Session 1: Concepts in Leadership

Lesson Objectives;

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

a) Define the key terms in leadership;

b) Distinguish between Leadership Development and Mentorship;

c) Explain thesources of power available to leaders.

1.3 Definition of Key Terms in Leadership

Leadership is the process of directing the behaviour of others towards accomplishment of
objectives (Samuel Certo). It is the art or process of influencing people so that they strive
willingly and enthusiastically towards the achievement of group goals (Koontz &Weihrich,
2004). It enables people to work with zeal and confidence as the leaders facilitate progress and
inspire groups to accomplish organizational goals.
Northouse (2003) defines leadership as a process in which an individual influences a group to
achieve common goals. It involves influence, implying that a leader affects and is affected by
followers in an interactive process. Therefore, leadership occurs in groups such as small task
groups, departments, or entire organizations and involves attention to goals i.e. a context in
which individuals are moving towards set goals together.
1.4 Leadership Development and Mentorship
Leadership is similar to management in various ways as both involve influencing and working
with people and are concerned with effective goal accomplishment. However, leadership is also
different from management. The primary function of management in an organization is to
provide order and consistency whereas leadership is to produce change and growth of the
organization. D'Souza (2004) compares management and leadership as follows:

Management Leadership

Effective and efficient management creates Leadership produces constructive change by

order & stability using rules and procedures providing vision & setting strategies for
change
Accomplishes activities, master routines, Communicating goals, seeking commitment,
structure, and placements building teams & coalitions
Establishes unidirectional authority Multidirectional influence relationship:
relationship: coordinates activities to have developing mutual purpose & working
the job done & works through subordinates together with followers to adapt to change
Managers are reactive and work with Leaders work with followers with emotional
subordinates to solve problems with low involvement, inspiring, and empowering

pg. 1
 emotional involvement & limited choices subordinates, meeting their needs
Kotter (1990) notes that, management and leadership are essential to ensure order and directed
change. Bennis and Nanusputs it thus: "Managers are people who do things right and leaders are
people who do the right things” (1985, p. 221). However, the two terms are used interchangeably
in modern organizations.
1.5 Leadership and Power
Power is the capacity or potential to influence others' beliefs, attitudes, and courses of action.
Leaders derive power from their position or the expertise they possess e.g. ministers, doctors,
teachers, lawyers, coaches and university professors are respected for their special knowledge.
There are three types of power available to the leader:
 Referent power- influence that leaders may exercise because people believe in them and
their ideas e.g. movie stars or military heroes.
 Reward power- ability to grant or withhold incentives
 Coercive power- involves use of threats, punishment or negative rewards or manipulating
penalties and rewards in the work environment e.g. by firing a subordinate or withholding
a merit increase. In such cases leaders use power to achieve their own goals.
However, effective leaders have the ability to use power effectively and in a responsible manner.

Session 2: Leadership Theories

Lesson Objectives;

By the end of this lesson you should be able to:

a) Identify the various theories in leadership;
b) Describe both ancient and contemporary leadership theories;
c) Discuss the theories you would apply and give reasons.

2.3 Trait Approaches to Leadership

According to the "great man” theory, leaders are born and not made. Stogdill (1948) categorized

leadership traits into five

1.Capacity

2.Achievement

3.Responsibility

4.Participation

pg. 2
5.Status

Further studies on traits failed to clearly establish a link between traits and leadership.But it

generally acknowledged that there are certain traits associated with successful leaders.These

include adaptability to situations, alertness to social environment, achievement orientation,

assertiveness, decisiveness, dependability, self-confidence, persistence etc.

This theory is based on the assumption that effective leaders possess naturally inherited qualities.

Genetic Qualities
Great Leader

Stogdill (1948) and Mann (1959) identified such categories of traits as:-

Decisiveness in judgment,

Speech fluency,

Interpersonal skills

Administrative abilities.

In his subsequent work, Stogdill (1974) expanded the list of traits to include adaptability to
situations, alertness to social environment, ambition and achievement focus, assertiveness,
cooperativeness, decisiveness, dependability, dominance, energy, persistence, self-confidence,
tolerance of stress and willingness to assume responsibility. He also mentions the following
skills: cleverness, conceptual skillfulness, creativity, diplomacy, and tactfulness, fluency in
speaking, knowledge about group task, organizational skills, persuasiveness, and social skills.
Bird's (1940) summary of leader traits mentions accuracy at work, knowledge of human nature
and moral habits. On his part, Jago (1982) puts leader traits under the following groupings:
physical and constitutional factors, personality characteristics, social characteristics, skill and
ability.

pg. 3
Gardner (1989) suggested leadership attributes that transcend the situational influences; these are
physical volatility and stamina, intelligence and action-oriented judgment, eagerness to accept
responsibility, task competence, understanding of followers and their needs, skill in dealing with
people, need for achievement, capacity to motivate people, courage and resolution,
trustworthiness, decisiveness, self-confidence, assertiveness, and adaptability/flexibility. It
should be noted that most traits mentioned in the past research are typical masculine traits.

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, academics agreed that the traits - based investigation of
leadership was insufficient to explain leadership and leader effectiveness. This approach is not
viable as it does not give guidance to how much of these traits a leader should have.
Furthermore, not all leaders possess most or all of them.
2.4 Behavioural Leadership Theory
Behavioural theory/ approach attempts to identify what behaviour leaders exhibit e.g. should
they focus on having the job done or on keeping their followers happy. There are three categories
of leadership behaviour;-

Task Performance- It involves taking actions to ensure the work group or organization reaches
its goals. It focuses on work speed, quality and accuracy, quantity of output and following rules.

Group Maintenance: Leaders take actions to ensure the satisfaction of group members, develop
and maintain harmonious relationships and preserve the social stability of the group. It focuses
on people's feelings, comfort, appreciation and stress reduction i.e. supportive leadership.

Participative Decision Making; leaders involve their employees in decision making. They
consult and do all they can to support subordinates.
At a later stage these were reduced to the following leadership styles

oautocracy

odemocracy

olaissez faire

2.4.1 Leadership Styles Approaches

This refers to how leaders use their authority. There are three basic styles;-

(a)Autocratic Leadership Style;-

The leader commands and expects compliance. He/she leads by the ability to withhold or give
rewards and punishment. He / she makes decisions and announces them to the group.

This style is favourable in the following circumstances:

pg. 4
1)When the decision required does not need extensive participation of members.
2)When the nature of work does not require delegation i.e. it should be done by the leader
3)When there is a greater need to control the process of the organization
4)When the situation requires strict disciplinary measures.
5)When the decision to be made seems unpopular to the subordinates.
6)When the situation is favourable for him/her to dictate i.e. he/she is feared
7)When the organizational culture has been that of autocratic leadership -old habits die hard.
8)When the subordinates are rebellious.
9)When the decision to be made is facing resistance from some section of the organization and it
is the only viable option.
10)When the organization is facing a crisis i.e. to instil order.
11)When only the manager has answers to the questions.

(b) Democratic Leadership Style: The leadership solicits input from subordinates i.e.
participative. However it is too slow, especially when speed is the essence.

(c) Laissez faire: The leader makes no decisions, thereby giving subordinates a high degree of
independence in their operations. They set their own goals and means of achieving them. The
leaders aid the operations by furnishing them with information and acting as a contact with the
external environment.

NB: The style of leadership depends on the characteristics of the leader, the followers and the
situation.

2.5 Situational Theory

It is based on the premise that behaviour varies from one situation to another i.e. the leader
should analyse the situation and then decide on what to do. In this view, the concern is on those
situational characteristics that affect the leaders' performance. This pure situational movement
has often been viewed as the antithesis of the "great-man” theory of leadership (Vroom and Jago,
2007). Consequently, "Great men”, from the standpoint of situational theory, are merely puppets
of social forces. It is these forces that cast selected individuals into positions of leadership and
shape their behaviour to coincide with social interests.

Leaders have very limited power, significantly less than what is usually attributed to them;
Differences amongst leaders will be influenced by situational demands in the leadership role.

Effective leadership is contingent on matching a particular leadership style to the right setting. In
terms of categorisation, the contingency model classifies leaders as either relationship -
motivated or task-motivated.
Task-motivated leaders are firmly focused on achieving established goals

Relationship-motivated leaders are more concerned with fostering close interpersonal

relationships.

pg. 5
In practice, classification is done by requiring the leaders themselves to describe their least
preferred co-worker in relatively favourable or unfavourable terms based on a set of adjectives.
The exercise becomes one of identifying the best match between a particular leader's style and
the most favourable situation for his or her success.

2.6 Path-Goal Theory

Path-goal theory proposes that a leader's responsibility is to enhance the motivation of his
followers in attaining both personal and organizational goals (Daft, 1999). In essence, it aims to
explain how the behaviour of a leader influences the satisfaction and performance of followers
(Yukl,1998).
The means by which this is accomplished is by creating and managing "paths” for subordinates
toward pre-specified goals (Vroom and Jago, 2007). More specifically, the leader would
endeavour to achieve this by either clarifying the followers path to the kinds of rewards that are
on offer or increasing the rewards that the follower values or desires. Organisational rewards fall
under two broad categories, namely: intrinsic (e.g. work satisfaction) and extrinsic (e.g.
promotions and salary increase) rewards.

2.7 Classical

The classical leadership model says that the leader has some physical characteristics like
personality, abilities and aptitudes to get success as leader. Classical leadership is suitable for
stable situations and does not give importance to the interaction with the followers. This
leadership develops clear goals for the followers and focuses on a structure appropriate to the
problem and the circumstances. It manages the external environment, task, facts, logic and
clarification of authority. This approach is useful when goals and information are clear; when
there is little conflict, low ambiguity, low uncertainty, and a stable legitimate authority. Classical
leadership is exercised by organizations to confirm that this was the intended meaning.

2.8 Transactional Leadership

In most organisations, the main task is to increase profitability, andhence effective leaders are
those who facilitate the accomplishment of such a task. High employee satisfaction is regarded
as directly contingent upon the reward received in exchange for the effort. In terms of
productivity, themes like group performance, individual performance, task attainment, working
to deadlines, motivation, efficiency of resource allocation, are all commonly used.

Transactional leadership is mainly concerned with the proper exchange of resources (Judge and
Piccolo, 2004). For transactional leadership to take place, one individual has to take the initiative
in making contact with others for the purpose of an exchange of something valued; that is,
leaders approach followers with an eye towards exchanging. Similarly, Yukl(1981) suggested

pg. 6
that transactional leadership refers to those exchanges in which both the superior and the
subordinate derive something of value through mutual influencing. Hence, the relationship is one
of mutual dependence in which the contributions of both sides are acknowledged and rewarded
(Kellerman, 1984). It is apparent that effective transactional leaders must then regularly fulfil the
expectations of their subordinates, thus implying that such "effectiveness” is contingent upon the
leaders' abilities to respond and satisfy their subordinates' changing expectations.

Transformational leadership involves action that creates excitement by making followers

understand what they can gain and creating urgency by making them desire to achieve such gains
in the earliest time possible. Each of the members would want to be part of a meaningful course
(KEMI, 2012). It is part of a new paradigm shift proposed by Bass and Riggio (2006). It gives
more attention to charismatic and effective leadership and fits today's work groups.
Transformation is a process that changes and influences people by touching on their emotions,
values, ethics, standards and long term goals. It is based on the premise that organizations need
to adapt new management practices that are conducive to match the changing needs of clients
guided by their mission and strategy. This involves coming up with new job designs, new
methods of doing work and new technology to make work easy. In the new environment,
partnerships are established for mutual support and stakeholders participate in key decision, thus
enhancing ownership and pride in organizational achievements.
2.9 Conclusion
The theories and models reviewed in this lecture were influenced, to a large extent, by the
transactional perspective of leadership which dominated the leadership theory up until the late
1980s and early 1990s. However, emphasis has now largely shifted to the investigations of
transformational leadership which is generally regarded as superior on the scale of effectiveness
(Burkeand Cooper, 2006). It is argued that transformational leadership and leaders offer
followers a purpose that transcends short-term goals and focuses on higher order intrinsic needs.
Burns (1978) originally conceptualized both types of leadership (transactional and
transformational) as representing opposite ends of a single continuum.

References

Session 3: Effective Leadership Development and

Mentorship Skills
Lesson Objectives

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

a) Differentiate between managers and leaders
b) Describe the organized sets of behaviour by managers
c) Discuss the principal skills that managers need to develop

pg. 7
 3.3 Differences between Managers and Leaders
Are managers and leaders the same?
Organizations, including large corporations, academia, leadership theorists, researchers and
authors are concerned about the difference and believe it is important.
Leadership Development and Mentorship are used interchangeably and often are overlapping
concepts. Bass &Stogdill (1990) conclude that leaders manage while managers lead though the
two activities are not synonymous.Kotter (2001), in his article "What leaders really do”, suggests
that one is not better than the other and are indeed complementary systems of action, the
difference being that;

Management is about coping with complexity

Leadership is about coping with change

Function Management Leadership

Determines what needs to be Planning and budgeting Setting a direction
done
Creating arrangements for Organizing and staffing Aligning people
people to accomplish agenda
Ensuring people do their jobs Controlling and problem Motivating and Inspiring
solving

Other researchers consider that a leader has the soul, the passion and the creativity while a
manager has the mind, the rational and the persistence. A leader is flexible, innovative, inspiring,
courageous and independent while a manager is analytical, deliberate, authoritative and one who
consults and stabilizes (Capowski, 1994).

A well balanced organization should have a mix of leaders and managers to succeed. In fact what
organizations really need is a few great leaders and many first-class managers (Kotterman, 2006)

The most important differences between leaders and managers concern the workplace and are
analysed in the table below (Kotterman, 2006).

Process Management Leadership

Vision Plans and budgets Sets direction and develop the vision
Establishment
Develops process steps and sets Develops strategic plans and achieves the
timelines vision

pg. 8
 Process Management
Displays impersonal attitude Displays a very passionate attitude about
about the vision and goals
Human Organizes and staffs
Development
and Networking Maintains structure
Delegates responsibility
Delegates authority
Leadership
the vision and goals
Aligns organization
Communicates the vision, mission and
direction
Influences creation of coalitions, teams
and

Implements the vision partnerships that understand and accept the

vision
Establishes policy and
Displays driven, higher emotion
procedures to implement vision
Increases choices
Displays low emotion

Limits employee choices

Vision Execution Controls processes Motivates and inspires

Identifies problems Energizes employees to overcome

barriers to change
Solves problems
Satisfies basic human needs
Monitor results
Takes a high risk approach to problem
Takes a low risk approach solving
toproblem solving
Vision Outcome Manages vision order and Promotes useful and dramatic changes,
predictability such as new products or approaches to
improving labour relations
Provides expected results
consistently to leadership another
stakeholders

3.4 Organized Sets of Behaviour by Managers

pg. 9
Mintzberg (2000) concluded from his observations and research that managers play three types
of roles or display "organized sets of behaviour”:

Interpersonal Roles: - They interact with people inside and outside their work units. These
notes include being a figurehead, leader and liaison officer.

Informational Roles: - This is the most important part of a managers' job since accurate
information is vital for making intelligent decisions. Managers receive and communicate
information with people inside and outside the organization. These roles include being a monitor,
disseminator and a spokesperson.

Decisional Roles: - Managers use information to make decisions to solve problems or take
advantage of opportunities. These roles include being an entrepreneur, disturbance handler,
resource allocator and negotiator

3.5 Principal Skills that Managers Need to Develop

Good managers need to work on developing the following principal skills:

Technical skills: The ability to perform well in a specialized field (specific job) within the
organization. Having requisite technical skills seems important at lower levels of management
(first-line managers) that spend much of their working time with operating employees. This is
important since they need to supervise them effectively.

Conceptual skills: This is the ability to think analytically, visualize an organization as a whole
and understand how the parts work together. They are particularly important for top managers,
who must deal with problems that are ambiguous and with far- reaching consequences.

Human skills: The ability to interact well in cooperation with other people to get things done
through others. They are equally important at all levels and are thought of as soft skills. They
include the ability to motivate, inspire trust and to communicate with others.

Diagnostic Skills: These are skills used to define and understand situations. They are most
important to top managers and moderately important to the middle level and first line managers.

It is undisputed that leaders have loyal and committed followers and that these leaders do not
exist in isolation

They command yet they serve their followers, allowing them choices but still providing direction
on how the end should be.Newstrom and Davis (1997) found that a high level of personal drive,
the desire to lead, personal integrity, self-confidence, flexibility, analytical ability, creativity, and
personal warmth are the attributes of effective leaders. One must however note that these
characteristics do not guarantee successful leadership; rather these are competencies to be
developed and achieved.

pg. 10
 Weller &Weller (2000) argue that leaders are products of their times, environments, offices,
followers, values, personality traits, and their conceptualizations of leadership. They are prime
movers who allow others to achieve common goals and unite others for a common purpose. This
is supported by House's (2001) revised Path-Goal Theory who argues that leadership
effectiveness is determined by;

Employee characteristics

Environmental factors

Leaders behaviours

The general representation of House's Revised Path- Goal Theory

Leader behaviors

Path-goal clarification
Achievement-oriented
Work facilitation
supportive
Interaction facilitation
Group-oriented decision
Representation & networking
Value-based
Employee characteristics

Locus of control
Task ability
Needfor achievement
Experience
Need for path-goalclarity
Leadership effectiveness

Employee motivation
Employee satisfaction
Employee performance
Leader acceptance
Interaction facilitation
Work-unit performance

Environmental factors

pg. 11
Task structure
Work-group dynamics

References

Session 4: Transformational Leadership

Objectives:

By the end of this topic, the learner should be able to:

a)Explain the concept of transformational leadership.

b)Discuss the components of transformational leadership.

c)Explain the process elements of transformational leadership.

4.3 The concept of Transformation Leadership.

What is transformational leadership? Simply defined, transformational leadership according

Northhouse (2001), is a process that changes and transforms individuals. It is the ability to get
people to want to change improve and to be led.It involves assessing associates' motives,
satisfying their needs and valuing them. According to Bass and Reggio (2008),transformational
leaders are those who, 'stimulate and inspire followers to both achieve extraordinary outcomes
and, in the process, develop their own leadership capacity. Transformational leaders help
followers grow and develop into leaders by responding to individual followers' needs by
empowering them and by designing the objectives and goals of the individual followers, the
leader, the group and the larger organization'.Others view transformational leadership as a style
of leaderships in which the leader identifies the needed change, creates a vision to guides the
change through inspiration, and executes the change with the commitment of the members of the
group.
4.4 Components of Transformational Leadership
The transformational leadership style was developed by James Mac Gregor Burns in the late
1970s and later refined and extended by Bernard Bass.Bass stated that transformational
leadership was premised on four key pillars:
1.Intellectual stimulation - transformational leaders encourage and inspire creativity and
innovation among organizational members. Such leaders therefore strongly believe in
encouraging higher achievement among the organization members through exploring new
ways of doing things.
2.Individualized consideration - transformational leaders have faith in organizational members
because, it is through them that the organization can change for the better.The
transformational leader therefore offers support and encouragement to organizational
members or the employees and strives to create an environment in which there is open
communication that fosters sharing of constructive ideas.

pg. 12
3.Inspirational motivation - transformational leaders aspire to change organizations, creating
and carving a vision that is inspiring and appealing to organizational members.To facilitate
the achievement of the organizational vision, the leader motivates the members to commit
themselves to the vision of the organization, with a passion.They encourage team spirit and a
sense of purpose in achieving organizational goals.
4.Idealized influence- transformational leaders serve as exemplary models to organizational
members on employees. They are an embodiment of values such as trust, respect, integrity,
etc. which organizational members are expected to emulate.

4.5 Strategies of Transformation Leadership

According to McShane and Von Glinow (2000), the transformational leadership style comprises
four elements as shown in the figure below:

Creating a Vision
Communicating the Vision
Modelling the Vision
Building Commitment to the vision
Transformational Leadership

i.Creating a strategic vision - a vision is a mental picture of a desired future

state.Transformational leaders create and shape a strategic vision for the organization. It
is this strategic vision that helps bond organizational members and motivates them to
work towards achieving organizational objectives derived from the vision and mission of
the organisation.

ii.Communicating the vision - once the strategic vision of the organization has been created, the
transformational leader effectively articulates and communicates the vision of the
organisation.It is through such communication that the transformational leader is able to
facilitate interest, buy-in and commitment from the organisational members.Through the
use of symbols, metaphors, stories etc., the transformational leader will be able to explain
the strategic vision.

iii.Modelling the vision - the transformational leader shows commitment to the vision by
effectively shepherding it.This entails walking the talk.The transformational leader
demonstrates, through action, the process of translating the vision into reality. They
exhibit reliability, trust and persistence in their actions.

 Building commitment to the vision - the transformational leader ensures the

commitment of organizational members to the vision by building ownership of the
vision.Building ownership entails involving employees in shaping the vision, developing
the mission and goals to attain the vision as well as keeping the employees focused and
talking about the vision.

pg. 13
4.6 Summary
In this lecture we have looked at the transformational leadership perspective
Transformational leadership is the most popular leadership respective.This kind of leadership is
focused on bringing about change in organizations through intellectual stimulation individualized
consideration, inspirational motivation and idealized influence.The main strategies used by
transformational leaders include creating a strategic vision, communicating the vision, modelling
the vision and building commitment to the vision.

ReferenSession 5: Leadership and Team Performance

Lesson Objectives;

By the end of the lesson, the learner should be able to;

1. Define leadership
2. Identify the characteristics of a good leader
3. Identify the characteristics of highly effective Team Leaders
4. Define the meaning of team and team performance
5. Explain the characteristics that make a Team Strong?
Explain the strategies that can be used to influence others within the organization, so that the team can
achieve greater results.
5.3.1 What is leadership?
Over the years, many definitions of leadership have been presented. Indeed, as Stogdill (1974,
p.259) observed, there are "almost as many definitions of leadership as there are persons who
have attempted to define the concept”.Someview leadership as resulting fromof a set of traits or
characteristics naturally possessed by 'leaders', while others view leadership as a social process
that emerges from group relationships.
Amidst such contentions, Northouse (2004) identified four common themes in the way
leadership now tends to be conceived: (1) leadership is a process; (2) leadership involves
influence; (3) leadership occurs in a group context; and (4) leadership involves goal attainment.
He captures this in his definition of leadership as "a process whereby an individual influences a
group of individuals to achieve a common goal”. That is, it is the act of inspiring subordinates to
perform and engage in achieving a goal.
A leader can be the CEO of an organization, or a just an employee or member of other team who
leads his or her team to success behind the scenes. A leader might lead through official authority
and power, although, just as often, great leaders lead through inspiration, persuasion and
personal connections.
5.3.2Whom then do we call a good leader?
An often asked question is: what defines a good leader? Well, there are several characteristics
that could be used to define a good leader, including the following:
Self-Awareness:A good leader has knowledge of his/her strengths and weaknesses.Self-
Direction: Good leaders are able to direct themselves effectively and powerfully. Vision: Good
leaders work towards a vision with a dedication that supersedes personal gain.

pg. 14
 Activity Study the definition of leadership above as well as others proposed by
other writers in other books and references and isolate all the attributes
and variables that you think are important in conceptualising the
meaning of leadership. Now, state your own definition of leadership and
show why your definition is preferable to any other two definitions stated
5. 4 Leadership and team performance
5.4.1 Meaning of team and team performance
A team is group in which members work together intensively to achieve a common group goal
(Lewis-McClear & Taylor, 1998). The team capitalizes on the skills and personalities of its
members to achieve a high degree of synergy. A team leader is therefore the individual who
offers instruction, guidance, direction and leadership to a group of people in order to realize a
key result.
Team performance refers to the extent to which a team meets established objectives. (Hoegl &
Gemuenden, 2001). Burke et al. (2007) add that team performance is the distal outcome variable
of trust in leadership.
Activity
Here are some terms that are often used to describe 'a team'. Which do you think define a team?
A group of people Synergy Having one aim
Whole > Sum Co-operation Flexibility
Working together Reporting to one boss Serving one customer

1.4.2Importance of a team leader

It is often said that a team is only as strong as its leader because the leader sets the tone. Indeed,
it is possible to have a group of highly intelligent people working together, but doing so in such
total discordance that their collective performance is dismal. The team leader plays a central role
in determining group performance. Biech (2010) asserts that the development and cohesion of a
team only occurs when there is a feeling of shared leadership among members.
Motivating team members toward goal achievement can be a difficult task, and requires skill.
Essentially, team leaders should inspire and motivate people to change. Some of the leadership
qualities that influence goal achievement include the ability to create vision, understand the
group culture, focus on performance development, and encourage innovation.
Activity Howcanyouhelpto improvethequality ofwhat you
doandachieveasateam?

5.4.3What Characteristics make a Team Strong?

The following are some of the traits that a strong team will have:
Commitment: Commitment, both to the team, where members put the team first
Appreciation:Strong teams focus on and appreciate the strengths of each other
Time Together; Healthy teams enjoy being together and have fun together
pg. 15
Communication:A team has to be willing to share their feelings and opinions.
Sharing Responsibility:If team members go out of their way to help needs
Common Interests: Team members who have a lot in common, do more together.
Seeking Help:In healthy teams, members admit to problems and get the help they need to solve
them from other members
Adapted from "What Makes A Team Strong" by Kay Kuzma, Pulpit Helps, September 1992
5.4.4Some Habits of Highly Effective Team Leaders
There are certain attitudes, key behaviours,leadershipstyles andmanagement approachesthat
appear to characterize the more effective team leaders. Among them are the following:
Effective team leaders:
i)focus on their team more than themselves.
ii) create a space where people can trust one another.
iii) focus on strengths of members, not weaknesses.
iv)push for a higher standard.
v) are a source of positive energy that inspires team members to be productive
vi)are level-headed and do not get rattled every time there is a problem.
vii) serve as role models for team members to ensure that they will act in a similar
viii) offer guidance to all members of the team to ensure they are fulfilling their roles
ix) ensure that team morale remains high and that members are motivated to perform
Summary:
In this lesson, we have learnt that there are several characteristics that could be used to define a
good leader, including: Self-Awareness, Self-Direction and Vision.Whileit isimportant to avoid the
temptation to view 'managers' and 'leaders' as if they were different people, the difference between
the two has often been summarized quite simply as follows; the manager's job is to plan, organize
and coordinate. The leader's job is to inspire and motivate.
A team is only as strong as its leader because the leader sets the tone. Motivating team members
toward goal achievement can be a difficult task, and requires skill. Some of the leadership qualities
that influence team goal achievement include the ability to create vision, understand the group
culture, focus on performance development, and encourage innovation
There are some characteristics that make a team strong, such as commitment, appreciation, time
together, effective communication, sharing responsibility, common interests and seeking help.
Similarly, effective team leaders exhibit certain habits and behavioral qualities that inspire their
teams to produce their best work, such as:
i) willingness to put the team's success above their own
ii) creating a space where people can trust one another.
iii) focusing on strengths of members, not weaknesses.

pg. 16
iv)pushing for a higher standard.
v) Energy -being a source of positive energy that inspires and motivates team members to be
productive
vi)level-headedness
vii) Promoting Values
viii) Providing Guidance, and
ix) Building Morale
Reflection
Thinking about teams

Reflect on your college or other experiences and identify at least

one occasion in which you believe you were a part of a team.
What was the nature of the team? What qualities identified the
collective of people as a team? What did you learn from this
experience that you can apply for future use in teams?
Thinkofateamleaderyouknowwho,inyourview,isineffectiveintherole.
Suggest reasons why she or he fails to provide adequate
leadership. Now, think of a team leader who you consider is
effective. Why do you consider him or her to be successful?

Session 6: Effective Time Management

Lesson objectives

By the end of this lesson, the learner should be able to-:

a) Plan for time
b) Recognize timewasters
c) Prioritize your activities
d) Apply time management techniques

6.3 What is Time Management?

Time management is 'the process of improving an individual or group's ability and productivity
through more efficient use of time. It is the ability to accomplish given tasks and goals within a
given time frame.
6.4 Hold time before it goes!

pg. 17
Unlike other resources, all people and organizations have exactly equal hours available to them
daily. It is the use of these hours that makes the difference between effective people and others.
Those who always do the most important things they need to be doing at that time are more
effective. Effective time management is crucial to accomplishing organizational tasks as well as
to avoiding wasting valuable personal or organizational assets.

To manage time properly you have to do the following three things:

 Identify the things that waste your time and are not productive.
 Make a list of all your tasks and prioritize the most important ones.
 Draw up a daily tasks- list to make sure that all tasks are completed in time

Time wasters are all those things that are not essential to core tasks. People may do these things
because they are used to doing them, or because they are easier to do or because of other people
and the demands they make or problems they cause. The following is a list of time wasters which
is by no means exhaustive. Note that some time wasters are caused by self while other time
wasters are caused to us from other sources.

6.4.1 Where has time gone?

The following are the common time wasters that take your time. Visitors, Procrastination,
Disorganisation, Not being able to say no., Transport, Waiting, Phone calls, Television//Radio,
Social Media (Facebook, Twitter etc.), Lack of interest, Not getting started, Burn out, Meetings
and Crisis among others are some of common time wasters.

6.5: Keep time in your hands.

It is possible to keep hold of time by adopting several time management techniques such as -;

 Better planning
 Prioritizing
 Delegating
 Controlling ones' environment
 Understanding oneself/organization including identifying habits, routines and attitude
that may require change.

Time management tools are mostly simple, that is a diary and a weekly task list. The tools should
be organized according to tasks that are urgent, urgent but can wait, those that should be
accomplished within the week, including allocating time to attend to personal issues. The table
below is an example of planning for tasks by prioritization adopted from Stephen Covey's seven
habits of highly effective people.

Urgent Not urgent

pg. 18
Important 1 - Do Now 2 - Plan to do.

 emergencies, complaints and  planning, preparation,

crisis issues scheduling
 demands from superiors or  research, investigation,
customers designing, testing
 planned tasks or project work now  networking relationship
due building
 meetings and appointments  thinking, creating,
 reports and other submissions modelling, designing
 staff issues or needs  systems and process
 problem resolution, fire-fighting, development
fixes  anticipation and prevention
 developing change,
direction, strategy
Subject to confirming the importance and
the urgency of these tasks, do these tasks Critical to success: planning,
now. Prioritise according to their relative strategic thinking, deciding
urgency. direction and aims, etc. Plan time-
slots and personal space for these
tasks.
Not 3 .Reject and explain 4. Resist and Cease
important
 trivial requests from others  'comfort' activities, computer
 apparent emergencies games, net surfing, excessive
 ad-hoc interruptions and cigarette breaks
distractions  chat, gossip, social
 misunderstandings appearing as communications
complaints  daydreaming, doodling,
 pointless routines or activities over-long breaks
 accumulated unresolved trivia  reading nonsense or
 boss's whims or tantrums irrelevant material
 Unnecessary adjusting
equipment etc.
Scrutinise and probe demands. Help  embellishment and over-
originators to re-assess. Wherever production
possible reject and avoid these tasks
sensitively and immediately. Habitual 'comforters' not true tasks.
Non-productive, de-motivational.
Minimise or cease altogether. Plan
to avoid them.

6.5.1 Benefits of Effective Time Management.

The ability to manage time has several benefits. Among others, the following are the key
benefits-:

pg. 19
 Helps in making key decisions on time, thus meeting deadlines.
There is job/task satisfaction because major breakthroughs are made on time. This
motivates people to work harder.
Improves performance on the job performance leading to increased productivity.
Reduces anxiety and unnecessary tensions which could lead to stress.
Helps in avoiding 'fire-fighting'.
Better interpersonal relations because official time does not eat into social and family time.
6.6Summary

In this session of the module focused on the most important resource available to us all -time.
While we must search for most of other resources, time if naturally available. Unfortunately, this
important resource is one of the most underrated and misused of all resources, with some people
taking the resource for granted. The concept of time was defined, in addition to exploring good
time management practices. Common time wasters were identified and learners were exposed to
the practice of planning for time effectively using the various time management tools. Finally,
the section examined the various benefits arising from effective time management. Further
reading is included at the end of the topic

6.7 Learning Activities

Consider an important goal in your life that you had planned to achieve in the recent past.

i. List time wasters that you view as having impacted negatively on achievement of the
goal.

ii. Indicate how in future you would address each of the time wasters identified in (1) above.

iii. Develop a time plan, based on prioritization showing where in the time plan you would
place the key goal achievement activities and the time wasters if you are to achieve your
goal.

iv. Session 7: Attitudes and Change Management

v. Lesson Objectives;
vi. By the end of this course, you should be able to:
vii. 1.Define the terms: Attitudes, Change and change management.
viii. 2.Identify the reasons as to why change is important in life: in individuals, organizations
or any organ of governance.
ix. 3.Identify reasons for different attitudes towards change (positive and negative).
x. 4.Explain the importance of having positive attitudes towards change.

pg. 20
 xi.

xii. Introduction to Attitudes and Change Management

xiii. In the world we are living in today, change is inevitable and seems to be the order of the
day. As the saying goes, change is the only constant that we will have in future. This
forces all human beings to look at change positively, irrespective of the consequences of
change. As a human being, it is important to learn how to handle change so that change
becomes a normal occurrence and expectation in life. Attitudes on the other hand, are
important for people to make sense of the surrounding environment. Attitudes will
determine how we react to change and consequently how we manage the change.
Managing change requires an adjustment in the mind of the individual. This adjustment
may require the individual to plan how to respond to change, organise him/herself to
respond to change and control the consequences of change, by looking at change as
normal and as a part of life.
xiv. How about Definitions?
xv. 1.What can you say change is?
xvi. Change is any alteration in the current status of an individual, the status could be social,
work related, life related, economic, physical, psychological or otherwise. This may
cause a shiftin the way things are seen, done, perceived, organized, processed or
controlled (Plunkett, 1997). Change may result from internal or external environments.
Internal is from within the individual and external may be from outside the individual.
xvii. 2.Are there perspectives to change?
xviii. Perspectives may include the following: Evolutionary Vs. revolutionary change
.Evolutionary change usually occurs gradually and most of the times it is expected.
Change evolves naturally.Revolutionary change is usually radical, major may or may not
be expected. Planned Vs. Unplanned change. Planned change is where the change is
predictable, expected and carefully analysed. The outcomes are known and timing
variables considered. Unplanned change happen by chance, may be due an occurrence of
a certain event. Punitive Vs Reward oriented change. Punitive change is where change is
implemented to punish an individual or a given stakeholders. Rewarding change is where
change is done to reward orcompensate an individual, or to reinforce certainbehaviour.
Formal Vs informal change. Formal change is intended standard deviation where change
is known and discussed and accepted by stakeholders. Informal change is where change
occurs without standard plans. Forced Vs Voluntary change.Forced change is where one
is coerced by forces beyond ones control, forced by circumstances.Voluntary change is
where one chooses to change after observing environmental dynamics.
xix. 3.What about attitudes and change?

pg. 21
 xx. Attitudes can be defined as a persistent tendency to feel, act, react or behave in a
particular way towards a stimulus. A stimulus can be defined as anything that requires an
individual's attention and is usually received from the five common senses. Attitudes can
also be defined as our positive or negative evaluation of a given stimulus. The likes and
dislikes that individuals have towards different stimuli with or without rational reason.
For example, majority of female students in high school hate mathematics, but if asked
why, they may not even have a reason. One may like or hate change and if asked why the
dislike, they may or may not have a reason. Virtually, throughout life, we tend to develop
likes or dislikes about everything. So when change occurs in life, do we like it or dislike
it.
xxi. There are various sources of attitudes varying from one person to another.By and large,
attitudes are based on perceptions. A person acquires attitudes and if continuously
reinforced, they form part of the individual's behaviour. Attitudes may come from direct
experience with the objects or stimulus, for example interaction with a drunkard parent
may develop negative attitudes towards drinking. Attitudes can also be acquired through
the individual's socio-cultural background- for example; a certain tribe may like or
dislike certain things.Attitudes can be learnt from peers or colleagues. Attitudes can also
be developed through affiliations- for example religious affiliations, professional
associations etc. attitudes can also be acquired though association-for example
associating the stimulus with another stimulus whose attitudes have already been formed,
one might dislike the dirty food that pigs eat and consequently hate bacon because it
comes from a dirty pig.
xxii. Change and Change Management in Life
xxiii. It is important to understand change so as to be able to manage change. Even though
there are several tools some may include:Force Field Analysis (Driving Forces,
Equilibrium, and Restraining Forces). It helps to identify the forces for or against change,
this will help to analyse and have positive attitudes towards change. This Tool is further
explained below. Another Tool that one can use is The Three Stage Change Process: (a)
Where are you now? This helps to define your present situation. (b) Where would you
like to be?This helps to picture your desired future. (c) How do you get there? This helps
to reduce or overcome resistance. This tool helps to demystify change by having a
breakdown of the importance of change (Davies, 2003).The change process helps to
develop awareness of oneself and to assess readiness for change.
xxiv. It is important to identify the importance of Change In and to an individual. What gains
will you as an individual or society, or family get as a result of the change? When the
gains or benefits are identified, then you will develop positive attitudes towards different
occurrences in your life. There are various reasons for and against change in every sphere
of life. You will do this as an exercise as indicated in the appendices.
xxv. 4.Reasons for Different Attitudes Towards Change

pg. 22
 xxvi. It is important to identify and develop Positive attitudes towards change. This may entail
identification of the gains to be derived from the change. When positive attitudes are
developed it becomes easier to manage change. Majority of the people see change as a
threat until they identify that the change is for their benefit. When they do so, they tend to
develop a liking for change consequently developing positive attitudes. One may have an
attitude that change is costly, time consuming, unnecessary, a threat or even a bother,
consequently, disliking change. But when the right information is availed, it creates
positive attitudes. It is necessary to identify and avoid Negative attitudes towards change.
Negative attitudes, the dislike for change might come out of lack effective evaluation or
assessment of the change. Negative attitudes usually demand a lot of mental and physical
energy in an individual that forces an individual to lag behind in other activities that
he/she is involved in. The individual might also lose opportunities arising out of the
change due to negative attitudes. When the individual realizes this, he /she is likely to
appreciate change.
xxvii. 5.Importance of Positive Attitudes Towards Change
xxviii. Attitudes virtually affect everything we do in life. Whereas positive attitudes create
positive energy between people, negative attitudes create negative energy. There are
various benefits of change that include the following: helps one to fit in a given society,
gives one the ability to live with little or no conflict with other people: helps one to get
new ways of doing things; helps to, reduce costs, mental, financial and otherwise; helps
one to be creative and innovative as well as reducing stress. The overall productivity of
the individual improves when he/ she has positive attitudes towards change.
xxix. As individuals, groups and even as managers of others, we should note that effective
implementation of change will helps most people to have positive attitudes when change
occurs. Effective implementation may occur when there is trust in the source of change.
If an individual is suspicious, he / she may never develop positive attitude. Trust can be
developed by always keeping up to date with the surrounding environment- whether
family, friends, colleagues, local and international dynamics. It can also be achieved by
the individual becoming a "learner” and NOT an 'academician”. Adopt a learning culture
and not examination oriented culture. Most learners will read only when there is an
examination or an interview. Individuals must learn to be proactive instead of being
reactive. This helps one to appreciate or have a positive attitude towards change or even
yearn or ask for change, even before change occurs. Positive attitudes help people to
work as a team and be a good team player whereas team members will repel a negative
person. Positive attitudes make you as a person indispensable in life, people want to be
close to you and be part of your life, whereas the opposite happens when one has
negative attitudes.
xxx. Always, positive attitudes help in every transitional period in your life. From high school
to university, from university to being an entrepreneur or an employee, from single to

pg. 23
 being married, to being a parent, a good neighbour, a good politician or even a president:
it is all about attitudes.
xxxi. 6.Summary of The Content
xxxii. It is important to understand that as long as you are alive, CHANGE is inevitable. As an
individual, as an organization or as a society or the world at large, change is a continuous
phenomenon. If there is no change in a given individual, he /she will become obsolete.If
there is no change in a given society, that society becomes extinct. If an organization
does not change, it will eventually die. To avoid the above scenario, it is important to
change as the environment changes. Consequently, if change is inevitable, it is important
to prepare for change and have a positive attitude towards change in life. It is equally
important to view change as a very important part of life.

Session 8: Problem Solving Techniques

Lesson Objectives;

i.Define the meaning of a problem

ii.Explain the meaning of a solution
iii.Recognize when a problem exists and identify possible causes.
iv.Create and implement an effectiveplan or approach in solving problems
v.Explain the techniques of problem-solving
vi. Identify the reasons why people fail to solve problems effectively

2.1.1. What is a problem?

It is prudent to first understand what constitutes a problem. A problem is a condition that is not
acceptable. Newstrom (2007) notes that problems usually arise when there is a difference
between expected outcome and current performance.All problems have two features in common:
goals and barriers.
Goals can be anything that you wish to achieve, where you want to be. If you are hungry then
your goal is probably to eat something. If there were no barriers in the way of achieving a goal,
then there would be no problem. Problem solving involves overcoming the barriers or obstacles
that prevent the immediate achievement of goals. If you are thirsty, then your goal is to drink
something. A barrier to this may be that you have no fluids in the house -so you go to the shop
and buy some water, removing the barrier and thus solving the problem.

Activity Think of a problem that you have encountered at work or school

pg. 24
 What did define as your goal in resolving the problem?
What barriers stood in the way of achieving the goal?
How did you overcome the barriers or obstacles that prevented the
immediate achievement of goals?
2.1. 2.What is a solution?
A solution may be defined as an answer to a problem ( Newstrom, 2007). Not all of our solutions
turn out to be good or effective. Fortunately there are approaches that can help you achieve
better than bad solutions. We often think of "solving a problem" in the sense of eliminating it.
Well, it is not possible to eliminate all problems entirely: we are unlikely to ever eliminate trash,
or the wear on car tyres, but we can create solutions to make these problems less detrimental.
2.2. Problem-Solving Techniques
Problem solving is an important skill for business and life that entails decision-making. Problem
solving is a key skill that can make a huge difference to our lives and careers.At work, and in
team situations, problems often emerge as part of the day to day functioning of the members. The
leader therefore finds himself/herself either solving a problem or supporting those who are
solving problems. Being a confident problem solver is therefore important to your success as a
leader. Much of that confidence comes from having a good process to use when approaching a
problem. With one, you can solve problems quickly and effectively.
2.2.1 Basic steps in problem solving
The guidelines below can help you to analyze, define, and solve problems in an orderly way. Use
these guidelines to help create a problem-solving habit of mind and to give some structure to
your problem solving activity. Toohey (1999), argues that whatever the problem or its context,
certain aspects of problem- solving transferable, suchas: "being able to analyze problems, to
generate a range of possible solutions, to evaluate the alternatives systematically before choosing
and implementing the best.” It should be noted however that problem solving is not necessarily
linear: it is a recursive process.You must continually go back and forth between steps. Thus,
these guidelines are not meant to be rigid and absolute.
There are five basic steps in problem solving:
1. Defining the problem.
2. Generating alternatives.
3. Evaluating and selecting alternatives.
4. Implementing solutions.
5. Getting feedback

i) Defining the Problem

pg. 25
"A problem clearly stated is a problem half solved”. Obviously, before any action can be taken to
solve a problem, you need to recognise that a problem exists, and to diagnose the situation so
that focus is on the problem, not just its symptoms. For example, if performance in your team is
substandard, you might think the problem is with the individuals doing the task. However, if you
analysed deeper, the true problem might be a lack of training, or unreasonably heavy workload.
At this stage, it is also important to ensure that you look at the issue from a variety of
perspectives. Avoid making snap judgments based on a few symptoms but look for root causes
whenever possible. Poor performance may not be caused by an individual's lack of skills but by
ineffective communication of expectations and insufficient training
ii. Generate alternative solutions
Once the hard work of defining the problem and determining its causes has been completed, it's
time to get creative and develop possible solutions to the problem. Brainstorm, read, research,
think, ask questions, discuss. Look for ideas and solutions. Learn as much as you can about the
problem. Avoid selecting one solution until several alternatives have been proposed.
iii.Evaluate and select an alternative
Once you have collected the facts and data you can come up with several potential options.
Review the good and the bad of each option. Prospective solutions must be analyzed for their
suitability to determine which is best to handle the problem. Consider the extent to which:
 A particular alternative will solve the problem without causing other problems.
 All the individuals involved will accept the alternative.
 Implementation of the alternative is likely.
This stage involves careful analysis of the different possible courses of action and then selecting
the best solution for implementation.
iv. Implement and follow up on the solution
Implementation means acting on the chosen solution. Once the best solution is determined, put it
into practice. This may be done on a limited scale at first to verify that the solution is indeed the
best. Often times, it is necessary for leaders to, "sell” the solution to others or facilitate the
implementation by involving the efforts of others. Involving others in the implementation
minimizes resistance to subsequent changes.
v. Get feedback.
It is also helpful to continue getting feedback to verify that the best solution will perform as
expected and to find ways to adjust it if it isn't.
Excerpted from G. Dennis Beecroft, Grace L. Duffy, and John W. Moran, The Executive Guide
to Improvement and Change, ASQ Quality Press, 2003, pages 17-19

pg. 26
Activity You have had a difficult time acquiring the necessary equipment to sustain your
small jua kali business.You are short of resources and money.You think you
heard about an equipment lending library.You are also wondering if you should
apply for small business loan.Using the Problem Solving process
discussedabove, describe a plan to solve this problem

Activity Think about a problem you experienced sometime in your past (one you are
comfortable sharing).Briefly explain the problem.
Identify the cause of the problem.
Describe the approach you used to solve the problem. Tell how you
selected/choose the approach.
Describe the outcome. Was the outcome what you expected or wanted? Why or
why not?
2.3 The skills of problem solving
Problem solving requires two distinct types of mental skill; analytical and creative. Analytical
thinking includes skills such as ordering, comparing, contrasting, evaluating and selecting. It
helps to select the best alternative from those available by narrowing down the range of
possibilities. Creative thinking uses the imagination to create a large range of ideas for solutions.
It requires us to look beyond the obvious, creating ideas which may, at first, seem unrealistic or
have no logical connection with the problem. There is a large element of creative thinking in
solving open problems. Effective problem solving requires a mixture of both.

Reflection Reflect on which of five common ways that you tend to use in
problem solving and then connect to the Problem Solving
Skillsdiscussed above
NOTE A problem exists when an obstacle prevents you reaching an
objective.

Problem solving can be divided into stages, which you must follow
methodically to be sure of finding an effective solution.

Solving problems effectively requires a controlled mixture of

analytical andcreative thinking skills

2.4Why people fail to solve problems effectively

Solving problems is a complex process and some of the reasons why people fail to find effective
solutions include:not being methodical, lack of commitment to solving the problem,
misinterpreting the problem, lack of knowledge of the techniques and processes involved in
problem solving, having insufficient or inaccurate information, inability to combine analytical
and creative thinking and failure to ensure effective implementation.

pg. 27
2. 5Problem Solving Hints and Wisdom
1. Take time to examine and explore the problem thoroughly before setting out in search of a
solution. Often, to understand the problem is to solve it.
2. Breaking the problem into smaller parts will often make solving it much easier.
3. You can always do something where a problem presents itself
4. A problem is not a punishment; an opportunity to show how powerful you really are.
5. The formulation of a problem determines the range of choices: the questions you ask
determine the answers you receive.
6. Be careful not to look for a solution until you understand the problem, and be careful not
to select a solution until you have a whole range of choices.
7.A wide range of choices (ideas, possible solutions) allows you to choose the best from among
many. A choice of one is not a choice.
8.Solve the problem that really exists, not just the symptoms of a problem
9.Procrastinators finish last.
10. Denying a problem perpetuates it.
2.5Decision making
Problem solving entails thinking through a problem to arrive at a solution. Thus, it necessarily
entails decision-making that is directed to reaching a goal/objective. However, decisions that are
made without any planning have a risk of leading to failure. To avoid such problems, it is
necessary to take decisions in an organized way
Decision-making is about the how, what, why, when (and where) of a course of action and of
how to overcome obstacles and to solve problems. Trewatha and Newport (1982) define
decision-making as the process of selecting a course of action from among two or more possible
alternatives in order to arrive at a solution for a given problem. Thomas (2004) adds
thatdecision-making is what turns thought into action. A decision occurs when a solution to a
problem is selected for implementation. It is important to note that decisions can be made either
formally or informally.
Steps of Decision Making Process
Rational or scientific 'decision-making process' decision-making involves a number of steps
which need to be taken in a logical manner.
Step 1: Identification of the purpose of the decision:
Obviously, there would be no need to make a decision without having a problem. So, the first
thing one has to do is to state the underlying problem that has to be solved i.e.to critically analyse
the problem by asking:
 What exactly is the problem and why should the problem be solved?
 Who are the affected parties of the problem?

pg. 28
  Does the problem have a deadline or a specific time-line?
The accurate definition of the problem affects all the steps that follow; if the problem is
inaccurately defined, every step in the decision‐making process will be based on an incorrect
starting point. A successful decision-maker does not just attack symptoms, but rather, works to
uncover the factors that cause these symptoms.
Step 2: Information gathering
When making good decisions it is best to gather necessary information that is directly related to
the problem. Doing this will help you to better understand what needs to be done in solving the
problem, and will also help to generate ideas for a possible solution. Always seek the opinions of
people that you trust or speak to experts. Several questions need to be asked here:
What is relevant and what is not relevant to the decision?
What do you need to know before you can make a decision?
Who knows, who can help, who has the power and influence to make this happen?
Step 3: Principles for judging the alternatives
The baseline criteria for judging the alternatives that will be generated should be established. As
an example, profit is one of the main concerns in every decision making process. Companies
usually do not make decisions that reduce profits.
Step 4: Brainstorm and analyse the different choices:
Having to make a decision arises from the fact that there are several alternatives available.
Hence, after defining the main problem, there is need to state out the alternatives (a list of
potential solutions) available for that particular situation. Brainstorming to list down all the ideas
is a useful strategy. It is also vital at this stage to understand the causes of the problem and to
prioritize the causes.
Step 5: Evaluation of alternatives
At this stage, each alternative you have come up with will have to be analyzed, and so outline the
advantages and disadvantages of each option. Use your judgment principles and decision-making
criteria to evaluate each alternative. You need to compare each of the alternatives for their
positives and negatives, and ask following:
 What is the feasibility, acceptability and desirability of the option?
 Which alternative will best achieve your objectives?
Step 6: Select the best alternative
Now that you have identified your goal, gathered all necessary information, and weighed the
consequences, it is time to make a choice. Weigh the pros and cons of each potential solution,
and select the option you feel has the best chance of success at the least cost. When selecting a
preferred alternative:

pg. 29
  Explore the provisional preferred alternative for future possible adverse consequences.
 Consider what problems it might create
 Ponder over the risks of making this decision
Step 7: Execute the decision
Just making the decision will not give the result one wants. Rather, you have to carry out the
decision you have made. Convert your decision into a plan or a sequence of activities. Execute
your plan with the help of team members.
Step 8: Evaluate the results
Just making a decision and implementing it, is not the end of the decision-making procedure. It is
crucial to monitor your decisions regularly once they are implemented to ensure that they work.
At this stage, you have to keep a close eye on the progress made by implementing the
solutions. Ask the following questions:
Have enough resources been allocated to implement the decision?
Is the decision accepted and supported by colleagues, are they committed to it?
Was the wrong alternative selected? If so, consider one of the other alternatives
Was the correct alternative selected, but implemented improperly?
Was the original problem identified incorrectly? If so, the decision‐making process needs to
begin again, starting with a revised identification step.
Has the implemented alternative been given enough time to be successful? If not, as the
leader, give the process more time and re‐evaluate at a later date.

Activity Consider a situation where you had to make an important decision

1. What made a decision necessary?
2. What were your options, and likely consequences of each Option?
3. Which option turned out to be the best in light of the Consequences?
4. What would you have done differently now that you have learned how to
make careful decisions?

Test questions What is a problem?”

What are the steps in effective problem solving?
Why is it Important to have goals in Problem Solving?
What considerations are necessary when evaluating alternatives in decision
making?

pg. 30
 Summary
In this lesson, we have learnt that a problem is a condition that is not acceptable.
Regardless of the nature of a problem, a fundamental part of every leader's role is finding
ways to solve them. Some basic steps to follow are: Defining the problem, generating
alternatives, evaluating/selecting alternatives, implementing solutions, and getting
feedback
We have also learnt that when a problem occurs, there is need to pause and consider whether
there is actually a deeper problem that needs attention
Solving problems is a complex process; people may fail to find an effective solution as a
result of: not being methodical, lack of commitment to solving the problem,
misinterpreting the problem, not knowing the techniques and processes involved in
problem solving, inability to use the techniques effectively, insufficient or inaccurate
information, and ineffective implementation. The following advice summarizes effective
problem solving; 'Solve the problem that really exists, not just the symptoms of a problem.
Then, be careful not to look for a solution until you understand the problem.
We have also learnt problem solving entails decision-making.
A decision is only effective if it is implemented. Thus, other people need to be included in
the decision-making process and, a manager should think through and investigate several
alternative solutions to a single problem before making a quick decision.

Session 9: Mentoring, Coaching and Counseling in

Leadership Mentoring
Lesson objectives

The session is set to achieve the following objectives:

a)Increase participants' knowledge on:

i) The nature and dynamics of mentoring and coaching in leadership

and management;

ii) Basic techniques in counseling in Leadership Development and Mentorship;

pg. 31
 iii) Stress management in Leadership Development and Mentorship.

b)Enhance the participants skills in mentoring, coaching, counseling and stress management in
Leadership Development and Mentorship

9.3 Nature and Dynamics of Mentoring and Coaching in Leadership Development and
Mentorship

A mentor and coach is someone of substantial experience, talent and professional standing,
willing to nurture the knowledge, skills, attitudes, preference, choices and career of less
experienced followers and workers. The ultimate goal of mentoring and coaching in Leadership
Development and Mentorship is to inculcate effective Leadership Development and Mentorship
skills, as well as facilitate a sense of empowerment, and self-confidence among the fellow
workers. Leaders mentor those who over-performs to help them sustain extemporary
performance and improve on what they do. For the average performers- they need more support
because it is very easy for them to become underperformers. On the other hand, the
underperformers need greater support, direction and self-confidence so as to help clinch and
celebrate success with others. Leaders and managers who take mentorship and coaching as part
of their mandate also help their followers in developing their career.
9.3.1Session Objectives

The objectives of the session are to:

a)Enhance participants' knowledge on the concepts of mentoring and coaching in Leadership

Development and Mentorship;

b)Enhance the appreciation of the role of mentoring and coaching in building relationships
and increasing performance in Leadership Development and Mentorship;

c)Increase participants' skills in mentoring and coaching in Leadership Development and

Mentorship.

9.3.2 Definition of Mentoring and Coaching

Coaching refers to a collaborative, solution focused, result-orientated and systematic process in

which the coach facilitates the enhancement of work performance, life experience, self-directed
performance and personal growth of the coachee. Coaching therefore is a teaching, training or
development process through which an individual is supported while achieving a specific
personal or professional result or goal in the context of leadership. The individual receiving
coaching is referred to as the client or coachee. Coaching is thus applied between two individuals

pg. 32
where one has greater experience and expertise than the other and offers advice and guidance as
the other goes through a learning process.

Mentoring involves helping and supporting people to manage their own life in order to
maximize their potential, develop their skills, improve their performance and achieve their life
goals. Mentoring in leadership focuses on supporting and encouraging people to maximize their
potential, develop their leadership skills, improve their performance and become the leaders they
aspire to be.

Mentoring and coaching in Leadership Development and Mentorship aim at deliberately helping
and supporting people being led to maximize their potential, improve their performance and
improve their leadership skills. In the process, they achieve their personal goals.

9.3.3Importance of Mentoring and Coaching in Leadership Development and Mentorship

Many organizations are adopting mentoring and coaching as a vital part of their professional and
institutional development plans, with tangible benefits such as faster, more effective integration
of new employees; retention of quality professionals; increased transfer of skills from one
generation to another; gains in productivity and performance; increased learning from
professional development activities; enhanced communication, commitment, and motivation; and
a stabilizing factor in times of change. Many successful leaders are mentors/coaches even as they
themselves still undergo mentorship, while still being mentored, making the process a continuous
journey of career development in leadership.

9.4Differences between Mentoring and Coaching in Leadership Development and

Mentorship

Many people think mentoring and coaching are similar or even the same thing. But they are
different in terms of process and output, as shown in the following table.

Mentoring Coaching
Relationship - oriented: seeks to provide a Task - oriented: The focus is on concrete
safe environment where the mentee shares skills, such as managing more effectively,
whatever issues affect his or her professional speaking more articulately, and learning how
and personal success. to think strategically.
Always long term: requires time in which Short term: coaching lasts for as long as is
both partners can learn about one another, needed; may be even just a few sessions
build a climate of trust and an environment in depending on the purpose of the coaching
which the mentee can feel secure in sharing relationship and the skills at hand.
the real issues that impact his or her success.
Development driven: The purpose is to Performance driven: The purpose of
develop the individual not only for the coaching is to improve the individual's
current job, but also for the future. performance on the job.
9.5Some best Practices in Leadership Mentoring and Coaching

pg. 33
The following best practices are grounded on the principle of mutual relationship, built on trust
as well as a willing mentor and mentee, in that:

There is an agreed partnership between two people (more experienced and less experienced) with shared
experiences and interests.

There is a helpful relationship based upon mutual trust and respect.

A mentor and coach act as a guide who is willing to help the mentee/coachee to find the right direction
and develop solutions to leadership issues.

Mentors and coaches empathize with the mentee/coachee and take time to understand their issues while
providing guidance and encouragement..

Mentors/coaches provide the mentee/coaches with the opportunity to discover their potential and decide
where they want to be, depending on the reality on the ground.

A mentor/coach helps the mentee/coachee to believe in self, boost their confidence and to explore new
ideas in confidence.

A mentor should ask questions and challenge the status quo.

9.6HowLeaderscanInculcate Healthy Relationships with their Followers through

Mentoring and Coaching

Abilities to relate to people: A leader with effective relationships must have an open, accepting
personality when it comes to other people. For example, he/ she must display openness, tolerance
and patience in communicating with people of diverse social-economic backgrounds.

Showing interest in people: This is about knowing when to speak and when to listen, a part of
emotional intelligence which can lead the leader to a great understanding ofthe individuals and
groups at work place.

Building relationships opens the path for influence and persuasion: Once you have built
relationships, the influence and persuasion part is easy - build the relationship first to make it all
the more easy. We have also discussed organizational savvy - when you take the time to build
relationships, you will know how and why people do what they do even before you need to. You
can also offer advice to your team members on how to deal with certain people in the
organization. Part of courageous leadership is the ability to step in and manage conflict - think
about how well you will be able to do this if you have taken the time to build relationships.

Taking the time to build relationships with the followers: This means making it a part of the
leader's day-to-day life to build relations so that whenever they need them, they will already be
there.

9.7Summary

pg. 34
In this session we have learnt that:

1) There are special qualities for good mentor and a coach.

2) A good leader and manager needs to inculcate mentorship and coaching
3) Mentoring and coaching are an important part of institution/ organizational development
4) Mentoring and coaching are different in approach and process

9.8Activities

Activity one

i.i) Identify one person whom you feel has mentored you to be what you are today?

ii.ii) Explain how the mentor has influenced your life.

iii.iii) What qualities make you admire this person?

Activity two

Group Activity

Identify four important areas that you think a leader and a manger should focus on in

i). Mentoring fellow workers

ii) Coaching section heads in his or her organization/ institution

References

Cooper, D. L., & Miller, T. K. (1998). Influence & impact: Professional development in student affairs.
New Directions for Student Services, 84, 55-69. Retrieved October 16, 2008, from
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/101522224/PDFSTART

Goldsmith, M., Lyons, L., &Freas, A. (2000). Coaching for leadership: How the world's greatest

coaches help leaders learn. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass

Grayer, J. N., & Smith, R. M. (1995).How to be a great mentor. Kaplan Newsweek.

Homer. (1980). The Odyssey. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

pg. 35
Hopkins-Thompson, P.A. (2000).'Colleagues helping colleagues: mentoring and coaching,
NASSP

Bulletin, 84, 617, 29-36.

Loom, G., Castagna, C., Moir, E., & Warren, B. (2005). Blended coaching: Skills and strategies
to

Support principal development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press

Mincemoyer, C. C., & Thomson, J. S. (1998).Establishing effective mentoring relationships for individual
and organizational success. Journal of Extension, 36 (2). Retrieved October 16, 2008, from
http://www.joe.org/joe/1998april/a2.php

O'Neill, M. B. (2000). Executive coaching with backbone and heart: A systems approach to
engaging
leaders with their challenges. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Place, N. T., & Bailey, A. (2006). Mentoring: Providing greatest benefit to new and seasoned faculty in
an extension organization. Proceedings of the Association for International Agricultural and
Extension Education, 22, 498-507. Retrieved October 13, 2008, from
http://www.aiaee.org/2006/Accepted/498.pdf

Shea, G. F. (2002) Mentoring: How to develop successful mentor behaviours. Menlo Park, CA:
Crisp
Learning
Smith, K. L., & Beckley, W. E. (1985). Mentoring: is it for extension? Journal of Extension, 23 (3).
Retrieved October 16, 2008, from http://www.joe.org/joe/1998april/a2.php
Wilburn, B., & Cooper, D. (n. d.).Mentoring program. Georgia Department of Technical & Adult
Education. Retrieved October 16, 2008, from http://www.coe.uga.edu/chds/mentoring/index.htm
Zachary, L. J. (2000). The mentor's guide: Facilitating effective learning relationships. San Francisco,
CA: Jossey Bass.

Session 10: Basic Skills and Techniques of Counseling in

Leadership Development and Mentorship
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:

a) Define the terms counselling skills

b) Describe the major skills and techniques in counselling in Leadership Development and
Mentorship;

c) Practice the skills and techniques learned.

pg. 36
10.3 Definition of Skills and Techniques

Skills and techniques refer to the ability to do something well. It is an art that is learned.
Counseling skills and techniques are used by a counselor to facilitate the helping/counseling
process. Skills and techniques are an extension of the counselor's humanity. Skills and
techniques are used simultaneously and interchangeably.

10.4The Major Skills and Techniques in Leadership Development and Mentorship are:

a.Structuring

Structuring is the interactive process between counsellor and client in which they arrive at
similar goals or perceptions.Structuring is a skill and technique done at the beginning of the
counselling process,usuallyreferred to as contracting.
b.Attending Skills
S- Sitting Squarely

O-Open Posture

L-Leaning Forward

E- Eye Contact

R- Relaxed

Soler lays the basis for responding to facilitate exploration. Soler facilitates the attending skills in
that the counsellor/leader is there fully for the clients in all aspects i.e. physically, emotionally,
behaviourally and psychologically.
c.Observation Skills

This is the ability to see the clients' behaviour and pick up his or her non- verbal messages, in
order to understand the way he or she experiences the world.

pg. 37
d.Responding Skills

i.Listening

This is 'listening to' and understanding the clients' verbal messages and observing as well as
reading the clients' non-verbal behaviour.

A client listens to;

-Feelings or affection
-Content or experiences
-Behaviour and what is not being said

ii.Empathy

This means putting oneself in the shoes of someone else. Empathy is not only a skill but it is an
attitude. It is the ability of the counsellor/leader to get into the client's world/experience as if they
were the client. Empathy communicates the counsellors/leaders understanding of the client and
this fact alone may increase the clients' self esteem

e.Genuineness

This is the 'state of being' of the counsellor/leader when his or her outward response to his or her
client genuinely and consistently mirrors the inner feelings and sensations, he or she has in
relation to the client.
f.Unconditional Positive Regard (UPR)

This is the ability of the counsellor/leader to suspend all judgment on the client and to help him
or her despite what he or she has done.
g.Paraphrasing

This is a restatement of the content of the clients' communication. It is an attempt to convey

understanding either by simple repetition or by rephrasing the words
h.Reflection of Feelings

This is an attempt to understand the clients' point of view and communicate this understanding. It
helps the clients to think of their feelings as part of themselves. Reflection of feelings needs to be
done in a non-threatening way. It helps not only to surface clients' feels and attitudes but also
helps to bring problems into awareness without making the individual feel they are being pushed
by the counselor.

i.Immediacy

pg. 38
The counsellor's/leader's ability to discuss with the client where they stand, how the relationship
has developed and it is standing in the way of development. Immediacy is used when a session is
directionless and there is no progress; when there is tension between counsellor and client and
when trust seems to be flawed. Immediacy makes it possible for both counsellor/leader and client
see what is going on and helps the client to look at the interaction in the relationship.
j.Self Disclosure

This is purposeful sharing of the counsellor's/leader's personal experiences. The client feels that
the counsellor/leader is human like him or her. The purpose of self disclosure is to manifest
solidarity in the human struggle. In self disclosure, the counsellor/leader shows genuiness. Self
disclosure is useful only when it keeps the client on target and does not distract or become a
burden on the client. Self disclosure should not be done too often.
k.Summarization

This is used to tie together all that has been talked about during part or of a whole of the
counselling session. It attempts to tie together the main threads of what the client has said. It
takes away confusion from the client's mind when he or she has spoken a lot.

i).Summarization is used when a counsellor/leader realizes he or she cannot store or take in any
more information.

ii).When the client speaks much and seems lost in the story
iii).When the client is about to make a decision or make a choice
iv).At the beginning or at the end of a session
The purpose of summarization is:
1.To check with the client whether what he or she has said is what the counsellor/leader heard:
2.To move a session forward or to begin a session
3.To help reflect feelings
4.To outline meaningful thoughts, feelings or insights

l.Confrontation

It is a special effort made by the counsellor/leader to help a client look at him or herself, as well
ashis or her behaviour and the consequences. It is an invitation to a client to examine his or her
behaviour and become aware of some of his or her actions and consequences and do something
about it.

Confrontation focuses on negative thoughts, behaviours, games and discrepancies. Confrontation

challenges the client to provide accurate information and the counsellor to offer his or her
professional perspectives. Confrontation helps develop new perspectives and new challenges.
m.Concreteness

pg. 39
 Concreteness means getting the clients' to be specific in what they are saying. Clients are able to
pin point exactly what the issues are that need to be dealt with. Concreteness avoids
generalizations that lump together all things, leaving both the client and counsellor confused.
n.Focusing

This is getting a client to prioritize or explore in depth one issue at a time.

o.Minimal Prompts

These are encouraging gestures to the clients to enable them to talk about their issues.
p.Questioning

This refers to probing so as to get an answer. Questions asked by the counsellor should be open
ended. Counsellors should avoid 'why' questions.
q.Silence

Silence is a technique that gives clients space and encouragement to get more in touch with their
thoughts and feelings.
10.5 Summary
In this session skill and techniques have been explored. If a counsellor/leader inculcate the above
specific skills/techniques to the individuals he/she leads, there will be greater self awareness of
who the led are.This will facilitate holistic growth and development in the client.

10.6 Activities

Group activities

i)Practice soler in groups

ii)Practice counseling skills in groups of 'threes' representing a counselor a client and an observer and
changing roles until every participant plays the role of a client, counselor and an observer.

iii)Each group should practice all the skills and techniques

iv)The facilitator should make sure the group work is professionally done.

10.7Reference

Session 11: Stress Management in Leadership Development

and Mentorship
Lesson objectives

By the end should end of the lesson, you should be able to:

pg. 40
 a)Describe the skills, intervention and stress management techniques

b)Explain the role of effective leadership in stress management

c)Increase participants' skills in the different strategies of managing stress

11.3Causes of Stress
The most frequent reasons for "stressing out” fall into three main categories:

The unsettling effects of change

The feeling that an outside force is challenging or threatening you

The feeling that you have lost personal control.

Life events such as marriage, changing jobs, divorce, or the death of a relative or friend are the
most common causes of stress. Although life-threatening events are less common, they can be
the most physiologically and psychologically acute.As a college student, you may find that the
demands of college life can create stressful situations. The National Institute of Mental Health
(NIMH) notes some of the more common stressors for college students:

Increased academic demands

Being on your own in a new environment

Changes in family relations

Financial responsibilities

Changes in your social life

Exposure to new people, ideas, and temptations

Awareness of your sexual identity and orientation

Preparing for life after graduation

11.4Identification of Sources of Stress

pg. 41
 Tracking stress can help the leader find out the causes of stress, amount and level of stress felt.
This can assist the leader to take steps to reduce the stress or handle the better. The following are
tips a leader can involve in tracking stress:

Finding out what the causes of stress are

Writing down the reactions and what how he/she dealt with the stress

Looking for ways to reduce the amount/ level of stress.

Learning healthy ways to relieve stress and reduce its harmful effects

11.5. Symptoms of Distress

Symptoms of stress fall into three general, but interrelated categories--physical, mental and
emotional. If an individual finds themselves frequently experiencing these symptoms they are
most feeling distressed:

Headaches

Fatigue

Gastrointestinal problems

Hypertension (high blood pressure)

Heart problems, such as palpitations

Inability to focus/lack of concentration

Sleep disturbances

Sweating palms/shaking hands

Anxiety

Sexual problems.

Stress can cause or contribute to serious physical disorders. It increases hormones such as
adrenaline and corticosterone, which affect your metabolism, immune reactions, and other stress
responses. That can lead to increases in your heart rate, respiration, blood pressure, and physical
demands on your internal organs.

pg. 42
 Behavioural changes are also expressions of stress. They can include:

Irritability

Disruptive eating patterns (overeating or under eating)

Harsh treatment of others

Increased smoking or alcohol consumption

11.6Skills, Intervention and Stress Management Techniques

Stressors are part of our everyday life. How we deal and manage them is key to living a health
positive life. The following are examples of things to do in order to prevent stress:

Avoid controllable stressors

Plan major lifestyle changes

Setlimits

Improve communication

Exercise

Eat and Sleep well

11.7Stress Management Techniques

In many situations stressors are inevitable.You cannot control the loss of a job, loved one or the
outcome of an interview. The first step is to understand yourself better and how you react in
different situations, what causes you stress. It is important to understand and how you behave
when you feel stressed. The following are ways and techniques for managing stress:

Set priorities-Use time-management tips and make a to-do list. Decide what is really important
to get done today, and what can wait. This helps you to know that you are working on your most
immediate priorities, and you don't have the stress of trying to remember what you should be
doing.
Practice facing stressful moments- Think about the event or situation you expect to face and
rehearse your reactions. Find ways to practice dealing with the challenge. If you know that
speaking in front of a group frightens you, practice doing it, perhaps with a trusted friend or
fellow student. If the pressure of taking tests causes you to freeze up, buy some practice tests at
the school bookstore or online and work with them when there is no time pressures.

pg. 43
Examine your expectations- Try to set realistic goals. It's good to push yourself to achieve,
but make sure your expectations are realistic .Watch out for perfectionism. Be satisfied
with doing the best you can. Nobody's perfect. Allow people the liberty to make mistakes, and
remember that mistakes can be a good teacher.
Live a healthy lifestyle- Do lots of exercise, eat healthy foods. Allow time for rest and
relaxation. Find a relaxation technique that works for you--prayer, yoga, meditation,
or breathing exercises. Look for humor in life, and enjoy yourself.
Learn to accept change as a part of life-Nothing stays the same. Develop a support system
of friends and relatives you can talk to when needed. Believe in yourself and your potential.
Additionalstrategies for dealing with stress:
Schedule time for breaks in your routine, hobbies, and fun activities.
Try to arrange for uninterrupted time to accomplish tasks that need your concentration. Arrange
some leisure time during which you can do things that you really enjoy.
Avoid scheduling too many appointments, meetings, and classes back-to-back.
Allow breaks to catch your breath. Take a few slow, deep breaths whenever you feel stressed.
Breathe from the abdomen and, as you exhale, silently say to yourself, "I feel calm.”
Become an expert at managing your time. Read books, view videos, and attend seminars on time
management. Once you cut down on time wasters, you will find more time to recharge yourself.
Learn to say "no.” Setting limits can minimize stress. Spend time on your main responsibilities
and priorities rather than allowing other people's priorities or needs to dictate how you spend
your time.
Exercise regularly to reduce muscle tension and promote a sense of well-being.
Tap into your support network. Family, friends, and social groups can help when dealing with
stressful events.
11.8Ways to Adopt a Healthy Lifestyle
Resistance to stress can be increased by strengthening one's physical health. The following are
strategies a leader can apply:

regularly. For physical activity plays a key role in reducing and preventing the effects of stress.
diet. Since well-nourished bodies are better prepared to cope with stress.
Reduce caffeine and sugar. The temporary "highs" caffeine and sugar provide often do more
harm than good
11.9Summary
In this lecture, stress has been defined as how individuals' deal with and reactto changes and
circumstances presented.The different causes of stress, symptoms of distress, and interventions
and stress management skills have been covered.The aim is to give a wider and holistic view on
what the topic entails, and help individuals employ various coping strategies that enable them to
better cope with stressful situations.
11.10Activities
Group Activity
i) List the different causes of stress and identify strategies to manage them
ii) Discuss the positive aspects and negative aspects of stress.

pg. 44
iii) Hand out stress coping skill sheets, and have the participants identify which skill they have
used in the past and which skill they are likely to use in the future.
11.11References

Session 12:Leadership, National Unity and Development

Lesson objectives

By the end of the lesson, you should be able to:

a)Appreciate the fact that diversity brings innovation, fresh perspective, and creative problem
solving to an institution or group of people with diverse cultural orientations.

b)Demonstrate an understanding of the need for appreciation of cultural diversity through

dialogue.

12.3Definition of Culture
Culture refers to the cumulative deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, attitudes,
meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe,
and material objects and possessions acquired by a group of people in the course of generations
through individual and group striving.In other words, culture is an integrated system of learned
behaviour patterns that are characteristic of the members of any given society. Culture refers to
the total way of life for a particular group of people. It includes [what] a group of people thinks,
says, does and makes-its customs, language, materials and artefacts and shared systems of
attitudes and feeling (Robert Kohls). It is the characteristics of a particular group of people,
defined by everything from language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts. To others,
culture is, simply, the systems of knowledge shared by a relatively large group of people while to
others, culture is the sum of total of the learned behaviour of a group of people that are generally
considered to be the tradition of that people and are transmitted from generation to generation. In
summary therefore, culture can be understood in terms of:
i.Learned beliefs, values, rules, norms, symbols & traditions that are common to a group of
people.

ii.Shared qualities of a group that make them unique

iii.The way of life, customs, and scripts of a group of people

12.4 The Link between Values and Behaviour

Culture consists of concepts, values, and assumptions about life that guide behaviour and are
widely shared by people, which are transmitted from generation to generation, rarely with
explicit instructions, by parents and other respected elders. The values prescribed by a given

pg. 45
culture therefore determine the behaviour of the people in that society. But culture is the only
one category or dimension of human behaviour and it is therefore important to see it in relation
to the other two dimensions: the universal and the personal. The three can be distinguished as
follows:
Cultural

Universal

Personal

Culture is the outward expression of a unifying and consistent vision brought by a particular
community to its confrontation with such core issues as the origins of the cosmos, the harsh
unpredictability of the natural environment, the nature of society, and humankind's place in the
order of things (Edward Hall).
Activity 1
Examine the various definitions of culture and cultural diversity.
With examples drawn from your own experience, discuss the link between leadership behaviour
and culture.
12.6 Embracing Cultural Diversity
Diversity makes our lives more interesting. Cultural diversity brings together the resources and
talents of many people for the shared benefit of all. Sadly, throughout history, the differences
among us have tended to lead to violence, discrimination and other related social and even
economic ills. Yet by learning to recognize our similarities and appreciate our differences,
together we can overcome prejudice and intolerance and work towards a more peaceful and
productive world. Embracing cultural diversity entails taking on a new state of mind. This
change encompasses a person as a whole - in mind, behaviour and perspective. There are
numerous advantages to accepting diversity. The new experiences and friends one gains, and the
things that one stands to learn from those that he/she accepts, are innumerable. For instance,
one's perspective and experience will be broadened unbelievably when he/she works to explore
and learn about other cultures. There are several aspects of this change and some ways to help
someone accept diversity as a whole. These ways include the following:
Putting a strong filter in one's mind to block two very damaging tools: propaganda and
stereotypes.These damaging tools may be a creation of the media from both the public and
private sector which are filled with generalizations about various cultures and the people within
them. These two items cause misunderstanding, ignorance, and can even lead to hatred of others.
Accordingly, if one comes across a stereotype about a certain culture, they need to make an
effort to analyze it objectively in order to find the real truth behind the curtain. It may shock one
to find out the real story that is being missed when someone blindly accepts a stereotype.
Stereotypes often form the basis of prejudice, a premature judgment about a group or a member
of that group made without sufficient knowledge or thought. We can also develop prejudices
towards a whole group based on a single emotional experience with one person. Prejudice
demonstrates an unfair bias that does not allow for individual differences, good or bad.

pg. 46
Embracing cultural diversity also starts with one's own willingness to change their thoughts and
behaviour toward others who are different from him/her. This acceptance not only improves
one's life, but can improve that of others when they see and follow your positive example. By
being a leader in this new way of thinking and acting, you will see a change in yourself and
others, and, eventually, in society itself.
Remembering history may also help one to be more open to accepting diversity. Not thinking for
oneself is dangerous and being willing to question will keep one's mind aware and open to these
kinds of games such as propaganda. By studying history and learning the true story about
different events and their consequences you will see the advantages of keeping an open mind to
various cultures.
Activity 2
1. Discuss the benefits of leaders embracing cultural diversity in the contemporary society
2. It has been observed that cultural diversity affects the way leaders go about defining their roles
as leaders and applying themselves to the responsibilities of leadership. Discuss the various ways
in which leaders can adapt leadership to be effective in such a culturally diverse situation.

12.7Conclusion

While it is fine to be proud of your own cultural identity or heritage, it simply doesn't mean that
yours is better than someone else's. As leaders, being sensitive to generational and cultural
differences involves empathy or "walking a mile in another's shoes.” Leaders may not share the
same values, beliefs, attitudes or experiences. And as such there is need to be sensitive to how
we, as leaders interact with and respect others lest we make them feel left out. People feel
respected when asked about their opinions. Simply asking "what do you think?” may open up a
whole world of understanding and appreciation. Respect for each others' cultural values and
belief systems and even opinion is an important part of leadership in the context of cultural
diversity. Lack of respect is often based on ignorance or misinformation. If you do not
understand another's values, lifestyle, opinion or beliefs, it is much easier to belittle them.
Sharing stories is a great way to connect with others and discover similarities, regardless of
differences. And leaders are likely to be more effective when they adopt such an approach.

Bass, B. (1990). From transactional to transformational leadership: Learning to share the vision.
Organizational Dynamics, 18, (3), Winter, 1990, 19-31.
Bass, B. M. (1996). A new paradigm of leadership: An inquiry into transformational leadership.
Alexandria, VA: U. S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences.
Commission for Investigation of Post Election Violence (CIPEV) or Waki Report

Source: http//www.communication.go.ke

Independent Review Commission (IREC) or Kriegler Report

Kouzes, J. M. & Posner, Barry Z. (1987).The leadership challenge. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

UNESCO, Convention for the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage,

pg. 47
MISC/2003/CLT/CH/14, Paris, 17 October 2003.

Yuki, G. (2006). Leadership in organizations.6th edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Session 13: Ethics and Integrity in Leadership

Lesson Objectives;

By the end of this session you should be able to:

a)Appreciate the ethical principles applicable in leadership

b)Demonstrate how ethical principles can be integrated into leadership.
c)Discuss how to build and maintain ethical principles in leadership.

13.3 Basic Concepts

VALUES: Core beliefs or desires that guide and motivate attitudes and actions. Values are
"constructs representing generalized behaviours or states of affairs that are considered by the
individual to be important”. In other words, these are representations of our behaviour based on
what we see as important. Values play a fairly central role in one's overall psychological makeup
and can affect behaviour in a variety of situations.

MORALS: Customs and personal beliefs of individuals about what is right and wrong.

ETHICS: Standards of conduct that indicate how one should behave based on principles about
right and wrong.

INTEGRITY: Integrity has to do with your own personal moral code or ethics. Everyone has a
standard of what is moral or right, some of those standards are personal ones that we hold for
ourselves, and some are imposed by society. For example, you personally may not think it is
wrong to cheat on your taxes, because you feel the government takes too much to begin with.
However, external forces (the law) state that it is ethically wrong to do so, regardless of how you
personally feel. Integrity is the adherence to the moral code whatever the source is. Loosely
defined it would mean that you are willing to 'do the right thing'

13.4. Ethics and Values in Leadership

Ethics are rules and principles that define right and wrong conduct. They are principles of right
conduct or a system of moral values. Leaders can use power (as we discussed in the earlier topic)
for good or ill, and the leader's personal values may be one of the most important determinants of

pg. 48
how power is exercised or constrained. The mere possession of power, of any kind, leads
inevitably to ethical questions about how that power should and should not be used. The
challenge of leadership becomes complex when we consider how individuals of different
backgrounds, cultures, and nationalities may hold quite different values yet be thrown into
increasingly closer interaction.
13.5Leadership and "Doing the Right Things”

Leaders face dilemmas that require choices between competing sets of values and priorities (i.e.,
satisfying multiple stakeholders). Leaders set a moral example to others that becomes the model
for an entire group or organization, for good or bad. Leaders should internalize a strong set of
ethics, principles of right conduct, or a system of moral values. Good leaders tend to align the
values of their followers with those of the organization or movement.
Activity 1
How can I better support ethical behaviour among my colleagues, team members, and others in
my organization?
13.6 How Values Impact Leadership
Values are a primary determinant in what data are reviewed by leaders and how they define
problems. Values often influence leader's perceptions of individual and organizational successes
as well as the manner in which these successes are achieved. They also help leaders choose right
from wrong, and between ethical and unethical behaviour. It has been noted that leaders tend to
like followers with similar values and dislike those with dissimilar values. As such, it is
important for leaders to surround themselves with followers who possess divergent values.
Leaders are motivated to act in ways consistent with their values, and they typically spend most
of their time engaged in activities that are consistent with their values.
13.7 Leadership and Organizational Values

"It's important that people know what you stand for. It is equally important that they know what
you won't stand for” By Mary Waldrop

Organizational values represent the principles by which employees are to get work done and treat
other employees, customers, and vendors. The top leadership's collective values play a
significant role in determining organizational values and culture. Research has shown that
employees with values similar to those of the organizations are more satisfied and likely to stay;
those with dissimilar values are likely to leave. It is therefore vital for a leader to set a personal
example of values-based leadership to make sure that clear values guide everyone's behaviour in
the organization. If there is indifference or hypocrisy toward values at the highest levels, then it
is fairly unlikely that principled behaviour will be considered important by others throughout the
organization.
Activity 2
In groups of 3, discuss any experiences in which as a leader, you knew the right action totake but

felt you should or could not take it because it would not be accepted or valuedthe others?

pg. 49
13.7.1 Values and the Ethical Dimensions of Leadership

People with strong value systems tend to behave more ethically, unless situations are highly
competitive and unsupervised or there is no formal ethics policy governing behaviour.Leaders
with a strong sense of values and moral reasoning will be more effective.

Activity 3

As a leader, how can you better support ethical behavior among your colleagues, team members,
and others in your organization?

13.8 Conclusion

Leadership practitioners should expect to face a variety of challenges to their own system of
ethics, values, or attitudes during their careers. Interacting with individuals and groups holding
divergent and conflicting values is inevitable. Therefore, Leaders in particular have a
responsibility not to let their own personal values interfere with professional leader-subordinate
relationships.

13.9 References

Session 14: Conflict Resolution and Peace Building

14.2 Learning outcomes

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

a) Demonstrate a clear understanding of the concepts of conflict, conflict resolution and peace
building.

b) Manage, resolve and transform conflicts I the society through peaceful means before they
escalate into violent forms

14.3 Definition of Peace

Peace is a very tricky term to define as it depends on individual perception, socio-cultural

orientation and the national values. Peace may be understood as a state of well-being that is
characterized by trust, compassion and justice. Accordingly, peace permeates the individual and
the society such that there is no chance that conflict may arise. This understanding of peace has
been described as positive peace. But in a negative sense, has been described as absence of war,
a situation of temporary ceasefire, ostensibly because of a set of social structures that provide

pg. 50
security and protection from acts of direct physical violence committed by individuals, groups or
nations.

b. Definition of Conflict

The word conflict has often been used interchangeably with the word dispute. While conflict is a
natural and inevitable human experience, it becomes a problem and a threat to development
when it degenerates into violence, be it physical, psychological or structural violence. Physical
and psychological forms of conflict are most common and usually occur between individuals or
families while structural violence may be brought about by the very nature of a system or
structure of an organization, institution or a government.

Activity 1

In groups of 3-5, discuss the various meanings that have been assigned to the term peace. How
do these meanings differ or resemble the definition given in this lesson.

14.4 Causes of Conflict

As already stated, conflict is always present in human society and it is almost inevitable. What
normally happens is that people always work towards minimizing it by way of addressing it in
the various ways deemed effective. In most African countries, there have been conflicts due to
poor governance and leadership. This poor leadership and governance is manifested in, among
other things:

Lack of democracy and accountability by leaders

Lack of integrity

Lack of ideological dependence

Lack of efforts to promote unity

A culture of impunity

14.4.1 Conflict Resolution

Conflict resolution is a range of methods for alleviating or eliminating sources of conflict.The

term "conflict resolution” is sometimes used interchangeably with the term dispute resolution or

pg. 51
alternative dispute resolution.The method or approach adopted depends on the nature and
magnitude of the conflict.By nature, it could be violent or non-violent, intra or inter-community,
with or without casualties.By magnitude it could involve a few people or large scale.

Processes of conflict resolution generally include negotiation, mediation and

diplomacy.Successful conflict resolution usually involves fostering communication among
disputants, problem solving and drafting agreements that meet their underlying needs.In these
situations, it is widely accepted worldwide today that conflict resolvers talk about finding the
win-win resolution or mutually satisfying scenario for everyone involved.To arrive at this, there
must be reconciliation.

Reconciliation has been defined as a process which includes the search for truth, justice, an over-
arching forgiveness and healing (IDEA, 2003).It means finding a way to live alongside former
adversary-not necessarily to love them or forget the past in any way, but to co-exist with them to
develop the degree of cooperation necessary to share a society with so that all have better lives
than they had separately.Effective reconciliation is the best guarantee that the violence or
disagreements of the past will not return.

Activity 2

Give the various ways in which the term conflict has been understood. From the meanings that
you have gathered, must conflict be violent? Explain your answer.

1.Discuss the various sources of conflict that are common in Kenya clearly illustrating
your suggestions

14.5The Role of Leaders and Youth in Conflict Resolution

(i)Leaders

Leaders may need to approach conflict resolution in such a way that when a conflict involves a
controversial or unpopular decision, they should resist the temptation to ignore or avoid it. By
defining the root cause of the problem, encouraging active listening, negotiating a resolution and
reminding participants to forgive each other once the conflict is over, you can foster a productive
team. However, effective leaders also recognize that delegating conflict resolution to a third

pg. 52
party, such a facilitator or mediator can be effective in a situation where emotions remain high
even after lengthy discussion.

(ii)The Youth

The world is today passing through an environment full of tension, violence, declining values,
injustices, reduced tolerance and respect for human rights. The culture of violence has already
taken a dominant position in most of the developing countries, threatening the future of the youth
who deserve a peaceful and better quality of life.

One important role which the youth can play in peace and conflict resolution is for them to BE
THE CHANGE. They can do this by changing their attitudes towards people, traditions, religion
and beliefs. They should learn to combine their enthusiasm with patience, realizing the
importance of living together and should be responsible to defend the frontiers of peace and non-
violence. The youths should equally understand their leadership capacity by educating
themselves on the need for community leadership and taking opportunities available to prioritize
leadership development programmes, especially among them in rural areas because lack of
knowledge about basic decision making impedes progress and therefore results in conflicts. In
addition, the youth should learn new skills to deal with conflict in non-violent ways and create a
community that lives by a credo of non-violence and multicultural appreciation.

Activity 3

What do you think is the role of the youth and leaders in conflict resolution in Kenya
should be?

14.6 Conclusion

Peace is essential for human survival. As conflicts across the world become increasingly
complex, the international development community continues to look for new and effective
approaches to mitigate these conflicts. The kind of leadership that exists in this situation must
therefore recognize the value and worth of peace by organizing the people they lead towards a
peaceful mass. As such, future transformational leaders must rise above tribal and divisive
politics and seek to become global leaders who transform the world for the good of every human
being.

pg. 53
REFERENCES

Session 15: Gender Dynamics in Management and

Leadership
Lesson Objectives

By the end of the module, you should be able to:

a)Examine the ways in which women have been viewed as leaders and managers in the society;

b)Identify and evaluate explanations for gender differences in management and leadership

positions in different international contexts.

15.3 Definition of Basic Terms

1. Gender

A collection of qualities labeled as man or woman and which are created culturally

2. Gender Roles

The social and behavioural norms that are generally considered appropriate for either a man or a
woman in a social or interpersonal relationship

3. Management

The act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals. Management includes planning,
organizing, resourcing, leading or directing, and controlling an organization (a group of one or
more people) or effort for the purpose of accomplishing a goal.

4. Leadership
Leadership is the process of influencing people while operating to meet organizational
requirements and improving the organization through change. A leader is therefore understood as
a change agent who guides his followers into new heights while, along the way, they develop and
grow their followers.

pg. 54
15.4 Overview of Gender Dynamics in Management and Leadership

For quite some time, gender differences in leadership, and in particular, leadership styles, have
been intensely studied. The central concern of such studies have been about whetherindeed there
are such inherent differences in the way men and women function as leaders and, if so, are these
differences gender linked? To begin with, it is notable that even though women have become an
increasingly large proportion of the work force, they still do not hold a proportionate share of the
top administrative positions of most countries' workforces. It is therefore clear that women have
found it more difficult to move up the organizational ladder. Most of the gender difference
research has focused upon whether this women's comparative lack of success in attaining high
positions could in any way be related to differences in their leadership style. Accordingly, such
research has examined the personality characteristics and behaviour patterns of women as
possible explanations for their lower status.

Activity 1

In groups of three to five, discuss the following question using suitable illustrations from
any country and Kenya in particular.

1.If the reason why women are underrepresented in senior management is driven by negative
perceptions of women's abilities, how can this be corrected?

15.5 Gender and Leadership Style

The relationship between gender and leadership style is rooted in the idea of socialization in which it is
argued that people behave according to societal expectations about their gender roles. Accordingly, it is
argued that because of the socialization process, women have developed values and traits which result in
leadership qualities that are different from the traditional competitive and aggressive leadership qualities
of men. For instance, women's involvement in managing households and raising children gives them
leadership qualities that men do not process. As such, through lack of exposure to the situations that
women commonly face men do not possess such psychological qualities. There are, however, a number of
studies which, have established that leadership style is independent of gender since studies have shown
that there is little or no difference in the traits and abilities of managerial and professional women and
men.

15.6 Women, Men and Leadership

Although more women are assuming leadership roles today than before, the notion of a woman
as a leader is still foreign to many individuals, male and female alike. In most societies, leaders
have customarily been males. Consequently, the assumption that leadership equates with

pg. 55
maleness is deeply embedded in both our thinking and language. Leaders are often described
with adjectives such as "competitive,” "aggressive,” or "dominant,” which are typically
associated with masculinity. A female leader is frequently regarded as an aberration and "women
who become leaders are often offered the presumed label of acting like men” (Hearn & Parkin,
1986-87, p. 38).

These stereotypes still exert a powerful influence and are at least partially to blame both for women's
difficulty in attaining leadership positions and for society's struggle to accept them. Because women do
not fit the stereotypical leader mold, those who want to be leaders usually need to be extremely well
qualified, have proven records of accomplishments, and be over-prepared for their positions. Once these
positions are attained, women are often expected to "behave just like their male counterparts rather than
enhancing their roles with the new and varied talents and fresh perspectives they might bring”
(Shavlik&Touchton, 1988, p. 101).

Activity 2

In groups of three to five, discuss the following questions using suitable illustrations from
any country and Kenya in particular.

1.Are women's leadership styles truly different from men's?

2.Are these styles less likely to be effective?

15.6.1 Gender and Transformational Leadership

Studies have indicated that men are more likely to use power that comes from their organizational
position while women have been found to be "transformational'' leaders. They are skilled at getting
subordinates to transform their own self interest into the interest of the larger group. In this way, women
ascribe their power not to their position within the organization, but to their own personal characteristics.
Further, studies have established that transformational leaders are more successful and achieve better
results. This has often been attributed to the fact that the modern organization has to befast and flexible.
Leaders have to create an environment that encourages self-motivated people who learn and adapt
quickly. Transformational leadership is fast becoming the standard for great leadership. As this happens,
women, who demonstrate greater propensity for this type of leadership, are being noticed as well.
Consequently, as men and women take advantage of increased opportunities to participate in roles once
reserved for the "other” sex, gender stereotypes, including those about leadership, are and will continue to
fade.

pg. 56
15.7Conclusion

In the foregoing session, it has been observed that there tends to be some under-representation of
women in certain levels of leadership. This under-representation has its basis in the kinds of the
attitudes we hold regarding the abilities of women and leadership, many of which have no
scientific basis. The session ends up advocating some form of transformational leadership in
which those women who demonstrate the ability to get subordinates to transform their own self
interest into the interest of the larger group should be encouraged to take up such leadership
positions.

15.8 References

Session 16: Youth Leadership in National Development and

Related Challenges
Lesson Objectives

By the end of the lesson, you should be able to:

a) Identify the role of the youth in national development.

b) Demonstrate an understanding of the challenges of youth leadership in national development.
16.3 The Situation of the Youth in Kenya
According to a survey done in 2009, the youth constitute 35.4% of the national population of
Kenya. And with the elaboration of a new national development blueprint, the Vision 2030,
which aims at making Kenya a middle income country by the year 2030, it is hoped that in
pursuit of the goals of the vision, there will be a platform of making the youth better people in
promoting both internal and international competitiveness. One way of ensuring this is to give
them an opportunity to participate in decision making and even giving them an opportunity to
exercise leadership. What this means is that on the one hand, the leadership of the day needs to
ensure this opportunity for youth to participate in leadership at their respective levels is done. On
the other hand, the youth themselves are supposed to demonstrate the interest and capacity to
participate in issues of national development from their respective perspectives. However, the
youth, and more so, in Kenya, are faced with a number of challenges. Let us examine some of
the challenges facing Kenyan youth in relation to leadership and development.

Activity 1
In groups of 3 to 5, discuss the characteristics of the youth in Kenya, considering their situation
in relation to leadership.
16.4 Challenges in Youth, Leadership and Development
Democracy and Governance
In terms of democracy and governance, the youth feel acutely disempowered by existing
governance structures and procedures, where they often have only token representation, and

pg. 57
where policies are not implemented as stated due to a high level of corruption. In other words,
young people are still denied adequate representation in the places where power is exercised,
from Parliament and local councils to businesses and voluntary organizations. There is lack of
appropriate information about policies, programs, and opportunities, as well as a good deal of
misinformation. This is despite the constitution making provision for the representation of youth
in various governance levels through direct nomination. They include: the National Assembly
(Article 97 c); Senate (Article 98c); and the County Assemblies (Article 177c). Further than this,
Article 55 states the specific obligations towards the youth, including ensuring the youth have
access to relevant education and training; have opportunities to associate, be represented and
participate in political, social, economic and other spheres of life; have access employment; and
are protected from harmful cultural practices and exploitation.

Lack of trust
Organizations and adults often do not think young people are capable of demonstrating
leadership. Being a youth in this generation comes with a lot of opportunities and challenges but
in a developing country, the youth believe they all have various issues they would like to change
if given the mandate. However, the older generation tends to be sceptical about how the youth
would do this and even the magnitude of the impact of the change.
Lack of Resources
One major issue that puts the youth in Kenya in a disadvantaged position to even seek leadership
opportunities is unemployment. According to the census report released in 2009, only 39% of about 11
million youth are absorbed in the job market and the remaining 61% are left jobless and many of them are
living below the poverty line of less than one US Dollar per day. Youth potential in various sectors has
not been effectively tapped and thus many of the youth end up very frustrated. This situations create much
anxiety among them (youth) leading to the many demonstrations that we see. And when these
demonstrations occur, they further entrench the low regard for the youth's capacity for leadership on the
part of the adult generation.
Youths Awareness of Government Policies and Programmes
Most young people are also unaware of youth related government policies and programmes.
They need to be educated on the existing programmes, policies and legislative frameworks in
order for them to adequately access services and participate adequately.
Activity 2

1. Using suitable illustration, discuss the challenges facing the youth in relation to leadership and
national development in Kenya.

2. Identify and discuss the various initiatives the Kenyan government has put in place to
empower the youth to take up their role in national development.

pg. 58
16.5 Empowering the Youth to Takeup their Place in Leadership and National Development
Considering the role the youth are expected to play and in the whole arrangement of national
development, there is need to make deliberate and concerted efforts to empower them. This can
be made to happen in a number of ways that may include the following:
Employment Creation
There are about 500,000 youth who graduate from various tertiary institutions ready to enter the
job market every year. However, due to the slow economic growth, corruption, nepotism and
demand for experience by potential employers, 75% remain unemployed. There is need to
develop policies that will address unemployment problems and create an environment where the
youth can exploit their potential through value adding initiatives.
Empowerment and Participation
One of the greatest challenges in youth empowerment and participation is how to ensure that young
people are passionate about causing transformation in Kenya. Youth empowerment and participation is
the very essential force for causing such transformation. Young people need a platform from where they
can speak freely and powerfully, take appropriate action, and inspire belief that will have a catalytic
impact all over the country through youth-led development initiatives. Overall, it is anticipated that the
outcome of youth empowerment and participation is a strong contribution to national prosperity,
economic competition and reduced unemployment. When empowered, young people can contribute
greatly towards good governance and democracy with a passionate desire to be catalyst for national
development.

16.6 Conclusion

The National Youth Policy visualizes a society where the youth have an equal opportunity as
other citizens to realize their fullest potential, and productively participate in economic, social,
political, cultural and religious life without fear or favour. In this regard, there is need to provide
the youth with opportunities to participate in leadership opportunities as well as national
development

pg. 59