INLS 131:  Management of Information Professionals

Week 9: March 5 - 18, 2002
Leadership;
Power and Influence

Assignments

I am inserting an extra week in this week's assignment to include time for the break but to keep our beginning and ending days of the week consistent.

We have two important and interconnected topics to address this week. In preparation please read Chapter 13 on leadership and Chapter 16 on power and influence. An additional reading is available at http://ils.unc.edu/daniel/131/cco4/Kanter.pdf. This article is written by an important name in the management field, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, and is entitled "Power Failure in Management Circles." In it, Kanter describes some of the bad management practices that often arise because the manager feels powerless. Kanter argues that empowering others is a good route to gaining power for oneself. The reading seems to me to bridge leadership and power in a good way. Let me know if you agree.

Our topics for the week connect back to earlier readings and discussions on theories about managing people, motivation, and managerial style. Our learning objectives for this week are to:

• define leadership and understand it in respect to follower expectations
• consider traits related to leader success
• distinguish between two main tasks of the manager-leader:
  • initiating structure (task orientation) and
  • consideration behavior (personal orientation)
• describe sources of power and relate them to possible influencing tactics
• identify influence styles and power-enhancing activities.

You have three tasks assigned this week. Two are due next week on March 25 and one is due the week after that.

Task 18: Observations on Leadership

As you are reading Chapter 13 on leadership, please note the following quote from page 288: "Leaders are individuals who

• establish direction for a group,
• gain the group members' commitment, and
• motivate them to achieve goals to move in that direction."

Your task is similar to that outlined in the "Premeeting Preparation" exercise found in the text on pages 287-288, with a few modifications.

1. Think of four leaders you have either worked with, observed closely, or read about (a fictional or historical leader will work as well as those you associate with in your daily life). The leaders you choose may be leaders in volunteer activities, in work or educational settings, or even in family situations.
2. Identify each of your four leaders by a first name and tell us a little about him/her. Tell us what the context of your observation of leadership is (it may be different for each of the leaders). Then for each leader, describe some specific behaviors that you find admirable. Show how (or if) each of these leaders accomplished the three functions listed in the quote above. Try to find four or five specific examples of these behaviors for each of your leaders. You can provide short anecdotes if you like, but a list is sufficient.
3. Compare and contrast the behaviors you have listed for your leaders. One would expect to find some differences to illustrate that leadership can occur in different ways. Write one or two paragraphs on the similarities and differences you see.
4. Look through your lists for each of the leaders and select the four behaviors that you think best illustrate effective leadership behavior and that you would like to emulate (that fit your own developing leadership style). List them.
5. Take a leadership self-test. I found an interesting and useful one at http://www.queendom.com/tests/career/leadership.html that you might enjoy. It requires registration so if you prefer not to register, try this alternative at http://www.psychtests.com/tests/career/leadership.html. You don't have to register to take this one. Reflect on and list what you think are your own strengths as a leader. Comment on how your strengths compare to the four behaviors you selected above.
6. Describe two or three ways you might improve your own leadership competence.

Post your response to the Leadership forum by or before March 25 using the subject heading "Task 18. Leadership Comparison."

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Task 19: Feedback on Classmates' Leadership Comments

Select two of your classmates (try to make sure that everyone gets a response from someone). Read their responses to Task 18 on the Leadership forum and provide a response of at least two to three paragraphs to each one. Respond to their postings in whatever way the spirit moves you. Your feedback responses should be posted on or before April 1.

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Task 20: Free-Form Discussion on Power and Influence

Read the Kanter reading and Chapter 16 on power and influence, paying particular attention to the follow-up section at the end.  It contains four good suggestions of ways to enhance your personal power and influence.  Then take the Personal Influence Diagnosis test on pages 352-353 and see how you come out. For Task 20, I have created a Power and Influence forum. Please post some relevant comments to this forum. You may wish to find another reading from the LIS field (or a related one) to share. Your comments can describe examples or counter-examples of concepts from the text, point out other readings, describe your own influence style or that of others you've observed, reflect on your agreement or disagreement with some of the material in Chapter 16, or .... You may also respond to entries already posted. Please aim for posting at least three entries at several times throughout the week (in other words, let's try to get a discussion going) with your third entry posted by or before March 25.

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Week 10