Basic Approaches to Leadership 12 Basic Approaches to Leadership © 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

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.

What Is Leadership? Leadership Management 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 © 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

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. © 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

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 © 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

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 © 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

Blake and Mouton’s 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 © 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

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: Fielder’s Model Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Theory Path-Goal Theory © 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

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: leader’s 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 © 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

Graphic Representation of Fiedler’s Model Used to determine which type of leader to use in a given situation E X H I B I T 12-2 © 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

Assessment of Fiedler’s 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.

Fiedler’s Cognitive Resource Theory A refinement of Fiedler’s original model: Focuses on stress as the enemy of rationality and creator of unfavorable conditions A leader’s intelligence and experience influence his or her reaction to that stress Research is supporting the theory. Stress Level Low High Intellectual Abilities Effective Ineffective Leader’s Experience © 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

Hersey & Blanchard’s Situational Leadership A model that focuses on follower “readiness” Followers can accept or reject the leader Effectiveness depends on the followers’ response to the leader’s 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 © 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

House’s 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 worker’s 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 © 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

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 © 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

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 leader’s attention and tend to have formal relationships with the leader (fewer “exchanges”) Leaders pick group members early in the relationship © 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

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 © 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

Yroom and Yetton’s 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 © 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

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 © 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

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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