Basic Approaches to Leadership

What Is Leadership?
Leadership
The ability to influence a group toward the achievement of goals

Management
Use of authority inherent in designated formal rank to obtain compliance from organizational members

Both are necessary for organizational success

Characteristics of Managers versus Leaders

Manager Characteristics Administers A copy Maintains Focuses on systems and structure Relies on control Short range view Asks how and when Imitates Accept the status quo Classic Solider Does things right Leader Characteristics Innovate An original Develops Focus on People Inspires trust Long range perspective Asks what and why Originates Challenges the status quo Own person Does the right things

Important Behavioral Studies

Ohio State University
Found two key dimensions of leader behavior:
Initiating structure the defining and structuring of roles Consideration job relationships that reflect trust and respect Both are important

University of Michigan
Also found two key dimensions of leader behavior:
Employee-oriented emphasize interpersonal relationships and is the most powerful dimension Production-oriented emphasize the technical aspects of the job

The dimensions of the two studies are very similar

Trait Theories of Leadership

Theories that consider personality, social, physical, or intellectual traits to differentiate leaders from nonleaders Not very useful until matched with the Big Five Personality Framework Leadership Traits
Extroversion Conscientiousness Openness Intelligence (Qualified)

Traits can predict leadership, but they are better at predicting leader emergence than effectiveness

Behavioral Theories of Leadership

Theories proposing that specific behaviors differentiate leaders from nonleaders Differences between theories of leadership:
Trait theory: leadership is inherent, so we must identify the leader based on his or her traits Behavioral theory: leadership is a skill set and can be taught to anyone, so we must identify the proper behaviors to teach potential leaders

Blake and Mouton s Managerial Grid

Draws on both studies to assess leadership style
Concern for People is Consideration and Employee-Orientation Concern for Production is Initiating Structure and Production-Orientation

Style is determined by position on the graph

 The impoverished style (1,1)-low on both people and production. The main concern for the manager is not to be held responsible for any mistakes, which results in less innovative decisions. The country club style (1,9)-high on people and low on production. Managers using this style pay much attention to the security and comfort of the employees, in hopes that this would increase performance. The resulting atmosphere is usually friendly, but not necessarily productive. The produce or perish style (9,1)-high on production and low on people. managers using this style find employee needs unimportant; they provide their employees with money and expect performance back. Managers using this style also pressure their employees through rules and punishments to achieve the company goals. The middle-of-the-road style (5,5) Managers using this style try to balance between company goals and workers' needs. By giving some concern to both people and production, managers who use this style hope to achieve acceptable performance. The team style (9,9)-high on both people and production. This style encourage teamwork and commitment among employees. This method relies heavily on making employees feel as a constructive part of the company.

Contingency Theories
While trait and behavior theories do help us understand leadership, an important component is missing: the environment in which the leader exists. Contingency Theory deals with this additional aspect of leadership effectiveness studies. Three key theories:
Fielder s Model Hersey and Blanchard s Situational Leadership Theory Path-Goal Theory

Fiedler Model
Effective group performance depends on the proper match between leadership style and the situation
Assumes that leadership style (based on orientation revealed in LPC questionnaire) is fixed

Considers Three Situational Factors:

Leader-member relations: degree of confidence and trust in the leader Task structure: degree of structure in the jobs Position power: leader s ability to hire, fire and reward

For effective leadership: must change to a leader who fits the situation or change the situational variables to fit the current leader

Fiedler s Contingency Model

Assessment of Fiedler s Model

Positives:
Considerable evidence supports the model, especially if the original eight situations are grouped into three

Problems:
The logic behind the LPC scale is not well understood LPC scores are not stable Contingency variables are complex and hard to determine

Hersey & Blanchard s Situational Leadership

A model that focuses on follower readiness
Followers can accept or reject the leader Effectiveness depends on the followers response to the leader s actions Readiness is the extent to which people have the ability and willingness to accomplish a specific task

A paternal model:
As the child matures, the adult releases more and more control over the situation As the workers become more ready, the leader becomes more laissez-faire

An intuitive model that does not get much support from the research findings

House s Path-Goal Theory

Builds from the Ohio State studies and the expectancy theory of motivation The Theory:
Leaders provide followers with information, support, and resources to help them achieve their goals Leaders help clarify the path to the worker s goals Leaders can display multiple leadership types

Four types of leaders:

Directive: focuses on the work to be done Supportive: focuses on the well-being of the worker Participative: consults with employees in decision-making Achievement-Oriented: sets challenging goals

Path-Goal Model
Two classes of contingency variables:
Environmental are outside of employee control Subordinate factors are internal to employee

Mixed support in the research findings

Path Goal Theory

Environmental Contingency Factor Task structure Formal systems of authority Work group Outcomes Performance Satisfaction Personal Characteristics Locus of control Experience Perceived ability

Leadership Behavior Directive Participative Achievement oriented Supportive

Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) Theory

A response to the failing of contingency theories to account for followers and heterogeneous leadership approaches to individual workers. LMX Premise:
Because of time pressures, leaders form a special relationship with a small group of followers: the in-group This in-group is trusted and gets more time and attention from the leader (more exchanges ) All other followers are in the out-group and get less of the leader s attention and tend to have formal relationships with the leader (fewer exchanges ) Leaders pick group members early in the relationship

LMX Model
Problem How groups are assigned is unclear
Follower characteristics determine group membership

Leaders control by keeping favorites close Research has been generally supportive