Leadership Theory

LeadershipThe meaning of a message is the change which it produces in the image. Kenneth Boulding inThe Image: Knowledge in Life Society Leadership is a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and directs the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent.Reported by: Mrs Elnora Argota

Leaders carry out this process by applying their leadershipknowledgeandskills. This is calledProcess Leadership(Jago, 1982).

The Two Most Important Keys to Effective LeadershipTrust and confidence in top leadership was the single most reliable predictor of employee satisfaction in an organization.

Principles of Leadership

Know yourself and seek self-improvementBe technically proficientSeek responsibility and take responsibility for your actionsMake sound and timely decisionsSet the exampleKnow your people and look out for their well-beingKeep your workers informed

Develop a sense of responsibility in your workersEnsure that tasks are understood, supervised, and accomplishedUse the full capabilities of your organization

Environment

Every organization has a particular work environment, which dictates to a considerable degree how its leaders respond to problems and opportunities. This is brought about by its heritage of past leaders and its present leaders.

Four Factors of Leadership

Followers - Different people require different styles of leadership. Communication - You lead through two-waycommunication. Much of it is nonverbal. Situation - All situations are differentBoss or Leader?

Effective communication by leadership in three critical areas was the key to winning organizational trust and confidence:Helping employees understand the company's overall business strategy.Helping employees understand how they contribute to achieving key business objectives.Sharing information with employees on both how the company is doing and how an employee's own division is doing relative to strategic business objectives.

The Process of Great Leadership

The road to great leadership (Kouzes & Posner, 1987) that is common to successful leaders:Challenge the process- First, find a process that you believe needs to be improved the most.Inspire a shared vision- Next, share your vision in words that can be understood by your followers.

Enable others to act- Give them the tools and methods to solve the problem.Encourage the heart- Share the glory with your followers'

Leadership Theories

1. Behavioral theories What does a good leader do? Behavioral theories focus on how leaders behave. Do they dictate what needs to be done and expect cooperation? Or do they involve the team in decisions to encourage acceptance and support?

Reported by: Marissa Go,

Blake Mouton Managerial GridBalancing Task- and People-Oriented LeadershipThe Managerial Grid is based on two behavioral dimensions:Concern for People This is the degree to which a leader considers the needs of team members, their interests, and areas of personal development when deciding how best to accomplish a task.

Concern for Production This is the degree to which a leader emphasizes concrete objectives, organizational efficiency and high productivity when deciding how best to accomplish a task.

The goal is to be at least in theMiddle of the Roadbut preferably aTeam Leader that is, to score at least between a 5,5 to 9,9. In addition, a good leader operates at the extreme ends of the two scales, depending upon the situation.

four types of leaders:Authoritarian strong on tasks, weak on people skillsCountry Club strong on people skills, weak on tasksImpoverished weak on tasks, weak on people skillsTeam Leader strong on tasks, strong on people skills

2. Contingency theories How does the situation influence good leadership? The realization that there isn't one correct type of leader led to theories that the best leadership style is contingent on, or depends on, the situation. These theories try to predict which leadership style is best in which circumstance.

3. Trait theories What type of person makes a good leader? Trait theories argue that leaders share a number of common personality traits and characteristics, and that leadership emerges from these traits. Early trait theories promoted the idea that leadership is an innate, instinctive quality that you either have or don't have..

4. Power and influence theories What is the source of the leader's power? The model suggests that using personal power is the better alternative and, because Expert Power (the power that comes with being a real expert in the job) is the most legitimate of these, that you should actively work on building this. Similarly, leading by example is another highly effective way to establish and sustain a positive influence with your team.

Leadership Myths

Myth 1 Leadership is innateMyth 2 Leadership is possessing power over othersMyth 3 Leaders are positively influentialMyth 4 Leaders entirely control group outcomesMyth 5 All groups have a designated leaderMyth 6 Group members resist leaders

Reported by: Eulogia Marcellones,

Transactional Leadership. This approach assumes that work is done only because it is rewarded, and for no other reason, and it therefore focuses on designing tasks and reward structures. While it may not be the most appealing leadership strategy in terms of building relationships and developing a long-term motivating work environment, it does work, and it's used in most organizations on a daily basis to get things done.

People-oriented leadership or relations-oriented leadershipThis is the opposite of task-oriented leadership. With people-oriented leadership, leaders are totally focused on organizing, supporting, and developing the people in their teams. It's a participative style, and it tends to encourage good teamwork and creative collaboration

Servant leadershipThis term, created by Robert Greenleaf in the 1970s, describes a leader who is often not formally recognized as such. When someone, at any level within an organization, leads simply by meeting the needs of the team, he or she is described as a "servant leader."In many ways, servant leadership is a form of democratic leadership, because the whole team tends to be involved in decision making.Reported by:Joseph Almazan

Task-Oriented leadershipHighly task-oriented leaders focus only on getting the job done, and they can be quite autocratic. They actively define the work and the roles required, put structures in place, plan, organize, and monitor

Transactional leadershipThis style of leadership starts with the idea that team members agree to obey their leader totally when they accept a job. Transformational leadershippeople with this leadership style are true leaders who inspire their teams constantly with a shared vision of the future

Leadership Styles

Leadership Styles

Authoritarian (autocratic)This style is used when leaders tell their employees what they want done and how they want it accomplished, without getting the advice of their followers.

Strengths:Can increase efficiency -"tighten up" operations.Valuable time saved by commands and no discussion.Quick results, especially in emergency situations

Weakness:The efficiency of one-way communication (orders) is often only apparent An autocrat must be an expert on every job under his control since he receives little or no advice or information from his people.

People usually resent an autocratic leader and his authoritarian rule, feel excluded and unimportant like machine parts, and often express their feelings by subconscious or quire intentional resistance.Poor or no development of people's potential talent.

Participative (democratic)This style involves the leader including one or more employees in the decision making process (determining what to do and how to do it). However, the leader maintains the final decision making authority.

Strengths:People are more cooperative and motivated when given reasons and explanations for work they do.People can ask questions and this two-way communication reduces errors through misunderstanding.

People feel respected and important when a boss takes time to explain and discuss; morale is good.This style of leadership is indispensable for any of the many "staff" managers who get their work done through others over whom they have no direct authority or control.

Weakness:Some people interpret efforts to persuade them as a sign of weakness or indecision in a manager.Unless the "salesman" (diplomatic manager) is very skilled and convincing, people may sense a "con" job, insincere flattery or that they are being merely manipulated and treated hypocritically.

Consultative Management style

A consultative management style can be viewed as a combination of the above two. The manager will ask views and opinions from their staff, allowing them to feel involved but will ultimately make the final decision.

Many ideas may bring creative change.

Weakness Many ideas could bring stalemate if no one can bring the ideas together or if no one can choose the best ones.

Strengths

Delegative (free reign)In this style, the leader allows the employees to make the decisions. However, the leader is still responsible for the decisions that are made. This is used when employees are able to analyze the situation and determine what needs to be done and how to do it. You cannot do everything! You must set priorities and delegate certain tasks.

Strengths:This style, when it works, enables a manager to handle the maximum number of projects, delegated almost completely to others and thus using up very little of his own managerial time -but he is always ultimately accountable for each project.

Weakness:little or no control is exercised over subordinates and thus the risk of errors, even catastrophic ones, is greater than with any other leadership style;delegations of responsibility for projects and great freedom can end with deadlines missed or reached but with a series of disasters regarding specifications of projects, budget overruns, safety or legal violations etc.;

Types of organizational power

Legitimate PowerReward PowerCoercive PowerExpert PowerCharisma PowerReferent PowerInformation Power

ModelsBureaucratic ManagementMax Weber embellished the scientific management theory with his bureaucratic management theory which is mainly focused on dividing organizations into hierarchies, establishing strong lines of authority and control. Weber suggested organizations develop comprehensive and detailed standard operating procedures for all routinized tasks.

Reported by Teofilo Campo

Human RelationsFather of the "human relations" movement as Elton Mayo (1880-1949), a Harvard professor trained in psychopathology who is most famous for the well-known "Hawthorne Studies" -- a series of 20-year experiments at a Western Electric plant in Cicero, Illinois which began in 1927.

THEORY X AND THEORY Y Doug McGregor (1960) founded Theory X and Theory Y management theory which was inspired by Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Theory X, which McGregor called traditional management is based on the idea employees are lazy and need to be motivated by crass, material rewards.

Theory Y, which McGregor favored, is based on the idea that employees are creative and need to have their potential unleashed. He believed, in other words, that employee needs and organizational needs could be successfully merged. Managers should not use threats or coercion in order to gain employee compliance..

THEORY ZWilliam Ouchi came up with a variant called "Theory Z" which combined American and Japanese management styles to emphasize collective decisionmaking, long-term employment prospects, low-key evaluations, informal controls, moderately specialized career paths, and a holistic concern for the employee, including their family.

**Servant devote themselves to serving the needs of organization members, focus on meeting the needs of those they lead, develop employees to bring out the best in them, coach others and encourage their self expression, facilitate personal growth in all who work with them and listen well to build a sense of

probably name Mother Theresa, Nelson Madiba Mandela, Dalai Lama, Mahatma Gandhi, a Martin Luther King Jr. community and joint ownership*ExamplesTask-oriented leadership would be advisable in natural disaster, like a flood or fire. In an uncertain situation the leader-member relations are usually poor, the task is unstructured, and the position power is weak. The one who emerges as a leader to direct the group's activity usually does not know subordinates personally. The task-oriented leader who gets things accomplished proves to be the most successful. If the leader is considerate (relationship-oriented), they may waste so much time in the disaster, that things get out of control and lives are lost.Blue-collar workers generally want to know exactly what they are supposed to do. Therefore, their work environment is usually highly structured. The leader's position power is strong if management backs their decision. Finally, even though the leader may not be relationship-oriented, leader-member relations may be extremely strong if they can gain promotions and salary increases for subordinates. Under these situations the task-oriented style of leadership is preferred over the (considerate) relationship-oriented style.The considerate (relationship-oriented) style of leadership can be appropriate in an environment where the situation is moderately favorable or certain. For example, when (1) leader-member relations are good, (2) the task is unstructured, and (3) position power is weak. Situations like this exists with research scientists, who do not like superiors to structure the task for them. They prefer to follow their own creative leads in order to solve problems. In a situation like this a considerate style of leadership is preferred over the task-oriented

*For example, business owners exchange status and wages for the work effort of the employee. In the political environment, politicians may exchange favors or government jobs for votes. Transactional behavior focuses on the accomplishment of tasks and good worker relationships in exchange for desirable rewards. Transactional leadership may encourage the leader to adapt their style and behavior to meet the perceived expectations of the followers.*Authoritarian leadership is best applied to situations where there is little time for group decision-making or where the leader is the most knowledgeable member of the group.

While autocratic leadership can be beneficial at times, there are also many instances where this leadership style can be problematic. People who abuse an autocratic leadership style are often viewed as bossy, controlling and dictatorial, which can lead to resentment among group members.Because autocratic leaders make decisions without consulting the group, people in the group may dislike that they are unable to contribute ideas. Researchers have also found that autocratic leadership leads to a lack of creative solutions to problems, which can ultimately hurt the performance of the group.

*Valuable time saved by commands and no discussion. Quick results, especially in emergency situations. Chain of command and division of work (who is supposed to do what) are clear, understood by all. Works well with people who have a low tolerance for ambiguity, feel insecure with freedom and even minor decisions and need full direction.

**People usually resent an autocratic leader and his authoritarian rule, feel excluded and unimportant like machine parts, and often express their feelings by subconscious or quire intentional resistance, unenthusiastic "minimum compliance" with orders, low morale and productivity, and sometimes even sabotage, work slowdowns or stoppage and strikes.StrengthInsures consistency of policy and operations, which can be critical in organizations where errors or deviations from standard procedures are intolerable (such as banking, employee or consumer safety, legal firms or departments etc.)Fairness and impartiality in dealing with people.Chain of command and division of work clear to all.Weakness:Inflexibility and inefficiency in handling new, complex or changing situations. Virtual paralysis and indecision in situations not covered by specific rules and policies. Stifles people's creativity, enthusiasm and morale.

*They can win the cooperation of their group and can motivate them effectively and positively. The decisions of the democratic leader are not unilateral as with the autocrat because they arise from consultation with the group members and participation by them

disadvantage of participate leadership is the time factor. This leadership style does often involve the need for more time before action is taken. This is only natural, since the very nature of participative leadership means allowing input from every member of the team. However, the extra time necessary for this process often leads to decisions that ultimately benefit everyone to a greater degree than faster decisions that are more limited in scope. **Strengths:This style, when it works, enables a manager to handle the maximum number of projects, delegated almost completely to others and thus using up very little of his own managerial time -but he is always ultimately accountable for each project.Man/workers, especially highly educated, technical and professional ones (doctors, engineers, etc.) thrive and can contribute their best work only if granted wide freedom and responsibility.A free rein leader can handle a larger span of control (more people directly reporting to him) than is possible with any other leadership style, the very maximum utilization of people and resources and "multiplication" or "extension" of himself as a manager of many people, projects and results. Weakness:By the very nature of free rein leadership, little or no control is exercised over subordinates and thus the risk of errors, even catastrophic ones, is greater than with any other leadership style; unless the leader knows for sure that his people are completely competent and dependable, and indeed it turns out that they are, his delegations of responsibility for projects and great freedom can end with deadlines missed or reached but with a series of disasters regarding specifications of projects, budget overruns, safety or legal violations etc.; in short, a leadership style with enormous potential for vast quantities of work produced by a single manager -but with enormous risk as well. The free rein leader can easily misjudge people and delegate to them projects and give them freedom which are beyond their technical capacity and/or personal confidence -thus creating failure experiences or high states of anxiety which damage results and especially morale.**