IB Docs (2) Team
Leadership styles
 | "Good leadership requires you to surround yourself with people of diverse perspectives who can disagree with you without fear of retaliation." "People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." "Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence." |
The term leadership style refers to the way that managers and leaders provide direction for others. The way in which they do this has a direct impact on staff motivation, productivity and morale.
The following five leadership styles are specified in the IB Business Management guide:
Autocratic
Paternalistic
Democratic
Laissez-faire
Situational
Click on the relevant tabs below to access resources for this section of the syllabus.
"If you want to make everyone happy, don't be a leader - sell ice cream."
- Steve Jobs (1955 - 2011), Co-founder of Apple
An autocratic leader is one who authoritative, so centralises decision-making without consulting others or listening to their points of view. Such a leader believes in formal chains of command, where consultation with subordinates in decision-making is non-existent. Autocrats rely on their own ideas, experiences and instincts when making decisions.
It is suitable in situations where employees are unskilled, inexperienced, lack initiative and/or need to be told specifically what to do. Autocratic managers and leaders are often found in large production plants and factories where low-skilled workers need clear directions. An autocratic leadership style is also highly suitable when critical or life-threatening decisions need to be made, such as with the emergency services (police, fire and ambulance services) or in the military. Autocratic leadership is common in the armed forces, such as the military, where everyone is required to do exactly as they are told.
Advantages of autocratic leadership
Advantages of an autocratic leadership style include the following:
It ensures the leader has complete control of the operations.
It speeds up the business decision-making process.
It provides workers with a clear sense of direction and clarity over their roles, as they understand exactly what is expected.
It is appropriate and effective when critical and urgent decisions need to be made.
Disadvantages of autocratic leadership
Disadvantages of using an autocratic leadership style include the following points:
Creativity and innovation are suppressed and discouraged as employees are not involved in the decision-making process.
Similarly, it does not develop internal talents of the workforce.
It can demotivate employees as their opinions are not valued.
It does nothing to build an intrapreneurial spirit in the workplace (building an organizational culture of future leaders within the organization).
Ultimately, these disadvantages can result in a higher labour turnover rate, which is costly to any organization.
Steve Jobs (Apple) and Ray Kroc (McDonald’s) were both known to be autocratic leaders. Hollywood movies about both entrepreneurs have been made about these men, showing their drive for success, and the way in which they handled people who dared to question their approach or vision. The movie trailers for both Steve Jobs and Ray Kroc can be viewed below.
The Founder (2016), starring Michael Keaton as Ray Kroc:
Jobs (2013), starring Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs:
Steve Jobs (2015), starring Michael Fassbender as Steve Jobs:
Click the icon below to read more about Steve Jobs and what shaped his approach to leadership.
Steve Jobs (1955 - 2011)
Following his death in October 2011, aged just 56, Steve Jobs was acknowledged by political and business leaders as an iconic entrepreneur who helped to transform the daily habits of millions of people across the globe. Steve Jobs will go down in history for being the visionary who reinvented computing, music and mobile phones during what he called the ‘post-PC era’. This short piece outlines the life, failures and successes of Steve Jobs, a man who truly loved what he did.
Steve Jobs – the man
Unlike many other billionaires, Steve Jobs was not born into a rich family. Before Steve Jobs was born, his biological mother’s unfortunate circumstances meant that he was already set for adoption. His biological parents (Joanne Carole Schieble and Abdulfattah Jandali, a Syrian immigrant) were unmarried undergraduate students at the University of Wisconsin. Born in San Francisco, Steve Jobs was adopted by Paul and Clara Jobs, a working-class couple from Armenia (near Turkey and Azerbaijan).
It wasn’t easy for Jobs, who spent much time at university sleeping on the floor in his friends’ rooms and collected used Coca-Cola bottles for $0.05. In his infamous commencement speech at Stanford University, California in 2005, Jobs told the students that he would walk 7 miles across town on Sunday nights to get a good meal, once a week.
Jobs did not graduate from university because his parents could hardly afford the tuition fees at Reed College, Oregon USA and Jobs had no idea at the time what he wanted to do as a career. Jobs took the risk of dropping out of university and whilst he described the decision as being daunting, he never looked back.
After starting computer animation film studio, Pixar, Steve Jobs met Laurene Powell, who was at the time a business undergraduate at Stanford University. They married in 1991 in a Buddhist ceremony and had three children together (Eve, Erin and Reed). He also has another child, Lisa Brennan-Jobs, from a former relationship with Harvard graduate and journalist Chrisann Brennan (who was also his high school sweetheart). Jobs also has two sisters, Patti Jobs (his adoptive sister, also adopted by Clara and Paul Jobs) and Mona Simpson (his biological sister, who he described in 1997 as “one of my best friends in the world”).
Wealth and Health
Forbes magazine estimated the wealth of Steve Jobs to be over $8.3 billion. The Mail Online reported that Jobs drove a 2007 Mercedes Benz SL55 AMG, which he had bought new for around $130,000. He lived in a 1930s Tudor-style 5,700 square foot home with seven bedrooms and four bathrooms, estimated to be worth $2.6million according to CNBC. Little is reported about his philanthropy activities, but the New York Times did say that Jobs gave $150 million to a cancer centre at the University of California, San Francisco USA.
Despite his wealth and his aspirations to take on the likes of Android, Steve Jobs was diagnosed with a rare form of pancreatic cancer in 2003 and had a liver transplant in 2008. Struggling with severe illness for such a long time, Steve Jobs eventually resigned as the chief executive officer of Apple in August 2011.
On the day of his death, China’s most popular microblog site, Sina Weibo, reported that 35 million people had posted comments about the death of Steve Jobs. According to internet monitoring agency SR7, there were around 10,000 tweets per second about the death of Steve Jobs (Michael Jackson’s death recorded 493 tweets per second).
Box 1 - Steve Jobs' Milestones
- 1955 – Born 24th February
- 1976 – Steve Jobs sets up Apple Computer with two friends on 1st April 1976
- 1979 – Steve Jobs has an estimated wealth of $7 million
- 1980 – Apple floats on the NASDAQ stock exchange at $22 per share; Jobs is estimated to be worth over $200 million
- 1984 – Apple launches the Macintosh personal computer
- 1985 – Steve Jobs is fired by Apple; he sets up NeXT
- 1986 – Jobs buys Pixar for $10 million
- 1995 – Pixar floats on the stock exchange; Jobs is worth $1.5bn
- 1996 – Apple buys NeXT from Steve Jobs (he returns to Apple)
- 1998 – Apple launches the iMac
- 2001 – Steve Jobs launches the iPod
- 2007 – Jobs launches the iPhone
- 2010 – Jobs launches the iPad
- 2010 – Apple is valued at over $221 billion, overtaking Microsoft based on market capitalization on May 26 (Microsoft was valued at $219 billion)
- 2011 – On August 9th, Apple becomes highest valued company on the planet with each share worth $364 (over 13,300% growth since its initial public offer back in 1980)
- 2011 – Jobs, worth of $8.3 billion, passes away on 5th October.
Apple – the early years
It was during his time at Homestead High School in California, where a 16 year old Steve Jobs met Steve Wozniak, a 21-year old technical wizard. The two became friends and later collaborated to form Apple Computer.
Jobs had worked as a technician at pioneer arcade games maker Atari whilst Wozniak had an engineering job. However, in April 1976, the two co-founded Apple Computer in Jobs’ parents’ garage in Silicon Valley. Jobs, aged just 20, had sold his Volkswagen van to fund the venture. They produced a circuit board designed by Wozniak and launched Apple’s first personal computer, the Apple I, which had a selling price of $666.66 (apparently because Wozniak, as a computing genius, liked repeating digits). The entrepreneurs had produced about 200 of these machines for sale. A year later, Apple launched the Apple II, the first massed produced Apple computer which came with a keyboard and colour monitor(!) By 1980, when Apple listed as a public company, Steve Jobs made an estimated US$217 million, aged just 25 years old.
Ronald Wayne was also a co-founder of Apple but sold his share of the company within a couple of weeks for (just) $2,300! It was Wayne who designed the original Apple logo with Sir Isaac Newton sitting under an apple tree. By the time Jobs turned 30, Apple had grown from its humbling operations in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4,000 workers. This was when Jobs had designed, in his words, the “finest creation” - the Apple Macintosh computer.
Ironically, the same company that Jobs had set up also fired him. Jobs had persuaded John Sculley, previously CEO of PepsiCo, to join as chief executive of Apple in 1983. Eventually, tension between the two grew. The Board of Directors did not agree with the vision that Jobs had for Apple, so aged 30, he got fired from the company that he had help to co-found by the person he had hired to lead the company. Steve Wozniak also resigned in the same year. The strong-willed Jobs did not give up and said that “getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me” as this freed him up to develop his own vision based on his creative and entrepreneurial talents.
The middle years without Apple
It was this period of time when Steve Jobs started two other companies called NeXT in 1985 and Pixar in 1986. NeXT produced computers for higher education and businesses. One of the technicians at NeXT, Tim Berners-Lee, later went on to create the World Wide Web (the world’s first web server was made using a NeXT computer). The NeXT computers, with a price tag of $6,000 failed due to the high price.
In 1986, Jobs bought The Graphics Group for $10 million, a division of Lucasfilm from George Lucas, the creator of the Stars Wars franchise. Jobs rebranded The Graphics Group as Pixar. Although Pixar struggled in its earlier years, with Jobs pouring in over $70 million into both NeXT and Pixar, the latter is internationally renowned for creating the world’s first computer animated feature film, Toy Story in 1995. Whilst Toy Story – with Jobs credited as the executive producer – took $30 million to make, it grossed almost $362 million at the box office worldwide - that's a return on investment (ROI) of over 1,206%!
Pixar floated on the stock exchange within a week of the release of Toy Story, making Steve Jobs a billionaire in the process, and today Pixar is by far the world’s most successful animation studio. In 2006, The Walt Disney Company bought Pixar for a staggering $7.5 billion, giving Jobs 7% in the company thereby making him the largest single shareholder of the world’s biggest entertainment company.
In a real twist to the remarkable story of Steve Jobs, in 1996 Apple – who had struggled without Jobs – bought NeXT for its software for the Mac computer, paying $377 million. This of course meant that Steve Jobs was suddenly back at Apple. A year later, Jobs – renowned as an autocratic leader – had orchestrated himself back into the position of chief executive officer of Apple.
Apple’s global reach
Having taken back the helm at Apple, Steve Jobs went on to build a technology giant worth $380 billion. The entrepreneurial genius had introduced a range of ‘cool’ gadgets that would revolutionise the way in which people accessed their music. In 2001, Jobs suggested to an audience that “To have your whole music library with you at all times is a quantum leap in listening to music” and then pulled out of his jean pockets the first iPod to show off to the world. In 2007, Jobs launched the iPhone, which – in his word – ‘changes everything’. No longer would people use a mobile phone just as a telephone but the iPhone would change the way in which people communicated and accessed information and entertainment. Fittingly, it was during this time that Apple Computer was rebranded as just Apple. In the summer of 2011, the valuation of Apple surpassed Exxon Mobil to become the world’s most valuable company, albeit only temporarily.
Apple’s largest store, in Covent Garden, London UK boasts 300 staff members – more than any other Apple Store in the world, with a huge three-storey square glass staircase. There is a virtual tour of the Apple Store here. The Fifth Avenue Apple Store has even become a tourist attraction.
Apple has a huge presence in Hong Kong. In fact, smartphones make up over 70 per cent of all phone sales in this tech-savvy city, with the iPhone 4 being the market leader. Apple’s flagship store in Hong Kong boasts an ideal location in the world famous International Finance Centre (although the rent is a staggering HK$11 million - US$1.42m - per month!) According to the Hong Kong Information Technology Federation, it was the iPhone 3GS, launched in 2009, that turned smartphones from a niche market product into a must-have product for the masses. Apple also opened its fifth store in China in October 2011 (there are currently two in Beijing and three in Shanghai), with an estimated 40,000 visitors each day. Apple’s latest smartphone, the powerful iPhone 4S, has raised questions about the existing 3G network in many countries, with analyst suggesting that a faster 4G platform might be needed. Just 11 years after its launch, Apple had sold over 2.2 billion iPhones, making it Apple's most successful product of all time.
Tributes for the visionary
On the day the media announced the death of Steve Jobs, political leaders and business leaders poured out their tributes for Jobs. US President Obama said that the world had lost a ‘visionary’. Bill Gates, America’s richest man and co-founder of Microsoft, said that it had been an “insanely great honour” to have worked with Jobs in the past. News media across the globe honoured Steve Jobs as an innovator and one of the world’s greatest entrepreneurs who changed the way so many people throughout the world communicate and access information and entertainment. The Economist said that Steve Jobs stood out in three ways: as a technologist “obsessed with product design and aesthetics”, as a corporate leader with strategic vision, and someone who had the ability to make people love gadgets that had previously been seen as impersonal functional devices. At the time of his death, Apple was the world’s most valuable technology company.
Box 2 – Visionary leaders
Psychologists Nir Halevy, Yair Berson and Adam Galinsky (2011) identified that visionary leaders inspire hope for the future and display the following traits:
Charisma
Stand out
Take their organisations in a new direction
Risk takers
Strongly held views on what the organisation should do differently
For many analysts, Steve Jobs met the above criteria perfectly.
Conclusions
It was Steve Jobs who ensured that the Mac became the world’s first commercially successful personal computer. The iPod revolutionised the music industry and its iTunes platform was blamed by many for the demise of well-established music retailers such as HMV. The iPad created a huge market for tablet computers, thereby ensuring that the desktop computer reaches the decline stage in its product life cycle. The iPhone helped to completely change the core function of mobile phones. These so-called smartphones have added-value features such as the ability to play music, take digital photos, view maps, check emails, play online interactive games and countless other applications. Steve Jobs was a perfectionist in product innovation and marketing – he managed to persuade us to buy products that we would deem as necessities before we even knew we needed them.
Apple placed the following statement on its website following the death of its co-founder: “Steve’s brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives.” In essence, Apple had highlighted to its workforce – and fans throughout the world – three vital characteristics that made Steve Jobs such an unparalleled entrepreneur.
Steve Jobs was undoubtedly been a remarkable entrepreneur and changed the lives of hundreds of millions of people throughout the world. Business leaders, teachers and students can all take advice from Jobs who reminds us that “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.”
Suggested reading:
10 practical leadership lessons from Steve Jobs
If you have time, this full feature-length documentary about Steve Jobs is also worth watching. There is little doubt that Steve Jobs was one of the most innovative and influential entrepreneurs of recent times. Despite his humble beginnings, as an adopted child, Steve Jobs built the most valuable company and brand in the world and revolutionized several industries.
Watch this 66 minutes documentary to find out the story behind Steve Jobs' rise to global success, and the business philosophy left behind by one of the greatest corporate leaders of all time.
"The role of a leader is not to come up with all the great ideas. The role of the leader is to create an environment in which great ideas can happen."
- Simon Sinek (b.1973), British-American author
This refers to a leadership style where the manager or leader makes decisions on behalf of his/her team in the belief that these are in the best interest of the workers. A paternalistic leader sees employees as family members, making decisions they believe are in the best interest of the workforce (or family).
The world ‘paternalistic’ comes from the word ‘paternal’, which itself is derived from the Latin word ‘pater’, meaning father. Unsurprisingly then, paternalistic leadership is common in family-run businesses.
Such a leadership style has some commonality with an autocratic leadership style because there is a clear and dominant central person, who holds control of all decision-making power. Consultation may occur, but the leader makes the decisions, guiding and protecting the team. Paternalistic leaders usually see the workers as less capable and/or experienced than themselves.
Advantages of paternalistic leadership
Advantages of a paternalistic leadership style include the following points:
It can motivate staff as they feel guided and that their interests are protected
It can ensure harmonious relationships at work as the leader genuinely values the staff
It promotes loyalty to the leader and the organization
It can create a sense of belonging, helping to meet workers’ safety and social needs (Maslow’s hierarchy of needs)
Overall, these advantages are good for staff morale, motivation and productivity and hence beneficial to the organization (such as lower staff turnover and higher profitability).
Disadvantages of paternalistic leadership
Disadvantages of paternalistic leadership style include the following points:
Decision-making is still centralized, so workers can become dissatisfied if their views are ignored
Communication is mainly top-down, from senior management
Paternalistic leaders may not always make the best decisions, which can lead to conflict and disagreement.
Theory of Knowledge (TOK)
To what extent does a leader or a parent always know what is ‘best’ for others in their care?
Get students to consider examples of when parents are correct / right about things (there must be plenty of examples! Then get them to consider the list of examples of when their parents may have got things wrong, such as:
'knowing' what it is like being a teenager today, in the digital age of online learning and social media
knowing the best time for their children to go to sleep
knowing what's best in terms of their friendship groups
knowing what children should eat, such as their 'greens' (vegetables), or what they should wear(!)
You are likely to get a longer list for the latter(!)
Finally, challenge students to consider on what basis their parents are making these knowledge claims, and how knowledge itself evolves over time.
Of course, parenting is not drastically different from management and leadership - so, is it always the case that people in positions of responsibility always 'know' what is best for the organization?
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, concerned citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
- Margaret Mead (1901 - 1978), American cultural anthropologist
A democratic leader is one who is willing to delegate authority and consult subordinates in decision-making. This leadership style is characterised by inclusiveness, where all employees are encouraged to share their views and ideas in the decision-making process. The word ‘democratic’ comes from the Greek word ‘dēmokratía’, which means the “rule of the people” or “rule of the majority”.
Democratic leaders involve employees in the decision-making process because they are comfortable with trusting them to carry out their jobs. To such leaders, consultation and collaboration are important to the success of the organization.
Advantages of democratic leadership
Advantages of a democratic leadership style include the following points:
Workers feel valued as they are actively encouraged to participate in the decision-making process.
Workers feel motivated as they are empowered.
The most is made out of the skills, experiences and creativity of the employees.
Collaboration leads to higher morale and improved productivity.
The organization takes advantage of the innovative potential of its employees.
Getting regular feedback and consulting employees also helps the organization to better understand their concerns.
These advantages benefit the organization from higher levels of motivation and staff loyalty.
Disadvantages of a democratic leadership
Disadvantages of a democratic leadership style include the following points:
It may result in disagreement and disharmony; it is not realistic to please everyone, all of the time.
It is ineffective when critical decisions need to be made quickly, and sometimes workers just need to do what they are told to get their jobs done.
It can be time consuming, especially if managers do not have the time to consult everyone, so decision-making is often delayed.
Hence, democratic decision-making can be costly.
These disadvantages can cause negative impacts on the daily operations of the organization.
“It’s okay to admit what you don’t know. It’s okay to ask for help. And it’s more than okay to listen to the people you lead - in fact, it’s essential.”
- Mary Barra (b. 1961), CEO of General Motors
A laissez-faire leadership style is one where the leader delegates a significant amount of authority to subordinates and provides them with the freedom to carry out tasks in their own way, with minimal direction or supervision. Laissez-faire leaders gives workers the autonomy to make their own decisions on how best to accomplish organizational objectives. The term ‘laissez-faire’ is French for ‘let go’ or ‘let them do’ (let them be).
Laissez-faire leadership is the opposite of autocratic leadership, as the leader lets go of command and control, and totally empowers the workers to achieve the organization’s goals. Employees work without direct supervision as they have the power and authority to make independent decisions. However, this means that the success of laissez-faire leadership depends on the employees – their skills, talents, experiences, drive (motivation) and level of commitment.
Advantages of laissez-faire leadership
Advantages of a laissez-faire leadership style include the following:
A laissez-faire leadership style can be motivational as employees have freedom to carry out tasks in any effective way they wish.
It also encourages individuals to be creative, and thus helps the firm become more innovative.
It helps to develop an intrapreneurial culture (where workers take on an entrepreneurial role) in the organization, helping the business to gain competitive advantages.
It helps to build drive (Pink’s motivation theory) amongst employees because the l\der is places implicit trust in the workforce by giving them autonomy in decision-making.
Overall, the positive impacts of laissez-faire leadership help to achieve greater productivity, staff morale, lower labour turnover and higher profitability.
Disadvantages of laissez-faire leadership
Disadvantages of a laissez-faire leadership style include:
Monitoring and coordination of business operations are made more difficult and time-consuming, especially as there is an absence of managerial control.
Slack (complacency) can arise due to a very minimal level of supervision involved.
It does not suit all workers as they may want or prefer clear guidance and direction; having a large amount of freedom to make decisions can worry some workers.
"Your role as a leader is to bring out the best in others, even when they know more than you."
- Dr. Wanda Walla, Leadership coach and author
A leader who is willing and able to change leadership style according to the circumstances being faced uses what is called a situational leadership style. Situational leadership, coined by by Paul Hersey and Kenneth H. Blanchard, involves the leader or manager adjusting their leadership style to fit the task, circumstance or situation that they find themselves in. For example, a naturally laissez-faire leader may need to switch to being autocratic or paternalistic during a crisis situation.
Sports coaches often use situational leadership during competitive games. They adjust their strategy and leadership style to match the circumstances and situation based on the team they happen to be competing against on the day. In competitive sports, as in the corporate world, there is no single best leadership style that works all of the time and in all situations. Hence, different styles are appropriate depending on the context or situation.
Sports coaches often use situational leadership
Advantages of situational leadership
Advantages of a situational leadership style in business organizations include:
It recognises that effective leaders have to be adaptive, rather than rigid in their leadership style
Situational leadership is possibly the most practical of leadership styles as it applies to almost all business organizations
The dynamic nature of the external business environment means that leaders have to adjust their style to suit different situations and changes in the market.
Disadvantages of situational leadership
Disadvantages of a situational leadership style include:
If workers become used to a particular leadership style, they may become disheartened and unsettled if the leader or manager needs changes their style
Most people have a preferred or natural leadership style, so changing or adopting a different style can be difficult and uncharacteristic for them.
Top tip!
"Good leadership requires you to surround yourself with people of diverse perspectives who can disagree with you without fear of retaliation."
- Dr. Doris Kearns Goodwin (b.1943), Historian, biographer, and author
Remember that there is no single ‘best’ management or leadership style. Instead, there may be or a ‘most appropriate’ style, depending on situational factors such as the nature of the task, the skills and experience of the workforce and the organizational culture.
Top tip!
One useful way to remember the factors that affect the choice of leadership style is the acronym TWICE:
Task - The style used will often depend on the nature of the task at hand, such as whether it is a routine or high-risk activity, or a whether it is a time-consuming and hence costly project
Workers - The skills, qualifications, confidence, experience and abilities of the workforce determine the most suitable style of leadership to use
Individual - The individual leader will have his/her own personality and preferences, which determines their natural or favoured leadership style
Culture - Organizational culture also determines the leadership style used, e.g. Google’s organizational culture means that leaders do not need to use an autocratic leadership style, but adopt a more laissez-faire style
Experiences - Leaders will have gained experience in handling different situations and circumstances. This will therefore have an impact on how they lead in different situations.
Theory of Knowledge (TOK)
Does kindness hinder the effectiveness of a leader?
Key concept - Ethics
Ethical behaviour is about doing the right thing, even when no one is watching
“Being good is good business.”
- Dame Anita Roddick (1942 - 2007), Founder of The Body Shop
“Without ethical culture, there is no salvation for humanity.”
- Albert Einstein, theoretical physicist (1879 - 1955)
Ethics are a growing part of business operations across the world. Ethical guidelines therefore set clear parameters for leaders and managers in business organizations. These guiding principles and restrictions are vast ranging, from the ethical treatment of workers, suppliers, customers and the natural environment. Ethical leadership can have a very positive impact on a business, such as a more productive and loyal workforce, even though it takes time and a lot of effort.
Key concept - Ethics
What personal traits do managers need in order to be ethical knowers and decision makers?
Leadership styles and ATL Activities
ATL Activity 1 (Thinking skills) - Leadership quotes and their meanings
Take a look at the World Economic Forum (WEF) website for a collection of “47 quotes on leadership worth repeating”. To read the article, click the link here.
Having studied Unit 2.3 (Leadership and management), reflect on what you think the following ten quotes tell us about leadership and management:
“Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.”
- Dwight D Eisenhower, 34th President of the USA
“Managers do things right. Leaders do the right thing.”
- Warren Bennis, leadership guru
“A leader is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go on ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realising that all along they are being directed from behind.”
- Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa
“Leadership is like the Abominable Snowman. You never see it, but you know by the footprints that it’s there.”
- Ann Richards, former Governor of Texas, USA
“Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren’t.”
- Margaret Thatcher, former Prime Minister of the UK
“A leader is a person you will follow to a place you wouldn’t go by yourself.”
- Joel A Barker, business management guru
“The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority.”
- Kenneth Blanchard, business management guru
“Leadership is action, not position.”
- Donald Mcgannon, former television and broadcasting executive
"Leadership is all about people. It is not about organizations. It is not about strategies. It is all about people motivating people to get the job done. You have to be people-centred."
- Colin Powell, former US Secretary of State
“Management is about arranging and telling. Leadership is about nurturing and enhancing.”
- Tom Peters, business management guru
ATL Activity 2 - Video recap
Recap your understanding of leadership styles by watching this excellent 10-minute video titled “What is leadership?”
ATL Activity 3 (Research and Self-management skills) - Extension reading activities
Exam Practice Question - Human Resource Management at Mount Beacon School (MBS)
Mount Beacon School (MBS) is a private fee-paying school for boys aged 11 - 18. Students are admitted based on their academic ability in a Mathematics, English, and Science entrance exam. There are 800 students in the school and a total of 110 teachers and 95 non-teaching staff. The school achieves outstanding examination results and was described in a recent external school inspection report as “an exemplary school that offers a wide and challenging curriculum for all students”.
Although teachers at MBS earn a salary that is significantly above the national average for the profession, a total of eighteen teachers resigned for various reasons this academic year (such as for external promotions or taking a career break from the teaching profession). One of the positions to be filled is the Head of Individuals and Societies Department. Andy Hay, the current post holder, is retiring after being at MBS for over 15 years.
As an autocratic leader, Andy Hay believes in centralized decision making and fails to put faith in the talents of member of his team, especially as those of them are still relatively new to the teaching profession. The senior leadership team (SLT) knows this, given that Andy has said to the Principal in person that none of the other four members of his department are ready to be Head of Department (even though they have over 15 years of teaching experience between them at the school). Instead, Andy has suggested to the Principal that the school recruits his successor from the pool of external candidates.
In recent years, Andy’s own management style has caused conflict within his own department and with the SLT. He is known to be outspoken and extroverted. Even members of staff outside his Department have complained to the SLT about his poor interpersonal skills. The Departmental staff members are dedicated to the school, mainly because of the excellent quality of teaching and learning at the school, so they have tended to put up with the management style adopted by their line manager.
Nevertheless, all members of the SLT are sad to see Andy retire. He has worked extremely hard during his time at the school, and examination results are well above those of the national average for all subjects offered in the Individuals and Societies Department. In fact, during the past four years, the Department has managed to get the best results in the IB Diploma Programme in the whole school. The senior leadership team is keen to hire a replacement who is highly competent, determined, and motivated to lead the team to ensure all students continue to achieve outstanding results.
| (a) | Identify two characteristics of an autocratic leader. | [2 marks] |
| (b) | Define the term line manager. | [2 marks] |
| (c) | Examine whether the senior leadership team at MBS ought to act on the advice of Andy Blair to use external recruitment to hire the new Head of Department.* | [6 marks] |
| (d) | Evaluate the factors that contribute to effective leadership in organizations such as MBS. | [10 marks] |
Teacher only boxAnswers
(a) Identify two characteristics of an autocratic leader. [2 marks]
Characteristics of an autocratic leader could include:
Makes autonomous decisions without consultation or regard for his/her subordinates
Dictates all work methods and processes
Largely unreceptive to changes in the business environment
Maintains absolute and authoritarian control over a group/team
Accept any other valid characteristic of an autocratic leader.
Award [1 mark] for each characteristic of an autocratic leader that is correctly identified, up to a maximum of [2 marks].
(b) Define the term line manager. [2 marks]
A line manager is the person directly above an employee on the next hierarchical level of an organizational chart. The line manager (such as Andy Hay) is responsible for the daily management of the people who are directly on the next level down the hierarchy (the four members of his department). Whilst the line manager might delegate tasks to subordinates, s/he still retains overall responsibility for the tasks.
Award [1 mark] if there is some understanding of ‘line manager’ shown, although the answer might lack clarity.
Award [2 marks] if ‘line manager’ is clearly defined, similar to the one given above (although not necessarily in such depth).
(c) Examine whether the SLT at Mount Beacon School (MBS) ought to act on the advice of Andy Hay to use external recruitment to hire the new Head of Department. [6 marks]
External recruitment is the process of hiring workers from outside the organization. Arguments for MBS using external recruitment include:
The external recruit might provide much needed ‘new blood’ (ideas and revitalizing force), given that the existing members of the department have been there a while (collectively, over 15 years). The new Head of Department can bring in new ideas, provide insight into best practise and how things are done well in other schools.
It tends to attract a larger pool of applicants. The Internet, for example, can have a global reach for recruitment, yet only incurs relatively low costs. Hence, external recruitment increases MBS’ chances of finding the ideal candidate for the Head of Department job.
Similarly, an external recruit might be more qualified or suitable than any of the internal candidates, perhaps because they have gained the necessary experiences and skills required by MBS. For example, the external candidate might be an existing Head of Department at another school.
Arguments against using external recruitment to fill the Head of Department role at MBS include:
External recruitment tends to be more time consuming than internal recruitment. External advertising, screening of the applications, shortlisting suitable candidates, interviewing and checking references all take up valuable senior management time. MBS might also be obliged to consider anti-discrimination laws when advertising jobs and interviewing applicants. This further lengthens the (external recruitment) process.
External recruitment can be extremely expensive, such as the cost of the Head of Department job advert being placed in national newspapers. There is also the opportunity cost of senior management time involved in recruitment, selection, induction and training.
There is a greater degree of uncertainty when hiring an external recruit. Senior management would be taking some risk in that they do not really know the external candidates or their ability to do the Head of Department job effectively.
However, targeting the right person can be difficult and the advertising costs can also be high.
Award [1 – 2 marks] if the answer is rather vague / descriptive and lacks coherence. The answer might appear in a list-like format.
Award [3 – 4 marks] if the answer considers the merits and limitations of using external recruitment. However, the answer lacks depth and/or application. Award up to [3 marks] for an unbalanced answer.
Award [5 – 6 marks] if there is a thorough examination of various advantages and limitations of using external recruitment to hire the new HOD at MBS. Appropriate terminology is used with good application demonstrated.
(d) Evaluate the factors that contribute to effective leadership in organizations such as MBS. [10 marks]
The answer should outline the meaning/interpretation of ‘effective leadership’ in relation to the achievement of organizational objectives. Factors that contribute to effective leadership in organizations such as MBS might include a discussion of the:
Ability and experience of the leader (principal or senior leadership team).
Confidence and competence of subordinates (teaching staff).
Level of difficulty in completing the tasks at hand (depending on whether the task is routine, such as recruitment, or a one-off task, such as dealing with a fire incident.
Degree of staff loyalty towards the leader or organization (11% staff turnover at Mount Beacon School).
Motivation level of the leader and subordinates.
Effectiveness of communication channels (issues of conflict between teaching staff).
Award [1 - 2 marks] for an answer that is vague/generalized and lacks substance. The answer might be presented in a list-like format.
Award [3 - 4 marks] for an answer that shows limited understanding of the demands of the question. There is minimal application shown.
Award [5 - 6 marks] for an answer that shows some understanding of the demands of the question, with some effective application of the stimulus material. The answer may be unbalanced and/or overly descriptive.
Award [7 - 8 marks] for an answer that shows good understanding of the demands of the question. There is evidence of application of the stimulus material in the case study, but clear evaluation is missing.
Award [9 - 10 marks] if there is clear discussion of the factors that contribute to effective leadership in organizations such as MBS, some of which may be beyond the control of the leader (school principal). Appropriate terminology is used throughout the response and there is evidence of critical and reflective thinking.
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