Robbins & Judge

Organizational Behavior
13th Edition

Basic Approaches to Leadership

Bob Stretch
Southwestern College

2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

12-0

Chapter Learning Objectives

After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
Define leadership and contrast leadership and management. Summarize the conclusions of trait theories. Identify the central tenets and main limitations of behavioral theories. Assess contingency theories of leadership by their level of support. Contrast the interactive theories (path-goal and leader-member exchange). Identify the situational variables in the leader-participation model. Show how U.S. managers might need to adjust their leadership approaches in Brazil, France, Egypt, and China.

2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

12-1

What Is Leadership?
Leadership
The ability to influence a group toward the achievement of goals

Management
Use of authority inherent in designated formal rank to obtain compliance from organizational members

Both are necessary for organizational success

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12-2

Trait Theories of Leadership

Theories that consider personality, social, physical, or intellectual traits to differentiate leaders from nonleaders Not very useful until matched with the Big Five Personality Framework Leadership Traits
Extroversion Conscientiousness Openness Emotional Intelligence (Qualified)

Traits can predict leadership, but they are better at predicting leader emergence than effectiveness.
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Behavioral Theories of Leadership

Theories proposing that specific behaviors differentiate leaders from nonleaders

Differences between theories of leadership:

Trait theory: leadership is inherent, so we must identify the leader based on his or her traits

Behavioral theory: leadership is a skill set and can be taught to anyone, so we must identify the proper behaviors to teach potential leaders

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12-4

Important Behavioral Studies

Ohio State University
Found two key dimensions of leader behavior:
Initiating structure the defining and structuring of roles Consideration job relationships that reflect trust and respect Both are important

University of Michigan
Also found two key dimensions of leader behavior:
Employee-oriented emphasizes interpersonal relationships and is the most powerful dimension Production-oriented emphasizes the technical aspects of the job

The dimensions of the two studies are very similar

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12-5

Blake and Moutons Managerial Grid

Draws on both studies to assess leadership style
Concern for People is Consideration and Employee-Orientation Concern for Production is Initiating Structure and Production-Orientation

Style is determined by position on the graph

E X H I B I T 12-1

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12-6

Contingency Theories
While trait and behavior theories do help us understand leadership, an important component is missing: the environment in which the leader exists Contingency Theory deals with this additional aspect of leadership effectiveness studies Three key theories:
Fielders Model Hersey and Blanchards Situational Leadership Theory Path-Goal Theory

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Fiedler Model
Effective group performance depends on the proper match between leadership style and the situation
Assumes that leadership style (based on orientation revealed in LPC questionnaire) is fixed

Considers Three Situational Factors:

Leader-member relations: degree of confidence and trust in the leader Task structure: degree of structure in the jobs Position power: leaders ability to hire, fire, and reward

For effective leadership: must change to a leader who fits the situation or change the situational variables to fit the current leader
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Graphic Representation of Fiedlers Model

Used to determine which type of leader to use in a given situation

E X H I B I T 12-2

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12-9

Assessment of Fiedlers Model

Positives:
Considerable evidence supports the model, especially if the original eight situations are grouped into three

Problems:
The logic behind the LPC scale is not well understood LPC scores are not stable Contingency variables are complex and hard to determine

2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

12-10

Fiedlers Cognitive Resource Theory

A refinement of Fiedlers original model:
Focuses on stress as the enemy of rationality and creator of unfavorable conditions A leaders intelligence and experience influence his or her reaction to that stress

Stress Level Low High

Intellectual Abilities Effective Ineffective

Leaders Experience Ineffective Effective

Research is supporting the theory.

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Hersey & Blanchards Situational Leadership

A model that focuses on follower readiness
Followers can accept or reject the leader Effectiveness depends on the followers response to the leaders actions Readiness is the extent to which people have the ability and willingness to accomplish a specific task

A paternal model:
As the child matures, the adult releases more and more control over the situation As the workers become more ready, the leader becomes more laissez-faire

An intuitive model that does not get much support from the research findings
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Houses Path-Goal Theory

Builds from the Ohio State studies and the expectancy theory of motivation The Theory:
Leaders provide followers with information, support, and resources to help them achieve their goals Leaders help clarify the path to the workers goals Leaders can display multiple leadership types

Four types of leaders:

Directive: focuses on the work to be done Supportive: focuses on the well-being of the worker Participative: consults with employees in decision-making Achievement-Oriented: sets challenging goals

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Path-Goal Model
Two classes of contingency variables:
Environmental are outside of employee control Subordinate factors are internal to employee

Mixed support in the research findings

E X H I B I T 12-4

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12-14

Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) Theory

A response to the failing of contingency theories to account for followers and heterogeneous leadership approaches to individual workers LMX Premise:
Because of time pressures, leaders form a special relationship with a small group of followers: the in-group This in-group is trusted and gets more time and attention from the leader (more exchanges) All other followers are in the out-group and get less of the leaders attention and tend to have formal relationships with the leader (fewer exchanges) Leaders pick group members early in the relationship

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LMX Model
How groups are assigned is unclear
Follower characteristics determine group membership

Leaders control by keeping favorites close

Research has been generally supportive

E X H I B I T 12-3

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12-16

Yroom and Yettons Leader-Participation Model

How a leader makes decisions is as important as what is decided

Premise:
Leader behaviors must adjust to reflect task structure Normative model: tells leaders how participative to be in their decision-making of a decision tree
Five leadership styles Twelve contingency variables

Research testing for both original and modified models has not been encouraging
Model is overly complex
E X H I B I T 12-5

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Global Implications
These leadership theories are primarily studied in English-speaking countries GLOBE does have some country-specific insights
Brazilian teams prefer leaders who are high in consideration, participative, and have high LPC scores French workers want a leader who is high on initiating structure and task-oriented Egyptian employees value team-oriented, participative leadership, while keeping a high-power distance Chinese workers may favor a moderately participative style

Leaders should take culture into account

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12-18

Summary and Managerial Implications

Leadership is central to understanding group behavior as the leader provides the direction Extroversion, conscientiousness, and openness all show consistent relationships to leadership

Behavioral approaches have narrowed leadership down into two usable dimensions
Need to take into account the situational variables, especially the impact of followers

2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

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