Week (1) Session (2)

Computer science Department

Executive Master in Cyber Security

Effective Leadership
EMCS-603

Chapter 3: The
Leadership Situation
and Adaptive
Leadership
Spring2021
2020-2021
 Focus of This Chapter

Stewart Model Situational Determinants

Situation
Aspects Effects Multiple Linkage Model

This Chapter Objectives:

1. Understand how aspects of the situation can influence leader behavior. 2- Understand how aspects of the situation can enhance or
diminish effects of leader behavior. 3- Understand how to adapt leader behavior to the situation. 4- Understand how to deal with
demands, constraints, and role(5)conflicts.
Week Session (1) 2
 Outline
Topic 1: Introduction

Topic 2: Different ways situations affect leaders

Topic 3: Stewart model of situational determinants

Topic 4: Other Situational Determinants of Leader Behavior

Topic 5: Guidelines for coping with demands and constraints

Topic 6: Multiple-linkage model

Topic 6: Guidelines for flexible, adaptive leadership

Topic 7: Guidelines for flexible, adaptive leadership

Week (1) Session (1) 3
 Computer science Department
Executive Master in Cyber Security

Leadership in
Organizations, 9th edition-
Global edition, Pearson,
2020.

Introduction
 Introduction
▪ This chapter discusses how aspects of the leadership situation
help to determine what actions a leader takes and the effects
of the behavior on outcomes such as subordinate satisfaction
and performance.
▪ The chapter begins by briefly explaining three ways that
aspects of the situation can influence the effectiveness of
leaders.
▪ Next, the chapter describes findings in descriptive research
on aspects of the job situation that influence the actions and
decisions of leaders in that situation.

Chapter (3) 5
 Computer science Department
Executive Master in Cyber Security

Leadership in
Organizations, 9th edition-
Global edition, Pearson,
2020.

Different Ways Situations

Affect Leaders
 Different Ways Situations Affect Leaders

Aspects of the leadership situation can have different types of

causal effects, and more than one type of effect can occur for
the same situational variable.

1. Situation Directly Influences Leader Behavior.

2. Situation Moderates Effects of Leader Behavior.
3. Situation Directly Affects Outcomes or Mediators.

Chapter (3) 7
Different Ways Situations Affect Leaders

1. Situation Directly Influences Leader Behavior.

▪ A situational variable may directly influence a leader’s behavior but only

indirectly influence the dependent variables.
▪ Aspects of the situation such as formal rules, policies, role
expectations, and organizational values can encourage or constrain a
leader’s behavior.
▪ In addition to the direct effect of the situation on leader behavior,
there may be an indirect effect on dependent variables. For example, a
company establishes a new policy requiring sales managers to provide
bonuses to any sales representative with sales exceeding a minimum
standard; sales managers begin awarding bonuses, and the performance
and satisfaction of the sales representatives increase.

Chapter (3) 8
Different Ways Situations Affect Leaders

2. Situation Moderates Effects of Leader Behavior

▪ A situational variable is called an enhancer if it increases the effects of
leader behavior on the dependent variable but does not directly
influence the dependent variable. For example, leader task expertise
enables the leader to provide better coaching, and subordinates are
more likely to follow advice from a leader who is perceived to be an
expert.
▪ A situational moderator variable is called a neutralizer when it
decreases the effect of leader behavior on the dependent variable or
prevents any effect from occurring. For example, leader instruction in
how to do a task has little effect on the performance of employees who
already know how to do it.

Chapter (3) 9
Different Ways Situations Affect Leaders

3. Situation Directly Affects Outcomes or Mediators

▪ When a situational variable can make a mediating variable or an outcome
more favorable, it is sometimes called a substitute for leadership. An
example is when subordinates have extensive prior training and
experience, the need for clarifying and coaching by the leader is
reduced, because subordinates already know what to do and how to do
it. A substitute can indirectly influence leader behavior if it becomes
obvious to the leader that some types of behavior are redundant and
unnecessary.
▪ A situational variable can also affect the relative importance of a
mediating variable as a determinant of performance outcomes. For
example, employee skill is a more important determinant of performance
when the task is very complex and variable than when the task is simple
and repetitive. Here again, the situational variable can indirectly
influence leader behavior if it is obvious that some types of behavior
are more relevant than others to improve performance for the leader’s
team or work unit.
Chapter (3) 10
 Computer science Department
Executive Master in Cyber Security

Leadership in
Organizations, 9th edition-
Global edition, Pearson,
2020.

Stewart Model of
Situational Determinants
Stewart Model of Situational Determinants
This research indicates that there are unique role requirements
for many types of leadership positions. Based on extensive
research with different methods for collecting data, Stewart
formulated a model for describing different types of managerial
jobs and understanding how managers do them.
▪ Demands
▪ Constraints
▪ Choices
▪ Pattern of Relationships
▪ Work Patterns
▪ Exposure
▪ Leader Discretion
Chapter (3) 12
Stewart Model of Situational Determinants

(1) Demands

▪ Demands are the required duties, activities, and responsibilities for

someone in a managerial position.
▪ Demands include standards, objectives, and deadlines for work that must
be met, and bureaucratic procedures that cannot be ignored or
delegated, such as preparing budgets and reports, attending certain
meetings, authorizing expenditures, signing documents, and conducting
performance appraisals.

Chapter (3) 13
Stewart Model of Situational Determinants

(2) Constraints

▪ Constraints are characteristics of the organization and external

environment limiting what a manager can do.
▪ They include bureaucratic rules, policies, and regulations that must be
observed, and legal constraints such as labor laws, environmental
regulations, securities regulations, and safety regulations. Another type
of constraint involves the availability of resources, such as facilities,
equipment, budgetary funding, supplies, personnel, and support services.
▪ The technology used to do the work constrains the options for how the
work will be done. The physical location of facilities and distribution of
personnel among work sites limit the opportunities for face-to-face
interaction.

Chapter (3) 14
 Stewart Model of Situational Determinants

(3) Choices
▪ Choices include the opportunities available to someone in a particular type of
managerial position to determine what to do and how to do it.
▪ Demands and constraints limit choices in the short run, but over a longer time
period, a manager has some opportunities to modify demands and remove or
circumvent constraints, thereby expanding choices.
▪ Examples of major choices include the objectives for the manager’s unit, the
priorities attached to different objectives, the strategies selected to pursue
objectives, the aspects of the work in which the manager gets personally
involved, how the manager spends time, what responsibility is delegated, and how
the manager attempts to influence different people. By their choices, managers
can also influence demands. For example, agreeing to serve on a committee adds
to a manager’s demands.
▪ Moreover, people differ in the way they interpret role expectations, and one
person will perceive a demand where another may not. For example, one
operations manager believes that a bureaucratic regulation must be observed
exactly, whereas another operations manager in the same company perceives
more flexibility in what can be done.
Chapter (3) 15
Stewart Model of Situational Determinants

(4) Pattern of Relationships

▪ The demands made on a manager by superiors, subordinates, peers, and persons
outside the organization influence how the manager’s time is spent and how much
skill is needed to fulfill role requirements.
▪ More time is needed to deal with subordinates when new assignments must be
made frequently, subordinates must be closely coordinated, and it is important
but difficult to monitor their performance. More time is needed to deal with
superiors when the manager is highly dependent on them for resources or
assignments, and superiors make unpredictable demands.
▪ More time is needed to deal with peers when the manager is dependent on them
for services, supplies, cooperation, or approval of work outputs. More time is
needed for outsiders (e.g., clients, customers, suppliers, subcontractors) when
the manager is highly dependent on them and must negotiate agreements, carry
out public relations activities, and create a good impression. Having to establish
relationships with many people for short periods of time, as opposed to dealing
with the same people repeatedly, further complicates the manager’s job,
especially when it is necessary to impress and influence people quickly.

Chapter (3) 16
Stewart Model of Situational Determinants

(5) Work Patterns

▪ Stewart found that the pattern of role requirements and demands affected
managerial behavior, and somewhat different patterns of behavior were
associated with different types of managerial jobs.
▪ The following factors were useful for classifying managerial jobs: (1) the extent
to which managerial activities are either self-generating or a response to the
requests, instructions, and problems of other people; (2) the extent to which
the work is recurrent and repetitive rather than variable and unique; (3) the
amount of uncertainty in the work; (4) the extent of managerial activities
requiring sustained attention for long periods of time; and (5) the amount of
pressure to meet deadlines. For example, more initiative and planning of
activities are required in a predominantly self-generating job (e.g., product
manager, research manager, training director) than for a predominantly
responding job with unpredictable problems and workload variations that are
beyond the manager’s control (e.g., production manager, service manager).
Stewart suggested that the work pattern associated with some kinds of
managerial jobs tends to be habit forming. A person who spends a long time in
one position may grow accustomed to acting in a particular way and will find it
difficult to adjust to another managerial position with different behavioral
requirements.
Chapter (3) 17
Stewart Model of Situational Determinants

(6) Exposure
▪ Another aspect of a managerial job that determines what behavior and skills are
required is the amount of responsibility for making decisions with potentially
serious consequences, and the amount of time before a mistake or poor decision
can be discovered.
▪ There is more “exposure” when decisions and actions have important, highly
visible consequences for the organization, and mistakes or poor judgment can
result in loss of resources, disruption of operations, and risk to human health and
life. There is less exposure when decisions do not have immediate consequences,
or when decisions are made by a group that has shared accountability for them.
Examples of high-exposure jobs include product managers who must recommend
expensive marketing programs and product changes that may quickly prove to be
a disaster, project managers who may fail to complete projects on schedule and
within budget, and managers of profit centers (e.g., managers of each company
store or service facility) who are held accountable for their unit’s costs and
profits.

Chapter (3) 18
Stewart Model of Situational Determinants

(7) Leader Discretion

▪ A managerial or administrative position makes various demands on the person who
occupies it, and the actions of the occupant are constrained by laws, policies,
regulations, traditions, and scope of formal authority.
▪ Demands and constraints are not determined entirely by objective job
conditions, they also depend on the leader’s objectives and skills.
▪ There are choices for what aspects of the job are emphasized, how much time is
devoted to various activities, and how much time is spent with different people.
▪ Even for managers with similar jobs, there was considerable variability of
behavior For example, some bank managers emphasized staff supervision,
whereas others delegated much of the internal management to the assistant
manager and concentrated on actively seeking out new business.

Chapter (3) 19
 Computer science Department
Executive Master in Cyber Security

Leadership in
Organizations, 9th edition-
Global edition, Pearson,
2020.

Other Situational
Determinants of Leader
Behavior
 Other Situational Determinants of Leader Behavior

1. Level of Management
Job responsibilities and the skills necessary to carry them out vary somewhat
for managers at different authority levels in the organization.
▪ Higher-level managers are usually more concerned with the exercise of
broad authority in making long-range plans, formulating policy, modifying the
organization structure, and initiating new ways of doing things. Decisions at
this level usually have a long-time perspective, because it is appropriate for
top executives to be thinking about what will happen 10 to 20 years in the
future.
▪ Middle managers are primarily concerned with interpreting and
implementing policies and programs, and they usually have a moderately
long-time perspective (two to five years). Low-level managers are primarily
concerned with structuring, coordinating, and facilitating work activities.
Objectives are more specific, issues are less complex and more focused,
and managers typically have a shorter time perspective (a few weeks to two
years).
Chapter (3) 21
 Other Situational Determinants of Leader
Behavior

2. Size of Organizational Unit

▪ Managers of the larger organizational subunits has more demanding jobs in
comparison to managers of smaller units.
▪ Decisions are more difficult due to the sheer volume of issues and activities
and the lack of detailed knowledge a manager is likely to have.
▪ Because larger units are likely to have a more bureaucratic structure,
managers must cope with more constraints (e.g., rules, standard procedures,
and required authorizations).
▪ General managers in larger organizational units has larger networks and
attended more scheduled meetings. When a manager has a large number of
subordinates, it is more difficult to get all of them together for meetings,
or to consult individually with each subordinate. Such leaders tend to use
less participative leadership or to limit it to an “executive committee” or to a
few trusted “lieutenants.”

Chapter (3) 22
 Other Situational Determinants of Leader
Behavior
3. External Dependencies
▪ The extent to which a leader’s subunit is dependent on other subunits in the
same organization (“lateral interdependence”) or on external groups will
affect leader behavior to a considerable extent.
▪ As interdependence increases with other subunits, coordination with them
becomes more important and there is more need for mutual adjustments in
plans, schedules, and activities.
▪ As lateral interdependence increases, the external activities of a leader
become more important, managers spend more time in lateral interactions,
and they build larger networks with contacts in other parts of the
organization.
▪ The leader’s role in lateral relations includes functions such as gathering
information from other subunits, obtaining assistance and cooperation from
them, negotiating agreements, reaching joint decisions to coordinate unit
activities.

Chapter (3) 23
 Other Situational Determinants of Leader
Behavior
4. Extreme Contexts
▪ Some of the greatest leadership challenges arise when there is an immediate
crisis or disruption of normal operations, such as a terrorist attack, a
serious accident or shooting incident with many fatalities, a natural disaster
(flood, tornados, earthquake), a cyberattack, a financial crisis or hostile
takeover attempt, or a health emergency with widespread illness or deaths
▪ When operating within extreme contexts, and particularly when extreme
events arise, the role expectations for the leader are likely to change.
Leaders of organizations affected by such crises will be expected to be
more assertive, directive, and decisive

Chapter (3) 24
 Computer science Department
Executive Master in Cyber Security

Leadership in
Organizations, 9th edition-
Global edition, Pearson,
2020.

Guidelines for Coping with

Demands and Constraints
 Guidelines for Coping with Demands and Constraints

Table 3-1: General Guidelines for Coping with Demands and Constraints

Chapter (3) 26
 Computer science Department
Executive Master in Cyber Security

Leadership in
Organizations, 9th edition-
Global edition, Pearson,
2020.

Multiple-Linkage Model
 Multiple-Linkage Model
1. Mediating Variables: Interact with each other to determine
the effectiveness of a group or organizational subunit

▪ Task commitment: members strive to attain a high level of performance

and show a high degree of personal commitment to unit task objectives.
▪ Ability and role clarity: members understand their individual job
responsibilities, know what to do, and have the skills to do it.
▪ Organization of the work: effective performance strategies are used and
the work is organized to ensure efficient utilization of personnel,
equipment, and facilities.
▪ Cooperation and mutual trust: members trust each other, share
information and ideas, help each other, and identify with the work unit.
▪ Resources and support: the group has budgetary funds, tools, equipment,
supplies, personnel, facilities, information, and assistance needed to do the
work.
▪ External coordination: the activities of the group are synchronized with
the interdependent activities in other subunits and organizations (e.g.,
suppliers, clients).
Chapter (3) 28
 Multiple-Linkage Model
2. Situational Variables: Directly influence mediating variables
and can make them either more or less favorable
▪ Situational variables that can influence task commitment include the formal
reward system and the intrinsically motivating properties of the work
itself.
▪ Situational variables that affect subordinate ability and role clarity include
the nature of the work, the prior training and experience of the leader’s
subordinates, and the effectiveness of the organization’s recruitment and
selection processes.
▪ Situational variables that affect the organization of the work and
assignment of tasks to individuals include the type of technology, the
variety of tasks performed by the leader’s work unit, the variation in
subordinate skills, and the amount of work rules and standard procedures
that are determined by staff experts or union contracts.
▪ Situational variables that affect cooperation and teamwork include the
nature of the work, the size of the group, the stability of membership, the
similarity among members in values and background, and the reward
system.
Chapter (3) 29
 Multiple-Linkage Model
3. Short-Term Actions to Correct Deficiencies: A basic
proposition of the model is that leader actions to correct any
deficiencies in the mediating variables that determine group
performance.

▪ A leader who fails to recognize opportunities to correct deficiencies in key

mediating variables, who recognizes the opportunities but fails to act, or
who acts but is not skilled will be less than optimally effective.
▪ An ineffective leader may make things worse by acting in ways that
increase rather than decrease the deficiency in one or more mediating
variables. For example, a leader who is very manipulative and coercive may
reduce subordinate effort rather than increase it.

Chapter (3) 30
 Multiple-Linkage Model

4. Long-Term Actions to Improve the Situation: Effective

leaders act to reduce constraints and reduce the importance
of mediating variables that are not amenable to improvement.
Some examples of possible actions as follows:
1. Gain more access to resources needed for the work by reducing dependence on
unreliable sources and finding alternatives .
2. Gain more control over the demand for the products and services by finding new
customers, opening new markets, advertising more.
3. Initiate new, more profitable activities for the work unit that will make better
use of personnel, equipment, and facilities.
4. Initiate long-term improvement programs to upgrade and replace the old
equipment and facilities in the work unit
5. Improve selection procedures to increase the level of employee skills and
commitment.
6. Modify the formal structure of the work unit to solve chronic problems..

31
 Computer science Department
Executive Master in Cyber Security

Leadership in
Organizations, 9th edition-
Global edition, Pearson,
2020.

Guidelines for Flexible,

Adaptive Leadership
Guidelines for Flexible, Adaptive Leadership

▪ Understand your leadership situation and try to make it more

favorable.
▪ Learn how to use a wide range of relevant behaviors.
▪ Identify effective behaviors for your objectives and situation.
▪ Use more planning for a long, complex task.
▪ Provide more direction to people with interdependent roles.
▪ Monitor a critical task or unreliable person more closely.
▪ Provide more instruction and coaching to an inexperienced
subordinate.
▪ Be more supportive to someone with a highly stressful task.

Chapter (3) 33
 Summary
▪ The job situation for most leaders is too complex and
unpredictable to rely on the same set of standardized
responses for all situations.
▪ Effective leaders are continuously reading the situation and
determining how to adapt their behavior to it. They seek to
understand the task requirements, situational constraints, and
interpersonal processes that determine which course of
action is most likely to be successful.
▪ The multiple-linkage model describes how leader behavior and
aspects of the situation jointly influence individual or group
performance. A leader can improve group performance by
taking direct action to correct any

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