Lecture 4

Leadership: concepts and theories

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 Outline
I. What is leadership?
II. Key skills and competences of leaders
III. Approaches to leadership study
IV. Leadership approaches and theories
V. Impacts of leadership and management

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 I. What is leadership?

Source: Personality Tutor Website, 2012

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 I. What is leadership?
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).

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 I. What is leadership?
2. The leaders’ 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

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 II. Key skills and competences of leaders

Work in pair or a small group then share the results with the class
- List out the as many key skills and competences as possible of
a good leader in 5 mins.
- What is the most important skill and competences that you
believe every leader should possess?

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 II. Key skills & competences of leaders
(cont.)
1. Key skills
Here are the top skills that make a strong leader in the
workplace.
• Communication: clearly and succinctly explain to the
employees everything from organizational goals to specific
tasks.
• Motivation: inspire the workers to go the extra mile for the
organization.
• Delegating: identify the skills of each of the employees,
and assign duties to each employee based on his or her
skill set.
• Positivity: A positive attitude can go a long way in an
office. This helps create a happy and healthy work
environment, even during busy, stressful periods.

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 II. Key skills & competences of leaders
(cont.)
1. Key skills
• Trustworthiness: It is important for the leader to
demonstrate their integrity— employees will only
trust leaders they respect. By being open and
honest, leader will encourage the same sort of
honesty in the employees.
• Creativity: Leaders have to make a number of
decisions that do not have a clear answer, so
leaders need to be able to think outside of the box.
• Problem-solving: Leaders must use their creativity
and practical experience to solve problems that
arise in the workplace

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 II. Key skills & competences of leaders
(cont.)
2. Key competences
Skills alone are not sufficient to lead
effectively. A leader must also have certain
competences as followings:
• Giving and receiving feedbacks
• Taking responsibility for both success and
failure
• Managing cultural sensitivity and diversity
• Global outlook and agility
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 II. Key skills & competences of leaders
(cont.)
3. Hard skills of management vs. soft skills of
leadership
• What are hard skills and soft skills?
– Hard skills are technical knowledge or training that
you have gained through any life experience,
including in your career or education.
– Soft skills are personal habits and traits that shape
how you work, on your own and with others.
• To what extend do you agree that management skills
are hard skills while leadership skills are soft skills?

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II. Key skills & competences of leaders
(cont.)

Figure 1: Difference
between
management and
leadership skills
(Leaders United,
2021)

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 III. Approaches to leadership study

• There are many ways of looking at leadership and

interpretations of its meaning.
• It is difficult, therefore, to generalize about leadership, but
essentially it is a relationship through which one person
influences the behavior or actions of other people. This means
that the process of leadership cannot be separated from the
activities of groups and effective teambuilding.
• Due to its complex and variable nature of leadership, there are
many different interpretations and alternative ways of analyzing
leadership. It is helpful, therefore, to have some framework in
which to consider different approaches to study of the subject.

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 III. Approaches to leadership study
(cont.)

Figure 2: Framework for study of leadership (Source: Coursebook, p.337)

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 III. Leadership approaches and theories

Figure 3: Leadership approaches over time (Harrison, 2017)

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 1. Contingency theory
• Assumptions:
– No one best way of leading
– Ability to lead contingent upon various situational factors:
• Leader’s preferred style
• Capabilities and behavior of followers
• Various other situational factors
• Effect:
– Leaders who are successful in one situation may become
unsuccessful if the factors around them change
• Different contingency theories:
– Fiedler’s Contingency Model
– Cognitive Resource Theory
– House’s Path Goal Theory

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 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

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 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 8 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)

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 Fiedler’s Contingency Model (cont.)

Figure 4: Fiedler’s contingency model (Vantage Circle, 2021)

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 2. 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

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 a. Hersey & Blanchard’s 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

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a. Hersey & Blanchard’s theory

Figure 5: Hersey & Blanchard’s

situational leadership model
(Semantic Scholar, 2021)

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 b. Vroom & Yetton’s model
• Assumption: No single decision-making
process fits every scenario.
• The Vroom-Yetton model is designed to help
leader to identify the best decision-making
approach and leadership style to take, based
on the current situation.
• A leader’s decision making is affected by three
factors of a current situation:
– Decision quality
– Decision acceptance/team commitment
– Time constraint

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 b. Vroom & Yetton’s model (cont.)

Figure 6: The Vroom-Yetton Decision Tree (Mind Tools, 2021)

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 b. Vroom & Yetton’s model (cont.)
The model identifies five different styles based on the situation and level
of involvement. Two are autocratic, two are varieties of consultation, and
one is joint-decision-making.
• Autocratic Type 1 (A1): The leader makes their own decisions. They
use information that is currently available to them.
• Autocratic Type 2 (A2): The leader collects the required information
from followers, then makes the decision alone.
• Consultative Type 1 (C1): The leader shares problems with relevant
followers individually. They seek their ideas and suggestions but make
decisions alone.
• Consultative Type 2 (C2): The leader shares problems with followers
as a group. They seek their ideas and suggestions and make decisions
alone.
• Group-based Type 2 (G2): Leaders discuss problems and situations
with followers. They seek their ideas and suggestions through
brainstorming. The decision accepted by the group is the final one.

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 Evaluation on situational leadership

Table 1: Pros and cons of situational leadership

(Jawed, 2016)

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 2. Situational leadership (cont.)
Examples:

Jack Stahl
George Patton
(born in 1953)
(1885 – 1945)
Former President &
US military’s General
COO of Coca Cola)

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 3. Transformational leadership

• In 1978, its creator, US historian James MacGregor

Burns, defined transformational leadership as a leadership
approach that changes expectations, perceptions and
motivations of followers, as well as driving transformation
within an organization.
• According to Burns, for such change to occur, leaders and
their followers need to agree on common goals in order to
move forward together and achieve a higher level of
motivation.

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 3. Transformational leadership (cont.)

• Some years later, in 1985, Burns' concept was developed

by researcher and psychologist Bernard Morris
Bass, proposed a theory of transformational leadership
that argues that the leader transforms and motivates
followers by:
– generating greater awareness of the importance of the
purpose of the organization and task outcomes;
– inducing them to transcend their own self-interests for
the sake of the organization or team; and
– activating their higher-level needs.

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 3. Transformational leadership (cont.)

Transformational leadership is composed of four basic

components:
• idealized influence – charisma of the leader, and respect and
admiration of the followers;
• inspirational motivation – behavior of the leader which
provides meaning and challenge to the work of followers;
• intellectual stimulation – leaders who solicit new and novel
approaches for the performance of work and creative
problem solutions from followers; and
• individualized consideration – leaders who listen and give
special concern to the growth and developmental needs of
the followers.
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 3. Transformational leadership (cont.)

Figure 7: The Components of Transformational Leadership

(Waham et al., 2020)

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 3. Transformational leadership (cont.)

Evaluation of transformational leadership

Table 2: Advantages and disadvantages of transformational leadership

(Wesmariy, 2021)

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 3. Transformational leadership (cont.)
Examples:

Edward Deming Warren Buffet

(1900-1993) (born in 1930)
Management Chairman & CEO
Consultant of Berkshire
Hathaway

Jack Welch, Jr. Nelson

(born in 1935) Mandela
Ex-chairman & (1918-2013)
CEO of General Ex-President of
Electric South Africa

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 4. Transactional leadership
• The transactional style of leadership was first
described by Max Weber in 1947 and then by
Bernard Bass in 1981.
• Transactional leadership involves motivating and
directing followers primarily through appealing to
their own self-interest.
• The power of transactional leaders comes from
their formal authority and responsibility in the
organization. The main goal of the follower is to
obey the instructions of the leader.
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 4. Transactional leadership (cont.)
Three dimensions of transactional leadership:
• Contingent reward: the process of setting
expectations and rewarding workers for meeting
them
• Passive management by exception: where a
manager does not interfere with workflow unless an
issue arises
• Active management by exception: in which
managers anticipate problems, monitor progress
and issue corrective measures

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 4. Transactional leadership (cont.)

Evaluation on transactional leadership

Figure 8: Advantages and disadvantages of transactional leadership

(Leadership Ahoy, 2021)
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 4. Transactional leadership (cont.)
Examples:
Norman Vince
Schwarzkopf Lombardi
(1934-2012) (1913-1970)
US Army American
General football player,
coach

Howard Schultz Bill Gates

(born in 1953) (born in 1955)
Founder & CEO Co-founder &
of Starbucks CEO of
Microsoft

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 5. Charismatic/inspirational leadership

• The theory of charismatic leadership can be traced back to a 1922

study conducted by German sociologist Max Weber.
• To Weber, charisma was more about appearances than action, and
driven more by sociology or politics. He cited three key components
that make up a charismatic leader:
– the psychological dimension, which encompasses their inner
qualities;
– the social aspect, driven by the external sources that shape the
leader;
– the relational dimension, relating to the relationship between the
leader and their subordinate.
• The importance of charisma for effective leadership today is
emphasized by Conger, who also believes that many of the traits that
make a successful leader can be taught, including charisma.
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 5. Charismatic/inspirational leadership
(cont.)
• The charismatic leadership style relies on the charm and
persuasiveness of the leader. They are driven by their
convictions and commitment to their cause.
• Charismatic leaders also are sometimes called transformational
leaders because they share multiple similarities. Their main
difference is focus and audience. Charismatic leaders often try
to make the status quo better, while transformational leaders
focus on transforming organizations into the leader's vision.
• Some of the skills, traits, and actions that may define a good
leader that utilizes charisma would include: Confidence,
Compassion, Communicative, Emotive, Determined and
Vision.
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 5. Charismatic/inspirational leadership
(cont.)
Evaluation on charismatic leadership

Figure 9: Advantages and disadvantages of charismatic leadership

(Merritt, 2018)

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 5. Charismatic/inspirational leadership
(cont.)
Examples:
Martin Luther Sir Winston
King, Jr. Churchill
(1929-1968) (1874-1965)
American Ex Prime
Baptist minister Minister of UK

Ronald Reagan Lee Iacocca

(1911-200) (1924-2019)
40th President American
of USA automobile
executive

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 6. Emotional leadership
• Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis, and Annie McKee
described six distinct emotional leadership styles in their
2002 book, "Primal Leadership." Each of these styles has a
different effect on people's emotions, and each has strengths
and weaknesses in different situations.
• Goleman and his co-authors say that no one style should be
used all of the time. Instead, the six styles should be used
interchangeably, depending on the specific needs of the
situation and the people that you're dealing with.
• Although each one of them has very different
characteristics, they’re all based on the comprehension of
other people’s emotions.
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 6. Emotional leadership

Figure 10: Goleman’s Six Leadership Styles

(Goleman et al., 2002)

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 V. Impacts of leadership and management

1. Impacts of leadership:
a. Positive impacts brought by good leadership:
• With good leadership, corporate culture isn’t forced, it is developed.
• Communication is daily and open. Everyone understands the vision
and goals of the organization, and everyone has input into how they
can be improved.
• Employees feel that they are an important part of the whole and that
every job matters within the company.
• Decisions for promotions are based on picking people of integrity
whose talents and experience best fit the positions.
• Employees are encouraged to compete with their own best to get
ahead and they understand that helping their coworkers to succeed is
the best way to get ahead themselves.
 The result of good leadership is high morale, good employee
retention, and sustainable long-term success.

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 V. Impacts of leadership and management
(cont.)
b. Negative impacts brought by bad leadership:
• Corporate culture becomes a meaningless term where leaders claim it
exists while employees shake their heads in frustration.
• There is a lack of clear, consistent communication from leadership to
the employees. As a result, the office is run by rumor mill, politics and
gamesmanship. Employees are uncertain of the company’s goals and
objectives for success and they have no idea how they fit into that
picture, or what their level of importance is toward making it happen.
• Decisions for promotions are not based on integrity or talent, but
rather they are based on who can talk the biggest talk or who is
deemed to be the least threatening to the current leadership team.
 The result of bad leadership is low morale, high turnover, and a
decreased ability to have any sustainable success.
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 V. Impacts of leadership and management
(cont.)
2. Impacts of management:
a. Positive impacts brought by good management
The focus of management:
• Improve the people-organization relationship
• Create an organizational climate in which people work
willingly and effectively
• Effective management of organizational resources
Results:
• Achieving the goals and objective of the organization
• Satisfying the needs and expectations of people at work.

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 V. Impacts of leadership and management
(cont.)
b. Negative impacts brought by bad management:
Poor management not only affects employee productivity but can also have indirect
consequences for workplace innovation and the ability to adapt to changing business
conditions.
• Impacts on employee productivity:
– worker stress, which could be triggered by instances a strained relationship with a
supervisor or an unmanageable workload
– poor communication – whether that be the lack of through instruction, or inability to
give proper direction – can also contribute to poor employee productivity
• Impacts on organizational performance:
– any drop in individual employee’s efficiency or productivity could have potentially
disastrous implications for business performance overall.
– A manager sets the context to help each component to deliver its contribution to
wider organizational goals, with poor performance in one specific area potentially
undermining strategic goals.
– A bad or ineffective manager can affect an employee’s perception of the company’s
overall vision and values, potentially causing unhappiness and leading to a high
turnover of staff, causing another detrimental cost to the business.
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 Class activity

Group discussion activity (Course book, p. 366)

• Activity 1
– Explain fully a situation from university and/or any work experience where you
have
– been inspired by a person through their charisma and natural leadership
influence.
– Identify clearly the specific personal qualities exhibited by the person.
– Describe how the experience has influenced your views on the nature of
leadership.
– Debate the extent to which it is possible to learn charisma.
– To what extent do you have charisma and the ability to inspire other people?
– How great is the danger of infatuation or hubris from ‘great’ or charismatic
leaders?
• Activity 2
– List, in rank order, all the different approaches to leadership mentioned in this
chapter on the basis of what you believe their practical relevance for today’s
workplace. Where possible provide supporting details for your ranking.
– How much agreement is there amongst your colleagues? What have you learnt
from undertaking this activity?
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 Essential readings
• Chapter 9: Leadership in work organizations
Mullins, L. J. (2019) Organizational Behavior in the Workplace
12th Ed. Harlow: Pearson
• Chapter 10: Leadership
DuBrin, A. (2012). Management Essentials. 9th ed. Canada:
Cengage Learning.
This lecture is related to Learning Outcome 1 of the course.

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