Chapter 9: Leadership

COURSE: Organizational Behaviour & Leadership(MAPM- 531 ) Set by: Girma

Tadesse( Ph.D.)

What Does Leadership Involve?

Leadership - “a social influence process in which the leader seeks the voluntary
participation of subordinates in an effort to reach organizational goals”.

Continued…..

Leadership - is the ability to influence a group toward the achievement of a vision or set of
goals.Organizations need strong leadership and strong management for optimal
effectiveness.

Distinguishing Leadership from Management

What is the difference between a manager and a leader?

Managers promote stability, while leaders press for change. Leaders provide vision and
strategy; managers implement that vision and strategy, coordinate and staff the
organization, and handle day-to-day problems.Hollingsworth (1989) lists at least six
fundamental differences between management and leadership.A manager administers, but
a leader innovates.A manager maintains, while a leader develops.A manager focuses on
systems and structures, whereas a leader’s focus is on people.A manager relies on control,
but a leader inspires trust.A manager keeps an eye on the bottom line, while a leader has an
eye on the horizonA manager does things right, a leader does the right thing.

Trait Theory: Are Leaders Different from Others?

Trait theories of leadership -Theories that propose traits—personality, social, physical, or

intellectual— differentiate leaders from non-leaders.This theory believes that “leaders are
born rather than made.” what do you say about this assumption?

What Traits Are Possessed by Effective Leaders?

Key Positive Leadership Traits

Leadership Attributes: A Cross-Cultural View

Continued….

Skills- Clever (intelligent)- Conceptually skilled- cognitive knowledge manifold view of their
organization- Creative- innovative, feel change is the order of the day, believe in continuous
improvement, Diplomatic and tactful Fluent in speaking- good communication, persuasive.
Knowledgeable about group task. Organized (administrative ability). Persuasive.Socially
skilled.

Behavioural Theories: Do Leaders Behave in Particular Ways?

Behavioural Theories of leadership -Theories that propose that specific behaviours

differentiate leaders from non-leaders.The Ohio State Studies:Initiating structure - The
extent to which a leader is likely to define and structure his or her role and the roles of
employees in order to attain goals. Consideration -The extent to which a leader is likely to
have job relationships characterized by mutual trust, respect for employees’ ideas, and
regard for their feelings.A leader who is high in consideration shows concern for followers’
comfort, well-being, status, and satisfaction.

The Michigan Studies

Researchers at the University of Michigan, whose work is referred to as “the Michigan

studies,” also developed two dimensions of leadership behaviour that they labelled
employee-oriented and production-oriented.Employee-oriented leaders -emphasize
interpersonal relations. They take a personal interest in the needs of their subordinate and
accept individual differences among members. Production-oriented leaders, in contrast,
tend to emphasize the technical or task aspects of the job. They are mainly concerned with
making sure the group accomplishes its tasks, and the group members are simply a means
to that end.

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Continued…..

Behavioural theories of leadership -implied we could train people to be leaders.Initiating

structure- is the extent to which a leader is likely to define and structure his or her role and
those of employees in the search for goal attainment.It includes behaviour that attempts to
organize work, work relationships, and goals. A leader high in initiating structure is
someone who “assigns group members to particular tasks,” “expects workers to maintain
definite standards of performance,” and “emphasizes the meeting of
deadlines.”Consideration -is the extent to which a person’s job relationships are
characterized by mutual trust, respect for employees’ ideas, and regard for their feelings. A
leader high in consideration helps employees with personal problems, is friendly and
approachable, treats all employees as equals, and expresses appreciation and support. In a
recent survey, when asked to indicate what most motivated them at work, 66 percent of
employees mentioned appreciation.Employee-oriented leader- A leader who emphasizes
interpersonal relations, takes a personal interest in the needs of employees, and accepts
individual differences among members.

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Items Similar to Those in the Leader Behaviour Description Questionnaire

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Managerial Grid”.

Robert Blake and Mouton developed a leadership model commonly known as “Managerial
Grid”.Based on this premise Blake and Mouton have identified following leadership styles.
(a) Impoverished Management—Leader is having no concern for people or task.(b) Team
Management—Managers combine interest of people and production in a balanced manner.
(c) Country Club Management—Leader displays very high concern for people and low
concern for the task.(d) Autocratic Task—Leader displays very high concern for the task
and very little concern for the people.(e) Middle of the road Management—A manager who
has an equal concern for people and the task.

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The Leadership Grid

Contingency Theories: Does the Situation Matter?

Situational, or contingency, theories of leadership try to isolate critical situational factors

that affect leadership effectiveness. The theories consider the degree of structure in the task
being performed, the quality of leader-member relations, the leader’s position power, group
norms, information availability, employee acceptance of leader’s decisions, employee
maturity, and the clarity of the employee’s role.Fiedler contingency model- A theory that
proposes that effective group performance depends on the proper match between the
leader’s style and the degree to which the situation gives control to the leader.

Continued……

Fiedler identified three contingency dimensions that together define the situation a leader
faces:• Leader-member relations. The degree of confidence, trust, and respect members
have in their leader.• Task structure. The degree to which the job assignments are
procedurized (that is, structured or unstructured).• Position power. The degree of
influence a leader has over power variables such as hiring, firing, discipline, promotions,
and salary increases

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Continued….

Fiedler stated that the better the leader-member relations, the more highly structured the
job, and the stronger the position power, the more control the leader has.He suggested that
task-oriented leaders perform best in situations of high and low control, while relationship-
oriented leaders perform best in moderate control situations. In a high-control situation, a
leader can “get away” with task orientation, because the relationships are good and
followers are easily influenced.In a low-control situation (which is marked by poor
relations, ill-defined task, and low influence), task orientation may be the only thing that
makes it possible to get something done. In a moderate-control situation, the leader’s
relationship orientation may smooth the way to getting things done.

Path Goal Theory

Path-goal theory identifies four leadership behaviours that might be used in different
situations to motivate individuals:• The directive leader -lets followers know what is
expected of them, schedules work to be done, and gives specific guidance as to how to
accomplish tasks. This closely parallels the Ohio State dimension of initiating structure. This
behaviour is best used when individuals have difficulty doing tasks or the tasks are
ambiguous. It would not be very helpful when used with individuals who are already highly
motivated, have the skills and abilities to do the task, and understand the requirements of
the task.• The supportive leader -is friendly and shows concern for the needs of followers.
This is essentially synonymous with the Ohio State dimension of consideration. This
behaviour is often recommended when individuals are under stress or otherwise show that
they need to be supported.

Continued….

The participative leader consults with followers and uses their suggestions before making a
decision. This behaviour is most appropriate when individuals need to buy in to decisions.
The achievement-oriented leader sets challenging goals and expects followers to perform at
their highest level. This behaviour works well with individuals who like challenges and are
highly motivated. It would be less effective with less capable individuals or those who are
highly stressed from overwork.

Hersey &Blanchard leadership Theory

SLT views the leader-follower relationship as similar to that of a parent and child. Just as a
parent needs to give up control as a child becomes more mature and responsible, so too
should leaders. Hersey and Blanchard identify four specific leader behaviours—from highly
directive to highly laissez-faire. The most effective behaviour depends on a follower’s ability
and motivation. SLT says that if a follower is unable and unwilling to do a task, the leader
needs to give clear and specific directions (in other words, be highly directive). If a follower
is unable and willing, the leader needs to display high task orientation to compensate for
the follower’s lack of ability, and high relationship orientation to get the follower to “buy
into” the leader’s desires (in other words, “sell” the task). If the follower is able and
unwilling, the leader needs to adopt a supportive and participative style. Finally, if the
employee is both able and willing, the leader does not need to do much (in other words, a
laissez-faire approach will work).

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Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Theory

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Leadership Styles

Autocratic: one man decision, power is in the hands of very few people in the organization.
An autocratic leader dictates tasks and timelines to a group and imparts a strong focus on
an objective. At best, the autocratic leader leads a team to success under tight timelines and
can be especially functional for a team with inexperienced and/or unskilled members. At
worst, the autocratic leader denies input from all others and can dominate both task
strategy and credit for success. Good for theory of “X” employees.Democratic: participatory,
collective decision, collective risk,Should be skilled in conflict resolution skills.Laissez-faire:
free-rein delegating to subordinates, less control, less power.A “Laissez-Faire” leader gives
little or no direction while providing feedback when prompted/provoked by team
members. At best, the laissez-faire leader promotes a sense of competence and expertise in
team members and allows others to rise to their performance potential. At worst, this style
can lack accountability for team failures and not adequately coach members to success who
may be uncomfortable in a self-directed environment by appearing to not care or be too
busy to properly lead.

Key Characteristics of a Charismatic Leader

1. Vision and articulation. Has a vision—expressed as an idealized goal—that proposes a

future better than the status quo; and 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, and engage in self sacrifice to achieve the vision.3.Sensitivity to follower
needs. Perceptive of others’ abilities and responsive to their needs and feelings.4.
Unconventional behaviour. Engages in behaviours that are perceived as novel and counter
to norms.

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What qualities Do effective followers have? One writer focuses on four:

They manage themselves well. They are able to think for themselves. They can work
independently and without close supervision. They are committed to a purpose outside
themselves. Effective followers are committed to something—a cause, a product, a work
team, an organization, an idea—in addition to the care of their own lives. Most people like
working with colleagues who are emotionally, as well as physically, committed to their
work.

Continued….

- They build their competence and focus their efforts for maximum impact. Effective
followers master skills that will be useful to their organizations, and they hold higher
performance standards than their jobs or work groups require.They are courageous, honest,
and credible. Effective followers establish themselves as independent, critical thinkers
whose knowledge and judgment can be trusted. They hold high ethical standards, give
credit where credit is due, and are not afraid to own up to their mistakes.

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The Full-range Model of Leadership

Transactional leaders -Leaders who guide or motivate their followers in the direction of
established goals by clarifying role and task requirements.Transformational leaders -
Leaders who inspire followers to go beyond their own self-interests for the good of the
organization and have a profound and extraordinary effect on their
followers.Transformational leaders can be characterized by their traits, behaviours, and
decision-making styles. In terms of traits, transformational leaders are often called
charismatic leaders because of the centrality of this trait to their effectiveness, as well as
their tendency to rely on moralistic emotional appeals rather than calculative, instrumental,
or financial appeals, which tend to be employed more by transactional leaders.

Transformational Leaders

Leaders who provide individualized consideration and intellectual stimulation, and who
possess charisma. A transformational leader is an agent of change who attempts to inspire
the members of the organization to aspire to, and to achieve, more than they thought was
possible. Transformational leadership emphasizes vision, development of the individual,
empowerment of the worker, and the challenging of traditional assumptions. The
transformational leader normally has charisma, is motivational, provides intellectual
stimulation to workers, and gives individualized consideration. As leadership theorist Jay
Conger put it, "If you as a leader can make an appealing dream seem like tomorrow's reality,
your subordinates will freely choose to follow you.'' Consider, for example, the great visions
expressed by the highly charismatic leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., when he shared his
vision of world peace in his "I have a dream" speech, and President John F. Kennedy when
he shared his vision of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to earth before
1970.

Characteristics of Transactional and Transformational Leaders(FRLM)

Is There a Moral Dimension to Leadership?

Professor James Clawson of the Darden Graduate School of Business, University of Virginia,
suggests that there are four cornerstones to a “moral foundation of leadership• Truth
telling. Leaders who tell the truth as they see it allow for a mutual, fair exchange to occur.•
Promise keeping. Leaders need to be careful about the commitments they make, and then
are careful to keep those commitments.• Fairness. Leaders who are equitable ensure that
followers get their fair share for their contributions to the organization.• Respect for the
individual. Leaders who tell the truth, keep promises, and are fair show respect for
followers. Respect means treating people with dignity.
The End!

Thank you !

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