Daft (2005) What Does It Mean To Be A Leader?

Daft defines leadership as an influence relationship among leaders and followers who intend real changes and outcomes that reflect their shared purposes (pg. 5). He considers leadership a people activity as distinct from administrative work and must include followers. Daft suggests that as the turn of a new centuary the old methods of organisational leadership no longer apply in the face of the Information Revolution. 

Daft does not flesh this premise out and presumes that the reader would automatically agree with it. However, to then lay out a new paradigm that would consume the remainder of the chapter, does not satisfy me. Surely throughout the last century, civilization went through even more tremendous change than what we experience today? Compare pre and post depression era or WWII. The '60s were no slouch. There must be some practices that have been learnt and refined over the last 500 years that can be harnessed for the next 500 rather than completely re-defining the new reality of leadership?

Paradigm Oppositionals

Stability - Crisis Management

Because change is happening so frequently, leaders should help their followers to adapt rather than resist change.

Control - Empowerment

Because many organsiations have highly educated workers, leaders would improve effectiveness by distributing their power amongst their employees.

Competition - Collaboration

Knowledge management and working together will achieve better outcomes than interdepartmental competition.

Uniformity - Diversity

To cater to large numbers of multicultural employees, leaders must create an environment that supports diversity

Self-Centered - Higher Purpose

Honesty, integrity and accountablity will thrive in the long term.

Hero - Humble

Highly ambitious, yet selfless compared to cowboy leaders.

Key Quotes

Good leaders know how to follow and they set an example for others. (pg. 6)

Reference
Daft, R. L. (2005). What does it mean to be a leader? In R. L. Daft (3rd Eds.), The leadership experience (pp. 3-41). Mason, Ohio: Thomson South-Western.