Description
Last week, you explored how systems theory and the ecological perspective emphasize the interaction between a human services organization and its environment. Any change in one part of the system effects change in another part of the system. Because organizations are not immune to their environment, local, national, and global events affect them.
Social workers in administrative roles must be able to identify and analyze the external factors that affect the function of the human services organizations for which they work. Though you may apply leadership and management skills as you assume an administrative position, you may also be able to repurpose many of the assessment skills you use in clinical practice for macro social work. Just as you gather information about a client and develop strategies for treatment at a micro level, so too, at a macro level, you gather and analyze information about a situation or program and identify appropriate strategies that will support positive organizational functioning.
For this Discussion, you address the Phoenix House case study in the Social Work Case Studies: Concentration Year text.
By Day 3
Post by Day 3 an analysis of the supervisor’s role in the Phoenix House case study and identify leadership skills that might help the supervisor resolve the issue. Identify which aspect of this situation would be most challenging for you if you were the supervisor. Finally, explain how you would use leadership skills to proceed if you were the supervisor.
Introduction
L
eadership is a highly sought-after and highly valued commodity. In
the 1 5 years since the first edition of this book was published, the
public has become increasingly captivated by the idea of leadership.
People continue to ask themselves and others what makes good leaders. As
individuals, they seek more information on how to become effective
leaders. As a result, bookstore shelves are filled with popular books about
leaders and ad,·ice on how to be a leader. Many people belie,·e that
leadership is a way to improve their personal, social, and professional lives.
Corporations seek those with leadership ability because they believe they
bring special assets to their organizations and, ultimately, improve the
bottom line. Academic institutions throughout the country have responded
by providing programs in leadership studies.
In addition, leadership has gained the attention of researche rs worldwide.
A review ofthe scholarly studies on leadership shows that there is a wide variety
of different theoretical approaches to explain the complexities of the leader
ship process (e.g., Bass, 1990; Bryman, 1992; Bl)’Tllan, Collinson, Grint, Jack
son & Uhl-Bien, 201 I ; Day & Antonakis, 2012; Gardner, 1990; Hickman.
2009; Mumford, 2006; Rost, 1991). Some researchers conceptualize leader
ship as a trait or as a behavior, whereas others view leadership from an infor
mation-processing perspective or relational standpoinl Leadership has been
studied using both qualitative and quantitative methods in many contexts,
including small groups, therapeutic groups, and large organizations. Collec
ti,·ely, the research findings on leadership from all of these areas provide a
picture ofa process that is far more sophisticated and complex than the often
simplistic view presented in some of the popular books on leadership.
This book treats leadership as a complex process having multiple
dimensions. Based on the research literature, this text provides an in-depth
I Cl)
1.1 FmPrninn Pr;>rtirP<
2 LEADERSHIP
I TH EORY AND PRACTICE
description and application of many different approaches to leadership.
Our emphasis is on how theory can inform the practice of leadership. In
this book, we describe each theory and then explain how the theory can be
used in real situations.
LEADERSHIP DEFINED
There are many ways to finish the sentence, “Leadership is….” In fact, as
Stogdill ( 1974, p. 7) pointed out in a review of leadership research, there
are almost as many different definitions of leadership as there are people
who have tried to define it. It is much like the words democracy, love, and
peace. Although each of us intuitively knows what we mean by such words,
the words can have different meanings for different people. As Box 1.1
shows, scholars and practitioners have attempted to define leadership for
more than a century without universal consensus.
Box 1.1 The Evolution of Leadership Definitions
While many have a gut-level grasp of what leadership is, putting a
definition to the term has proved to be a challenging endeavor for
scholars and practitioners alike. More than a century has lapsed since
leadership became a topic of academic introspection, and definitions
have evolved continuously during that period. These definitions have
been influenced by many factors from world affairs and politics to the
perspectives of the discipline in which the topic is being studied. In a
seminal work. Rost ( 1991} analyzed materials written from 1900 to
1990, finding more than 200 different definitions for leadership. His
analysis provides a succinct history of how leadership has been defined
through the last century:
1900-1929
Definitions of leadership appearing in the first three decades of the 20th
century emphasized control and centralization of power with a common
theme of domination. For example, at a conference on leadership in
1927, leadership was defined as “the ability to impress the will of the
leader on those led and induce obedience, respect, loyalty, and coopera
tion” (Moore, 1927, p. 124}.
I lil1.1
Development of leadership
Chapter 1 ! Introduction 3
1930s
Traits became the focus of defining leadership, with an emerging view of
leadership as influence rather than domination. Leadership is also identi
fied as the interaction of an individual’s specific personality traits with
those of a group. noting that while the attitudes and activities of the
many are changed by the one, the many may also influence a leader.
1940s
The group approach came into the forefront with leadership being
defined as the behavior of an individual while involved in directing group
activities (Hemphill, 1949).At the same time, leadership by persuasion is
distinguished from “drivership” or leadership by coercion (Copeland,
1942).
1950s
Three themes dominate
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