N. GILLES TD L2 LEADERSHIP « We all work together as a team. And that means you do everything I say” Michael Caine, British film actor (in the film The Italian Job) A)- VOCABULARY: I)- Which of the adjectives below would you use to describe an ideal leader? Give reasons for your choice. What adjectives would you add? Decisive Passionate Flexible Open informal thoughtful opportunistic magnetic accessible impulsive aggressive ruthless motivating cautious energetic charismatic adventurous persuasive II)- Can you think of adjectives with opposite meanings to the ones above? Decisive – indecisive III)- Read what some commentators think about leadership. Do you agree with their ideas? Leadership is not magnetic personality- that can just as well be a glib tongue. It is not “making friends and influencing people” – that is flattery. Leadership is lifting a person’s vision to higher things, the raising of a person’s performance to a higher standard, the building of personality beyond its normal limitations. (Peter F. Drucker, author and management theorist) A leader is best when people barely know he exists, not so good when people obey and acclaim him, worse when they despise him... But of a good leader who talks little when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say, “We did it ourselves”. (Anonymous) Good leaders make people feel they’re at the heart of things, not at the periphery. Everyone feels he or she makes a difference to the success of the organisation. When that happens, people feel centred and that gives their work meaning. (Warren Bennis, author and professor of business administration.) If there is a trait that does characterise leaders it is opportunism. Leaders are people who seize opportunity and take risks. Leadership then seems to be a matter of personality. (John Viney, former Chairman of Heidrick and Struggles, top recruitment consultants.) B)- VIDEO: Watch the video about leadership and answer the questions: « A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way & …shows the way » - John C Maxwell 1). What definition of leadership do they give? Democratic bioctratic and autocratic Refers to the art of motivation people in an organization and communication to advice common goals An art of communication ideas effectively to others and encouraging them to take responsibilities 2). It’s important that leaders must have certain critical thinking skills 3). Leadership styles: a). democratic leadership: The leaders make …or break decision democratically, based on their team’s …… opinion and …………………………………feed back …………. Every opinion………comes is important even if the leader makes the final décision b). autocratic ………………………………… leadership: It is the. …………………………opposite………………… of the first ont. The opinions of employees are not …considered and leaders expect others to adhere…………………………………………… to their decisions. On the long run, it is not sustainable c). ……laisser faire ………………………………… leadership: It is the least …………………………………………… style and leaders ensure that the. …………………………………………… lies with the employees. It can ……………………empower……………………… but it may also limit ……………………development ……………………… d). ………………strategic ………………………… leadership: It acts as a ………………………bridge…………………… between the senior team and the employees. Bot executive …interest………………………………………… and working ……………………………conditions……………… are …stable………………………………………… when a decision is made. e). …………………………transformation ………………… ………………………transforming…………………… ……………………functions……………………… leadership: and it aims at improving and …………………capabilities…………………………. Leaders ask their employees to push their ……boundaries……………………………………… constantly. f). …transaction ………………………………………… leadership: it is based on the ……………………………action ……………… and …………………………reward………………… concept. Employees get an ………………………………incentive …………… or a bonus if they achieve a ……………………………target……………… set by the company. g). …………………coach style ………………………… leadership: It focuses on larger …………………………growth ………………… while encouraging ……………………individual……………………… team members to focus on their …………………………………………strength… and ……………………………………talent………. The focus is on the individual. h). …………………bureaucratic ………………………… leadership: Even is leaders listen to their employees and their opinions, they may negate …………………………………………… it or …………………………rejected………………… it if they go against the company’s ……………………………ethos……………… or …policy………………………………… C)- READING: The Founder of Ikea: TEXT 1: I)- The following article is about Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of Ikea, the home furnishings retail giant. Which of the following do you expect Ingvar to do or to be? - drive an old car - be careful with money: - travel first class - dress smartly - be dyslexic - love detail - be formal - make short-term decisions II)- Read the article to check your answers: III)- What winning formula is behind Ikea’s success? Make affordable well designed furniture available to the masses IV)- Read the article again and make notes about Mr Kamprad under these headings: Wealth: very rich 13.4bn Personality: charismatic humble private Lifestyle: extremely modest life style Leadership style: setting a good example Overdraft u spend more money than u have V)- Find words or phrases in the article that match these definitions: a). An awareness of the price of things cost consciousness b). The feeling you have when you are part of a group of people who have a close relationship with each other togetherness. c). A relaxed and friendly situation without too many rules of correct behavior informal d). The lack of a system in an organization where a group of people have power or control e). An extremely strong focus on every small fact or piece of information: .obsessive. he was good at choosing people who work with him deceive e ad good feeling reluctant to stop working: I don’t won’t to stop working TEXT III)- What winning formula is behind Ikea’s success? IV)- Read the article again and make notes about Mr Kamprad under these headings: Wealth: Personality: Lifestyle: Leadership style: V)- Find words or phrases in the article that match these definitions: a). An awareness of the price of things ................................................................................................................. b). The feeling you have when you are part of a group of people who have a close relationship with each other ................................................................................................................. c). A relaxed and friendly situation without too many rules of correct behaviour ................................................................................................................. d). The lack of a system in an organisation where a group of people have power or control ................................................................................................................. e). An extremely strong focus on every small fact or piece of information: ................................................................................................................. VI)- Discuss these questions: 1). What, in your opinion, are the strengths and weaknesses of Ingvar Kamprad? 2). Would you like to work for him? 3). When is the correct time for a leader to leave his or her company? TEXT 2: Ingvar Kamprad’s leadership style Ingvar Kamprad is the perfect example of a charismatic leader. IKEA is the perfect example of a successful family business. We need to question whether in a family business; the leadership style is influenced by the company culture, structure, and business model/operational strategy, or the other way around. IKEA was founded as a pure family business, and till today IKEA’s values are based on the family business concept. A family business has special features that clearly depict its business model and culture, when compared to other business models. The owner of a family business is usually someone with a strong entrepreneurial character, who sets the company’s objectives and operational strategies and wants to be in control over (most of) all the business areas. This has a great impact on the culture; strategic development and success, in the sense that the owner’s leadership style and visions are applied fully with little room to diverge from them, relying on his instincts, fully influencing the whole organization. It is important to mention that one of the characteristics of a family business like IKEA is that the workforce feels that they are part of the family, feeling identified and committed with the organization, boosting their dedication and thus, their performance. Kamprad has always been the visible head of the organization. Therefore, IKEA is a family business with a very unique and differentiated company culture, fundamentally influenced by Ingvar Kamprad. What can be understood from this is that Kamprad as an owner/leader holds the main role in the success of IKEA. What is exactly “leading by example”, and how does it relate to a leadership style? As father and head of a family, Ingvar Kamprad has based his leadership style on the concept of family, to all intents and purposes leading “by example”. As Kamprad has publicly said, “If there is such a thing as good leadership, it is to give a good example” and “I have to do so for all the IKEA employees”. Kamprad soon realized that the best way to get the best out of his employees was to set an example by encouraging hard work mixed with strict business ethics. Some of Kamprad’s other important leadership characteristics such as humbleness, confidence to admit his weaknesses (“There are few people who have made so many fiascos in my life as I have”), his caring nature for all his employees (“Everyone at IKEA should have fun at work, otherwise it's a waste”) and his development10, simplicity, frugality, and the constant need to renew, have given IKEA a very distinctive organizational culture. Clearly, Kamprad is in line with Transformational Leadership. In addition to his attributed charisma, there are four key elements that are characteristic of Transformational Leadership: Intellectual stimulation Inspirational motivation Individualized consideration Idealized influence Reinforcing this assumption, we can see several common elements with Transformational Leadership theories stated by Bass & Avolio, Conger & Kanungo, and Shamir,House & Arthur, such as fulfilling other’s self-actualization needs, empowering through motivation, and exhibiting confidence in subordinates ’ability to attain higher levels of achievement12. In addition, Kamprad has some of a democratic and paternalistic leadership style, where employees ’input is important not only because of getting specific feedback but also because it makes them feel needed in the organization. This as a result can transform in a higher productivity rate. However, Kamprad also has some features that belong to a more autocratic leadership style where the ultimate decision belongs to him following his vision, probably because this is, as we mentioned earlier, a family business with a strong entrepreneurial character. Summarizing, Ingvar Kamprad is the perfect example of Transformational Leader, but as an incomplete leader, he also owns some individualistic characteristics that belong to a Transactional leader. VI)- Discuss these questions: 1. What more do you learn about him? 2. What, in your opinion, are the strengths and weaknesses of Ingvar Kamprad? 3. Would you like to work for him? 4. When is the correct time for a leader to leave his or her company? D)- LANGUAGE REVIEW: DISCOURS DIRECT, DISCOURS INDIRECT >> Au discours direct, on rapporte les paroles prononcées à l’aide d’une proposition subordonnée. A) - TELL et SAY : I)- TELL est obligatoirement suivi d’un nom ou d’un pronom. Attention, il n’y a pas de préposition entre TELL et son complément : Ex: The guide told the tourists / told them that they had plenty of time. II)- SAY est le plus souvent suivi directement d’une proposition. Quand il est suivi d’un nom ou d’un pronom, TO est obligatoire : Ex: They guide said that they had plenty of time. The guide said to the tourists that they had plenty of time. B)- AUTRES VERBES INTRODUCTEURS: I)- TELL et SAY sont les verbes les plus fréquents mais d’autres sont aussi possibles comme ADMIT, ANSWER, DECLARE, MENTION, POINT OUT (signaler), STATE (affirmer)... II)- Pour introduire une question, on rencontre les verbes ASK, ENQUIRE (se renseigner), WANT TO KNOW, WONDER. Une question indirecte est introduite par IF (ou plus rarement par WHETHER). L’ordre des mots est celui d’une phrase affirmative (sujet/verbe). Ex : Where is your mother >> He asked her where her mother was. III)- Le verbe SUGGEST est suivi soit de V-ING, soit d’un verbe conjugué : Ex : Naomi suggested buying those shares >> Naomi suggested that we bought these shares. C)- LES TEMPS AU DISCOURS INDIRECT (principale au passé) : DISCOURS DIRECT DISCOURS INDIRECT Présent « I hate driving » Prétérit She said (that) she hated driving Prétérit « Tom went back to the States » Past Perfect (had + participle passé) She said (that) Tom had gone back to the States. Present perfect « I have never liked poetry » Past Perfect She said (that) she had never liked poetry Will + verbe (emploi futur) « They will meet at 8 P.M » Would + verbe She said (that) they would meet at 8 p.m. Impératif « Don’t write on the tables! » To + verbe She told them not to write on the tables. D)- AUTRES CHANGEMENTS AU DISCOURS INDIRECT : I)- On emploie COULD et MIGHT à la place de CAN et MAY. Avec COULD, MIGHT, SHOULD et WOULD, et avec MUST, il n’y a pas de changement. Ex : She said : « I can handle the job » >> She said she could handle the job. She said : “ You must give me this job” >> she said I must give her the job. II)- On passe de la première à la troisième personne au discours indirect : I > she / he Me > him/ her My > his / her Mine > his / hers We > they Us > them Our > their Ours > theirs III)- Les marqueurs temporels changent généralement : DISCOURS DIRECT DISCOURS INDIRECT Now Yesterday Last week / month / year Three months ago Tomorrow Next week / month / year Then The day before The week / month / year later Three months before The next day The following week / month / year EXERCISES: I)- Transposez au discours indirect : 1. « Do you know we’re getting married? » They asked 2. “How often do you go to the cinema?” She wanted to know 3. “Do you think he’ll sign the letter?” They asked 4. “Do you have to go to school this morning?” He asked 5. “What is she like?” He wondered 6. “How much do you make?” They wanted to know 7. “When is he coming?” She asked 8. “Why did you kill him?” She wondered 9. “Where did you get it?” You asked 10. “How old are you?” He wanted to know II)- Transposez au discours direct : Brenda told Doctor Gillian that she had really tried hard. She said she had done a lot of sport. She swore that she had been very careful with her food. She had listened to her doctor’s advice and she had avoided cakes. She had been positive. She had made an effort. She asked the doctor to look at her: she was tired, depressed, and she said she had lost only one pound. Doctor Gillian agreed but he asked her if she had tried their SUPERSLIM tablets. He assured her it was a new formula and that it worked wonders. Brenda said she had not tried but she promised she would. She exclaimed that she was feeling better already. She thanked the doctor. Wilfrid Rotgé , Vocabulaire Anglais, éd. Hatier
