DISCUSSION ESSAY
INSTRUCTIONS
In a two-page paper…….
- Explain Kouzes and Posner’s (2002) Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership (Transformational Leadership, Chapter 8, page 199) that enable leaders to get extraordinary things accomplished and
- Discuss one international (cannot be domestic) leader that has demonstrated the leadership characteristics in this model. Give specific examples.
YOU SHOULD SUBMIT
- A word document (no more than 2 pages) containing the above two items. You should format your paper according to APA 7th edition style. Use an appropriate title page, headings, in-text citations, paragraphs, references page, etc.
GUIDELINES & TIPS
- Check anything APA at Purdue Online Writing Lab.
- APA is always double space, no more no less. Do not underline, use headings to separate ideas so your paper flows, and bold them.
- The title page must have a header and page number. The Center of the title page has information based on APA 7th edition.
- Don’t forget the References page. If you list a reference, it must also appear as an in-text citation and vice versa. Never use the words “Works Cited” as your heading on the References page. Use the word “References”.
- Refrain from using the following phrases when writing most academic papers: “I believe” “In my opinion” “I think” “I”. The reason you use references is so you can write about what has been researched, this information has validity, your opinion does not.
- Use headings to take the reader from one point to another. Remember the reader has no idea what each of the Powers is about.
- If an assignment refers to a particular theory and states the author, you must cite the author in your paper and also list it on the References page.
- Every paragraph should contain an in-text citation unless it is totally and originally your own words. If you do not include the in-text citation it could be considered plagiarism.
APA Citation for reference page: Northouse, P. G. (2021). Leadership: Theory and practice (9th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. In-Text Citation: (Northhouse, 2021)
In-Text Citation: (Northhouse, 2021)
From Chapter 8 Pg.199
“Kouzes and Posner
Kouzes and Posner (2002, 2017a) developed their model by interviewing leaders about leadership. They interviewed more than 1,300 middle- and senior-level managers in private and public sector organizations and asked them to describe their “personal best” experiences as leaders. Based on a content analysis of these descriptions, Kouzes and Posner constructed a model of leadership.
The Kouzes and Posner model consists of five fundamental practices that enable leaders to get extraordinary things accomplished: model the way, inspire a shared vision, challenge the process, enable others to act, and encourage the heart. For each of the five practices of exemplary leadership, Kouzes and Posner also have identified two commitments that serve as strategies for practicing exemplary leadership.
Model the Way.
To model the way, leaders need to be clear about their own values and philosophy. They need to find their own voice and express it to others. Exemplary leaders set a personal example for others by their own behaviors. They also follow through on their promises and commitments and affirm the common values they share with others.
Inspire a Shared Vision.
Effective leaders create compelling visions that can guide people’s behavior. They are able to visualize positive outcomes in the future and communicate them to others. Leaders also listen to the dreams of others and show them how their dreams can be realized. Through inspiring visions, leaders challenge others to transcend the status quo to do something for others.
Challenge the Process.
Challenging the process means being willing to change the status quo and step into the unknown. It includes being willing to innovate, grow, and improve. Exemplary leaders are like pioneers: They want to experiment and try new things. They are willing to take risks to make things better. When exemplary leaders take risks, they do it one step at a time, learning from their mistakes as they go.
Enable Others to Act.
Outstanding leaders are effective at working with people. They build trust with others and promote collaboration. Teamwork and cooperation are highly valued by these leaders. They listen closely to diverse points of view and treat others with dignity and respect. They also allow others to make choices, and they support the decisions that others make. In short, they create environments where people can feel good about their work and how it contributes to the greater community.
Interestingly, research indicates that women tend to display transformational leadership through more enabling behaviors whereas men tend to enact more challenging behavior (Brandt & Laiho, 2013).
Encourage the Heart.
Leaders encourage the heart by rewarding others for their accomplishments. It is natural for people to want support and recognition. Effective leaders are attentive to this need and are willing to give praise to workers for jobs well done. They use authentic celebrations and rituals to show appreciation and encouragement to others. The outcome of this kind of support is greater collective identity and community spirit.
A later study by Caza and Posner (2019) found that the characteristic of “grit,” or perseverance, was related to some aspects of transformational leadership. High-grit leaders engaged in more frequent role modeling and innovating behaviors, but less inspiring behavior.
Overall, the Kouzes and Posner model emphasizes behaviors and has a prescriptive quality: It recommends what people need to do to become effective leaders. Kouzes and Posner (2002, p. 13) stressed that the five practices of exemplary leadership are available to everyone and are not reserved for those with “special” ability. The model is not about personality: It is about practice.
For this reason, Kouzes and Posner (2017b) fundamentally disagree with the trait approach to leadership, described in Chapter 2, that views leadership as preordained or reserved for a special few leaders who are charismatic.
Leadership is not a gene. Neither is it a trait. There is just no hard evidence to suggest that leadership is imprinted in the DNA of some people and not others. One of the competencies you have is the ability to look ahead. The capacity to imagine the future is a fundamental defining characteristic of human beings, separating Homo sapiens from other species. (p. 30)
To help leaders identify and measure the behaviors described in their model, Kouzes and Posner developed the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI). The LPI is a 360-degree leadership assessment tool that consists of 30 questions that assess individual leadership competencies. It has been widely used in leadership training and development. A review of the measurement properties of the LPI, based on answers from 2.8 million respondents, found the measure had good reliability and consistency across samples and populations and that the underlying five-factor structure has been sustained across a variety of studies and settings. Finally, scores from the LPI are positively related to employee engagement and perceptions of leader effectiveness (Posner, 2016).”
