behaviors

• That increase a company’s efficiency and effectiveness

• Evaluate influence within leadership relating to the types of power and key behaviors

• Evaluate the role of leadership in the Breaking Thru video and relate to influence and communication

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Chapter 6 Leadership, Influence, and Communication

in Business

Influence• Managers share information

by effective communication and assuring there is understanding of the message

Communication• The communications model

• Sender

• Message

• Receiver

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Chapter 6 Leadership, Influence, and Communication

in Business

Communication• To communicate effectively there must be feedback

• The most persuasive communication method is face-to-face meetings

• Why are email, phone, texting considered not as persuasive as face-to-face

• Would you hire someone via email? Why? Why not?

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Chapter 6 Leadership, Influence, and Communication

in Business

A Model of Persuasive Communication

• Factors that determine persuasiveness• Characteristics of sender – credibility, communication skills,

personal qualities

• Active listening – attentiveness, body language, responsiveness

• Informational content of message

• Medium used – appropriateness for message

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Chapter 6 Leadership, Influence, and Communication

in Business

Organizational Politics• Activities that managers and employees at all levels

engage in • To increase their power and ability to influence and persuade

others

• So they can achieve their goals

• Political tactics • Specific courses of action managers and employees engage in

• Aimed at gaining the support of, and overcome the resistance of, other people

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Chapter 6 Leadership, Influence, and Communication

in Business

Organizational Politics• Political tactics include

• Discredit opponent vs. building consensus

• Reduce uncertainty by collecting/sharing valid & useful information vs. filtering and using subjective information like opinions and rumors

• Hoarding/controlling information in a central position

• Building coalitions and alliances

• Evaluate the role of leadership in the Exceptional Entrepreneur video and relate to influence and communication