Our definition of a leader is someone who can influence others and who has managerial authority. Leadership is a process of leading a group and influencing that group to achieve its goals. It’s what leaders do.
The search for traits or characteristics that differentiate leaders from nonleaders dominated early leadership research efforts. If the concept of traits were valid, all leaders would have to possess specific characteristics.
However, later attempts to identify traits consistently associated with leadership (the process, not the person) were more successful. The seven traits shown to be associated with effective leadership are described briefly in Exhibit 11-1
A number of studies looked at behavioral styles. We’ll briefly review three of the most popular: Kurt Lewin’s studies at the University of Iowa, the Ohio State studies, and the University of Michigan studies. Then we’ll see how the concepts developed in those studies were used in a grid created for appraising leadership styles
One of the first studies of leadership behavior was done by Kurt Lewin and his associates at the University of Iowa. Researchers explored three leadership behaviors or styles: autocratic, democratic, and laissez-faire. An autocratic style is that of a leader who typically tends to centralize authority, dictate work methods, make unilateral decisions, and limit employee participation. A leader with a democratic style tends to involve employees in decision making, delegates authority, encourages participation in deciding work methods and goals, and uses feedback as an opportunity to coach employees
The laissez-faire style generally gives his or her employees complete freedom to make decisions and to complete their work in whatever way they see fit. A laissez-faire leader might simply provide necessary materials and answer questions
The most comprehensive and replicated of the behavioral theories resulted from research that began at Ohio State University in the late 1940s. T he researchers eventually narrowed the list down to two categories that accounted for most of the leadership behavior described by employees. They called these two dimensions initiating structure and consideration.
Tannenbaum and Schmidt developed a continuum of leader behaviors (see Exhibit 11-2). The continuum illustrates that a range of leadership behaviors, all the way from boss centered (autocratic) on the left side of the model to employee centered (laissez-faire) on the right side of the model, is possible.
Leadership studies undertaken at the University of Michigan’s Survey Research Center, at about the same time as those being done at Ohio State, had similar research objectives: to locate the behavioral characteristics of leaders that were related to performance effectiveness. The Michigan group also came up with two dimensions of leadership behavior, which they labeled employee oriented and production oriented
The managerial grid used the behavioral dimensions “concern for people” and “concern for production” and evaluated a leader’s use of these behaviors, ranking them on a scale from 1 (low) to 9 (high).
Of these five styles, the researchers concluded that managers performed best when using a 9,9 style. Unfortunately, the grid offered no answers to the question of what made a manager an effective leader; it only provided a framework for conceptualizing leadership style.
The first comprehensive contingency model for leadership was developed by Fred Fiedler. The Fiedler contingency model proposed that effective group performance depended upon properly matching the leader’s style and the amount of control and influence in the situation. To measure a leader’s style, Fiedler developed the least-preferred co-worker (LPC) questionnaire
Fiedler’s research uncovered three contingency dimensions that defined the key situational factors in leader effectiveness
Because Fiedler treated an individual’s leadership style as fixed, there were only two ways to improve leader effectiveness. First, you could bring in a new leader whose style better fit the situation. The second alternative was to change the situation to fit the leader.
Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard developed a leadership theory that has gained a strong following among management development specialists.16 This model, called situational leadership theory (SLT), is a contingency theory that focuses on followers’ readiness.
SLT uses the same two leadership dimensions that Fiedler identified: task and relationship behaviors. However, Hersey and Blanchard go a step further by considering each as either high or low and then combining them into four specific leadership styles
SLT essentially views the leader-follower relationship as like that of a parent and a child. Just as a parent needs to relinquish control when a child .becomes more mature and responsible, so, too, should leaders
Back in 1973, Victor Vroom and Phillip Yetton developed a leader-participation model that related leadership behavior and participation to decision making.
However, later attempts to identify traits consistently associated with leadership (the process, not the person) were more successful. The seven traits shown to be associated with effective leadership are described briefly in Exhibit 11-1
Currently, one of the most respected approaches to understanding leadership is path-goal theory, which states that the leader’s job is to assist followers in attaining their goals and to provide direction or support needed to ensure that their goals are compatible with the goals of the group or organization.
Developed by Robert House, path-goal theory takes key elements from the expectancy theory of motivation (see Chapter 10).
Many early leadership theories viewed leaders as transactional leaders; that is, leaders who lead primarily by using social exchanges (or transactions). Transactional leaders guide or motivate followers to work toward established goals by exchanging rewards for their productivity. But there’s another type of leader—a transformational leader—who stimulates and inspires (transforms) followers to achieve extraordinary outcomes
Although the term vision is often linked with charismatic leadership, visionary leadership is different since it’s the ability to create and articulate a realistic, credible, and attractive vision of the future that improves upon the present situation. This vision, if properly selected and implemented, is so energizing that it “in effect jump-starts the future by calling forth the skills, talents, and resources to make it happen.
A meaningful way to describe the team leader’s job is to focus on two priorities: (1) managing the team’s external boundary and (2) facilitating the team process. These priorities entail four specific leadership roles as shown in Exhibit 11-7
As we’ve described in different places throughout the text, managers are increasingly leading by not leading; that is, by empowering their employees. Empowerment involves increasing the decision-making discretion of workers
Because most leadership theories were developed in the United States, they have an American bias. They emphasize follower responsibilities rather than rights; assume self-gratification rather than commitment to duty or altruistic motivation; assume centrality of work and democratic value orientation; and stress rationality rather than spirituality, religion, or superstition
Trust, or lack of trust, is an increasingly important issue in today’s organizations. In today’s uncertain environment, leaders need to build, or even rebuild, trust and credibility.