Manz and Sims also gave a flight of the geese model of leadership they term "Superleader." The Superleader theory calls to mind the work of Frederich Nietzsche, who advocated a superman/ superwoman model of leadership. For Manz and Sims, as for Belasco and Stayer; this means making nearly everyone in the organization a leader. Like Nietzsche, they consider the modern heroic leader to be an out-dated myth.
According to Sims and Manz (1995) a Superleader leads others to lead themselves: "Give a man a fish and he will be fed for a day; teach a man how to fish and he will be fed for a lifetime". Their typology is composed of four leadership styles: Strongmen, Transactors, Visionary Heroes, and Superleaders.
Strongmen- When firms perform poorly, leaders get tough, which translates into lower rewards for employees." This is a hard-nosed boss who laid out his expectations firmly and loudly. He is a dictator whose style is to intimidate. The Strongman leader exhibits behaviours suggesting that she or he knows the "right" way and the follower should obey or else.
Transactors - For this leader, the power moves are all for self glorification. Transactors use rewards, rather than retribution. Everything is incentive-based, and as a result, employees are motivated to perform well enough to collect the reward; but not to do their best. The Transactional leader archetype has its genesis in the exchange leadership theory.
Visionary Heroes- lead by inspiration, evoking an emotional commitment on the part of followers. e.g. Joan of Arc, Martin Luther King Jr., John Kennedy. They inspire and exhort, persuading with the glory of their mission and their own personal charisma. Manz calls these followers "enthusiastic sheep." The Visionary Hero leader archetype has its genesis in the transformation leadership theory.
Superleaders- they teaches others to fish, to develop their own skills in self-reliance, initiative and self-management. There is a strong focus on self-managed work teams and empowerment. Superleaders question routines. Superleaders drive their company from the bottom up, seeking wisdom and direction from their subordinates--and creating a feeling of ownership among them
SuperLeaders turn followers into self-leaders. The assumed advantage is that superleader teams of self-leaders will be more flexible and react quicker to changes in the market than in the command and control model of autocratic leadership. Superleader workers must be highly-skilled. Chopra argues that superleaders work to strengthen their associates' self-esteem.
A superleader’s brief is to spot and liberate this ‘leader’ in every employee. And, this liberation cannot happen overnight. It is often the result of a continuous effort at developing individual capacity of every employee till they realize their optimum potential to act in a responsible manner". (Chopra, 2000).
Sims and Manz have seven steps to develop Superleaders:
1. Become an effective self-leader
2. Model self-leadership
3. Encourage self-set goals
4. Use rewards and constructive feedback to develop self-leadership throughout the organization
5. Create positive thought patterns
6. Promote self-leading teams
7. Facilitate a self-leadership culture
The authors attack "heroic" leadership as a traditional myth, the leader as a pillar of strength that will lead people on a journey to progress and performance. They believe the Hero with an inspiring vision and a riveting personality discourages independent thinking, and thus inhibits superleadership.
They are also critical of the "Strong Man" style of leadership, arguing that fear-based leadership smothers imitative. Similar to Machiavelli's Prince; but it should be noted that Machiavelli is clear that the Prince operates on more than fear (i.e. love and hate). They argue that the "strong-men" who single-handedly led organizations to great heights is sadly out-of-step with today's corporate needs.
The Transactor (or Bureaucrat) is the Prince who seeks "what's in this for me," the politician we see in some many complex organizations.
Each leadership approach is appropriate under specific circumstances. Yet, we favor heroes and superleaders over bureaucrats (transactors). Followers of Supermen, Superleaders, and Flight of the Buffalo are people who are coach and who learn to lead one's self. The lead goose's job is to be a mentor, clear away obstacles and champion the everyone is a self-leader model. The difficulty is working with people who have been trained their entire life to be dependent upon a central authority.
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