COMT 4/516: Communication and Leadership Seminar

leadership concepts and theories, continued

Bass & Avolio: more specifics on transformational leadership

Encourage innovation

negotiate a clear vision

develop human potential

model subordinating self-interest to group interest

Showing you care by:

attempting to be the model for organizational behavior (being impeccable)

creating an inspiring or convincing vision

stimulating thinking

practicing two-way, individualized interaction with followers

Hughes, Ginnett & Curphy: situational leadership theories

•Hersey and Blanchard - Situational Leadership Theory

•Fiedler - Contingency Theory

•House and Dressler- Path-Goal Theory

A reviewHersey and Blanchard

task

peo

ple

directing

coachingparticipating

delegating

R1 = not able or willing

R1

R2R3

R4

R2 = willing but not able

R3 = able but not willing

R4 = willing and able

Fiedler: Contingency Theory

leaders are not chameleons, they do have learned behavioral tendencies.

Therefore we need to select the right kinds of situations for certain kinds of leadership

Fiedler’s model is a little confusing, but in general he suggests that:

Structured tasks call for directive leadership (orders)

Ambiguous tasks call for participative leadership (negotiate)

Poor relationships with subordinates call for directive leadership (orders)

House and Dressler: Path-Goal Theory

Leaders insure goals are valued

and, help workers find the best way (path) to get to the goal

Leaders need to:

note leader’s preferred style

assess workers’ competency

assess the nature of the task

assess leader’s relationship with the workers

After these assessments:

•Provide direction when relations are poor;

•when the task is straight-forward;

•when workers are externally motivated

Allow participation when

•relations are good;

•when task is complex;

•when workers are internally motivated

Wheatley: Chaos Theory and Leadership

order and chaos are in dialectical tension. Without chaos there would be no concept of order.

Even within chaos scientists have discovered an underlying order (strange attractor)

This means that we can know the limits of a system, but not what will happen next.

Knowing the rules of a chaotic system, which tend to be few and simple, allows us to generate (view) the entire system.

Wheatley applies these notions to organizations

effective leadership is created using a few rules which consist of communicating a guiding vision, strong values and organizational beliefs

we have a bias towards stability, and we can learn to be more comfortable with (trusting) chaotic moments

avoid interference and attempts at control to allow flexibility and responsiveness in the organization

the strange attractor in an organization is the why, the meaning, the purpose of what we are doing.

we go to work every day and create what it all means.

If this is true why would we create a dysfunctional, meaningless organization?

In the end we experience moments of both order and chaos at work

Therefore, we need to learn to value and appreciate:

•both creativity and stability

•evolution and coherence

•determinism and free will

Howell and Avolio: charismatic leadership

charisma as leadership is leading via an attractive personality.

Charismatic leadership can be either ethical or unethical

ethical vs. unethical is determined by whether the leader’s intention is self-oriented (personal gain) or organizationally motivated (improve group)

Characteristics of ethical/unethical charismatic leaders

ethical charismatics use power in socially constructive ways

their vision is follower driven

ethical charismatics seek input, feedback from followers and learn from criticism

ethical charismatics stimulate and develop followers

ethical charismatics develop moral standards based upon courage, fairness, and integrity

Ethical charismatic leaders empower workers rather than enslave workers

avoid being seduced by their popularity, they remain humble and self-critical (absolute power corrupts absolutely)

Encouraging ethical charismatic leadership

top management is committed to support it

recruit, promote, etc. people with high moral standards

develop performance standards and rewards which recognize civility and respect for others

educate towards an appreciation of diversity

teach ethical leadership to those with charisma

identify corporate heroines/heroes who exemplify high moral standards