ON EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP

By: Bruce Alberts

Published: Science Magazine; Editorial; May 13, 2013; http://www.sciencemag.org/content/340/6133/660.full

Level of Difficulty:**

Thanks are due to my dear friend and colleague Hamide Koz for sending in this wonderful text. If you too discover an interesting text, send me the link and I promiss to work on it.

BEFORE YOU READ
First: take the test: copy past to access
http://psychologytoday.tests.psychtests.com/take_test.php?idRegTest=3205 

·         What qualities should good leaders have?

·         Do people who don’t have the necessary leadership qualities find themselves in such positions?

·         What is the effect on the company of inadequate leadership?

·         What is the effect on lower management and other members of staff

NOW CHECK OUT THE FOLLOWING

7 Body Language Habits for Effective Leaders

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlxDBKc1xss

Top qualities of an effective leader

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lubq-WPkjF8  

QUESTIONS

1.       Contrary to what is believed, the success of a nation is closely linked to…………………………………

2.       In paragraph two, the writer basically says that long term goals should not be sacrificed to……

3.       If critical decision making in companies and institutions is not placed in the most capable hands, the ultimate result will be ………………………………………………………………….because of the domino effect caused by the undeserving leader.

4.       According to Mabogunje, in Nigeria getting to the top positions depends on:

·         Having friends in high places

·         Kinship

·         Having authority or power

·         All of the above

·         None of the above

·         Other: please specify

5.       Leaders lacking in the necessary leadership skills and qualities focus on………………………………….

6.       Why is hard work, creativity and innovation penalized by inadequate leaders?

7.       What does “the situation” at the beginning of the next paragraph refer to?

8.       What does “This” refer to in the sentence “This requires honest humility”

9.       What purposes does the last paragraph serve? Be explicit.

THE FIRST WRITING TASK

Use notes you made while reading to write a brief summary of the text.

THE SECOND WRITING TASK

Write a paragraph in which you discuss your own opinions of the text

ON EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP KEY AND TEACHER’S NOTES

This relatively short text focuses on an issue many would identify with; therefore, I am sure there will be plenty of discussion. It is always good to find texts which are relatively straightforward for preintermediate and intermediate students to read near the beginning of the course and this is one of them. I would urge you to cover both reading tasks as they serve different purposes.

1.       How the leaders of its major institutions, governmental and non govenmental, are selected, how they in turn choose their deputies and under what incentives they must operate.

2.       Short term goals

3.       A chain of mediocrity that degrades the entire institution

4.       The second

5.       Weeding out those whose presence reminds them of their own inadequacies

6.       Because it is a way of showing off the weakness of the management.

7.       The fact that in no time, the institution is manned by individuals who are willing to kow tow to the whims and caprices of the so called managers.

8.       Hiring people who at least in some respects appear to be more talented than you are.

9.       This paragraph is the conclusion but it also gives the article unity by tying back to the beginning of the text. In both the beginning and this last paragraph, the writer’s opinion is clearly stated. This type of cyclical planning is highly desirable.