2 3 Blake & Mouton’s Leadership Grid Autocratic leader “High-High” Democratic leader Laissez-faire leader Paternalistic / Cheerleader Concern for Task.

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3

Blake & Mouton’s Leadership Grid

Autocraticleader

“High-High” Democratic leader

Laissez-faireleader

Paternalistic /

Cheerleader

Concernfor

Task

High

LowLow High

Concern for People

Contingency Theory

Suggests the most effective style of leadership depends on the situation. ◦ “Best Fit”

Leadership style is part of one’s personality◦ “enduring and difficult to change”

The goal is to successfully match one’s style with situational demands

Relationship motivated vs. Task Motivated

1. Leader – Member relationships◦ Are leader and member relations good or

poor? Does the group support the leader?

2. Task Structure◦ How structured is the task? Are procedures and

guidelines for the task clearly spelled out?

3. Position Power◦ Is the leader’s positional power strong or

weak?  To what degree can the leader reward or punish the group members?

Take the situation which results of rescue and recovery efforts after a natural disaster.

Leader-member relations ◦ usually poor,

Task structure◦ unstructured,

Positional power ◦ weak. The leader who is directing the group's efforts may

not know any of his/her subordinates personally. Relationship-oriented leader

◦ he/she may waste valuable time. Task-oriented leader

◦ who gets things accomplished is likely to be the most successful in this situation.

Take the situation at a successful fast-food restaurant.

Leader-member relations ◦ usually good,

Task structure◦ Very structured,

Positional power ◦ strong. The leader knows his/her subordinates

personally. Relationship-oriented leader

◦ works well is this situation. Task-oriented leader

◦ Little focus on relationships

Leaders adjust their styles depending on the readiness (maturity) of their followers to perform in a given situation.

Readiness – how willing, able or confident followers are to perform a task

Leadership styles come from different combinations of task oriented and relationship oriented behaviours

Helps leaders choose the method of decision making that best fits the nature of the problem situation.

Basic decision-making choices: Authority decision. Consultative decision. Group decision.

Decide alone.◦ No Consultation

Consult individually.◦ Then leader makes decision

Consult with group. ◦ Then leader makes decision

Facilitate.◦ Facilitate group discussion to make a decision

Delegate.◦ Group members have authority to define problem

and make a decision

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Decision Quality

Decision Acceptanc

e

Decision Time

Benefits of participative decision methods: Help improve decision quality.Help improve decision acceptance.Helps develop leadership potential.

Potential disadvantages of participative decision methods:

Lost efficiency.Not particularly useful when problems must be solved immediately.

States that employees are motivated by tasks, rewards and punishment. ◦ If employees do their jobs well then they can

expect to be rewarded. ◦ If employees do something poorly, they can

expect to be punished. Can be quite effective for short term goals

with certain employees. Major disadvantage - it does not take into

account that most people want more from their jobs than just a pay cheque.

Superleaders.Persons whose vision and strength of personality have an extraordinary impact on others.

Charismatic leaders.Develop special leader-follower relationships and inspire others in extraordinary ways.

Someone who is truly inspirational as a leader and who arouses others to seek extraordinary performance

accomplishments.

The theory of Transformational Leadership states that people will follow a leader who has the ability to inspire

and motivate them. A transformational leader helps people to see deeper purposes behind their work, thus

making them achieve high levels of motivation.

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Vision. Charisma. Symbolism. Empowerment. Intellectual stimulation. Integrity.