Subject: Human Behavior in Organization

Professor: Dr. Perla Estrella

Topic: Leadership (part 2/2)
Discussant: May Rose Abigail A. Lappay
Date: June 5, 2010

THE NATURE OF LEADERSHIP (cont’d)

CONTINGENCY APPROACHES TO LEADERSHIP STYLE

Fiedler’s Contingency Model

Leader-member relations- determined by the manner in which the leader is accepted by

the group
Task-structure- reflects the degree to which one specific way is required to do the job
Leader position power- describes the organizational power that goes with the position the
leader occupies e.g. power to hire and fire, status symbols, and power to give pay raises
and promotions

Fiedler’s contingency model has played a major role in stimulating discussions on

leadership style and in generating useful guidelines. Managers are encouraged to:
• Examine their situation- the people, task, and organization
• Be flexible in the use of various skills within an overall style
• Consider modifying elements of their jobs to obtain a better match with their
preferred style

Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Model

Important factors affecting leadership style: Development level- task-specific

combination of an employee’s task competence and motivation to perform
(commitment). The model is simple and intuitively appealing and accents an important
contingency factor but it ignores other elements regarding leadership style.

Four Behavior Types

S1: Telling - is characterized by one-way communication in which the leader defines the
roles of the individual or group and provides the what, how, when, and where to do the
task

S2: Selling - while the leader is still providing the direction, he is now using two-way
communication and providing the socioemotional support that will allow the individual
or group being influenced to buy into the process.
 S3: Participating - this is now shared decision making about aspects of how the task is
accomplished and the leader is providing less task behaviors while maintaining high
relationship behavior.

S4: Delegating - the leader is still involved in decisions; however, the process and
responsibility has been passed to the individual or group. The leader stays involved to
monitor progress.

Path-Goal Model of Leadership (House)

The Path-Goal Leadership Process

Leader Leader
Appropriate
identifies connects
goals are
employee rewards with
established
needs goals

Employees
Leader provides
become satisfied
assistance on
and motivated,
employee path
and they accept
toward goals
the leader

Both employees
Effective
and organization
performance
are better able to
occurs
reach their goals

Leadership Styles
Directive Leadership- the leader focuses on clear task assignments, standards of
successful performance and work schedules
Supportive Leadership- the leader demonstrates concern for the employees’ well-being
and needs, while trying to create a pleasant work environment
Achievement-oriented Leadership- the leader sets high expectations for employees,
communicates confidence in their ability to achieve challenging goals and
enthusiastically models the desired behavior
Participative Leadership- the leader invites employees to provide input to decisions, and
seriously seeks to use their suggestions as final decisions are made
Contingency Factors- two factors must be analyzed; the general work environment and the
specific characteristics of the employee
3 Significant Variables in Each Employee
Locus of control- alternative beliefs about whether an employee’s achievements are the product
of his or her own effort
Willingness to accept the influence of others- high=more successful directive approach, low=
participative style is more appropriate
Self-perceived task ability- high confidence employees will react to a supportive leader;
employees who lack task ability perception will embrace achievement-oriented leader

Vroom’s Decision-Making Model

Recognizes that problem-solving situations differ, so a structured approach for managers
to examine the nature of those differences and to respond appropriately was developed

Guiding Questions in the Vroom Decision-Making Model

1. How important is technical quality with regard to the decision being made?
2. How important is subordinate commitment to the decision (employee acceptance)?
3. Do you have sufficient information to make a high-quality decision?
4. Is the problem well-structured?
5. If you made the decision, would the subordinates be likely to accept it?
6. Do subordinates share the goals to be attained in solving the problem?
7. Is there likely to be conflict among subordinates over alternative solutions?
8. Do subordinates have sufficient information to allow them to reach a high-quality
solution?

Problem Attributes
Decision-quality Dimensions- include cost considerations and the availability of
information and whether or not the problem is structured
Employee-acceptance Dimensions- include the need for their commitment, their prior
approval, the congruence of their goals with the organization’s, and the likelihood of
conflict among employees

Leadership Options
Autocratic I- leader individually solves the problem using available information
Autocratic II- leader obtains data from subordinates and then decides
Consultative I- leader explains problem to individual subordinates and obtains ideas from
each before deciding
Consultative II- leader meets with group of subordinates to share the problem and obtain
inputs, and then decides
Group II- leader shares problem with groups and facilitates a discussion of alternatives
and a reaching of group agreement on a solution
Key Assumptions
1. Managers can accurately classify problems according to the criteria offered.
2. Managers are able and willing to adapt their leadership style to fit the contingency
conditions they face for each major decision.
3. Managers are willing to use a rather complex model.
4. Employees will accept the legitimacy of different styles being used for different
problems.

EMERGING APPROACHES TO LEADERSHIP

Similarities across Relationship Models

Model Soft Emphasis Hard Emphasis

University of Michigan Consideration Structure
and Ohio State
University studies
Blake and Mouton’s People Production
managerial grid
Fiedler’s contingency Employee orientation Task orientation
model
Hersey and Blanchard’s Relationships Task guidance
situational model
Path-goal model Psychological support Task support
Vroom’s decision- Employee acceptance Decision quality
making model

Substitutes and Enhancers for Leadership

There may be substitutes or enhancers for leadership if the situation or leader cannot be
readily as well as neutralizers that may intervene. Neutralizers include physical distance, rigid
reward systems and a practice of bypassing the managers by either subordinates or superiors.

Substitutes for Leadership- are factors that make leadership roles unnecessary through
replacing them with other sources.

Enhancers for Leadership- are elements that amplify a leader’s impact on the
employees. A directive orientation may be improved by an increase in the leader’s status or
reward power or when that leadership style is used in jobs with frequent crises.
 Potential Neutralizers, Substitutes, and Enhancers for Leadership

Neutralizers Substitutes Enhancers

Physical distance Peer appraisal/feedback
between leader and Gain-sharing reward
employee systems
Employee indifference Staff available for
towards rewards problems
intrinsically satisfying Jobs redesigned for more
tasks feedback
Inflexible work rules Methods for resolving
Rigid reward systems interpersonal conflict
Cohesive work groups Team building to help
Employees with high solve work-related
ability, experience, or problems
knowledge Intrinsic satisfaction from
Practice of bypassing the the work itself
manager (by subordinates Cohesive work groups
or superiors) Employee needs for
independence
Super ordinate goals
Increased group
status
Increased leader’s status
and reward power
Leader as the central
source of information
supply
Increased subordinates’
view of leader’s
expertise, influence,
and image
use of crises to
demonstrate leader’s
capabilities

*A supportive leadership style may be enhanced by encouraging more team-based work

activities or by increasing employee participation in decision making. However, the leader’s
emotions are also at stake here; someone who previously though she or he was critically
important and now finds her- or himself partially replaceable can suffer a demoralizing loss of
self-esteem.

Self-Leadership and Superleadership

Self-Leadership (Charles Manz and Henry Sims)
Two thrusts: leading oneself to perform naturally motivating tasks and managing oneself
to do work that is required but not naturally rewarding.
Requires behavioral skills of self-observation, self-set goals, management of cues, self-
reward, rehearsal of activities prior to performance and self-criticism.
Involves the mental activities of building natural rewards into tasks, focusing thinking on
natural rewards, and establishing effective though patterns such as mental imagery and
self-talk.

Superleadership
Begins with a set of positive beliefs about workers. It requires practicing self-leadership
oneself and modeling it for others to see. Superleaders communicate positive self-
expectations to employees, reward their progress toward self-leadership, and make self-
leadership an important part of the unit’s desired culture.
Coaching
A coach prepares, guides and directs a player but does not directly play the game. They
recognize that they are on the sidelines and not on the playing field. They cajole, prod, enable,
inspire, exhibit warmth and support and hold informal conversations. Coaches see themselves as
cheerleaders and facilitators while recognizing the occasional need to be tough and demanding.

Specific areas that managers admit need coaching in:

• Improving their interaction style

• Dealing more effectively with change
• Developing their listening and speaking skills
*Prerequisite to successful coaching includes the employee’s willingness to change,
capability of changing, and the opportunity to practice new behaviors.

Other Approaches
Visionary Leaders- can paint a portrait of what the organization needs to become and
then use their communication skills to motivate others to achieve the vision esp. important
during times of transition.

Transformational Leadership& Leadership Trait of Charisma

(to be further discussed in the succeeding chapter)

Works Cited

Leadership. (n.d.). Retrieved June 2, 2010, from Wiley:

http://higheredbcs.wiley.com/legacy/college/schermerhorn/0471734608/module16/modul
e16.pdf

School leadership. (2010, May 6). Retrieved June 2, 2010, from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Educational_Leadership

Newstrom, J. W. (1998). Organizational Behavior: Human Behavior. New York: Mcgraw Hill
Education.