SKILLS FOR EVERYDAY LEADERSHIP

A Tampa Bay WorkForce Alliance E-Course

WHAT IS LEADERSHIP?
What is leadership? When most people think of the word Leadership they think of the word Leader like the President of a county. Some may think of religious or peace figures like Ghandi, Nelson Mandela, or Martin Luther King, Jr., but rarely do people think of everyday people who do everyday jobs. Most people believe that to be a leader means being someone extraordinary

WHAT IS LEADERSHIP?
How do we define being someone extraordinary?
Leadership comes in all forms. Opportunity shows up everyday for everyone to act as a leader and be extraordinary in their own life and the lives of others in their family, workplace, and community. Leadership is a young professional just beginning their career who spots a problem within their team and takes it upon themselves to correct it. Leadership is a parent ensuring that their child is successful in school by making sure homework is done correctly, even when the child rebels.

Leadership is any person who makes a wrong right by doing the right thing, regardless of what anyone thinks.

WHAT IS LEADERSHIP?
Since the beginning of civilization leaders have emerged to lead people, but ironically, the Oxford English Dictionary can only trace the word Leadership back to the 19th Century just 200 years ago. The dictionary says that leadership is : leadership [lee-der-ship] noun 1. the position or function of a leader: He managed to maintain his leadership of the party despite heavy opposition. 2. ability to lead: She displayed leadership potential. 3. an act or instance of leading; guidance; direction: They prospered under his leadership. 4. the leaders of a group: The union leadership agreed to mediate.

WHAT IS LEADERSHIP?
Over time, the meaning of leadership has evolved and transformed. The basic dictionary definition does not include the principles, behaviors, and components in which leaders need to possess. So, different theories have emerged in order to address what it is that makes a successful leader, and therefore, what leadership means.

Theories in Leadership:
GREAT MAN THEORY
The search for the characteristics or traits of leaders has been going on for centuries. Historys greatest philosophical writings from the time of Plato asks the question, What qualities distinguish a man from a leader?

The first theory of leadership came in the 1800s - the Great Man Theory - focused on men only and the characteristics of a leader being a result of their family tree. Leadership was based on hereditary properties and only brothers of kings had natural abilities of power and influence. It was believed that intermarriage (marrying family) would produce a superior class.

Theories in Leadership:
TRAIT THEORY
In the 1920s, a second generation of Leadership Theory emerged. Researchers looked at the Great Man Theory again to re-define the driving forces behind Leadership. They believed there were specific characteristics or traits that defined a leader. They assumed that traits such as intelligence, height, and selfconfidence defined a leader. Their theory was based on individuals possessing these extraordinary traits would be guaranteed success. However, some researchers argued that persons who are leaders in one situation may not necessarily be leaders in other situations. This paved the way for the behavior approach of leadership to be researched and to look at What a leader does versus what a leader is.

Theories in Leadership:
BEHAVIORAL THEORIES
In the 1950s and 60s, other theories emerged in response to the Trait Theory they were based on the behavior of the leader rather than the leader themselves and was based on Managerial Skills. The one best way approach to leading is a phrase often associated with these theories. These theories looked at the behavior of successful managers and unsuccessful managers to decide what specific behaviors were needed to be a good leader.

Behavioral Theories identified 3 types of behaviors (1) task-oriented, (2) relationship-oriented, and (3) participative leadership.

Theories in Leadership:
BEHAVIORAL THEORIES
Behavioral theories also noted that an effective leader needed to include two things - Consideration and initiating structure. Consideration refers to the degree to which a leader acts in a friendly and supportive manner, shows concern for subordinates, and looked out for their welfare.

Initiating structure refers to the degree to which a leader defines and structures his or her own role and the roles of subordinates toward achievement of the groups official goals.
In the end though, it was decided that although these parts were important to being a successful leader, research showed that specific behaviors were better used in different situations.

Theories in Leadership:
SITUATIONAL THEORIES
Situational theories suggested that even though there are similar behaviors that need to be displayed different situations call for the use of different characteristics. They stated that the situation determines who will emerge as the leader the product of the situation. The Path-Goal Theory of Leadership is considered a Situational Theory that identifies four leader behaviors: achievement-oriented, directive, participative, and supportive. This theory states that leaders can adopt any four of the behaviors depending on what the situation calls for.

Theories in Leadership:
SITUATIONAL THEORIES
The chart on the left-hand side of the page identifies the results of different behaviors in different situations. Since Situational Leadership was based on the leader being effective in supporting and directing the subordinates behaviors through particular behaviors - three leadership styles in the theories would emerge and be identified as Authoritarian, Democratic, and Laissez Fair.

Theories in Leadership:
LEADERSHIP STYLES
The Authoritarian Leadership Style is characterized by leaders who make decisions alone, demand strict obedience to orders, and dictates each step to be taken and also gives out praise or disapproval. Generally, this is a standard method for periods of crisis, however it is not very popular with day-to-day affairs.

Theories in Leadership:
LEADERSHIP STYLES
The Democratic Leadership Style is known for the shared decision process helped out by the leader. Before completing tasks, opinions are taken from a group talk and guidance from the leader. Then the members are given choices and together decide the sharing out of the work.

Theories in Leadership:
LEADERSHIP STYLES
The Laissez Faire Leadership Style is related with total freedom. This type of leader steps back all together and allows the group to agree on work and policy. They do not take charge, rarely offer praise and do not handle difficult problems well.

Theories in Leadership:
RECIPROCAL THEORIES
The Behavioral and Situational Theories of the 50s and 60s, understanding what were the important behaviors associated with effective leadership and that different situations called for different leadership, led to the development in the 1970s of Reciprocal Leadership Theories. These theories highlight a reciprocal relationship an equal give and take relationship between the leader and the followers. They recognized that the relationship between the leader and follower could elevate the performance of everyone involved to reach the goals because each person was empowered.

Theories in Leadership:
TRANSACTIONAL & TRANSFORMATIONAL THEORIES
Transactional and Transformational Theories even though these two theories are similar in name and both written by Burns, they are different. Burns compares and contrasts the two theories to show that the leader-follower relationship has two dimensions. Burns defines Transactional Leadership as the process whereby one person takes the initiative in making contact with others for the purpose of an exchange of valued things. The Transactional Leader is given POWER to do certain everyday jobs and to reward or punish the teams performance and appeals to the self-interests of the followers. In the office, it gives the manager a chance to lead a group or employee to achieve a specific goal in trade for something else. Power is given to the leader to give an incentive to the employee who does the job, it also gives the leader the power to discipline those who do not.

Theories in Leadership:
TRANSACTIONAL & TRANSFORMATIONAL THEORIES
The Transformational leader is a motivator they inspire their team to be successful and capable and leaders and followers alike can emerge as leaders. Burns defines Transforming Leadership as a process where leaders and followers raise one another to higher levels of morality and motivation. It is based upon the idea that leadership is inseparable from followers needs and goals. Leaders appeal to followers higher ideals and moral values such as liberty, justice, equality, peace, and humanitarianism not to lesser emotions such as fear, greed, jealousy, or hatred. Gandhi, Mother Teresa, and Martin Luther King, Jr. are all examples of transformational leaders. They all elevated the hopes and demands of millions of people lives.

Theories in Leadership:
TRANSACTIONAL & TRANSFORMATIONAL THEORIES
Although these two theories are different, they work together rather well. Their main difference is that one is based on higher or end values, while the other is based on exchange or model values.

Transforming Leadership Order Equality Liberty Freedom Justice

Transactional Leadership Honesty Fairness Responsibility Due process Courage

Sources of Power:
UNDERSTANDING USES & REACTIONS
How a person uses power and reacts to the power of others must be examined in leadership. There are Five Primary Sources of Power that individuals bring to their relationships with others. These bases of social power are expert power, referent power, legitimate power, coercive power, and reward power.

Expert Power is the power of information or knowledge. Expertise may come from professional development and formal education such as engineers or dentists receive; from possessing specific information such as remembering results or knowing rules in the employee handbook; or from extended experience like being a mother of three children or being a seasoned ballplayer.

Empowerment:
SELF & ENVIRONMENT
Empowerment is claiming the power you should have from any position in an organization. Self-empowerment then is the recognition that you have a legitimate right to be heard and the self-confidence to be part of a solution or the change process. There are Six Methods through which you might become empowered 1. Education (sharing information and knowledge) 2. Leading (inspiring, rewarding, directing) 3. Structuring (creating structural factors such as your daily routine, bringing people to the table, changing policies and processes) 4. Providing (making sure others have resources to get their job done) 5. Mentoring (having close personal relationships) 6. Actualizing (taking it on being empowered claiming it)

Empowerment:
SELF & ENVIRONMENT
We need environments that promote the development of the human spirit on a local scale, creating a fundamental shift of mind in which people can see themselves capable of creating the world they truly want rather than merely reacting to circumstances beyond their control. It is important to share authority and responsibility with the group to instill trust then sharing tasks can be empowering and can enhance the whole community. Empowerment is achieved by enabling the involvement of group members.

THEORIES IN LEADERSHIP
What do all these theories in leadership and sources of power have to do with you? Why in the world would you need to know about these different types of leadership, leaders and followers, and power? Well, everyone is a leader in their own life and the lives of their family, workplace, and community. You can use this information to identify what type of leader you are and other skills that can be put into practice in your life to make you more successful in all areas. You can also see how you can use your power to empower others versus controlling them. After we look at the Principles of Leadership and Understanding Yourself & Others, lets look at Leadership and the theories in a way that relates to everyone in everyday life.

4 FOUNDING PRINCIPLES
1

Leadership is a concern to all of us. As people and families, we have a responsibility to be active and to give to our organizations, local communities, and in the world community. As members of communities (work, learning/school, and living/home communities), people have a responsibility to develop shared leadership.

Leadership can be shown in many ways. Different settings call for different types of leaders. Leadership that empowers values of different people will bring ideas together for a common goal.

Leadership qualities and skills can be learned and developed. Leaders today are made, not born. Leadership effectiveness begins with self-awareness , self-understanding, and grows into the understanding of others.

Leadership committed to ethical action is needed to encourage change and social responsibility. Leadership happens among people involved in change. As a process focused on relationships, leadership requires positive behaviors: credibility - being trustworthy, authenticity - being real, integrity - being honest, and ethical conduct - being moral and fair.

3 BASIC PRINCIPLES: KNOWING, BEING, & DOING

The development of leadership is greatly improved when you understand how important relationships are. Three basic principles are: knowing, being, and doing.
Knowing. You must know yourself, how change occurs, and how others view things differently than you do. Being. You must be ethical, principles, open, caring, and inclusive. Doing. You must act in socially responsible ways, always and as a participant in a community and on your commitments and passions.

Purposeful Leadership:
PRINCIPLED & PLANNED
Leadership is purposeful and intentional.
Its main focus is social responsibility. Social responsibility is a personal commitment to the well-being of people, our shared world, and the public good. Leadership moves forward the welfare and quality of life for everyone. It is well-thought out and on purpose.

Being socially responsible also means you are willing to confront unfair and unjust treatment of others wherever it may appear at home, school, work, or in the community. It means acting in ways that values relationships and act with honor and integrity toward your responsibilities and each other.

Purposeful Leadership:
CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY
As many people as there are already involved with daily leadership, many people still act more like an observer versus an activist they are spectators instead of citizens and active participants. We need to become involved in the process of improving our shared experience. This is our Civic Responsibility. Civic responsibility is the sense of personal responsibility individuals should feel to uphold their commitment as part of any community.

Purposeful Leadership:
OPEN TO LEARN
Leadership requires openness to learning - to ask questions that invites everyone to look at their purpose, practices, and encourages change. Leadership requires admitting that no one has all the answers to value others and include different opinions because everyone has a great deal to learn from each other. Leadership is accountability realizing that ALL of us are responsible for ourselves, helping others, and making sure that the surroundings are open to learning, making mistakes, and sharing knowledge. Leadership skills are LIFE SKILLS that can be applied to personal relationships, work, family, and the community.

Understanding Yourself:
FOCUSED REFLECTION
Being aware of how you think, relate, learn, and find personal meaning is an important self-awareness skill. Being able to say what you believe and what you value helps you to understand your own motivations and behaviors. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses helps you grow and relate to others. Selfunderstanding is essential to being authentic in any relationship. The most basic skills that translates to effective leadership are honest, real selfawareness, and the openness to grow, learn, and change.

Understanding Yourself:
SELF-AWARENESS
Ask yourself some thoughtful questions to explore your self-awareness.
Inclusive: How comfortable and effective are you including others? Do you understand your own motivations when you agree or disagree with others? When you interact with people who are different from you, are there differences you find easy or difficult to understand? Empowering: Do you know how to build on your own strengths and on the strengths of others? Do you find it easy or difficult to share authority and responsibility?

Purposeful: Do you have clear goals and an awareness of commitments that are important to you? Do you have to get your own way or are you able to find common purpose with others?

Ethical: Do you find it easy to act with integrity and authenticity? Can you identify the value and principles that guide your actions? Are you trusting or distrustful of others?

Self-efficacy represents a positive sense of personal ability that motivates human beings to be successful. A scale was created to see how one saw themselves and how they thought they would or could handle certain situations. It also looks to see how they felt about their ability to handle stressful events.

Understanding Yourself:
SELF-AWARENESS
Take the short test to find out how you handle stress and how you view your abilities to do a job
Rate the following 10 questions with:
1 = for NOT at all true 2 = for Barely true 3 = Sometimes True 4= Exactly True

_____ 1.) I can always manage to solve difficult problems if I try hard enough. _____2.) If someone opposes me, I can find the means and ways to get what I want. _____3.) It is easy for me to stick to my aims and accomplish my goals. _____4.) I am confident that I could deal efficiently with unexpected results. _____5.) Thank to my resourcefulness, I know how to handle unforeseen situations. _____6.) I can solve most problems if I invest the necessary effort. _____7.) I can remain calm when facing difficulties because I can rely on my coping abilities. _____8.) When I am confronted with a problem, I can usually find several solutions. _____9.) If I am in trouble, I can usually think of a solution. _____10.) I can usually handle whatever comes my way.

Now, total your score!

The higher your score the more confident you are in your skills to handle different situations in life at home, work, or in your community.

Understanding Yourself:
STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES
The inward journey provides the selfawareness of identifying abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. The journey develops a sense of trust in yourself and to truly know the basis of your success. The irony is that some of your strengths, if exaggerated, become your weaknesses and things you consider weaknesses may actually be seen as strengths by others.

Four lessons from which to develop self-knowledge: You are your own best teacher. Accept responsibility. Blame no one. You can learn anything you want to learn. True understanding comes from reflection on your experience.

Understanding Yourself:
STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES
Sometimes it is hard to pick out our strengths, learn Five Characteristics to help you identify them then you can review your past experiences and identify them more easily in the future. 1. Listen to yourself when you have done something well, even if no one noticed. 2. Identify the satisfaction you feel when you know something you did was terrific and gives you a feeling of well-being. 3. Know what things you find easy to learn quickly, like putting together something, talking to strangers, mastering a new video game, or reading patiently to a child. 4. Study your successes for clues of excellence, for glimpses of what can be excellent for what things you do very well. Whether giving a speech or helping someone feel special, by examining whatever your success has been, you will discover what you can do well. 5. Think about your patterns of excellence when a song pours out, when you focus on every word of what someone is saying and understand its deeper meaning, when you practice a skill like cooking, playing ball or public speaking and you feel it improve each time you do it.

Understanding Yourself:
CONFIDENCE & ESTEEM
Identifying and labeling your strengths and weaknesses can build your confidence and esteem by acknowledging that you do bring reliable talents to contribute to all kinds of different situations. How you think and feel about yourself is the energy that fuels your motivation to do things. Self-concept is how we describe and see ourselves - it is usually based on the roles we play in life (parent, spouse, friend, worker, co-worker) and traits. You might say, I am a mother of a two-yearold and like to go with the flow, keeping all my options open or I am an older-than typical student with above-average intelligence and high-motivation or I am a creative person with musical abilities. Self-esteem is how you feel about yourself.

Understanding Yourself:
CONFIDENCE & ESTEEM
Self-awareness leads to having an accurate self-concept. Honoring your strengths and addressing your weaknesses are essential first steps toward higher self-esteem. Esteem is enhanced if you can identify your strengths and weaknesses and know that you are growing and progressing in the areas you want to improve. High self-esteem is a result of valuing your self-concept. Low selfesteem may mean you expect something better or different than you feel. Self-confidence is the ability to know that you can rely on your strengths and skills in the many situations in which you find yourself.

Understanding Yourself:
VALUES, BELIEFS, ETHICS, & CHARACTER
What are Beliefs? All of the various beliefs you hold about the little things and the big things serve as the very building blocks of your life. When you believe something you have a level of commitment to it. Agreeing or disagreeing with an idea can indicate you have a belief about it. Whereas, simply having an idea about something does not automatically indicate commitment, nor a belief.

Beliefs are the ideas you have a commitment to and support. They are the views and opinions that you have collected that represent you. Your beliefs are positions that you endorse. Beliefs express your attitude about things and your way of thinking and looking at things. Beliefs dictate your approach and outlook to life. What you believe is what you stand for.

Understanding Yourself:
VALUES, BELIEFS, ETHICS, & CHARACTER
As difficult as it may be to determine how characteristics like your sex, ethnicity, or religion can effect the way you think and act, it is even more complicated and important to identify the values and beliefs that lead to your ethical behaviors and build your character.

Values & Beliefs

One of the most difficult things to put into words are the values that guide your actions. If your actions and thoughts are a mystery to you, you may not have really looked at your own value system. KNOW this: Beliefs shape values and values influence thoughts and actions. If you can put into words your values, then you are likely aware of the principles and beliefs that serve as your guide.

Understanding Yourself:
VALUES, BELIEFS, ETHICS, & CHARACTER
Values can differ per person, community, and culture. When looking at your own value system, think about what might be some universal values that everyone could agree on There are Eight Moral Values that are likely to be shared: 1. Love (strong affection for another) 2. Truthfulness (tell the truth) 3. Fairness (being fair) 4. Freedom (being free) 5. Unity (united in harmony) 6. Tolerance (the ability to recognize & respect the beliefs or practices of others) 7. Responsibility (being responsible for yourself and to others) 8. Respect for Life (to feel or show esteem for all life forms)

Understanding Yourself:
VALUES, BELIEFS, ETHICS, & CHARACTER
ETHICS is the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation. What does that mean? Well, some may say it has to do with what my feelings tell me is right or wrong, some may say it has to do with their religious beliefs, while other will say being ethical is doing what the law requires, and even more will define it as the standards of behavior our society accepts. However, all of these can deviate from what is ethical due to how, where, or when in other words, they are subjective to who you are, what you believe, and where you live. So, how do you arrive at what is ethical for everyone?

Understanding Yourself:
VALUES, BELIEFS, ETHICS, & CHARACTER
First, ethics refers to well-rounded standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtues. For example, ethics refers to those standards that impose harms to others or self through actions stealing, murder, assault, slander, and fraud. Ethical standards include virtues of honesty, compassion, and loyalty, as well as the right to life, the right to freedom from injury, and the right to privacy. Second, ethics refers to the study and development of ones own standards. It is necessary to continuously look at ourselves: our moral beliefs and our moral conduct.

Understanding Yourself:
VALUES, BELIEFS, ETHICS, & CHARACTER
Ethics is about trust and sense of fair play It is knowing how to treat people the right way. Make the values you use in decision-making very clear know what your ethical goal is and follow that plan. Be aware of the messages you are sending not all values and principles are clearly stated, so think about what you want to convey to others. Remember these 5 Basic Ethical Principles 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Respect Autonomy Do No Harm Benefit Others Be Just Be Faithful

Understanding Yourself:
VALUES, BELIEFS, ETHICS, & CHARACTER
Values are integral to the development of character. Understanding values becomes central to understanding others and to achieving a common purpose. A person of character promotes ethical decision making and expects ethical behavior from others. The Josephson Institute of Ethics proposes six pillars of character that are enduring and indispensable: Trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship. Trustworthiness is far more than truth telling. Being worthy of trust means being honest, demonstrating integrity, keeping promises, and being loyal. It means being known for standing up for what is right. Respect means being respectful making a commitment to treating others in ways that do not demean or take advantage of them.

Understanding Yourself:
SIX PILLARS OF CHARACTER
Responsibility means accepting accountability for your own actions and being conscious of the moral and ethical implications of deciding not to act. Being responsible means being accountable, pursuing excellence, and exercising self-control. Fairness is working toward a just and equitable outcome. Being fair means being open-minded, willing to listen, and confronting your own prejudices that might influence your decisions. Caring means your awareness of being concerned for each persons wellbeing and your attention to not being hurtful. Care requires empathy and kindness. Citizenship is the civic virtue of knowing that as a member of a community, you have responsibilities to do your part to contribute to the well-being of the group. It means you are willing to abide by laws and obligations.

Understanding Yourself:
A PERSON OF CHARACTER
A person of character

Is trustworthy (is honest, has integrity, keeps

promises, is loyal)

Treats people with respect (is courteous,

nonviolent, non-prejudiced, accepting)

Is responsible (is accountable, pursues

excellence, shows self-restraint)

Is fair (just, equitable, open, reasonable,

unbiased)

Is caring (kind, compassionate, empathetic,

unselfish)

Is a good citizen (is law-abiding, does his or

her share, performs community service, protects the environment)

Understanding Yourself:
THREE CENTRAL QUESTIONS
A central goal of understanding yourself is to develop a sense of awareness that result in true community and common purpose with others. There are three central questions to ask yourself in any setting: How am I like no one else here? How am I like some others here? How am I like everyone here? Each of us brings a uniqueness and individuality to any situation. Your skill, background, and preferences makes you you. But you are not alone. To be truly inclusive and empowering, you must also understand others.

Understanding Yourself:
INDIVIDUALITY & COMMONALITY
Others might be like you or very different. Even if they look the same, they may have different values, preferences, or approaches to learning. Some of these differences in ourselves and others come from our gender, ethnicity, or culture some come from our environments. Poet Maya Angelo in her 1994 poem Human Family, describes all of the uniqueness as people that set us apart, but concludes, We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike. Finding common human purpose is the focus on which to center our perceptions of differences.

Finding the purpose, vision, and common commitments that create a we from a group of individuals is the challenge of community.

Understanding Yourself:
BUILDING MULTICULTURAL APPRECIATION
Discrimination, sexism, and racism all stem from the same source prejudice. A prejudice comes from a belief that an individual or group of individuals like sexes, races, religions, or ethnic cultures think they are better than another.

Multiculturalism is the appreciation of all individuals and groups. It is the understanding that everyone has a place in society and this world.
To get to this understanding, you must ask yourself How does my gender (sex) influence my attitude and behavior? How does my experience as a man or woman shape my worldview?

Understanding Yourself:
BUILDING MULTICULTURAL APPRECIATION
Gender roles are socially constructed expectations that get labeled masculine or feminine. Gender roles may be limiting and inaccurate when assigned to an individual. For example Women belong in the home taking care of the children, house, and dinner - or Only men should go to war. Men can and do care for their families while women go to work as equally as women participate in fighting for their country. Both men and women are capable of making good decisions, leading effectively, being responsible members and communicating with clarity, but they may go about doing those things differently than the other would.

Understanding Yourself:
BUILDING MULTICULTURAL APPRECIATION
Culture includes everything about how a group of people think, feel, and behave. Culture is: the sum total ways of living; including values, beliefs, visually appealing standards, language expression, patterns of thinking, behavioral norms, and styles of communication which a group of people has developed to assure its survival in a particular physical and human environment. It is a pattern of knowledge. It is a body of common understandings.

Understanding Yourself:
BUILDING MULTICULTURAL APPRECIATION
Building Multicultural Appreciation requires that we know more about developing an openness and appreciation of various cultures and aspects of how others may differ.
Acknowledging Their Potential

Respect for Others

Fully Recognizing Peoples Contributions

Letting People Give of Their Best

The Cycle of Respect

Creating Meaning & Purpose

As our awareness is raised, we begin to acknowledge that many other cultures exist. As our awareness of culture grows, we move to some level of understanding through experiences, learning, and knowledge. Awareness and Understanding lead to willingness to accept and respect that others do have a legitimate cultural view.

Using Their Abilities Well

Theories in Leadership:
WHAT DOES ALL THIS HAVE TO DO WITH ME?
We have looked at the Founding Principles and the 3 Key Principles of Leadership; Understanding Yourself and your Values, Beliefs, Ethics and Character; and Understanding Others and how people are individual and yet have commonalities, as well as the key components to building a Multicultural bridge of appreciation for others Now, lets re-visit the theories to see how they relate to everyone in everyday life. Since everyone is a parent, lets look at these theories from a parenting perspective.

Authoritarian Leadership:
THE AUTHORITARIAN PARENT
Remember, the Authoritarian Leadership Style is characterized by leaders who make decisions alone, demand strict obedience to orders, dictates each step to be taken, and also gives out praise or criticism. Now, think about your parents and how you were raised. Did your parents ever say, its my way or the highway? Think about how you raise your children now. Regardless of culture or location, all parents, at one point or another, tell their children what to do and how to do it. They expect their children to be respectful and do as they are told. But what happens if the parent is always Authoritarian telling people what to do and when to do it? How does it effect family members? How does the family function? Out of fear and later resentment? How well would this style go over when working with others in your community? Think about it.

Democratic Leadership:
THE DEMOCRATIC PARENT
Remember - Democratic Leadership Style is known for the collective decision process assisted by the leader. Before doing the tasks, opinions are taken from a group discussion and advice from the leader. Then the members are given choices and work together to divide up the work between each other. Think about this type of leadership in terms of being the parent in your family. If you look at your family, it is its own small community. There are responsibilities that need to be taken care of to make sure that the household runs smoothly and that everyone gets their needs met. When everyone works together, taking responsibility for their part, that happens. You can make a list of all the chores and have a family meeting to discuss and choose which ones they would prefer to take on.

Everyone who lives with you contributes to the household in some way one child may choose to do dishes and set the table and the other child may choose to take out the trash and dust while both are also responsible to clean their rooms and put away their laundry. Giving family members an opportunity to give input, gives them autonomy and encourages them to be an active participant of their community. Think about it.

Laissez Leadership:
THE LAISSEZ FAIRE PARENT
Remember - the Laissez Faire Leadership Style is associated with total freedom. This leader type steps back all together and allows the group to determine work and policy. They do not take charge, rarely offer praise and do not handle difficult problems well. As a parent, there are plenty of times when you want to throw up your hands and say to your children - Whatever! Just go, play, I dont care! or Go ahead, eat 12 popsicles and drink all the kool-aid! But what if this was all the time? Who would your children look to for guidance? for right and wrong? How would they learn limits and boundaries? How would they behave or speak to people? If no one ever cared what they did, they would run wild and have little respect for others, if any.

Parents are the greatest leaders children have because they have the greatest amount of influence day in and day out. If children grow up with total freedom, no praise and no discipline, what would they be like? What would our society be like? Think about it.

Reciprocal Leadership:
THE RECIPROCAL PARENT
Remember Reciprocal Leadership is base upon a reciprocal relationship an equal give and take relationship between the leader and the followers. They recognized that the relationship between the leader and follower could elevate the performance of everyone involved to reach the goals because each person was empowered. As parents, the relationship between parent and child is rarely seen as an equal anything, let alone an equal relationship. However, is this really true? Think about it. Parents and children do have a give and take relationship. Both parties involved have needs that depend on the other to be fulfilled. Children need to receive love and support from their parents from where they live to where they go to school. They depend on their parents to be the example of how they should speak, care for others, and be an adult and parent themselves one day. As parents we need for our children to hear our words, embrace us, and love us. When we recognize that the relationship is truly reciprocal, then as parents leaders we can elevate through empowering our following children to reach their goals and be successful.

Transactional Leadership:
THE TRANSACTIONAL PARENT
Remember - Transactional Leadership is the one person who makes contact with others for the purpose of an exchange of valued things. They are given POWER to do certain everyday jobs and give praise or punishment dependent upon the teams performance. Parents often bribe their children with reward or threaten them with punishment if they do or dont do what ever the task is that they have been given. Do well on your report card and you can get something you really want, but if you get bad grades you will be in trouble or If you do all your chores, you will get an allowance if you dont, you will not get allowance and will be on restriction no TV, no phone, no Wii, no outside play with friends This works sometimes, but not always because the fear or desire can change dependent on the child, as well as other outside influences like friends, neighborhood, attitudes about the material reward kids dont always want to be Employee of the Month. It may not hurt every once in awhile to offer incentives to our children to encourage their desire to perform how we would like, however, it needs to be understood that with no internal motivation, they may never strive to conform. Think about it.

Transformational Leadership:
THE TRANSFORMATIONAL PARENT
Remember - the Transformational leader is a motivator they inspire their team to be successful and capable leaders and followers alike can emerge as leaders. Burns defines Transforming Leadership as a process where leaders and followers raise one another to higher levels of morality and motivation. It is based upon the idea that leadership is inseparable from followers needs and goals. Leaders appeal to followers higher ideals and moral values such as liberty, justice, equality, peace, and humanitarianism not to lesser emotions such as fear, greed, jealousy, or hatred. What if parents viewed themselves not just as any leaders, but as Transformational Leader Parents? What if each parent recognized that as a parent we could inspire our children to be better, do better? What if we could lift them to higher heights? Viewing our families as a team that works together to support each member to be successful and continually strive for higher ideals and moral values can create future leaders that will act in the same way in their larger community. Children whose parents instill positive values and invest in their own success lead their children to be just and fair, to fight for what is right, to be understanding of others, to act in peaceful ways, and be a positive influence in humanity. Just think about it.

Parent Leaders & Parent Power:

STYLE TO USES
Regardless of what kind of leadership theory you identify with, every one has some sort of power that is used. Some kinds of power, as we have already seen, can be used in positive or negative ways to influence the adhesion of rules and behaviors especially as a parent. Lets look at the Five Types of Power again as parents. Think about how different situations that you have been in and how you use your power to influence your children. See how different uses of power affect children differently and how you can exchange negative ways for more positive ones.

Parent Power:
UNDERSTANDING USES & REACTIONS
When looking at how a person uses power and reacts to the power of others, there are Five Primary Sources of Power that individuals bring to their relationships with others at work that can be found equally in our relationships at home. 1. Expert Power is the power of information or knowledge. Expertise may come through professional development and formal education such as engineers or dentists receive, from possessing specific information such as remembering results or knowing rules in the employee handbook, or from extended experience like being a mother of three children or being a seasoned ballplayer. As parents, whether you have one child or three, as a mother or father, we become experts at raising our families in our ways of traditions and experiences. We exert our power in our homes when a child questions why they can or cannot do something, we respond using our Expert Power to explain. We use our Expert power when we display or discuss how to be in our community, schools, church, storesbecause as well as parents, we are adults that are looked upon by our children as EXPERTS.

Parent Power:
UNDERSTANDING USES & REACTIONS
2. Reverent Power refers to the nature and strength of a relationship between two or more people. Think of the wise senior who is so highly regarded that her words carry great weight in the group discussion. Parents and Grandparents are revered by children simply due to their age, stature, and position in the family. Not always are parents words viewed as wise by a child, however, grandparents are almost always seen to possess words of wisdom and given weight in any family discussion. Sometimes children will want to learn for themselves versus heeding the advice of a parent or other adult, but only on some issues that contribute to establishing their own independence. For the most part, children understand that parents and grandparents have had many experiences and admire them for their knowledge and therefore look to them in a respectful way.

Parent Power:
UNDERSTANDING USES & REACTIONS
3. Legitimate Power is due to the formal role a person holds, usually because he or she has the responsibility and authority to exert some degree of power. Those in authority generally know that their legitimate power is fragile. Legitimate Power can be seen in the Authoritarian style of leadership and is understood to work only for a short time or specific situation. Parents will often be granted a sense of legitimacy strictly based upon the fact that they hold the position of parent. Being a parent is equal to being the boss and means having the power to enforce the laws and rules of home and life. This power is used by parents to ensure that their children know that they are the authority and have the authority to exert their power as they see fit. This is not always a good thing, for it can be used to inflict harm or be abusive. If this is the case, it is only a matter of time until the child raises up against the use of this power and no longer acknowledges the parent as in charge or as an authority due to the lack of care, concern, and respect to their well-being.

Parent Power:
UNDERSTANDING USES & REACTIONS
4. Coercive Power influences individuals or groups through imposing or threatening punitive sanctions or removing rewards or benefits. Coercion accomplishes behavior change but usually at great cost to the relationships among those involved. Parents often use a punishment system to enforce certain behaviors and compliance by their children to met their expectations. If the child does not listen or behave as expected, then they face having privileges taken away and being punished. There is an emphasis on threatening so that the child will comply out of fear. You do what I say or else! or If you dont listen you will go to your room or get a spanking. Parents who utilize coercive power over their children recognize, just as their legitimate power is limited, so are the reactions of children to being threatened to comply. It is important to inform our children that there are natural consequences for not doing well or making choices that will not serve them, but if we use negative threats to convey this message, eventually the fear wears off and a lack of respect for the parents replaces it.

Parent Power:
UNDERSTANDING USES & REACTIONS
5. Reward Power influences behavior through the ability to deliver positive outcomes and desired resources. Rewards may be in extrinsic rewards like raises, plaques, or special privileges. They may also be intrinsic rewards for intangibles like praise or support. Parents can offer rewards as equally as they offer punishment to re-enforce certain behaviors, however the effect is much different due to its delivery. When parents use positive rewards, the child learns to look forward to performing certain behaviors. Rewards can be positive praise and love given by the parent which equates to even more motivation than a plaque for being the best basketball player on the team or raise in allowance, although these too encourage positive behaviors from children. This type of power influences the value of doing well for the natural reward of doing well and the benefits that will be gained by the child making choices that will support them being successful.

REMEMBERING WHAT IS IMPORTANT

No matter what kind of leadership style you embrace or power you use, knowing that you are a leader everyday in everyway in life is essential. Being aware that you effect your family, your children, people at work, and people in the community helps you to identify and engage in behaviors that will influence others positively. Learn about yourself and others, investigate what makes you who you are, what you offer and how you can be supportive of others success. Know that by being a parent, you are in an extraordinary leadership position. Everything you do and say to your children is viewed by them in an extraordinary way because they regard you as an Expert Power, an authority figure and revere your words as a parent.

REMEMBERING WHAT IS IMPORTANT

Remember that different situations will require different characteristics to ensure success in results. Think about extending a hand and establishing relationships with others, whether in your own family or in the community, that are reciprocal an equal give and take. Empower yourself and others by instilling trust through your actions. Consider the entire group and how they are empowered, then how you can support their own sense of empowerment. Be purposeful and intentional in your actions by being committed to social and civic responsibilities. Be open, respectful, accountable for yourself, and involved in the process to improve where you live.

REMEMBERING WHAT IS IMPORTANT

Be open, know your strengths and weaknesses, and have a positive self-concept. Know your values and beliefs, while always acting in accordance to ethics that elevates your character. Be a person who is trustworthy, treats others with respect; is responsible and fair; and shows compassion. And remember what leadership iseveryday.

Thank you for participating in this Tampa Bay WorkForce Alliance E-course.