LEADERSHIP

Leadership

process of influencing and supporting others to work enthusiastically toward achieving objectives

Leadership

social (interpersonal) influence relationship between two or more persons who depend on each other to attain certain mutual goals in a group situation

Leadership

ability to influence a group toward the achievement of a vision or set of goals

Leadership style

total pattern of explicit and implicit leaders’ actions as seen by employees; represent consistent combination of philosophy, traits, skills, and attitudes

to be a good manager, one needs to be an effective leader

effective leadership often necessitates the ability to manage

managers are appointed to their role

leaders are accepted or rejected by the followers

managers derive power from the position they occupy

leaders derive power from the perception of followers

theories that consider personal qualities and characteristics that differentiate leaders from non-leaders

traits

physiological

appearance, height, and weight

demographic

age, education, socioeconomic

personality

dominance, self-confidence, aggressiveness

core traits

preconditions that endow people with leadership potential

drive

high level of effort; strong desire for achievement

leadership motivation

intense desire to lead others

honesty and integrity

commitment to truth

self-confidence

assurance in one’s self; one’s ideas and ability

cognitive ability

conceptually skilled; capable of exercising good judgment; strong analytical abilities

knowledge of business

high degree of understanding of the company, industry, and technical matters

other traits

charisma, creativity, originality, flexibility

many companies use MBTI or Big Five Model to label managers

extraversion: more related to the way leaders emerge than it is related to their effectiveness; extraverted leaders may be more effective in leading passive employees

conscientiousness and openness to experience

may predict leadership and leader effectiveness

leaders who like to be around people, who can assert themselves, and who are disciplined and able to keep commitments have advantage when it comes to leadership

when it comes to leadership

positive leadership

emphasizes rewards; better education, greater demands for independence; results in higher job satisfaction and performance

negative leadership

emphasizes threats, fear, harshness, and penalties

autocratic leaders

centralize power and decision making in themselves; structure the complete work situation; employees are expected to do what they are told and not think for themselves; typically negative; but benevolent autocrat chooses to give some rewards to employees

consultative leaders

approach one or more employees and ask them for inputs prior to making decision; then choose to use or ignore info and advice

participative leaders

decentralize authority; use inputs from followers; increasingly widespread usage

Blake and Mouton’s Managerial Grid

developed by Robert R. Blake and Jane S. Mouton as a tool for identifying a manager’s own style

employee orientation/concern for people

involves promoting working relationships and paying attention to issues of importance to group members

task orientation/concern for production/results

emphasizes output, cost effectiveness, and a concern for profits

1,9 (Country-Club Leaders)

high concern for people but low concern for production; output is typically low; support results that establish and reinforce harmony, generate enthusiasm by focusing on positive and pleasing aspects of work

9,1 (Autocratic)

overly concerned with production to the exclusion of employee needs; expect results and take control by clearly stating a course of action, enforce rules that sustain high results and do not permit deviation

1,1 (Impoverished)

would predictably fail; distance from taking active responsibility for results to avoid getting entangled in problems, take passive or supportive position

9,9 (Democratic)

support team action in a way that invites involvement and commitment, explore all facts and alternative views to reach a shared understanding of best solution; most effective style, work accomplishment is from committed people

5,5 (Middle of the Road)

endorse results that are popular but caution against taking unnecessary risk, test opinions with others involved to assure ongoing acceptability; more desirable balance

Fiedler’s Contingency Model

developed by Fred Fiedler and his associates; shows that a leader’s effectiveness is determined by the interaction of employee orientation with three additional variables: followers (leader-member relations), task (task structure), and organization (leader position power); proposes that group performance depends on the proper match between the leader’s style and the degree to which the situation gives the leader control

leader-member relations

determined by the manner in which the leader is accepted by the group; degree of confidence, trust, and respect

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

Least-Preferred Coworker (LPC)

reflects a leader’s underlying disposition toward others; high LPC score = relationship-oriented; low LPC score = task-oriented

Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership (Life-cycle) Model

developed by Paul Hersey and Kenneth Blanchard; most important factor affecting selection of a leader’s style: development/maturity level of a subordinate

unable and unwilling followers

leaders need to give clear and specific directions

unable but willing followers

leaders need to display a high task orientation to compensate for followers’ lack of ability

able but unwilling followers

leaders need to use a supportive and participative style

able and willing followers

leaders do not need to do much

Path-Goal Theory

developed by Robert J. House and Martin Evans; suggests that leaders’ job is to provide followers with information, support, or other resources to achieve goals

directive

focuses on clear assignments, standards of successful performance, and work schedules

supportive

demonstrates concern for employees’ well-being and needs

achievement-oriented

sets high expectations, communicates confidence in their ability to achieve challenging goals

participative

invites employees to provide input to decisions

locus of control

alternative beliefs about whether an employees’ achievements are the product of his/her own effort (internal) or result of outside forces (external)

willingness to accept the influence of others

high = directive approach; low = participative style

self-perceived task ability

employee with high confidence in their potential = react favorably to a supportive leader; employee with low confidence = react favorably to an achievement-oriented leader

Vroom’s Decision-Making Model

V.H. Vroom developed a structured approach for managers to examine the nature of different problem-solving situations and to respond appropriately

autocratic I

leader individually solves problem using available info

autocratic II

leader obtains data from subordinates then decides

consultative I

leader explains problem to each subordinate, obtains ideas, then decides

consultative II

leader meets with group of subordinates, obtain ideas, then decides

group II

leader shares problem with group, facilitates discussion of alternatives, reach a group agreement

Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) Theory

leaders establish a special relationship with a small group of their followers because of time pressures

ingroup

composed of followers who are trusted, get disproportionate amount of leader’s attention, are more likely to get special privileges; high-quality relationships

neutralizers

attributes of subordinates, tasks, and organizations that actually interfere with or diminish leader’s attempts to influence employees

substitute for leadership

factors that make leadership roles unnecessary through replacing them with other resources

enhancers for leadership

elements that amplify a leader’s impact on the employees

superleadership

begins with a set of positive beliefs about workers; requires practicing self-leadership and modeling for others to see

self-leadership

two thrusts: (1) leading oneself to perform naturally by motivating tasks; (2) managing oneself to do work that is required but not naturally rewarding

Coaching

borrowed from sports domain, leader prepares, guides, and directs a “player” but does not play the game

transformational

inspire followers to transcend their self-interests for the good of org

transactional

guide their followers toward established goals by clarifying role and task requirements

visionary

influence others through an emotional and/or intellectual attraction to the leader’s dreams of what “can be”

charismatic leaders

possess legitimate power that arises from exceptional sanctity, heroism, and exemplary character