Aug 15, 2015
Session Objectives• To present a range of academic meta-theories on leadership.
• To develop an appreciation of our personal constructs of leadership.
• To draw out of academic theory key ideas pertinent to project teams.
A Key Question:
“How is Leadership Different to Management?”
Leadership & Management
• Management from administration of household (French) / breaking in a horse (Italian)
• 1300 ledere, “to cause to go with one” / Old Icelandic derivative leidha meaning the “person in front”
Leadership Definitions:
Definitions of Leadership• Leadership is “the behaviour of an individual … directing the
activities of a group towards a shared goal” (Hemphill & Coons, 1957, p.7)
• “Leadership is about articulating visions, embodying values, and creating the environment within which things can be accomplished” (Richards & Engle, 1986, p.206)
• Leadership is “the influential incremental over and above mechanical compliance with the routine directives of the organisation” (D. Katz & Kahn, 1978 p.528)
• “Leadership is to convince people to do things that are either dangerous (like invading another country) or stupid (working hard without extra pay)” (Adams, 1999, p.7)
Leadership Safari
Heroic
Skills
Charismatic / Transformation
alSituational / Contingent
Traits / Behaviours Distributed
Leadership
Is Leadership About ...• Who we are ...
– Height– Intelligence– Extraversion– Fluency
• What we do ...
– Interactions– Behaviours– Relationships
Leader or Leadership?• Is leadership about:
– One set of values, beliefs, commitments
– Shared understanding & commitment to objectives
– One source of leadership
Exercise: Thinking About Leadership
• What do you understand by ‘Leadership’?
• When was the first time that you can remember beginning to understand what ‘Leadership’ meant?
• How have your ideas about ‘leadership’ changed since then?
• What common prejudices or stereotypes exist in your culture about ‘leadership’?Out o
f Class
Acti
vity :
Indivi
dual
…further questions you may like to explore• What do you understand by ‘Leadership’?
• When was the first time that you can remember beginning to understand what ‘Leadership’ meant?
• How have your ideas about ‘leadership’ changed since that time?
• What did you learn from family / friends / culture about ‘leadership’?
• What did you learn from the arts / sciences / media about ‘leadership’?
• From what other sources did you learn about ‘leadership’
• Who agrees and who disagrees with your ideas?
• In what contexts would you feel comfortable or uncomfortable about sharing your ideas about ‘leadership’?
• What common prejudices or stereotypes exist in your culture about ‘leadership’?
• If you had lived one hundred years ago, how might your ideas about leadership have been different?
• If you had been brought up in a different culture, how might your ideas about ‘leadership’ have been different?
• If you had been born male rather than female (or vice versa) how might this affect your ideas about leadership?
Ekdawi et al (2000) Whose Reality is it Anyway?
Other (initial) thoughts• Pfeffer -”leadership is the outcome of an attribution
process”
• Gemmill & Oakley - process of “reification”
• Van Maurik “quality of its use or misuse arguably makes it the most important issue in the world today…”
• Bennis, 1959 “[a]lways, it seems, the concept of leadership eludes us or turns up in another form to taunt us again with its slipperiness and complexity. So we have invented an endless proliferation of terms to deal with it … and still the concept is not sufficiently defined”
• Garrett, 2002 “the abdication of management responsibility”
Can Leadership be Taught?
Six Practical Insights from Leadership Theories
Leadership Behaviour
Concern for Results
Concern for
People
Idea 1
Leadership Behaviour (2)
Concern for Results
Concern for
People
1,9
Country Club Management
Thoughtful attention to the needs of people for satisfying relationships leads to a comfortable, friendly organisation atmosphere and work tempo
9,9Team Management
Work accomplishment is from committed people; interdependence through a “common stake” in organisation purpose leads to relationships of trust and respect
Impoverished Management
Exertion of minimum effort to get required
work done is appropriate to sustain organisation
membership1,1
Authority-Compliance Management
Efficiency in operations results from arranging conditions of work in such a way that human elements interfere to a minimum degree
9,1
Behaviour Characteristics of 3 styles of LeadershipLaissez-faire
• Little / no control
• Motivates by support when requested by group
• Little direction is provided
• Communication is between members of groups and flows upwards / downwards
• Emphasis is on group
• Criticism is not given
Democratic
• Less control
• Economic & ego awards are used to motivate
• Direction through suggestions & guidance
• Communication flows up and down
• Decision making involves others
• Emphasis on difference ‘We’
• Criticism is constructive
Authoritarian
• Strong control
• Motivation by coercion
• Direction through commands
• Communication one way (downwards)
• Decision making doesn’t involve others
• Emphasis on difference ‘I’ and ‘You’
• Criticism is punitive
Marquis & Huston 1996 p14
Behaviour Characteristics of 3 styles of LeadershipLaissez-faire
• Little / no control
• Motivates by support when requested by group
• Little direction is provided
• Communication is between members of groups and flows upwards / downwards
• Emphasis is on group
• Criticism is not given
Democratic
• Less control
• Economic & ego awards are used to motivate
• Direction through suggestions & guidance
• Communication flows up and down
• Decision making involves others
• Emphasis on difference ‘We’
• Criticism is constructive
Authoritarian
• Strong control
• Motivation by coercion
• Direction through commands
• Communication one way (downwards)
• Decision making doesn’t involve others
• Emphasis on difference ‘I’ and ‘You’
• Criticism is punitive
Marquis & Huston 1996 p14
Out of C
lass A
ctivit
y : In
dividual o
r Pairs
Consider w
hich is
your p
referre
d style
.
What o
pportuniti
es / ch
allenges d
o you se
e
this
prese
nting
In yo
ur care
er as a
project
worker?
Manager makes
decision and
announces it
Manager presents
ideas and
invites question
s
Manager presents problem,
gets suggesti
ons, make
decision
Manager defines limits, asks
group to make
decision
Manager permits subordin
ate to function within limits
defined by
superior
Manager presents tentative decision subject
to change
Manager “sells”
decisions
Boss-Centred
Leadership
Subordinate-CentredLeadership
Tannenbaum & Schmidt (1958)
Idea 2
0-6 monthsSettling in
6-9 monthsOpening
up
9-18 months
Participating &
Reflecting
18-24 months
Transforming
Team Facilitator Control
Group MemberControl
Plan, directcontrol
Coach, opencommunicatio
ns
Participative
strategies &
critical thinking
Teach othersto lead
themselves
Facilitative leadership
Source: Glaser (1992) cited in Linstead et al (2009 p. 563)
Situational Leadership
• No single profile of an ‘ideal’ leader; rather than the leader needs to be conscious of the context and environment in which the leadership acts are taking place.
Source : Blanchard et al
Idea 3
LMX: In-groups and out-groups• ‘In-groups’ are given ‘prized’ tasks, the resources to
complete them and the trust to deliver. This can create a ‘virtuous’ circle.
• However, the ‘out-groups’ are closely supervised in the execution of mundane / difficult tasks with limited resources. Creating an environment where failure can be an expectation ...
Idea 4
Working with ‘Out-Groups’• Deep Listening
• Empathy
• Recognise Contributions on ‘out-group’
• Inclusiveness
• Develop Relationships
• Empowerment
Transformational Leaders help people to:
•interpret events
•recognise opportunities &threats
•understand when major change is necessary
•assume more responsibility
•maintain enthusiasm and effort in the face of obstacles
Idea 5
Charismatic Leadership
Source: http://www.slideshare.net/GeorgeXintarakis/what-charismatic-leaders-do-differentlyDownloaded 19th August 2014
RecipientsAre followers a ‘blank page’ ….?
• Socially constructed from early experiences:
– parents, teachers , politicians, captains and (latterly) managers
• We develop an implicit perspective of leadership and seek to judge leaders according to our own theories
(Hall & Lord 1995)Idea 6
To Sum Up
A Process of Leadership
Leaderbehaviour
Power
Situation
Traits
Relationship:Perceptions,attributions,exchanges, etc
Action & reaction
Objectives & outcomes
Style
Experiences
Skills
Leader Follower
Implicit leadership theories
Skills and experience
Romance of leadership
Behaviour & power