Leadership
“Leadership is the ability to influence others to do what
you want them to do.” - Definition
What Is Leadership?
 Leadership
– The ability to influence a group
toward the achievement of goals
 Management
– Use of authority inherent in
designated formal rank to obtain
compliance from organizational
members
 Both are necessary for
organizational success
Difference between a manager and a leader:
 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 horizon
 A manager does things right, a leader does the
right thing.
Difference Between Leaders and Managers
Leaders
Innovate
Develop
Inspire
Long-term view
Ask what and why
Originate
Challenge the status quo
Do the right things
Managers
Administer
Maintain
Control
Short-term view
Ask how and when
Initiate
Accept the status quo
Do things right
Four Key Leader Behaviours
Trait Theories of Leadership
 Theories that consider personality, social, physical, or
intellectual traits to differentiate leaders from
nonleaders
 Not very useful until matched with the Big Five
Personality Framework
 Leadership Traits
–
–
–
–
Extroversion
Conscientiousness
Openness
Emotional Intelligence (Qualified)
 Traits can predict leadership, but they are better at
predicting leader emergence than effectiveness.
CHARISMATIC LEADERSHIP
 Charismatic leaders are said to exert especially
powerful effects on the followers by virtue of the
attributions followers make about them. Such
individuals have high amount of self-confidence,
present articulated vision, behave in extraordinary
ways , are recognized as change agents , are sensitive to
the environmental constraints they face.
 These leaders have extraordinary success in generating
profound changes in their followers.
Behavioural Components of Charismatic and Non- Charismatic
Leaders
Non-charismatic Leader
Charismatic Leader
Relation to Status Quo
Essentially agrees with status quo
Future Goal
Goal not too discrepant from status
quo
Shared perspective makes him/her
likable
Essentially opposed to status quo and
and strives to maintain it
strives to
change it
Idealised vision which is highly discrepant
from status quo
Shared perspective and idealized vision
makes him/her a likable and honourable
hero worthy of identification and
imitation
Disinterested advocacy by incurring
great attempts personal risk and cost
Likableness
Trustworthiness
Disinterested advocacy in persuasion
Expertise
Expert in using available means to
achieve goals within the framework of
the existing order
Conventional, conforming to existing
Behaviour
Environmental Sensitivity
Articulation
Power Base
Leader-Follower
Low need for environmental sensitivity
to maintain status quo
Weak articulation of goals and
motivation to lead
Position power and personal power
(based on reward, expertise and
liking for a friend who is a similar other)
Egalitarian, consensus seeking, or
directive. Nudges or orders people to
share his/her views
Expert in using unconventional means to
transcend the existing order
Unconventional or counter normative
norms
High need for environmental sensitivity
for changing the status quo
Strong articulation of future vision and
motivation to lead
Personal power (based on expertise,
respect and admiration for a unique hero)
Elitist, entrepreneur and exemplary.
Transforms people to the radical changes
advocated
Successful Traits of Leaders
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
(vi)
(vii)
(viii)
(ix)
(x)
A strong desire for accomplishment
Persistent pursuit of goals
Creativity and intelligence used to solve problems
Initiative applied to social situations
Self-assumed personality
Willingness to accept behavioural consequences
Low susceptibility to interpersonal stress
High tolerance of ambiguity
Ability to influence other people
Ability to structure social interactions
Behavioral Theories of Leadership
 Theories proposing that specific behaviors differentiate
leaders from nonleaders
 Differences between theories of leadership:
– Trait theory: leadership is inherent, so we must identify the
leader based on his or her traits
– Behavioral theory: leadership is a skill set and can be taught
to anyone, so we must identify the proper behaviors to teach
potential leaders
Important Behavioral Studies
 Ohio State University
– Found two key dimensions of leader behavior:
• Initiating structure – the defining and structuring of roles
• Consideration – job relationships that reflect trust and respect
• Both are important
 University of Michigan
– Also found two key dimensions of leader behavior:
• Employee-oriented – emphasizes interpersonal relationships
and is the most powerful dimension
• Production-oriented – emphasizes the technical aspects of the
job
– The dimensions of the two studies are very similar
Blake and Mouton’s Managerial Grid®
 Draws on both studies to
assess leadership style
– “Concern for People” is
Consideration and
Employee-Orientation
– “Concern for Production”
is Initiating Structure and
Production-Orientation
 Style is determined by
position on the graph
Contingency Theories
 While trait and behavior theories do help us
understand leadership, an important component is
missing: the environment in which the leader exists
 Contingency Theory deals with this additional aspect of
leadership effectiveness studies
 Three key theories:
– Fielder’s Model
– Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Theory
SITUATIONAL THEORY
The theory that effective groups depend on a proper
match between a leader’s style of interacting with
subordinates and the degree to which the situation
gives control and influence to the leader. It involves
two factors:
(a) Leaders Style
(b) Situational Factors
Fiedler Model
 Effective group performance depends on the proper
match between leadership style and the situation
– Assumes that leadership style (based on orientation revealed
in LPC questionnaire) is fixed
 Considers Three Situational Factors:
– Leader-member relations: degree of confidence and trust in
the leader
– Task structure: degree of structure in the jobs
– Position power: leader’s ability to hire, fire, and reward
 For effective leadership: must change to a leader who fits
the situation or change the situational variables to fit the
current leader
Assessment of Fiedler’s Model
 Positives:
– Considerable evidence supports the model, especially if the
original eight situations are grouped into three
 Problems:
– The logic behind the LPC
scale is not well understood
– LPC scores are not stable
– Contingency variables are
complex and hard to
determine
Hersey & Blanchard’s Situational Leadership
 A model that focuses on follower “readiness”
– Followers can accept or reject the leader
– Effectiveness depends on the followers’ response to the
leader’s actions
– “Readiness” is the extent to which people have the ability
and willingness to accomplish a specific task
 A paternal model:
– As the child matures, the adult releases more and more
control over the situation
– As the workers become more ready, the leader becomes
more laissez-faire
 Situational leadership model incorporates
consideration and initiating structure and extends these
two dimensions of leadership to form four styles :
 1. Tell
 2. Sell
 3. Participate
 4. Delegate
 Telling style:provides clean and specific
instructions.that is , the leader tells the subordinates
what to do and how to perform various tasks.
Works best when followers are unable and unwilling
 Selling style: works best when followers unable and
willing, in selling style 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’s to “buy into” the leader’s style.
 Participative style: works best when the followers are
able and unwilling.
 Delegating style: works best when the followers are
able and willing.
The Situational Theory of Leadership
The Path-goal Theory of Leadership
Leader Behaviour Dimensions in Path-Goal Theory
Leader Directiveness
Letting subordinates know what’s expected.
Providing specific guidance as to what should be done and how.
Making leader’s part in the group understood.
Scheduling work to be done.
Maintaining definite standards of performance.
Leader Supportiveness
Showing concern for status and well-being of subordinates.
Doing little things to make the work more pleasant.
Treating members as equals.
Being friendly and approachable.
Leader Participativeness
Consulting with subordinates.
Soliciting subordinate suggestions.
Taking these suggestions seriously.
Maintaining definite standards of performance.
Leader Achievement-orientedness
Setting challenging goals.
Expecting subordinates to perform at their peak levels.
Showing a high degree of confidence in subordinates.
Constantly emphasising excellence in performance.
Example of Applying Path-Goal Theory
Leadership Theories