Grys, John

English

Andrews University

Journal of Applied Christian LeadershipVolume 1 | Number 1 Article 52006The Nature of Leadership [review] / Anthonakis, J.,Cianciolo, A. T., Sternberg, Robert J., Eds.John GrysFollow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/jaclPart of the Leadership Studies CommonsThis Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ Andrews University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journalof Applied Christian Leadership by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ Andrews University. For more information, please contactrepository@andrews.edu.Recommended CitationGrys, John (2006) "The Nature of Leadership [review] / Anthonakis, J., Cianciolo, A. T., Sternberg, Robert J., Eds.," Journal of AppliedChristian Leadership: Vol. 1: No. 1, 48-54.Available at: https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/jacl/vol1/iss1/5Book ReviewThe Nature of LeadershipJohn Antonakis, Anna T. Cianciolo, Robert J. Sternberg (eds.). (2004). Th e Nature of Leadership. Th ousand Oaks: Sage Publications. 438 pages.Advances in both the understanding and the practice of leadership ask fun-damental questions worthy of examination:1. What is leadership?2. How is successful leadership defi ned?3. Can leadership be measured? If so, through what means?4.  With over one hundred years of research, can various “schools” of leadership be identifi ed?5.  In this turbo-changing contemporary world, what emerging issues that will require greater attention than leadership?Th e preceding questions comprise the focus of Th e Nature of Leadership. After assessing current leadership literature, editors John Antonakis, Anna T. Cianciolo, and Robert J. Sternberg identifi ed the four most important areas of leadership research and used them as the frame-work for the book. An introduction that provides the history of recent leadership research and a conclusion by research veteran Warren Bennis bracket the chapters.Th e editors’ purpose, “to present high-impact and comprehensively researched perspectives of leadership to separate the wheat from the chaff  and science from myth” (p. xx), serves as the central objective of the book. Th eir fulfi llment of that purpose allows me to identify signifi cant factors relevant to church leadership and research while providing a brief overview of the four divisions of the book.Part 1 introduces the content and structure of the book. Th e editors frame the four divisions within the historical stream of leadership research. Beginning with the turn of the twentieth century, they categorize leader-ship research into eight diff erent schools of thought and describe how these schools have developed and interacted throughout time. Th e schools include better-known trait, behavior, and transformational theories as well as lesser-known information-processing and relational theories of leader-ship. Th e Introduction serves as a synopsis of the subsequent chapters of the book. In Part II, the authors examine the challenges and complexities of mea-suring and assessing leadership. Leadership is embedded within a web of dynamic complexity (chapter 2) composed of a variety of factors, such as 48 The Journal of Applied Christian Leadership1Grys: The Nature of Leadership [review] / Anthonakis, J., Cianciolo, A.Published by Digital Commons @ Andrews University, 2006the nature of reality, stakeholder perceptions, and levels-of-analysis issues. Direction in the practice and the study of leadership may be derived from how one conceptualizes leadership. Such conceptualization ultimately infl u-ences research methodology (chapter 3). Because the variety of conceptual-izations contributes to confusion within the leadership fi eld, knowledge of leadership must be based upon solid research that uses a number of meth-ods. Such methods, in turn, provide the basis for the wide variety of instru-mentation now available both to scholars and to practitioners (chapter 4). Th ese instruments derive from theoretical underpinnings that guide what is assessed and how it is assessed. To conclude this section, the authors provide a select, detailed summary of the most frequently used assessment tools, as well as their accompanying modes of measurement.Part III contains summaries of four major schools within the research community. Trait theory (chapter 5) identifi es the stable and consistent patterns of behavior that make a leader a leader. Th e authors summarize six traits that have received wide empirical support over the past decade: cognitive capacities, personality, motives and needs, social capacities, prob-lem-solving skills, and tacit knowledge. Rooted in social and cognitive psychology, the burgeoning fi eld of information-processing identifi es how perceptions and ways of constructing reality infl uence leadership (Chapter 6). Specifi cally, this information-processing identifi es how leaders and fol-lowers share a dynamic relationship in which perceptions and implicit theories of leadership are generated through interaction. Th ese implicit the-ories guide in leading and following. Th is relatively new school-of-thought maintains a dual focus as a means of understanding how reality is created and how decisions are made. Situational and contingency theories of leadership (chapter 7), which are perhaps more widely known than the others are, attempt to defi ne leadership by the demands of the situation. Leadership success is defi ned by whether or not the leader can adapt a particular style to a particular cir-cumstance. Th e relationship between leader characteristics and leader out-comes depend greatly on the situation. Finally, transformational, or charis-matic, leadership theory (chapter 8) seeks to integrate information-process-ing, situational, and contingency theories of leadership into a cohesive the-ory addressing the organizational contexts of leadership. Transformational leadership, in which relationships are based upon the organizational change, is distinguished from transactional leadership, in which relationships are based upon exchange of behaviors).Part IV consists of a discussion of two questions: defi ning successful leadership and, based on that defi nition, developing successful leadership. More often than not, researchers ask, “What are the _____of successful leaders?” (chapter 9)— a question that can penetrate the more formal roles 49Summer 20062Journal of Applied Christian Leadership, Vol. 1 [2006], No. 1, Art. 5https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/jacl/vol1/iss1/550 The Journal of Applied Christian Leadershipof leadership in order to discover the less formal roles. A number of con-structs can be identifi ed among the wide range of studies to fi ll the blank. Such constructs include characteristics, skills, behaviors, thoughts, actions, and competencies. Th e author provides descriptors of success as defi ned within each theory. When successful leadership has been defi ned, the natu-ral progression is for those identifi ers to be reproduced. How an organiza-tion develops its leaders becomes the focus of chapter 10. Central to this development is the congruence between personal and organizational goals. Th e authors examine the needs, processes, and outcomes that contribute to the continuity of leadership within an organization. Th en, using the results of a variety of studies on the topic, they outline guidelines for practitioners, consultants, and researchers.Emerging from this host of research, Part V forecasts the leader-ship questions emerging from the ever-evolving world of organizations. Beginning with the issue of increasing globalization (chapter 11), the ques-tion of the triadic relationship between national culture, organizational cul-ture, and leadership is examined. Drawing from cultural anthropology and cross-cultural psychology, the authors focus their attention on the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Eff ectiveness (GLOBE) study (see Wolfe’s review). Th is triadic relationship demonstrates that the question of leadership incorporates general components (those that transcend culture) as well as distinct components (those specifi c to a given culture). One gen-eral issue—that of gender (chapter 12)—is examined within the context of how gender-based social expectations may inhibit leadership behaviors. Th e confi ning role of cultural stereotypes serves as the central theme of this chapter. For example, such characteristics as negotiation and team-building traditionally have been considered to be feminine characteristics. Increasingly, however, these characteristics are identifi ed as desirable leader-ship traits for everyone. And, ironically, women who exhibit such charac-teristics as confi dence and task-orientation, which traditionally have been considered male characteristics, fi nd themselves less than well-received. Oblique to both of the emerging issues of culture and gender is that of ethics (chapter 13). Written from a philosophical foundation, the author examines leadership in light of philosophical and ethical considerations. What if, for instance, unethical means are employed to accomplish ethical ends? What about the reverse? How does motivation, behavior, and the leader/follower relationship refl ect ethical norms? What are those norms? Four dimensions are considered under the rubric of what a leader does and how it is done.Part V (chapter 14), written by veteran researcher, thought-leader, and author Warren Bennis, examines the “crucibles” of leadership and discusses what kind of leaders are needed in a post-911 globalizing world. His essay 3Grys: The Nature of Leadership [review] / Anthonakis, J., Cianciolo, A.Published by Digital Commons @ Andrews University, 200651Summer 2006challenges leaders to understand our current world as itself a crucible from which better leadership can emerge. According to Bennis, such leadership requires the highest involvement of the adaptive capacities of individuals who are leading in order to navigate through an increasingly hostile yet opportunity-rich world. Leaders are required to move rapidly, without hav-ing all the facts and without certainty. Contextual demands invite leaders to engage the imagination and creativity of the people whom they lead. Bennis also suggests two areas where more research is needed: (1) the rela-tionship between globalization and leadership, specifi cally the forces of trib-alism reappearing throughout the world, and (2) the relationship between leadership and the media. Regarding the second issue, greater scrutiny must be given to “how the competitive pressures of the media aff ect the reputa-tions and the behavior of public offi  cials” (p. 341). Governmental response to Hurricane Katrina substantiates the question. For readers who are interested in the question of ecclesiastical leader-ship, from either the standpoint of the practitioner or the researcher, Th e Nature of Leadership makes four contributions to improving the practice and knowledge-base of leadership. Th e fi rst two points are somewhat gen-eral in nature; the second two, more specifi c.First, if Christian leadership is to advance, serious research and study within the confi nes of diff erent Christian environments must be done. Educational, medical, missional, and denominational of Christianity, for example, must be examined. Th e Nature of Leadership makes it apparent that although leadership-oriented research has occurred relatively recently, it has been strong. Th is work, which contains more than twelve hundred references, attests to the amount of the research being conducted within the non-Christian world. Such research is largely absent within ecclesiasti-cal structures. If those of us who profess Christ are committed to leading within ecclesiastical environments, it is vital that we begin to investigate the contribution that the Christian community makes toward the understand-ing and practice of leadership. Second, it may be argued that perhaps our greatest contribution not only is the philosophy of servant-leadership but also is the practice of it. As is demonstrated in Flaniken’s article, the Christian infl uence of Robert Greenleaf cannot be extricated from his understanding of servant-leader-ship. Biblical images support his philosophy and likely guided him as he engaged the questions of leadership within the marketplace (see Frick, chapter 4). Although the work of the Greenleaf Institute seeks to advance both the practice and study of servant-leadership, it also can be useful for a wider study of how servant-leadership can become increasingly eff ective within ecclesiastical models. Th e launching of Th e International Journal of Servant-Leadership demonstrates a bold attempt to further servant-leader-4Journal of Applied Christian Leadership, Vol. 1 [2006], No. 1, Art. 5https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/jacl/vol1/iss1/552 The Journal of Applied Christian Leadershipship in the wider community. But how can we study and advance servant-leadership within the context of a professedly Christian environment? Th e Journal of Applied Christian Leadership is an important step in this endeavor. Beyond the general contributions that Antonakis et al. make toward leadership, two specifi c elements are applicable within global ecclesiasti-cal communities. At the core of leadership stands the relationship between leader and follower. Within the context of leading in Christian environ-ments, we must address the issue of how the socialization processes within professedly Christian environments infl uence the development of leader-ship prototypes. Chapter 6 helps to answer this question by examining the structure, content, and activation of what are known as implicit leadership theories, or ILTs. ILTs are constantly-changing imaginative prototypes that leaders and followers carry with them throughout life. ILTs begin early in a person’s life, and they are infl uenced throughout his or her lifetime. How, though, are the structure, content, and activation of these ILTs shaped by Christian environments? And do these prototypes operate manifest them-selves diff erently Christian and non-Christian settings? Adapted to the Christian context, the question can be asked: How does a person determine whether another person within a Christian community is indeed a leader? Within ecclesiastical communities, even the tendency to defi ne leaders in primarily hierarchical terms begs the question of whether or not socio-his-torical forces exert more infl uence than we are sometimes comfortable in admitting. We often do we identify leadership within a positional frame-work. How does our particular Christian cultural context infl uence an ILT that identifi es leadership as positional? What personal forces contribute to this process of attribution? Th e focus of chapter 6 is the activity of the cognitive processes within the individual, of how an individual acquires, stores, retrieves, and uses information to function and adapt to a current context. Examining the cognitive mechanisms that Christians employ in mediating the dyadic rela-tionship of leader and follower goes beyond the normal behavioral displays or defi nitions of leadership. Th e chapter outlines three elements within this cognitive process: (1) the structure utilized for storing information, (2) the content of that information, and (3) the catalyst activates that information. Th e question shifts not only to how these three elements may be particu-larly infl uenced by a Christian context but also to how the process of they contribute to the identifi cation of “leader” within the Christian context. Th is schema assists us as people in interpreting and making sense of our surroundings. It guides perceptions, expectations, and activities within the ecclesiastical structure. But it also raises the question, How does the con-tent and structure of a participant’s knowledge confi guration within in an 5Grys: The Nature of Leadership [review] / Anthonakis, J., Cianciolo, A.Published by Digital Commons @ Andrews University, 200653Summer 2006ecclesiastical structure aff ect leadership processes? Th e framing of such a quest serves as a primary contribution from this work to both the practice and understanding of leadership within ecclesiastical contexts.  Beyond the immediate Christian environment extends the question of the regional and national culture in the formation of an ILT. Th e increase of multiculturalism within the West, the nano-connectivity of an emerg-ing global village, and the heightened post-911 anxiety all intensify the gravity of the culture question. Th is is why the editors identify culture as one of the emerging issues of leadership. Th e global church is not exempt from this issue. In his acclaimed book, Th e Next Christendom: Th e Coming of Global Christianity, Professor Philip Jenkins of Pennsylvania State University (quoting the World Christian Encyclopedia) forecasts the mem-bership confi guration of Christianity by 2025. He suggests that the number of Christians in Europe will fall signifi cantly behind the numbers in both Latin America and Africa. If what Jenkins writes is correct, the question of culture can no longer be ignored. Th e infl uences of culture upon the creation of leadership prototypes as a continuous research process will become substantially vital to leading across cultures. Necessity may dictate that research shift from a primarily Euro-American-centered organism to a hetero-centered examination. Th is shift will require the participation of anthropologists, especially those in the area of cultural, or social, anthropol-ogy (Lavenda & Schultz, 2000). An ethnography on leadership within a specifi c group of people may become required reading for those interested in leading across cultures. Th is will no doubt invite missiologists from a variety of faiths to turn their attention to the question of leadership pro-totypes and culture, especially the question of how various non-Christian faiths infl uence leadership prototypes. Possible implications for gender and leadership, ethics and leader-ship, and other issues will be better understood when the issue of culture is appropriated to such studies. Th e editors conclude their section of emerging issues by addressing the issue of gender. Th ese issues of culture, leadership prototype, and even the theological question of female-inclu-sion converge within the ecclesiastical framework of organizational culture. Th erefore, this question of national culture becomes crucial for the future of religious organizations seeking to grow across national and sub-national boundaries. Th is work can make a great contribution to that end when applied. While the work will benefi t primarily professors, students, and scholars, practitioners will fi nd many of the tables helpful for application within their specifi c context. 6Journal of Applied Christian Leadership, Vol. 1 [2006], No. 1, Art. 5https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/jacl/vol1/iss1/5ReferencesJenkins, P. (2002). The next Christendom: The coming of global Christianity. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Frick, D. M. (2004). Robert K. Greenleaf: A life of servant leadership. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers Inc.Lavenda, R.H., & Schultz, E.A. (2000). Core concepts in cultural anthropology. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing Company. John Grys is Director of the Advent House, a public university ministry on the campus of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. John is completing his course-work for his Doctor of Ministry at Andrews University. 54 The Journal of Applied Christian Leadership7Grys: The Nature of Leadership [review] / Anthonakis, J., Cianciolo, A.Published by Digital Commons @ Andrews University, 2006

The Nature of Leadership [review] / Anthonakis, J., Cianciolo, A. T., Sternberg, Robert J., Eds.

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The Nature of Leadership [review] / Anthonakis, J., Cianciolo, A. T., Sternberg, Robert J., Eds.

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