AUTHORITARIANISM VS. LEADERSHIP
Have you ever thought about what actually means to be a leader, what makes a leader different from your boss?
Who've put themselves and put their lives at risk to save others, and asked them,
"Why would you do it? Why did you do it?"
And they all say the same thing: "Because they would have done it for me." It's this deep sense of trust and cooperation. So trust and cooperation are really important here. The problem with concepts of trust and cooperation is that they are feelings, they are not instructions. I can't simply say to you, "Trust me," and you will. I can't simply instruct two people to cooperate, and they will. It's not how it works. It's a feeling. Great leaders would never sacrifice the people to save the numbers. They would sooner sacrifice the numbers to save the people. When the people feel safe and protected by the leadership in the organization, the natural reaction is to trust and cooperate. Leadership is a choice, It is not a rank. Why do we call them leaders?
-We call them leaders because they go first.
-We call them leaders because they take the risk before anybody else does.
-We call them leaders because they will choose to sacrifice so that their people may be safe
and protected and so their people may gain, and when we do, the natural response is that
our people will sacrifice for us.
They will give us their blood and sweat and tears to see that their leader's vision comes
to life, and when we ask them, "Why would you do that? Why would you give your blood and sweat and tears for that person?" they all say the same thing: "Because they would have done it for me."And isn't that the organization we would all like to work in?
"Leadership is the ability of an individual to influence, motivate, and guide others.
Regardless of where they work, good leaders distinguish themselves by their judgment,
their ability to relate to others and their integrity."
What type of leader can we find?
Synchronized leaders are valued for their prudent and linear actions, their ability to seek consensus, and secure the proper authorizations when making decisions. Because this requires a considerable amount of time, once decisions are reached in an organized manner and with everyone on board, there is a significant urgency to implement the decision. You are likely to encounter such leaders in Northeast Asia, Japan, and Mexico.
Opportunistic leaders are risk-takers who are flexible with how to reach their goals,
thrive on ambiguity, and favor creativity. Such leaders are favored in Germany and Nordic Europe (such as Denmark and Sweden), the UK, and a number of countries on which the UK had significant influence, such as Australia, India, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
Straight-shooting leaders are valued for their ability to give direct feedback
at any time and for being task-oriented. In cultures where nuanced and excessive communication is less appealing, their explicit and direct communication style is favored.
You are likely to encounter such leaders in France, Finland, and Russia.
Diplomatic leaders, on the other hand, are valued for their nuanced
and sophisticated communication skills, their ability to keep business conversations pleasant,
and feedback constructive and caring. Direct feedback and open debate can create bad feelings and is avoided. Such leaders are expected to "read the air" carefully and adjust their behavior accordingly. These leaders are valued in Japan, Saudi Arabia, much of Latin America, and India.
The next two types of leaders can emerge when what the authors call
"dark-side tendencies" take over, due to stress, organizational culture, or other dysfunctions.
Such leaders, while inevitably harmful, are found to be tolerated in some cultures.
Kiss-up / kick-down leaders are found in organizations where many layers
of hierarchy and inequality are the norm. They spend a lot of time worrying about rank and saving face. They are submissive to superiors and dominating to subordinates. They tend to be tolerated more in cultures where rigid codes of behaviors are routinely used to mitigate uncertainty, such as Greece and Russia, and in hierarchical societies such as Western Asia and South Korea.
Passive-aggressive leaders have typically been forced to act without their consent or buy-in
over a period of time and have become cynical.
They pretend to cooperate while exerting control by dragging their feet when out of sight.
Such leaders appear to be tolerated in cultures with excessively high power distance,
is the norm, such as Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, and Russia.
Charismatic Leaders inspire and expect high performance. from others based on firmly held values. Leadership characteristics include visionary, inspirational, self-sacrifice, integrity,
decisive, and performance-oriented.
Team-Oriented Leaders focus on effective team building and the implementation of a common goal. Leadership characteristics include collaborative team orientation
team integration, diplomatic, and administratively competent. Self-Protective Leaders ensure the safety and security of individuals and of the group through status enhancement and face-saving. Leadership characteristics include self-centered, status-conscious,
conflict inducer, face saver, and procedural.
Participative Leaders involve others in making and implementing decisions.
Humane-Oriented Leaders are supportive, considerate, compassionate, altruistic, and generous.
Autonomous Leaders value personal initiative and are independent and individualistic.
Based on the responses generated by the study and using other research, the GLOBE researchers grouped societies into 10 regional clusters. The clusters were a way of creating meaning around societal views of culture and leadership. Each cluster had characteristics specific to their region, language, religion, history, and shared cultural understanding.
The researchers identified desirable, undesirable, and culturally contingent attributes of leadership. For example, societies that value high-performance orientation, desire leaders
who are charismatic, team-oriented, and participative.