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Concept of Leadership:

Leadership is a process of influencing others to achieve group or organizational goals.

an essential element of management.the process of influencing others to work

towards the attainment of goal.the ability to influence the activities of

others through communication, towards the accomplishment of challenging goals.

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Definitions:Robert Kreitner:“Leadership is a social influence process in which the leader seeks the voluntary participation of subordinates in an effort to reach organizational objectives.”Koontz and Weihrich:“Leadership is defined as influence, that is , the art or process of influencing people so that they will strive willingly and enthusiastically towards the achievement of group goals.”Ivancevich, Donnelly and Gibson:“Leadership is the ability to influence through communication the activities of others ,individually or as a group, towards the accomplishment of worthwhile, meaningful and challenging goals.”

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Meaning :Leadership is the use of non coercive influence to shape the

group or organizations goals, motivate behavior towards the achievement of those goals, and help define group or organizational culture.

leadership comprises of followers - the people to be led.

the core of leadership is influence.influence – ability to persuade and motivate others

for better performance and achieving common goal.for exercising influence, the leadership involves 3

key elements:process – of continuously directing, guiding, motivating and coordinating the group activities (by using position of leader ).property – of continuously using personal and special traits and characteristics (actions, behaviors of leaders ) to change the attitude of others for performance.

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Meaning (contd.):power – ability to exert force in getting things done or making things happen.

Leadership Versus Management :Interrelationship between leadership and

management.Leadership: a component of management.Inclusion of planning, organizing, leading and

controlling functions for achieving goals.leadership involves influencing people in

achieving the goals set by the management.Use of formal authority in management to

making people work.leadership : creating influence by the use of

personal traits (in motivating and inspiring people) to give better performance.

DistinctionLeaders are concerned with doing the right thing,

whereas managers are concerned with doing things right.

Leader- What should we be doing? Manager- How can we do what we are doing better?Leaders focus on vision, mission, goals and objectives

whereas managers focus on efficiency and productivity.Leaders are promoters of change whereas managers

maintain the status quo.Leaders have long term perspective whereas managers

have short term perspective.

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Functions of leadership :for leader to get work done through others, effective leadership includes:

Directing:guiding and leading people.vision for future and set strategies to

achieve that vision.communicating others about the

responsibility in organization’s planincludes sharing goals, defining targets,

defining plans, problem solving etc.Supervising:watching, coaching and examining the

subordinatesensuring the execution of order in time

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Functions of leadership ( contd.) :Supervising (contd.):see that the performance is in accordance

with the target or planhelps improve the performance of

subordinatesMotivating:creating willingness to workmaking others work to achieve organization’s

objectives as a means to satisfy their needs.can be giving challenging jobs, healthy

environment, sense of belongingness, building confidence etc.

Communicating:establishing understandingformally and informally providing information.

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Functions of leadership ( contd.) :

Communicating (contd.):interacting through channels to reduce

conflict.Commitment :an agreement to do somethinggenerated by providing healthy , safe and

good working environment for contributing to the goal of organization

Mediating:pleading or negotiating between two

conflicting partiesto solve problem or reduce and resolve

conflict

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Importance of Leadership:

to make people work up to their potentialto direct people psychologically towards

goal accomplishmentfor organizational effectiveness, effective

task performance and human satisfactionto transform a dull group into strong,

aggressive and successful group

Qualities Of Leadership1. Clear Sense: ability to define vision and

mission, should be clear with the objectives of an organization

2. Good judgment: ability to understand the effect of one’s action on others

3. Self- knowledge: use of abilities4. Emotional maturity: giving importance of

individuals and their opinion5. Initiative: self starter6. Desire for learning: professional

development, learning about organization

Qualities Of Leadership (contd.)7. Co-operative ness: ability to work well

with others8. Adoptability: adoption of situation quickly

Leadership style is a typical behavior pattern adopted by the leader to influence his followers or lead his people.

An executive has to lead different types of subordinates and has to adopt different styles for leading them at the workplace according to situation.

Autocratic or Authoritative Style:It is also known as leader centered style. Under this style of leadership there is

complete centralisation of authority in the leader i.e., authority is centered in the leader himself

He has all the powers to take decisions. He designs the work-load of his employees and exercise tight control over them. The subordinates are bound to follow his order and directions.

Advantages: (i) Autocratic leadership style permits quick decision-making.(ii) It provides strong motivation and satisfaction to the leaders who dictate terms.(iii) This style may yield better results when great speed is required.

Disadvantages: (i) It leads to frustration, low moral and conflict among subordinates,(ii) Subordinates tend to shirk responsibility and initiative.

Democratic StyleUnder this style, a leader decentralises and

delegates high authority to his subordinates. He makes a final decision only after

consultation with the subordinates.Two way communication channel is used. While delegating a lot of authorities to

subordinates, he defines the limits within which people can function.

Democratic leaders have a high concern for both people and work.

Advantages: (i) Exchange of ideas among subordinates and leader improves job satisfaction and morale of the subordinates.(ii) Human values get their due recognition which develops positive attitude and reduces resistance to change.(iii) Labour absenteeism and labour turnover are reduced.(iv) The quality of decision is improved.

Disadvantages: (i) Democratic style of leadership is time consuming and may result in delays in decision-making.(ii) It is less effective if participation from the subordinates is for name sake.(iii) Consulting others while making decisions go against the capability of the leader to take decisions.

Free Rein or Laissez Fair styleUnder this style, a manager gives complete freedom to

his subordinates. The entire decision-making authority is entrusted to

them. There is least intervention by the leader and so the

group operates entirely on its own. There is free flow of communication. In this style manager does not use power but

maintains contact with them. Subordinates have to exercise self control. This style helps subordinates to develop independent

personality.

Advantages: (i) Positive effect on job satisfaction and moral of subordinates.(ii) It gives chance to take initiative to the subordinates.(iii) Maximum possible scope for development of subordinates.

Disadvantages: (i) Under this style of leadership, there is no leadership at all.(ii) Subordinates do not get the guidance and support of the leader.(iii) Subordinates may move in different directions and may work at cross purpose which may create problem for the organisation.Free rein style of leadership may be appropriate when the subordinates are well trained, highly knowledgeable, self-motivated and ready to assume responsibility.

Approaches1. The Trait Approach (Great-Man Theory) “Leaders are born, not made.” This approach to

leadership analyzed the personal, psychological, and physical traits of strong leaders.

Assumed that some basic set of traits exists that separate leaders from non leaders.

Traits=Leaders

Intelligence, Self-Confidence, Dominance, Job-Relevant Knowledge, Initiative, Decisiveness, Self-

Assurance, Maturity, Drive, Desire to lead, Honesty and Integrity etc.

Traits alone do not sufficiently explain leadership.

It ignores leader behaviors and situational factors.

Traits only make it more likely that he will be a good leader.

Successful leaders may begin to display traits after they are in leadership position.

Still need to make right decision at the

2. Behavioral Theories of LeadershipTheories that isolate behaviors that

differentiate effective leaders from ineffective leaders.

Focus on behaviors and actions of leaders.Effective leaders behave differently than

less effective leaders.

Michigan Studies(Rensis Likert)

Identified two forms of leader behaviorJob-centered behavior—managers who pay close

attention to subordinates’ work, explain work procedures, and are keenly interested in performance.

Employee-centered behavior—managers who focus on the development of cohesive work groups and employee satisfaction.

These two forms of leader behaviors were considered to be at opposite ends of the same continuum .

He argued that employee centered leader behavior generally tends to be more effective.

Job centered ( Rigid, Mechanistic)Employee Centered ( Organic, Flexible)

Ohio State StudiesThe studies did not interpret leader behavior

as being one-dimensional as did the Michigan State studies.

Identified two basic leadership styles that can be exhibited simultaneously:Initiating-structure behavior—the leader

clearly defines the leader-subordinate role expectations, formalizes communications, and sets the working agenda.

Consideration behavior—the leader shows concern for subordinates and attempts to establish a friendly and supportive climate.

Ohio State Studies (cont’d)Initial assumption of the research was that leaders who exhibit high levels of both behaviors would be most effective leaders. Subsequent research indicated that:Employees of supervisors ranked highly on initiating

structure were high performers, although they expressed low levels of satisfaction and had higher absenteeism.

Employees of supervisors ranked highly on consideration had low- performance ratings, but they had high levels of satisfaction and had less absenteeism.

Other situational variables were making consistent leader behavior predictions difficult.

There is no universal or “one best way” model of leadership.

Managerial Grid ModelThe Managerial Grid model by Robert

Blake and Jane Mouton is a behavioral leadership model.

On the grid, concern for production is represented on a one to nine scale on the horizontal axis (x-axis). Concern for people is represented on a one to nine scale on the vertical axis (y-axis).

The concept distinguishes 5 different leadership styles, based on the concern for people and the concern for production:

Managerial Grid

Impoverished styleLow Production / Low PeopleA delegate-and-disappear management style. A basically lazy approach.Characteristics: The manager shows a low

concern for both people and production. He (or she) avoids to get into trouble. His main concern is not to be held responsible for any mistakes.

Results in: Disorganization, dissatisfaction and disharmony due to lack of effective leadership.

Country Club styleLow Production / High PeopleOne-sided, thoughtful attention to the needs of

employees.Characteristics:

The relationship-oriented manager has a high concern for people, but a low concern for production.

He pays much attention to the security and comfort of the employees. He hopes that this will increase performance.

He is almost incapable of employing the more punitive, coercive and legitimate powers.

This inability results from fear that using such powers could jeopardize relationships with the other team members.

Results in: A usually friendly atmosphere, but not necessarily very productive.

Produce or Perish styleHigh Production / Low PeopleAuthoritarian or compliance leader.Characteristics:

The task-oriented manager is autocratic, has a high concern for production, and a low concern for people.

He finds employee needs unimportant and simply a means to an end. He provides his employees with money and expects performance

back. There is little or no allowance for cooperation or collaboration. He

pressures his  employees through rules and punishments to achieve the company goals.

Heavily task-oriented people are very strong on schedules. They are intolerant of what they see as dissent (it may just be someone's creativity).

This hard style is based on Theory X of Douglas McGregor. It is often applied by companies on the edge of real or perceived failure, such as in Crisis Management.

Middle-of-the-road styleMedium Production / Medium PeopleThe manager tries to balance between the

competing goals of the company and the needs of the workers.

Characteristics: The manager gives some concern to both people

and production, hoping to achieve acceptable performance.

He believes this is the most anyone can do.Results in: Compromises in which neither the

production nor the people needs are fully met.

Team styleHigh Production / High PeopleThe ultimate. The manager pays high concern to both

people and production. Motivation is high.Characteristics:

This soft style is based on the propositions of Theory Y of Douglas McGregor.

The manager encourages teamwork and commitment among employees.

This style emphasizes making employees feel part of the company-family, and involving them in understanding organizational purpose and determining production needs.

Results in: Team environment based on trust and respect, which leads to high satisfaction and motivation and, as a result, high production.

Conclusion The Blake Mouton Managerial Grid is a practical and useful

framework that helps you think about your leadership style.By plotting ‘concern for results’ against ‘concern for people’,

the grid highlights how placing too much emphasis in one area at the expense of the other leads to low overall productivity.

The model proposes that when both people and results concerns are high, employee engagement and productivity increases accordingly. This is often true, and it follows the ideas of Theories X and Y, and other participative management theories.

While the grid does not entirely address the complexity of “Which leadership style is best?”, it certainly provides an excellent starting point for thinking about your own performance and improving your general leadership skills.

Situational Approaches to Leadership

Situational Models of Leader BehaviorAssume that:

Appropriate leader behavior varies from one situation to another.Key situational factors that are interacting to determine

appropriate leader behavior can be identified.Leadership Continuum (Tannenbaum and Schmidt)

Variables influencing the decision-making continuum:Leader’s characteristics—value system, confidence in

subordinates, personal inclinations, and feelings of security.Subordinates’ characteristics—independence needs,

readiness for responsibility, tolerance of ambiguity, interest in the problem, understanding goals, knowledge, experience, and expectations.

Situational Characteristics—type of organization, group effectiveness, the problem itself, and time pressures.

Situational Approaches to Leadership (cont’d) Tannenbaum and Schmidt’s Leadership Continuum

Use of Authorityby Manager

Boss-centered leadership

Manager makesdecision andannounces it

Manager permitssubordinates tofunction withinlimits defined bysuperior

Manager defineslimits, asks groupto make decision

Manager presentsproblem, getssuggestions,makes decision

Manager presentstentative decisionsubject to change

Manager presentsideas and invitesquestions

Manager“sells”decision

Area of Freedomfor Subordinates

Subordinate-centered leadership

Source: Reprinted by permission of the Harvard Business Review. An exhibit from “How to Choose a Leadership Pattern” by Robert Tannenbaum and Warren Schmidt (May–June 1973). Copyright © by the President and Fellows of Harvard College; all rights reserved.

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