Leadership

Jared Matthew Peña

Bruce Prochina
West Quijada
 ● Learn what types of people
become good leaders.
● Understand the importance of
leaders adapting their behavior to

Objectives each situation.

● Know what skills are essential for
effective leadership.
● Learn how leaders use power and
influence.
Understanding the theories and research
behind leadership is important because the
theory will, determine how an
organization selects or develops its
managers.
Personal Characteristics
Associated with
Leadership
Leader Emergence

An idea that people who become leaders possess traits or

characteristics different from people who do not become
leaders.
 17% to 30%
Of people are “born” with a desire to lead or not lead, of leader
emergence has a genetic basis. (Arvey, Rotundo, Johnson, Zhang, &
McGue, 2006)
Though early reviews of the literature
suggested that the relationship between traits
and leader emergence is not very strong, as
shown in Table 12.1, more recent reviews
suggest that,
Table 12.1 Summary of Meta-Analyses of Leader
Emergence and Performance
 ● people high in openness,
conscientiousness, extraversion,
masculinity, creativity, and
authoritarianism and low in
Though early reviews of the literature
neuroticism are more likely to
suggested that the relationship emerge as leaders than their
counterparts
between traits and leader emergence is ● high self-monitors (people who
adapt their behavior to the social
not very strong, as shown in Table
situation) emerge as leaders more
12.1, more recent reviews suggest often than low self-monitors
● more intelligent people are more
that; likely to emerge as leaders than are
less intelligent people
One explanation for the lack
of agreement on a list of traits
consistently related to leader
emergence is that the
motivation to lead is more
complex than originally
thought.
In a study using a large
international sample, Chan and
Drasgow (2001) found that the
motivation to lead has three
aspects:
● affective identity motivation
● noncalculative motivation
● social-normative motivation
Affective identity motivation become leaders because they enjoy being in
charge and leading others

Noncalculative motivation seek leadership positions when they perceive that

such positions will result in personal gain.

Social-normative motivation become leaders out of a sense of duty.

Individuals with high leadership motivation tend to
obtain leadership experience and have confidence in
their leadership skills.

So the best way to select a chief executive officer (CEO)

is to look for leadership qualities (e.g., risk taking,
innovation, vision) and success early in a person’s
career.
 Meta-analyses indicate that men and women emerge as leaders equally
often in leaderless group discussions (Benjamin, 1996);

Men emerge as leaders more often in Women emerge as leaders more

short-term groups and groups often in groups involving high social
carrying out tasks with low social interaction (Eagly & Karau, 1991).
interaction (Eagly & Karau, 1991);
Leader Performance

In contrast to leader emergence, which deals with the likelihood that a

person will become a leader, leader performance involves the idea that
leaders who perform well possess certain characteristics that poorly
performing leaders do not.
Research on the relationship between personal characteristics and leader
performance has concentrated on three areas: traits, needs, and
orientation.
 Traits
Self-monitoring: A personality
trait characterized by the tendency
to adapt one’s behavior to fit a
particular social situation.
As shown in Table 12.1, a
meta-analysis by Judge et al. (2002)
found that extraversion, openness,
agreeableness, and
conscientiousness were positively
related to leader performance and that
neuroticism was negatively related to
leader performance.
As was the case with leader
emergence, high self-monitors tend to
be better leaders than do low
self-monitors.
For example, a high self-monitoring leader may possess the trait of
shyness and not truly want to communicate with other people. She
knows, however, that talking to others is an important part of her job, so
she says hello to her employees when she arrives at work, and at least
once a day stops and talks with each employee.

Thus, our leader has the trait of shyness but adapts her outward
behavior to appear to be outgoing and confident.
Cognitive Ability

The meta-analysis further discovered that cognitive ability

is most important when the leader is not distracted by
stressful situations and when the leader uses a more
directive leadership style.

Sternberg (2007) has expanded on the importance of

cognitive ability by theorizing that the key to effective
leadership is the synthesis of three variables: wisdom,
intelligence (academic and practical), and creativity
Needs
A personal characteristic that has received some support
pertains to a leader’s need for power, need for achievement,
and need for affiliation.

As shown in Table 12.1, a meta-analysis by Argus and

Zajack (2008) found a significant relationship between need
for achievement and leader performance.
Leaders with high affiliation needs may
decide that being liked is more important
than being successful, causing conflict
with their decision.
Needs for power, 1. Thematic Apperception
achievement, and Test (TAT).
affiliation can be 2. Job Choice Exercise
(JCE),
measured through
3. Examining the themes
various psychological that occur in their
tests. writing and speeches
Gender
When all studies are combined, men and women appear not to differ in
leadership effectiveness . However,

Men were more effective as leaders While women were more likely
in situations traditionally defined in than men to engage in
behaviors associated with
masculine terms and in situations
high-quality leadership.
in which the majority of
subordinates were men.
Task Versus Person Orientation

Theory X , and Managerial Grid have postulated that differences in leader

performance can be attributed to differences in the extent to which leaders are
task versus person oriented.
Figure 12.1 Relationship Between Managerial Grid (MG)
Theory, Theory X, and Ohio State (OS) Theory
Person-oriented leaders or Theory Y
leaders believe that employees are
intrinsically motivated, seek
responsibility, are self-controlled, and do
not necessarily dislike work. Because of
these assumptions, person-oriented
leaders consult their subordinates before
making decisions, praise their work, ask
about their families, do not look over
their shoulder, and use a more
“hands-off” approach to leadership.
Task-oriented leaders or Theory X
leaders see their employees as lazy,
extrinsically motivated, wanting
security, undisciplined, and shirking
responsibility. Because of these
assumptions, task-oriented leaders tend
to manage or lead by giving directives,
setting goals, and making decisions
without consulting their subordinates.
Figure 12.2 Consequences of Leader Orientation

As depicted in Figure 12.2, theoretically, person-oriented leaders should have

satisfied employees, whereas task-oriented leaders should have productive
employees.
Unsuccessful Leaders

The traits and behaviors of unsuccessful 1. Lack of Training (lack of

leaders are not necessarily the opposite of
leadership training)
those of successful leaders (Hackman &
Wageman, 2007). In a departure from
2. Cognitive Deficiencies
research to identify characteristics of 3. Personality
successful leaders, Hogan (1989)
attempted to identify traits of
unsuccessful leaders as of the following;
Personality
Hogan et al. (1990) believed that many unsuccessful leaders are insecure and adopt one of
three personality types: the paranoid or passive-aggressive, the high-likability floater, and
the narcissist.
This paranoid/passive aggressive leader has deeply rooted, but perhaps unconscious,
resentment and anger. On the surface, these leaders are charming, quiet people who often
compliment their subordinates and fellow workers.
The type of leader who is insecure and seldom rocks the boat or causes trouble is known as
a high-likability floater. This person goes along with the group, is friendly to everyone, and
never challenges anyone’s ideas. Thus, he travels through life with many friends and no
enemies.
Narcissists are leaders who overcome their insecurity by overconfidence. They like to be the
center of attention, promote their own accomplishments, and take most, if not all, of the
credit for the successes of their group—but they avoid all blame for failure.
Interaction Between the
Leader and the Situation
“A leader’s effectiveness often depends not only on the
traits she/he possesses but also on the particular
situation in which the leader finds herself.”
Situational Favorability

Fiedler’s contingency model holds that any individual’s

leadership style is effective only in certain situations.

Thus, Fiedler would argue that rather than teaching people to

change their leadership styles, leadership training should
concentrate on helping people understand their style of
leadership and learn how to manipulate a situation so that the
two match.
 The first is task structuredness. The
more structured the task, the more
The favorableness favorable the situation.

of a situation is The second variable is leader position

power. The greater the position or
determined by three legitimate power of the leader, the
more favorable the situation.
variables.
The third variable is leader–member
relations. The more the subordinates
like their leader, the more favorable
the situation will be.

Organizational
Climate
Another situational theory, known as
IMPACT theory, was developed by Geier,
Downey, and Johnson (1980), who
believed that each leader has one of six
behavioral styles:
Each style is effective in only a particular
situation, or in what the researchers call an
organizational climate
1. Informational Style in a Climate of
Ignorance
2. Magnetic Style in a Climate of
Despair
3. Position Style in a Climate of
Instability
4. Affiliation Style in a Climate of
Anxiety
5. Coercive Style in a Climate of Crisis
6. Tactical Style in a Climate of
Disorganization
People can become effective leaders by one of the four methods
shown in Table 12.3.
Subordinate Ability
An important influence on leader effectiveness is the abilities and attitudes of the
leader’s followers and how these abilities and attitudes interact with the style and
characteristics of the leader (Hollander & Offermann, 1990).

Leaders will be successful only if their subordinates perceive them as working with
them to meet certain goals and if those goals offer a favorable outcome for the
subordinates.

Leaders who adapt their behavior to match the needs of their subordinates will be
more effective than leaders who stick to one leadership style.
Subordinate Ability
According to House’s path–goal
theory, a leader can adopt one of
four behavioral leadership styles to
handle each situation:
1. Instrumental-style leader calls for
planning, organizing, and
controlling the activities of
employees.
2. Supportive-style leader shows
concern for employees,
3. Participative-style leader shares
information with employees and lets
them participate in decision making,
4. Achievement-oriented style leader
sets challenging goals and rewards
increases in performance
In general, the higher the level of subordinate ability, the less
directive the leader should be. Likewise, the more
unstructured the situation, the more directive the leader
should be.
Another theory that focuses on
the relationship between leader
and follower is the situational
leadership theory developed by
Hersey and Blanchard (1988),
who postulated that a leader
typically uses one of four
behavioral styles: delegating,
Figure 12.4 Appropriate Situational Leadership
directing, supporting, or
Styles Based on Employee Ability and Willingness
coaching.
Relationships with Subordinates
LMX theory states that leaders develop different roles and relationships with the
people under them and thus act differently with different subordinates.

Dansereau and his colleagues believed that subordinates fall into one of two groups;

the in-group, characterized by a high-quality relationship with the leader,

the out-group, characterized by a low-quality relationship with the leader.

 In-group subordinates are those
who have developed trusting,
friendly relationships with the
leader. As a result, the leader
deals with in-group members by
allowing them to participate in
decisions and by rarely disciplining
them.
Out-group subordinates are
treated differently from those in
the in-group and are more likely to
be given direct orders and to have
less say about how affairs are
conducted.

To become members of the in-group, employees often engage in

such ingratiating behaviors as complimenting their leader
Specific Leader Skills
“Another way to think about
leadership is that excellent leaders
possess specific skills or engage in
behaviors that poor leaders do not.”
Yukl (1982), Carter (1952), Hemphill 1. Initiate ideas
and Coons (1950), and Gibbs (1969) 2. Informally interact with subordinates
have proposed a behavioral “theory.” 3. Stand up for and support subordinates
4. Take responsibility
According to these researchers,
5. Develop a group atmosphere
leaders do the following:
6. Organize and structure work
7. Communicate formally with
subordinates
8. Reward and punish subordinates
9. Set goals
10. Make decisions
11. Train and develop employee skills
12. Solve problems
13. Generate enthusiasm
In a job analysis of first-line
supervisors at the Maryland
Department of Transportation,
Cooper, Kaufman, and Hughes
(1996) found the following skills
to be essential:
● Organizing Analysis and decision
making
● Planning Communication (oral and
written)
● Delegation Work habits
(high-quality work)
● Carefulness Interpersonal skill
● Job knowledge
● Organizational knowledge
● Toughness
● Integrity
● Development of others
● Listening
If this theory is true, then leadership and
management are something learned, usually through
experience (McCall, 2010).

A discussion of a few additional for leadership skills

as follows;
Leadership Through Decision Making
Decision making is a specific behavior or skill that is important for a leader
to possess. Vroom and Yetton (1973), however, point out that previous
research has shown that only in certain situations are decisions best made
by the leader; in other situations, decisions are best made with the
participation of a leader’s subordinates, colleagues, or both.
 Management by walking around
Leadership (MBWA) is another popular specific
behavioral theory. This one holds
Through Contact: that leaders and managers are most
effective when they are out of their
Management by offices, walking around, and meeting
with and talking to employees and
Walking Around customers about their needs and
progress.
Leadership Through Power
Power is important to a leader French and Raven’s bases of
because as it increases so does the power were alluded to in terms of
leader’s potential to influence their relationships to Geier et al.’s
others. IMPACT theory and identified five
basic types of power:
1. Expert Power
2. Legitimate Power
3. Reward and Coercive Powers
4. Referent Power
Leadership Through Vision: Transformational
Leadership Transactional leadership consists of —setting
The leadership styles are divided into two types: goals, monitoring performance, and providing
a consequence to success or failure.
Transformational leadership focuses on Transactional leadership is thought to have
changing or transforming the goals, values, three dimensions:
ethics, standards, and performance of others.
Transformational leaders are often labeled as 1. contingent reward,
being “visionary,” “charismatic,” and 2. management by exception-active, and
“inspirational.” 3. management by exception-passive.

They lead by developing a vision, changing

organizations to fit this vision, and motivating
employees to reach the vision or long-term
goal.
It is believed that there are three highly
related dimensions to transformational
leadership:

1. Charisma refers to leaders with high 3. Individual consideration refers to

moral and ethical standards who have leaders who encourage individual growth
a strong vision of where they want and take the time to mentor and coach
their followers to go and who use their followers.
enthusiasm to motivate their
followers.
2. Intellectual stimulation refers to
leaders who encourage change and
open thinking, challenge the status
quo, and appreciate diversity.
Leadership Through Authenticity
Leaders reflect on their own ethics, core beliefs, and values and,
rather than leading by copying the leadership style of others, lead by
being themselves and acting in accordance with their heartfelt ethics,
beliefs, and values to create a positive environment.
 Claim Jumper Restaurants, a California-based
casual dining chain, developed an interesting
program for hiring and developing its
Applied Case restaurant managers. The first Claim Jumper
restaurant opened in Los Angeles in 1977 and

Study there are currently 37 restaurants, most of

which are in western states.

Each restaurant features Douglas fir logs,

Developing Leaders at Claim
Jumper Restaurants
natural stone, and natural wood beams to
promote a “gold rush” theme. The restaurant
is open for lunch and dinner and has a wide
menu, including ribs, chicken, steak, seafood,
and pasta.
Applied Case Study
The restaurant chain uses two
strategies to hire managers: hiring
from the outside and promoting
current employees. In 2001, they
created a new program to select and
develop internal candidates for
management positions. Interested
employees are first screened to
determine if they would make good
managers.
If they seem to be a good fit, they are
enrolled in the Expeditor Program to
learn management skills and gain
management experience. If they don’t
seem like a good fit, they are given
feedback on what they can do to increase
their readiness for the program.
Employees in the Expeditor Program,
now called “Expeditors,” work closely
with restaurant managers, receive
management training and experience,
and are provided with feedback on their
progress.
Questions;
If you were in charge of hiring and developing managers for Claim
Jumper Restaurants, what competencies and experiences would
you look for?

On the basis of what you learned in this chapter, how much

emphasis would you place on hiring the right people as opposed to
developing current employees into good leaders?
Ethics and Leadership
A professor with a policy of failing students
who miss more than six days of class in one
semester decides not to fail one particular
student with high absenteeism, even
though two other students were failed in
the same semester because of their high
absenteeism. If the professor fails that
third student, the professor knows that the
student will be unable to graduate. If the
student can’t graduate, she won’t be able to
enter her master’s program in the fall.
A director of a mental health agency
overrepresents the number of clients his
agency served for the previous year. The
agency gets funds from the state based on
how many clients it serves each year. The
director knows that if he were to report the
correct number of clients, the agency would
get significantly less money to use for the
next year. A reduction in funds would mean
that some staff would have to be laid off,
causing the agency to help even fewer
clients.
The text explores two perspectives
on bending the rules:
one suggesting it is necessary in
certain circumstances for the
greater good, and
the other arguing that rules should
always be followed to maintain
trust and uphold standards.
Regarding the first situation, it asks
whether it is ethical for the
professor to bend the rules and if the
failed students would perceive it as
unfair treatment? Or is it ethical for
mental health agency director
overrepresents the number of clients
served to secure more funding?
Is it ever morally justifiable for leaders to prioritize
their own judgment over established rules and policies,
even if it means bending or breaking them?