MGMT 372 - Chapters 11 & 12

Leadership as a process

The use of noncoercive influence to direct and coordinate the activities of group members to meet a goal

Leadership as a property

The set of characteristics attributed to those who are perceived to use such influence successfully

Influence

The ability to affect the perceptions, beliefs, attitudes, motivation, and/or behaviors of others

Management

Focuses on monitoring results, comparing them with goals, and correcting deviations

Leadership

Focuses on energizing people to help them reach goals

Trait approach

Attempted to identify character traits that differentiated effective leaders from nonleaders

Important leadership traits

Intelligence, dominance, self-confidence, energy, task-relevant knowledge

Behavioral approach

Assumed that the behaviors of effective leaders differed from the behaviors of less effective leaders and that the behaviors of effective leaders would be the same across all situations

Michigan leadership studies

Goal was to determine the pattern of leadership behaviors that result in effective group performance; employee-centered or job-centered

Job-centered leader behavior

Involves paying close attention to the work of subordinates, explaining work procedures, and demonstrating a strong interest in performance

Employee-centered leader behavior

Involves attempting to build effective work groups with high performance goals

Ohio State leadership studies

Defined leader consideration and initiating structure behaviors as independent dimensions of leadership

Consideration behavior

Involves being concerned with subordinates’ feelings and respecting subordinates’ ideas

Initiating structure behavior

Involves clearly defining leader-subordinate roles so that subordinates know what’s expected of them

Leadership grid

Provides a means for evaluating leadership styles and then training managers to move toward an ideal style of behavior

LPC Theory of Leadership

Attempts to explain and reconcile both the leader’s personality and the complexity of the situation

Least-preferred coworker (LPC) scale

Asks respondents to think of all the people with whom they’ve worked with and to then select their least preferred coworker and describe them by marking a series of sixteen scales anchored at each end by a positive or negative quality attribute

Leader-member relations

Reflects the quality of the personal relationship that exists between subordinates and their leader

Task structure

Routine, simple, easily understood, and unambiguous; more favorable because the leader doesn’t need to be closely involved in defining activities and can devote their time to other matters

Leader position power

Power inherent in the leader’s role itself

Path-goal theory of leadership

Suggests that effective leaders clarify the paths that will lead to desired rewards, has roots in expectancy theory of motivation

Directive

The leader lets subordinates know what’s expected of them, gives specific guidance as to how to accomplish tasks, schedules work to be done, and maintains definitive standards of performance for subordinates

Supportive

Leader is friendly and shows concern for subordinates’ status, well-being, and needs

Participative

The leader consults with subordinates about issues and takes their suggestions into account before making a decision

Achievement-oriented

Involves setting challenging goals, expecting subordinates to perform at their highest level, and showing strong confidence that subordinates will put forth effort and accomplish the goals

Vroom’s decision tree approach to leadership

Attempts to prescribe how much participation subordinates should be allowed in making decisions; assumes that the degree to which subordinates should be encouraged to participate in decision making depends on the characteristics of the situation

Time-driven decision tree

Used for when time is of the highest importance in making a decision

Development-driven decision tree

Used when the leader is more interested in developing employees than in making the decision as quickly as possible

Decide

The manager makes the decision alone and then announces or “sells” it to the group

Delegate

The manager allows the group to define for itself the exact nature and parameters of the problem and then develop a solution

Consult (individually)

The manager presents the program to group members individually, obtains their suggestions, and then makes the decision

Consult (group)

The manager presents the problem to group members at a meeting, gets their suggestions, and then makes the decision

Facilitate

The manager presents the problem to the group at a meeting, defines the problem and its boundaries, and then facilitates group member discussion as members make the decision

Leader-member exchange model

Stresses the importance of variable relationships between supervisors and each of their subordinates

In-group

A small group of trusted subordinates, often receives special duties requiring more responsibility or autonomy or special privileges such as more discretion about work schedules

Out-group

Subordinates who aren’t close to the supervisor, receive less of the supervisor’s time and attention

The Hersey and Blanchard model

Based on the notion that appropriate leader behavior depends on the “readiness” of the leader’s followers

Readiness

Refers to the subordinate’s degree of motivation, competence, experience, and interest in accepting responsibility

Transformational leadership

Focuses on the basic distinction between leading for change and leading for stability; the set of abilities that allows the leader to recognize the need for change, to create a vision to guide that change, and to execute the chance successfully

Transactional leadership

Leadership focused on routine, regimented activities

Charismatic leadership

A type of influence based on the leader’s personal charisma

Charisma

A form of interpersonal attraction that inspires support and acceptance

Attribution perspective on leadership

Holds that when behaviors are observed in a context associated with leadership, difference people may attribute varying levels of leadership ability or power to the person displaying those behaviors

Leadership substitutes

Individual, task, and organizational characteristics that tend to outweigh the leader’s ability to affect subordinates’ satisfaction and performance

Leadership neutralizers

When a leader is present but their leadership behaviors are rendered ineffective

Mentor

The role of helping a less experienced person learn the ropes to better prepare themselves to advance within the organization

Project GLOBE

Identifies six leader behaviors that can be observed and assessed across a variety of cultures

Charismatic/value-based leadership

The ability to inspire, motivate, and promote high performance; involves being visionary, self-sacrificing, trustworthy, decisive, and performance oriented

Team-oriented leadership

Emphasizes team building and creating a sense of common purpose; includes being collaborative, diplomatic, and administratively competent

Participative leadership

The extent to which leaders involve others in making decisions; includes being participative and nonautocratic

Autonomous leadership

Being independent and individualist; includes being autonomous and unique

Self-protective leadership

Behaviors intending to ensure the safety and security of the leader and the group; includes being self-centered, status conscious, conflict inducing, and face saving

Strategic leadership

The capability to understand the complexities of both the organization and its environment and to lead change in the organization to achieve and maintain a superior alignment between the organization and its environment

Ethical leadership

The process of leading based on consistent principles of ethical conduct

Virtual leadership

Leadership via various forms of distance technologies