Leadership involves social influence to achieve organizational goals through voluntary follower participation. Effective leadership depends on situational factors like task structure, stress levels, and follower characteristics like ability and motivation. Different leadership styles are more effective depending on the situation, such as directive styles for low ability/motivation followers and participative styles for high ability/motivation followers.
Unlocking the Future - Dr Max Blumberg, Founder of Blumberg Partnership
Leadership Theories and Styles Explained
1. LEADERSHIP
A Social influence process in which the leader
seeks the voluntary participation of
subordinates in an effort to reach
organizational objectives.
The ability to influence a group towards the
achievement of goals.
2. Transactional Leaders
Contingent Reward – exchange of rewards for
effort.
Management by Exception(active) – watches
and searches for deviations from the rule, takes
corrective action.
Management by Exception (passive) –
intervenes only if standards are not met.
Laissez-faire – abdicates responsibilities, avoids
making decisions.
3. Transformational Leaders
Charisma – provides vision and sense of
mission
Inspiration – communicates high expectations,
uses symbols to focus efforts, expresses
important purposes in simple ways.
Intellectual Stimulation – promotes intelligence,
rationality and creative problem solving.
Individualized consideration – gives personal
attention, treats each employee individually,
coaches and advises.
4. Leadership Theories
Trait Theory - Leaders are born not made. A
leader trait is a personality characteristic that
differentiates a leader from followers.
Ambition and Energy
Drive to Lead
Honesty and Integrity
Self Confidence
Intelligence
Job Relevant knowledge
High Self motivators.
5. Behaviour Theories
Ohio-State Studies : There are two independent
dimensions of Leader behaviour.
Initiating Structure – Organizing and defining
what group members should be doing.
Consideration – creating mutual respect and
trust with followers.
6. Behaviour Theories
Blake and Mouton Managerial Grid (5
quadrants)
1.Country Club Management – thoughtful
attention to needs of people leading to a
comfortable, friendly organization.
2. Impoverished Management – leader fails to
provide necessary structure. Shows little
consideration for employee needs and wants
7. Behaviour Theories
Blake and Mouton Managerial Grid (5
quadrants)
3. Organization man management – adequate
organization performance is possible through
balancing the necessity to get the work done.
Employee morale is maintained at satisfactory
level.
4. Authority-obedience – primary importance is
placed on structuring employee tasks while
leader demonstrates little consideration for
employees.
8. Behaviour Theories
Blake and Mouton Managerial Grid (5
quadrants)
5. Team – Management – the leader provides a lot
of guidance on how work is to be done. Also
demonstrates high consideration for people.
9. Contingency approaches to Leadership
Fielder’s Contingency Model- emphasises the
situational aspects of specific leadership
styles. Analysis of the situation facing the
leader would determine the most appropriate
style of leadership.
Situational favourability consists of :
1. Leader –member relations
2. Degree of task structure
3. The leaders position power
10. Recommendations of
Fielders Contingency Model
1. In either highly favourable or highly
unfavourable situations, a task-oriented ,
tough natured leader is most effective.
2. In moderately favourable/ unfourable
situations, people oriented, lenient leader is
most effective.
11. Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational
Theory
The maturity level of subordinates should
determine the leadership style.
Maturity of followers refers to the task
specific combination of
Employee competence (ability) and
Motivation to perform (willingness).
12. Situational Leadership Recommendations
1. Low Ability, Low Willingness
2. Low Ability, High Willingness
3. High Ability, Low Willingness
4. High Ability, High Willingness
Telling
High Direction, Low Support
Selling/ Coaching
High Direction, High Support
Participating/ Supporting
Low Direction, High Support
Delegating
Low Direction, Low Support
13. Leader – Member Exchange Theory
A leader develops a unique one-to-one
relationship with each each of the persons
reporting to them, favouring some over the
others.
This creates an in-group and an out-group.
Members in the in-group show higher
commitment, job satisfaction and job
performance than out-group.This relationship
becomes stronger when tasks are complex. This
influences career outcomes such as
promotability, salary level and bonus.
14. Path-Goal Theory
Leader behaviour is acceptable when it provides a
‘path’ to achieve followers ‘goals’. A leader
should :
1. Reduce roadblocks that interfere with goal
accomplishment
2. Provide the guidance and support needed by
employees
3. Tie meaningful rewards to goal
accomplishment.
15. Leadership Styles
1. Directive – tells subordinates what is
expected of them and specifies how tasks
can be achieved most effectively.
2. Supportive- concerned with subordinates
needs.
3. Participative – consults and uses
suggestions of followers.
4. Achievement-oriented leader – gives
challenging tasks to subordinates and
expects them to show their best
performance.
16. Leadership Styles
However, there are two contingency variables
that affect the behaviour – outcome
relationship.
Environmental factors – culture in the
organization, formal authority system.
Personal characteristics of the subordinates
– locus of control, experience etc.
17. Managerial Implications
There is no one fixed set of universal
leadership traits.
People who are ambitious, have high energy,
desire to lead, self confidence, intelligent and
having relevant job knowledge, are honest,
trustworthy and flexible are more likely to
succeed as leaders.
18. Managerial Implications
For effective leadership, the relevant
situational variables are task structure of the
job, level of situational stress, level of group
support, leader’s intelligence and
experience.
Follower characteristics such as personality,
ability, experience and motivation affects
leadership.