Leadership in Human Service OrganizationsClass 9August 3, 2010

What makes a good leader?

Think of a person you know to be an excellent leader (either personally or from afar; living today or someone in the past).What are the 10 qualities that make you think highly of that persons leadership?Consider a specific incident in which you thought that person evidenced exceptional leadership skills. Which of the 10 qualities were most important. Why?

What is Leadership?

A leader is bestWhen people barely know that he exists,Not so good when people obey and acclaim him,Worst when they despise him.Fail to honor people, they fail to honor you;But of a good leader, who talks little,When his work is done, his aim is fulfilled,They will all say, We did this ourselves.-Lao-tzu, circa 600 BC

What is leadership?Traditional top-down; command and control leadership does not encourage risk and innovationFuture leadership will be something everyone throughout our organizations and society will be involved in from time-to-timeNot just about doing things right, but about doing the right things

Dynamic InteractionManagers, Staff, SituationsLeadership styles:Directive: takes personal responsibility for major decisionsParticipative: present ideas and invite feedback from staffDelegative: derive satisfaction from giving decisin making responsibilities to staff

Dynamic Interaction: staffFactors operating within staff can influence decision making styleStaff are experienced, motivated to make decisions, identify with agency goals, manage unstructured work and work independently leads to a delegative approach Staff are inexperienced, reluctant to take on responsibilities, require structure, resist making decisions may require a more directive management style

Dynamic Interaction: situationsValues, habits, and traditions of organizationOrganization size and structureOrganizations locationTypes of problems that organization targetsTime pressure and deadlinesExercise flexible leadership and combine approaches

Leadership CompetenciesEffective managers have an outstanding ability to get things done by:Articulating a future orientationBeing a social entrepreneurTreating staff with dignityCommunicating significant messagesEngendering trustInspiring top-level performance

Leadership AttributesEmotional intelligence (Goleman, 1998)self-awarenessSelf-regulationMotivationEmpathySocial skills

Transformational Leadershipin Public Service AgenciesManagers in public/social service have an obligation to maintain the social values and integrity of the institution (Terry, 1995)Leaders role is to conserve the public service values that are part of the organizations missionNeed to balance professional expertise, political skills, and social service values

Leadership in Public Service OrganizationsStreet Level Leadership (Vinzant & Crothers, 1998) studied 100 public workersFront-line leadership in public service agenciesSocial service workers have considerable discretion in how they act and decisions they makeExercise leadership in their relationships with clients and othersExercise influence and influenced by and accountable to others = transformative leadership

Leadership in Public ServiceSkills of shared leadershipFocuses on clusters of individuals working together; team leadershipLeadership that energizes the group or the organizationNew leadership: Helps group understand its potentialIntegrates and articulates the vision of the groupActs as a trigger or stimulus for group action

Questions for DiscussionWhat types of leadership do you see in your organization?

What are considered the most important leadership competencies?