Leadership

LEADERSHIP

LEADERSHIP

Definition: Bernard (1926) said

‘Any person who is more than ordinarily efficient in carrying successful psychological stimuli to others and is thus effective in conditioning collective responses may be called a leader’. There is no mention of the characteristics of the group or situation here.

Definition: Knickbocker (1948) said

‘The functional relation in leadership exists when a leader is perceived by a group, as controlling means for the satisfaction of their needs’. Conversely speaking, according to this definition, the needs of the group members exercise little Influence on the behavior of the leader.

Definition: Koontz and O’Donnell (1955) said

‘The activity of persuading people to co-operate in the achievement of a common objective’

Definition: Fiedler (1967) said

‘By leadership behavior we generally mean the particular acts in which a leader engages in the course of directing and coordinating the work of his office group members. This my involved such acts as structuring the work relations, praising or criticizing the group members and showing consideration for their welfare and feelings’.

Definition: Hemphill (1954) said

‘To lead is to engage in an act that initiates a structure in the interaction as part of the process of solving a mutual problem’. This definition of leadership was taken forward by Henry Harris in his book, the group approach to leadership testing when he wrote, ‘Leadership is a collective function: collective in the sense that it is the integrated synergized expression of the group’s efforts: It is not the sum individual sum dominances and contributions; it is their relationship. In so far as a man contributes to the collective leadership function…… he will realize that the ultimate authority and true sanction for leadership and every point where it is exercised, resides not in the individual, however dominates, strong of efficient he may be, but in the total situation and in the demands of the situation.

Leadership as a Dynamic process.

LeaderLeader

GroupGroupSituationSituation

LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

Leadership has been practiced since time immemorial whereas the emergence of the term management is relatively now. In fact, it is a post industrial revolution phenomenon not only in the service but also in civil life. Management literature considered leadership as integral part of management while some others believe that they are different and advocate pre-eminence of leadership over management. In fact the emphasis is perhaps turning a full circle as is evident from the latest management literature, and from following quote of peter Drucker :

The problem with many organizations and especially the ones which are failing is that they tend to be over managed and under led.

Dichotomy Between Leadership and Management

Those who advocate dichotomy between the two terms like to quote McNamara as a good manager but a bad leader; General Patton as a good leader but as bad manager and Montgomery as a combination of both.

It is suggested that the following attributes of the leader further highlight the distinction between leadership and management:

Managers supervise people; if their people are not willing to accept and follow the supervisory authority, the managers are not leaders. Subordinates may comply with supervisory authority out of fear but such compliance is not a response to leadership. Similarly, not all leaders are managers. Some leaders may have followers but no formal authority to manager, hence they are not managers. For example, informal leaders in a work group are leaders but may not be managers.

Zalenik points out tile difference in our expectations of the behavior of managers and leaders. Managers are expected to use their analytical minds in establishing and achieving organizational goals, problem solving and decision making whereas leaders are expected to be charismatic people with great vision who can alter the mood of their followers and raise their hopes and expectations.

Both managers and leaders are responsible for meeting the organizational demand, as well as those of its members. However, manages are more concerned with achieving organizational goals and achieve these in an impersonal manner while leaders are expected to be more deeply involved with their followers in doing so.

APPROACHES TO LEADERSHIP

Leadership has been studied from different view and for various purpose. It has been studied for determining what qualities of head and heart make an effective leader. It has been studied for finding out the relative importance of the situations and characteristics of the group members in the successful functioning of a leader.

Tracing the historical perspective of leadership, therefore, become necessary for us. So far the following approach to the understanding of leadership have been progressively advanced by behavior scientist.

• Traits approach

• Behavioral approach

• Situational approach.

• Contingency or functional approach.

TRAITS APPROACH

The Traits identified as the most important by Kalpatrick and Locke are Drive, Honesty and integrity, Leadership motivation (desire to exercise influence over others to reach shared goals), self confidence, cognitive ability, knowledge, creativity and flexibility)

BEHAVIOURAL APPROACH

Behavioural Approach: Hemphill (1977) states ‘Leadership may be defined as the behavior of an individual while he is involved in directing group activities’.

The researchers, therefore, attempted to study the more important types of leader behavior and thereafter analyzed the styles that they adopted in various situations. The various types of behavior and the various theories / models based on this approach are as follows:

Types of Behavior:

• Symbolic Behavior

• Decision-making Behavior

• Concern for men

• Concern for Task

Styles of Leadership:

• Authoritarian – Democratic – Laissezfaire Continuum Approach.

• Nurturant- Participative – Authoritarian styles

• Grid Approach

• Life Cycle Model

TYPES OF BEHAVIOUR

Symbolic Behavior:

Symbolic Behavior is a given as well as an acquired aspect of a leader. He enjoys a positional or legal authority conferred on him by the organization.

Decision Making Behavior:

Decision making is the key function of a leader. It is the most important aspect of his behavior. It is his prerogative as well as his responsibility. Psychologically speaking, decision making ability of a leader is deeply rooted in his:

• Self-concept. His estimation of himself in his own eyes.

• Risk-taking Ability. The ability to stick out his neck when faced with a critical situation.

• Tolerance for ambiguity. The ability to keep calm and deliberate about different aspects of a problem inspite of uncertainties and pressures.

• Internal vs External Control. The ability to have more faith in ones’ own abilities and efforts to solve a problem than to believe in the factors of chance and fate.

Concern for Men

It given birth to a ‘corporate soul’ which in the Services language is called esprit-de-corps. For developing this corporate soul, however, the leader has to keep close and frequent touch with his men. He has to look after their daily needs as well as help them in solving their personal problems. In doing so he has to ensure that his official position does not get compromised.

Probably today there is a need for our officers to operate through empathy rather than sympathy in relating themselves to their men. They should ensure that the needy member of the group receives the required help but there is no need for him to feel obliged to any person as such for receiving that help. This would reinforce the ‘corporate soul’ and the leader would also rise in the estimation of the one who receives the help. Modest behavior has a very strong appeal for the Indian psyche!

Concern for Task

Each organization has an objective and for the achievement of that objective, groups are formed in the organization . Each group is assigned a task and more often than not a group leader is also appointed to ensure the completion of task. Thus we see that leadership is sine quo non of task performances. The primary duty of the commander is the accomplishment of his assigned mission. Other are secondary.

STYLES OF LEADERSHIP

The styles of leadership are discussed under the following heads:

• Continuum of Leader Styles.

• Nurturant – Participative – Authoritarian styles.

• Grid Approach to Leadership.

• Life Cycle Model.

Authoritarian Leader: He is the replica of our Zamindar in the village. He determines all policies and formulates all strategies of goal achievement for his group. He forms work teams and assigns tasks and duties to each member of the group. He is personal in praising and criticizing group member, and is not always objective in doing so. He maintains a respectable distance from a group and often functions through ‘proper channels’.

It has been found that an authoritarian leader is very much required to tackle an emergent or crises ridden situation. He is the best man to deliver the goods when vital interest of the organization and are stake. He gets things moving fast and is very efficient in achieving short terms results.

DEMOCRATIC LEADER

A Democratic Leader is the one who is group minded. He involves all group members in making policy decisions. He consults the experts and technician, members of his group and listen to the suggestions made by others attentively. He allows the members to choose their own companions in the formation of task-teams. He encourages the development of those with marginal performance but is not harsh on those who achieve low results. He is objective in praising and criticizing his group members. He keeps little formal distance from them and joins in their activities as often as possible..

A democratic leader runs a happy and satisfied team though not necessarily a very productive one. The members of his group take more time in producing results especially at the planning stage of the tasks. However, he generates a self propelling process in his group members which, continues even when he himself is not physically present among them. Morale of them members of a group led by democratic leader is high and personnel turn over in his group is low. A democratic leader is very good in achieving long term results.

NURTURANT TASK (NT) LEADERSHIP

Autocratic

Influential

Insecure

Impractical

dissatisfying

Not respected by subordinates

Strict

Pushes his Ideas though dominant

Extrovert

Active

Strong

Firm

Independent

Alert

Encouraging

Appreciative of subordinates activities

Democratic

Respected

Satisfying

Secure

Skillful

Weak

AUTHORITARIAN LEADER

NURTURANT (NT) TASK LEADER

PARTICIPATIVE LEADER

SITUATIONAL APPROACH The traits approach to leadership laid emphasis on the inborn qualities of a leader and the behavioral approach gave importance to his behavior. The situational approach to leadership, however, given overriding importance to the situation. It maintains that it is always the situation which determines who will emerge as the leader.

Skill Development

There are three main aspects of a leader which help him in solving problems. These are:

• Position of the leader (job title, badges of rank, appointment etc,.)

• Personality of the leader (the natural qualities of influencing behavior)

• Knowledge (technical, Professional).

These three aspects are interrelated and make the integrated whole known as the leader's personality. Among these Knowledge is most amenable to improvement. It is also entirely within the control of the leader. An in-depth knowledge about ones owns strength and weaknesses, about the needs and values of the group members, the situation, can definitely help a leader in rising to the occasion and solving the problem.

EFFECTIVENESS OF THIRD DIMENSIONS

Basic Effective Inneffective Style

Dedicaded Benvolent

Autocrat

Autocrat

Integrated Executive Compromiser

Related Developer Missionary

Separated Bureaucrat Deserter

DISCUSSIONS OF STYLES OF LEADERSHIP

Dedicated leader: It is the basic style related to high task and low welfare orientation of a leader. The leader belonging to this quadrant tends to dominate others. He gives many verbal directions to his group members. His time perspective is immediate and he prefers to do everything now. He identifies himself with his superiors and with the technical system of his organization. He judges superiors on the basis of their skill in using power and group members on the basis of results produced by them. He plays a very active part in committees. He is well suited for jobs involving directing others efforts.

Benvolent Autocrat: He is the leader who is highly task oriented but whose style of functioning is in consonance with the characteristics of the group and nature of the situation. He is like the captain of a sports team – energetic, industrious and committed to the completion of the task assigned to him.

Autocrat: He is the one who is highly task oriented but his style of leadership does not fit the characteristics of the group and the situation. The main stance of his functioning is based on threats and punishment.

Integrated leader: It is the basic style with high task and high welfare orientation. The leader belonging to this style likes to become ‘ apart of things’. He is essentially a joiner and takes great pains in getting appropriate involved with individuals and group settings. He organizes meetings frequently. His orientation is always to the future. He judges subordinates on the basis of their willingness to join the team.

The two dimensions of this style are:

• Executive: He is the one who combines both high task and high welfare orientation in his behavior; this style suits the group and situation also. He uses participative management as the basis of his functioning. He involves the members of his group in the process of decision making and this commits them to achieve the goals which they set through mutual discussion.

• Compromiser: Through this person has high task orientation as well as high welfare orientation, yet he is considered by the group members as a weak-kneed compromiser who is incapable of meeting the needs of the situation. He tends to under-rate the importance of immediate problems and has no heart for developing long term plans.

Related Leader: He is the leader with high welfare orientation. He accepts others as he finds them. He enjoys long conversations as a way of getting to know others better. He is not too concerned with time. He sees organisations primarily as social systems and judges his group members on how well they understand each other. He judges superiors on the basis of warmth they show to differences, and coaxes group members to give out their best. He is particularly suited for training and development activities, managing professional workers, and providing coordination. The extreme dimensions of this style are:

Developer: He is the one whose concern for welfare of his group members is very high and this style of leadership also finds favour with the group and the situation. He is of the conviction that work is as natural to people as play or rest. He knows that in the beginning most people have reservations about their potentials. These, however, can be transformed into talents if an informal and enabling atmosphere is provided to them for development.

His genuine interest in the development of group members and creating a somewhat permissive work atomosphere, often stimulates them to work in a creative and innovative manner.

Missionary: He is a man with high welfare orientation working in a group and operating in a situation which demands a different style of leadership. In fact, his main desire is to get accepted by others. His work commitment is low. He has an inherent dislike for all types of conflicts. He hardly exercises any control over his group members to make them produce the results they are supposed to. He is, therefore least suited to take hard decisions and achieve time-bound results.

Separated Leader: He is the leader whose task orientation and welfare orientation are both low. He is very much concerned about correcting deviations. He tends to write, rather than talk. Partly because of this, he has little personal communication in any direction. His time perspective often relates to the past – ‘how did we do it last time?’ He identifies with the organisation as a whole rather than with its individual members. He takes great interest in the rules and procedures and judges others on how well they adhere to these. He values intellect in his superior but not necessarily on others. He is obviously well suited to work in administration, accounting, statistics or engineering design. When things go wrong his usual reaction is to propose more controls.

Bureaucrat: He is the one whose task orientation and welfare orientation are both low. Yet in our large organisations he too can perform usefully under certain circumstances. He is impersonal in his behavior. He likes to work in a slow but methodical manner. He is wedded to rules and regulations, systems and procedures and that is the type of staff work which lends consistency to the functioning of an organisation. He ensures that everyone receives his due according to the rules. The group members therefore, can rely upon him for fair and just behavior. However, his main strength lies in maintaining an on-going system; he is not of much value for innovating and creating new systems.

Deserter: He is the person who has low task orientation and low welfare orientation . To top it all, he is in the wrong type of company and in the wrong spot. In fact , he is the man who goes about in life with a feeling as if he has been hurt and has never got over it . He avoids jobs involving responsibility ; has a narrow vision of life and is allergic to all types of change. Faced with difficulties he gives up easily. In his relations with others, he is mostly uncommunicative; he may even prove a hindrance in the way of others doing their jobs.

FUNCTIONAL APPROACHThis aspect of leadership has been explained with the help of a formula as given below.

Leff = f (1, g, s)Leff = f (1, g, s) , wherein

Leff = Leadership effectiveness

F = function of

I = leader

G = group

S = situation

Some of the important characteristics of the leader, the group and the situation, and their interrelations are shown in figure

LEADERG

RO

UP

SIT

UA

TIO

N

Courage

Motivation

Energy Maturity

Social OrientationMental ability

Time

Pressure

Job demands

Danger

Need

Sense of Responsibility

Understanding of goals

Job Interest and Motivation

Knowledge and expertise

Homogeneity

for autonomy