Leadership

Story
A group of workers and their leaders are set a task of clearing a
road through a dense jungle on a remote island to get to the
coast where an estuary provides a perfect site for a port.

The leaders organise the labour into efficient units and monitor
the distribution and use of capital assets – progress is excellent.
The leaders continue to monitor and evaluate progress, making
adjustments along the way to ensure the progress is
maintained and efficiency increased wherever possible.

Then, one day amidst all the hustle and bustle and activity, one
person climbs up a nearby tree. The person surveys the scene
from the top of the tree.
 Leadership Story
And shouts down to the assembled group below…
“Wrong Way!”

(Story adapted from Stephen Covey (2004) “The Seven Habits

of Highly Effective People” Simon & Schuster).

“Management is doing things right,

leadership is doing the right things”
(Warren Bennis and Peter Drucker)
Definition
The ability to positively influence people and
systems to have a meaningful impact and
achieve results.

 Leading People

 Influencing People

 Commanding People

 Guiding People
Characteristics of Leadership
1. Leader must have followers
2. It is working relationship between leader and
followers
3. Purpose is to achieve some common goal or goals
4. A leader influences his followers willingly not by
force
5. Leadership is exercised in a given situation
6. Leadership is a power relationship
7. It is a continuous process
A Question…

A leader need not be a manager but a manager

must have many of the qualities of a good
leader?????

Managerial Leadership
Significance
1. Setting Goals

2. Motivating Employees

3. Building morale

4. Creating Confidence

5. Discipline

6. Developing Team-work

7. Facilitates Change

8. Representing the group

Leadership Styles
• Leader by the position achieved

• Leader by personality, charisma

• Leader by moral example

• Leader by power held

• Intellectual leader

• Leader because of ability to accomplish things

Leadership
Working on the system
Create opportunities
Seek opportunities
Change organizational rules
Provide a vision to believe in and
strategic alignment
Motivate people by satisfying
basic human needs
Inspire achievement and energize
people
Coach followers, create self-
leaders and empower them
Management
Working in the system
React
Control risks
Enforce organizational rules
Seek and then follow direction
Control people by pushing them in
the right direction
Coordinate effort
Provide instructions
Leadership Traits
• Intelligence • Personality
– More intelligent than – Verbal facility
non-leaders – Honesty
– Scholarship – Initiative
– Knowledge – Aggressive
– Being able to get things – Self-confident
done – Ambitious
• Physical – Originality
– Doesn’t seem to be – Sociability
correlated – Adaptability
 Leadership styles
Autocratic:

o Leader makes decisions without reference to anyone

else
o High degree of dependency on the leader
o Can create de-motivation and alienation
of staff
o May be valuable in some types of business where
decisions need to be made quickly and decisively
Democratic:
• Encourages decision making from different
perspectives – leadership may be emphasised
throughout the organisation

– Consultative: process of consultation before decisions are

taken
– Persuasive: Leader takes decision and seeks to persuade
others that the decision is correct
Laissez-Faire:

1. ‘Let it be’ – the leadership responsibilities

are shared by all
2. Can be very useful in businesses
where creative ideas are important
3. Can be highly motivational,
as people have control over their working life
4. Can make coordination and decision making
time-consuming and lacking in overall direction
5. Relies on good team work
6. Relies on good interpersonal relations
Paternalistic:

 Leader acts as a ‘father figure’

 Paternalistic leader makes decision but may consult

 Believes in the need to support staff

Leadership Theories

Trait Theory
• Early on, it was thought that leaders were born with
inherent physiological and personality traits
– Age
– Height
– Intelligence
– Academic achievements

• Stogdill (1974) – identified several general factors that

differentiate leaders from non-leaders…
Leadership Theories
Trait Theory (continued)
• Capacity: problem-solving capabilities, making judgments and
working hard

• Achievements: accomplishments such as academic record,

knowledge and sports

• Responsibility: dependability, reliability, self-drive, perseverance,

aggressiveness and self-confidence

• Participation and involvement: highly developed social interaction,

popularity, swift adaptation to changing situations, and easier
cooperation compared to non-leaders

• Socio-economic status: effective leaders usually belong to higher

socio-economic classes
Leadership Theories
Behavioral Theories
• Ohio State studies focused on task and social behavior of leaders
• Identified two dimensions of leader behavior

– Initiating Structure: role of leader in defining his/her role and

roles of group members
– Consideration: leader’s mutual trust and respect for group
members’ ideas and feelings

• Two different behavioral theories:

Role Theory
Managerial Grid
Leadership Theories

Managerial Grid
• Developed by Drs. Robert R. Blake and Jane S. Mouton
• Believed managers have different leadership styles which led to
two different dimensions of leadership:
• Concern for Production: manager who is task-oriented
and focuses on getting results or accomplishing the
mission (X-axis of grid)
• Concern for People: manager who avoids conflicts and
strives for friendly relations with subordinates (Y-axis of
grid)
 Leadership Theories
Managerial Grid (continued)

9
8
7
6
**manager
5 ’s goal is
4 9,9**
3
2
1

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Leadership Theories
Participative Theories
• Assumes the following
– Involvement in decision-making improves the understanding
of the issues involved and the commitment of those who
must carry out the decisions.
– People are less competitive and more collaborative when
they are working on joint goals.
– Several people deciding together make better decisions
than one person alone.

• Two different participative theories:

 Lewin’s leadership styles
 Likert’s leadership styles
Likert’s system of Leadership
• Rensis Likert and his associates studied the patterns and styles of
managers for three decades at the University of Michigan, USA, and
identified a four-fold model of management systems.

1. The model was developed on the basis of a questionnaire

administered to managers in over 200 organizations and research
into the performance characteristics of different types of
organizations.
2. The four systems of management system or the four leadership
styles identified by Likert are:
• System 1 - Exploitative Authoritative: Responsibility lies in the hands of the people at
the upper echelons of the hierarchy. The superior has no trust and confidence in
subordinates. The decisions are imposed on subordinates and they do not feel free at all
to discuss things about the job with their superior. The teamwork or communication is
very little and the motivation is based on threats.
• System 2 - Benevolent Authoritative: The responsibility lies at the managerial levels
but not at the lower levels of the organizational hierarchy. The superior has condescending
confidence and trust in subordinates (master-servant relationship). Here again, the
subordinates do not feel free to discuss things about the job with their superior. The
teamwork or communication is very little and motivation is based on a system of rewards.
• System 3 - Consultative: Responsibility is spread widely through the organizational
hierarchy. The superior has substantial but not complete confidence in subordinates. Some
amount of discussion about job related things takes place between the superior and
subordinates. There is a fair amount of teamwork, and communication takes place
vertically and horizontally. The motivation is based on rewards and involvement in the job.
• System 4 - Participative: Responsibility for achieving the organizational goals is
widespread throughout the organizational hierarchy. There is a high level of confidence
that the superior has in his subordinates. There is a high level of teamwork,
communication, and participation.
Conclusion

• According to Rensis Likert, the nearer the behavioral

characteristics of an organization approach System 4
(Participative), the more likely this will lead to long-
term improvement in staff turnover and high
productivity, low scrap, low costs, and high earnings,
if an organization wants to achieve optimum
effectiveness, then this is the ideal system
Leadership Continuum
• A simple model which shows the relationship
between the level of freedom that a manager
chooses to give to a team, and the level of
authority used by the manager. As the team's
freedom is increased, so the manager's
authority decreases. This is a positive way for
both teams and managers to develop.
Leadership Theories
Contingency Theory
• Assumptions:
– No one best way of leading
– Ability to lead contingent upon various situational
factors:
• Leader’s preferred style
• Capabilities and behaviors of followers
• Various other situational factors
• Effect:
– Leaders who are successful in one situation may
become unsuccessful if the factors around them
change
Leadership Theories
Contingency Theory: Fiedler’s Least Preferred Co-Worker
(LPC) Theory
• Assumptions:
– Leaders prioritize between task-focus and people-focus
– Leaders don’t readily change their style
• Key situational factor in matching leader to situation:
• Relationships
• Power
• Task structure
• LPC Questionnaire
– Determines leadership style by measuring responses to 18 pairs of
contrasting adjectives.
– High score: a relationship-oriented leadership style
– Low score: a task-oriented leadership style

• Tries to identify the underlying beliefs about people, in particular whether the
leader sees others as positive (high LPC) or negative (low LPC).
Leadership Theories
Findings of the Fiedler Model

Exhibit 17.4
Leadership Theories

Situational Leadership
• Situational factors (motivation, capability of followers,
relationship between followers and leader) determine
the best action of leader
• Leader must be flexible to diagnosis leadership style
appropriate for situation and be able to apply style
• No one best leadership style for all situations
Leadership Theories
Hersey & Blanchard’s Situational Leadership (1977)
Identified 4 different leadership styles based on readiness of followers
R1. Telling (high task/low relationship behavior)
• Giving considerable attention to defining roles and goals
• Recommended for new staff, repetitive work, work needed in a short time span
• Used when people are unable and unwilling
R2. Selling (high task/high relationship behavior)
• Most direction given by leader encouraging people to ‘buy into’ task
• Used when people are willing but unable
R3. Participating (high relationship/low task behavior)
• Decision making shared between leaders and followers, role of leader to facilitate
and communicate
• Used when people are able but unwilling
R4. Delegating (low relationship/low task behavior)
• Leader identifies problem but followers are responsible for carrying out response
• Used if people are able and willing
Leadership Theories
Hersey & Blanchard’s Model

Source: Reprinted with permission from the Center for Leadership

Studies. Situational Leadership® is a registered trademark of the Center
for Leadership Studies. Escondido, California. All rights reserved.
Summary of Leadership Theories
Theory Leadership Based On…
Trait Theory Leaders born with leadership traits

Behavioral Theory Initial structure and consideration

- Role Theory Shaped by culture, training, modeling

- Managerial Grid Concern for production and concern for people

Participative Leadership More people involved = better collaboration

- Lewin’s Style Autocratic, democratic, laissez-faire

- Likert’s Style Task oriented, relationship oriented, participative style

Contingency Theories No one best leadership style

- Fiedler’s LPC Theory Task focus v. relationship focus

- Cognitive Resource Theory Intelligence and experience make a difference

- House’s Path Goal Theory Help followers make their goals compatible with
organizational goals
Situational Leadership Similar to contingency theory

- Hersey and Blanchard Based on relationship between leader and follower

and task behavior
- Vroom & Yetton Decision quality and decision acceptance
Transactional Vs. Transformational
Leadership
Basis of Distinction Transactional
Basis Based on exchange
relationship between leader
and followers.
Method of inspiration Rewards and recognition for
good performance
Orientation Task Orientaion
Approach Passive and stable
Main functions of leader Determination of objectives,
clarifying tasks, helping
subordinates in achieving
objectives
Transformational
Based on leaders values,
beliefs and needs of
followers
Leaders charisma, vision
and energy
Goal Orienatation
Active and dynamic
Providing vision and sense
of mission, instilling pride,
gaining respect and trust,
inspiring people, giving
personal attention.
Queries…????