L2L DUKE EDITION · leadership, inspirational leadership, supportive leader-ship, and ethical leadership—together create a com-prehensive and dynamic model of leadership activities,

27

E F F E C T I V E N E S S A N D E T H I C S I N L E A D E R S H I P

In our roles at the Fuqua/Coach K Center on Leadership & Ethics (COLE), wehave the opportunity to interact with a wide variety of executives and students.Some are skeptics and others are hopeful.The skeptics ask us, How can you teach

leadership? Isn’t leadership innate—either you have it or you don’t? The optimistsask us, How can we become better leaders?

To the skeptics, we respond that leaders are both born and made. Everyone is endowedwith distinctive strengths and weaknesses that affect their capacity for leadership.However, most fall short of fully maximizing their leadership potential. Our role aseducators is to help our students to better leverage their capabilities.

To the optimists, we say that leadership is about behaviors and not traits or personal-ities.There is no one “leadership type.” Everyone has seen great leaders who are qui-etly inspiring and others who possess larger-than-life personalities. Leadership isultimately about what you do and how that affects the perception of who you are. Forexample, if people understand what you stand for as a person and perceive you as car-ing about them, they will respond with loyalty and trust. Leaders can be made andimproved upon if they can analyze their behaviors within a framework, understand thetypes and interactions of behaviors that result in effective leadership, and modify theirbehaviors based on that understanding.

So what is leadership?

Leadership is not about prestige,power,or status; it is about influence and persuasion. It isnot based on position, nor is it solely a matter of hierarchical relationships—it is as muchabout leading one’s superiors and one’s peers as it is about leading one’s direct reports.Youcan have an organization in which everyone is a leader and exhibits leadership behavior.

S P E C I A L S U P P L E M E N T

B Y S I M B . S I T K I N , E . A L L A N L I N D , A N D S A N Y I N S I A N G

The SixDomains of

Leadership

L2L_DUKE_INTERIOR_FINAL.qxd 9/27/06 3:15 PM Page 27

28

Leadership focuses on creatingorganizations, changing organiza-tions, and sustaining organizationsas they confront internal andexternal obstacles. In this way, weview leadership as being distinctivefrom management, with leadershipfocusing more on people and cre-ating value and managementfocusing more on systems, imple-mentation, and processes. One isnot more important than theother, and both have key roles toplay in any organization.

Six Domains ofLeadership

Several years ago, two of us(Sitkin and Lind) undertook

the development of a leadershipframework based on strong the-ory and a broad base of scholar-ship, but we sought also todevelop a model that would workwell in the everyday world ofleadership action. We reviewedleadership research and theory inorganizational behavior as well asrelated topics such as work ontrust, fairness, and control, and weexamined what social, political,and cognitive psychology andsociology and political science had to say about leader-ship. (This research will be described in greater detail inour forthcoming book.) In our research, six distinctclusters of leadership behaviors emerged, each with itsown distinct effects on followers. These six domains—personal leadership, relationship leadership, contextualleadership, inspirational leadership, supportive leader-

ship, and ethical leadership—together create a com-prehensive and dynamic model of leadership activities,as illustrated in Figure 1.

This view of leadership behaviors as encompassed by thesix domains includes not only intellectual aspects of lead-ership but also emotional and reflective aspects that


L E A D E R T O L E A D E R

The placement of the domains in the framework shows their relationship to each

other and the effects they produce, as indicated by the surrounding circles. For

example, the relational domain is in the center because leadership is ultimately

about the leader-follower dynamic, and its effect of trust is an element that per-

colates through all types of leadership situations. The three foundational domains

become the building blocks for the next tier of domains—inspirational and sup-

portive leadership. For ethical leadership at the pinnacle to be most effective,

all five supporting domains must be in place.

FIGURE 1.LEADERSHIP DOMAINS AND EFFECTS


29

encompass individual leaders, their relationships withothers, and their ties to a larger community. Thisallows the model to speak to leaders and students ofleadership at multiple levels. On an individual level,it motivates people to explore their own leadershippotential. On a team level, it encouragesteam members and team leaders to reflecton interpersonal relationships, includingtheir skills in developing emotional con-nections with others and their willingnessto both support and challenge others asneeded. On an organizational level, it pro-vides leaders with a contextual platformto accept the responsibilities of being aleader capable of inspiring a sense of com-munal pride.The framework is also note-worthy for its focus on behaviors, itsintegrative and dynamic conceptualizationof leadership, and its grounding in adiverse range of scholarly disciplines.

We will provide a brief overview of thesix domains, the behaviors associated witheach, and the effects that they create inthe follower.

Foundational Domains—Personal, Relational, and Contextual Leadership

Personal leadership: Leaders need to be seenas personally capable of leading, as authen-tic, and as dedicated to the team. Eachleader needs to establish credibility in termsof vision and experience. In the eyes of the followers,is this person qualified to lead them? Does this leaderhave an idea of where the team or organization shouldbe heading and how to get them there? Is that goal ulti-mately what’s good for the overall organization andconsistent with the values espoused by the members of

the team? In preparing for this, did the leader take thetime to understand the environment and the challengesassociated with a particular goal?

At the end of the day, people want to be led by a realperson and not by a title or role. In thepersonal leadership domain, leaders mustdevelop and exhibit an authentic leader-ship style that projects who they are andwhat they stand for. Followers also needto see their leaders demonstrate passionand commitment to the organization—does the leader have skin in the game, soto speak. In this domain, leaders need tohave their words backed up by theiractions.We’ve heard stories of senior exec-utives in organizations that try to effect achange—only to fail because they them-selves were not perceived as embracing thechange they championed. At the end ofthe day, it helps when a leader’s actions areconsistent and predictable.

When a potential leader shows good per-sonal leadership by demonstrating capabil-ity, authenticity, and dedication, theconsequence is credibility.

Relational leadership: If personal leadershipis about the ability to project one’s selfand one’s values to create a leadershippersona, relational leadership is about theability of the leader to demonstrateunderstanding and respect for the follower

and care for that individual’s welfare. Does the leaderview the followers as real people with distinct strengthsand weaknesses and emotions or just as a means to anend? To show an understanding and appreciation ofothers, the leader must be able to engage the teamand give them a voice for their perspectives—and



Sim B. Sitkin is aprofessor of manage-ment, management

area coordinator, andCOLE faculty direc-

tor at the FuquaSchool of Business.

His work hasappeared in HarvardBusiness Review aswell as numerous

scholarly journals andbooks. He just com-pleted serving on the

Board of Governors ofthe Academy ofManagement, assenior editor of

Organization Science,and as associate editor

of the Journal ofOrganizational

Behavior.n



30

then listen to that sharing of ideas and demonstrate itsreal value going forward.

Just as people need to be led by someone real, they alsodesire to be understood, respected, and cared about.Does the leader show genuine concern forthe followers? This kind of concern can beillustrated by something as simple as athank-you note or as complex as establish-ing a job search support strategy for everydisplaced employee after a major layoff.

In becoming a strong relational leader, onemust also be able to talk honestly with indi-viduals on the team and with the team as awhole. This may involve transparency inmaking a decision or providing honestfeedback about an individual’s perfor-mance. When strong relational leadershipis present, the leader and followers will havebuilt trust.

Contextual leadership: Today, more thanever, people’s identities are linked stronglyto their organization. More and more,people derive their sense of self from theirwork, and good contextual leaders fosterand harness this sense of identity for thegood of the team and its goals. In thecontextual leadership domain, leaders cre-ate a sense of communal identity for theteam by helping the members see what the team’svalues and mission are and what the team stands foras a whole.

Furthermore, the strong contextual leader is able to cre-ate a sense of coherence and effective coordination byclarifying for the members the structures, procedures,norms, and practices that are in place. Why do thesesystems and procedures exist and how do they fit into

our organization and mission? More important, whatis my role as a member of this team, where do I fit, andwhere do others fit? In achieving this, the contextualleader can center the team members and generate asense of shared identity, pride, and belonging in the

team.The effect of strong contextual lead-ership is a strong community.

Middle Tier Domains—Inspirationaland Supportive Leadership

The placement of the domains in theframework shows their relationship to eachother. For example, the relational domain isin the center because leadership is ulti-mately about the leader-follower dynamicand its effect of trust is an element thatpercolates through all types of leadershipsituations.The three foundational domainsbecome the building blocks for the nexttier of domains-inspirational and support-ive leadership.

Inspirational leadership: Jack Welch said thatwhen you leave people to set goals forthemselves, the goals that they set are usu-ally higher than the ones the leader wouldhave set for them. Inspirational leadership,then, is not about imposing standards butabout creating a climate and expectation ofexcellence, generating the will to reach

higher, and infusing the team with the enthusiasm andoptimism for getting there.

When people think about leadership, the notion of theinspirational leader usually comes to mind. However, itis important to remember the inspirational domain isnot about charisma or charm—rather, it is aboutbehavior that helps create change in others.Inspirational leaders help people imagine things as they


E. Allan Lind is theThomas A. Finch, Jr.

DistinguishedProfessor of BusinessAdministration at the

Fuqua School ofBusiness and facultyco-director for COLE.

He also teacheswidely in executiveeducation courses onglobal management,virtual teams, andleadership. He is

author of “The SocialPsychology of

Procedural Justice”and has published numerous articles.

n


31

can be, and then fuel the followers’ desire to pursuethat vision. People want to invest in something thatthey see as being bigger than themselves, and the inspi-rational leader is able to help them understand whythe vision is worthy of their best efforts and that thevision is achievable. Ultimately, the inspi-rational leader creates a culture of passionthat results in high aspirations among theteam members.

An entrepreneurial organization in whichresources are limited but goals are grand, aleading organization that needs to makesure that its people continue to innovateinstead of becoming complacent, an orga-nization in crisis in which morale is low—all require inspirational leadership. All thesesituations call for followers to step outsidetheir comfort zones to achieve the seem-ingly impossible, and it is the leader’s job tohelp them to make that step.

The inspirational leadership domain restson the personal and relational domains. Itis built on the authenticity and the level ofcommitment of the leader and requires aperception of credibility from the follow-ers. The followers would want to win forthe leader as well as for the team. Askingpeople to step outside their comfort zonesalso requires a high degree of trust—trust in the leaderto set a vision that is for the good of the overall team,trust in the leader to be there for the group, and trustthat the leader understands what they are truly capableof.This trust can only come from a foundation of goodrelational leadership.

Supportive leadership: If inspirational leadership is aboutshowing people they can fly, supportive leadership isabout giving them a landing strip, a plane, a map, and

good flight instructions. Supportive leadership is aboutproviding a sense of security to the team so that mem-bers will take intelligent risks and continue to grow intheir roles. It is a conditional security, however, one thatrests alongside the challenge of inspirational leadership,

providing cover for the adventurous—notshelter for the lazy.

A number of behaviors help establish thatsense of security. One is the leader’s abil-ity to provide internal support. Does theleader help team members get theresources and tools they need in order toreach the goal? For example, are the rulesand systems in place and is additionaltraining provided if needed? This alsoinvolves the leader understanding the lim-itations of the team and what it is capableand incapable of. Team members derivesecurity from knowing that the leaderunderstands their strengths and weak-nesses, and hence will not push thembeyond the limits of their abilities. Inleading subordinates, a supportive leadercreates a safety net for the team to takeintelligent risks. In leading up, a support-ive leader engages his or her superiors inunderstanding the situation and therequired resources needed to accomplishthe goals of the organization. Hence sup-

portive leadership rests on the relational leadershipdomain and its associated trust effect, and on the clar-ification and understanding of different roles andfunctions within the team that is part of good con-textual leadership.

A second aspect of supportive leadership involvesproviding a buffer against external forces that candistract or hamper the team, reducing its effective-ness.The supportive leader deals with politics external



Sanyin Siang is man-aging director and

senior research associ-ate for COLE. Shehas served as deputy

editor for theAmerican Associationfor the Advancement

of Science’sProfessional EthicsReport, associate

online editor for theAmerican Bar

Association’s Science& Technology LawSection, and a con-tributing editor forIEEE Spectrum.

n


32

to the team and limits the potential interventionfrom external bureaucracy, creating a space for theteam that allows team members to focus on the goalsat hand.

Finally, a sense of security can be derived from creat-ing a culture of learning and shifting away from a cul-ture of blame. The tendency to blame when thingsgo wrong is natural and instinctive, but blame is poi-son for team spirit.The supportive leader focuses theteam members on honestly acknowledging andaddressing the issues at hand instead of pointing fin-gers. The leader may engagethe team in an after-actiondebrief to celebrate successes aswell as identify areas for improve-ment. A recent BusinessWeekcover story (“How FailureBreeds Success,” July 10, 2006),illustrated the innovations thatresulted from lessons learned inthe aftermath of great failures.In the article, several celebratedleaders tell how they havelearned from failure. Theseleaders are where they aretoday because of supportiveleaders along the way whogave them the room to makethose mistakes and learn from them.

This security leads to a collective confidence in the team’sabilities and in each team member’s intentions. It givesroom for the team members to develop as leaders them-selves and mentor others in their leadership development.The effect of good supportive leadership is to make it pos-sible for team members to take the initiative to make intel-ligent decisions and to undertake informed independentaction. The team becomes sustainable without the needfor the constant presence of the current leader at the top.

Pinnacle Domain—Ethical Leadership

While the other five domains focuses on what makesone an effective leader, the ethical domain looks at whatmakes one not just an effective leader, but a good leader.When one is a leader, one’s actions and decisions affectthe lives of others. Leaders have an obligation to thinkin terms of what is profitable, but they also need to bal-ance that against what is good for the team, organiza-tion, and larger society. They are called to balance thelong-term and short-term goals in terms of what isgood for everyone involved. Creating a work-life bal-

ance falls under this notion.

Ethical leaders are role models fortheir organization and theydevelop others into role models aswell. They personify the organi-zation, and through their action,they show by example how tointegrate the values espoused bythe organization in a way that istrue to their own values.

Ethical leaders also engage fol-lowers in shaping organizationalvalues and holding each otheraccountable to those values.Theyfoster a sense of ownership in the

fate of the organization. Part of this involves engagingthe team in making the difficult trade-offs that the orga-nization may have to face. For example, should theorganization participate in the practice of bribery whendoing business in countries in which bribery is the normor risk losing to competitors? Should the organizationexpend its resources to purchase goods that are costlierbut more environmentally friendly?

When strong ethical leadership exists, people derive agreat sense of pride from the organization and take



n

The inspirational

domain is not about

charisma or charm.n


33



ownership of the organization’s actions. The effect ofthe ethical domain is stewardship in which every fol-lower sees the organization as “my house.”

Conclusion

Some perceive leadership asan art rather than a science.

To be sure, leadership resultsfrom a complex mix of instinct,conscious decision, and actionbased on the situation, the people involved, the goals,and the experience of the individual leader. However, it

is more accessible than trying to imagine the next workof an artist’s intuition and creativity. Six distinct domainsof behavior interact with one another to create a sense of

loyalty, trust, community, highaspirations, independent judg-ment, and stewardship amongthe followers. In learning aboutand reflecting upon one’s ownbehaviors, in engaging others,and in being open about theirperceptions of those behaviors in

the context of these six domains, one can learn to be abetter and more effective leader. n

n

Blame is poison

for team spirit.n


Documents

L2L DUKE EDITION · leadership, inspirational leadership, supportive leader-ship, and ethical leadership—together create a com-prehensive and dynamic model of leadership activities,