Behavioral Perspective to Public Health Leadership
RE: Discussion – Week 5
Brief explanation of the behavioral perspective reflected in the article you selected.
According to Nahavandi 2015, the behavioral perspective theory focuses on behaviors providing several advantages over a trait approach that include: behaviors can be observed readily, behaviors can be consistently measured, and behaviors can be taught through a variety of methods. In the selected article, “behavioral reasoning theory proposes that context-specific reasons are critical in decision-making, intention formation, and behavior” (Westaby et al., 2010). This article suggest that reasons not only influence leaders’ attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived control to act, they also directly influence leaders’ intentions to act through explicit and implicit processes (Westaby et al., 2010). Also, hypothesized within the article is that a leader’s intentions are related to their subsequent behavior. Leaders’ intentions often become formalized through a number of behavioral mechanisms, such as in new policies, practices, and organizational processes (Westaby et al., 2010).
Explain the strengths and limitations of this perspective.
A strength of the behavior theory is that leadership traits can be learned through development and experience (Behavioral theory, 2014). Also, when looking at the behavior theory, it describes how a leader can be made into an effective leader, which can be determined to be a strength of the behavior theory. One limitation of the behavior theory is leaders being able to adapt. This is due to a leader being placed in different situations and one behavior may work in one situation but may not in another situation.
Explain how this perspective you selected relates to both Trait Theory and the Skills Approach
The behavior theory shows what an effective leader does as compared to trait theory that suggest that leaders are born. Instead of identifying who would be an effective leader, the behavior approach emphasizes what an effective leader does (Nahavandi, 2015). The behavior approach and skills approach are similar as leaders can learn behaviors and skills that they need in to become an effective leader. The skills approach to leadership focuses on the belief that certain abilities, knowledge, and skills that can be learned or developed are important to leadership (Salley, 2014). The skills approach and behavior approach evaluate leaders on what they can accomplish rather than what leadership skills and traits that they are born with.
References
Behavioral theory: Strengths, weaknesses, and current theorists. (2014). Retrieved March 31, 2021, from https://traitsandbehaviors.wordpress.com/behaviora…
Nahavandi, A. (2015). The art and science of leadership. Boston: Pearson.
Salley, M. (2014). Meredith Salley’s SITE. Retrieved March 31, 2021, from https://blogs.baylor.edu/meredith_salley/2014/11/28/skills-approach-leadership-theory/#:~:text=The%20skills%20approach%20to%20leadership,of%20what%20they%20can%20accomplish.
Westaby, J. D., Probst, T. M., & Lee, B. C. (2010). Leadership decision-making: A behavioral reasoning theory analysis. The Leadership Quarterly, 21, 481-495.
1 day ago
RE: Discussion – Week 5
Isaac Yah
Week 5 Discussion: Behavior/Style Perspective to Leadership
Behavioral Perspective to Public Health Leadership
The behavior perspective was one of the many concepts studied by leadership scholars to identify who can be an effective leader but failed to yield the desire results. Among the many leadership styles and behaviors identified were the democratic, autocratic, and laissez-faire, transactional, and transformational (Nahavandi, 2014). In this article, the behavioral perspective discussed is the transformational leaderships. The authors developed a multi-foci analysis that examined follower dependence, follower independence and leader-follower interdependence to understand how transformational leadership influences followers’ behavior (Lu et al.,2020). The results of the study suggested that in a transformational leadership, the followers are dependent on the leaders rather the other two dimensions. Nahavandi (2014) and Lu et al. (2020) indicated that transformational leadership inspires follower to implement the leader’s vision and make employees/followers to accomplish more than expected. In this relationship, the leader creates a strong emotional bond between leaders and followers that garner loyalty, trust, and a desire to emulate the leader (Nahavandi, 2014). Studies indicate that many famous world leaders, including Kennedy, Obama, Mandela, and Gandhi were charismatic, transformational leaders (Nahavandi, 2014),
Strength and Limitations of Transformational Leadership
The strengths of transformational leadership are that it facilitates organizational change by motivation and encouragement, empowerment, inspiration, intellectually stimulating and easily overcome resistance to change and create a sense of justice and collective identity (Nahavandi, 2014). The limitations are that in it increases followers’ dependence on the leader, its trait-like elements developed early in life make it unteachable, and that transformational leaders are not a good fit in organizations that prefer status quo and do require transformation or change (Nahavandi, 2014; Lu et al., 2020).
How the Perspective Relates to Trait Theory of Leadership
Both traits and behavioral leadership are essential to leadership by influencing followers, but early studies indicate that they are not sufficient to engender effective leadership (Nahavandi, 2014). Like traits, behaviors are learned early in life and have great influence on an individual’s leadership style, and both use emotion to connect with followers (Nahavandi, 2014; Lu et al., 2020). Certain leadership traits and behaviors lead to followers’ satisfaction and improve performance (Nahavandi, 2014).
References
Lu, Q., Liu, Y., & Huang, X. (2020). Follower dependence, independence, or interdependence: A multi-foci framework to unpack the mystery of transformational leadership effects. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public health 2020, 17, 4534; doi: 1-.3390/ijerph17124534
Nahavandi, A. (2014). The art and science of leadership (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson
1 day ago
RE: Discussion – Week 5
Mindful Leadership
The article by Peter (2020) discusses the mindful leadership strategy for achieving significant improvement in leadership. Basically, the article emphasizes the well-known Buddha’s formula of right the outlook leading to right thinking. The author describes that some barriers that most leaders dealing with are misperceptions, internal biases, and inclining towards previous events. Mindfulness is emphasizing the right thinking. For instance, if a leader believes that the staff members do their best to get the work is done in an approved safe way. Understanding the different states or actions are very important in leadership. The situations of a leader could affect performance include not fully understanding the strengths and limitations of each method, being influenced by effective marketing that positions one solution as the only way to address the issue, automatically associating one thing with another, becoming so used to one method only and afraid of things in different ways, and feeling under pressure to get things done as quickly as possible. Strategic leaders are efficient in that they think for themselves, nurture an outlook of not accepting the limits that others place combined with the mindfulness to look out for different options to find the best solutions (Peter, 2020).
The Strengths and Limitations of Mindful Leadership
There are strengths as well as some limitations in mindfulness leadership. The strengths are all planning, programming, interventions, or actions start off in mind. Being mindfulness very effective in leadership as it ensures leaders continuously focus on the vision and goals that are being carried out and to make rapid movements and help leaders face adaptive challenges. Moreover, it improves the psychological defense mechanisms of leaders and contributes positively and proactively to their mental well-being, impacts the emotional intelligence of leaders. Mindful leaders have higher empathy and awareness that motivates followers more effectively in achieving their goals (Burmansah et al., 2019). Mindfulness also has some limitations. In some situations, mindfulness can lead to some unwanted outcomes such as disorienting, stultifying, confusing, and feeling distant from the person’s own humanity. More flaws of mindfulness from recent studies are increasing false memories, becoming less creative, dissociation, and psychosis (Pillay, 2018).
The Relation of Mindfulness to Leadership Trait Theory and Skills
The skills of leadership include technical skills, interpersonal skills, and conceptual skills. Mindfulness is related to conceptual skills as it affects problem-solving, logical thinking, decision making, and reasoning (Nahavandi, 2014). For instance, by thinking logically instead of jumping on to misconceptions, a leader can make good decisions and solve problems most efficiently. The personal traits that can contribute to effective leadership include motivation, desire to lead, honesty and integrity, self-confidence, intelligence, and knowledge of business (Nahavandi, 2014). Mindfulness can somehow relate to desire and motivation to lead. For example, a mindful leader can build a successful relationship with employees that makes the leader more efficient and motivated to lead the group.
References
Burmansah, B., Rugaiyah, R., & Mukhtar, M. (2019). Mindful Leadership: The Ability of Leader to Establish Connection to Others, Community, and Deal with Changes Skillfully-A Case Study of Buddhist Higher Education Institute Leader. International E-Journal of Educational Studies, 133–149. https://doi.org/10.31458/iejes.618343
Nahavandi, A. (2014). Art and Science of Leadership, The (7th ed.). Pearson.
Pater, R. (2020). MINDFUL LEADERSHIP: A Strategy for Achieving Significant Change. Professional Safety, 65(9), 16–18.
Pillay, S. (2018, March 6). The 4 Disadvantages of Mindfulness. Pick The Brain. https://www.pickthebrain.com/the-4-disadvantages-o…