Leadership

Learning outcomes

At the end of this session and with additional reading you will be able to– describe theories of leadership– critically evaluate their conceptual approaches– critically evaluate their utility in the organisational

setting

Definition

Leadership is the process whereby one person influences others to work towards a goal (Yulk and Vanfleet,1992)

Activity 1

What are the differences between managers and leaders

Use examples to describe your differences

Leadership Vs Management

Kotter (1990) managers and leaders are two distinctive and complementary systems as both are necessary for the management of complex organisations

Management is about – planning– controlling– putting appropriate structures and systems in place

Leadership is about– anticipating change– coping with change – adopting a visionary stance

Leadership Vs Management

In essence leadership is an agency of change and could entail inspiring others to do more than they would have otherwise done

Management is a force more preoccupied with planning, coordinating supervising and controlling routine activity

How can we develop managers

A conscious and systematic process to control the development of managerial resources in the organisation to the achievement of goals and strategies (Molander, 1986)

Development for managers should include– frameworks for setting linking and balancing individual and

organisational objectives– system for identify and selecting managers– plans to enable career progression– mechanism to measure and evaluate performance

Leadership theory

Transactional models of leadership Leaders enter into various transactions with

subordinate Appropriate for stable conditions in the

marketplace– trait– style– contingency– goal

Trait Approaches to leadership

Trait: Bavelas (1960) leadership traits are – quickness of decision– courage to take risks– coolness under stress– intuition– vision– willpower– cultivating team spirit and loyalty– inspiring followers– integrity– honesty – sheer physical stamina

Trait Approaches to leadership

Stoghill (1948) and Mann (1959)– personality has a minor effect in shaping leadership behavior– a person doe not become a leader by virtue of the personality

traits they posses Stoghill (1974) linked trait abilities and skills proposed that the

following factors are linked with leadership– activity– dominance– self confidence– achievement drive– interpersonal skills

Trait Approaches to leadership

Lord et al (1986)– intelligent– extrovert– dominant– masculine– conservative– better adjusted

Kirkpatricke and Locke (1991)

– intelligent– desire to lead– energy and ambition– self confidence– honesty and integrity– knowledge

Activity 2

Which traits would you describe Tony Blair as having

What about Margaret Thatchers

Style approaches to leadership

The leadership process does not reside solely in the person but could be cultivated as distinctive patterns of behavior

Style approaches to leadership -Lowin (1968)

Autocratic– direction/obedience– close supervision– control and

accountability– absence of participation

and feedback

Democratic– open

communication/positive attitudes

– self direction/self control– conflict is confronted– group based problem

solving – consensus rather than

coercion

Style approaches to leadership - Likerts four styles (1967)

Exploitative authoritative: the leader uses fear threats, communication is downwards all decisions are taken at the top

Benevolent authoritative: the leader uses rewards to encourage performance, upward combination is limited to what the boss wants to hear, subservience is widespread, there is some delegation of decision making

Consultative: the leader uses appropriate rewards, communication may be two-way and subordinates have a moderated amount of influence in some decision making

Participate: the leader discusses economic rewards and makes full use of group participation and involvement in fixing performance goals and improving work methods

Activity 3

Decide in which industry would Likert’s four styles of leadership best suit

Contingency approaches to leadership

Leadership is defined by the situations in which they find themselves

Contingency approaches to leadership

Tannenbaum and Schmidt (1973) proposed a continuum with an autocratic style on the left hand side and a democratic style on the right hand side

The situations that determine the style are influenced by– forces in the manager– forces in the subordinate– forces in the situation– other factors

Contingency approaches to leadership - The influence Power Continuum Heller (1971)

This model evaluates various degrees of sharing influence and power between superiors and subordinates. The main feature of IPC is that it extends the normal concept of participation to incorporate the sharing of power through delegation

– own decisions without detailed explanation– own decision with detailed explanation– prior consolation with subordinates– joint decision making with subordinates– delegation of decision to subordinates

Contingency approaches to leadership - Fiedler’s Model of leadership effectiveness (1967

This theory attempts to predict how style of leadership, leader-member relations, the power vested in the position of leader, and the starter of the job determine the leaders ability to achieve productive output

The measure of the style of leadership is the esteem of the leader for his/her least preferred co-worker (LPC)

– leaders with high LPC would be psychologically close to group members

– leaders with low LPC would tend to be autocratic, task centered and less concerned with human relations of the job

Contingency approaches to leadership - Fiedler’s Model of leadership effectiveness (1967

Three factors that may facilitate or inhibit a leaders attempt to influence group members are– task structure– position power– leader-member relations

Goal approaches to leadership - House (1971)

The leaders goals is to assist the subordinate to attain his/her goals and to ensure hat the experience is satisfying

The theory attempts to explain the relationship between the behavior of the leader and the attitudes and expectations of the subordinate

This theory proposes 4 descriptions of behavior are linked to three dispositions of the subordinate

Goal approaches to leadership - House (1971)

Leader behavior– directive leadership– supportive leadership– participative leadership– achievement orientated leadership

Subordinate dispositions– satisfaction of the subordinate– acceptance of the leader by the subordinate– expectations of the subordinate

Goal approaches to leadership - House (1971)

There are two types of situation variables that have o be accommodated in goal theory

The personal characteristics of subordinates have to be considered

There are a number of remands or pressures in the job environment that relate directly to both leadership style and the motivation disposition of the subordinate

Contemporary trends - transformational leadership

Transformational leaders: inspirational leaders best suitable at all levels of an organistaiona when a turbulent environment exists

The emphasis is on people of vision, who are creative, innovative and capable of getting others to share their dreams while playing down self interest and who are able to operate with others in reshaping the strategies and tactics of an organisation

Contemporary trends - transformational leadership

Bass (1990) major characteristics of transformational leader– charisma– intellectual stimulation– consideration of the emotional needs of each

employee

Transactional Vs Transformational leadership

Transactional and transformational leadership should not be viewed as opposing approaches to getting things done

The transformational leader is built upon the transactional leader

Activity 4

Think of inspirational leaders

Gender and leadership

Women may feel more comfortable with a democratic leadership style

Men tend to more directive or autocratic (Bass and Avolio, 1990)

Culture and leadership

Global leaders must be sufficiently flexible to adjust their leadership style when crossing national borders (Alders, 1997)

Derailed leaders

It is not unusual for leaders who were at one time successful to of of the rails (Shackleton, 1995)

Reasons for this have been postulated at – insensitivity– abrasiveness– aloofness– arrogance