Leadership Organizational Behaviour Social Behaviour.

Leadership

Organizational BehaviourSocial Behaviour

Defining Leadership

• The use of influence to achieve goals

The trait perspective of leadership –

The Great Man approach• Traits = distinguishing personal characteristics that are

generally not mutable (changeable)

– Weak but consistent support for a variety of leadership traits

Self-confidence Honesty/Integrity

Energy Need for achievement

Intelligence Dominance

Emotional stability Motivation to lead

Ohio State studies of leadership

• Two key dimensions were related to leadership

– Consideration – the extent to which the leader is approachable and shows personal concern for subordinates

and

– Initiating structure – the extent to which the leader is task oriented and directs the group toward goal attainment

Situational approaches: Fiedler’s Contingency Theory

• Leader motivation

– Relationship oriented - high LPC score

– Task oriented - low LPC score

Situational approaches: Fiedler’s Contingency Theory

• Situational conditions– Leader-member relations – favourable when

there is support, trust, and cooperation– Task structure – favourable when there is

high task structure: clear goals, procedures, and objective measures of performance

– Position power – favourable when supported by the organization hierarchy

PoorGood

UnstructuredStructuredUnstructuredStructured

VIIIVIIVIVIVIIIIII

WeakStrongWeakStrongWeakStrongWeakStrong

TaskRelationshipTask

High Low

Fiedler’s Contingency Theory

Task structure

Position power

Effective leaderorientation

Leader-memberrelations

Favourableness

Situational approaches: Path-Goal Theory

• Leader behaviour types1. Directive behaviour – schedules work,

sets performance standards, gives direction

2. Supportive behaviour – friendly, approachable, expresses concern

3. Participative behaviour – uses consultative processes, shares work problems, considers suggestions

4. Achievement oriented – demanding and supportive, seeks continual improvement

Path-Goal Theory

• Subordinate characteristics– Locus of control – Self-confidence - subordinate perception of

their abilities – skills and experience

• Situational characteristics– Task structure– clear and routine versus

challenging and ambiguous– Team dynamics - work group norms and

influence

Situational approaches:Participative Models

• Purpose:– To motivate – increases enrichment and

autonomy– To create quality – adds more information

into the problem solving– To increase acceptance of the decision –

in issues of fairness or change

Participative Models

• Downsides

– Time and energy – involves a slower process and less experienced participants

– Lack or receptivity or knowledge – not everyone is interested or skilled enough

– Organizational climate or leader attributes – the organization or leader may not be predisposed to use participatory methods

Situational Leadership Theory

• Leader behaviour types– Task behaviour – spells out responsibilities and tells

people what to do (like initiating structure)– Relationship behaviour – listening, giving social

emotional support (like consideration)

• Follower maturity/ task readiness– Job maturity – task relevant knowledge, experience, and

skill– Psychological maturity – self-confidence, commitment,

and motivation

Situational Leadership Theory

• Four leadership styles:1. Telling – very directive, giving explicit direction (high task,

low relationship behaviour)

2. Selling – leader provides direction, uses persuasion to reduce resistance, may seek input (high task, high relationship behaviour)

3. Participating (consulting) – focus on growth and improvement through guidance, communication, and opportunities for subordinate decision making (low task, high relationship behaviour)

4. Delegating (join) – little direction or support, subordinates assume responsibility and are believed to be fully capable (low task, low relationship behaviour)

Selling(Hi T; Hi R)

Delegating (Lo T; Lo R)

Telling (Hi T; Lo R)

Participating(Lo T; Hi R)

M4 -Able and willing

M3 - Able but unwilling or insecure

M2 – Unable but willing

M1 –Unable and unwilling or insecure

Task behaviors

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Contingency approach: Situational Leadership Theory

Low followermaturity

High followermaturity

Situational Approaches:Participative Leadership

• Three key considerations:

1. Quality requirement – can the decision turn out badly; are all options equal in quality

2. Commitment/Acceptance decision - will employees be committed enough to the decision to implement it properly

3. Time availability – how efficiently must the decision be made

leader participation contingency variables

• QR Quality Requirement–is the technical quality of this decision important

• LI Leader information – does the leader have sufficient information to create a high quality decision

• ST Problem Structure – is the problem well structured

• CR (AR) Commitment/Acceptance Requirement- is subordinate commitment to the decision important

• CP (AP) Commitment/Acceptance Probability – if you made the decision yourself, is it reasonably certain that subordinates would be committed to the decision information

leader participation contingency variables

• GC Goal Congruence – Do subordinates share the organizational goals to be attained by solving this problem

• CO Subordinate Conflict – Is conflict among subordinates likely in the preferred solution

• SI Subordinate Information – Do subordinates have sufficient information to make a high quality decision

leader participation contingency variables

• Added considerations:

TC Time Constraint – Is there a time constraint that limits your ability to involve subordinates

MD Motivation Development – Is it important to maximize the opportunities for subordinate development

Participative Leadership

• Issues:

– Not all subordinates are equally skilled or interested

– Not all managers are equally skilled or interested

– Not all organizational cultures support flexible decision styles

Transactional Leaders

• Power is derived through the ability to reward and punish

• Clear and define the pathway so that followers know what is expected

• Take into consideration followers needs

Transformational leaders

• Influence comes from follower acceptance of values and vision which guide all decisions and behaviours

• Transformational Leaders:– Intellectually stimulate followers– Give individualized consideration– Are charismatic

Neutralizers of leadershipPeople oriented Task

oriented leadership leadership

-Knowledgeable, experienced subordinates x-Subordinates with high need for independence x x-”Professional” subordinates x x-Subordinates indifferent to organizational rewards x x

-Subordinates doing routine or standardized work x-Task has built in feedback x-Task is intrinsically satisfying x-Organization is highly formalized (written rules) x-Work group is cohesive x x-Rewards cannot be affected by the supervisor x x-Large distance between supervisor and subordinate x x

Does leadership make a difference

• Leader irrelevance

– Situational importance

– The “romance of leadership”• Attributing leadership• Stereotyping leadership• Need for situational control