Leadership

Leaders & Managers

Managers Leaders
 Passive attitude towards  Personal & active
goal attitude towards goal
 Involve people & ideas to  Operate from high risk
drive at strategy or position
approach  Intuitive and
 Prefer working with empathetic
people  Singular attitude
 Relate to people  Not dependent on
according to hierarchy of social indicators of
structure identity
 Avoid chaos  More concern with
 Rely on hierarchy of set people, process
authority
Leadership

 The ability to influence a group toward

the achievement of a particular goal.
 The process of influencing people &
providing an environment for them to
achieve team or organizational objectives
Perspectives of leadership

Competency (trait ) Behavioral

Perspective Perspective

Perspective
of leadership

Contingency
Transformational
Perspective
Perspective
Leadership Theories
 Trait
 Behavioural
 Contingency
 Situational
 Leader-Member Exchange
 Path-Goal
 Implicit
Competency (trait )
Perspective
 It assumes that great leaders have same
personal characteristics & all of them are
equally important in all situations
 This is a false assumption since all traits are
not important in all situations
 This will influence our perception that
someone is a leader but not indicate
whether it will make difference to the
organization
 Trait Theories
 Intelligence

Verbal ability, perception, reasoning
 Charisma
 Decisiveness
 Enthusiasm
 Strength
 Bravery
 Integrity

Honesty, Principled, Believable
 Self confidence

Certain of your skills and competences
Skills of Successful
Leaders

 Intelligent
 Conceptually skilled
 Creative
 Diplomatic
 Tactful
 Good speaking ability
Validity of Trait Theory

 Research has failed to:

 Prove the same traits apply at all times to all leaders

 Shows that the same traits always differentiate

leaders from followers

 Fails to consider followers and situational factors

 Organisations who rely on the Trait theory, undertake

specific psychometric analysis in the HRM processes
 Traits are good to know anyway – they identify your
strengths and weaknesses and allow you to map them
into your work environment
 Traits rely on situations too – certain situations need
certain traits if the situations don’t arise neither does the
leadership potential
 Leaders can only lead when people want to follow
Weakness of Trait Theory

 Ignores the followers and the

situation
 Does not differentiate regarding
the specific value of each trait
Changing views across the past 100
years

 Leaders are born not made

 Therefore selection is vital
 Focus on behavior
 What a leader does is crucial
 Focus on the situation
 The effectiveness of a leader is
indicated by how well she responds to
situations
 Need for adaptability and judgement
Behavioral approaches to
leadership
 Positive & negative leaders
 Autocratic, consultative &
participative leaders
 Leader use of consideration &
structure
 Blake & Mouton’s leadership
managerial grid
 Behavioural Theory

Emphasis is that the individual can be taught certain

behavioural characteristics to make them a leader

 Initiating structure: define & structure behaviour pattern

in achieving goal
 Consideration: trust, consideration and empathy for sub-
ordinates
 Employee-Oriented Leader: with emphasis on
interpersonal relationship
 Production-Oriented Leader: with emphasis on task

Research concluded the most effective leaders were those

with high degree of interpersonal relationships who
achieved greater success in achieving goals
 Two dimensions of
Leadership :
 Concern for Task

(initiating structure)
 Concern for People

(consideration
initiating structure

 When a leader initiates structure she:

 Plans ahead
 Decides how things are to be done
 Assigns tasks
 Makes expectations clear
 Emphasizes deadlines and achievement
 Stresses achievement
Consideration

 Here the leader:

 Is interested in and listens to subordinates
 Allows participation in decision-making
 Is friendly and approachable
 Helps and supports staff
 His behavior indicates trust, respect,
Blake & Mouton Model
 Concern for People - This is the degree to which a
leader considers the needs of team members, their
interests, and areas of personal development when
deciding how best to accomplish a task

 Concern for Production - This is the degree to

which a leader emphasizes concrete objectives,
organizational efficiency and high productivity when
deciding how best to accomplish a task.
Blake & Mouton Model

 Authoritarian-Obedience: task oriented with little

attention to co-operation & collaboration

 Team Management: promote team working in

achieving common goal

 Country-Club Management: build strong

relationship with people with little attention to
task

 Impoverished Management: no commitment to

relationship or task
Authority Compliance
 Heavy emphasis on task and job
requirements
 People are tools for getting the job
done
 Controlling, Demanding, Hard-
Driving and Overpowering
Country Club Management
 Low concern for Task Accomplishment
 High concern for interpersonal
relationships
 Agreeable, eager to help, comforting,
uncontroversial
 Gets things done by creating a positive
climate
Impoverished
Management
 The leader does not care about the
task or personal relationships
 Goes through the motions
 Indifferent, non-committal,
resigned, apathetic
Middle of the Road
Management
 Leaders as compromisers
 Emphasizes lack of conflict, and
try’s to attain some interpersonal
contact
 Swallows conviction in the interest
of “progress”
Team Management
 Strong driver on both tasks and
interpersonal relationships.
 Stimulates participation, acts
determined, gets issues into the
open enjoys working
Contingency theories of
leadership

 Emphasize the situation in

which leadership takes place
 Suggests that various factors in
the situation influence the
behavior of the leader
 Certain styles may be more
relevant to some situations
than to others
Contingency Theories
 Autocratic – leader dictates decision to sub-ordinate
 Democratic – shares decision with sub-ordinate
Authoritarian (Autocratic,
Directive,
Controlling)
 � Assumes individuals are motivated by
external forces; therefore leader makes all the
decisions
 Gives orders

 Makes decisions for the group as a whole

 Bears most of the responsibility for the

outcomes
(autocratic)
I want both of you to. .
.
 This style is used when leaders tell their employees what
they want done and how they want it accompished, without
getting the advice of their followers. Some of the
appropriate conditions to use it is when you have all the
information to solve the problem, you are short on time,
and your employees are well motivated.
 Some people tend to think of this style as a vehicle for
yelling, using demeaning language, and leading by threats
and abusing their power. This is not the authoritarian style,
rather it is an abusive, unprofessional style called bossing
people around. It has no place in a leader's repertoire.
 The authoritarian style should normally only be used on
rare occasions. If you have the time and want to gain more
commitment and motivation from your employees, then
you should use the participative style.
(democratic)
Let's work together to
solve this. . .
 Democratic (Participative)

 � Assumes individuals are motivated by

 internal forces, leader uses participation

and majority rule to get work done

 Shares the planning, decision making and

responsibility for the outcomes with other

members of the group
 � Often a less efficient way to run things
Democratic (Participative)
cont…
 More flexible and more likely to foster
 motivation and creativity
 Open, trusting environments
encourages one to seek new skills
 Characterized by guidance rather than
control
 Concerned with teamwork
 Fosters open communication
 Creates a spirit of collaboration
 This style involves the leader including one or more
employees in the decision making process (determining
what to do and how to do it). However, the leader
maintains the final decision making authority. Using this
style is not a sign of weakness, rather it is a sign of
strength that your employees will respect.
 This is normally used when you have part of the
information, and your employees have other parts. Note
that a leader is not expected to know everything -- this is
why you employ knowledgeable and skillful employees.
Using this style is of mutual benefit -- it allows them to
become part of the team and allows you to make better
decisions.
Delegative (free reign)
You two take care of the
problem while I go. . .
Laissez-Faire
 Laissez-Faire (Permissive, nondirective)
 � Assumes individuals are motivated by
 internal forces and should be left alone to
 complete work; leader provides no
 direction or facilitation
 � Leader does very little planning or decision
 making and fails to encourage others to
 participate in either
 � Is a lack of leadership
Laissez-Faire
 Leaves people feeling confused and frustrated
 because there is no goal, no guidance, and no
 direction
 � Some mature individuals enjoy laissez-faire
 leadership because they need little guidance
 � Has few established policies
 In this style, the leader allows the employees to
make the decisions. However, the leader is still
responsible for the decisions that are made. This is
used when employees are able to analyze the
situation and determine what needs to be done and
how to do it. You cannot do everything! You must
set priorities and delegate certain tasks.
 This is not a style to use so that you can blame
others when things go wrong, rather this is a style to
be used when you fully trust and confidence in the
people below you. Do not be afraid to use it,
however, use it wisely!
Bureaucratic
 � Assumes individuals are motivated by
external forces;
 leader trust neither followers nor self to
make decisions and therefore relies on
 organizational policies and rules
 Lacks as sense of security
 Exercises power by applying fixed,
inflexible rules
 Avoids decision making without
standards or norms for guidance
 The most effective leader is able
to balance tasks and relationships
of working together
Some emphasize tasks, other
relationships
CONTINGENCY
APPROACHES TO
LEADERSHIP
 Fiedler contingency model
 Heresy & Blanchard’s situational
leadership
 Path goal model of leadership
 Vroom’s decision making model
Fieldler Model
 Three variables
 Leader-Member relations
 How the members feel about the
leader
 Task Structure

Is it structured, or unstructured
 Position Power
 Can leader reward/punish
Hersey and Blanchard’s

 Adjusting Leadership style

 • Low followers Maturity– telling (high task
 direction and low support)
 • Moderate followers maturity– selling (task
 direction and support)
 • Moderate to high maturity– participating
 (supportive behavior and a little direction)
 • High maturity- delegating– (little support
House’s Path Goal Theory

 • Leader is responsible for the growth and

 development of followers.
 • Different situations call for different blends of
 leadership styles
 – Directive
 – Supportive
 – Achievement oriented
 – Participative
 • Based on Motivation Expectancy Theory
 (Expectancy, Instrumentality, and valence)
Trait Theories
 Trait Theories (concerned with
 what a leader is)
 �Intelligence
 � Initiative
 � Excellent interpersonal skills
 � High self-esteem
 � Creativity
 � Willingness to take risks
 � Ability to tolerate the consequences of
taking
 risk
 Behavioral Traits (concerned with
what the leader does)
 � Type of Leadership Style used by

the
person
 � Authoritarian

 � Democratic

 � Laissex-faire
Contingency Theories

 � Contingency approaches suggest managers

 adapt their leadership styles in relation to
 changing situations
 � May range from authoritarian to permissive
 and vary in relation to current needs and
 future probabilities
 � Situational Leadership Theory
 � Vroom Yetton Expectancy Model
 � House-Mitchell Path-Goal Theory
Situational Theories

 � These theories recognize the

complexity of work situations and
encourage the leader to consider a
number of factors when deciding
what action to take
Situational Approach
 Directive are task centred behaviour
 The assistance of group members through
giving directions, establishing objectives,
setting times, defining roles
 Often asynchronous and one-way
 Supportive are relationship centred
behaviour
 Synchronous and two-way
 Asking for input, problem solving, praising,
sharing information, listening
Four Styles Identified
 S1 – Directing = highly directive,
low support
 What and How goals are achieved
and supervision
 S2 – Coaching = highly directive,
highly supportive
 What and How are still defined
 S3 – Supporting = low directive but high
supportive
 Day-to-day decisions are made by the
subordinates, however, the boss is still
there if needed
 S4 – Delegating = low directive, low
supportive
 Gives ownership to subordinates and does
not try to influence socio-emotional needs
 Highly Supportive and Highly Directive and Highly
Low Directive Supportive

Coa
po rting chin
g
Su p
Supportive

Dir
g ect
ing
in
atg
le
De

Low Supportive and Low High Directive and Low

Directive Supportive

Directive
Situational Approach

Combines tasks & relationship behaviour

 Telling – high task, low relationship
 Selling – high task, high relationship
 Participating – low task, high relationship
 Delegating – low task, low relationship

With different degree of individual maturity

 M1 – neither competent nor confident
 M2 – motivated but lack skills
 M3 – able but unwilling to follow leaders
 M4 – able & willing to do as asked
Implicit Theories of Leadership

 Attribution – assumption made about others

 Leaders are consistent
 Take up difficult or unpopular tasks
 Determination and persistence leading to achievement of
goal

 Charismatic – heroic attributes

 Self confidence
 Visionary & ability to share the vision
 Committed to vision
 Unconventional
 Change agent
 Sensitive to environmental aspects
Contemporary Theories

 � Trait, behavioral, and contingency theories

 represent conventional approaches to
 leadership and have provided important
 foundations for leadership
 � Quantum leadership is based on the concept
 that reality is a set of relationships expressed
 at varying and continuously changing levels
 of complexity
 � Charismatic Leadership
 � Transactional and transformational Leadership
 � Connective Leadership
Transformational
Leadership

 � Recognized process as very complex

 � Something was missing:
 � Recognized inspiration and vision as
 outstanding features
 � People need a sense of mission that goes
 beyond good interpersonal relationships or
 the appropriate reward for a job well done
 � Goals should become fused, creating unity,
 wholeness, and a collective purpose
Charismatic Leadership

 �Leadership based on valued

personal
 characteristics and beliefs
Transactional Leadership

 � A leadership style based on principles

of social exchange theory in which social
interaction between leaders and followers
is essentially economic and
 success is achieved when needs are

met, loyalty is enhanced, and work

performance is enhanced
bureaucratic leader
 is very structured and follows the
procedures as they have been
established.
 . Leaders ensure that all the steps have
been followed prior to sending it to the
next level of authority
 Universities, hospitals, banks and
government usually require this type of
leader
Traits of Successful
Leaders

 Adaptable
 Alert to social environment
 Achievement oriented
 Assertive
 Cooperative
 Decisive
 Dependable
 Persistent
 Self-confident
 Tolerant of stress
 Willing to assume
 responsibility
Approaches to Leadership
 Power-Influence
 Traits and skills
 Leader Behavior
 Situational Approaches
 Reciprocal Approaches
 Leader emergence
Use of power
Commitme Complianc Resistance
nt e
Coercive Unlikely Possible Likely

Reward Possible Likely Possible

Legitima Possible Likely Possible
te
Expert Likely Possible Possible

ReferentLikely Possible Possible