LEADERSHIP

LEADERSHIP

LECTURE OUTLINE

•How leaders influence others

•Searching for leadership traits

•Identifying leader behaviours

•Developing situational theories

•Promoting innovation: Transformational leadership

•Are leaders necessary?

LEADERSHIP

            Process of influencing others to achieve organisational goals.

HOW LEADERS
INFLUENCE OTHERS

Sources of leadership power:

•Legitimate power

            Power stemming from a position’s placement in the managerial hierarchy

•Reward power

            Power based on the capacity to provide valued rewards to others

•Coercive power

            Power based on the ability to punish others

HOW LEADERS
INFLUENCE OTHERS

Sources of leadership power (cont.):

•Expert power

            Power based on the possession of expertise valued by others

•Information power

            Power based on access and control over the distribution of information

•Referent power

            Power resulting from being liked, admired or identified with

HOW LEADERS
INFLUENCE OTHERS

HOW LEADERS
INFLUENCE OTHERS

Empowerment supports leadership:

•Increases manager’s ability to elicit support from subordinates

•Increase in worker motivation & commitment

•Decrease in supervisory effort

•Increase in time spent on non-supervisory management activities

HOW LEADERS
INFLUENCE OTHERS

Likely reaction to use of power:

                                        

                               =  Resistance

                                   

                         

                               =  Compliance

                                       

                               =  Commitment

                          

LEADERSHIP TRAITS

            Distinctive internal qualities or characteristics of an individual, such as physical and personality characteristics, skills, abilities and social factors

LEADERSHIP TRAITS

•Early research identified no common leadership traits

•Current research is inconclusive

•Many believe that leadership is about what leaders do rather than about their personal traits

           

LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOUR

            Theoretical approach based on the idea that specific behaviours may make some leaders more effective than others.

LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOUR

Iowa & Michigan studies:

•Iowa

            Looked at leadership styles (autocratic, democratic, laissez faire)

            Workers preferred democratic style but this was not best for performance

•Michigan

            Employee-centred leaders superior to job-centred leaders

LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOUR

•Ohio State studies:

            Suggested that the ideal was for leaders to combine job-centredness with an ability to build mutual trust with subordinates

LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOUR

            Ohio State studies:

            Two key behaviours identified:

•Initiating structure

            Degree to which a leader defines their own role and that of subordinates in terms of achieving unit goals

•Consideration

            Degree to which a leader builds mutual trust with subordinates, respects their ideas and shows concern for their feelings

LEADERSHIP GRID

LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOUR

Gender & cultural differences:

•Gender

            There are few substantial differences between male and female leaders.

•Culture

            Japanese: group focus, long-term, humanistic

            European: individual focus, more humanistic than USA

            USA: individual focus

DEVELOPING
SITUATIONAL THEORY

Situational theory:

            Theories of leadership taking into consideration important situational factors

DEVELOPING
SITUATIONAL THEORY

Fiedler’s contingency theory

            Effective groups depend on match between a leader’s style of relating with subordinates & the extent to which the situation gives control to the leader.

Leader’s style:

•High member relations leader is concerned with people

•Task-structure leader reduces ambiguity—‘Do I know what I am supposed to do?’

•Position power—how well supported is the leader by his/her superiors?

DEVELOPING
SITUATIONAL THEORY

Fiedler’s contingency theory

•LPC orientation

•Assessing the situation

•Matching leadership style to situation

DEVELOPING
SITUATIONAL THEORY

Normative leadership model

            Model that assists leaders assess critical situational factors that affect the extent to which they should involve subordinates in particular decisions.

Range of options is from:

A1: autocratic decision making

                                    to

G11: democratic decision making

DEVELOPING
SITUATIONAL THEORY

Situational leadership model

            Theory based on the premise that leaders need to alter their behaviours depending on one major situational factor—the readiness of followers.

DEVELOPING
SITUATIONAL THEORY

Situational leadership model

DEVELOPING
LEADERSHIP THEORY

Path–goal theory

            Theory attempting to explain how leader behaviour can positively influence the motivation and job satisfaction of subordinates

DEVELOPING
LEADERSHIP THEORY

Path–goal theory

•Leader behaviours

            Directive leader behaviour

            Supportive leader behaviour

            Participative leader behaviour

            Achievement-oriented leader behaviour

•Situational factors

            Subordinate characteristics

            Context characteristics

•Choosing leader behaviour to fit above

DEVELOPING
LEADERSHIP THEORY

Path–goal theory:

PROMOTING INNOVATION: TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP

            Transformational leaders

            Motivate individuals to perform beyond normal expectations by inspiring subordinates to focus on broader missions transcending their own self-interests

TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP

            Charisma

            Leadership factor comprising the leader’s ability to inspire pride, faith and respect; to recognise what is really important; and to articulate effectively a sense of mission, or vision, to inspire followers.

TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP

ARE LEADERS NECESSARY?

           

            Some argue that leadership’s importance is overrated and in many contexts makes little difference.

            (Yukl 1989)

ARE LEADERS NECESSARY?

Neutralisers:

            Situational factors preventing leader behaviour from influencing subordinate performance/satisfaction

THESE INCLUDE:

•Subordinate high need for independence

•Low subordinate valence for available rewards

•Physical distance of leader from subordinates  

ARE LEADERS NECESSARY?

Substitutes:

            Situational factors making the impact of leadership impossible or unnecessary

THESE INCLUDE:

            Satisfying work

            Able and experienced subordinates

            Professional orientation of subordinates

            Routine work, clearly specified methods/feedback

LEADERSHIP & THE ORGANISATIONAL CYCLE

LECTURE SUMMARY

•How leaders influence others

–           Sources of power

–          Use of power

•Searching for leadership traits

–          Inconclusive results

•Identifying leadership behaviour

–           Iowa, Michigan, Ohio studies

–          Leadership styles, employee versus job-            centredness

LECTURE SUMMARY

•Developing situational theory

            Fiedler’s contingency model, Normative model, Situational leadership model, Path–goal theory

•Transformational leadership

            Charisma, individual consideration & intellectual stimulation

•Are leaders necessary?

            Neutralisers, substitutes