Literature of Leadership


	The Literature of Leadership


	An exploration of the hearts and minds of leaders and followers

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	Unit 2: Traits of Leaders


	In this unit, you will closely examine a variety of leaders, with the goal of developing a personal vision of what defining traits or attributes make leaders who they are. Often they are hero figures. Often, they are anti-heroes. You will see examples of leaders who did not think of themselves as leading -- but, thanks to their followers, they were thrust into leadership positions. Others scripted themselves as leaders in order to accomplish their vision.


	Reading from Required Texts Gorn, Elliot. Mother Jones: The Most Dangerous Woman in America. 2001 Daft, The Leadership Experience: Chapters 5-10 Daft, R. L. The leadership experience. Mason, OH: Cengage South-Western. ISBN 9780324539684. Ella Baker: Who Was Ella Baker? Reading from Online Texts Procedure for reading -- read quickly, for concepts rather than detail. Choose two or three to read more closely. Please think of ways that what is occurring in the text relates to a current contemporary situation, or a leadership / management issue that you have encountered or been aware of. Be sure to relate the reading to current historical & political issues as well. Guiding Questions Please use these questions as springboards for fruitful contemplation, and to help you with your papers. You may respond to the questions if you wish. If you prefer to address other issues regarding the readings and leadership, please feel free to do so. Based on the readings, what do you see as characteristics or defining traits found in most leaders? What does it take to effect grassroots change? Compare Ella Baker and Mother Jones. What are the aspects of each that engage you ? How do leaders "package" themselves so that they are immediately identified as leaders? Do you ever consciously do this? Do you think that packaging is unnecessary, and that the innate qualities of the leader will automatically communicate themselves to leaders (even if the individual has bad communication skills?) What are the ways of communicating? Words, appearance, gestures, tone of voice, actions, symbols & other accompanying signs and meaning-filled aspects? How and where can a woman use a different approach to be effective, given that the people she needs to lead have specific ideas about gender roles? How and why do leaders "script" themselves? In the case of "scripting" a "hyper macho male," what are the signs, symbols, and narrative elements (myth, archetype, personality theories) that are employed in order to achieve the desired effect? Do leaders tend to exhibit the archetypal characteristics of a hero? What is it about a hero that makes people want to follow? What does following entail? Does the follower give up something, or does he/she in fact gain something in being a follower? How does the media tend to depict a leader? How do you know that a person is a leader when you are watching a movie or television? What are they wearing? Where are they? What are they doing? Anti-hero vs. Hero: What makes an anti-hero compelling? When is the anti-hero appeal most intense? What are the circumstances? Can a charismatic leader even exist without devotees or followers?

Unit Learning Objectives:

Develop and explain a strategy for leadership given cultural and gender expectations and differences;

Explain the concept of charismatic leadership, its potentials and limits;

Describe how the media packages a person to be considered a hero, a leader, or both;

Explain how theories of personality and society (as constructed by humans) can influence how a leader and followers interact, and provide support with examples;

Detail the psychological and personality theories that could explain the behaviors of leaders such as Mother Jones, "mad messiahs," dictatorships, self-sacrificing leaders and heroes.

List attributes of effective leaders.

Key Concepts:

Elms, Alan. (2004) Personality Theory: Theories I find most useful.

Erikson, E. Eight States of Human Development.

McAdams, D. P. (2001) When Bad Things Turn Good and Good Things Turn Bad: Sequences of Redemption and Contamination in Life Narrative and Their Relation to Psychosocial Adaptation in Midlife Adults and in Students. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, April 2001, vol. 27, no. 4, pp. 474-485(12).

McAdams, D. P. et al (1996) Themes of Agency and Communion in Significant Autobiographical Scenes. Journal of Personality, Jun96, Vol. 64 Issue 2, p339, 39p, 4 charts (large file -- use fast connection if possible)

McAdams, D. P. (1993). The stories we live by: Personal myths and the making of the self. New York: Morrow.

McAdams, D. P. (2001). The psychology of life stories. Review of General Psychology, 5(2), 100-122.

Tomkins, S. S. (1978). Script theory: Differential magnification of affects. In H. E. Howe, & R. A. Dienstbier (Eds.), Nebraska Symposium on Motivation (Vol. 26, pp. 201-236) Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.

Tomkins, S. S. (1981). The quest for primary motives. Biography and autobiography of an idea. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 41, 306-329.

Tomkins, S. S. (1987). Script theory. In J. Aronoff, A. I. Rabin et al. (Eds.), The emergence of personality: Michigan State University-Henry A. Murray lectures in personality (pp. 147-216). New York: Springer Publishing Co.

Tomkins, S. S. (1988). Scripting the macho man: Hypermasculine socialization and enculturation. Journal of Sex Research, Vol 25(1), Feb 1988. pp. 60-84. (large file -- need fast connection)

Personology and the narrative interpretation of lives. Barresi, John; Juckes, Tim J.; Journal of Personality, Vol 65(3), Sep 1997. pp. 693-719. (large file -- need fast connection)

Online Readings

Archetypes
The Charismatic Leader
"Saddam, Tell Me About Your Mum" -- interview with Dr. Jerrold Post about the psychology of dangerous leaders
Tapping the Political Psyche: Interview with Jerrold Post

Grassroots Leadership article.

Examples:
Catherine the Great
Mother Teresa
MalcolmX

Union -- a Lifetime of Labor
History of Trade Unions in the U.S.
Autobiography of Mother Jones

Anti-Heroes

Franz Kafka --- The Trial: sparknotes guide
review of film version (1993)

Media Spin -- how does media spin affect how we see leaders? World events? How do we know when there is media manipulation?

Society of the Spectacle: Guy Debord
Commodification of leadership?
Comments on the Society of the Spectacle
NATO and Psy-Ops -- an article on new approaches .. Are they being implemented now?

Gallery of Anti-heroes and Villains