Lecture 4: Leadership

Outline
I. What is leadership?
II. The link between leadership and management
III. Characteristics and traits of effective leaders
IV. Behaviors and skills of effective leaders
V. Theories of leadership
VI. Some real-life examples
I. What is leadership?

Source: Personality Tutor Website, 2012

1. Definitions:
• “Leadership is the ability to inspire confidence and
support among the people who are needed to achieve
organizational goals. (DuBrin, 2012)

• “Leadership is the ability to positively influence people

and systems to have a meaningful impact and achieve
results. (Yukl, 1998).
2. The leadership use of power & authority

• Leaders influence people to do things through the use of

power and authority
– Power is the ability or potential to influence decisions and
control resources
– Authority is the formal right to get people to do things or the
formal right to control resources
2. The leadership use of power & authority (cont)
• 8 Influence tactics:
– Leading by example: the leader influences group members by
serving as a positive model of desirable behavior.
– Leading by values: the leader influences people by articulating and
demonstrating values that guide the behaviors of others
– Assertiveness refers to being forthright in your demands. It involves
expressing what you want done and how you feel about it
• Influence tactics (cont):
– Rationality means appealing to reason and logic
– Ingratiation refers to getting somebody else to like you, often
through the use of political skill.
– Exchange is a method of influencing others by offering to
reciprocate if they meet your demands.
– Coalition formation is a way of gaining both power and
influence
– Joking and kidding are widely used to influence others on the
job. Good natured ribbing is especially effective when a
straightforward statement might be interpreted as harsh
criticism
 II. The link between
leadership and
management
• Effective leadership and management are both required in the
modern workplace; to be an effective leader, one must also be an
effective manager. (Yukl & Lepsinger, 2005)

Source: Chugg, 2015

III. Characteristics and traits of effective leaders
• Certain personal characteristics are associated with
successful managerial leadership in many situations,
including the followings:
– drive and passion
– power motive
– self-confidence combined with humility
– trustworthiness and honesty
– good intellectual ability, knowledge, and technical competence
– sense of humor
– emotional intelligence
– and leadership efficacy
 IV. Behavior & skills
of effective leaders
• Traits alone are not sufficient to lead effectively
• A leader must also behave in certain ways and possess
key skills
• The actions or behaviors described in the following list are
linked to leadership effectiveness. Recognize, however,
that behaviors are related to skills.
 IV. Behavior & skills of
effective leaders (cont)
• Leadership behaviors and skills include the following:
– Adaptability to the situation (i.e. the contingency viewpoint): a tactic is chosen
based on the unique circumstances at hand.
– Establish a direction and set high standards of performance for group members.
– Be visible and maintains a social presence: an effective way of making an
impact as a leader is to be visible to group members and maintain a presence.
– Provide emotional support to group members: supportive behavior toward
subordinates usually increases leadership effectiveness
– Give frequent feedback and accepts feedback
– Play the role of servant leader: some effective leaders believe that their primary
mission is to serve the needs of their constituents, including employees,
customers, and communities.
 V. Theories of leadership

1. Trait theory
2. Behavioral theory
3. Participative theory
4. Contingency theory
5. Situational leadership
 1. 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:
 1. Trait theory (cont)

• 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 adaption to changing situation, easier
cooperation compared to non-leaders
• Socio-economic status: effective leaders usually belong to higher
socio-economic class
 2. Behavioral theories:

• Ohio State studies focused on task and social behavior

of leaders
• Identified 2 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
 2. Behavioral theories
(cont):
• Managerial Grid:
– Developed by Drs. Robert R. Blake & 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)
• Concern for People: manager who avoids conflicts and strives for
friendly relations with subordinates (Y-axis)
Source:
Kapil,
2012
 3. Participative theories:

• Assumptions:
– Involvement in decision-making improves the understanding of the
issues involved and the commitment of 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
 3. Participative theories
(cont):
Lewin’s leadership styles:
Kurt Lewin and colleagues did leadership decision experiments in
1939 and identified three different styles of leadership, in
particular around decision-making:
• Autocratic style:
– Leader makes decision without reference to anyone else
– High degree of dependency on the leader
– Can create de-motivation and alienation of staff
– May be valuable in some types of business where decisions need to be
made quickly and decisively
 3. Participative theories
(cont):
• Democratic style:
– Encourages decision making from different perspectives – leadership
may be emphasized throughout the organization
• Consultative: process of consultation before decisions are taken
• Persuasive: leader takes decision and seeks to persuade others that the decision
is correct
– Democratic decision-making is usually appreciated by the people,
especially if they have been used to autocratic decisions with which
they disagreed.
– It can be problematic when there are a wide range of opinions and
there is no clear way of reaching an equitable final decision.
 3. Participative theories
(cont):
• Laissez-Faire:
– ‘Let it be’ – the leadership responsibilities are shared by all
– Can be very useful in business where creative ideas are important
– Can be highly motivational, as people have control over their working
life
– Can make coordination and decision making time – consuming and
lacking in overall direction
– Relies on good team work
– Relies on good interpersonal relations
 4. Contingency theory:

Fiedler’s Contingency Model

• Assume group performance depends on:
• Leadership style, described in terms of task motivation and
relationship motivation
• Situational favorableness, determined by three factors:
– Leader-member relations – Degree to which a leader is accepted and
supported by the group members
– Task culture – Extent to which the task is structured and defined, with clear
goals and procedures
– Position power – The ability of a leader to control subordinates through
reward and punishment
Fiedler’s Contingency Model (cont)
• Least-preferred co-worker (LPC) questionnaire used to
determined basic leadership style (assumes this style is
fixed)

✔ By measuring responses to 18 pairs of contrasting objectives:

– 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 positive (high LPC) or negative (low
LPC)
Fiedler’s Contingency Model (cont)
 5. Situational theory:

• Situational factors (e.g. motivation, capability of followers,

relationship between followers and leader) determine the
best action of leader
• Leader must be flexible to diagnose leadership style
appropriate for situation and be able to apply style
• No one best leadership for all situations
• Some situational theories:
– Hersey & Blanchard theory
– Vroom & Yetton
Hersey & Blanchard’s situational theory:
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 or 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
Summary of leadership theories
VI. Some real-life examples