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MANORGBEV
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Chapter 11
Leadership and
Influence Processes
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Learning outcomes
Describe the nature of leadership and relate leadership to management.

Discuss and evaluate the two generic approaches to leadership.

Identify and describe the major situational approaches to leadership.

Identify and describe three related approaches to leadership.

Describe three emerging approaches to leadership.

Discuss political behavior in organizations and how it can be managed.

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The Nature of Leadership

The Meaning of Leadership

Leadership
As a process, the use of noncoercive influence to shape the group’s or organization’s goals,
motivate behavior toward the achievement of those goals, and help define group or
organizational culture;
as a property, the set of characteristics attributed to individuals who are perceived to be
leaders

Leaders
People who can influence the behaviors of others without having to rely on force; those
accepted by others as leaders
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The Nature of Leadership

Distinctions Between Management and Leadership
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Leadership and Power

Power
The ability to affect the behavior of others

In organizational settings, there are usually five kinds of power:

 Legitimate power
Power granted through the organizational hierarchy; the power defined by the organization
to be accorded to people occupying a particular position

 Reward power
The power to give or withhold rewards, such as salary increases, bonuses, promotions,
praise, recognition, and interesting job assignments
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Leadership and Power

 Coercive power
The power to force compliance by means of psychological, emotional, or physical threat

 Referent power
The personal power that accrues to someone based on identification, imitation, loyalty, or
charisma

 Expert power
The personal power that accrues to someone based on the information or expertise that
they possess
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Generic Approaches to Leadership

Traits Approach to Leadership
 Assumed that a basic set of personal traits that differentiated
leaders from non-leaders could be used to identify leaders and
predict who would become leaders.
 The trait approach was unsuccessful in establishing empirical
relationships between traits and persons regarded as leaders
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Leadership Behaviors
Michigan Studies (Rensis Likert)
– Identified two forms of leader behaviour

Job-centered behaviour
—managers who pay close attention to subordinates’ work, explain work procedures, and
are keenly interested in performance.

Employee-centered behaviour
—managers who focus on the development of cohesive work groups and employee
satisfaction. – The two forms of leader behaviors were considered to be at opposite ends of
the same continuum.
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Leadership Behaviors
Ohio State Studies
Did not interpret leader behavior as being one-dimensional as did the Michigan State studies.

Identified two basic leadership styles that can be exhibited simultaneously:

Initiating-structure behavior
The behavior of leaders who define the leader– subordinate role so that everyone knows what is expected,
establish formal lines of communication, and determine how tasks will be performed

Consideration behaviour
The behavior of leaders who show concern for subordinates and attempt to establish a warm, friendly, and
supportive climate
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Leadership Behaviors
Ohio State Studies (cont’d)

Initial assumption was that the most effective leaders who exhibit high levels of both behaviors.
Subsequent research indicated that:
 Employees of supervisors ranked high on initiating structure were high performers, yet they
expressed low levels of satisfaction and higher absenteeism.

 Employees of supervisors ranked high on consideration had low- performance ratings, yet they had
high levels of satisfaction and less absenteeism.

 Other situational variables make consistent leader behavior predictions difficult. There is no
universal or “one best way” model of leadership.
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Leadership Behaviors
The Managerial Grid
provides a means for evaluating leadership styles and
then training managers to move toward an ideal style
of behavior.

Concern for production

The part of the Managerial Grid that deals with the
job and task aspects of leader behaviour

Concern for people

The part of the Managerial Grid that deals with the
human aspects of leader behavior
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Situational Approaches to Leadership

Situational Models of Leader Behavior

Assume that:
 Appropriate leader behavior varies from one
situation to another.

 Key situational factors that are interacting to

determine appropriate leader behavior can be
identified.
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Situational Approaches to Leadership

Least-Preferred Co-worker (LPC) theory
A theory of leadership that suggests that the appropriate style of
leadership varies with situational favorableness.

 LPC theory, developed by Fred Fiedler, was the first truly

situational theory of leadership.

 LPC measure The measuring scale that asks leaders to describe

the person with whom he or she is able to work least well (the
least-preferred coworker, or LPC)
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Situational Approaches to Leadership

Least-Preferred Co-worker (LPC) Theory (cont’d)

Contingency variables determining situational favorableness:

Leader-member relations
the nature of the relationship between the leader and the work group.
Task structure
the degree to which the group’s task is defined.
Position Power
the power vested in the leader’s position.
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Situational Approaches to Leadership

Path-Goal Theory Path-Goal Framework
Associated most closely with Martin
Evans and Robert House—is a direct
extension of the expectancy theory of
motivation

Theory of leadership
suggesting that the primary functions of
a leader are to make valued or desired
rewards available in the workplace and
to clarify for the subordinate the kinds
of behavior that will lead to those
rewards
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Situational Approaches to Leadership

Path-Goal Theory (cont’d)

Leader Behaviors:
 Directive leader behaviour
letting subordinates know what is expected of them, giving guidance and direction, and scheduling
work.
 Supportive leader behaviour
being friendly and approachable, having concern for subordinate welfare, and treating subordinates as
equals.
 Participative leader behaviour
consulting with subordinates, soliciting suggestions, and allowing participation in decision making.
 Achievement
oriented leader behaviour setting challenging goals, expecting subordinates to perform at high levels,
encouraging and showing confidence in subordinates.
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Situational Approaches to Leadership

Vroom’s Decision Tree Approach
Predicts what kinds of situations call for different degrees of group participation

Basic Premises
 The degree to which subordinates should be encouraged to participate in decision
making depends on the characteristics of the situation.
 No one decision-making process is best for all situations.
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Situational Approaches to Leadership

Vroom’s Decision Tree Approach (cont’d)
After evaluating the different problem attributes, a leader can choose a decision path on
one of two decision trees that determines the decision style and specifies the amount of
employee participation.

Decision significance
The degree to which the decision will have an impact on the organization. Subordinates are
involved when decision significance is high.

Decision Timeliness
The degree of time pressure for making a decision in a timely basis; may preclude
involving subordinates.
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Situational Approaches to Leadership

Vroom’s Decision Tree Approach (cont’d)
Decision-Making Styles
Decide —manager makes decision alone and then announces or “sells” it to the group.
Consult (individually) —manager presents program to group members individually, obtains their
suggestions, then makes the decision.
Consult (group) —manager presents problem to group at a meeting, gets their suggestions, then makes
the decision.
Facilitate —manager presents the problem to the group, defines the problem and its boundaries, and
then facilitates group member discussion as they make the decision.
Delegate —manager allows the group to define for itself the exact nature and parameters of the
problem and then develop a solution.
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Situational Approaches to Leadership

The Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) Approach
conceived by George Graen and Fred Dansereau, stresses the importance of variable
relationships between supervisors and each of their subordinates.

Stresses that leaders have different kinds of relationships with different subordinates
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Related Approaches to Leadership

Substitutes for Leadership
A concept that identifies situations in which leader behaviors are neutralized or replaced by
characteristics of the subordinate, the task, and the organization
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Related Approaches to Leadership

Charismatic Leadership
Assumes that charisma is an individual characteristic of the leader

Charisma
A form of interpersonal attraction that inspires support and acceptance

Transformational Leadership
Leadership that goes beyond ordinary expectations by transmitting a sense of mission,
stimulating learning experiences, and inspiring new ways of thinking
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Emerging Approaches to Leadership

Strategic Leadership
The capability to understand the complexities of both the organization and its environment
and to lead change in the organization to achieve and maintain a superior alignment
between the organization and its environment

Ethical Leadership
Most people have long assumed that top managers are ethical people. But in the wake of
recent corporate scandals, faith in top managers has been shaken. Perhaps now more than
ever, high standards of ethical conduct are being held up as a prerequisite for effective
leadership.
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Political Behavior in Organizations

Political Behavior
The activities carried out for the specific purpose of acquiring, developing, and using
power and other resources to obtain one’s preferred outcomes

Common Political Behaviors

 Inducement
offering to give something to someone else in return for that person’s
support.
 Persuasion
persuading others to support a goal on grounds that are objective and logical
as well as subjective and personal.
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Political Behavior in Organizations

Political Behavior (cont’d)
Creation of an obligation
providing support for another person’s position that obliges that person to return the favor
at a future date.

Coercion
using force to get one’s way.

Impression management
making a direct and intentional effort to enhance one’s image in the eyes of others
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Political Behavior in Organizations

Managing Political Behavior
 Be aware that even if actions are not politically motivated, others may assume that they are.
 Reduce the likelihood of subordinates engaging in political behavior by providing them with
autonomy, responsibility, challenge, and feedback.
 Avoid using power to avoid charges of political motivation.
 Get disagreements and conflicts out in the open so that subordinates have less opportunity to
engage in political behavior.
 Avoid covert behaviors that give the impression of political intent even if none exists