Leadership: Theories and Styles

Definition
• According to Koontz and O'Donnell:
Leadership may be defined as the ability to
exert the interpersonal influence by means of
communication toward the achievement of a
goal.
 Features of Leadership
1. Followers
2. Personal ability
3. Influencing process
4. No need coercion
5. Full capability utilization
6. Ideal conduct
7. Leadership is a continuing process
8. A part of management but not all of it
9. Is an ever a new process
10. Is something a person does, not something he has
11. Transforms the potential into reality.
12. Leaders exist because of the need of the to
people someone. follow
 Importance of Leadership
1. Employees 60% of their total capabilities of the
perform because
following reasons:
• Social pressure
• Need for a job
• Authority of superior
2. Rest of the 40% is done with the help of the leadership, because
leadership is:
• Source of motivation
• Basis of cooperation
• Directing group activities
• Promoting the spirit of coordination among the employees
• Facility to executives
• Fulfilling the social responsibility
• Basis for success of business
 Functions of a Leader
1. To define organizational goals
2. Divide the work as per capability
3. To guide the activities
4. To maintain the discipline
5. To create effective communication
6. To understand the feelings of his subordinates
7. To secure cooperation
8. To represent the organization
9. To make decisions
10. To design environment as per result expectations
 Theories of Leadership
1. Trait Theory-Bernard Teed
2. Situation Theory-Hersey and Blenchard
3. The Follower Theory-
4. Behavioral Theory-Ray A. Killian
5. Group Approach theory- Kurt Lewin
6. X and Y Theory- Mc Gregor
7. Path goal theory-Robert House
8. Fred E. fiedler’s Contingency theory
Other Concerned Leadership Theories
• Continuum of leadership-Robert Tannenbaum
and Warren H. Schmidt
• Management system of Likert-Rensis Likert
• Management grid- Blake and Mounton
 Trait Theory-Bernard Teed
1. The theory was propounded by Bernard and
teed and further contributed by Stodgill;
2. A person a be a leader through his/her inborn
traits and these traits can not be acquired.
3. Five categories of traits by Stodgill:
a. Physical traits(5): Appearance, energy and height
b. Intelligence and ability traits (4): intelligence and scholarship
c. Personality traits: preparedness, enthusiasm, self confidence
d. Task related traits: initiative and persistence.
e. Social traits: cooperativeness, admin. ability
 Trait Theory-Bernard Teed
• Criticism of Trait theory:
1. Lack of uniformity
2. Ignorance about situations
3. Unclarity about degree of traits
4. Problem of measuring the traits
 Situation Theory-Leadership
• Situation determines the success of an
individual to be a good leader or not to be a
good leader.
• Criticism of Situation Theory:
This theory is not complete itself.
Gives very limited clarification about leadership.
 The Follower Theory
• The leadership ability depends on the follower of
the leader available.
1. Good leader-if good followers are available;
2. Poor leader- if good followers are not available.
• Criticism:
The theory is incomplete or focused on only
one aspect.
Followers are not only reason or the factor behind
the good leadership.
 Behavioral Theory-Ray A. kalian
• Behavior of the leader should be ideal. Killian
says a leader is may be a decision maker of the
leader and the advisor. He should present an
ideal behavior.
• Behavior of the leader is affected by many other
factors: quality of leader, faith of followers,
nature of the goal to be achieved and the
environment available for the decision making.
• Criticism: it is not necessary that the person with
the ideal behavior will always be a good leader.
• Ideal behavior is very difficult to defined.
 Group Approach Theory-Kurt Lewin
• A person can be a good leader if he accepts
the group norms of which he is a party and he
wants to lead.
 McGregor’s X and Y Theory
• X type of the people needs other’s exact
direction- Hence X types of the leader forces
and imposes his decisions on his followers.
• Y type of the people do not need other’s exact
direction, they are capable and need just a
few or the basic instructions or the guidance.
Therefore the leader do not imposes the
decisions on the followers.
 Path Goal Theory-Robert House and
Mitchell (!974)
• The Path-Goal model is a theory based on
specifying a leader's style or behavior that
best fits the employee and work environment
in order to achieve a goal (House, Mitchell,
1974). The goal is to increase your employees'
motivation, empowerment, and satisfaction so
they become productive members of the
organization.
 Situational Leadership Theory-Hersey
& Blenchard
• Also known as the life cycle leadership model.
• Style of the leadership continuous to change
with a change in the maturity level of the
employees
• Level of maturity depends on the ability and
the willingness to do the task.
• Ability refers to knowledge and the skill.
• Willingness refers to the confidence and
commitment of the person to the job.
 Leadership styles-Hersey and Blenchard

• He proposed two type of the behaviors and

four leadership styles:
1. Task Behavior: giving the job related
information to the employees and making
them understood to the rules and the
procedures of the organization.
2. Relationship Behavior: engagement to the
environment and the mutual confidence with
the friends and the family.
 Four Leadership Styles-Hersey &
Blanchard
1. Telling: High task and low relationship
2. Selling: high Task and high relationship
3. Participating : high relationship and low task
4. Delegating: low relationship and low task.
 Fiedler’s Leadership Contingency
Theory
• Individual can not be a good leader only on
the strength of the qualities, but situations
and his relation with the group plays very
important role in making him a leader;
1. Knowledge of type of leader
2. Knowledge of situation
3. Leader-member relations
4. Leader situation match.
 Leadership Styles
1. Motivational:
a. Positive
b. Negative
2. Power Based:
a. Autocratic
b. Democratic
c. Free rein
3. Result Based:
d. Employee oriented
e. Production oriented
Leadership as Continuum-Robert Tannenbaum
1. Take his all the decision and announce.
2. Leader tells his decision.
3. Leader presents his ideas and invites questions.
4. Leader presents a tentative decision subject to
change.
5. Leader invites ideas before taking a final
decision.
6. Leader defines the limits within which the
subordinates take decisions.
7. Leader permits the group to take decision according
to the situation.
 Management System of Likert
He gave four major leadership style:
1. Exploitative Authoritative: Only fear and
authority, a bureaucratic approach.
2. Benevolent Authoritative: use of the fear and
carrot both, less but bureaucratic approach.
3. Consultative: employees consult with the
managers.
4. Participative: employees participate in the
decision making.
 Management System of Likert
He gave seven variable those are connected with
management:
1. Leadership
2. Motivation
3. Communication
4. Interactive influence
5. Decision-making
6. Goal setting
7. Control process
Management Grid-Blake and Mounton
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People 5,5

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