UNIT 4 - LEADERSHIP

Leadership - ability to influence, motivate, & enable others to contribute to the effectiveness & success of
the organizations of which they are members / ability to influence a group toward the achievement of a
vision or set of goals • Orgns need strong leadership & strong mgmt for optimal effectiveness (to challenge
status quo, create visions of the future, & inspire orgl members to achieve them • The Leadership Process -
Leadership involves non-coercive influence • Leadership Influence is Goal-Directed • Leadership requires
followers

Trait theories • consider personal qualities & characteristics differentiate leaders from non-leaders. • Some
traits increase the likelihood of success as a leader, but none of them guarantee success. • Traits remain
stable over time & across different groups • Extroversion relates most strongly to leadership >
Conscientiousness & openness to experience strongly related to leadership • Charisma • Confidence •
Credibility • Integrity • Track Record • Emotional Intelligence. What characteristics do great leaders
possess? • Leadership motivation: the desire to lead • Personalized power motivation – Leaders’ desire to
dominate others, reflected in concern with status • Socialized power motivation – Leaders’ interest in
cooperating with others, developing networks & coalitions, & generally working with subordinates rather
than trying to control them • Far more adaptive for organizations • Flexibility • Focus on morality •
Authentic leaders • Multiple domains of intelligence • Cognitive, Emotional, Cultural

Behavioural Theories • Ohio State Studies (Stogdill & Coons, 1951): Attempt to identify independent
dimensions of leader behaviour:  Initiating structure: • The extent to which a leader is likely to define &
structure his or her role & those of subordinates in search of goal attainment. • Includes behaviours that
attempts to organize work, work relationships, & goals. • Consideration: • The extent to which a leader is
likely to build job relationships characterized by mutual trust, respect for subordinates' ideas, & regard for
their feelings. • A leader high in consideration helps employees with personal problems, is friendly &
approachable, treats all employees as equal, & expresses appreciation & support.

Leadership types: 1) Production Oriented Leaders: • Focus on the technical or task aspects of the job • See
ppl as a means to goal accomplishment • 2) Employee Oriented Leaders: • Emphasize interpersonal relations
• Take a personal interest in subordinate needs • Accept individual differences

Contingency Theories • Recognizes that there is no one best style of leadership • Key task of organizational
behaviour researchers is determining what leadership styles will prove most effective under which specific
conditions • leader behaviours act in conjunction with situational contingencies to predict outcomes.

- Greenberg Fiedler’s Contingency Model -  First contingency model • Proposes that

effectiveness depends on the match between the leader’s style & demands of the situation • An
individual’s leadership style is the result of a lifetime of experiences • Fiedler: Rather than teaching
ppl to change their leadership styles, leadership training should concentrate on helping ppl
understand their style of leadership. • Fiedler considers situational control – the extent to which a
 leader is going to determine what his or her group is going to do as well as the outcomes of group’s
actions & decisions.  Two leadership styles 1) Relationship oriented - If you describe the person
you are least able to work within favorable terms, it has a high LPC score 2) Task Oriented - If you
see your least-preferred co-worker in unfavorable terms (a low LPC score), you are primarily
interested in productivity  Fiedler identified three contingency or situational dimensions: 1)
Leader-member relations: Degree of confidence, trust, & respect members have in their leader 2)
Task structure: Degree to which the job assignments are procedurised (that is structured, or
unstructured) 3) Position power: Degree of influence a leader has over power variables such as
hiring, firing, discipline, promotions, salary increases etc
- Hersey & Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Theory (1980)  A model that focuses on
follower “readiness” (the extent to which ppl have the ability & willingness to accomplish a specific
task). • According to SLT, leaders must be able to: • Diagnose the situations they face • Identify the
appropriate behavioural style • Implement that response.  Evaluation of the theory • Acknowledges
the importance of followers & builds on the logic that leaders can compensate for their limited ability
& motivation • Internal ambiguities & inconsistencies in the model itself • Problems with research
methodology in tests
- Path-Goal Theory Robert House, 1971  Leader’s job is to provide followers with info, support,
or other resources necessary to achieve their goals • Effective leaders clarify followers’ paths to their
work goal & make the journey easier by reducing roadblocks.  4 different styles of leadership
behaviour: 1) Directive: The leader provides specific guidelines to subordinates on how they perform
their tasks • The leader should set standards of performance & provide explicit expectations of
performance. 2) Supportive: The leader must demonstrate concern for subordinates’ well-being & be
supportive of them as individuals. 3) Participative: The leader must solicit ideas & suggestions from
subordinates & invite their participation in decisions that directly affect them 4) Achievement
oriented: A leader must set challenging goals, emphasize improvements in work performance, &
encourage high levels of goal attainment  Leadership style depends on two types of situational
factors 1) Subordinate characteristics • Directive leadership likely to be perceived as redundant
among employees with high ability or considerable experience or vice-versa • Ppl high in the need
for affiliation may prefer participative leadership 2) Environmental factors • Leader behaviour is
motivating to the extent that it helps subordinates cope with environmental uncertainties or
frustrations  Theory complex to test  adequate tests yet to be completed • Goal-focused leadership
leads to higher levels of emotional exhaustion for subordinates who are low in conscientiousness &
emotional stability  Application • Enough support for the original path-goal theory to suggest two
possibilities: • Training could be used change leadership behaviour to fit the situational contingencies
• Leader could be taught to diagnose the situation & learn how to try to change the contingencies as
in leader match.
 - Leader Participation Model (Vroom & Yetton)  Suggests that leader behaviour must be
adjusted to reflect the task structure—whether it is routine, nonroutine, or in between—based on a
sequential set of rules (contingencies) for determining the form & amount of follower participation in
decision making in a situation.
• How a leader makes decisions is as important as what is decided • This is a normative model that
tells leaders how participative to be in their decision making of a decision tree  Five leadership
styles 1) Decide: Leader makes the decision alone & either announces or sells it to group. 2) Consult
Individually: Leader presents the problem to group members individually, gets their suggestions, &
then makes the decision. 3) Consult Group: Leader presents the problem to group members in a
meeting, gets their suggestions, & then makes the decision. 4) Facilitate: Leader presents the
problem to the group in a meeting &, acting as facilitator, defines the problem & the boundaries
within which a decision must be made. 5) Delegate: Leader permits the group to make the decision
within prescribed limits.
- Leader-Member Exchange Theory (LMX) Dansereau, Graen, & Haga (1975) • Originally called
vertical dyad linkage (VDL) theory • Leaders select certain followers to be “in” (favorites) based on
age, gender, competence &/or compatibility & similarity to leader • Receive greater attention from
the leader • Also larger share of resources on offer (time, recognition) • “Exchanges” with these “in”
followers will be higher quality than with those who are “out” – Trust, high interactions etc • Other
sub-ordinates fall into the ‘outgroup’ • Disfavored by leaders • Receive fewer valued resources from
the leader • Followers with in-group status have: • higher performance ratings • lower turnover
intentions • greater satisfaction with their superiors • Receive greater level of mentoring from
supervisors • higher overall satisfaction than those in the out-group

Contemporary theories

- Charismatic Leadership  Max Weber: “A certain quality of an individual personality, by virtue of

which he or she is set apart from ordinary ppl & treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at
least specifically exceptional powers or qualities. These are not accessible to ordinary persons & are
regarded as of divine origin or exemplary, & on the basis of them the individual concerned is treated as a
leader.” • Followers make attributions of heroic or extraordinary leadership abilities when they observe
certain behaviours.
 Robbins Key characteristics of a Charismatic Leader • 1) Vision & articulation: Has a vision—
expressed as an idealized goal—that proposes a future better than the status quo; & is able to clarify the
importance of the vision in terms that are understandable to others 2) Personal risk: Willing to take on
high personal risk, incur high costs & engage in self-sacrifice to achieve the vision 3) Environmental
sensitivity: Able to make realistic assessments of the environmental constraints & resources needed to
bring about change 4) Sensitivity to follower needs: Perceptive of others’ abilities & responsive to their
needs & feelings • Unconventional behaviour: Engages in behaviours that are perceived as novel &
 counter to norms.  Recognized as change agents: Make things happen by challenging the status quo •
Self-confidence: Highly confident in their abilities & judgments. Others readily become aware of it. 
How charismatic leaders influence followers • Articulates an appealing vision: A long term strategy for
attaining a goal by linking the present with a better future for the orgn • Ppl must believe the vision to be
challenging yet attainable • Charisma appears most successful when the follower’s task has an
ideological component or the envt includes a high degree of stress & uncertainty  The Dark Side of
Charismatic Leadership • Lurking behind the mask of likability is a person with pronounced adjustment
problems • Only after these ppl fail in their leadership roles do we ever learn of their maladjustment,
which was cleverly concealed by their ability to manipulate ppl to like them • Charismatic leaders can
leverage a high salary even when their perf was mediocre • Don’t necessarily act in the best interests of
their organizations. • Vicious dictators able to rise to power because of considerable charisma
- Transactional & Transformational Leadership  Leaders who guide or motivate their followers in
the direction of established goals by clarifying role & task requirements • Transcend their self-interests
for the good of the orgn & can have an extraordinary effect on followers • Pay attention to follower
concerns • Change followers’ awareness of issues • Excite & inspire to put extra effort 
Transformational leadership builds on transactional leadership & produces levels of follower effort &
performance transactional leadership alone can’t do  Characteristics of Transactional Leaders 1)
Contingent Reward: Contracts exchange of rewards for effort, promises rewards for good performance,
recognizes accomplishments 2) Management by Exception (active): Watches & searches for deviations
from rules & standards, takes corrective action 3) Management by Exception (passive): Intervenes only
if standards are not met 4) Laissez-Faire: Abdicates responsibilities, avoids making decisions.  How
Transformational Leadership Works • Leaders creative but encourage followers to be creative too •
Greater decentralization of responsibilities, managers have more propensity to take risks, &
compensation plans are geared toward long-term results – corporate entrepreneurship • Leads to feelings
of positive personal control among workers which increased their creativity • Shows greater agreement
among top mgmt. on orgl goals, which yields superior orgl performance • Build consensus among group
members  Characteristics shared by effective transformational leaders • They identify themselves as
change agents. • are courageous. • believe in ppl. • are value driven. • are lifelong learners. • have the
ability to deal with complexity, ambiguity, & uncertainty. • are visionaries.  Evaluation of
Transformational Leadership • Supported at diverse job levels & occupations • Study with R & D team:
Teams whose project leaders scored high on transformational leadership produced better quality & also
higher profits
• Employees with transformational leaders had more confidence in their ability to be creative at work &
higher levels of creative perf • Tranformational leadership was related to higher levels of job perf, team
perf & orgl perf • More effective in smaller, privately held firms than in more complex orgs • Direct
interactions with the workforce – more effective • Works better in teams with higher power distance &
collectivism • Works at both ind & team level • Individual-focused transformational leadership -
 Behaviour that empowers individual followers to develop, enhance their abilities, & increase self-
efficacy. • Team-focused transformational leadership - Emphasizes group goals, shared values & beliefs,
& unified efforts.

Finding & Creating Effective Leaders  Selection • Review specific requirements for the job • Use tests
that identify personal traits associated with leadership, measure self-monitoring, & assess emotional
intelligence • Conduct personal interviews to determine c&idate’s fit with the job • Keep a list of potential
candidates  Training • Recognize that all ppl are not equally trainable • Teach skills that are necessary for
employees to become effective leaders • Provide behavioural training to increase the development potential
of nascent charismatic employees.  Summary & Managerial Implications • Companies are looking for
transformational leaders – even if they only “look the part” • Transformational style crosses borders
reasonably well • Effective managers must build trust with those they lead • Leadership selection & training
are important to long-term success.