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Leading
Lecture 8

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Agenda for today
§Leadership defined
§Early leadership theories
§Trait theories
§Behavioral theories
§Contingency theories
§Fiedler model
§Situational leadership
§Path-goal theory
§Contemporary views of leadership
§Leadership issues
§Managing power
§Developing trust
§Empowering employees

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Where are we?


Leaders and Leadership
Leader = someone who can influence others and who has managerial authority
Leadership = what leaders do; the process of influencing a group to achieve goals
Ideally, all managers should be leaders
Although groups may have informal leaders who emerge, those are not the leaders we’re studying
Leadership research has tried to answer: What is an effective leader?

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Trait Theories (1920s-30s)
Early Leadership Theories (1/3)
̶Research focused on identifying personal characteristics that differentiated leaders from
non-leaders was unsuccessful.
̶Later research on the leadership process identified seven traits associated with successful
leadership:
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Ohio State Studies
Identified 2 dimensions of leader behavior
Initiating structure: the role of the leader in defining his or her role and the roles of group
members
Consideration: the leader’s mutual trust and respect for group members’ ideas and feelings.
Research findings: mixed results
High-high leaders generally, but not always, achieved high group task performance and satisfaction.
Evidence indicated that situational factors appeared to strongly influence leadership
effectiveness.
University of Iowa Studies (Kurt Lewin)
Identified 3 leadership styles:
Autocratic style: centralized authority, low participation
Democratic style: involvement, high participation, feedback
Laissez faire style: hands-off management
Research findings: mixed results
No specific style was consistently better for producing better performance
Employees were more satisfied under a democratic leader than an autocratic leader.
University of Michigan Studies
Identified 2 dimensions of leader behavior
Employee oriented: emphasizing personal relationships
Production oriented: emphasizing task accomplishment
Research findings:
Leaders who are employee oriented are strongly associated with high group productivity and high job
satisfaction.
Behavioral Theories
Early Leadership Theories (2/3)

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Behavioral Theories
Early Leadership Theories (3/3)
Managerial Grid
̶Appraises leadership styles using two dimensions:
Concern for people
Concern for production
̶
̶Places managerial styles in five categories:
1,1 Impoverished management
9,1 Task management
5,5 Middle-of-the-road management
1,9 Country club management
9,9 Team management

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̶Proposes that effective group performance depends upon the proper match between the leader’s style
of interacting with followers and the degree to which the situation allows the leader to control
and influence.
̶
̶Assumptions:
A certain leadership style should be most effective in different types of situations.
Leaders do not readily change leadership styles => Matching the leader to the situation or changing
the situation to make it favorable to the leader is required.
̶Least-preferred co-worker (LPC) questionnaire
Determines leadership style by measuring responses to 18 pairs of contrasting adjectives.
High score: a relationship-oriented leadership style
Low score: a task-oriented leadership style
̶
̶Situational factors in matching leader to the situation:
Leader-member relations
Task structure
Position power
The Fiedler Model
Contingency Theories of Leadership (1/4)

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̶Follower directed approach: without following, there is no leading…
̶Argues that successful leadership is achieved by selecting the right leadership style which is
contingent on the level of the followers’ readiness.
Acceptance: leadership effectiveness depends on whether followers accept or reject a leader.
Readiness: the extent to which followers have the ability and willingness to accomplish a specific
task.
̶Posits four stages follower readiness:
R1: followers are unable and unwilling
R2: followers are unable but willing
R3: followers are able but unwilling
R4: followers are able and willing
̶
̶
̶
̶Leaders must relinquish control over and contact with followers as they become more competent.
̶
Situational Leadership Theory (SLT) - Hersey and Blanchard’s Model (1/2)
Contingency Theories of Leadership (2/4)
̶Creates four specific leadership styles (incorporating Fiedler’s two leadership dimensions):
Telling: high task-low relationship leadership
Selling: high task-high relationship leadership
Participating: low task-high relationship leadership
Delegating: low task-low relationship leadership

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Contingency Theories of Leadership (3/4)
Situational Leadership Theory (SLT) - Hersey and Blanchard’s Model (2/2)

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Path-Goal Model
Contingency Theories of Leadership (4/4)
̶the leader’s job is to assist his/her followers in attaining their goals and to provide direction
or support to ensure their goals are compatible with organizational goals.
̶Leaders assume different leadership styles at different times depending on the situation:
Directive leader
Supportive leader
Participative leader
Achievement oriented leader

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Transactional Leadership
Contemporary Views on Leadership (1/2)
Transformational Leadership
̶Leaders who guide or motivate their followers in the direction of established goals by clarifying
role and task requirements.
̶Leaders who inspire followers to transcend their own self-interests for the good of the
organization by clarifying role and task requirements.
̶Leaders who also are capable of having a profound and extraordinary effect on their followers.
̶

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© 2007 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved.
17–13
Charismatic Leadership
Contemporary Views on Leadership (2/2)
Visionary Leadership
An enthusiastic, self-confident leader whose personality and actions influence people to behave in
certain ways.
Characteristics of charismatic leaders:
Have a vision.
Are able to articulate the vision.
Are willing to take risks to achieve the vision.
Are sensitive to the environment and follower needs.
Exhibit behaviors that are out of the ordinary.
A leader who creates and articulates a realistic, credible, and attractive vision of the future
that improves upon the present situation.
Visionary leaders have ability to:
̶Explain the vision to others.
̶Express the vision not just verbally but through behavior.
̶Extend or apply the vision to different leadership contexts.
̶

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̶Legitimate power
The power a leader has as a result of his or her position.
̶Coercive power
The power a leader has to punish or control.
̶Reward power
The power to give positive benefits or rewards.
̶Expert power
The influence a leader can exert as a result of his or her expertise, skills, or knowledge.
̶Referent power
The power of a leader that arise because of a person’s desirable resources or admired personal
traits.
Managing Power
Leadership Issues in the 21st Century (1/3)

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Credibility (of a Leader)
The assessment of a leader’s honesty, competence, and ability to inspire by his or her followers.
Trust
Is the belief of followers and others in the integrity, character, and ability of a leader.
Dimensions of trust: integrity, competence, consistency, loyalty, and openness.
Found to be related to increases in job performance, organizational citizenship behaviors, job
satisfaction, and organization commitment.
Developing Credibility and Trust
Leadership Issues in the 21st Century (2/3)

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Empowerment
Involves increasing the decision-making discretion of workers such that teams can make key
operating decisions in develop budgets, scheduling workloads, controlling inventories, and solving
quality problems.
Why empower employees?
Quicker responses problems and faster decisions.
Addresses the problem of increased spans of control in relieving managers to work on other
problems.
Empowering Employees
Leadership Issues in the 21st Century (3/3)

Leadership Can Be Irrelevant!
Substitutes for Leadership
Follower characteristics
Experience, training, professional orientation, or the need for independence
Job characteristics
Routine, unambiguous, and satisfying jobs
Organization characteristics
Explicit formalized goals, rigid rules and procedures, or cohesive work groups

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leader
leadership
behavioral theories
autocratic style
democratic style
laissez-faire style
high-high leader
managerial grid
leader-member relations
task structure
position power
path-goal theory
transactional leaders
Fiedler contingency model
Terms to Know
transformational leaders
charismatic leader
visionary leadership
legitimate power
coercive power
reward power
expert power
referent power
credibility
trust
empowerment
situational leadership theory readiness
leader participation model