BUS272 TB

Chapter 11 Leadership 399
Today’s managers and their employees are increasingly being linked by networks rather
than geographical proximity. We propose that online leaders have to think carefully
about what actions they want their digital messages to initiate. They confront unique
challenges, the greatest of which appears to be developing and maintaining trust.
Identification-based trust , based on a mutual understanding of each other’s intentions
and appreciation of the other person’s wants and desires, is particularly difficult
to achieve without face-to-face interaction. 102 Online negotiations can also be hindered
because parties express lower levels of trust. 103
Good leadership skills will soon include the ability to communicate support, trust,
and inspiration through electronic communication and to accurately read emotions in
others’ messages. In electronic communication, writing skills are likely to become an
extension of interpersonal skills.
Leading without Authority
Can you lead, even if you don’t have the authority (or a formal appointment)? For
instance, what if you wanted to convince the dean to introduce more relevant business
courses, or you wanted to convince the president of the company where you work to use
more environmentally friendly strategies in dealing with waste? How do you effectively
lead in a student group, when everyone is a peer?
Leadership at the grassroots level does happen. Rosabeth Moss Kanter, in her book
The Change Masters , 104 discusses examples of employees who saw something that
needed changing and took on the responsibility to do so. Employees were more likely
to do this when organizations permitted initiative at all levels of the organization, rather
than making it a tool of senior executives only.
Leading without authority means exhibiting leadership behaviour even though
you do not have a formal position or title. Neither Martin Luther King Jr. nor Nelson
Mandela operated from a position of authority, yet each was able to inspire many to
follow him in the quest for social justice. The workplace can be an opportunity for
leading without authority as well. As Ronald Heifetz of the Harvard Kennedy School
notes, “Leadership means taking responsibility for hard problems beyond anyone’s
expectations.” 105 It also means not waiting for the coach’s call. 106
What are the benefits of leading without authority? Heifetz has identified three: 107
• Latitude for creative deviance. It’s easier to raise harder questions and look for
less traditional solutions when a person is not locked into the trappings that
go with authority.
• Issue focus. Individuals can focus on a single issue, rather than be concerned
with the myriad issues that those in authority face.
• Front-line information. An individual is closer to the detailed experiences of
some of the stakeholders and thus, more information is available.
Not all organizations support this type of leadership, and some have been known to
actively suppress it. Still, you may want to reflect on the possibility of engaging in leadership
behaviour because you see a need, rather than because you are required to act.
C o n t e m p o r a r y I s s u e s i n L e a d e r s h i p
As an Aboriginal leader, Bryce Williams appreciates the need to be an authentic voice for
his First Nation. 108 Steven Stark, a member of the legislature, notes that Williams’ commitment
to economic development does not undermine his enduring commitment to supporting
Tsawwassen First Nation (TFN) culture. Stark is very blunt in his assessment of the need for
authenticity. “You could talk white language all day long and sound very sophisticated, but if
you don’t have that native culture behind you and talk with the native tongue, you’re not going
identification-based trust Trust
based on a mutual understanding
of each other’s intentions and
appreciation of each other’s wants
and desires.