Meaning of Leadership

Leadership is an important element of the directing function of management. Wherever, there is an organised group of people working towards a common goal, some type of leadership become essential. The Power of Leadership is the power of integrating. Leadership is the ability to build up the confidence and zeal among people and to create an urge in them to be led. Different situations may demand different types of Leadership like Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, Lenin etc… are the great Political Leaders or our great industrialists Like JRD Tata, GD Birla, Dhirubhai Ambani, who created vast industrial empires because of their vision, energy and Entrepreneurship.

Definition of Leadership: -

According to Peter Drucker: - "The only definition of a leader is someone who has followers."

SITUATION

LEADERS ====== FOLLOWERS

COMMUNICATION

According to John C Maxwell: - "Leadership is influence - nothing more, nothing less."

According to Warren Bennis: -   "Leadership is a function of knowing yourself, having a vision that is well communicated, building trust among colleagues, and taking effective action to realize your own leadership potential."

According to Murray Johannsen: -

“Managers have subordinates—leaders have followers.”

Nature or characteristics or Features of Leadership

Leadership is a personal quality. It exists only with followers. If there are no followers, there is no leadership?

It is the willingness of people to follow that makes person a leader.

Leadership is a process of influence. A leader must be able to influence the behaviour, attitude and beliefs of his subordinates.

Leadership is a continuous process of behaviour.

Leadership gives an experience of help to followers to attain common goals.

It exists only for the realization of common goals.

It involves readiness to accept complete responsibility in all situations.

Leadership styles do change under different circumstances.

Leadership Styles

The role of leadership in management is largely determined by the organisational culture of the company. It has been argued that managers' beliefs, values and assumptions are of critical importance to the overall style of leadership that they adopt.

There are several different leadership styles that can be identified within each of the following Management techniques. Each technique has its own set of good and not-so-good characteristics, and each uses leadership in a different way.

Understanding Leadership Styles

Autocratic leadership Bureaucratic leadership Charismatic leadership Democratic leadership or Participative leadership Laissez-faire leadership People-oriented leadership or Relations-Oriented leadership Servant leadership Task-oriented leadership Transactional leadership Transformational leadership Delegative (free reign)

Autocratic leadership

The autocratic leader dominates team-members, using unilateralism to achieve a singular objective. This style is used when the leader tells his employees what he wants done and how he wants it done, without getting the advice of his 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.

Bureaucratic Leadership

Bureaucratic leaders work “by the book”, ensuring that their staff follow procedures exactly. This is a very appropriate style for work involving serious safety risks (such as working with machinery, with toxic substances or at heights) or where large sums of money are involved (such as cash-handling).

Charismatic Leadership

A charismatic leadership style can appear similar to a transformational leadership style, in that the leader injects huge doses of enthusiasm into his or her team, and is very energetic in driving others forward. However, a charismatic leader tends to believe more in him- or herself than in their team. This can create a risk that a project, or even an entire organization, might collapse if the leader were to leave: In the eyes of their followers, success is tied up with the presence of the charismatic leader. As such, charismatic leadership carries great responsibility, and needs long-term commitment from the leader.

Democratic Leadership or Participative Leadership

The democratic leader makes decisions by consulting his team, whilst still maintaining control of the group. The democratic leader allows his team to decide how the task will be tackled and who will perform which task. Although a democratic leader will make the final decision, he or she invites other members of the team to contribute to the decision-making process. This not only increases job satisfaction by involving employees or team members in what’s going on, but it also helps to develop people’s skills.

Laissez-faire Leadership

This French phrase means “leave it be” and is used to describe a leader who leaves his or her colleagues to get on with their work. It can be effective if the leader monitors what is being achieved and communicates this back to his or her team regularly. Most often, laissez-faire leadership works for teams in which the individuals are very experienced and skilled self-starters. Unfortunately, it can also refer to situations where managers are not exerting sufficient control.

People-Oriented Leadership or Relations-Oriented Leadership

The style of leadership is the opposite of task-oriented leadership: the leader is totally focused on organizing, supporting and developing the people in the leader’s team. A participative style, it tends to lead to good teamwork and creative collaboration.

Servant Leadership

This term, coined by Robert Greenleaf in the 1970s, describes a leader who is often not formally recognized as such. When someone, at any level within an organization, leads simply by virtue of meeting the needs of his or her team, he or she is described as a “servant leader”.

Task-Oriented Leadership

A highly task-oriented leader focuses only on getting the job done, and can be quite autocratic. He or she will actively define the work and the roles required, put structures in place, plan, organise and monitor.

Transactional Leadership

Management theories (also known as “Transactional theories”) focus on the role of supervision, organization, and group performance. The “transaction” is (usually) that the organization pays the team members in return for their effort and compliance. These theories base leadership

on a system of reward and punishment. Managerial theories are often used in business; when employees are successful, they are rewarded; when they fail, they are reprimanded or punished.

Transformational Leadership

Relationship theories (also known as “Transformational theories”) focus upon the connections formed between leaders and followers. These leaders motivate and inspire people by helping group members see the importance and higher good of the task. Transformational leaders are highly visible, and spend a lot of time communicating. They don’t necessarily lead from the front, as they tend to delegate responsibility amongst their team. Transformational leaders are focused on the performance of group members, but also want each person to fulfill his or her potential. These leaders often have high ethical and moral standards.

Delegative (free reign)

In this style, the leader allows the employees to make the decision. 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 have the full trust and confidence in the people below you.

Theories of LeadershipLeadership styles cannot be fully explained by behavioural models. The situation in which the group is operating also determines the style of leadership, which is adopted.Several models exist which attempt to understand the relationship between style and situation, four of which are described here:

“Great Man” Theories Trait Theories Behavioral Theories Fiedler's Contingency Model. Hersey-Blanchard Situational Theory. Path-Goal Theory. Vroom-Yetton Leadership Model

“Great Man” Theories

Great Man theories assume that the capacity for leadership is inherent – that great leaders are born, not made. These theories often portray great leaders as heroic, mythic, and destined to rise to leadership when needed. The term “Great Man” was used because, at the time, leadership was thought of primarily as a male quality, especially in terms of military leadership.

Trait Theories

Trait is defined as relatively enduring quality of an individual. According to this theory, there are certain personal qualities and traits, which are essential to be a successful leader. Trait theories often identify particular personality or behavioral characteristics shared by leaders. The Trait approach seeks to determine what makes a successful leader from the leader’s own personal characteristics. Trait

approach leadership studies were quite popular between 1930 and 1950. Traits suggests that some factors do help differentiate leaders from non-leaders. The most important traits are a high level of personal drive, desire to lead, personal integrity and self – confidence. Trait theory is said that ‘leaders are born and not made.’ These qualities cannot be acquired by the individuals.

Behavioral Theories

Behavioral theories of leadership are based upon the belief that great leaders are made, not born. Rooted in behaviorism, this leadership theory focuses on the actions of leaders, not on mental qualities or internal states. According to this theory, people can learn to become leaders through teaching and observation.

Fiedler's Contingency Model

Fiedler's model assumes that group performance depends on:

Leadership style, described in terms of task motivation and relationship motivation. Situational favourableness, determined by three factors:

1. Leader-member relations - Degree to which a leader is accepted and supported by the group members.

2. Task structure - Extent to which the task is structured and defined, with clear goals and procedures.

3. Position power - The ability of a leader to control subordinates through reward and punishment.

High levels of these three factors give the most favourable situation, low levels, the least favourable. Relationship-motivated leaders are most effective in moderately favourable situations. Task-motivated leaders are most effective at either end of the scale.Fiedler suggests that it may be easier for leaders to change their situation to achieve effectiveness, rather than change their leadership style.

Hersey-Blanchard Situational Theory

Situational theories propose that leaders choose the best course of action based upon situational variable. Different styles of leadership may be more appropriate for certain types of decision-making. This theory suggests that leadership style should be matched to the maturity of the subordinates. Maturity is assessed in relation to a specific task and has two parts:

Psychological maturity - Their self-confidence and ability and readiness to accept responsibility. Job maturity - Their relevant skills and technical knowledge.

As the subordinate maturity increases, leadership should be more relationship-motivated than task-motivated. For four degrees of subordinate maturity, from highly mature to highly immature, leadership can consist of:

Delegating to subordinates.

Participating with subordinates. Selling ideas to subordinates. Telling subordinates what to do

Path-Goal Theory

Evans and House suggest that the performance, satisfaction and motivation of a group can be affected by the leader in a number of ways:

Offering rewards for the achievement of performance goals. Clarifying paths towards these goals. Removing performance obstacles.

Vroom-Yetton Leadership Model

This model suggests the selection a leadership style for making a decision. There are five decision making styles:

Autocratic 1 - Problem is solved using information already available. Autocratic 2 - Additional information is obtained from group before leader makes decision. Consultative 1 - Leader discusses problem with subordinates individually, before making a

decision. Consultative 2 - Problem is discussed with the group before deciding. Group 2 - Group decides upon problem, with leader simply acting as chair.