Power, Politics & Leadership style Concepts of Leadership

I used to think that running an organization was equivalent to conducting a symphony orchestra. But I don't think that's quite it; it's more like jazz. There is more improvisation. Warren Bennis Good leaders are made not born. If you have the desire and willpower, you can become an effective leader. Good leaders develop through a never ending process of self-study, education, training, and experience (Jago, 1982). To inspire your workers into higher levels of teamwork, there are certain things you must be, know, and, do. These do not come naturally, but are acquired through continual work and study. Good leaders are continually working and studying to improve their leadership skills; they are NOT resting on their laurels. Definition of Leadership The meaning of a message is the change which it produces in the image. Kenneth Boulding in the Image: Knowledge in Life and Society Before we get started, lets define leadership. Leadership is a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and directs the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent. This definition is similar to Northouse's (2007, p3) definition Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal.Leaders carry out this process by applying their leadership knowledge and skills. This is called Process Leadership (Jago, 1982). However, we know that we have traits that can influence our actions. This is called Trait Leadership (Jago, 1982), in that it was once common to believe that leaders were born rather than made. These two leadership types are shown in the chart below (Northouse, 2007, p5):

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While leadership is learned, the skills and knowledge processed by the leader can be influenced by his or hers attributes or traits, such as beliefs, values, ethics, and character. Knowledge and skills contribute directly to the process of leadership, while the other attributes give the leader certain characteristics that make him or her unique. Skills, knowledge, and attributes make the Leader, which is one of the:

Four Factors of Leadership

There are four major factors in leadership (U.S. Army, 1983):

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Leader You must have an honest understanding of who you are, what you know, and what you can do. Also, note that it is the followers, not the leader or someone else who determines if the leader is successful. If they do not trust or lack confidence in their leader, then they will be uninspired. To be successful you have to convince your followers, not yourself or your superiors, that you are worthy of being followed. Followers Different people require different styles of leadership. For example, a new hire requires more supervision than an experienced employee. A person who lacks motivation requires a different approach than one with a high degree of motivation. You must know your people! The fundamental starting point is having a good understanding of human nature, such as needs, emotions, and motivation. You must come to know your employees' be, know, and do attributes. Communication You lead through two-way communication. Much of it is nonverbal. For instance, when you set the example, that communicates to your people that you would not ask them to perform anything that you would not be willing to do. What and how you communicate either builds or harms the relationship between you and your employees. Situation All situations are different. What you do in one situation will not always work in another. You must use your judgment to decide the best course of action and the leadership style needed for each situation. For example, you may need to confront an employee for inappropriate behavior, but if the confrontation is too late or too early, too harsh or too weak, then the results may prove ineffective. Also note that the situation normally has a greater effect on a leader's action than his or her traits. This is because while traits may have an impressive stability over a period of time, they have little consistency across situations (Mischel, 1968). This is why a number of leadership scholars think the Process Theory of Leadership is a more accurate than the Trait Theory of Leadership.

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Various forces will affect these four factors. Examples of forces are your relationship with your seniors, the skill of your followers, the informal leaders within your organization, and how your organization is organized.

The Process of Great Leadership

The road to great leadership (Kouzes & Posner, 1987) that is common to successful leaders: Challenge the process - First, find a process that you believe needs to be improved the most. Inspire a shared vision - Next, share your vision in words that can be understood by your followers. Enable others to act - Give them the tools and methods to solve the problem. Model the way - When the process gets tough, get your hands dirty. A boss tells others what to do; a leader shows that it can be done. Encourage the heart - Share the glory with your followers' hearts, while keeping the pains within your own.

Leadership Models
Leadership models help us to understand what makes leaders act the way they do. The ideal is not to lock yourself in to a type of behavior discussed in the model, but to realize that every situation calls for a different approach or behavior to be taken. Two models will be discussed, the Four Framework Approach and the Managerial Grid. Four Framework Approach In the Four Framework Approach, Bolman and Deal (1991) suggest that leaders display leadership behaviors in one of four types of frameworks: Structural, Human Resource, Political, or Symbolic.

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This model suggests that leaders can be put into one of these four categories and there are times when one approach is appropriate and times when it would not be. That is, any style can be effective or ineffective, depending upon the situation. Relying on only one of these approaches would be inadequate, thus we should strive to be conscious of all four approaches, and not just depend on one or two. For example, during a major organization change, a Structural leadership style may be more effective than a Symbolic leadership style; during a period when strong growth is needed, the Symbolic approach may be better. We also need to understand ourselves as each of us tends to have a preferred approach. We need to be conscious of these at all times and be aware of the limitations of just favoring one approach. Structural Framework In an effective leadership situation, the leader is a social architect whose leadership style is analysis and design. While in an ineffective leadership situation, the leader is a petty tyrant whose leadership style is details. Structural Leaders focus on structure, strategy, environment, implementation, experimentation, and adaptation.

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Human Resource Framework In an effective leadership situation, the leader is a catalyst and servant whose leadership style is support, advocating, and empowerment. While in an ineffective leadership situation, the leader is a pushover, whose leadership style is abdication and fraud. Human Resource Leaders believe in people and communicate that belief; they are visible and accessible; they empower, increase participation, support, share information, and move decision making down into the organization. Political Framework In an effective leadership situation, the leader is an advocate, whose leadership style is coalition and building. While in an ineffective leadership situation, the leader is a hustler, whose leadership style is manipulation. Political leaders clarify what they want and what they can get; they assess the distribution of power and interests; they build linkages to other stakeholders, use persuasion first, then use negotiation and coercion only if necessary. Symbolic Framework In an effective leadership situation, the leader is a prophet, whose leadership style is inspiration. While in an ineffective leadership situation, the leader is a fanatic or fool, whose leadership style is smoke and mirrors? Symbolic leaders view organizations as a stage or theater to play certain roles and give impressions; these leaders use symbols to capture attention; they try to frame experience by providing plausible interpretations of experiences; they discover and communicate a vision.

Team Leadership
A lack of leadership is often seen as a roadblock to a team's performance. As Stewart and Manz (1995, p.748) writes, More specifically, work team management or supervision is often identified as a primary reason why self-management teams fail to properly develop and yield improvements in productivity, quality, and quality of life for for American workers. Rather than focusing on ineffective teams, Larson and LaFasto (1989) looked in the opposite direction by interviewing excellent teams to gain insights as to what enables them to function to a high degree. They came away with the following conclusions:

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A clear elevating goal they have a vision Results driven structure visions have a business goal Competent team members with right number and mix Unified commitment they are a team, not a group A collaborative climate aligned towards a common purpose High standards of excellence they have group norms Principled leadership the central driver of excellence External support they have adequate resources

Team Leadership Model

While there are several Team Leadership models, Hill's Team model is perhaps one of the better known ones as it provides the leader or a designated team member with a mental road map to help diagnose team problems, and then take appropriate action to correct team problems (Northouse, 2007). This Team Leadership model is built on a number of research projects: The Four Layers or Steps in the Team Leadership Model 1. Top layer: Effective team performance begins with leaders mental model of the situation and then determining if the situation requires Action or just Monitoring? 2. Second Layer: Is it at an Internal or External leadership level? 3. Third layer: Is it Task, Relational, or an Environmental intervention? Select a function depending on the type of intervention. See the next section for explanation of Function Interventions. 4. Bottom layer: Correctly performing the above three steps create high Performance through Development and Maintenance functions.

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Hill's Team Leadership Model

Team Leadership Function Interventions Internal Task Functions Focus on goals by clarifying and/or getting agreement Restructure plans, processes, roles, etc. in order to gain desired results (process improvement) Guide the decision-making process so that better information is obtained, coordination is better, focusing on issues, etc. Train members through both formal and informal means Assess performance an confront when necessary Internal Relationship Functions Coach team members

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Use more collaborative methods to involve all team members (this survey includes questions to determine if the environment is collaborative) Manage conflict Build commitment and esprit de corps through the use of ethos leadership Satisfy team members' needs Model what you expect from your team members External Environmental Functions Network to increase influence and gather information Advocate by representing your team so that it shows them at their best Get support for your team by gathering resources and recognition for your team Buffer the team from environmental distractions Assess the environment through surveys and other performance indicators to determine its impact on the organization Share information with the team

Charismatic leadership A catalyst in acceptance & resistance to Change

Charismatic leadership is generally associated with social change and renewal. Charismatic authority typically arises in times of crisis, disrupting both tradition and rational rule by shaping followers attitudes according to the leader's revealed ideas. In contemporary leadership theory, charismatic leaders are highlighted as pre-eminent agents of organizational change. Weber (1922/1968), leadership is defined as charismatic when people follow someone because he or she is considered extraordinary and treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically exceptional powers or qualities. the essential point is

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not whether the leader really is an extraordinary person or actually possesses any exceptional powers or qualities . Bryman's (1992)model of the social formation of charisma and Conger and Kanungo's (1998)model of the perceived behaviors of charismatic leaders, both of which identify a number of phenomena typically but not necessarily associated with charismatic leadership, particularly in organizational contexts.

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The main perceived behaviors are as follows: Strategic vision and articulationprovides inspiring strategic and organizational goals; is inspirational, has vision, is entrepreneurial. Personal risktakes high personal risks for the sake of the organization. Unconventional behaviorengages in unconventional behavior in order to achieve organizational goals; uses nontraditional means to achieve organizational goals; often exhibits unique behavior that surprises other members of the organization. Strategic Leadership One main quality of Charismatic Leaders The challenges faced by strategic leaders in implementing complex and long-range consequential decisions demand that they be sophisticated with respect to issues of leadership, power and influence. The changes that are shaping the nature of work in today's complex organizations require that we develop the political will, expertise and personal skills to become more flexible, innovative and adaptive. Without political awareness and skill, we face the inevitable prospect of becoming immersed in bureaucratic infighting, parochial politics and destructive power struggles, which greatly retard organizational initiative, innovation, morale and performance (Kotter 1985). Making organizations more innovative, responsive and responsible requires focusing on a number of leadership, power and influence issues. These issues are critical in coping with the strategic and strategic leader performance requirements in that environment. The issues influence developing teams at the strategic level, as well as managing organizational processes linked to values and ethics, organizational culture, visioning and the management of change. Such issues include: Implementing strategic or adaptive change in the face of formidable resistance. Fostering entrepreneurial and creative behavior despite strong opposition. Gaining resources and support from bosses whose personal agendas might include organizationally harmful political games.

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Avoiding destructive adversarial relationships with others whose help and cooperation are paramount to your success, but who are outside your chain of command and your direct control, and who may suspect your motives. Building and developing effective teams in an internal environment where the natural tendency is to conflict with each other and engage in "turf battles". Avoiding becoming a victim or casualty of destructive power struggles. Avoiding the numerous traps that generate power misuses and ultimately power loss. Fostering organizational excellence, innovation and creativity, and not getting mired in bureaucratic politics or dysfunctional power conflicts. For strategic leaders in most organizations the key to successfully implementing organizational change and improving long term performance rests with the leader's skill in knowing how to make power dynamics work for the organization, instead of against it.

POWER IN ORGANIZATIONS
THE CONCEPTS OF POWER AND ORGANIZATIONAL POLITICS John Gardner, writing about leadership and power in organizations, notes, "Of course leaders are preoccupied with power! The significant questions are: What means do they use to gain it? How much do they exercise it?" To what ends do they exercise it? He further states, "Power is the basic energy needed to initiate and sustain action or, to put it another way, the capacity to translate intention into reality and sustain it." In a similar way, Richard Nixon wrote, "The great leader needs, the capacity to achieve. Power is the opportunity to build, to create, to nudge history in a different direction." Hence, power is recognized as "the ability of those who possess power to bring about the outcomes they desire" (Salancik and Pfeffer 1977). The concept of organizational politics can be linked to Harold Lasswell's (1936) definition of politics as who gets what, when and how. If power involves the employment of stored influence by which events, actions and
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behaviors are affected, and then politics involves the exercise of power to get something done, as well as to enhance and protect the vested interests of individuals or groups. Thus, the use of organizational politics suggests that political activity is used to overcome resistance and implies a conscious effort to organize activity to challenge opposition in a priority decision situation. The preceding discussion indicates that the concepts of power and organizational politics are related. Thus, we define organizational politics as the use of power, with power viewed as a source of potential energy to manage relationships.

THE POLITICAL FRAME Bolman and Deal describe four "frames" for viewing the world: structural, human resources, political, and symbolic. The political frame is an excellent tool for examining the concept of organizational politics and makes a number of assumptions about organizations and what motivates both their actions and the actions of their decision makers. Organizations are coalitions of individuals and interest groups, which form because the members need each others' support. Through a negotiation process, members combine forces to produce common objectives and agreed upon ways to utilize resources thus aggregating their power. Power bases are developed that can accomplish more than individual forces alone. There are enduring differences among individuals and groups in values, preferences, beliefs, information, and perception of reality. Such differences change slowly, if at all. Most of the important decisions in organizations involve allocation of scarce resources: they are decisions about who gets what. In government at present, the competition is for personnel spaces and funding. Mission is the means to gain both, because resources tend to follow mission. In the government as a whole, agencies compete for significance in the
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national/international picture, because significance means public approval and that means resources. Because of scarce resources and enduring differences, conflict is central to organizational dynamics and power is the most important resource. Conflict is more likely in under-bounded systems (less regulation and control). In an over-bounded system with power concentrated at the top, politics remains, but underground. Jefferies makes the point that organizations play the political game within the broader governmental context, but those individuals also play politics within organizations. So both influences are at work. And power is key in both cases, because it confers the ability both to allocate resources- in itself a way to increase power-and to consolidate power by bringing others with similar goals and objectives into the inner decision making core.

The five propositions of the political frame do not attribute organizational politics to negative, dysfunctional or aggrandizing behavior. They assert that organization diversity, interdependence, resource scarcity, and power dynamics will inevitably generate political forces, regardless of the players. Organizational politics cannot be eliminated or fantasized away. Leaders, however, with a healthy power motive can learn to understand and manage political processes. POWER AS A MOTIVE Power is attractive because it confers the ability to influence decisions, about who gets what resources, what goals are pursued, what philosophy the organization adopts, what actions are taken, who succeeds and who fails. Power also gives a sense of control over outcomes, and may in fact convey such enhanced control. Particularly as decision issues become more complex and outcomes become more uncertain, power becomes more attractive as a tool for reducing uncertainty.

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Power competition exists at two levels. Individuals compete for power within agencies and organizations; agencies and organizations compete for power within the broader governmental context. The mechanics of power competition are much the same. In both cases, power accrues when an individual or an organization achieves control of a scarce commodity that others need. And in both cases, the operations are essentially political. Even when compelling physical force is the means, the mechanism is political. So, the political process can be either destructive or constructive, depending on the resource to be accumulated, the means by which the competitors seek to accumulate it, and the value that accrues to all competitors by virtue of the competition. While our focus has been on establishing a legitimate context for understanding organizational politics, a countervailing view to the political frame is the rational frame of organizational decision making. THE RATIONAL FRAME By definition, rational processes are different from political processes. Rational decisions rest heavily on analytic process. An analytic process can be defined as one in which there are agreed-upon methods for generating alternative solutions to problems, and for assigning values to the benefits and costs expected from each of the alternatives. And sophisticated computational methods are readily available for calculating benefits/costs ratios once these values are assigned. The essence of rational process is the belief that, "All good persons, given the same information, will come to the same conclusion." Those seeking to employ the rational process to the exclusion of political process thus seek open communication, perhaps through more than just formal (vertical) organizational channels.

As George points out, while the rational frame to organizational decision making may be highly desirable to most decision makers, it is not immune to political influences. The fact is there are politics involved in
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innovation and change and successful strategic leaders must be effective politicians. The higher one goes in organizations, the more use of organizational politics becomes an important social process; politics are often required to get important decisions implemented in complex systems (Pfeffer).

NATURE OF STRATEGIC LEADER POWER

A number of authors writing in Strivastva's Executive Power(1992) argue that power at the strategic organization level is manifested and executed through three fundamental elements: consensus, cooperation, and culture. "An organization is high in consensus potential when it has the capacity to synthesize the commitment of multiple constituencies and stakeholders in response to specific challenges and aspirations." In this area, strategic leader power is derived from the management of ideas, the management of agreement, and the management of group and team decision making processes.

"Cooperative potential refers to an organization's capacity to catalyze cooperative interaction among individuals and groups." Power is employed by a strategic leader in the management of organization structures, task designs, resource allocation, and reward systems that support and encourage this behavior. "Cultural/spiritual potential refers to a sense of timeless destiny about the organization, its role in its own area of endeavor as well as its larger role in its service to society." Strategic leaders use power in this area to manage and institutionalize organizational symbols, beliefs, myths, ideals and values. Their strategic aim is to create a strong culture that connects the destiny of the organization to the personal goals and aspirations of its members. Although the road to power is open to those who wish to travel it, not all will distinguish themselves as master practitioners. What skills and
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attributes distinguish those strategic leaders who use power effectively from those who do not? INDIVIDUAL SKILLS AND ATTRIBUTES AS SOURCES OF POWER Pfeffer's(1992) research and observations emphasize the following characteristics as being especially important for acquiring and maintaining strategic power bases: High energy and physical endurance is the ability and motivation to work long and often times grueling hours. Absent this attribute other skills and characteristics may not be of much value. Directing energy is the ability and skill to focus on a clear objective and to subordinate other interests to that objective. Attention to small details embedded in the objective is critical for getting things done. Successfully reading the behavior of others is the ability and skill to understand who are the key players, their positions and what strategy to follow in communicating with and influencing them. Equally essential in using this skill is correctly assessing their willingness or resistance to following the Strategic Leader's direction. Adaptability and flexibility is the ability and skill to modify one's behavior. This skill requires the capacity to re-direct energy, abandon a course of action that is not working, and manage emotional or ego concerns in the situation. Motivation to engage and confront conflict is the ability and skill to deal with conflict in order to get done what you want accomplished. The willingness to take on the tough issues and challenges and execute a successful strategic decision is a source of power in any organization. Subordinating one's ego is the ability and skill to submerge one's ego for the collective good of the team or organization. Possessing this attribute is related to the characteristics of adaptability and flexibility. Depending on the situation and players, by exercising discipline and restraint an opportunity may be present to generate greater power and resources in a future scenario. CONCEPTUAL SKILLS AND ATTRIBUTES
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Professional Competence is one of the many ways leaders "add value" by grasping the essential nature of work to be done and providing the organizing guidance so it can be done quickly, efficiently, and well. Conceptual Flexibility is the capacity to see problems from multiple perspectives. It includes rapid grasp complex and difficult situations as they unfold, and the ability to understand complex and perhaps unstructured problems quickly. It also includes tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity. Future Vision reflects strategic vision, appreciation of long-range planning, and a good sense of the broad span of time over which strategic cause and effect play out. Conceptual Competence relates to conceptual flexibility in that both are essential for strategic vision. It has to do with the scope of a person's vision and the power of a person's logic in thinking through complex situations. Political Sensitivity is being skilled in assessing political issues and interests beyond narrow organizational interests. It means possessing the ability to compete in an arena immersed in the political frame to ensure that your organization is adequately resourced to support your stated organization interests and those of the nation. POSITIVE ATTRIBUTES Interpersonal Competence is essential for effectiveness in influencing others outside your chain of command, or negotiating across agency lines. It suggests high confidence in the worth of other people, which is reflected in openness and trust in others. Empowering Subordinates goes beyond simple delegation of tasks and is crucial for creating and leading high performing organizations. It involves the personal capacity to develop meaningful roles for subordinates and then to encourage initiative in the execution of these roles. Team Performance Facilitation includes selecting good people in assembling a team, getting team members the resources to do a

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job, providing coordination to get tasks done and moving quickly to confront problem individuals. Objectivity is the ability to "keep one's cool" and maintain composure under conditions that might otherwise be personally threatening. Initiative/Commitment is the ability to stay involved and committed to one's work, get things done, be part of a team effort and take charge in situations as required. Understanding the character of strategic leader power and the requisite personal attributes and skills sets the stage for employing power effectively.

LEADING WITH POWER

The acquisition and use of strategic leader power involves managing a sequential process that is described below: 1. The first task is to decide what it is the leader is trying to achieve that necessitates the use of power. 2. With the goal in mind, the leader must assess the patterns of dependence and interdependence among the key players and determine to what extent he or she will be successful in influencing their behavior. It is critical that the leader develop power and influence when the key players have expressed a differing point of view. It is important to remember there is more interdependence at the strategic level of the organization where task accomplishment is more complex. 3. Getting things done means the leader should "draw" a political map of the terrain that shows the relative power of the various players to fully understand the patterns of dependence and interdependence. This involves mapping the critical organization units and sub-units and assessing their power bases. This step is very important because a leader needs to determine how much power these units have to leverage influence either in support or opposition to their effort. For example, if a leader is proposing to introduce a consensus team decision making process in a joint interdependent environment, this implementation decision could change power relationships among the players. In this case, the leader needs to know the opposing players and the depth of

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their power bases. This move will likely require the mobilization of allies and the neutralization of resisters. 4. Developing multiple power bases is a process connected to those personal attributes and skills previously discussed and to structural sources of power. Structural sources of power comes from the leader's creation and control over resources, location in communication and information networks, interpersonal connections with influential others, reputation for being powerful, allies or supporters, and the importance of leading the "right" organization. 5. Recognizing the need for multiple power bases and developing them is not enough. The strategic leader must have an arsenal of influence strategies and tactics that convert power and influence into concrete and visible results. Research on strategies and tactics for employing power effectively suggests the following range of influence tactics: (Allen, 1979, Bennis and Nanus, 1985, Blau, 1964, Kotter, 1985, 1978, Pfeffer, 1992, 1981, Salancik and Pfeffer, 1977)

Framing/Reframing tactics establishes the context for analyzing both the decision and the action taken. By framing the context early in the process, the strategic leader is positioned to influence what looks reasonable or inappropriate in terms of language and the overall process for generating the decision itself. Framing and reframing decision making is an important tactic for influencing organizational behavior. This process sensitizes the leader to the context of organizational decision making by increasing his or her self-awareness of history-the history of past relationships and past choices. Framing and reframing tactics thus give the leader the ability to set a context within which present and possible future decisions are evaluated, and an important perceptual lens that provides leverage for producing innovative ideas for getting things done. Interpersonal influence tactics recognizes that power and influence tactics
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are fundamental to living and operating in a world where organizations are characterized as interdependent social systems that require getting things done with the help of other people. A leader employing interpersonal influence tactics typically demonstrate behaviors that include: understanding the needs and concerns of the other person, managing constructive relationships with superiors, peers and subordinates, using active listening skills, asking probing questions to understand a countervailing power position, anticipating how individuals may respond to ideas or information, thinking about the most effective means to influence the individual and crafting appropriate tactics to the needs and concerns of the other person, and maintaining a broad network of individual contacts. Timing tactics involve determining not only what to do but when to move out. These types of action include: initiating action first to catch your adversary unprepared, thereby establishing possible advantage in framing a context for action, using delay tactics to erode the confidence of proponents or opponents as it relates to setting priorities, allocating resources and establishing deadlines, controlling the agenda and order of agenda items to affect how decisions are made. The sequencing of agenda items is very critical where decisions are interdependent. Empowerment tactics create conditions where subordinates can feel powerful, especially those who have a high need for power. Leaders empower their followers and subordinates through a process that provides direction, intellectual stimulation, emotional energy, developmental opportunities and appropriate rewards. Typical behaviors of a leader using these tactics include: high involvement and participation in the decision making process, modifying and adapting one's ideas to include suggestions from others, involving others in the strategy formulation and implementation process, looking for creative and innovative solutions that will benefit the total organization, and instilling confidence in those who will implement the solutions. Structural tactics can be employed to divide and dominate the opposition. They can be used to consolidate power by putting a leader or his or her subordinates and allies in a position to exercise more control over resources, information, and formal authority. Re-aligning organizational structure can also be used to co-op others to support a leader's ideas, initiatives and decisions. Effective employment of structural tactics is accomplished when leaders aggressively use their
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formal power to consolidate, expand and control the organizational landscape. Logical persuasion tactics requires using logical reasons, facts, and data to influence others. Employment of a leader's expert power base can be used to support logical persuasion. Effective use of these tactics include the following behaviors: persuading others by emphasizing the strengths and advantages of their ideas, developing more than one reason to support one's position, using systems thinking to demonstrate the advantages of their approach, and preparing arguments to support their case, demonstrate the advantages of their approach, and preparing arguments to support their case. Bargaining tactics involve leader behaviors that attempt to gain influence by offering to exchange favors or resources, by making concessions, or by negotiating a decision that mutually advances the interests of all participants. These influence tactics are typically effective in a political environment involving opposing or resisting forces; when a leader is in a position to do something for another individual or group; or when the collective interests of all can be served. Organizational mapping tactics focus the leader's sight on possible power-dependent and interdependent relationships. The critical task is to identify and secure the support of important people who can influence others in the organization. Leaders using these tactics will employ behaviors that include: determining which actors are likely to influence a decision, getting things done by identifying existing coalitions and working through them, garnering support by bringing together individuals from different areas of the organization, isolating key individuals to build support for a decision, linking the reputations of important players to the decision context and working outside formal organization channels to get the support of key decision makers. Impact leadership tactics include thinking carefully about the most profound, interesting or dramatic means to structure a decision situation to gain the support of others. Behaviors include: presenting ideas that create an emotional bond with others, using innovative and creative ways to present information or ideas, finding and presenting examples that are embedded in the political and cultural frames such as language, ceremonies and propitious events, and lastly, consistently demonstrating high energy and physical stamina in getting the job done.
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Visioning tactics demonstrate how a leader's ideas and values support the organization's strategic goals, beliefs and values. Leader behaviors in executing these tactics include: articulating ideas that connect the organization's membership to an inspiring vision of what the organization can become, appealing to organization core values or principles, linking the work of the organization to the leader's vision and broader goals, creating and using cultural symbols to develop both individual pride and team identity. Information and analysis tactics suggest that leaders in control of the facts and analysis can exercise substantial influence. Leaders will use unobtrusive behaviors to disguise their true intention, which is to effectively employ influence tactics that seemingly appear rational and analytical. Coercive tactics are the least effective in influencing strategic decisions. These tactics involve employing threats, punishment, or pressure to get others to do what a leader wants done. Typical leader behaviors include: using position power to demand obedient compliance or blind loyalty, making perfectly clear the costs and consequences of not "playing the game", publicly abusing and reprimanding people for not performing, and punishing individuals who do not implement the leader's requests, orders or instructions.

HOW POWER IS LOST

In a general sense power is lost because organizations change and leaders don't. Organizational dynamics create complex conditions and different decision situations that require innovative and creative approaches, new skill sets and new dependent and interdependent relationships. Leaders who have learned to do things a specific way become committed to predictable choices and decision actions. They remain bonded and loyal to highly developed social networks and friendships, failing to recognize the need for change, let alone allocating the political will to accomplish it. Ultimately, power may be lost because of negative personal attributes that diminish a leader's capacity to lead with power effectively. The SLDI identifies a number of negative attributes that when linked to certain organizational dynamics will generate potential loss of power:

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Technically Incompetent describes leaders who lack the conceptual skills needed to develop vision and be proactive in managing organizational change. Self-Serving/Unethical leaders abuse power and use it for their own self-aggrandizement, take special privileges, and exploit peers and subordinates by taking credit for contributions done by others. Self-serving leaders contaminate the ethical climate by modeling power-oriented behavior that influences others to replicate their behavior. Over the long run, these leaders engender divisiveness and are not trusted. Micromanagement of subordinates destroys individual and team motivation. Leaders who over-supervise their subordinates have strong control needs, are generally risk averse and lack conceptual understanding of power sharing and subordinate development. Arrogant leaders are impressed with their own self-importance, and talk down to both peers and subordinates thereby alienating them. If empowering others is about releasing purposeful and creative energy, arrogance produces a negative leadership climate that suppresses the power needs of others. Arrogant leaders makes it almost impossible for subordinates to acquire power as a means to improve their own performance as well as to seek new ways to learn and grow. Explosive and Abusive leaders are likely to be "hot reactors" who use profanity excessively, have inadequate control of temper, and abuse subordinates. They may also lack the self-control required to probe for in-depth understanding of complex problems and so may consistently solve them at a superficial level. Explosive and abusive leaders may self-destruct repeatedly in coalition building and negotiating situations. Inaccessible leaders are out of touch with their subordinates particularly when they need access for assistance. Peers typically "write the individual off." Leaders are generally inaccessible because they don't place great value on building interpersonal relationships, they may have weak interpersonal skills or they may be selfcentered.

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Organization: Pakistan International Airlines

Introduction
Over the years many leaders have taken charge of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) some being successful and some fails to handle this organization. The purpose of this report is to analyze the leadership style, approaches and skill of the leaders that impact the performance of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). The leaders we have selected for this report are:

Air Marshal Malik Nur Khan (a successful leader) Tariq Kirmani (unsuccessful leader) Captain Aijaz Haroon (Too early to say)

In the above, Air Marshal Nur Khan was the most successful leader among the above leaders. In this report by using the various leadership approaches evaluates the leaders in the context of their leadership skills, style , power and traits and come to a conclusion why one leader was successful than the other. We will also discuss the Teamwork, politics and the influence of group in the decision making process at PIA. After a careful analysis, recommendations have been proposed to improve the efficacy of the organization.

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Pakistan International Airline (PIA) Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is a national airline; Established in 1955, operating in passenger and cargo services covering eighty-two domestic and foreign destinations. It has a vast experience in the airline industry of Pakistan with a large fleet of aircrafts. The fleet size is 40. More than 17000 employees are working at PIA. It is divided into the following departments:

Human Resource and Administration Marketing Corporate Planning Information Services Finance Flight Services Flight Operation Engineering Procurement and Logistics Customer Services Training and Development Quality Assurance.

The organogram of the organization follows, with the Chairman (PIA) at the top and directors of departments reports directly to him. The structure is centralized as shown in the fig.1 with the top-level management making the decisions.

Vision To be a world class airline exceeding customer expectations through dedicated employees committed to excellence.
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SEVEN CHARACTERISTICS OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE CHARACTERISTICS INNOVATION RISK TAKING ATTENTION DETAIL OUTCOME ORIENTATION PEOPLE ORIENTATION TEAM ORIENTATION AGGRESSIVENESS STABILITY PIA

AND Low TO Low High Low High Low High

The results show that PIA focuses more on the goal rather than means to achieve it. Therefore, tasks are highly valued in PIA. The characteristics and values form the organizational structure which determines the effectiveness of the organization and the behaviour of employees. Culture The culture is determined by the vision and values communicated throughout the structure and amongst people. Since, PIA is a bureaucratic organization, so the culture is similar to that of any government organization. The culture determines the type of leadership style, communication and group dynamics within the organization. The workers see this as the quality of work life which directs their degree of motivation. The final outcome is goal achievement, individual satisfaction, and personal growth and development. Values

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Brief Introduction of Leaders at PIA

Air Marshal Malik Nur Khan Nur Khan was PIA's Managing Director from 1959 to 1965. His success in establishing PIA a firm and profitable financial basis in 6 years is now a fact of airline history. Under his charismatic and motivational leadership PIA became one of the leading and respected airlines of the world. During his tenure PIA became the first Asian airline to operate jet aircraft. The airline at that time inducted modern Boeing 720B jet in its fleet. It also started flying to China and flights to Europe via Moscow were also launched. In 1973, Nur Khan was particularly requested by the government of Pakistan to resume control of PIA. During his second term (1980-1984) as airline's head, PIA became operator of wide-body DC-10s and Boeing 747s. He was a dynamic leader and believed in innovation and new ideas. He was the catalyst in briging the change in PIA and manage politics inside and outside the organization and use his power with great efficiency.

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Tariq Kirmani Tariq Kirmani was MD of PIA between 2006- 2007, it was seen as a good omen for the national flag career. Pakistan International Airlines at that time was already in heavy waters and bearing unimaginable losses. Tariq Kirmani during his tenure took a number of steps that bore favorable fruits. He hired in young educated recruits thus brought a fresh air to the stale environment of the PIA offices. Unluckily the Fokker crash was a big low to his repute and then the banning by SAFA was the last nail in the coffin. Capt. Aijaz Haroon He is the Managing Director of PIA since 2008. Sources tell that he is a drinking buddy of Asif Ali Zardari and appointed as the MD right after Asif Ali Zardari took over the reign. He has got no previous management experience and comes from a political background and after his inducement in organization; the organization is not going well.

As a Leader
Air Marshal Nur Khan Nur khan as a leader was a motivator and an intellectual stimulator. He motivates his employees by challenging their ability to solve the problems. He setup the infrastructure for PIA and was committed to the development, growth and the expansion of PIA. He treated each employee separately but equitably. To be precise he was a charismatic leader that gives him a superhuman power. All his characteristics projected him to be a transformational leader.

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Tariq Kirmani Tariq Kirmani was a visionary leader. He was more focused toward the task. So, this leads him to be the authoritative leader. To accomplish his tasks he establish mission, vision and goals i.e. he sets direction that how to achieve goals. He also brings in the concept of performance based bonuses. Apart from this he also focuses on the rebranding of PIA. In short, he was a transactional leader. Capt. Aijaz Haroon Capt. Aijaz Haroon is Laissez-faire leader i.e. he takes a hands-off- let things ride approach. The reason being he abdicates responsibility, delay decisions, give no feed back to his employees. As a leader he is very much ineffective and de-motivating. He doesnt make any decision on knowledge; he is an intuition make decision maker. His leadership style is delegating i.e. low supportive and low directing. He got no management experience and comes from a political-party.

Trait Approach
Intelligence: According to the employees Nur Khan was considered to be the intelligent leader as against the Tariq Kirmani and Aijaz Haroon. He got a very strong verbal, perceptual and reasoning ability as against his descendents. Self Confidence: All the leaders possess this ability. They were very much certain about their competencies and skills.

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Determination: It basically refers to the desire to get the job done. Mr.Nur and Mr.Tariq were very determined leader i.e. they were very enthusiastic to get the job done where as Mr.Aijaz is very much less concerned about the task as well as the people as a result lacks determination. Integrity: Integrity inspires confidence in other we see this quality in Mr. Nur as against the other two leaders. May be the reason behind is that Mr. Nur was an emergent and assigned leader as Against Mr. Tariq and Mr. Aijaz who both comes from a political party. Sociability: This characteristic is found in all the leaders that we are considering. They all are sensitive to other needs and show concern for their well-being.

Skill Approach
Technical Skills: It refers to having a specific knowledge about and being proficient about a specific type of work and activity. We see that that only Mr. Aijaz is the one who have the technical knowledge about how things are carried out. Whereas Mr. Nur and Mr. Tariq has a little technical knowledge. But as a leader technical skill is not that much important then the conceptual skill. Human Skill: Human skills are the people effectively with the followers, with a human skill as against the needs and motivation of needs in his decision making. Conceptual Skill: Conceptual skills are critical for creating a vision and strategic plan for the organization. We found that Mr. Nur and Mr. Tariq possess this skill as against Mr. Aijaz who lacks this skill. This skill makes both the leaders to work easily and effectively with ideas and concepts. skills. These skills help leaders in dealing peers and superiors. Mr. Nur was a leader the other two leaders; he was sensitive to others, and taking into account the other

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Power, Politics & Leadership style Leadership Style Grid

Air Martial Nur Khan On the leadership grid MR. Nur leadership style is (9, 9) i.e. Team Management. He places a strong concern for the task and for the people. This style not only satisfies the employee needs but also promote high degree of participation and teamwork in the organization. He smartly manages politics inside the organization in positive aspects and exerts his power to make this organization a leading organization of Pakistan. Tariq Kirmani His leadership style is Authoritative-Compliance Management i.e. (9, 1) on the leadership Grid. He place heavy emphasis on the task as against people needs. For him people are just the tools to get the job done. Capt. Aijaz Haroon He is a leader who is unconcerned about the people as well as the task. So, he lies on the (1, 1) on the leadership grid.

Leadership Grid

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Situational Leadership
Air Marshal Nur Khan Nur Khans Leadership behavior is coaching i.e. high directive and high supporting as he was involved with the employees and encourage their input. He motivates his employees to think in a broader way and give his support whenever they need it. He disruptor negative politics inside and outside organization and try to minimize the political politics with his charismatic leadership. Tariq Kirmani Tariq Kirmani leadership style was a directing style i.e. high directing and low supporting. The main reason was that he was less concerned about the people all was that were the task to be completed within the specified time. As mentioned earlier he has got no technical background and we think this prevent him to give his support to his employees in how to do the work. Capt. Aijaz Haroon His leadership style is delegating i.e. low directing and low supporting. He gave the responsibility to the subordinates for getting the job done the way they see fit.

Situational Leadership

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Power, Politics & Leadership style Contingency Model

Leader-Member Relations Since, in the case of the Leader-Member relation the employee show confidence, trust and loyalty towards him and this make the relation good. Whereas the Leader-Member relation was poor in the case of Mr. Tariq and Mr. Aijaz the reason being the employees shows distrust and lack of confidence in them. Task Structure As mentioned earlier that the leadership style of Mr. Tariq Kirmani was directing i.e. leader has got more control over the task and as a result the task were clearly defined in Mr. Tariq Kirmani case. The task structure was low in the case of Mr. Nur and Mr. Aijaz as they havent had a complete control over the task. Position Power The position power of Mr. Nur and Mr. Aijaz is low as compared to Mr. Tariq which implies Mr. Tariq has the authority to hire and fire or give raises in rank or pay. Contingency Model of Air Marshal Nur Khan

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Contingency Model of Tariq Kirmani

Contingency Model for Capt. Aijaz Haroon

Comparative Analysis of Leaders Air Marshal Nur Khan Transformational Leader Tariq Kirmani Transactional Leader Capt. Aijaz Haroon Laissez-faire Leader Technical skills

Human & conceptual Conceptual skills skills Team Management Coaching People Oriented

Authority Compliance Impoverished Management Management Directing Task Oriented Delegating Indifferent

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Teamwork Team Work is an important element in the airline industry and PIA is not any different; from ticket reservation to the landing of the plane team work is the decisive factor. Employees work in various teams such as ground staff, flight attendants, cabin crew, office staff etc. All these teams have different sets of tasks to perform but unity among these teams is necessary to run the day to day operations. Because of the diverse nature of employees at PIA, it is difficult to make team work efficient so, it is major challenge for them. Influence of Groups on Decision Making PIA as one of the biggest organization that is operating in Pakistan having more than 17,000 employees has various formal and informal groups. The informal groups can manipulate the overall decision making process to some extent due to the nature of the workplace. These informal groups are formed because of most of the employees are working in the organization for several years.

Recommendations for Pakistan International Airlines

Decentralization Pakistan International Airline (PIA) should decentralize its structure and that would lead to the easy management, increased motivation, easy access to information and resolution of the conflicts. As a result issues regarding their behavior would lessen, so it would ultimately lead to more satisfied employees and enhanced productivity of the organization. Employee Empowerment PIA should make efforts towards employee participation in the decision making process that result in more employee satisfaction and enhanced motivation. As a result employees would feel more comfortable and independent to discuss the issues explicitly without hesitation. The employees will work with more commitment and dedication as he was heard in the decision making process and this would increase the level of motivation. Two-Way Communication The implications of the employees can prove to be very effective in improving the operations as they are the ones who manage them. Hence, a top-down approach should be replaced with two-way communications.

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As a result, the employees would feel motivated and valued as they would be included in decision-making.

Leveraging Power and Politics in Strategic Decision Making:

Practical Implications
Power is not last dirty word, the existence of organizational politics is a reality to most organizations and successful strategic leaders must be good politicians. In large, complex organizations with more centralized control and institutionalized power, the skills of using power and influence are critical to getting change accomplished. It is critical to recognize that in almost every organization, there are clusters of interests, and leaders need to understand where they are located and what issues are of concern to them. Leading and managing with power takes time, energy and effort. Innovation and organizational change almost inevitably threatens the status quo. consequently, implementing new ideas requires developing political will and the skillful use of power and influence. Organizational change frequently creates organizational alignments that cause those in power to lose that power. Employing power and influence tactics at the strategic level is more about method and process than exercising formal authority. The use of power goes beyond exercising formal authority. It requires building and maintaining a reputation for being effective and it necessitates the skill in getting things done. It is important to be able to recognize and assess the organization context of power if ideas and plans are to be implemented effectively. To be effective in the implementation process, it is critical to know how to develop sources of power and how to employ that power strategically and tactically. It's important to determine whether the most critical sources of power are personal attributes or location in the organization.

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In evaluating personal attributes as effective sources of power, the key question is not whether they are attractive or unattractive, but whether they are useful. It is important to have multiple bases of power to translate influence tactics into concrete results.

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Power, Politics & Leadership style Bibliography

Imran Khan ( Trouble Shooter 1100+)
Team Leader Passenger Agency Sales Unit at Pakistan International Airlines

Pakistan | Airlines/Aviation
Current Status: Team Leader Passenger Agency Sales Unit at Pakistan International Airlines

Sheeraz Akhtar
Team Leader inbound department at PIA Contact Center

Pakistan | Airlines/Aviation
Current: Team Leader at Pakistan International Airlines, Team Leader inbound department at PIA Contact Center

Brown, L.D. (1986). Power outside organizational paradigms. Lessons from community partnerships. In S.Srivastva&Associates(Eds.), Executive power: How executives influence people and organizations. San Franci sco: Jossey-Bass

Leadership, Power, and Politics: How Can You Obtain the Power to Shape Action in Your Organization? Submitted by Susan Letterman

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