Leadership

1. Leadership • Aligning people towards common goals and empowering them to take actions needed to reach them.

2. Historically important studies The Iowa Leadership Studies Important features: • 1st attempt to experimentally determine effect of leadership styles on groups • Experimentally crude • Results showed that different style of leadership can produce different reactions from similar group.

3. The Experiment (R.Lippitt & R.K.White, 1930s) • 10 years old boys were subjected to different leadership styles in hobby classes • Styles of leadership: authoritarian, democratic & Laissez-Faire. • Purpose: examine patterns of aggressive behavior in the boys

4. Findings: • Authoritarian leadership:aggressive or apathetic reaction resulting from frustration. • Laissez-faire leadership: greatest number of aggressive acts. • Democratic leadership: fell in between the two extremes

5. The Ohio State Leadership Study • Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire (LBDQ) was developed and used to analyze leadership in various groups and situations. Findings: • Two dimensions of leadership emerged • Consideration (recognition of individual needs or relationships). High scorers were: • Open & friendly with subordinates • Treat subordinates as equals • Helped them solve personal/work problems

6. 2. Initiating Structure (goal/task orientation). High scorers were: • put pressures to meet deadlines • Maintain standards of performance • Individuals who achieved ‘high-high’ were able to achieve higher levels of performance & job satisfaction Relevance: • First study to emphasize importance of both task & human dimensions in assessing leadership • Leadership was studied without being effective/ineffective

7. The Early Michigan Leadership Studies • Prudential life insurance company • Twelve high-low productivity pairs of sections were kept under observation. • Each pair consisted of one high producing section and one low producing section. • Other factors were constant. • 24 supervisors & 419 workers were interviewed.

8. Findings • Leadership behavior was categorized in two dimensions: • Employee-Oriented: emphasizes importance of inter-personal relations. High scorers: • personal interest in subordinate needs • accept individual differences among members • Production-Oriented: concerned with tasks & goals. Employees are means to achieve goals. Lead to lower motivation & productivity

9. Result • Employee-Oriented leaders achieve higher job satisfaction & higher group productivity. • Production-Oriented leaders achieve lower job satisfaction & group productivity.

10. Traditional theories of leadership Trait Theories • Concerned with identifying personality traits of leaders The great person theory • Leaders are born with certain traits that allows them to emerge out of situations and become leaders. • “Intelligence” :the only common trait.

11. Group & Exchange theories • In ‘Group approach’ leadership is viewed in terms of leader’s behavior & how it affects/is affected by groups. • Classic Exchange theory means that there should be a positive exchange between leaders & followers.

12. The Leader-Member Exchange Theory • Leaders treat individual subordinates differently • Develop a dyadic (two-person) relationship • Leader develops a ‘in-group’ & an ‘out-group’ of subordinates & treats tem accordingly • Research shows that ‘In-group’ subordinates: • Report fewer difficulties with leader • Perceive leader to be responsive to their needs • Assume greater responsibility & are high performers

13. The leaders tend to: • ‘supervise’ those in the ‘out-group’ • Spend more time ‘leading’ those in the ‘In-group’. • The basis for choosing groups: • Similar attitudes & personality • Higher competence • Extraversion • Better performance • LMX is reciprocal process • Leaders help subordinate to achieve goals.

14. Contingency theory of leadership • Leaders are viewed as products of time & situation • Leaders have to change their style depending on the situation Fiedler’s Contingency model of Leadership Effectiveness • Relationship between leadership style & favorableness of the situation • Under very favorable/unfavorable situations, task-directed / authoritarian leader is most effective • For moderately favorable: human oriented / democratic leader is most effective

15. Situational favorableness is described in terms of three dimensions: • The leader-member relationship (extent to which leader is accepted& respected by subordinates) • The degree of task-structure (task is highly structured & everything is ‘spelled-out’ • The Leader’s position (authority & power attributed to leader’s position)

16. Criticism: • Narrow focus on one trait of leadership • Ambiguity in dimensions’ measurement Contributions: • First contingency theory • Emphasizes importance of situation & leader’s characteristics for measuring effectiveness • Stimulated a great deal of research

17. Path-Goal Leadership theory • Explains the impact of leader behavior on subordinate motivation, satisfaction & performance • Four styles of leadership (House): • Directive Leadership • Supportive leadership • Participative leadership • Achievement oriented leadership • Using one of the styles, leaders provides support & guidance to subordinates to achieve goals

18. Attempts to influence subordinate perceptions & motivate them. • Situational factors that effect leaders behavior: • Personal characteristics of subordinates • Environmental demands & pressures facing subordinates

19. The Path-Goal Relationship

20. Modern theoretical processes of leadership Charismatic Leadership Theories • Who by the force of their personal abilities are capable for having profound & extraordinary effect on subordinates • Characteristics of charismatic leaders (Robert House): • Self confidence & confidence in subordinates • High expectations from subordinates • Vision • Leading by example

21. Bass included: • Superior debating & persuasive skills • Technical expertise • Fostering of attitudinal, behavioral & emotional changes in followers.

22. Transformational leadership theory • James MacGregor Burns identified two types of political leadership: • Transactional (involves an exchange relationship between leaders & followers) • Transformational (leader’s shifting the values, beliefs & needs of their followers) Transactional leaders: • Contingent rewards • Management by Exception(active/passive) • Laissez-faire

23. Transformational Leaders: • Charisma • Inspiration • Intellectual stimulation • Individual consideration • Transactional leadership leads to mediocrity in many situations & transformational leadership leads to superior performance (Bass) Characteristics of effective transformational leaders: • Identify themselves as change agents

24. Courageous • Believe in people • Value driven • Lifelong learners • Have the ability to deal with complexity, ambiguity & uncertainty • visionaries

25. Classic Leadership Styles Blake & Mouton’s Managerial grid

26. Hersey & Blanchard’s Situational Approach Two major styles of leaders: • Task style • Relationship style • Maturity level of the followers was incorporated . Criteria for maturity: • Degree of achievement orientation • Willingness to take responsibility • Amount of education/expertise • Effective leaders match up the situation to appropriate style of leadership

27. Styles of leadership: • Telling style (high task; low relationship; effective when followers have low maturity) • Selling style (high task; high relationship;followers have low maturity) • Participating style (low task; high relationship; high maturity of followers) • Delegating style (low task; low relationship; very high maturity in followers)

28. Vroom’s Leadership-Participation model • Relationship between leadership behavior & decision making style. • Leaders must adjust their behavior depending on the situation • Provides a sequential set of rules for ascertaining the types and amount of participation required in decision making in different situations.

29. Problem attributes • Leader should assess a situation in terms of the problem attributes. • Two categories (for 12 attributes): • Decision Quality: cost consideration, information availability,nature of problem structure • Employee- acceptance: need for commitment, prior approval, conflicts, goal congruence (personal & orgn). • Others: subordinate information level, time constraint, geographical distance with subordinates, leaders’ motivation

30. Leadership styles: • After identifying the nature of the problem, leader can adopt one of the following styles of leadership: • Autocratic I • Autocratic II • Consultive I • Consultive II • Group II

31. Assumptions • Leaders can precisely classify problems by following the decisions tree format • Leaders are willing to and can adapt their style as per the situation • Employees accept leader’s classification of the situation & the leadership styles adopted

32. Leadership styles • The way in which leaders influence their subordinates Various styles: • Autocratic • Consultative • Laissez-faire or subordinate-oriented • Democratic • Manipulative • Expert

33. Likert’s four systems of management • System 1 management : ‘exploitive-authoritative’ style • System 2 management: ‘benevolent authoritative’ style • System 3 management: ‘consultative’ style • Style 4 management: ‘participative’ style

34. What skills do leaders need? • Skills needed in the glogal economy: • Cultural flexibility • Communication skills • HRD skills • Creativity • Self-management of learning

35. Whetten & Cameron’s list for effective leaders: • Verbal communication • Managing time & stress • Managing individual decisions • Recognizing, defining & solving problems • Motivating & influencing others • Delegating • Setting goals & articulating a vision • Self-awareness • Team building • Managing conflict

36. Characteristics of these skills: • The skills are behavioral • Skills are contradictory or paradoxical • Skills are inter-related & overlapping.