唐僧领导力 leadership,魅力型领导,支持型领导

Leadership of Monk Tang

Z QL

Introduction

Monk Tang is a weak and incompetent mortal in most people’s eyes since he can’t do anything else except sitting in meditation and reciting scriptures. A lot of people would attribute his success in obtaining Buddhist scriptures through a long pilgrimage to his three followers’ merit. However, with careful analysis, we can find that he embodied the executive quality required by a successful leader. Without Monk Tang’s unified leadership, Monkey King, Pig and Shahe Shang could never work together as a team in harmony with high efficiency. This paper aims to find out the art of leadership of Monk Tang through analyzing his style of leadership.

Skills, Traits, and Sources of Power

●Expert power

Effective leaders uses expert power to support followers by providing needed knowledge, being available as a source of advice helping individuals solve problems and referring followers to needed sources of information (Jon P. Howell and Dan L. Mitchell, 2001). Going on a westward pilgrimage for Buddhist scriptures is a great undertaking for the Buddhism. Thus the team leader should have a good knowledge of Buddhist doctrine. With great concentration on learning and practicing Buddhist doctrine, Monk Tang thoroughly understood Buddhist doctrine. Therefore, he had strong expert power and he was honored as an eminent monk of the Tang Dynasty. Whenever the team got in trouble, Monk Tang would sermon to comfort the team and calm everybody down to weather the hard times eventually.

●Communication skills & interpersonal skills

Monk Tang usually develops good communication skills, effectively conveying his ideas and feelings, listening actively and carefully, and eliciting ideas and feelings about Buddhism from followers. The ability to listen to followers and understand what they are saying is a key element in showing acceptance and consideration in the scriptures. Mann F. C.(1965) stated, “Interpersonal skills are closely related to communication skills”. When the Monkey King, Pig, Shahe Shang are upset or under pressure, Monk Tang usess Interpersonal skills to provide his social support through positive friendly interpersonal relations that Monk Tang supports followers, cooperates with them, develops trust with them.

●Referent power

Leaders whose personality, accomplishments, and integrity causes followers to admire or

identify with them have referent power (Jon P. Howell and Dan L. Mitchell, 2001). The previous life of Monk Tang was a prized disciple of the Buddha. He has extraordinary benevolence and mercy feelings. He was not like those bad leaders met by Monkey King, Pig and Shahe Shang. For example, the Jade Emperor brought draught to the mortal world, Yama talked a lot of nonsense in front of his subordinates and the Dragon King was unwilling to give rain to the mortal world. Although Monk Tang knew nothing about Kung-fu, he was undoubtedly an excellent Buddhist. The power of role model is infinite. His self-cultivation and behaviors helped his followers to change.

Supportive leadership behaviors

Monk Tang showed his trust and helped followers develop their abilities respectively. DuBrin, A.J.(1989) stated, “Supportive leadership involves showing well-being and needs of followers. They show trust and respect for followers is a way that enhances followers’ feelings of personal worth and importance. Monk Tang believes all of them have the good abilities and help them develop abilities. Through considerate, encouraging and understanding, Monk Tang enabled every follower to show their value respectively. When they encountered dangerous situations, he would always give those arduous tasks of defeating devils to his first follower. This technical talent could always get tasks that required his talent from the leader. Different from Monkey King, the Pig was technically weak than his senior fellow. However, he has his particular talent, i.e. excellent interpersonal skill. Monk Tang just made the best uses of his advantage and gave the tasks that required more communicative skills than technical skills such as begging alms and asking for directions to him. Shahe Shang was the most dependable and industrious follower. He was responsible for logistic work and taking care of important goods such as cassock. Meanwhile, challenging tasks such as assisting the senior follower to defeat the devil would also be assigned to him at a crucial time.

Rewards and punishment behaviors

Research shows that organizational leaders uses more intangible rewards to influence followers than tangible (Peters and Waterman, 1982). Monk Tang always uses praise, recognition, and appreciation on short notice. For example, Monkey King always be praised in front of the Kings by Monk Tang. At same time, Monk Tang also uses punishment behaviors. For example, when Monkey King makes a mistake, Monk Tang analyzes the reasons for Monkey King’s error at beginning. After Monkey king is still insubordinate, he reads the curse and tights the hoop to avoid the future consequences of undesirable or destructive behaviors. This situation will make the group be more cohesive because at this time, pig and Shahe Shang will intercede for monkey.

Charismatic leadership behaviors