Handout 8 - Leading

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Leading

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Contents

What is leading?

How leaders influence others

The Nature of Leadership

Behavioral Approaches to Leadership Skills

Contingency Approaches to Leadership Style

LEADING


What is Leading?

Leading is that management function which “involves influencing others to

engage in the work behaviors necessary to reach organizational

goals.”


How Leaders Influence Others

Engineer managers are expected to maintain effective work forces. To be able to do so, they are required to perform leadership roles.

Leaders are said to be able to influence others because of the power they possess.

Power refers to the ability of a leader to exert force on another.


Bases of Power

The power possessed by leaders may be classified according to various bases. They are as follows:

1. Legitimate Power

a person who occupies a higher position has legitimate power over persons in lower positions within the organization. A supervisor, for instance, can issue orders to the workers in his units. Compliance can be expected.


2. Reward power

when a person has the ability to give rewards to anybody who follows orders or requests, he is said to have a reward power. Rewards may be classified into two forms:

a. material rewards – refer to other money or other tangible benefits like cars, house and lot, etc.

b. Psychic rewards – consist of recognition, praises, etc.


3. Coercive Power

when a person compels another to comply with orders through threats or punishments, he is said to possess coercive power. Punishment may take the form of demotion, dismissal, with holding of promotion, etc.


4. Referent power

when a person can get compliance from another because the latter would want to be identified with the former, that person is said to have referent power.


5. Expert power

Experts provide specialized information regarding their specific lines of expertise. This influence, called expert power, is possessed by people with great skills in technology.


The Nature of Leadership

Leadership is the process of influencing an supporting others to work enthusiastically toward achieving objectives.

Leadership is expected of any manager in charge of any unit or division.

One cannot expect a unit or division to achieve objectives in the absence of effective leadership.


Traits of Effective Leaders

There are certain leadership traits identified by researchers and which may be useful in developing effective leaders. These traits are as follows:

1) A high level of personal drive

2) The desire to lead

3) Personal integrity

4) Self-confidence

5) Analytical ability or judgment

6) Knowledge of the company, industry or technology

7) Charisma

8) Creativity

9) Flexibility


Personal Drive

Persons with drive are those identified as willing to accept responsibility, possess vigor, initiative, persistence, and health.

Drive is a very important leadership trait because of the possibility of failure in every attempt to achieve certain goals.


The desire to lead

There are some persons who have all the qualifications for leadership, yet they could not become leaders because they lack one special requirement: the desire to lead.


Personal Integrity

A person who is well-regarded by others as one who has integrity possesses one trait of a leader.

One who does not have personal integrity will have a hard time convincing his subordinates about the necessity of completing various tasks.


Self - Confidence

The activities of leaders require moves that will produce the needed outputs. The steps of conceptualizing, organizing, and implementing will be completed if sustained efforts are made. For the moves to be continuous and precise, self-confidence is necessary.


Analytical Ability

Leaders are, oftentimes, faced with difficulties that prevent the completion of assigned tasks.

A subordinate, for instance, may have a record of continually


Knowledge of the Company, industry or technology

A leader who is well-informed about his company, the industry where the company belongs, and the technology utilized by the industry will be in better position to provide directions to his unit.


Charisma

When a person has sufficient personal magnetism that leads people to follow his directive.


Creativity

The ability to combine existing data, experience, and precondition from various sources in such a way that the results will be subjectively regarded as new valuable and innovative, and as direct solution to an identified problem situation.

Problems are oftentimes complex and challenging, the leader will need all the creative abilities he has.


Flexibility

People differ in a way do their work. One will adapt a different method from another person’s

method. A leader who allows this situation as long as the required

outputs are produced is said to be flexible. Being flexible, it allows the other mean of achieving goals

when the prescribed manner is not appropriate

Leaders need to have various skills to be effective, they are:

1. Technical skills

2. Human skills

3. Conceptual skills

Leadership Skills:


Technical Skills

Enable a leader to understand and make decisions about work processes, activities, and technology.

Specialized knowledge needed to perform a job.


Human Skills

Ability of a leader to deal with people, both inside and outside the organization

Good leaders must know how to get along with people, motivate them and inspire them.

Human skills include coaching, communicating, morale building, training and development, help and supportiveness and delegating.


Conceptual Skills

Ability to think in abstract terms, to see how parts fit together to form a whole.

A very basic requirement for effective implementation is a clear and well-expressed presentation of what must be done.

A leader without sufficient conceptual skills will fail to achieve this.

Those in positions of leadership exhibit a pattern of behavior that is unique and different from other patterns. This total pattern of behavior is called Leadership Style.

Several approaches used in classifying leadership styles:

1. According to the ways leaders approach people to motivate them.

2. According to the way the leader uses power.

3. According to the leader’s orientation towards task and people.

Behavioral Approaches to Leadership Styles:

There are two ways, a leader may approach people to motivate them:

1. Positive leadership Emphasizes rewards, may be economic non economic

2. Negative leadership When punishment is emphasized by the leader, ex.

Reprimand, suspension, or dismissal

Ways leaders Approach People:

Leadership styles also vary according to how power is used. They are as follows:

1. Autocratic

2. Participative

3. Free-rein

Ways leaders uses power:


Autocratic Leaders

Make decisions themselves without consulting subordinates. Motivation take the form of threats, punishments, and intimidation of all kinds.

It is effective in emergencies and when absolute followership is needed.

Disadvantage is that the leader “receives little, if any, information and ideas from his people into his decision making”


Participative Leaders

Invites his subordinates to participate or share in decisions, policy making and operation methods

Advantage is that it generates a lot of good ideas. It increased support for decisions and the reduction of the

chance that they will be unexpectedly undermined.


Free-rein Leaders

Set objectives and allow employees or subordinates relative freedom to do whatever it takes to accomplish the objectives.

Also called Laissez-faire Most applicable to certain organization manned by

professionals like doctors and engineers If it fits the situation, there is full delegation resulting to

optimum utilization of time and resources Weakness – very little managerial control and a high

degree of risk. If the leader does not know well the competence and

integrity of his people and their ability to handle this kind of freedom, the result could be disastrous.

Leaders may be classified according to how they view tasks and people. Consequently, a leader may either be;

1. Employee oriented When a leader considers employees as human beings of

intrinsic importance and with individual and personal need to satisfy.

2. Task oriented When a leader places stress on production and technical

aspects of the job and the employees are viewed as the means of getting the work done.

Leaders orientation toward tasks and people:

The contingency approach is “an effort to determine through research which managerial practices and techniques are appropriate in specific situations”.

The various contingency approaches are as follows:

1. Fiedler’s Contingency Model

2. Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Model

3. Path-Goal Model of Leadership

4. Vroom’s Decision Making Model

Contingency Approaches to Leadership Style:


Fiedler’s Contingency Model

According to Fred Fiedler, leadership is effective when the leader’s style is appropriate to the situation

The situational characteristic is determined by three principal factors:1. The relation between leaders and followers

2. The structure of the task

3. The power inherent in the leader’s position


Fiedler’s Contingency Model

The situational characteristics vary from organization to organization.

To be effective, the situation must fit the leader. If this is not possible, the following may be tried:

Change the leader’s trait or behavior Select leaders who have traits or behavior fitting the

situation Move leaders around in the organization until they are in

positions that fit them Change the situation


Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Model

It suggests that the most important factor affecting the selection of a leader’s style is the development level or maturity level of subordinate.

Maturity has two components: Job skills and knowledge Psychological Maturity

Leadership Styles appropriate for the various maturity level of subordinates1. Directing

• For people who lack competence but are enthusiastic and committed.

• They need direction and supervision to get them started.


2. Coaching For people who have some competence but lack commitment. They need direction and supervision because they are relatively

inexperienced. They need support and praise to build their self-esteem,

involvement and decision making to restore their commitment.

3. Supporting For people who have competence but lack confidence or motivation They do not need much direction of their skills, but support is

necessary to bolster their confidence and motivation

4. Delegating For people who have both competence and commitment. They are able and willing to work on a project by themselves with

little supervision or support

Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Model


Path-Goal Model of Leadership

Promoted by Robert J. House and Terence R. Mitchell, it stipulates that leadership can be made effective because leaders can influence subordinate’s perception of their work goals, personal goals, and paths to goal attainment.

By using this model, it is assumed that the effective leaders can enhance subordinate motivation by:1. Clarifying the subordinate’s perception of work goals

2. Linking meaningful rewards with goal attainment

3. Explaining how goals and desired rewards can be achieved


The path-goal process:1. Leaders identifies employee needs

2. Appropriate goals are established

3. Leaders connect rewards with goals

4. Leaders provides assistance on employee path towards goals

5. Employee becomes satisfied and motivated and they accept the leader

6. Effective performance occurs

7. Both employees and organization better reach their goals.



Leadership styles which may be used by path-goal proponents are as follows:

1. Directive Leadership The leader focuses on clear task assignment, standards, of

successful performance, and work schedules

2. Supportive Leadership Subordinates are treated as equals in a friendly manner while striving

to improve their well-being

3. Participative Leadership The leader consults with the subordinates to seek their suggestion and

then seriously considers those suggestions when making decision.

4. Achievement-Oriented Leadership The leader set challenging goals, emphasize excellence, and seek

continuous improvement while maintaining high degree of confidence that subordinates will meet difficult challenges in a responsible manner



Prescribes the proper leadership style for various situations, focusing on the appropriate degrees of delegation of decision making authority

Five distinct decision making styles are identified, two of them are autocratic, two others are consultative and one is group directed.

Vroom’s Decision Making Model


Vroom Model Alternative Decision Making Style

Symbol

Decision Making StyleDegree of

Subordinate ParticipationType of

LeaderDescription

A-1 AutocraticLeaders solves the problem or makes the

decision himself using available informationNone

A-2 AutocraticLeaders obtains necessary information from

subordinates, then decides.Low

C-1 ConsultativeLeaders approaches subordinates individually

getting their ideas then makes decisionModerate

C-2 ConsultativeLeaders shares the problem with subordinates as a group, obtaining their collective ideas and

suggestions, then decides.Moderate

G-2Group

Directed

Leaders shares the problem with the subordinates as a group. Lets the group

generate and evaluate alternative solutions, and then collectively, decdes

High

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Handout 8 - Leading

Documents

traits of effective

leadership styleleading

certain leadership traits

leadership roles

bases of powerthe power

important leadership

legitimate powera person

effective work forces