Leadership

1
Leadership

• The ability to influence people toward the
  attainment of goals.

2
Major Leadership Theory Issues

• Is leadership ability inborn or learned?
• Is leadership best explained in terms of Traits
  or Behaviors?
• Is there one best way to lead in all situations?
  (Universal vs. Contingency)
• How much should the leader allow subordinates to
  participate in decisions?
• How can you improve leadership?

3
Types of Leadership Theories
Applicability
4
Types of Leadership Theories

• Trait Theories
• e.g., Self-Confidence, Persistence, Emotional
  Intelligence
• Traits better predict being perceived to be
  leaders (leader emergence) than effectiveness
• Extraversion, Conscientiousness, Openness to
  Experience good predictors of leader emergence
• Dont explain how traits translate into action
• Universal Theories (Traits or Styles)
• Research disproves
• Contingency-Style Theories (Type IV)
• Most prevalent today

5
2 Basic Leadership Styles

• Category 1
• Initiating Structure---
• Job-Centered----------
• Conc. for Production-
• Task-Oriented---------
• Directive----------------

• Category 2
• Consideration
• Employee-Centered
• Concern for People
• Relationship-Oriented
• Supportive

6
Contingency Approaches

• Imply that no particular traits or styles
  guarantee success
• Identify relevant Situational Variables and what
  Leader Traits or Styles are appropriate for each.

7
Hersey and Blanchard's Situational Theory (Type
IV)

• Situational Variables
• Followers Readiness (Maturity) is due to
• Ability
• Willingness

• Leader Behaviors
• Task Behavior (High or Low)
• Relationship Behavior (High or Low)
• 4 Combinations Including
• Telling (H-L)
• Selling (H-H)
• Participating (L-H)
• Delegating (L-L)

8
Hersey and Blanchards Situational Leadership
Theory
Leader Behavior
Selling S2 Explain decisions and provide
opportunity for clarification
Participating S3 Share ideas and facilitate in
decision making
High
Relationship Behavior
Delegating S4 Turn over responsibility
for decisions and implementation
Telling S1 Provide specific instructions and
closely supervise performance
Low
Task Behavior
Low
High
Follower
ReadinessHigh Moderate Low
R4 R3 R2 R1
___________________________________________
9
Path-Goal Theory (Type IV)

• A leaders responsibility is to increase
  subordinates' motivation by
• Clarifying the subordinates' path (i.e., helping
  them reach the goal)
• Giving things they value as rewards for reaching
  the goal
• A major contribution is the Achievement
  Oriented leadership style in which the leader is
  able to provide challenging goals that give
  subordinates an incentive

10
Path-Goal Theory

• Situational Variables
• Follower Characteristics
• e.g, abilities, motivation
• Workplace Characteristics
• e.g., task difficulty

• Leader Behaviors
• Directive leadership
• Achievement-Oriented leadership
• Supportive leadership
• Participative leadership

11
Leadership and Cultural Differences

• Effectiveness of leader behaviors varies with
  national culture
• Directive Leadership less effective in U.S. than
  is most countries
• Participative Leadership
• Useful in most countries
• Not so much with High Power Distance